Birthdays, dinners, soirees, wild dance parties, whatever occasion you wanted to celebrate, the best hosts were D.B and Barbara Russell. Parties at their lavish home had become legendary ever since he became their boss almost six years ago. He cared about his team in their down time and wanted them to have fun when they could to escape the horrors of the job. So it had become a tradition to have the team over for dinner and celebrations throughout the year. Julie, who was familiar with these types of parties having experienced them back in Seattle, loved them and loved sharing them with her new family.
Spring seemed to have arrived early in Las Vegas with the temperatures soaring, and bright sunshine filled days, which meant the first big outdoor dinner at the Russell's to celebrate after solving a difficult and tiring case. They always had a spread of food, music, and fun games to keep them all entertained. And by "fun" that meant cut throat games of kickball, usually guys versus girls, organized by the ruthless, merciless Julie Finlay who could take all of them out in one violent toss of the ball.
After two rounds of brutal take downs, both teams needed time to rest and in Hodges' case, nurse his wounds. It was during that break that Julie pranced over to where Nick was sitting at one of the patio tables.
"Did you guys call a truce or is round three going to kill Hodges this time?" he teased her of her fierce competitiveness.
"Very funny," she snapped "he knows he was out of bounds, he deserved that hit."
"To the face?" Nick inquired of the poor lab techs misfortune to run afoul of Julie's wrath.
"He's lucky, I could have aimed somewhere else," she said smugly and he grinned at her viciousness.
And then for, some unknown reason, she was dragging him inside the house, stealing nervous glances behind her as she held his hand, pulling him further down Russell's hallway which was lined with pictures of various views from Seattle and fungi.
When she finally stopped near the entrance to the living room, she rounded on him, her hair bouncing as she moved and hissed "Let's get married"
"We will," he reminded her, wondering what all this secrecy was about.
"Let's get married today," she reiterated her idea, whispering, glancing back down the hallway for any potential eavesdroppers.
He was momentarily stunned by that declaration.
"Are you serious?" he asked holding her shoulders.
"Yes," she breathed, excitement fueling her, her eyes bright, looking at him with an eager stare.
He felt an odd rush now, a sense of urgency matching hers. Should they? He wondered.
"We have all the paper work," she reminded him "all our friends are here, it wouldn't be hard to go home and change, bring the suits for the guys and the dresses for the girls, the rings are already set, there's great food, music, a place to dance, all we really need is someone to officiate it, please Nicky?"
She pouted that adorable frown that she knew would break him into giving her whatever she wanted, which covered anything from sharing a plate of fries to flying to outer space to steal the moon for her.
"Well what about my parents?" he asked "and my sisters?"
Her excitement faded slightly at that information. As much as she was getting used to Nick's family, she knew it would look suspicious if they were not involved in their nuptials at all.
"We can video chat them," she suggested now "and have a bigger more formal reception later on, besides, I don't think your father will care if he doesn't have to spend a dime on anything involving me."
She pouted again, but it was her sad pout that indicated she was hurting. After everything they had been through with his father disapproving of her and their marriage, he could understand her desire to make this quick. She hung her head now, ashamed for feeling so many mixed emotions but knowing she loved him with every fiber of her soul no matter what his father said about her.
Nick sensed her emotions, stole a glance back down the hallway where the sound of laughter echoed from the party out on the patio. There was no time like the present.
He slid one finger under her chin and tilted her head up so she was looking at him.
"Yes," he uttered "let's do it."
She went from sad to delighted in a space of about ten seconds as she beamed, sheer joy illuminating her face as she stood on tip toes to kiss him quickly before they abandoned the dark hallway for the brightly lit patio where their friends and work family awaited, unaware of the happiness in their hearts for what was about to take place here.