Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I really, really appreciated it. I know there was quite a long delay again to this new chapter but I'm easing myself back in, haha.

This chapter is pretty damn cheesy but I'm rediscovering cheesy romance in my life so I can't/won't apologise for it :p. Hope you all enjoy and please read/review.

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April 3rd, 1946- Edison, New Jersey

Friday night in Edison, New Jersey. In the sitting room of their home, Roseanna stretched out across on of the sofas, reading through her set list for tomorrow evening's concert in New York at one of the casinos that she performed in twice a month, as arranged by her father. Her head lay stretched across Dick's lap, who sat reading his book. It wasn't so different from most other Friday nights spent in Edison, and she liked it just fine. She turned to look at her suitcase that lay packed at the front door in preparation for her early departure the following morning. The only difference this Friday night though, was the smaller case that lay beside it. She frowned slightly as she looked at it, letting out a small noise through her lips, hmmm.

"What?" Dick asked, distracted by the noise and catching a glimpse at the look on her face.

A playful smile spread to her lips as she realised that she'd been rumbled. She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Still wonderin' why you're coming to the city with me this weekend?"

He smirked a little, only briefly looking away from his book. "Was my explanation about wanting to spend more time with you and your family so unbelievable?"

"No, entirely believable," She reassured him, reaching up a hand to ruffle through his hair. "I just can't understand why you were so insistent on this weekend. I'm only going for one night. I'll be back on Sunday. Why not next month when I'm going for the whole weekend?"

He shrugged slightly, trying to make light of the situation and throw her off the scent. "You know I can't take too much of the city."

"Well, that's true," She smirked, pulling herself up into a sitting position. "Well, I'm glad to have some company this weekend, and that you get to see the show."

"Me too, " He said, looking up from his book to flash her a smile.

She fought a yawn. "Anyway, I'm going to bed. You coming?"

"I'll be up in a minute," He said, looking up again. "I'm almost finished this chapter."

"Okay," She said, leaning in to kiss his cheek and, feeling playful, lingering to gently nibble his ear and whisper into it. "Don't take too long."

Dick watched her flounce out of the room. When he was on his own, he closed his book and took a deep breath. He knew that you were supposed to feel nervous in this situation, almost like it was a rite of passage. He didn't feel that way, though. He felt oddly confident and self-assured. He wondered for a moment if that confidence might simply be attributed to his experience in the war, but a nagging feeling told him that the reason was because it was the right thing, that this was supposed to be happening. He didn't wonder about it for too long, though, as he didn't want to leave the woman he loved all alone in bed for too long.

April 4th, 1946- New York City

Sitting side-by-side with Roseanna in the back of one of William Caine's limousines en route to her concert, Dick was sure of two things. One, the tuxedo he was wearing was over-starched and a stark reminder of why he hated wearing such garments. Two, Roseanna, dressed in a satin, emerald-coloured gown with ruby red lips and a lavish up-do, looked beautiful. At the same time, though, it felt a little strange to see her quite so dressed up. He'd gotten used to the more demure look that she sported in Edison. He sat straight in his chair, keen to not move too much in case he got in the way of one of the many co-passengers in the limousine with them, including Annie, who fussed around her with make-up brushes, sprays, clipboards and perfumes. He definitely wasn't used to this. It was as though he was being given a snapshot into a world that so few chose to enter. Roseanna, amidst the chaos, sensed his discomfort through the simplicity of his silence and reached out to place a gentle hand over his. "You okay?"

He forced an enthusiastic smile at her. "Sure."

The limousine pulled to an abrupt stop, a noisy rabble already audible from outside.

"Showtime!" Annie said, gathering everything together as she clapped her hands loudly. "Okay, everyone listen up. Word got out that Roseanna came to the city with Dick this weekend so we can expect extra journalists and photographers. To that end, let's keep the walk into the building very brisk. Roseanna, a few smiles and a wave to the camera, maybe a hello, but nothing more. You know what they're like once they get you engaged in conversation. Dick, I know you're not used to this so just let Roseanna take your arm and she'll walk you through it, okay?"

"Okay," He said, blinking as he cleared his throat.

"Okay, people, you all know your jobs. Let's do this!" Annie called out authoritatively, her hand resting against the window of the door. Dick blinked at her. He'd seen her command the troops effortlessly in the mess of hall in Austria, but he'd never seen her…like this.

