You don't have to have read "Emma" to enjoy this, but if you have, then you definitely know who Emma is to Addison and Alex.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas -- Addison/Alex/Emma

"What kind of cookie do you want today?"

Alex looked down as they continued walking and watched as his four year old scrunched up her face in very serious consideration before she put up her right index finger to indicate she had made her choice.

"Snicker... doodle!'

He laughed and nodded.

"Okay, snickerdoodle it is.  And you remember the rule, right?"

"Uh-huh.  Not tell Mama about Papa Joe."

The cookie was less bribery than it was routine now.  It had started accidentally on a day a little over two years ago when he'd been on a day off and Emma had been coming off a two-day ear infection.  She was cranky and seemed incapable of being pleased by anything in the house... not her toys, food, even going out to the beach.  So Alex had strapped her into her stroller and started walking.

The outing had been just what they both needed to break the feeling of being cooped up and frustrated.  Emma babbled happily, her mix of real words and baby talk narrating their walk as she pointed out puppies and flowers and other babies.

Before long, they were in the shopping district, and Alex decided they could do worse than to do some window shopping and maybe grab some lunch before heading home to what would hopefully be a good nap.

He was just starting to think about where they should eat when a glint of light caught his eye, and Alex steered the stroller in that direction.  Staring through the window of the antique store, he scanned the far corner for whatever it was that had caused the flash of light.

And when he saw it, he knew.  Alex knew instantly that it was the perfect ring, even if it wasn't yet the perfect time.

There was no way he could afford to sink money into a ring right now, not when he was making double payments on his student loans to get them behind him so he could be clear of the huge debt by the time he graduated.  It was the plan he and Addison had settled on together when they had one of their periodic discussions about finances, per usual, the conversation spurred on by his insecurity over how much money she had and he didn't.

"Look, we have a house, we have everything we could possibly need and keeping our baby in diapers doesn't interfere with my shoe budget.  So how about this?  You focus on paying off your loans, and when you do, then we will sit down and divide up our monthly expenses and you can take whatever bills you want and make them 'yours,' and I will do the rest, okay?  No more money talk until then."

Alex knew, though, that at some point... once the loans were paid off and he was in or nearing the end of his fellowship, he was going to ask Addison Montgomery to marry him.  It was a given.  And so he decided to wander in and just ask how much the ring was... just so he'd have an idea of what something that measured up to his future wife was gonna set him back.

The store was crowded with merchandise, and after a moment's hesitation about taking Emma's grabby hands anywhere near the pricey pieces, Alex heard a deep male voice call out to him from the front of the store.

"Come on back.  She'll be fine."

Alex followed the voice and spotted an older man with a graying beard standing behind a counter cluttered with ancient looking pieces of silverware.  The man smiled and pointed toward a small white chest to his right.

"Toys... all perfectly expendable in case the little ones break them.  I find it keeps the other merchandise safe."

Smiling, Alex walked over and found a set of stackable rings inside the chest.  Knowing that was currently her favorite toy at home, he held them up and the little girl eagerly reached out for them.  Once she was settled and happily dropping plastic "o-nuts" on and off the matching wooden cone, Alex approached the man behind the counter.

"I was curious about a ring in your window.  The, uh, one in the blue velvet box?"

"Ah, that's a good choice.  Edwardian, platinum band, half-carat diamond...  I haven't put that one out in a while.  You have good timing."

"Yeah, her mother and I, we're in it for life, but the wedding part is on hold for now.  And I'm still trying to pay off med school, so I'm really not in the market, but it just... it reminds me of her."

"Med school?  What kind of doctor are you?"

"I'm a surgeon, specializing in neonatal--pregnant women, premature babies.  Her mom, she's the best in the world at it, and she convinced me I'd be pretty good at it, too."

"Ahh, two busy doctors, and you have this little bit of trouble on your hands?  No wonder you don't have time to get married."

The older man chuckled and winked at Emma, who laughed and continued playing with the fascinating plastic rings.

"I'm Papa Joe, by the way," the man said, extending his hand.  "It's what my grandkids call me, so now it's what everyone calls me."

Alex nodded and smiled.  "Alex, and this is Emma," he shared, motioning toward his daughter.  "We needed some fresh air and so we're out for a walk."

Papa Joe nodded and then leaned his elbows on the counter.

"So tell me, why does the ring remind you of Miss Emma's mother?"

