December came and found Lily rushing through Penn Station in New York with her suitcase. She was running late, which she hated, and she pulled out her cell phone as the cab pulled away from the curb. "Honey, I am so sorry. I'll be there as soon as the taxi driver can get me there."
Martin laughed. "Tiger Lily, whenever you get here you will be on time. The party isn't even scheduled to start for another half hour. Don't worry."
"Secret Agent Man, you know better than anyone that I can not accomplish such a bold feat." She finally laughed. "OK, I should be there in about ten minutes and then you can feel free to parade me around. I remembered to dress the part this time." He laughed again before they hung up.
Fifteen minutes later, the elevator doors opened and he saw the most beautiful sight he'd seen in a month. Her long flowing raven locks hung to their true length, allowed to touch the soft leather belt of her favorite soft blue jeans, and her red form-fitting silk blouse was left unbuttoned just enough to hint at her ample cleavage. He hadn't seen her since Thanksgiving, unable to break away between cases long enough to go down to Virginia, and she had been wrapping up her caseload before the winter break and hadn't been able to get up to New York. It had almost killed him, the not being able to hold her in his arms, their nightly phone conversations a poor substitute, so when he saw her step onto his floor, he wanted to grab her, kiss her, and never let her go again, but he knew they had to act at least slightly professional. "Hey there, Tiger Lily." Their lips met softly and briefly, both afraid of what would happen if they allowed their pent up heat to melt them together for longer than a second.
"Hey there, Secret Agent Man." She touched his face softly as she smiled. "Is there somewhere I can park my bags?"
"Yeah, we can stick them under my desk for now." They walked into the bullpen and he couldn't stop the smile from curving his lips as he kept hold of her hand. "How was the trip?"
"Not as fast as I had wanted it to be. I missed the speed train by five minutes and was forced to take the regular Metroliner. I am so sorry, Honey."
"I keep telling you, it's fine." He smiled as he leaned against his desk, watching her baby blue eyes sparkle as she sat in his desk chair, but it faded when he noticed her cross her arms over her chest, and he helped her pull out her black leather jacket from her suitcase. "Still not used to a New York winter, are you?"
"I would have left my overcoat on, but I figured it would have made me look like too much of a Southern Deb."
He laughed. "You love torturing me with that image, don't you?"
"Only slightly more than a lot." She laughed with him as he shook his head.
"Let the party begin, the food is here." Danny placed the brown bags on the conference table before noticing the good-looking raven-haired woman in Martin's chair. "Danny Taylor, you must be Honey." He extended his hand as she laughed a light and airy laugh and he could suddenly see why Martin would run out on a Friday night to go see her.
"Lily Anderson, it's good to meet you, Agent Taylor."
"Danny."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Danny." She smiled.
"The pleasure is mine."
She laughed and enjoyed hanging on Martin's arm for the rest of the night. Being introduced as his girlfriend, not an ambassador's daughter, not as a legal attaché to Congress, made her smile widen as she met his colleagues and their spouses. It was a relief for her not to have to play politics, to not have to play the game of self-promotion and name-dropping, and she was able to fully enjoy herself. She was where she wanted to be, she was with who she wanted to be with, and Martin was happy and that is what mattered the most to her. "Now, that was fun." She smiled as they walked into his apartment later that night. "I see why you've stayed with that team for so long."
"Yeah, we do get along pretty well. I'm just glad that I wasn't accused of parading tonight."
"Because I was ready for it." She smirked and kissed him. "Besides, I was actually enjoying being Martin's Girl again."
"Again?" Martin laughed. "When were you my girl before?"
"When we were in high school, though that was just what everyone thought because you never made a move."
"Yeah, I was young and stupid, and you were usually being hit on by the captain of the football team."
"Only because he wanted me to help them with his homework. I kept holding out hope that Martin Fitzgerald was going to dump the blonde of the week and look at me as more than a friend."
He kissed her. "I always did look at you as more than a friend, but you never seemed to act like you wanted me to move things forward."
"What about prom night? I waited for you to ask me until two weeks before when I finally gave in to the captain of the football team."
"You never would have won prom queen being on my arm."
"We would have definitely been prom king and queen, Secret Agent Man. You were one of the most popular kids in school. I was the hanger on."
He laughed. "You were the daughter of a senator, Tiger Lily. You were popular just because of that, but you are a naturally charismatic person, always have been, so that certainly helped."
"Then why couldn't I get the guy I always wanted until twenty years later?" She smirked at him and he kissed her. "That's not an answer."
"I didn't want to risk losing you if I tried something and you pulled away." He kissed her again. "I never want to lose you, Lil."
"Now, that's an answer I like." She laughed and kissed him one more time.
"I thought you might." He caressed her cheek. "So, how long do I have you for?"
"Until after the new year. That is if you can tolerate me being all yours for three weeks."
It was his turn to laugh. "I think I can handle that, Sweetheart." He kissed her and led her back to his bedroom. He'd wanted to ask her to marry him right then, but he wanted it to be special, to be a moment they would both remember, treasure, and she wouldn't be able to say no.
Two days later, on Christmas morning, Lily sat on the same couch with a smile. Martin had surprised her with the best Christmas present. He'd arranged to have her parents fly over from London and spend Christmas with them along with his parents. The apartment was a little tight, but it was well worth it to see both of their fathers getting along. Her smile changed to a look of confusion when Martin placed a Tiffany blue box in her hand after all the other gifts had been opened. "What's this?"
"Your last Christmas gift."
The look on his face was a mixture of fear and glee and she suddenly looked at him shocked. As she opened the case, she found a rather large solitaire diamond on a plain gold band. "Oh my God!"
"Lillian Rose Anderson," he got down on one knee in front of her, "I have loved you from the first moment I laid eyes on you back when we were ten years old and I love you even more now. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?" She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Instead, she held out her left hand to him and he slid the ring on her finger as she nodded. "I love you, Lily."
She flung her arms around his neck and embraced him. "I love you, Martin. I have loved you since we were ten and I will love you forever." It was a whisper as she was unable to muster much more strength.
"Lily, darling," Mrs. Fitzgerald cornered her future daughter-in-law before they left, "that ring you're now wearing has been in the Fitzgerald family for three generations. It's been handed down to each daughter-in-law and I trust that you will do the same with your son."
"Yes, Ma'am, I will." She kissed the older woman on the cheek as they said their goodbyes.
"She tell you the history of the ring?" Martin asked as his fiancé began helping him clean up.
"Yes, she did, and I promised her that I'd pass it on to whoever our son chooses to marry."
He laughed. "I knew the grandchildren speech wouldn't be that far away."
"It was tasteful. I really wish I could say the same thing about the wedding."
"Your mother is looking to go overboard?"
"Honey, I'm an ambassador's daughter and you are the son of a deputy director at the FBI. We will be having professional pictures taken just so the engagement can be announced in the Washington Post and the New York Times."
"And you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?"
She put the dishes in the sink and went into his arms. "I'm marrying the most wonderful man in the world and I want to scream it from the rooftops and take out a neon billboard in Times Square."
He kissed her deeply. "I'll help you with that."
"Good, because I don't think there is going to be a single detail of our wedding that will actually be ours." She laughed and he kissed her again. "I heard our mothers exchanging phone numbers so they could start planning."