Before Dick even had time to process anything that was going on around him, the door to the limousine had opened and he found himself on the concrete outside of a ridiculously large New York building. However, he couldn't even see the building for the mass of blinking lights which invaded his corneas all of a sudden. Flashes from the cameras. Disconnected and unable to place what was going on around him, his brain tried to associate the barrage of lights to something that he was more accustomed to. For him, the blinking flashes from the bulbs and the crackling from the powder took him back momentarily to those winter nights in his foxhole in Bastogne, looking up at the bombs as they lit up the sky above him. So lost was he in the memory, he didn't even realise that Roseanna, ever the professional, had taken his arm as planned and led him through the melee of journalists and photographers. He only came to when a reporter with a heavy accent barked out at them as he cast a finger towards Dick. "Miss Caine! Miss Caine! Over here! Is this your sweetheart?"

Roseanna reached out her other hand and tapped Dick's arm with it gently, motioning for him to stop in his tracks as she coolly regarded the man with his finger thrust in her beloved's face. "What paper are you from?"

"The Chronicle, ma'am," He replied, not skipping a beat.

"What was your question again?" She smiled sweetly as she could.

"Is this your Sweetheart?" He said, thrusting his finger again.

"Who, the man that you're poking in the face in a very unpolite fashion?" She said, low enough so that only the three of them could hear, smiling sweetly again for the other reporters and photographers.

The arched brow on the reporter softened and his pursed, inquisitive lips went back to a natural position. A look of light embarrassment settled over his face. He shrugged apologetically at her, pulling his finger back into retreat.

"…course he's my Sweetheart," She said, winking at the reporter and pulling Dick back into motion. "Why else would I be taking his arm?"

"You're good at this," Dick said subtly into her ear as the continued to push on past the throng of people.

"Not good at it," She remarked, squeezing his hand affectionately. "Just used to it."

That evening, after all of their performances throughout New York City, the Caines and their closest companions congressed in the parlour of the Caine Family Mansion, draped out on plush loveseats and chaises longues in front of a roaring fire, chatting and sipping drinks as they listened to the tinkling of the piano in the corner. It was their typical relaxation ritual. They were all there except William and the evil stepmother, who hadn't yet returned from his show. Dick couldn't help but notice that it was similar to way that he and Roseanna relaxed in their home but on a much grander scale. At any rate, that evening he was a satisfied man, having watched the woman he loved perform on stage and then sit next to her on what was possibly the comfiest couch he had ever sat on. Still, he thought to himself, stretching out his arms slightly and loosing up his bow tie enough to let him breath more easily, he had work to do tonight. He couldn't get too comfy. That was hard though, he observed, as Roseanna nuzzled her head into his arm.

"So," Annie said, interrupting as she sat down on the couch adjacent to them, holding out two steaming cups of herbal tea. "Here we go. Dick, did you enjoy yourself tonight?"

"Thank you," He said, taking the cup from her. "Of course I enjoyed myself."

"Were the seats to your liking?" She asked, mischievously.

He shrugged, smiling. "Can't argue with front row."

"That's right," She said, lowering her voice as she noticed as he looked distractedly at the entrance. "Don't worry. It's all in hand."

"What is?" Roseanna asked, sleepy but not sleepy enough to have missed the mumbled comment.

"Nothing," Annie smiled. "I can just see that Dick's out of ease in the city. Not to worry though, I have your entire trip in hand."

"Dick?" Roseanna looked questioningly at him.

"Uh…right," Dick said, playing along as he nonchalantly sipped from his teacup.

Roseanna frowned, wrapping her hands around the warmth of the cup. Something was amiss. "Hmmm."

Behind them, a commotion arose as William breezed into the sitting room, fresh from his performance, trussed up in his felt hat and heavy coat. He beamed at the sight of his family sprawled out in front of him. "Hello! Hello!"

"Oh!" Annie said, craning round to see him and then jumping to her feet. "Showtime."

Roseanna looked up as her friend as she flounced towards William. "Hey, where are you goin'?"

"Be right back," Annie winked back at her, her mouth twitching in mischief.

Roseanna looked at Dick questioningly, furrowing her brow. He simply shrugged, avoiding her eye contact as he sipped his tea.

"Richard," William's voice sounded out a few minutes later. He extended a hand out towards Dick and motioned for him to follow him. "Could I see you in my office for a moment, please?"

Dick immediately rose to his feet, as though he'd been expecting it. He made his way towards William.

Roseanna looked over at the door. "What's wrong, Daddy?"

William smiled at her confidently. "Nothing's wrong at all, Sweetheart. It's just high time I had a little man-to-man chat with this young man of yours."

As William and Dick left the room, Annie made her way back over to Roseanna and flopped back down on the couch.

