A wave of unparalleled emotion swept over Sara and a mixture of shock, disbelief and something close to joy flitted across her face. Her eyes were riveted on that small black velvet box in Nick's hand, but until she actually heard the words come out of his mouth, she wasn't going to assume that she knew what was in it. She suddenly felt a little lightheaded and all the moisture in her mouth seemed to evaporate as she let out another whimper.
Sara's reaction wasn't exactly what Nick had hoped for and a seed of doubt began to fester that maybe he was rushing this decision and that Sara wasn't ready for this. However, he had already gone this far and he reasoned that he needed to go the distance; to back out now would only create misunderstanding in their relationship and fill Sara with self doubt. Nick's mouth felt incredibly dry and he cleared his throat nervously as he dropped down to one knee and reached for Sara's hand.
Sara's eyes widened even further and she let out a panicked sound as she looked at Nick. Her initial gut feeling was to bolt, but her legs felt something akin to jelly and she couldn't move.
Nick's voice cracked slightly as he started to speak. "I don't want to break up with you, Sara." He cleared his throat again. "I want to marry you." He fumbled with the small velvet box and opened it up to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. He looked at a very flustered Sara Sidle and put on his best smile. "Will you marry me, Sara? "
Sara didn't say anything for a very long moment. She stared at Nick and then stared at the ring and then stared at Nick again. Her words came out in disbelief. "You want to marry me?" Emotions were flying at her so fast she wasn't sure how she was supposed to react.
Nick felt stricken by her response but he nodded all the same. He wasn't sure what Sara's reaction meant exactly; he just knew that he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and he assumed that it was his heart breaking into a million pieces. His voice was thick with emotion. "Yes, I want to marry you." He had never felt more exposed in his entire life.
"You want to marry me." Sara repeated the phrase as if doing so would make the question more real to her. She stared at the ring again and what Nick had asked her finally began to sink in. "You really want to marry me." Her tone was incredulous, as if the real possibility of marrying Nick might never have entered her mind.
For some reason, Nick felt a bit of relief that she hadn't said 'no' yet, but then again, she still hadn't said 'yes'. He gathered his courage and spoke again. "Yes, I really want to marry you."
For the first time it registered in Sara's mind that Nick was still down on one knee and he was waiting for her to answer the question. The expression on his face was bordering on pathetic and she could tell that he was on the verge of losing it. Her brow furrowed in concern for him as she reached out to touch his arm. "Oh, Nick."
Nick misread her expression and pulled himself off of the floor and back up to the couch. His voice was barely a whisper. "I'm sorry I just thought…" He couldn't finish his sentence as he sniffled. He felt as if his heart was imploding.
For some reason, Sara found the whole situation a bit comical. "Nick." Her voice was soft but insistent.
"I knew it was too soon and here you're talking about breaking up." Nick wiped at a tear that slid down his cheek. He was never very good at keeping his emotions in check when it came to his heart.
Sara reached for his hand. "Nick, I don't want to break up." She realized how hard this was for him to even ask her and then her reaction probably just made it that much harder for him.
Nick's head snapped up. "You don't?" He looked so vulnerable.
Sara shook her head, a smile beginning to form. "No." She squeezed his hand. "I love you. I just wasn't expecting you to propose to me. You kind of took me by surprise." She looked at him earnestly.
"I love you too." He smiled, but he still felt uncertainty since the question was still out there and she hadn't answered him yet. He glanced down at the ring and then with a resigned sigh, snapped the box shut. He assumed her lack of an answer meant 'no'.
"Nick." Sara chuckled softly at his defeat.
"Yeah." He sounded tired, but he looked up at her and met her gaze.
"Are you going to let me answer the question?" She was amused, not because she was trying to string him along, but because he was wearing his heart on his sleeve and she found it incredibly endearing.
Nick laughed nervously. "I guess you didn't really say 'yes' or 'no' did you?" He glanced over at her and furrowed his brow.
She shook her head. "No, I didn't." She smiled at him. "Yes."
Nick didn't say anything. He looked a little confused. "Did you say 'yes'?" It was the answer he wanted to hear, but he just wanted to make sure he heard her correctly.
"Yes, I said 'yes'." Sara nodded and nibbled at her lower lip a bit nervously. "I want to marry you, that is if you still want to marry me." Her fear of being rejected was reflected in her tone and in her expression.
Nick answered her with a kiss. When they finally broke apart quite a few minutes later they were lying tangled on the couch with dopey grins adorning their faces.
Sara looked at him in amusement. "You still have your jacket on."
"I haven't really had a chance to take it off. I've been a little busy." He grinned back at her and he realized that he still had the ring box in his hand. He quirked an eyebrow at her in disbelief. "You really said 'yes' didn't you? You're really going to marry me."
She nodded. "Yes, but I seem to be missing something." She wiggled her fingers in front of his face.
He smirked at her. "You know this wasn't exactly how I'd pictured proposing to you."
Sara smirked back. "Just how did you plan on proposing then?" A realization hit her just then and she propped herself up on his chest. She had one brow arched and her lips pursed together as she looked at him expectantly. "And just when did you decide that you wanted to marry me anyway?"