"Well, Addison--that's her name--she's classy and beautiful and just... she so elegant, but she also isn't fussy.  I mean, she is when it comes to her shoes or her hotels, but she'll throw on a pair of jeans, put her hair in a ponytail and go build sand castles on the beach if it'll make Emma smile.  I don't know.  Something about how pretty the ring is without being too big or flashy seemed like her."

The older man considered this for a few moments, and then he walked around the counter and went up to the window, retrieving said ring.  Up close, without the glass between it and his view, Alex could see it was even prettier than he'd realized.  The diamond glistened even without the benefit of sunlight hitting it, and the metal's smooth finish jumped out even more.

"When are you thinking you're gonna pop the question?"

Alex shrugged and pulled his eyes away from the ring.

"Couple of years.  She wants me to be almost through my fellowship before we do it.  Doesn't want me stretched too thin with everything."

Papa Joe chuckled.  "You realize that's a miracle, right?  A woman who isn't pressuring you about wedding?  You better hold on to that one."

"Ta-da!"

Emma's impish exclamation drew both sets of male eyes her direction.  She had successfully stacked all the rings in order on the wooden pylon, and she was beaming with pride.  Alex stooped down and kissed her cheek.

"You are amazing, you know that?  Brilliant and beautiful, just like your mama."

The little girl laughed and promptly tipped the pylon over so that all the rings scattered over the floor.  Alex gathered them up, putting them back within her reach, and as she started restacking the rings, he returned his attention to Papa Joe.

"So I guess I should just ask so I know... how much?"

Joe opened a steno notebook that sat beside his cash register and scanned a few pages.

"I have this one marked down to $2,000."

Alex couldn't hide his surprise, and seeing it, Joe turned the ring so that Alex could see inside the band.

"My wife sets all the prices.  It used to be higher, but it's got this engraving here.  See?"

Peering in, Alex read the words "my home," which were etched into the band.

"People like to do their own sayings if they want engraving.  So pretty as it is, it hasn't sold."

The words didn't bother Alex at all.  In fact, they were kind of perfect for him and Addison.  But $2,000 while he was still paying off his loans?  It might as well have been a million.

"You said you got about two years or so before you're gonna be ready to propose, right, Doc?"

Alex nodded in response to Joe's question, and then he waited while the man tapped out some numbers on a calculator.

"If you could do... 72 a month, I could let you pay it over time.  It would get it for you in about two years and a few months."

It was a stretch to even pull 72 bucks out of his tightly drawn budget, but the ring just felt right.  He could see himself pulling it out of the velvet box, slipping it on her finger.  So Alex had accepted the terms, promising to return later that day to drop off the first payment.

Over the long months of paying off the ring, Alex and Emma has made their regular visit to see Papa Joe, drop off the money and enjoy some stories and a cookie.  The progress on paying down the balance on the ring coupled with his constant movement toward the end of his fellowship made the future as concrete and real to Alex as his present was.  His life with Addison and Emma wasn't something he worried about disappearing in a haze of inattention or long hours, not anymore.  His early fears of being too absent a father or too unavailable of a lover had been replaced by a certainty that he had somehow found exactly the life he had wanted, even if it had snuck up on him and surprised him before he had figured it out.

Making the final payment on the ring was something he'd been anticipating all week, and that he'd be able to do it in time for Christmas made it all the more perfect.  He couldn't wait to find a quiet moment, just the two of them, to ask Addison to make his Christmas wish come true.

What he had never anticipated was finding the door of the shop locked with a sign in the window that said it was closed due to a death in the family.  Alex's heart sank as he ran over the names of everyone Joe had talked about... his children, grandchildren, his wife Gracie, his brother Aaron who had the bad heart.  He couldn't begin to imagine what had happened, but he hoped Joe was okay.

"Papa Joe's busy today, baby girl," he said, leaning down to pick Emma up.  "How about we get your cookie and head home, huh?"

Emma nodded and they headed off toward the bakery to grab her treat.  He'd come back by the next day on his way to work since he was working the late shift.

But the next day, the shop was still closed.  And it was closed the day after as well.  And on Christmas Eve, the doors remained locked, the shades drawn, the windows devoid of any info but the sad notice of the family's loss.

Alex knew it wasn't the end of the world.  Eventually Joe would be back and he would pick up the ring and he'd plan a romantic night to make his proposal.  It was still the perfect ring for the perfect woman.  It was just going to have to happen on a different day.

When he got home, the house was in a small amount of chaos as Addison and Naomi finished wrapping gifts while Sam, Dell and Pete worked on dinner in the kitchen.  He could hear Maya, Betsey and Emma playing outside, and so Alex ran upstairs and took a quick shower before joining in the efforts in the kitchen.

