A/N - So I'm back. Let's not talk about the time I've been away.
It was a dark and stormy night when it happened. They were sitting in the emergency room waiting for news about Debbie. She'd fallen in school and had caused some damage to her arm, more than just a standard break. The rest of the kids apart from Liam were at home, she'd kept Liam with her as Steve picked her up and took her to the hospital as soon as she'd called him. Debbie was in surgery, getting her arm fixed and Steve promised to sort the cost. He wouldn't let them down now.
It was late and Liam was sleeping in her lap, when Steve came back with coffees for the two of them. "Do you want me to take him home?" He questioned, as he sat back down. "No, he'll sleep anywhere, I wouldn't want to wake him." She comments gently, running a hand over Liam's head. The toddler continued to sleep.
"We should get married." Steve says after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Fiona laughs and smiles. "Yeah, sure." She says with a smile at him, shaking her head fondly. "I'm serious." Steve says moving to look at Fiona properly. She turns to him in bewilderment. "No, you're not." She says shaking her head.
Steve sighs, "Yes I am. Marry me, Fiona." He says and she shakes her head and laughs. She carefully manoeuvres Liam so that he's sleeping across two of the seats, which leaves Fiona free to turn to look at Steve properly.
"You don't want to marry me, Steve. We've dated for less than a year. This family isn't what you need." She says softly and Steve sighs, annoyed, and takes a hand in hers. "Fiona listen to me. There's nothing your family can do that's going to chase me away. I want you and I'll fight whatever you throw at me." He says honestly but Fiona just shakes her head, running a hand through her hair.
"Steve, apart from the glaring pedigree difference between us, I'm not someone who is going to settle down, not when there are the kids to watch out for, they're too important." She explains and Steve just shrugs.
"I'm not asking you to settle down. I'm not asking you to move into a mansion and live on my family's money. I'm asking you to let me into your life, I want to prove I'm not going anywhere." He says placing his hand gently against her cheek. She inclines her head just a little to rest in his palm.
"We're a mess." She says and Steve chuckles, not knowing if she's talking about the family or the two of them, but he leans across to place a soft kiss on her lips. "I don't care." He says as a reply and she closes her eyes and leans her head into his shoulder, his arms come around her.
"This is a terrible idea. The absolute worst." She mumbles and Steve just holds on tighter. "I have a habit of making terrible decisions. I don't think is going to be one though." He says softly and places a kiss on the top of her head.
Even though she hasn't said yes to marriage, there's an automatic shift in their feelings. They can both sense it, but neither will comment.
Their moment was broken up when a nurse came out calling for the family of Deborah Gallagher. Fiona shot up and turned to look at Steve, who rested a hand against Liam, he'll stay.
She goes up and disappears through a door with a nurse. She returns a while later with a small smile on her face. "Debbie's fine. They're keeping her in for the rest of the night and then they'll see what she's like tomorrow." Fiona admits and Steve stands to pull her into a hug. "Let's get you two home." He says and Fiona gathers up Liam and Steve drives them home.
She puts Liam to bed when they get home and then climbs into bed. Steve walks into the room, "got something for you." He says casually and throws a small box onto the bed as he climbs in next to her. She picks it up and turns to stare at him.
"It wasn't spur of the moment?" She asks and Steve shakes his head with a smile. "I've been carrying that round for a month." He admits and she lifts the lid with shaking hands. Sitting there is a soft simple silver ring with a small diamond in the middle. She turns to him with teary eyes. "Yes." She says finally and places the open ring on the bedside table before turning back to Steve and pressing her lips to his, pulling him down to bed.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed
Comments much appreciated