It's early October by the time Beck is finally able to meet up for dinner with John. He hadn't given his girlfriend's father a whole lot of context for the request, but he's sure the older man has at least some idea of what his intentions are. The two of them have never gotten together without Jade also being present, other than her graduation in May and the few times they had both attended the same performances of 'Our Town'. Even at those times Jade had been present, just not directly with them. This time, Beck is flying completely solo...and he hates to admit it, but he's nervous.

As Beck waits for John to arrive, he thinks back to the conversation the two of them had sitting in the stands at Yankee Stadium while they waited for Jade's graduation ceremony to begin. How even before the idea of proposing, or even marriage in general, had been on his mind and he had promised to always take care of Jade even though she is very much able to take care of herself and doesn't need him to. How he had assured John he would one day ask for his blessing before asking Jade to marry him and how pleased of an expression John had on his face as he nodded in agreement. He doesn't need to be nervous, he shouldn't be nervous, but he's nervous nonetheless.

"Beck!" John smiles as he approaches the table "There you are!"

"Hi." Beck stands up to greet him

He initially intends to offer his hand for a handshake, but when John opens his arms for a hug Beck accepts it. It's brief, but friendly, and then the two men take their respective seats on opposite sides of the table.

A waiter takes their drink orders and then the two of them make small talk as they look at their menus. Beck asks John about work and he shares the details of a rather large lawsuit that he's mediating. With Jade now working on a show about lawyers and a law firm, Beck has become much more familiar with different legal terms and the appropriate jargon after helping her run lines.

John asks Beck how the second season of Manhattan Med is coming along, and Beck shares as much information as he can without breaking his non-disclosure agreement. He admits this, and John laughs. Being a lawyer, he understands completely. Once the waiter comes back and takes their order, John decides enough time has passed that he can ask Beck the question that has been on his mind for a while.

"I don't want this to come across as rude or insensitive..." He begins "But I assume that you didn't just ask me out to dinner without Jade just for the sake of catching up, correct?"

"Uh..." Beck chuckles nervously, sitting up a bit straighter "You would be correct in that assumption, sir."

"Sir..." John shakes his head with a smile "I thought we agreed a while ago that you didn't have to call me that anymore. You and I are on a first name basis now."

"Right..." Beck nods "Sorry."

"S'alright." John smirks "You seem nervous, Beck."

"I am." Beck admits "I, uh...well...Jade and I have been talking a lot about our future, lately. Our future together, that is, and the conversation has become more serious as of late...and, well...I'd like to ask her to marry me. With your permission of course."

"Ah." John nods with a smile "I've been wondering if this conversation would be happening soon."

"You have?"

"I have." John affirms "Back at her graduation, I thought you were doing it then. Ever since that day I've been anticipating it, because I know you make my daughter very happy. I hope she makes you equally as happy."

"She does." Beck smiles "I'm very lucky."

"I want you to know that as her father, I've never thought there was anyone out there who was good enough for her or deserves her." John sighs "But if there were anyone who would come close to meeting my unrealistically high expectations, it would be you."

"Thank you, I think." Beck laughs a bit "So, does...this mean I have your blessing?"

"Yes." John nods "I give you my blessing."

Beck's heart feels as if it could burst out of his chest. He wants to stand up and announce to the entire restaurant that he's just been granted permission to propose to the woman he loves and wants to spend the rest of his life with. He's erupting on the inside, but on the inside he does his very best to maintain a collected composure.

"Thank you so much, John." Beck reaches across the table to shake his future father-in-law's hand "I'm going to spend the rest of my life loving your daughter and making her happy. She'll be so taken care of, you have my word."

"I appreciate that." John tells him "Of course, you still have to ask her. The decision is ultimately hers."

"I...think her mind is already made up." Beck chuckles "Getting married was actually her idea."

"It was?"

