Simmons watched the news on the television as it broadcasted the trial of Mr. Caine. He was sitting on the couch, which was in the center of their new base.

They all returned to Iris, along with the Freelancers, and Kimball had help construction on their homes. They built an extra base for the Freelancers, and connected the bases with long corridors.
Nobody could see themselves returning to Earth anymore, and the realization after Carolina and Wash were kidnapped was that they needed each other.

Simmons read the words that scrolled along the bottom of the screen as the reported rambled on to the faceless audience:
"...Elijah Caine's facing several charges of kidnapping... His questionable scientific endeavors were assisted by Albert Raini, the reknown scientist who assisted in the Great War with his advanced studies and engineering... The UNSC is still trying to locate him. If anyone has ant information that could lead to his arrest..."
Simmons sighed and changed the channel to the television. He felt bitter and angry at the thought of what both Caine and Raini had done...
"Ooooh Simmoooons!" A cheery voice sang out. Simmons tilted his head to see his fellow soldier in pink armor, who was dressed in tan slacks and a pink T-shirt, come walking into the living room.
"Hey Donut." Simmons sighed.
"Doc said you had a question to ask me? I was in the middle of my full body wax-," Donut began to explain. Simmons smirked and rose a hand, trying to prevent Donut from going off into his too-much-information ramble.
"Yeah... um... I was wondering if you'd go with me to..." Simmons brushed his cyborg hand along the back of his neck, bashfully. "...I need help choosing a ring..." Simmons said in a low tone.
Donut threw both his hands up to his cheeks and gasped.
"OH! EM! GEE!" Donut bounced on his knees along the couch.
"Quiet, Donut!" Simmons hissed.
"Oh!" Donut cupped his hands over his mouth. "I'm sorry! Yes, I'll go with you! When should we go? Do you have a place in mind?!" Donut tried to keep his voice from rising in excitement.
"Um, I guess now would be good. The Freelancers are doing some training. We could get Grif to fly us to Chorus. There's a few stores I've researched." Simmons suggested.
"Well, I'm ready!" Donut sprung to his feet.
"What are you getting me to do?" Grif suddenly asked as he came around the corner, his hand deep in a bag of chips. "If it involves cleaning, you can go fu-," Grif began to say before Simmons cut him off.
"We need to go to Chorus. I'm shopping for an engagement ring."
"Oh. Sure, I'll fly." Grif shrugged before shoving a mouthful of chips into his gaping hole.
"Wow. That was easier than I thought." Simmons admitted.
"Yeaaah... I've been avoiding Wash and Sarge all day. They've been trying to make me do things. It's the perfect excuse to avoid work." Grif turned to go grab the keys to the ship.

Grif landed the Pelican on a landing pad that was near the center of Chorus' Shopping District.
Grif, whose curly hair wavered in the wind, casted his eyes along the shops as he walked with his hands shoved in his pockets.
Simmons was thrown a few glances as people noticed his cybernetic parts, but his anxiety eased and quickly dismissed them.
"Ah, here's stop number 1!" Donut announced as he walked through the sliding doors of a jewelry store.
A short woman behind the counter, dressed in black business attire and a tight blonde bun, greeted the 3 men with a grin.
"Hello, gentlemen. What brings you in today?"
"I-uh..." Simmons cleared his throat. "I'm looking for an engagement ring." The woman suddenly smiled wide; creeping Simmons out.
"How wonderful! Whose the lucky fellow?" She pointed a finger towards Grif and Donut, who were browsing the display cases.
"Oh, that's me." Grif raised his hand before Simmons could reply.
"Awww!" The jeweley consultant gasped.
Simmons glared at Grif as Grif approached him from behind and gave a heavy slap to his buttocks.
"Grif!" Simmons snapped, his face turning bright red.
"Yeah, been a long time coming." Grif continued to ramble. Simmons elbowed Grif's ribs while biting the inside of his mouth; refraining from causing a scene.
"I can show you a wide variety of rings for men-," the consultant began to say, until Donut interrupted.
"SIMMONS! LOOK!" Donut snatched Simmons by the arm and yanked him over to a display case of rings. "These are SUPER pretty!" Donut pointed out.
"Yeah... but how do I know which ring to get her?"
"Easy. Look at the rings. Whichever makes you think of her, it has to be the one!" Donut explained.
Simmons absorbed the information and glanced over the various rings on display. He critiqued each one in his head...
Too big... too small... gaudy... would she prefer white gold or regular gold? Silver? Titanium? What if she punches someone with that hand...?

