"You think she'd like this one?" Alex asked nervously.

Michael looked at it and shrugged. How the hell should he know? It was pretty, he supposed. It was definitely shiny. It cost a small fortune. Other than that, he didn't know jack about diamond rings. He wondered why Alex had dragged him along on this shopping expedition.

"I trust you," Alex said as if reading his thoughts. "I mean, you and Max know her better than anybody." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You might even know her better than he does. So, I trust you. If you think she'll like it..."

Michael sighed. "She'll love it, Whitman. It's beautiful."

"Then this is the one I'm getting," Alex said decisively and began signaling to the sales clerk. "Do you ever think about it?"

Michael blinked at the unexpected question. "Think about what?"

"Asking Maria to marry you."

"No," he lied automatically. He looked at Alex's open, honest face and was suddenly struck by the realization that if Max and Isabel were the closest things to a family that he had then Alex was the closest thing to a real friend. "Sometimes," he amended sheepishly.

Alex grinned. "Do you actually believe after all these years of waiting for you that she'd really say no?"

He shook his head, somewhat surprised at his own honesty. "That's not what I'm afraid of," he said softly.

Alex stared at him speechlessly. "You're afraid that she'll say yes," he said at last.

Michael looked blindly down at the glass display counter. "What if she said yes and we did get married?" he asked. "Then she finds out that I can't be what she needs me to be?"

"She gave up trying to turn you into Max a long time ago," Alex said with the hint of a smile. "You already are what she needs you to be."

"I wish that was true."

"Do you love her?" Alex asked suddenly. "Don't think, just answer."

"Yes."

"Does she love you?"

"I think so."

"Michael..."

"Yes." A grin threatened to tug the corners of his mouth upward.

"Then ask her. Everything else will work itself out."

"Do you really think it's that easy?"

"Absolutely," Alex nodded emphatically.

"So, you don't have any fears about Isabel?" He regretted the question instantly as the other man's smile flickered.

"It's not the same thing with us," Alex said quietly. "If it was the other way around... if Maria had to ask you to marry her... don't you think that she'd be a little worried that you might say no?"

"Probably," he admitted. "But..."

"I'm Maria and Isabel is you," Alex said.

Michael nodded slowly. The logic was a bit convoluted, but he got the gist of it. "So, you're willing to risk asking her even if you don't know for sure how she'll answer?"

"I have to. If I don't ask I'll never know."

Michael looked at him for a long moment. "She does love you."

Alex stared at him.

"If you can't see that," Michael said, "then you're dumber than I am."

"So, you think...?"

"That you're dumb?"

"No." Alex rolled his eyes. "You really think she'll say yes?"

"If Maria asked me I'd say yes," he said, again surprised by his own words. "Does that help?"

"More than you know," Alex said with a grateful smile. "And now, based on the assumption that Ms. Evans will say yes to my proposal of marriage, I have a proposal for you."

Michael lifted one eyebrow skeptically.

"Relax," Alex grinned. "All I need is a best man."

Michael nodded. Then he stopped. And he stared. "Me?"

Alex laughed. "Who else is there?" he asked.

Both of them smiled at the echo of an old conversation. It seemed like so long ago when they had sat in a high school cafeteria trying to figure out how to impress their almost-girlfriends.

"If Izzy says yes... and I know she will," Michael said. "Then so will I."

"Thank you. This means a lot."

"Don't go gettin' mushy on me, Whitman."

Alex shook his head and grinned. "You do realize this means that you'll have to wear a tuxedo?"

Back to Area 51 (Section III)