"It's been on my mind since we moved in together, if I'm being completely honest." Beck says "I never brought it up to her because I didn't want to scare her. But at Cat and Robbie's wedding we started talking about it as a hypothetical, and then a few weeks ago after we had a very long and serious conversation about what our future would look like...she said she thought we should get married, and I couldn't have agreed more or faster enough."

"Of course she did..." John smiles "That sounds exactly like my Jade. She's never been one for tradition. Is she waiting outside right now?"

"No." Beck assures him with a smirk "She did admit that she still wanted me to be the one to officially ask her, but I told her I had to ask you for permission first. I wouldn't feel right doing it without it."

Jade knows that Beck is going to ask her father for his blessing, she just doesn't know he's doing it right now. She's filming late and assumes that he is doing the same.

"I appreciate that." John says genuinely "I do have to ask, though...do you have a ring?"

"Not yet." Beck shakes his head "I had figured since Jade already knows I'm going to propose, that she might want to be part of picking it out."

"I see..." John nods "Well, I have an option for you...if you'd like to consider it."

"Oh?"

"I had planned on proposing to Jade's mother before she passed." John explains "I had a ring, but never got the chance. I still have the ring, I couldn't ever bring myself to sell it and even if I were to meet someone else someday...that ring will always be for Katie. It's been sitting in a drawer in my nightstand for almost fifteen years now, untouched. However, if you want it...I would be willing to part with it."

"Wow..." Beck is touched by his offer "Actually, yes. I can't think of a more perfect idea."

Now that he thinks about it, he remembers Jade telling him at one point that her father wanted to propose. Her parents had her very young and they had a lot to sort out before they truly settled down, but he had plans for their upcoming anniversary. Beck can't believe that John kept the ring after all of this time, but he can't think of a better way for Jade to always have her mother close to her.

"When we leave here, you can come back with me to get it." John offers "Or if you don't want to raise any suspicions, you can come by another day."

"Jade has no idea I'm here right now." Beck admits "She's working late and she thinks I'm doing the same. I'd love to come back with you tonight and get it, if that's okay?"

Ideas are already spinning around his head. With the ring already taken care of, he can take Jade completely by the surprise with the proposal. The idea may have been her's in the first place, but he'll get to be the one to bring it to life.

"It's more than okay." John tells him "I have no idea if it will need to be resized or not, but's your's."

"Thank you, John. It means a lot, I know that it will be difficult for you to part with."

"It won't be that hard..." John smiles "I know Jade will keep it safe."

It's close to dusk as Beck steps out of the car, gently closing the driver's door behind him. It's rare that he drives these days, usually opting to be driven, but considering the circumstances he felt it most appropriate to rent a car and do the driving himself.

The cemetery is devoid of any other visitors, but Beck keeps constantly turning over his shoulder to look for any signs of paparazzi as he makes his way down the gravel path. If anyone catches him here, his proposal will likely lose any element of surprise he was hoping it would have.

He's familiar enough with his surroundings that he knows where he's going, but Beck doesn't feel overly confident. He's only been to visit Jade's mother once before, and at that time Jade had been with him leading the way. They had visited on the anniversary of her death back in February, and Beck had been there as moral support more than anything. He held his girlfriend's hand as she talked to her mother's headstone, and then hugged her as she told him stories about her from when she was young. It was a somber occasion, but he was grateful that she allowed him to experience it with her.

Now he stands in front of the same grave, the headstone etched with the name of Jade's mother. He recognizes the dates below her name not only from his previous visit, but from the tattoo on Jade's back that he has become so familiar with. Between her shoulder blades, just beneath her neck, Jade has her mother's initials 'KDB' tattooed between angel wings. Above the wings is her birthdate, 09-30-73, and below them, the date that she died, 02-05-00.

"Hi, Ms. Brewer..." Beck says quietly "Uh, I'm not sure if you remember me or not but...I'm Beck. Beck Oliver, I've been dating Jade for about a year and a half now."

He takes a deep breath and looks around. He has no idea what he's doing or how to go about it, but he knows he wouldn't feel right proposing to Jade without at least making the effort.

