Proposal

Callum was nervous. Of course he was nervous. He was finally going to propose. He had asked her parents when they came home a fortnight ago. They'd been delighted. Then he'd had to figure out where and when. And he had tried several options but each of them had ended with Callum backing out. He had taken her to a restaurant but instead of asking her to marry him, he asked if she would like more wine. He had taken her on a leisurely stroll through Hyde Park and when they were in a beautiful, quiet spot, he tried again. But he lost his nerve halfway through and had instead asked her to go to the cinema with him. It went on in this vein for some time so Stephen had suggested that they have a get together at Goodwin's Court and then Stephen and Rory could make sure he proposed. No backing out, no losing his nerves.

So now they all sat gathered in the living room of Goodwin's Court. It was September 16th. Boo and Freddie chatted away while Rory and Stephen watched Callum carefully. Callum was fidgeting, fiddling with the box in his pocket. Whenever he decided that it was a good moment, he made cup of tea instead. After his sixth cup of tea, Stephen followed him through to the kitchen while the girls talked about the impending baby. It couldn't be long now. She was a week and a half overdue and if she didn't go into labour naturally in the next two days, she would be induced.

Callum stood by the counter watching the kettle boil. Stephen stopped next to him. "I've never seen you drink so much tea in your life."

Callum chuckled to himself. "That's cause I never have." He groaned and turned to Stephen. "Why can't I just ask her?"

"Because you're worried. Or afraid. Or both."

"But of what? I want to marry her. I'm not afraid of marrying her."

"You're afraid she won't want to marry you. You're afraid to hear her say the word no because every dream you've built will shatter. I know, trust me. I was terrified of asking Rory."

Callum looked at Stephen for a minute before dropping his eyes to the floor. "You're right. But surely you knew deep down that Rory would marry you?"

Stephen shook his head gently. "No, I didn't. When I asked, all I knew was that she loved me and wanted to be with me. But I didn't know how she would react to actually being married to me. What if things went wrong? Breaking up is easier, quicker and cheaper than a divorce. Perhaps she didn't want that responsibility." He smiled to himself. "Fortunately for me, that was exactly want she wanted. She wanted to be my wife and I'm sure Boo will want to be yours."

Stephen put a hand on Callums shoulder. "It'll be ok. I'm positive she'll say yes."

"How positive?" Callum replied.

Stephen shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "I think I'll play it safe with a 95%."

Callum scoffed with a smile. "Yeah, cheers mate."

Stephen chuckled. "Seriously though, it'll be ok. Just go back in there and the next time you feel it's a good moment, do it. Forget about the rest of us. Just tell her how you feel."

Callum sighed. "You really think I can do this?"

"I really do." Stephen smiled at him warmly.

The conversation about the baby was still going on when they came back to the living room. Rory and Freddie sat on one couch while Boo sat on another. When Stephen and Callum came back with more teas, Stephen threw Rory a quick little nod, telling her that Callum was going to propose soon. She nodded back with a smile. The teas were put on the table and Callum took his place on the couch beside Boo. Stephen sat on the floor at Rory's feet.

As everyone drank their teas, the conversation lulled. Callum looked across at Stephen and nodded. Stephen smiled back. Callum put his mug on the table and put his hand in his pocket. The ring sat ready. He took a deep breath. This is it, he thought. It has to be. If I don't do it now, I'll never do it.

"Boo?"

She quickly swallowed her tea, put the mug down and looked at him with a smile. "Yeah?"

Callum could feel everyone's eyes on him. He took another deep breath. "Boo," he took her hands in his. "You and me, we've had our ups and downs. We've disagreed over a lot of things, we've screamed and shouted at each other and yet, here are are. We made it through all that stuff and...you make me a better person." He was fumbling, he could feel it. He cleared his throat. Boo was looking at him softly. She was so beautiful. "I remember, once, I thought we'd past the point of no return. Our friendship looked like it was over and that was my fault. I never thought we'd get past that yet alone start dating. The past few years I've had you in my life have been the happiest I've ever known. As well as the strangest but, hey, sometimes strange is good." She chuckled at him. He continued. "I want the rest of my life to be just as happy and just as strange. So, I have a question to ask you." He let go of her hands and reached into his pocket. He felt the box in his hand. "Bhuvana Chodhari," he stood from the couch and lowered to the ground in front of her. Her breath caught in her chest as he pulled out the box and opened it to reveal a beautiful ring. "Will you marry me?"

Boo's mouth fell open and Freddie let out a small squeal. Rory and Stephen smiled. "Yes," Boo said once her voice came back to her. She laughed. "Yes! Obviously!"

Callum let out the breath he'd been holding and laughed. He took the ring from the box and placed it on her finger before kneeling up and catching her lips in a kiss. Everyone cheered.

"It's about time," Rory said. "You two have known each other longer than me and Stephen have and were married and I'm ready to drop."

Boo and Callum looked around to Rory and laughed.

"This calls for something special," Stephen said. "I'll be right back."

"I'll be right back too," Rory said, pulling herself up from the couch with some difficulty. "If you would all excuse me, this baby is using my bladder as a pillow." She hugged Boo and Callum as she passed. "I'm so happy for you both."

They both smiled at her widely as she left the room. Stephen came back a couple of minutes later with a bottle of champagne, a bottle of lemonade and five glasses. "Here we are. We were saving it for when Rory gave birth but I'll probably have time to buy another bottle." He popped the cork with a laugh and poured the drinks. Four champagne and one lemonade.

"Let's wait for Ror to get back before we drink," Callum grinned.

They all nodded in agreement and hugs were exchanged. When they had all sat down again, they picked up a glass each and continued to wait for Rory. They all chatted away merrily and Boo and Callum were completely caught up in each other. None of them saw Rory come to the doorway but they heard her.

"Guys?" Rory's voice was shaking ever so slightly from the living room doorway. Everyone turned to face her, Stephen concerned by the shake in her voice. Her hand was on her bump and she looked like she was smiling albeit nervously. "I really, really don't want to steal anyone's thunder but em..."

She looked around at their questioning faces and exhaled gently.

"My water's broke."