Begin!

Universe*

~Quigley's POV

It looked perfect. Absolutely, wonderfully perfect. I couldn't believe I was actually holding an engagement ring in my hand. It had a lovely silver band accented with a piece of one of my family's sapphires instead of a diamond. I had it specially made. I could only hope that Fiona would say yes. I had just picked it up from the jewelry store. I hadn't told anyone about my plan. I was at the harbor at the edge of town because I had called asking to meet with Fiona's stepfather in private. I was sitting on the docks waiting for the Queequeg to arrive. I put the box in my pocket.

Duncan and Violet were married two years ago. And Klaus and Isadora had been married last year. Fiona had caught the bouquet at Isadora's wedding and I knew I was planning to propose eventually. We've been together ever since she left V.F.D. to attend Whitmore Academy with the rest of us. She was at work right now at the science lab downtown. I was here to do the gentlemanly thing and ask her stepfather permission to marry her. Duncan had asked Klaus for permission when he proposed to Violet; even though he hadn't actually needed to. Klaus had asked both me and Duncan for permission when he proposed to Isadora. Now it was my turn, and Fiona was the only one who had a living parent, even if it wasn't by blood; we didn't resent her for it though.

"Finally," I said standing up as I saw the submarine emerge from the ocean waters.

I climbed inside as instructed and met the Captain on the main deck with his crew-mate, Phil.

"Aye if it isn't Quigley Quagmire," Captain Widdershins shouted happily.

"Hello, Quigley, it's always a pleasure to see you," Phil said with a smile.

Phil was an optimist, perhaps a little too much so. His very upbeat attitude about literally anything can get rather tiring. He's just way too happy sometimes, but he's a good guy. I took a seat at the table with them and tried to prepare myself mentally.

"So what brings you aboard today," Captain Widdershins asked with a grin, "And why isn't Fiona with you? Usually she's the one bringing you to visit."

I cleared my throat, "She's at work; it's just me today. I have something important I wanted to discuss with you."

"Aye, go right ahead."

"Ok, now or never."

I carefully reached into my pocket and pulled out the tiny box. I kept it hidden under my hand as I set it on the table.

"Captain Widdershins, I've been with Fiona for a long time now, seven years to be exact. And I called you for this meeting today because I," I felt my throat grow dry, "I wish to ask you permission to marry your stepdaughter..."

I opened up the box and showed them the ring. The two men sat silently for a moment before I was grabbed by the captain in a tight hug as he cried tears of joy.

"You're going to marry Fiona!? Of course you have my permission! Hell, you have enthusiasm! You're gonna be my son-in-law!"

He was crushing me with his hug but I felt weight lift off my shoulders when he said yes.

"You really mean it, sir?"

"Aye, I said yes didn't I?"

"Oh, this is wonderful! We're going to have wedding," Phil said excitedly.

The captain finally released his grip on me and I was able to breathe again, "Well I haven't asked her yet!"

"Oh, but you will," Phil examined the ring carefully, "This engagement ring is lovely. But why did you go with a sapphire? Most girls prefer a diamond."

I smiled to myself. The answer to that question was obvious. I had chosen a sapphire to show that I wanted her to become a part of my family permanently by giving her one of our precious jewels. Duncan had done the same thing with Violet; though his engagement ring was white-gold with a sapphire. And Klaus had used a traditional diamond ring since Isadora was joining his family.

"It's to symbolize her becoming a part of the Quagmire family," I explained, "I had it specially made with one of my family's jewels."

"How thoughtful," Phil replied with a grin, "I'm sure Fiona will just love it!"

"Aye, she will! When are you going to do it?"

"I have everything planned out. I'm taking her out tonight for a private dinner in the forest and once we're there I'll ask her. I haven't told anyone else about this yet guys so please keep it secret."

"Aye, keeping secrets is half my job, son! It comes with being a volunteer!"

I nodded and put the ring back in my pocket, "Well I should get going now so I can get everything ready. Thank you, sir, for giving me permission."

"Not a problem son! Make sure you let us know when the big day is. I can't wait to see my little girl get married," I saw the captain wipe his eyes for a moment, "Samantha would have been so happy."

