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He lowered himself to the floor as his happily screaming children jumped on him to save a hard fall. They were happy and for the moment, the loss of their mother wasn't evident. Doc didn't mind and he laughed with his kids. It had been too long since he had. Before long the twins would again start chasing each other and Emiko would wrap herself around him after he stood up.
"I'm so happy for you, Daddy," she said looking up at him, "for all of us." She gave him a squeeze and then went back to George and Gracy.
With that, he took Ashlea by the hand and began to walk with her outside, stopping at the water's edge. He then pulled a small box out of his pocket and took her left hand.
"I figured," he said softly and slowly in his old world accent, "that if we are to be engaged that you should have a proper ring." He then slid it on her finger and smiled at her. "I picked it up on my recent trip before all of the bad news hit." He paused a moment, "I do hope you like it."
The diamond was 3 caret, and had smaller ones on the band around it set in Bretonian gold. He just smiled as she admired it. Yes, it was one more step in a life together.
![[Image: 7Md2x4D.png]](https://i.imgur.com/7Md2x4D.png)