| Subject: Re: How We Became Us -C4/9 |
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fananicfan
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Date Posted: 21:31:13 05/02/07 Wed
In reply to:
fananicfan
's message, "How We Became Us - story after Custody in the series" on 22:53:25 04/29/07 Sun
CHAPTER FOUR – The Reception
Limo in route to the Capri Hotel
The bride and groom had been whisked into a limousine outside the chapel for the ride back to the hotel. Unbeknown to them, Harriet had instructed the driver to drive them around for about twenty minutes in order to give everyone else a chance to arrive at the reception before them.
Once the newlyweds were seated inside and the driver had closed the door, Harm looked into Mac's eyes. They seemed a richer, deeper brown than he remembered.
He was staring at her. "Is something wrong, Harm?"
He realized that he'd been staring when Mac spoke. "No, nothing's wrong. Everything is wonderful. I'm still just admiring my bride. You took my breath away when I saw you in that dress."
"So you like the dress?" Mac asked.
"I like you in that dress," he said as his lips came to hers. His lips touched hers briefly, and then briefly once again.
"Keep talking like that, and those dress whites and gold wings are going to keep you from being lonely tonight, sailor." She giggled as he raised that eyebrow of his and moved his lips towards hers again. His lips touched hers and his hand snaked around her, pulling her into a kiss that was a culmination of a night apart, the love that he felt for her, and his utter joy in knowing that she was now his wife. Mac returned the kiss for all the same reasons.
Occasionally, the need to breathe would force them to part, but little else was said. They enjoyed every kind of kiss imaginable until the limo came to a stop, from the gentle touching of lips to the tangling of tongues and toe-curling passionate ones.
The motion of the car halted, but it wasn't until they heard the sound of the driver's door closing that the newlyweds parted, becoming aware that they’d reached their destination. After they'd broken apart, they immediately began to check to make sure that they were still presentable.
Capri Hotel – Ballroom
Harriet had driven the mini van to the wedding and drove it back to the hotel for the reception. Jennifer, Chloe and Mattie rode with her. Bud had driven their other car and would be responsible for getting Harm's parents and Mac's uncle to the reception.
It was important to Harriet to be at the reception first in order to inspect the final details that the hotel staff were supposed to have done that morning. The only problem that she found wasn’t because of the hotel staff. The photographer’s assistant had placed the camera for the picture of the bride and groom entering the reception at the wrong door. With not enough time to move the equipment, they’d have to change doors or lose the picture.
Hotel Capri – Outside the Ballroom doors
An employee of the hotel greeted the bride and groom at the limo outside and told them that he’d been informed that he should show them to a different set of doors than previously planned. He walked them down a hall to a set of double doors and asked them to wait for a moment while he notified someone inside that they’d arrived.
Harm and Mac stood outside the double doors, arm in arm.
"You ready for this?" she asked.
"After the limo ride, I'm ready for the honeymoon," Harm said with a wink and a grin.
"Speaking of the honeymoon, are you going to tell me where we’re going now?"
"No, it's a surprise."
Mac pouted and batted her eyes. "Harm, you really shouldn't keep secrets from your wife."
The man opened the doors, and Mac muttered, "I guess I’ll just have to be surprised.”
As they stepped into the ballroom, they were hit by a bright flash of light when the photographer took their picture as the DJ announced, "Captain and Mrs. Harmon Rabb, Jr. have arrived and will dance their first dance together as husband and wife."
Harm and Mac took to the dance floor. A moment later, the music began. Harm and Mac danced, but their stance was rigid and more formal than intimate. Those watching thought they were dancing like a royal couple who didn't want to act inappropriate in front of their subjects. The couple danced the entire song alone on the dance floor. As the couple's dance ended and the guests applauded, the DJ announced that the dance floor was open for all dancers, and the next song began to play.
With the first dance out of the way, guests would be able to dance while the newlyweds were busy with other activities. The advantage to an afternoon wedding was that there was still daylight outside. Equipment for photos had been setup in the hotel's garden. The disadvantage was that the light didn't last forever, so the couple’s next activity was to pose for photos. The assistant had taken photos of their dance and then ushered them off to the garden for pictures when the dance ended.
A small room just inside the door to the garden was decorated with flowers and fabric in the colors of the wedding so that bridal party pictures could be taken in either or both places. As the shutter on the camera clicked at the couple, the DJ inside announced that certain people needed to join the bride and groom for pictures. The picture taking reminded everyone of senior prom, but the system was working very nicely.
When Mattie came out with Harm’s parents for pictures, she was grinning from ear to ear and quickly shared the reason for her excitement. Kevin and his parents had arrived. While Harm was in a picture with Mattie and his parents, Mac asked the photographers' assistant to make sure that she got a picture of their daughter with her 'date' as a keepsake for their daughter.
When the couple returned to the ballroom, guests were dancing, drinking, talking and having a good time. The couple received many congratulatory handshakes and hugs as they crossed the room. The couple was happy to receive any well wishes along the way, but they were in search of Kevin and his parents. Mac had spoken to them on the phone to invite them to the reception, but had never met them or Kevin.
Harm and Mac finally located Kevin and his parents. It was a terrifying moment for Kevin when he met Harm. Kevin thought that the man whom he met was much taller than the man in the picture that Mattie had shown him.
The music faded, and the DJ announced that everyone should find their seats because dinner was about to be served. The DJ put on a CD that he'd burned for times like these. It would play for almost two hours if he didn't stop it. Before leaving his station, he made sure that the music was playing at a background level so that people could hear each other talk if they preferred conversation with dinner.