"Your daughter is wonderful." He continues "I'm sure you know that already though. She's the absolute light of my life and I love her so much. I...I wanted you to know that I'm going to ask her to marry me. I've already asked her father for his blessing and I know that you can't really give me your's but...I wanted you to know, and I think she would too. John, er...Mr. West, he gave me the ring that he wanted to give to you, and I think Jade will really love it because it will be a way for her to always have you close. I'm kind of rambling at this point but I guess I just want you to know that I love your daughter, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life loving her and taking care of her."

Beck stands in silence for a few moments, listening as the wind ruffles through the few leaves that are left in the trees. He isn't sure why he's waiting or what he's waiting for, but he just feels like he should wait for a while before he goes. Eventually, he feels at peace and takes another deep breath.

"Thank you, Ms. Brewer." He says "Take care."

With that he turns and begins walking back to his rental car, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep them warm in the brisk autumn air. He wishes he had the opportunity to meet Jade's mother, even just once. He'll have to settle for the stories that she tells him instead, which he supposes is the next best thing. He'll get to know her and remember her through her daughter's eyes, the most special lens of all.

The ring doesn't need to be re-sized at all, at least not from what Beck can tell. It's beautiful too, and he can't help but become giddy with excitement as he thinks about what it will look like sitting on Jade's finger. A diamond halo frames the center round-cut diamond, while the silver band is lined with smaller diamonds. Altogether it's less than a carat's worth of diamonds, not at all flashy...but very elegant. Perfect for Jade.

Beck knows that she'll want their proposal to be private, and he wants that too. If he were to do it in public and anyone were to see, or worse if the paparazzi were to catch them, the world would know about it in a matter of minutes. Their relationship is their's and Beck wants the moment they commit to spending the rest of their lives together to be their's too. Which is how he ended up spreading rose petals all over their living room floor at 7:30 on a Thursday night.

Jade has a full day of filming, but he had gotten off early in the afternoon because they wrapped an episode early and didn't want to start filming the next one until after the next day's table read. Seeing his opportunity, Beck had checked in with Jade to see when she would be done for the day and when he got the confirmation that she would be working past dinner...he set his plan into motion.

A path of rose petals leads from the door to the living room, lined with small tea candles. White Christmas lights hang from the walls, illuminating the floors so she'll be able to see where she's walking and so that they can see each other in the moment. Beck had moved the coffee table to make room for a circle of larger candles between the couch and the TV, where he will be standing when Jade enters the apartment. At least if she actually texts him when she's on her way home like she promised she would. He asked her to do so under the false pretense that he'll have dinner waiting for her when she arrives home, when in reality...he's going to propose. He hopes that she finds the whole thing as romantic as he plans it to be, so long as he can finish getting all of the candles lit before she walks through the door...and as long as he doesn't knock any of them over and accidentally set the whole complex on fire.

Again, Beck is nervous, and he doesn't know why because he really shouldn't be. He and Jade love each other, and she had been the one to bring marriage to the conversation seriously. She's going to say yes to him, there's no way that she won't. But oh god, he hopes it's everything that they both want it to be. He hopes it's a night that the two of them remember for the rest of their lives, one that they tell their future children about.

When Jade texts that she's on her way back to the apartment at 9:43, he springs into action immediately. Once all of the candles are lit, in plenty of time too, there's nothing left for him to do but pace. Back and forth, back and forth, across the room until he hears her keys in the door, and jumps into place in the middle of the circle of candles.

Jade is exhausted when she finally reaches the apartment door. Between hair and makeup, downtime in between, and actual filming, had been on set for almost sixteen hours. Thank goodness Beck had offered to have food waiting for her, all she wants is to eat something, take a shower, and go to sleep. She'll have to be awake at 5:30 the next morning to do it all over again.

The door is locked when she arrives, which isn't surprising. They've taken to locking it even when they're both home, knowing it's entirely possible for a crazy fan to figure out where they live, slip past the doorman, and make it up the stairs or elevator. With a sigh she turns the handle and pushes the door open with her shoulder, stumbling into the dark entryway.

