Dom and Liberty, both rather inebriated, clung to each other as they bumped and grinded on the little dance floor of Dom�s apartment. (It was really just hardwood floor that had been uncovered by the IKEA rug) Billy had set up a nice birthday party and only invited the Blooms, Liv and anyone else who could come, but most couldn�t. Therefore, it was a small party but enjoyable as Billy had provided much alcohol. Dom�s presents included several Cds that Elijah had sent first class, a book from Sean and Christine, a nice shirt from Liv and a framed photograph of Dom and Liberty that Raya had blown up and made a frame for. Orlando gave Dom a sword from the POTC set, which Dom began swashbuckling with immediately (it was signed by Johnny Depp, something that made Billy squeal) and Liberty�s present for Dom was as of yet, undetermined.

The party didn�t last long due to Liberty�s obvious jetlag. Raya and Orlando wanted to get back to Priya so they left rather early, stating that they�d left her with the neighbors and Orlando wasn�t sure of them. He accused them of being spawn from Satan.

As Billy was leaving (he was the last one to go), he sauntered up to her as he threw his coat on. �You sure you�ll be okay?�

�Yes,� she answered, closing her eyes briefly and then opening then slowly.

�You won�t let Dom take advantage of you? Even in your weakened state?�

Liberty giggled and shook her head, her hair spilling from the pencil it had been wrapped around. It tumbled down her shoulders and she pushed it back. �It�ll be okay, Billy. See you tomorrow.� She waved and then flopped back against the sofa.

Billy straightened up and shrugged at Dom, who was grinning. �Be good to her.�

�I always am,� Dom laughed. Billy nodded and then took his leave.

Liberty yawned and sighed as Dom sat beside her. He kissed the top of her head as she snuggled into him. �This is how it�s supposed to be, just like this. You and me.�

�I�ll say,� he agreed, hugging her.

*

�So, I�ve been thinking,� Dom said to Billy, sipping his coffee which had finally cooled down after about twenty minutes. �You make really hot coffee.�

Billy beamed, �It�s a gift. That�s what you�ve been thinking about?�

�No,� Dom replied heavily, setting his mug down onto the kitchen table with a clang. He and Billy were hanging out before Raya and Orlando left for the cast party they were attending for Pirates of the Caribbean. The movie was still shooting, but they were on a short break, so the cast had decided to get together and had insisted Orlando actually go with them. Billy, Dom and Liberty were supposed to be babysitting Priya while they were gone. Liberty was in the other room getting instructions from a frantic Orlando and a remarkably calm Raya. As Priya was seven months old and hadn�t had a babysitter since Richard and Claire that time way back at the TTT premiere, Orlando was hesitant to go out at all. It was only at Raya�s insistence that he even went to the set everyday, assuring him that she�d be with the baby the entire time.

�Well, what is it?� Billy asked. �We haven�t got all day, you know. The Blooms will be coming in here to give US the third degree pretty soon.�

�I�m going to ask Liberty to marry me.� He blurted it out so fast that he stumbled on the words and some of them came out sounding weird. He gulped down some coffee before looking expectantly at his Scottish friend.

�I know,� Billy replied calmly. �You�ve been claiming that for about a year now. Just get it over with, already. Stop being all nancy about it.�

Dom sighed, �Billy. You are supposed to be my mate and HELP me. Not tell me to get it over with already. That�s not helpful.�

Billy shrugged, �I thought it was.�

�You�ve obviously never given a bloke a pep talk revving him up for a big proposal.�

�I haven�t, to be honest. But I�m sure I�m doing it well.�

Dom snorted and poured some more liquid down his throat, �I could use a beer, but I�m not going to drink while on the job. Orlando would throttle me.�

�That�s putting it lightly,� Billy commented, smirking.

Dom looked serious, �Do you think she�ll say yes?�

�Is your head really, really, REALLY thick?�

�Yes, I believe everyone�s heads are pretty thick, otherwise their brains would just�fall right out.�

Billy rolled his eyes, �Honestly, Dom. It�s no wonder you�re not married. Yes. I think she will say yes.�

�But she said to me the other night that even though she loves me, she doesn�t want to get married yet.�

�Did you notice the yet?�

�Oh. No, not until now.�

�Well, then. There�s your answer.�

�No, not really. What do you mean?�

�Ask her if you must get it off your chest, but don�t expect to be married four to sixth months after the engagement. She�s still young, I can understand her having reservations.� It was odd for Dom to see and hear Billy being so serious, but he supposed it did come around every so often. �Do you honestly want to be married now? It�s a forever kind of thing. I mean, sure there�s divorce and annulment, but I don�t see you two kids partaking in that.�

�I want to be married to her, Bill. It seems to be the only thing I want.�

Billy smiled, �Awww, my baby�s growing up.�

Dom slapped him just as Orlando was entering the room. �All right. We�ve given Liberty the list of emergency numbers, as well as the list of things Priya can and cannot eat, and all her food allergies.�

�She�s not allergic to anything,� Raya said as she came into the kitchen, wrapping a shall around her neck.