"What's all that about?" Roseanna asked, digging his friend gently in the ribs to get her attention.

"Search me," Annie said nonchalantly. "A man-to-man talk, just like your dad said."

"Hmmm," came Roseanna's response.

"Hmmm? What hmmm?" Annie asked, looking over at her.

"You can lie with the best of them Annie," Roseanna said, smiling slightly at her friend. "I've always admired that about you. Hell, it's gotten us out of a good few scrapes over the years."

"Yeah…?"

"…but you can't lie to me," Roseanna said, beaming at her friend as she leaned back, leaving it at that.

"Still, you won't get a peep out of me," Annie winked, leaning closer to her friend. She tried to change the subject. "Did I tell you about Lola?"

"No, what?"

"Did I tell you who her latest fella is?" Annie asked, her eyes sparkling.

"No, who?"

"Do you remember that director she was talking to at the holiday party?"

Roseanna thought for a minute before it hit her. Her eyes lit up. "No!"

"Mmm hmmm," Annie said.

"Poor bastard," Roseanna joked, eliciting laughter from her friend.

"My thoughts exactly," Annie laughed.

A few minutes later, William reappeared, poking his head lightly around the door. "Annie?"

Annie craned her neck. "William?"

"Could we see you for a moment?" He asked, beckoning for her to follow.

"Certainly," Annie said, standing up and preparing to follow him.

Roseanna had had enough, and reached out her hand to stop her friend in her tracks. "Okay, that's it. Someone tell me what's goin' on around here."

Annie just winked at her.

…

Annie followed William into his office, sitting in the seat next to Dick as William seated himself in his plush leather chair behind his desk.

"Now," William said, settling himself. "Dick here has just asked for my daughter's hand in marriage."

"I know," Annie said, unable to contain her excitement.

"…and I've said yes," William continued.

"I knew you would," She said confidently, sitting back in her hair. She put a hand on Dick's shoulder, smiling warmly at him. "Congratulations."

Dick nodded at her in thanks.

Annie, immediately switching into business mode, didn't even wait for William to continue, reaching into the handbag which she had had over her shoulder and producing a medium-sized felt box. "Now, first things first. We need to talk about the ring. I trust you don't have a ring, already?"

Dick shook his head. "Not yet, no."

"I figured as much," Annie smiled teasingly at him. "No disrespect, but men are hopeless when it comes to this sort of thing. Trust me when I tell you that you need some female help here, and that is where I come in."

"What's in the box?" William asked.

Annie turned the box the other way around, revealing the embossed letters Tiffany and Co. on the front of it. "Well, when Dick told me he was coming here to ask permission to propose to Roseanna, I took the liberty of getting in touch with our friends at Tiffany's. I had to drop your name, William. You see, Dick, the Caine family are big customers. Most of the jewellery you see on the Caine girls are from there."

"Alright…," Dick said, still staring at the box.

"Well, it took some convincing and, as I said, name-dropping, but they let me take away some samples in Roseanna's ring sizes," Annie opened the box to reveal about ten different, sparkling diamond rings. "They're all one-of-a-kind, because no bride-to-be wants something unique to her."

"Annie, wait…," William said, but Annie was so in the moment that she didn't hear him.

"You can pick whichever one you think she'd like best, take it away with you and we'll settle the bill with Tiffany's," Annie said, pointing to a large marquise-cut diamond surrounded by a layer of tiny sapphires. "Now, as I said, it's your choice entirely, but if you want my opinion, and it is just my opinion, I think that she'd really like this one."

Dick wrinkled his nose slightly at the rings. In truth, he hadn't though that far ahead but, now that they were staring him in the face, nothing about any of them said "Roseanna" to him.

"Annie!" William cried, banging his hand authoritatively on the table to get the excited chatterbox's attention.

"What?" Annie said, recoiling the box slightly.

William cleared his throat. "Thank you for going to that trouble, and thank you to our good friends and Tiffany's. I'll have a hamper sent to them in the morning."

"I already took care of that," Annie informed him.

"In my name?"

"On behalf of the whole Caine family and with some free tickets to a Saturday night show, to be redeemed anytime apart from seasonal shows," She explained.

William was sidetracked momentarily, looking at Annie and then Dick incredulously. "This girl, Dick. I tell ya, I don't know what we'd do without her."

Dick smiled politely.

"Anyway," William said, focussed once again. "That's all very well and good, Annie, but I, on the other hand, have another suggestion for the ring."

"I'm all ears," Annie said, humouring him, but convinced that he had nothing that could top a Tiffany diamond.