I shook his hand and waved good bye to Phil before climbing out of the submarine with a huge grin on my face.

"One down, and one to go."

~…

I sat down on the chair in the visitors' area as I waited. I was at the prison to see Fiona's brother, Fernald. I didn't necessarily need to ask him for permission for this, but I wanted to let him know what I was up to. Fiona and I visited him regularly and he had taken a liking to me after we met. She loved her brother; despite all the terrible things he's done he loved her too. He had proved that already by betraying Olaf to protect her. I'm forever grateful to him for that, but I understand why the others don't want to be around him even though he's in jail and reformed. After a while I saw him sit down on the other side of the glass separating us. He smiled at me and used his awkward appendages to grab the phone so we could talk.

"Hey, Quigley, what brings you here today?"

"Hi, Fernald, I'm here with some good news."

"Good news, huh, is that why Fiona isn't with you?"

"Yep, she doesn't even know I'm here. Anyway, listen, I just picked up a present for her and I uh, wanted your opinion on it," I took the box out of my pocket once more and set it on the table to show it to him.

He stared at the ring in stunned silence for a minute before a huge grin overtook his face, "You're going to propose to my sister!"

I laughed, "Yes I am, I just got the ok from your stepdad about an hour ago. I have everything planned out and I wanted to tell you before I ask her. What do you think?"

"I think that's wonderful! But listen buddy, you make my sister happy understand? She loves you a lot and I wish you two all the happiness in the world, but if you break her heart I'll come out there and kick your ass."

"I know, Fernald, I treat her like a queen already," It was true, I did treat Fiona like a queen; she deserved it.

"When are you going to ask?"

"Tonight, I have a special dinner planned," I answered as I pocketed the ring once again, "After this I'll be heading out to get all the stuff ready."

"Then get going! I don't want to keep you! You guys have been together for what? Seven years? It's about time you got hitched!"

I smiled, "Thanks for the confidence, sir. We'll let you know how it goes. I hope she says yes."

We said our goodbyes and I returned to my car outside. I have a lot of work to do.

Everything was ready. It only took me all day to set up, but thankfully it had worked out in the end. I had given up on trying to tame my messy black hair, despite spending nearly a half hour trying to make myself look presentable for my love. Fiona always said she liked my mussed hair anyway. I had chosen to wear a simple black short-sleeved button up shirt and jeans to keep myself from looking too suspicious. I looked damn good if I do say so myself.

"And Duncan thinks he's the better looking of the two of us. As if."

I had called Fiona and told her I would pick her up from work for our date. I made sure that she knew to wear something nice for the occasion. I tried to remain confident, but I could feel my nerves getting the better of me with every passing second.

~Fiona's POV

I had just changed into my outfit for my date with Quigley tonight. I hadn't left work yet, as I was told he would be picking me up. I was now wearing a simple red dress that Isadora had been nice enough to lend me. She had gotten off work a few hours ago and was sitting in my office with me.

"How do I look," I asked nervously.

"You look great," She replied looking me over carefully, "Not like you need any assurance or anything. Quigley loves you no matter what you look like."

I giggled, "Thanks for letting me borrow your dress."

"Ah, keep it. I can always buy another one."

"Oh, well thank you! It is awfully nice."

She smirked, "So... where you guys going for your date tonight?"

I smiled, "He said it was a surprise and just told me to wear something nice."

"Alright," She put a hand to her chin in thought, "Hm, I wonder..."

I tilted my head a bit in confusion as I worked on my hair, "Something on your mind?"

"You don't think he might, you know," She held up her white-gold wedding ring that she had gotten last year from her love Klaus.

I blushed profusely behind my glasses, "Oh, Izzie, I don't think he's going to do that..."

"Why wouldn't he? You guys have been going out forever! Besides you caught the bouquet at my wedding remember? It's only a matter of time."

I had been so flustered that night. I had caught the bouquet and Quigley had just smirked at me knowingly. He hadn't asked yet, but I hope that he would soon. I loved him, he was my perfect cartographer boyfriend and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Isadora had told me that he used to date around a lot before meeting me. I didn't mind honestly. He was very loyal and I trusted him completely. His ladies' man habits had definitely disappeared after he fell for me.

