I let out a shaky breath. You can do this, Y/N.

It had been full ten years since I had worn a dress, and I felt a bit ridiculous. I only had one, and it would have to do for tonight's date. I took a hesitant look in the mirror. The midnight blue dress came down to my ankles, and swished around the slightest bit whenever I moved. The oddest part was getting used to the strapless top after wearing my grey lab coat for months. I supposed I didn't look horrible, and added small earrings for an extra touch.

Shoving my many insecurities down, I came out of my bedroom and slowly went down the steps, careful not to mark up my only nice flats. Stanford was waiting for me, all dressed up in a tuxedo. He wore it like a pro, I must say.

"Wow, Y/N, you look... wow."

"It's nice to know your vocabulary hasn't improved after all these years, Stanford." I shot him a playful smile.

He blushed a little and fiddled with something in his pocket. He led me out to his car, opening the door for me. And they said chivalry was dead.

It didn't take very long at all to get there, and my, did it scream "fancy."  It even had a hitching post for horses! I was in a daze as I took in all the little details, even as we sat down at our table. There were four forks to use. Four! Who uses that many forks?

"This place is fantastic! How did you get reservations?"

He shrugged modestly. "I've been planning this night for a while."

"I have to say, I'm blown away. I can't believe you did this for our anniversary!"

Stanford's chocolate brown eyes looked into my own. "Well... the timing certainly didn't hurt anything, but that actually isn't the main reason I did all this." He reached into his pocket and produced the thing he was messing with earlier, but I still couldn't quite tell what it was. "I've been thinking about this for a long time, actually, even back in high school. I know I can be selfish, ignorant, and more stubborn than a brick wall at times. But I love you, Y/N, and I don't want to let you slip through my fingers a second time. I only ask one thing..."

He opened his hand to reveal what he was hiding: a small velvet box.

Oh. My. Gods.

Was he really-?

He was.

Stanford went down on one knee and popped open the case, revealing a small diamond ring. "Will you marry me, Y/N?"

The world seemed to be put on hold, this one moment stretching out into infinity. Would I be willing to spend the rest of my life with him at my side? Then I realized: not only was I willing to do it, I wanted to. For better or for worse, I was head over heels for Stanford Pines.

"Of course, you dork." Impulsively, I leaned in and kissed him good, right in the middle if the restaurant. It didn't last for too long, but when we broke apart, the entire place started cheering. The waiter popped a champagne bottle, on the house, as Stanford slipped the ring onto my mechanical hand. Someone shouted something in Dutch. "We don't speak Dutch!" I called.

A stranger in the booth next to ours supplied a translation. "The beautiful couple is beautiful."

It was official.

I was getting married.

That exceeded my expectations for the surprise, for sure. The ride home was a happy blur, my mind still reeling from the proposal. Back at the house, I couldn't help but glance at the ring every minute or so, still not quite believing what just happened. Somehow, I managed to change into my grey lab coat grab my equipment, grinning like a fool.

Stanford was waiting for me when I came down to the portal room. Fidds wasn't there yet, though.

"Stanford, when are we going to tell Fiddleford?"

"I was thinking right after the portal test, I don't want to put any extra pressure on the guy."

"Sounds good to me, husband-to-be."

He cocked his head slightly, almost like a puppy. "Did you mean for that to rhyme?"

The elevator doors slid open, announcing Fiddleford, dragging the test dummy behind him. He wasn't getting very far with that thing.

"Here, let me help you with that." I took the mannequin from Fidds, wrapping the rope around my wrist. "I can hold this sucker while he takes a little trip."

Finally, there we were. After two full years of hard work, the portal hummed to life for the first time, glowing an unnatural blue.

Slowly, I let go of the test dummy, watching in awe as he floated into the air, then get sucked through the blue curtain of light. It was all coming together.

Then I felt a sharp tug on my wrist. The rope had gotten tangled on my robotic hand! The cord pulled me into the testing area, and suddenly I was weightless, being pulled to the portal like a magnet. This was bad. "Stanford! Do something!" I cried desperately.

He and Fiddleford grabbed the other end of the rope, straining against the portal's strength. My lower half had already been pulled through, but they managed to start bringing me back, a little at a time. I let out a shaky breath. I was going to be okay.

Snap!

I watched in horror as my fake hand, still holding the rope, broke off of my wrist. The portal tugged harshly at me, and with no lifeline left, I could only scream as I was sucked in.