William reached down and into a small drawer on the bottom of his desk. He produced a small wooden box with ornate flowers on the front that looked like they had been hand-carved. He opened it in front of them, revealing a vintage-looking simple gold band with a floral pattern carved into it. On the top, three small diamonds were clustered together. It was simple, for sure, but very pretty nonetheless.

Dick looked at it with intrigue, reaching out to remove it but stopping himself before doing so, remembering his manners. He looked at William. "May I?"

William nodded, and Dick removed the band, studying it carefully. He noted the word "eternally yours" written around the inside of the band. It was beautiful in its simplicity. However, he only got to admire it for a few seconds before Annie removed it from his grasp, turning it over and scrutinising it.

"This is…," She said, racking her brain for something positive to say but coming up with nothing. "This is beautiful, sure, but William…come on. This is not the kind of engagement ring that a girl dreams about."

William sat back in his chair, allowing approximately thirty seconds to let the tension build. He was in showbiz, after all. "It was the ring that I gave to Roseanna's mother when I asked her to marry me."

"Oh," Annie said, looking at Dick's face and seeing it light up ever so slightly. This was a game-changer. "It's just that it's a little…simple."

"Well, I barely had two dimes to rub together when I first met Roseanna's mother," William said. "We were young and the streets of Philadelphia were tough for a young man who wanted to sing. Still, I knew that it was love and I knew by the end of our first year together that I wanted to make her my wife. I couldn't afford a ring, though. It took me two years to save up for it. Luckily, a friend of mine had started an apprenticeship with a jeweller and he said he'd do what he could with what little money I had saved up. Believe it or not this was his first, proper creation. Instead of one larger diamond on top, I asked him to put three smaller ones. One for every year that I had loved her."

William's story had done the impossible. It had shut Annie the hell up. As much as she was a focussed, working gal, at heart she was still a sucker for romance. "Oh, William."

"Unfortunately, although I insisted on him writing always inside the ring, sometimes life doesn't always work out that way. After my wife died, it was always my intention to offer the ring to the man who wanted to make my Roseanna his bride," William said, sliding the box across the table.

"Damn you, you romantic, old dog," Annie said lovingly, quickly putting a finger to her face to stop a tear from tracking down her cheek and making her mascara run. "You Caines sure know how to tell a story."

William smiled at Annie, before turning his attention back to Dick. "Now, you don't have to use this ring. It's entirely your choice. This was the ring I had made for my sweetheart so perhaps you want to do that same thing. However, if you would like to use this ring, then I would be more than happy for you to have it."

"Me too," Annie conceded, closing the Tiffany box. "Ecstatically happy. She'd really love to get that ring, Dick. I still think it's plain but, I know her, and I know that she'd love that ring."

"Well, in that case," Dick said, placing the ring back inside the box, which was lined with red felt, and closing it over. "I would be very honoured and humbled to use this ring

Annie felt satisfied, but looked longingly at the Tiffany box. They were such pretty rings. "Bye Tiffany rings."

"You're starting to sound like my Lola," William observed, a sparkle in his eye.

"Don't say that," Annie said, aghast. She smiled at William sweetly and held up the box. "I think I should get one of these as a bonus for all of the hard work that I've been doing and, ahem, all of the hard work I'm sure I'm going to do in planning this wedding."

"You're so sure that she'll say yes?" Dick asked, her confidence making him confident.

"I know she will," Annie said firmly. "I just know she will."

"Thank you Annie," Dick said, adding jokingly. "I'll mention to Nix that you have a fondness for Tiffany when the time comes."

Annie laughed, as it was a rare occasion that Dick Winters made such blatant jokes. She dug him jokingly in the arm. "You are so bad!"

"Who is Nix, again?" William asked, intrigued.

That night, Roseanna snuggled into Dick as they lay in the four-poster bed in her old bedroom. She couldn't sleep though, fidgeting slightly. Dick could sense this. He didn't open his eyes, just murmed softly into her hair. "Are you alright?"

"Mmm hmmm," She said, nestling into the crook of his underarm. "It's just…."

"It's just…?" He prompted, rubbing her back affectionately.

"What's going on?" Roseanna asked. "You're all being so secretive? My dad taking you into his office tonight to talk and then Annie coming out in floods of tears…I don't understand."

"It's nothing, Sweetheart," He said, reassuring her. "I promise. Your father just wanted to tell me that I have his "approval" and it made Annie a little…emotional."

"He gave you his approval?" Roseanna asked, intrigued.

