A/N: Ooops. My bad. But thanks for telling me Amy's middle name. I went back and edited chapter 14, so it now says "Amy Nicole Abbott". Well, enjoy the next chapter, and thanks for reviewing!

[3.15] A Diamond Is Forever

----September 20, 2004----

Amy led Ephram into the living room, where Rose and Harold were watching T.V. Amy walked over to the T.V. and turned it off.

"Amy!" Harold grumbled.

"Mom, Dad, Ephram and I have something we want to share with you." Amy said, as she carefully kept her hand with the ring behind her back. She motioned, with her left hand, to Ephram.

Ephram walked over to Amy and put his arm around her shoulders. "Mr. and Mrs. Abbott, we have something very important we'd like to say."

Rose and Harold waited patiently. Rose nodded her head, for the teens to continue.

"Just a few moments ago, Ephram and I had a very important discussion. Then Ephram surprised me with a very important question. He.."

"I asked your daughter, Amy Abbott, to marry me." Ephram announced.

"And I accepted!" Amy gushed, as she held out her hand for her parents to see her engagement ring.

Rose gasped. "Amy! It's...it's beautiful!"

"I know!" Amy cried.

"Where on Earth did you get a ring like that?" Rose asked, as she looked at Ephram.

"It was his Mom's engagement ring!" Amy said.

Ephram nodded. "She told me to give it to the woman I love and was sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with. And I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with your daughter..Do we have your blessing?"

Rose beamed with joy. "Welcome to the family, Ephram Brown."

"Are you sure you want to commit to this?" Harold asked.

"I'm one-hundred plus percent sure, Mr. Abbott." Ephram replied.

Harold nodded and knew Ephram was saying it with pure honesty. "Welcome aboard."

Amy ran to her parents and hugged them both. "We want to get married after we graduate."

"That's a little less than a year." Rose noted.

"We know. We think we'll be ready by then." Ephram said. He walked over to Rose and gave her a small hug.

Harold looked at Ephram and held out his hand.

Ephram grasped Harold's hand and shook it. He had finally been accepted by the Abbotts.

"We have to go call Bright! And Delia!" Amy exclaimed, as she grabbed Ephram's hand and pulled him out of the room.

Harold looked at his wife. "Do you think they're ready?"

Rose smiled and placed her hand on her husband's knee. "I think they've been ready for a long while now, they just didn't know it."

Bright was flipping through the channels. He had finished his work and was feeling very accomplished at the moment, but he had nothing to do. Suddenly his phone rang and he dropped the controls, walked over to the phone, and picked it up. "Hello?" He waited for a minute and then a smile spread across his face. "Amy?" He listened. "I'm fine. How are you? And Ephram?" He waited for a moment. "Well, that's good. What about Mom and Dad?" He nodded his head as he listened. "And the baby? Do you know if I have a niece of a nephew yet?" He sat down. "That's great and you have to call me when you find out." He grabbed the controls and pressed the 'mute' button. "Oh really? Amazing news, 'eh?"

"Yeah! Bright, you're never gonna believe this! But Delia, Mom, and I went shopping the other day for baby and maternity stuff." Amy began.

Bright smiled. "How is Delia?"

"She's great! A real sweetie and she's excited about becoming an Aunt." Amy said.

"Tell Ephram to tell her I said hey, okay?" Bright asked.

"Sure thing." Amy said. Her heart was pounding. "So, Delia brings up something really important that Ephram and I hadn't even talked about yet, which caught me totally off guard! Well, tonight I brought it up and we talked about it for a while. Then he went to the bathroom and came back and....Oh my God, Bright! Ephram and I are engaged! He gave me his Mom's engagement ring and we want to get married after graduation!" Amy burst out.

Bright nearly dropped the phone. He coughed a few times. "You and Ephram are engaged?" He asked.

"Yeah! Isn't that great?! Oh my gosh, Bright, the ring is beautiful! It's gold and has a heart shaped diamond!" Amy squeeled with delight.

"Amy, are you two sure about this?" Bright asked.

"As sure as I'm pregnant." Amy answered.

"Wow..I mean...wow!" Bright said. He finally let himself smile. "I'm happy for you two, Amy! Congratulations! Is Ephram there right now?"

"Yep. Do you want to talk to him?" Amy asked. She waited a moment and then smiled. She turned to Ephram. "Bright wants to talk with you."

Ephram took the phone. "Bright?" He waited. "Yeah, I'm really sure about this. Of course. Sure, I'll tell her."

"And you better take care of her!" Bright warned. "Or I promise to knock the crap out of you again."

"I swear!" Ephram said. He smiled. "Okay, bye Bright." He hung up and turned to Amy. "He says he loves you and he says he gives us the best of luck." He hugged Amy.

"We should call Delia and your Dad now." Amy said, as she melted into Ephram's arms. She reached around Ephram, grabbed the phone, and dialed Ephram's home number. She waited a few moments while the phone rang.

"Hello?" Delia said, as she picked up the kitchen phone. "Oh, hey Amy! What's up?" She paused. "Umm, okay. I'll put you on speaker phone and I'll be right back with Dad." She pushed the 'speaker' button and then set the phone back down. "Dad!" She yelled, as she ran to her Dad's room. She knocked on the door. "Dad?"

Andy set down a medical file that he was reading. "Yes, Delia?" He asked.

"Amy is on the phone, on speaker, in the kitchen. She says that she and Ephram ahve something to tell us." Delia informed her Father.

Andy got off his bed and opened his door. "Okay. Well, let's go find out."

"Maybe they found out if they're having a boy or girl?" Delia suggested, as she walked her Father into the kitchen. "We're back!" She announced.

Amy gazed into Ephram's eyes. 'Ready?' She mouthed.

'Yes.' Ephram mouthed back.

'On three.' Amy mouthed back. She held up her fingers and when she put up a third finger, they made their announcement.

"We're engaged!" Amy and Ephram said at the same time.

Delia's mouth dropped open. "Really?!" She gasped.

"Really!" Amy replied.

"You're gonna be my sister-in-law? That is so cool!" Delia gaped, as she danced around the room.

Andy looked less impressed. "When did this happen?"

"A little while ago." Amy replied.

"And where did you get a ring? Wait, you did give her a ring, right?" Andy asked.

"It was Mom's engagement ring. She gave it to me and told me to give it to the woman that I love and wanted to spend the rest of my life with." Ephram said, defensively.

Andy didn't know what to say. "Ephram, you know that they say diamonds are forever, right?"

"I know. Diamonds are forever, just like mine and Amy's relationship is." Ephram replied.