"So?" Pete asked, trying to keep his inquiry quiet.

"Still closed."

Sam sighed and Pete groaned a little.

"I know, but it's fine.  Maybe New Year's."

"But you got her something else, right?" Dell asked, and his concern was wholly genuine.  It made Alex laugh and broke through the disappointment he was trying to ignore.

"Of course I got her something else.  I'm not an idiot."

"Good, now be a non-idiot who chops celery," Sam quipped as he pushed a cutting board and a bunch of the green stalks his direction.

Dell was putting the finishing touches on his double chocolate chip cake and Sam was switching out the turkey for the dressing and green bean casserole when the doorbell rang.  Alex had just opened a beer and taken one drink when Addison called out for him.

"Honey, this gentleman has a delivery for you, and he says only you can sign for it."

Alex gave her a kiss and moved to sign the messenger's clipboard as Addison raced off after Emma, who had stolen a gift from under the tree and was headed out the patio door.

The package was from an address Alex didn't recognize, but when he opened the padded envelope, he felt his heart skip a beat.  He quickly ducked back into the kitchen with his precious cargo in hand.

"Who was that?" Sam asked, and Alex looked out to make sure Addison was still busy with the kids on the deck before answering.

"The ring."

"What?!"  Sam, Pete and Dell replied in unison.  Almost immediately after, Violet joined them.

"What what?"

"The ring is here."

"Ring?"  Cooper asked, adding to the crowd.  "What ri--oh, that ring?  It's here?"

Alex shushed his friends and opened the envelope the rest of the way.  He was confused to see two boxes... the blue velvet one he knew so well and a black one.  A folded note also fell from inside.  But before he looked at any of it, he opened the first box and let out a relieved breath when he saw Addison's ring sitting inside.

"Dude, that's nice." Cooper whispered.

"She's gonna love it," Pete added.

"What's the note say?"

Alex responded to Violet's question by picking up the slip of paper and opening it.

"Dear Alex.

"I know we've never met, but I feel like calling you Dr. Karev is too formal after all the stories my husband has shared with me over the years.  He absolutely adored you and your little girl, and he was so looking forward to finally meeting your beautiful Addison and seeing this ring on her hand.

"Sadly, my dear Joseph was called home last week.  And when I was checking through his calendar and saw he had this past Tuesday circled with a note saying "Alex's final payment," I realized you must be needing this to complete your Christmas.  I'm so sorry if you were worried we had forgotten.

"Thank you so much for all of the laughter you brought my Joe.  He loved that store with every fiber of his being, and nothing made him happier than knowing that the items we tended to so carefully were going on to be a part of people's lives.  That's why he always loved it when someone really loved a piece, maybe came and looked at it ten times before they finally bought it.  He knew it was special to them, same way it was to him.

"Lastly, the second box is Joe's wedding gift to you.  Please accept it with our family's best wishes for your happiness.  We know that's what Joe would want.  All the best, and Merry Christmas.  Gracie Hockett."

"So what's in the second box?" Sam asked.

Alex picked it up and opened it.  Inside was a platinum band that looked just about his size."

"What's going on in here?"

Addison's voice startled them all, and Alex knew any attempt to try and cover up what he was doing would be futile when a small gasp escaped her throat as her eyes fell on the two open boxes.

"Alex, what are you... is that... what's..."

He laughed and put his hands on her arms.

"Take a breath, babe."

A long ago promise between them had established that even though they were absolutely destined for this, she was still going to flip out a little when he asked because she was Addison, and that's what she did.  But he remembered her end of the pledge as well, and so he wasn't worried.

"Are those... what I think they are?"

Their friends circled them as Alex reached out and plucked her ring from the velvet that had kept it safe until he could deliver it to her.

"They are.  This one's yours, in case you hadn't guessed."

She laughed at that, her teeth sinking lightly into her lower lip.

"I flipped out a little."

He chuckled and took her hand, positioning the ring over the finger where it would remain for the rest of their lives.

"You did.  But that's okay.  Because you're saying yes, right?"

The platinum slid easily over her skin, and even though he'd never had it sized, the ring was a perfect fit.

"I'm saying yes.  And it's the most beautiful ring I've ever seen."

Alex pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.  He'd tell her the whole story eventually, about Papa Joe and the cookie walks and how Emma loved to look at her ring and call it sparkly.

But it could wait.  It was time to celebrate Christmas with his fiancée... the perfect woman wearing the perfect ring.