"Oh yes," He said, nodding slightly and breathing in the perfumed smell of her hair. It always comforted him. "He said he likes me very much."

"Uh oh," She joked. "I hope your ego won't inflate because William Caine gave you his approval."

-

The following afternoon, Annie dropped Dick and Roseanna off at the train station, where they would be making their way back to Edison.

Annie leaned in to kiss Dick on the cheek in goodbye. When he was close enough she whispered "good luck" and "it's all taken care of" into his ear. He smiled gratefully at her.

She then pulled Roseanna in for a hug, feeling tears springing to her eyes. She was so excited for her friend.

"Hey, are you alright?" Roseanna asked, noticing the faint moistness around her friend's eyes.

"Oh sure, must be the pollen count getting up," She said, waving her hand dismissively. She handed them their tickets. "You kids get going now or you'll miss that train. I'll see you next weekend for the show. Oh, and you be sure to tell Lewis Nixon that he's in big trouble if he hasn't done what I asked him to do."

Roseanna frowned, looking at her questioningly.

"He'll know what it means."

-

"She's acting strangely," Roseanna said to Dick as they boarded the train and made their way towards their first class, private compartment. The train chugged along in motion.

"Maybe she's just stressed from work," Dick mused, spotting their door up ahead. "This is us."

He could already see the faint light coming under the doorway which suggested that Annie had meant it when she said that it was "all taken care of". He turned the handle, leaving the door only slightly ajar. He motioned to Roseanna. "After you."

"Such a gentleman," Roseanna joked, laughing for the briefest of moments as she walked through the door, stopping immediately when she saw what was in front of her. The curtains of their compartment were drawn, flowers adorned every surface and candles scattered throughout left the most sumptuous glow in the room. She walked further inside. "What…who…who did all this?"

"Annie," Dick said, smiling as he followed her inside and closing the door behind them. Before Roseanna had time to turn round and face him, he quickly checked to make sure that the box was still in his inside pocket. It was. He felt an excited nervousness growing inside of him. He was doing it now because he couldn't decide whether she would prefer him to propose to him in Edison or New York, so he decided that a happy medium would be to do it on the train between both.

Roseanna turned back round to face him, gobsmacked but smiling. "What is this, Dick?"

He pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead. "Roseanna…"

"Dick…," She said, looking at him expectantly.

He'd rehearsed this speech in his head but, now that the time was upon him, he couldn't remember any of it. He could remember what he felt, though. "Roseanna, I love you so much. I never thought that I would be so lucky as to find the woman that I was meant to be with in…in the middle of a war, no less. I don't even have the words to describe how happy I am that I have you in my life."

He slowly bent down onto one knee. Everything suddenly clicked for Roseanna and she understood what was going on. Emotions stirred inside her as she looked at him, wide-eyed, and suddenly reached forward to hold his shoulders so that she didn't fall over in surprise.

"Now that you're in my life, I don't ever want to lose you," He said, reaching inside his jacket pocket to produce the ring. He took a breath then opened it in front of her. "Roseanna Caine, would you do me the extreme honour of saying that you'll be my wife?"

She didn't even need a second to think about it. Her heart, her head and everything else already knew the answer. "Dick…of course I will!"

He sprang to his feet and they embraced for what seemed like an age, holding each other close and sharing desperate kisses. Eventually, he pulled back and took the ring out of the box. Without even thinking about it, she extended her hand for him to slip it on her finger. It was like her body just knew what to do without her having to actively think about it. Once it was on her finger, she took a moment to really look at it for the first time. Her heart caught in her chest a little when she saw it. "My mother's ring…."

…..

After arriving back at their home, Roseanna and Dick made their way up to the front door.

As Dick put the key in the door, he turned to Roseanna and joked. "Should I carry you over the threshold?"

She put an affectionate hand on the side of his face. "We're not married yet. You've got some time to build your strength for that."

He opened the door, letting them both inside. As they walked in, a bottle of champagne and the hugest bouquet of flowers that she had ever seen lay there waiting to greet them as they came in.

She whistled, impressed, as she saw the vintage label on the champagne. "Did you do this?"

For the first time over this weekend, this was something that Dick wasn't in the loop about. He came up behind Roseanna, encircling his arms around her waist and nodding at the card attached to the flowers. "What does the card say?"

Roseanna opened it, reading aloud. "Congratulations, you two. It's about time. I don't expect to see you at work tomorrow, Dick. Call it "National Engagement Day". Nix. PS- make sure you tell Annie about the flowers and champagne. I worry that she was being literal with her threats about what would happen if I didn't leave them for your return. "

….