"Don't fry your brain." Grif commented as he peered into the display case next to Simmons. "I can see smoke coming out through your ears."
"It's just hard to choose... there's so many options..." Simmons sighed. He shifted his eyes from row to row, and then something caught his attention. "Hm..."
"Did you find one?" Donut asked, scooting closer to Simmons.
"Yeah... I kind of like that one." Simmons pointed down to a ring. "The one with the two sapphires."
"Would you like to see it?" The jewelry consultant asked.
"Yes, please." Simmons replied. The consultant opened the back of the case and reached in and pulled out the ring with delicate fingers.
"Oooh! That is a good choice!" Donut gasped as he leaned in closer. The woman held it in front of Simmons, who looked it over with inquisitive eyes.
"This is a 2 carat marquis cut diamond accented with two 0.5 cut sapphire stones set in a white gold band." The woman explained.
"I think it's a good choice." Grif admitted.
"I'm surprised you would know anything about style and class." Donut snickered to Grif. Grif glared at Donut, debating about smacking him. Simmons nodded to himself and slowly smiled.
"I think that's the one. I'll take it."

Everyone was back home on Iris, finally getting ready to relax.
The new Freelancers were starting to adjust to living in proximity to other people.
Simmons, Donut and Grif returned from their shopping adventure, to find most of the group in the living room, indulging in a funny television sitcom.
"There you are!" Sarge barked when he noticed the 3 walking into the living room. "We have been looking everywhere for ya."
"Oops. I didn't have my radio on me. Sorry." Grif stated, flatly. Sarge grumbled with disapproval of the answer.
"Where did you all venture off to?" Wash asked as he fiddled with his prescription bottle.
"Oh, well... we needed to go into town for some shopping." Simmons murmured after he cleared his throat.
Virginia came into the kitchen, wrapping her arms around Simmons waist and hugging him from behind.
"Welcome back." Virginia smiled. "What did you go shopping for?" Simmons blushed and coughed as he struggled to think of the answer.
"SO! DINNER PLANS TONIGHT!" Donut interrupted with a cheerful glee. The team from the living room turned their heads, looking confused.
"Dinner plans?" Carolina inquired as she entered the kitchen.
"Yeah! So we have reservations for all of us at a restaurant on Chorus!" Donut beamed.
"Oooh, what's the occasion?" Tucker asked from the couch.
"We just thought it would be nice for all of us to come together and enjoy a nice dinner! Celebrating life and what not!" Donut responded. Donut was nice enough to call the restaurant and put in the reservations while they were heading back to Iris. He was bouncing on his heels happily.
"Well, can't say no to that, I guess." Sarge huffed. "I'll wear my Sunday's best."

