A/N: Booth and Brennan are *married*, y'all! Wasn't that the most beautiful wedding ever? You know it was.
Anyway…over at Bonesology, Sarah challenged us to do a one-shot as a tag to last night's epic The Woman in White.
Choose one character at the wedding, and write a one shot from his/her point of view. Can be 1st person POV or a different POV, up to you. Keep it less than 2000 words. Good luck!
This is my response to that challenge. Enjoy. (Thanks to Cindee for the read-thru!)
Love Is The Answer
I love my job. I really do. I get to meet couples at the start of planning the happiest day of their lives, offer my assistance and advice, and in the end I am privileged to stand by and watch all the stress and worry melt away in a haze of love and romance and near-perfection.
Well, "near" until now, anyway.
When Mrs. Hodgins called me in a panic, asking for an emergency wedding and sparing no expense, I balked, of course. I mean, I am the best damn wedding planner in the District, but even I have limits. At least, I did…until she revealed the names of the betrothed.
Doctor Temperance Brennan and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth were getting married.
There were several factors involved in my immediate agreement to help. First of all, the horror of finding out that the church had burned down certainly sparked (No pun intended) my competitive streak, said streak the reason I decided to make dealing with crazy brides my stock in trade in the first place. I love the challenge, the rush of adrenaline that comes with having to fix something that a very stressed-out woman has been dreaming of having in her wedding since she was twelve and walking down her parents' hallway with a bunch of dandelions clutched in her hands and a pillowcase perched on her head.
It always has to be perfect.
Secondly, I am a hopeless romantic. I love Love. There's something captivating about the look on a groom's face as his beloved walks down the aisle to greet him. I have yet to see a man who isn't bowled over by his wife-to-be's beauty. The ceremony of it all, literally and figuratively, makes my heart swell with pride each and every time I am able to make someone's special day perfect.
Because it always has to be perfect.
Finally, and most important, I felt like I owed it to my cousin, Justin. He was my favorite cousin. A really nice guy who just got mixed up in that ridiculous death metal scene and ended up being killed by one of his band members. Doctor Brennan and Agent Booth found my cousin's killer and my aunt was able to put him to rest, and I just wanted to thank them for that in any way that I could. And their wedding seemed like the perfect, serendipitous opportunity.
I've always believed in fate.
So once Mrs. Hodgins called me, I was immediately in DEFCON 1 mode. Luckily for me, most of the heavy lifting had already been done. The caterers were booked and ready, perfect chairs had been rented for the reception, music and drinks were set…the only thing we needed to replace were the flowers, the priest (who, for some reason, was incredibly angry with the wedding party) and the venue.
Flowers came together thanks to my connections, and since the bride's and matron of honor's bouquets had still been at the original florist along with the boutonnieres, we only had to replace the decorative floral wreaths that had adorned the church aisle. And thankfully my regular florist is as much of a romantic as I am, and she was able to design a lovely showplace for the actual vows, which we determined would happen in the Jeffersonian gardens, the already decided-upon site of the reception. I didn't find out how appropriate that was until the actual vows.
The final detail, the priest, was easily amended when the groom's friend offered to be ordained online and officiate. Done and done.
Cue the music.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a more radiant bride. Her dress was perfect, her hair was beautiful and the love that shone in her eyes was only matched by her groom, who couldn't take his eyes off her as she glided down the aisle on her father's arm amid a shower of flower petals and familial love. And once she reached the end of her journey, well…everyone said afterwards that it was all perfectly 'them'. Romantic and sweet and funny and logical and crazy. I'm not sure there was a dry eye in the place. I know I was nearly sobbing.
And the kiss? I couldn't help the girlish sigh as I watched two people who so obviously completed each other share their first married kiss. I've seen hundreds of those kisses, in hundreds of different ways and situations, and I can tell you honestly that Wesley and Buttercup had nothing on this one.
I told you I was a romantic.
Of course the reception was perfect as well. It seemed as though everyone wanted to stand up and say a few words, and the absolute joy that everyone had for the couple was palpable. Agent Booth's grandfather choked up as he spoke, and his mother sang a beautiful version of 'Have I Told You Lately' and then joined a young man I was later introduced to as Doctor Sweets in a fun and sweet version of 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'. The groom declined to sing but Doctor Brennan belted out 'I'll Stand By You' almost better than Chrissy Hynde ever did, all while her husband grinned like he had won the lottery. And to him, it was obvious he had.
When the couple finally made their goodbyes, it was clear that everyone had enjoyed themselves and I know Mrs. Hodgins joined me in a deep sigh of contentment. There's a certain satisfaction in knowing that you've helped someone make one of the most significant days of their life into everything they've ever wished for. It's just one of the many reasons I really love my job.
As I began collecting empty chairs, preparing them to be returned to the rental company, I noticed the newly-married couple standing face-to-face just outside the exit to the gardens. He was holding her left hand and running his thumb softly over the new jewelry she wore there, a soft smile on his handsome face. She reached up and slid her right hand tenderly along his jaw, pulling him down for one more kiss, and I was frozen in place as I watched them walk away into the deepening twilight.
John Lennon could not have been more right. Love is the answer, and you know that for sure.