�She may be,� Orlando chastised. �We have to check to make sure, but I�m afraid to.� Dom, Billy and Raya all rolled their eyes; Orlando didn�t notice. �So, I made the list of things that she could POSSIBLY be allergic to.� He handed both Billy and Dom a sheet of paper just as Liberty came in the room with Priya in her arms. �Just don�t give her any of it while we�re out.�

�I don�t think we will,� Billy replied stonily. �I, for one, don�t have any cat dander lying around ready to feed to innocent babies.�

Liberty laughed and then covered it up when she received a death glare from Orlando; she leaned over Dom�s shoulder to look at the list. �Halibut? Why would we be feeding her halibut?�

�It�s a precaution,� he answered haughtily, checking that Liberty had covered up her feet properly with the blanket she had wrapped around her.

�So, you think we�re going to throw shards of grass at her?� Dom asked, peering at the last item on the very long list.

�One never knows,� Orlando replied.

�We better go,� Raya said, giving the babysitters a sympathetic look. �We�ll be late and they�ll accuse me of holding you up with babysitter chatter. Too bad they don�t realize who wears the pants in the family.�

�Yeah, Bloom. And it�s not you,� Billy said, looking Orlando�s outfit up and down; he was wearing jeans and a vibrant shirt. �You might want to check under your skirt. See if you�re wearing boxers or a thong.�

Orlando scowled at him, but Raya ushered him out the door before he could yell a good retort.

�He�s one of those crazy first time fathers you always hear about,� Billy said when they�d left, setting the piece of paper aside. �He�s wound so tight, I bet poor Priya won�t be able to date until she�s ninety-two.�

Liberty looked at the baby in her arms and smiled, �I feel bad for her. Someone will have to unwind him.�

�Raya�s tried,� Billy stated, getting up and making faces at Priya, who laughed. �Maybe he�ll calm down in another ten years. Imagine him on the first day of school! HA HA! He�ll be in tears and she�ll be going, �DAAAA-AAAAAD!� and getting laughed at.� Billy held out his hands for Priya and she reached for him, making him proclaim, �AWW, I�m the best Godfather EVER,� and bounce her around the kitchen singing a little song to her that sounded like the Hobbit Drinking Song.

Liberty sighed and sank down into the chair beside Dom, reaching for his cup of coffee; he pushed it over to her and she took a deep drink. He rubbed her back, chuckling softly, �Tired, love?�

�Mmmhmmm.�

�You know you can buy a piece of moon?� Dom questioned, reading from the newspaper in front of him, �We should get a piece for us.�

�What, like property?�

�Exactly. Maybe we can build a house there.�

�Sweet,� Liberty laughed. �That would be a good present. Here you go. I bought you property on the moon.�

�You�re my litttttle potato! I dug you up from underground!� Billy was singing off-key to the baby, who was giggling madly.

Liberty yawned loudly, �Maybe I should go home and sleep.�

�You�re going to leave me to babysit with Billy? Is that safe?�

�Probably not,� she set her head on the table and closed her eyes. He rested his head atop hers and soon had his eyes closed too.

�Awww, look at that Priya,� Billy whispered a few minutes later. Priya gurgled. �Those two are so cute together.� He looked at his Godchild, �But not nearly as cute as you!�

******

�So, I�m going to ask you now,� Dom said, popping the rest of his burger into his mouth and tossing the wrapping into the nearby receptacle. He was sitting with Liberty on a picnic blanket in Hyde park a week later; they were celebrating Liberty getting through her day of classes in London. When her lease ran out with Viggo, he�d sold his flat to Elijah who barely used it but insisted Liberty stay there if she wanted to. She ended up keeping her things there, but spending most of her time at Dom�s. this had all happened in the span of a week, leaving Liberty�s head spinning with everything that went on. However, though she was feeling a bit crazy in the head, the one constant was always Dom and he kept her sane; at least the best he could, being a bit mad himself. As the days wore on she spent more and more time with him, not wanting to leave him at night and ending up staying over. Pretty soon that turned into having her own set of clothes there, toothbrush, etc. So it was like they were living together anyway.

