It was several weeks later when the unexpected happened.

Earlier plans to go out to dinner and a movie had changed when the movie Nick and Sara had wanted to see was sold out. So after a quick trip to the video store to pick up a couple of DVDs that neither of them had seen, they headed back to Nick's. It never even occurred to Nick that not tidying up his house before their date would have very interesting consequences.

That is until they walked in the door.

They were halfway to the couch when Sara stopped in her tracks and sucked in her breath suddenly.

Nick didn't even need to see where her eyes were riveted before he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew exactly what she was looking at and he was mentally kicking himself for being stupid enough to leave it sitting out in plain sight.

Sara wasn't sure what to say as she stood there; she couldn't seem to stop staring at the small red box sitting in the middle of his coffee table. She'd seen boxes like that before, mostly when she was a student at Harvard; and usually with people that were well moneyed. Someone making Nick's salary would not be shopping at Cartier unless he meant business. She felt like her heart was stuck in her throat and she didn't dare look at him in case she was imagining it all.

Nick enveloped her hand with his and gave it a squeeze. "You doing ok?" Despite his best effort, there was a bit of a waver in his voice and he was afraid that she might bolt from the room; that it was all too much too soon. He could tell that she knew exactly what was in that box.

Sara just nodded her head and then allowed herself to turn to face him. Her eyes searched his for an answer to the question she couldn't bring herself to ask.

Nick felt a wave of disappointment that this was happening now; that he didn't have the opportunity to make the moment extra special for her. "I didn't mean for this to happen quite like this." He pulled her with him over to the couch and settled himself in front of the coffee table where the box was.

Sara still hadn't said a word. There was a part of her that was sure that she was imagining all of this.

Nick felt a flurry of nerves as he reached over and picked up the box. "I knew that I wanted to be with you a long time ago and when we started dating, I realized that I wanted to be with you forever." He took a deep breath as he looked at her and he couldn't help but smile as her lower lip started to quiver.

Sara knew what was coming and she still couldn't believe it. "Nick." She had to slow this down before her mind went into complete overload. She let out a sniffle and then looked into his eyes. "I just need a minute. Just give me a minute...ok?" Her eyes pleaded with his to understand and then she pulled her hand out of his and made a beeline for the bathroom where the tears just let loose and started streaming down her face.

Nick felt confused as he waited for Sara to come out of the bathroom. He knew that she loved him, but as he held the small box in his hand, he suddenly wished he'd never bought the ring. He wasn't sure whether her running out of the room was an outright rejection of the proposal he hadn't quite finished, or if she was going to spend the entire night in there.

Sara could see the angst in Nick's posture as she finally emerged from the bathroom. She had needed those few minutes to get used to the idea that Nick had bought her an engagement ring and that he was trying to propose to her. Now however, she felt guilty that she'd left the room without really considering what it would do to him. He glanced up at her as she made her way over to the couch.

Nick was hopeful as he looked at Sara, there was a hint of a smile on her face and something else that he wasn't quite sure of, but at least she was looking at him. He cleared his throat a bit nervously. "I guess that was a little sudden..."

Sara sat down next to him and pressed a finger against his lips to silence him for the moment. "Yeah, it was." A smile stole over her face as she caressed his cheek. "I love you, Nick, and sometimes it scares me how much you seem to love me...I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance to finish what you were trying to say."

Nick had an earnest expression on his face. "Do you want me to finish?" He knew he wanted to propose, but he was giving her an out in case she wasn't ready to hear him say the words. The last thing he wanted was for them to break up just because he'd proposed too soon. Deep down he knew that she wanted the same thing he did, he just wasn't sure she was ready for it.

Sara nodded; she wanted to hear those words more than she probably would admit. "Yeah, I do." The relief washing over Nick's face caused a flurry of butterflies to surge around in her stomach and as he took her hand in his, she held onto it for dear life.

Nick took a long moment as he considered what he was about to do. He'd never met a woman quite like Sara Sidle and after he'd met her, he found that the women he dated just seemed to be lacking something. It took him a long time to realize that it was because none of those women were Sara. He glanced over at her and smiled softly. "I love you, Sara. I love you like I've never loved anyone in my life. I know this probably feels way too soon; but I've been thinking about this for a while now." He flipped open the ring box to reveal the princess cut diamond flanked by sapphires. "Would you marry me?"

Sara sucked her breath in again as she stared at the ring; it was quite possibly the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen simply because it had been picked out just for her. She couldn't seem to find her words for a very long moment as she continued to stare at the ring and then as she realized that Nick had asked her a question she looked up at him and nodded.

Nick chuckled in amusement at how flustered she seemed to be. "Is that a yes?" He was still feeling a little nervous because she still hadn't said a word, but given the expression on her face, he was fairly certain what her answer was going to be.

Sara nodded again. "Yes." Tears welled up in her eyes again, but this time because she knew that the moment was real and that Nick Stokes really loved her.

Nick leaned in and kissed her softly, savoring the moment and wanting to remember it forever. "I love you, Sar." Knowing that he was going to get to be with her for the rest of his life brought a wave of emotion over him and he found himself getting a little teary-eyed.

Sara just stared at her hand as Nick slipped the ring onto her finger. Even with it sparkling back at her, she was having a hard time processing that Nick had just asked her to marry him.

"I'm sorry the moment couldn't be more romantic." Nick wanted to explain to her that she deserved better, that he'd planned to do far better than this spontaneous proposal.

Sara shook her head even as she noticed the DVDs they were going to watch out of the corner of her eye. "No, this was perfect. It's perfect because I get to marry you."