Reviews and Badger Comments (friends only)

Prologue

Rachel smiled as she sat down for dinner with her beloved boyfriend; Paul. It was one of those days when neither were working, so, to celebrate such a rare occurrence, a relaxing dinner was on the schedule. It was nice for her to be with someone like Paul, someone so happy-go-lucky, someone who could make her laugh.
"Sorry it took so long to cook," Rachel said anxiously.
She adjusted the vase so that it sat precisely in the centre of the table between the artificial tea-lights. The vase was filled with roses, Paul's doing.
She didn't particularly like cooking for other people since while she thought food tasted perfectly fine without salts or spices, others tended not to agree. Her dinner tonight was far too salty for her liking but she wanted to get it right for Paul.
"No worries; your cooking is as perfect as you are," he assured, visibly cringing at his own words. "Sorry... too much?"
That was odd; Paul was never usually nervous.
"No! Thank you, it was sweet. But I'm nowhere near perfect."
She was very boring, in fact, with all her incessant studying and her strict rules on how to live a successful life. When they'd first met, Rachel had been wary of Paul as he didn't appear the type to be interested in nervous academics like herself. Despite her worries, Paul seemed to find something in her worth sticking around for and his attitude was exactly what she needed between the stresses of her job.
"I wish you weren't so hard on yourself. You're the most flawless human being I've ever had the pleasure of meeting," He grinned as Rachel laughed. "How did things go yesterday?"
"As well as they could have. Thomas was a little nervous, however, he hasn't spent a birthday with our parents since he was nineteen. Given everything, I thought he did wonderfully."
Rachel's parents were quite intense. Despite wanting the best for her and Thomas, her brother, they would never learn not to be so pushy. Their methods had been effective on Rachel and Thomas, but not the most pleasant.
"Do they like his boyfriend?" Paul questioned. "What's his name- Liam? No- it's weirder than that..."
"Lian. I can't see how they wouldn't; he is such a lovely person. They deserve a second chance now that Tom is so much better."
Something was off with Paul. Small talk about her family never usually engaged him like this. Not to mention his posture was a lot better than usual, his arms were stiff and his eyes frequently darted towards the floor for no apparent reason.
"Are you okay?"
"No, yeah, great. They serious? Tom and Lian?" he asked, directing her attention back to their conversation.
"I think it's too soon to say; it's still early days," she explained. "They're just trying to readjust and get back to where they were before. However, Tom really likes him- as do I."
As the conversation slowed down again, Rachel found her mind wandering back to Paul. Usually he leant back in the seat, arm resting on the arm of the chair, his leg never anxiously twitching. It was possible that he was in pain but surely he would tell her if something had happened to him.
"You're evaluating me again, aren't you?"
"No," she lied, shaking her head to focus. Rachel knew that deceit was not one of her strengths. Her eyes finally locked onto the explanation she had been looking for: a small box ever so slightly peeking out of Paul's left pocket.
"I see it in your eyes," he laughed.
"Do you?"
"See, that's the problem with dating someone so bloody smart you can't fool them," he said, grinning from ear to ear. "'ere, guess you've pretty much figured it out but..."
He knelt down on one knee beside her and reached into his left pocket for the small box- hidden inside a crumpled tissue so that she wouldn't see the outline through his jeans.
"Knew you'd figure out some big flashy proposal but thought you'd like something quiet anyway-"
He was right.
Fiddling with the clasp on the box, he revealed a small silver jeweled ring. "Rachel, I love you, and you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met - inside and out. Never thought I could love someone as much as I love you and I consider myself lucky. So... Rachel Marie Garrett, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
"Yes," Rachel breathed after a moment, smiling despite her shock.
"I love you, Rach, really do," Paul murmured. He kissed her forehead, gently slipping the ring onto her left hand.