Sunday, Christmas Day 2022
Joe and Taylor planned to take their first vacation together over New Years. They rented an air bnb at Niagara Falls. Joe planned on proposing at some point during the trip he just didn't know exactly where or when. That was the only thing on his mind the entire week leading up to it.
"So you excited for your trip?" Frank asked them as the whole family sat around the dinner table together.
"Very!" Taylor tells him and then looks at Joe for his answer.
"Definitely, it's gonna be fun. Probably freezing but worth it." He says smiling.
"Just an excuse to cozy up at the fireplace." Danny says making everyone laugh and shrug.
"This is true." Joe laughs and glances beside him at Taylor laughing along but also blushing. She shakes her head and can't look at anyone except him, she gets so embarrassed with stuff like that.
"Ooo is there a hot tub?!" Eddie asks
"I think so actually!" Joe replies and the family oogles and ogles over it again, this time making even him blush.
"When do you leave?" Henry wonders.
"Friday morning bright and early." He says and sips his water.
"And we'll be back in time for Sunday dinner." Taylor adds.
"Great." Frank says smiling. He's the only one who knew about the proposal, Joe and him talked awhile the other night about it.
—
They finish eating and Erin has to leave, Anthony called her and said there was something with a case she needed to come in for.
"I'll finish up, just go seriously." Eddie says when she catches wind of the conversation. Erin was washing the dishes, Joe was drying, and Eddie was putting away leftovers.
"No you need to go sit down, and get off your feet." Erin argues with her.
"I'm fine! I have been sitting all day." She argues, her big round belly was impossible to miss, she only had about 5 weeks to go.
"Your feet don't look like it." Joe says when he looks down to see how swollen they are.
"My point exactly. Jamie come get your wife out of the kitchen." Erin yells to the other room while she dries her hands.
"What's going on?" He asks coming into the kitchen confused.
"I have to leave. Do not let her clean up, look at her poor feet!" She tells Jamie.
"Holy crap." He says when he looks down.
"Would you all stop and leave my swollen potato feet alone!" Eddie calls them out.
"Hey babe? Come in here." Joe goes and grabs Taylor instead to help.
"Go rub her feet." Erin tells Jamie and then smiles playfully at Eddie.
"You guys are too much." Eddie says chuckling.
"C'mon…" Jamie takes her hand and drags her to the other room where everyone else is. Erin said bye and left, meanwhile Joe and Taylor cleaned up in the kitchen.
"Are you gonna rub my feet when I'm that pregnant?" Taylor asks Joe smirking.
"Of course I would." He replies with a peck on the cheek.
"Good." She said getting busy with the dishes.
——
Over the course of the week Joe was getting more and more nervous for the trip, while Taylor was just plain excited. He stared at the ring randomly at any chance he had and thought about the whole gesture over and over, all in hopes she'd say yes obviously.
"I'm finally done packing!" Taylor came out with her suitcases and parked them at the door. Joe was watching tv, having a beer and pizza. They were leaving in the morning.
"Tay it's just the weekend babe." He said observing all the luggage.
"I know. But it's cold, means lots of layers." She says and heads to get herself pizza and beer to join him.
"I guess…" he shrugs off.
"When did you pack?" She asks.
"This morning before work."
"Ohhh. Well can we watch a movie or something?" She said sitting down beside him and digging in. He laughed and changed the channel.
"I think we should go to bed soon, we gotta get up in a couple hours." He told her.
"I know, but I wanna watch something while I eat."
"You're so weird." He laughs at her.
"It's like the only time I can watch tv. It's more entertaining when I'm eating. I don't know why, it just is." She takes another bite, Joe shakes his head and continues to laugh.
——
The next day they got to the cabin, it was beautiful, there was snow on the ground, and not a ton of people around. Tomorrow was the big day, they're taking a hike and Joe was planning on doing it then at some gorgeous view point.
"I think we should go in the hot tub." Taylor suggested.
"Before a shower?"
"Yeah why not?"
"Alright, I'm not wearing this in though, I'll got get changed, I brought a suit." Joe tells her.
"Who said anything about a suit?" She asks stopping him. She unzips her jacket to show she's not wearing anything underneath.
"Ha, okay then." He blushed and went along with her.
—
The next day was the big one. Joe was nervous, thankfully Taylor couldn't tell and didn't know. They were headed for some hiking trails to sight see and all the things.
After about 20 minutes into the hike they finally get to the observation point that is breathtaking with the water and city way off in the distance. Joes heart begins to race, he knows this is the spot. There's nobody else here and it's beautiful.
"It's so pretty." She says taking pictures of the view.
"We should take a picture." Joe points out.
"Okay! I wish someone could take it for us haha." She says but holds up the phone to take a selfie together. They laugh when they see how cold they look, the tips of their noses are red. Their cheeks the same.
"Well maybe I can set up my phone." He suggests and props it on a bench, pushing the record button. This is it, he tells himself. He walks back and puts his arm around her and they smile for a picture.
"I love you so much." He faces her and says.
"I love you too." She kissed him. Joe keeps the kiss going as he digs in his pocket for the ring. His fingers are numb he hopes he doesn't drop it, it's hard to even feel. Once he's sure he has it in hand he pulls away from her lips and gets down on one knee.
"Joe!" Her face was priceless, she's shocked, with wide eyes.
"Taylor Josephine Zimmerman…will you marry me?" He held up the pear shaped ring and smiled. He saw tears starting in her eyes, her hand flies to her mouth, as she loses it, making him tear up too.
"Yes!" She said through her emotions, along with nodding her head. Joe got up to give her the hug and kiss she was wanting and held her for a while longer. He was so relieved, he'd never felt such a high of happiness.
"I can't believe this." She was still crying but also laughing now.
"Do you want to put it on?" He asks softly. She lets go of him and wipes away her tears while he slips it on her finger.
"Babe it's beautiful!" She was still in shock of the situation and over the moon. She stared at the diamond and kissed him again.
"I love you so much. I forgot to say that." He says.
"It's okay, I love you too." She kissed him again she was on the same high of happiness he was.
——
For the rest of the hike Taylor had all kinds of questions. She wanted to know if any of the family knew, what they said, when he got the ring, and how long he had this planned.
"I mean ever since we moved in together I had been thinking about proposing."
"I know we talked about getting married but I didn't think it would be soon!" She laughed.
"Well it doesn't have to be soon baby, we can take our time, no rush." He told her assuringly. Wedding planning can be so overwhelming, he wants her to be able to enjoy just being engaged right now.
"I know. When did you have the epiphany you wanted to marry me? And don't say when you first laid eyes on me because we both know that's a crock of shit." She laughed, and he laughed too before talking.
"Ugh I don't know babe, honestly probably working that undercover case. I knew you were special, you weren't like the other girls for sure."
"Meaning?"
"Like your tough, you can hold your own. When you have to." He stated.
"Doesn't mean I like to haha. I've just had to most of my life. I didn't have an option." She explains.
"Right. Well I'll be here for you when you don't want to be tough." He squeezed her hand a little tighter as they walked for assurance. He saw her smiling and he smiled to himself. They both had to be the two happiest people in the world right now.
———
YAYYYYY THEY'RE ENGAGED!! Y'all were getting impatient so it was a super long chapter with a time hop because I had things I wanted to touch base on first lol. I'm excited to write a code blue that the family pulls on her, let me know if you have ideas on that! Thanks for reading!!