A transporter ship picked up everyone and brought them to Chorus. They landed amongst the several platforms that were stationed along the shopping and restaurant districts.
Simmons fiddled nervously with the ring box in his pants pocket. He was dressed in a nicely pressed maroon dressed shirt with beige dress pants.
Virginia wore a sapphire blue dress that hung mid-thigh; showing off her lengthy legs. She fiddled with her hair, attempting to make it look cute, but luckily Donut helped her and styled it into a partial braided bun.
Tucker walked hand-in-hand with Kai, giggling about something. Caboose was practically skipping with excitement.
The Freelancers wore dress clothes, and looked to fit in nicely with the crowd.
The restaurant came into view and Donut was first to approach the hostess, who stood at a wooden podium.
"HI!" Donut sang cheerfully with Doc beside him.
"Good evening." The hostess smiled to Donut.
"Reservation for the outside seating under 'Donut.'" He announced with a flashy smile. Donut wore a pink polo shirt with grey dress pants. He had to help Grif dress properly for the occasion, who was looking uncomfortable in his orange polo shirt and dress pants.
Carolina was looking just as uncomfortable, cringing in her teal dress that clasped around her neck. Wash was blushing as he would occasionally look her over, and Carolina would catch him staring.
"What?" Carolina asked with a smirk.
"It's... I've never seen you wear a dress." Wash admitted, trying to look away from her. "You look beautiful." Carolina smiled at his compliment and took his hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Right this way!" The hostess held a stack of menus and lead the group to the patio spacing. The restaurant set up their tables into a square, so everybody could see each other. The patio was outlined with iron fencing that was strung with lights. The patio overlooked a lake that had various fountains set up in the center.
"Ah, this is nice!" Oregon said as he took a seat. Oregon, Nevada, Ten and Michigan sat along one side of the table, and then Caboose, Wash, Carolina and Sarge sat on the opposite side. Donut, Doc, Kai and Tucker sat at one table, and then Grif, Simmons, Virginia and Lopez sat at the last of the tables.
Wine glasses were already placed at each of their table settings, along with napkins folded into the shapes of swans.
"This place is so fancy!" Caboose smiled, playing with the napkin. "Look! A goose!"
"I can't remember the last time I was at such a nice place." Ten admitted, draping his arms along the back of the chairs.
The hostess handed off the menus and announced the two waiters names as they approached the table.
"Compliments of the house, we have this nice red wine-," One of the waiters explained as he poured everyone a sample of the wine.
"Do you have any beer?" Grif asked.
"You are an uncultured brute." Donut quipped.
Simmons rolled his eyes and sighed.

Everyone devoured their food happily. Salads, pasta, breadsticks and soup were placed out in front of everyone, and they nearly ate it all. Lopez was given a can of motor oil.
Grif patted his tummy happily. Donut eyed Simmons across the table and gave a small smile.
Simmons smiled back, feeling slightly nervous. He cleared his throat, pushed his chair back and stood up.
"Everyone, I'm glad that you're all here."
Everyone silenced their conversations and looked at Simmons. Simmons ran his fleshy palm against the side of his pants, trying to rid it of the sweat.
"We've all been together, most of us, for so long. We have been through countless missions and crazy adventures and... through all the bad, we can come together and celebrate the good." Simmons looked down to Virginia, who was staring up at him fondly.
Simmons inhaled and smiled.
"Some good I have found is you, Sienna."
Donut could be heard sniffling.
"Sienna, I want to spend the rest of my life going through all the crazy adventures together." Simmons removed the velvet box from his pants pocket and kneeled down on a knee. He opened the box as Virginia gasped.
"Will you marry me?" Simmons cheeks turned red.
"Yes!" Virginia smiled and everyone began to clap and cheer. Simmons gingerly grasped the ring and slid it onto her finger. Virginia leaped out of her chair, wrapped her arms around Simmons neck and kissed him.
"Awww, this is so sweet!" Doc sniffled.
"I know, right?" Donut added.
Everyone got up from their seats and went to the couple and began to congratulate them.
"Photo opportunity!" Donut screamed as he ran to a waiter with his photo and asked him to take a photo.
Everyone huddled together as the waiter fiddled with the phone.
"Say 'Cheese'!" The waiter smiled and everyone called out in unison.
"Cheese!"
"Waffles!" Caboose said. The waiter took a few pictures and handed the phone back to Donut.
"We will need a bottle of champagne to celebrate!" Donut whispered to the waiter.
Simmons was smiling as he received several pats on the back. Virginia was smiling and being hugged by Caboose.
Donut received the champagne bottle and eyed it.
"Uh... hey Wash?" Donut got Wash's attention and motioned him closer. Wash chuckled and took the bottle from Donut. He withdrew a knife from his back pocket and used it to pop the bottle.
The cork flew off into the air and everyone clapped. Wash poured out the champagne for everyone and handed out the glasses.
"Here's to Simmons and Virginia: the newly engaged couple!" Wash toasted. "Let your love continue to burn bright."