Liberty gazed at him over the top of her own burger, her mouth held open; seconds prior she�d been about to take a huge bite of it, now she lowered it very slowly to her lap, where the wrapping sat unfolded neatly there like a plate. She set it down and began twisting her fingers together. �Ask me�emmm�how the burger is? It�s really, really good. Probably the best one I�ve ever had.�

�No,� Dom grinned. �I�m not going to ask about the burger. Though I�m glad you like my cooking.�

She managed a shaky smile and shifted the bag of fries that were sitting between them. �You made really wonderful fries, Dom. They�re so crisp and not even that oily, like at fast food places. They�re---well, they�re perfect.�

He smiled and reached for her shaking hands. �Libs. Stop avoiding the subject. You know exactly what I�m going to ask you about. Are you ready?�

Liberty shook her head feverishly, Dom�s smile faded slowly. She hastened to say, �I---I�m really thirsty. Is there anymore soda left?� He passed the bottle to her and she chugged it so fast and got so much in her mouth, that a lot of it dribbled down her clean shirt. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and took a deep breath. �Dom---�

�Libs, will you marry me?� Dom blurted out, then made a face. He had intended to sprout out some romantic blabber, of which came from a speech he�d been practicing for months now, but it had just come out like that, just like everything else came out of his mouth; without any consultation with his brain, it just popped out. Liberty, looking flabbergasted beyond words, was staring at him with her mouth slung open and her eyes bulging.

He let go of one of her hands and pulled a little blue box from his jacket pocket. It was wrapped in white ribbon. Liberty, just like every other woman on the face of the earth would, recognized it instantly; it was a box from Tiffany�s. She put her free hand up to her mouth and gave an involuntary gasp.

Her mouth, which tended to act on its own accord like Dom�s did, sprouted out the first thing that came to her mind. �Apparently now that most of Lord of the Rings are out you�ve got quite a different new lifestyle going on.�

Dom grinned and laughed, �Yeah. You could say that. I got this in New York, when we were there at the premiere. Remember when I stepped out for bagels but didn�t come back with any and I swore Billy�d eaten them?� She nodded; her eyes looked teary and her heart was beating irregularly. �Well, that was all a lie.� He unwrapped the ribbon slowly and then opened the box, pulling out a smaller dark velvet one which he popped open revealing a rather large diamond engagement ring.

She reached out and then retracted her hand as if it had burned her. Dom spoke instantly, �I can�t live without you, Libs. When we weren�t together, I was a complete mess. There�s no one in this world who would be better for me�� he trailed off because she was shaking her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. His heart had flown up near his adam�s apple and his throat was dry; it was obvious to him what she was going to say.

Liberty�s eyes slowly made their way to Dom�s, whose eyes which were normally filled with emotion were void, but glimmering with unshed tears. She took a deep breath, but he spoke before she could.

�Libs, don�t just say no. You can think about it, we don�t have to get married straight away. We could have one of those really long engagements. You know, like, six or seven years or something. I�m not going to make you start popping kids out so soon like Bloom did, we can take our time. I just want to be with you, I want to make a commitment to you, so you know how I feel. I�m gonna be one of those faithful blokes. God, Libs, you�ve turned me into a bumbling romantic.� She laughed shakily, drawing in a ragged breath. �But I don�t care. I like what I am when I�m with you. I can�t even imagine you not being in my life forever.�

�Damn you,� she replied, her voice weak and trembling; his eyes widened, but he didn�t speak. She laughed. �Dammit, Dom.�

�Dommit damn would work too,� Dom shrugged, grinning hesitantly; she smiled. �I love you, Liberty. I truly do.�

Her teeth were busy biting her bottom lip, but her eyes didn�t move from his, �I know. I love you, too.�

He dropped the ring on the ground between them and took her hands, �Marry me. In a hundred years, if you want. I don�t care. Just say you�ll marry me.�

Liberty�s smile grew larger, though the tears didn�t slow down at all. Finally, she shrugged. �Of course I�ll marry you, you idiot. How can you think I�d say no?�

Dom chuckled, �Because I practiced on Billy and Lij, and they both said no.�

She laughed loudly, �They obviously didn�t do me justice, then.�

�Well, obviously not. Neither is as hot as you. Or, for that matter, hot at all. I can�t imagine what I was thinking.�

Without further ado, she threw her arms around his neck and breathed a huge sigh of relief, which he mimicked, but only after kissing her several times.

�Oh my God,� he said into her hair, smiling. �We�re engaged! Bloody hell!�

-Song used: �Before Your Love� by Kelly Clarkson / Album: �Thankful�

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