"You're the only girl I want to kiss from now on," Those were the words he had said on Briny Beach after kissing me for the first time. I held them dear to my heart ever since. Sure at the time we had basically only just met, but we're still together now.

"Don't you want to be sisters-in-law with me and Violet?"

I laughed, "Of course I do! I just don't think it's going to happen yet."

She rolled her eyes, "If you say so."

"Hello, girls," We both turned to see Quigley standing in the doorway to my office smiling at us.

"Hi Quigley," I gave him a quick kiss.

"Aww, I ship it!"

"Shut up, Isadora," I said.

She laughed, "Well I got to get home now you two have fun on your date."

She winked at us before walking out the door.

Quigley grabbed my hand, "Ready to go?"

I nodded and followed him out to his car. Once we reached it he removed my glasses and tied a blindfold over my eyes.

"Quigley, what are you doing," I said giggling.

"It's for your surprise, Fiona, just go with it," He helped me into the car.

I felt the car start moving after a minute as he drove. He handed me my glasses and I held them in my lap on the way.

"Where are you taking me?"

"If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise. By the way, you look beautiful."

Damn him, he knew that would shut me up since my face heated up. I felt my nerves spike as I couldn't help thinking about what his surprise might be. Perhaps Isadora was on to something. Or maybe she was being a bad influence. After some time I felt the car stop and Quigley helped me out while still keeping me blindfolded. He gripped my hand tightly and led me through this mystery location.

"This had better be worth it."

He chuckled, "It will be, don't worry."

"Quigley are you ok? Your hands feel sweaty."

"Uh, yeah I'm fine," He replied hastily, "It must be the humidity or something."

"Right, humidity," I thought with a smirk, "He forgot I'm a scientist and I know it's not humid out tonight. Just because I'm a mycologist doesn't mean I can't know other scientific things too."

We finally stopped walking after several minutes. He removed my blindfold and I put my glasses back on and gasped at the sight before me. We were in a forest clearing with fairy lights strung all over a few trees lighting up the area. In the center of the clearing was a blanket laid on the ground with a picnic basket and a small radio on it. Through the treetops we had a perfect view of the full moon. It looked amazing!

"Quigley, you did all this for me?"

He scratched his head sheepishly with a grin, "Yeah, it took all day to set up, do you like it?"

"I love it!"

"Heh, good, I also brought dinner," We sat down on the blanket and he opened the basket and took out a bottle of sparkling strawberry lemonade, my favorite, with some glasses and an assortment of our favorite foods.

I could tell he had just gotten them as take out, because he can't cook, but it was still a sweet gesture. We ate our meal and kept up a steady conversation before he suddenly turned very nervous. I could tell he was nervous because he got up and started pacing. Every now and then he would look at me then look away and continue pacing.

Finally he stopped and cleared his throat, "Ahem, Fiona there is something else about tonight that I haven't shown you yet..."

I giggled, "Oh, really?"

He nodded and grabbed my hand to help me up. God I loved looking into his eyes, so warm and inviting. He gave me a shy, crooked smile as he kept his grip on my hand. Then he did something unexpected; he got down on one knee. I felt heat rise to my cheeks. Could he be?

"Fiona, I love you," He pulled something out of his pocket, "And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

I gasped at the gorgeous sapphire engagement ring. I felt tears well up in my eyes.

"Yes! Yes! Yes, Quigley, yes!"

I practically tackled him to the ground and covered him with kisses. I had never seen him smile so big! He placed the beautiful ring on my finger and kissed my hand; it was my other hand this time but it had been just like he did the day we had met.

"I love you Quigley."

"I love you too Fiona."

"I don't believe we've been introduced. Quigley Quagmire."

"I'm Fiona Widdershins; it's nice to meet you."

"It's always nice to meet someone as beautiful as you."

As we embraced each other under the moonlight that night we were surely both thinking the same thing: we could not wait to tell the others the good news.

~The End!

I wanted to show this story because I thought it would be cute! And it was! I'm happy with how this one turned out.