Except it's not dark, not completely at least. Jade soon realizes that there are candles, and that they seem to be forming some kind of pathway. Dropping her purse and keys by the door, she follows it down the short hallway to the open living area, walking across rose petals as she goes, and sees that it leads to Beck. He's dressed in a full suit and standing in a circle of candles, his face illuminated by the light from the flames, holding a single rose.

"Welcome home." He grins "I've been waiting for you."

"What's all this?" She asks as she greets him with a kiss "Did I forget an anniversary?"

"Not an existing one..." Beck admits "But it could be one in the future."

"Oh?"

"I've been considering doing this for the better part of a year now." Beck confesses "But I wanted to wait for the right moment because I wanted to make sure that you wanted the same thing, and a few weeks ago you let me know that you did."

"Beck..."

"Let me do this. You'll love the ending, I promise." Beck smiles a bit, taking Jade's hands in his "When I moved to New York, I was pretty clueless. I left all sense of familiarity and comfort and came to a completely new city. I was entirely out of my comfort zone, and I was brought even further out of it when Andre convinced me to come out to a bar with him and some of Tori's friends. Thank god I went, because I met you...and ever since that night my life has completely changed for the better. My show could get canceled tomorrow, I could never get another acting gig ever again...and I wouldn't care, because as long as you and I are together I'm always going to be the happiest man alive. I want to spend every day for the rest of my life loving you and being loved by you, and trying to make you as happy as you make me. So Jade...will you marry me?"

He lets go of her hands and drops to one knee in front of her, pulling the ring box out of his pocket as he does so. She's about to scream 'yes!' and throw herself at him, when she gets a good look at the ring and a memory registers. If it's the ring that she thinks it is, she's only ever seen it two or three times in her life, but even those few times are enough for her to know how special it is.

"Is that...?"

Jade can't bring herself to finish the question, her voice catches and tears begin to sting her eyes. She already knows the answer anyway. It's her mother's ring, or at least at one point it was supposed to be. Her father had purchased it just before the car accident with the intention of proposing on their upcoming anniversary. He obviously never got the chance, but he kept the ring. She had never really understood why, her mother had never worn it...she probably never even knew it existed...but now she sees that there might have been a reason all along.

"I took your dad out to dinner last week and asked for his blessing...and then I went to the cemetery and I told your mom too." Beck nods, still kneeling and holding the ring out in front of her "I know we had talked about you coming with me to pick out the ring, since we basically made the decision to get married together, but when your dad offered me this one...it just felt too perfect. What do you think?"

"I think..." Jade gasps "I think you're right, I think it's perfect."

She thinks it's incredibly sweet and heartfelt, that's what she thinks. Jade had expected Beck to ask her father for his blessing, he had told her that he was going to. But going and visiting her mom was an extra step that she hadn't been anticipating, and she appreciates it more than she thinks she's able to put into words right now.

"So...?"

"Yes, of course." Jade reaches down and grabs Beck's free hand, pulling him to his feet "Of course I'll marry you."

"Thank god..." Beck smiles "That would have been real awkward if you said no."

The two of them laugh before sharing a kiss. Then Beck removes the ring from the box, and Jade extends her hand so he can slide it onto her finger. Just as he had expected, it's a perfect fit.

"It didn't even need to be re-sized..." Beck says quietly "S'like it was meant to be."

"I guess so." Jade agrees "I love you, Beck."

"I love you too."

"We're getting married."

"We sure are."

With a mischievous grin Beck shrugs his jacket off and sits down on the couch beside them, pulling Jade on top of him so she's straddling his lap. They're kissing again as Beck slips his hands underneath Jade's shirt, pulling it off in one swift motion. Her fingers begin working at the buttons of his dress shirt as she tries to start removing his clothing as well.

"Rip them, I don't care." He tells her between kisses "I can buy a new shirt, we only get to have engagement sex once."

"With pleasure... "