Dinner was served and conversations were had. It was a wonderful meal, but it was soon over, and wait staff began to clear dishes as the DJ returned to his station. The DJ allowed a couple more songs from the CD to play before switching to individual songs again. He played a few more songs, giving time for dinner to be digested some before announcing the next planned dance.
The next dance was Mac with her uncle and Harm with his mother. The two pairs took their places on the dance floor as the music began. Harm waited until they'd danced for a while before speaking to his mother.
"Mom, I want to thank you for supporting my decision to take Mattie. I'm sure that it isn't easy for you to become a grandmother to an almost grown granddaughter. You should know that Mattie isn't the only child that we want, but we are starting a little later at this than most. Mattie may be the only one and maybe not. Don't lose hope."
Trish smiled at her son’s words, assuming that his comments had something to do with something that Mac had said to him about their conversation. Trish would never know that the subject had been on his mind since he'd felt the tension in the apartment yesterday and that it was Frank who'd let him know what he needed to say to her to make her feel better about his new family.
The music had ended and, as Mac's uncle and Harm's mother left the dance floor, Harm called to his mother. "Mom" Trish turned to see a mischievous smile spread across Harm’s face. “Have Frank explain why I didn't want to use your house on our honeymoon."
The bride and groom remained on the dance floor as the DJ announced a special third dance. Harm was going to dance with Mattie and Mac was going to dance with Frank. When the song was about half way over, the DJ said that others should join them on the dance floor.
The song ended, and Harm was telling Mattie how nice she looked in her dress when he heard the words "Excuse me, sir" from the nervous crackling of a teenaged boy's voice. Harm turned to see Kevin. "Could I...I mean, may I dance with Mattie, sir?"
Harm wanted to say no, but he knew that that would be the wrong answer. "If she’d like to dance with you, you may." Kevin and Harm looked at Mattie who was eagerly nodding yes.
"I guess I'll have to find another girl to dance with," Harm said as Kevin took Mattie's hand. Harm didn't think that they'd heard him, but Mattie had.
"Try finding your wife, you know, the girl in the wedding gown. I'm sure she'll dance with you."
Harm chuckled. His eyes met Mattie's, and he knew that his relationship with her was going to lead to heartache for him because, someday, he'd be dancing with her at her wedding.
Harm turned to go find Mac, but he almost ran into her. She'd been standing right behind him, watching. "I think you need a new dance partner."
Harm looked over his shoulder at Mattie and Kevin slow dancing together. It was a brief look, and all he saw was the wide smile on Mattie's face. "I haven't seen her smile like that since before the accident. It was a wise thing you did in inviting him and his parents here." He took Mac into his arms with space between them in a pose that was suited for a picture or dancing with your sister, and they began to move to the music.
"Wisdom, is that why you married me?"
"One of many reasons," he answered, his arm snaking further around her waist as he pulled her in closer to him. He brought their joined hands to rest on his shoulder as the music played. They were dancing now as if no one else was in the room. It was only when the third song began to play with a faster tempo that they finally decided that it was time to leave the dance floor.
The music played on, and people danced for about thirty more minutes before the DJ called for everyone’s attention for the cutting of the wedding cake. Harm and Mac stood side by side, his large hand easily covering hers as they pushed the knife through the cake.
Mac used a fork to lift a piece of cake to Harm's mouth. Harm's mouth opened and Mac inserted the fork. Harm reached up and removed the cleaned fork from his mouth and used it to serve Mac a piece of their wedding cake.
Having everyone's attention on them and having exchanged cake, it seemed like the perfect time for Harm to speak to their guests. "I want to say that we hope everyone is having a good time. We want our friends and family to know that we're especially happy that they could join us for this special occassion today. We also want to express our gratitude to everyone for coming to give us your support and best wishes. Thank you." The gathered people clapped at the acknowledgement of their attendance.
The applause quieted and cake was served. While others ate cake, Mac went to the ladies room. The last two customs were going to be happening soon, and she didn't want her dress to have to be raised too far up for Harm to be able to remove her garter.
Mac went in search of Chloe when she left the ladies room. When she found Chloe, she was making eyes at one of Mikey Roberts' friends, but Mac pulled her away to remind her that Jennifer would be staying at the hotel tonight and that she'd be taking her to the airport tomorrow. Chloe said that maybe she'd be able to come visit Mac in California over a school holiday. Mac said that she'd like that and gave her a hug before she let Chloe go back to flirting.
Mac had just located Harm and was on her way over to him when the single ladies were asked to gather for the tossing of the bouquet. Mac tossed it and it was caught by Varese.
After the tossing of the bouquet, the single men were gathered for the tossing of the garter, and Sturgis caught it.
The couple was ready to leave, but moved about the room for several minutes and danced to the next slow song played to avoid just running out on all who'd joined them today. After everyone had had an opportunity to see the couple on the dance floor, it was time for Harm to find Frank.
Frank was coming back into the ballroom and saw the couple leaving the dance floor, so he appoached them. Frank handed Harm a plastic card and a set of keys and said, "It's done." Harm nodded, and Mac looked confused. Harm tucked the two items into his pocket, then he and Mac set out to find Mattie.
Mattie was with Kevin, talking at the table while his parents were dancing. Kevin turned pale as Harm and Mac approached, but the color returned quickly when they just asked to speak to Mattie for a moment.
Harm told Mattie that they'd be back on Friday evening. Mac reminded Mattie that she was staying in the hotel tonight with Jennifer and that Harm's parents would be taking her back to the apartment tomorrow while Jennifer took Chloe to the airport. Mattie gave each of them a hug before returning to Kevin.
No one seemed to notice them standing near the door, so one second they were in the ballroom, and the next they were gone.
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