Title: Dogwoods, Poinsettias, Bambusa Tulda, and a Night-Blooming Cereus

Summary: A wedding, and of course, with a Springfield Wedding comes much, much drama.

Disclaimers: I don't own these characters, P&G, TeleNext, CBS etc. do. (Okay, maybe there isn't an Etc after those three...)

A/N: This takes place in the future. After the two of them finally get their relationship worked out. It came into my head. I have no idea if it's good, or if I even like it at this point, anyway... for what it's worth.

"You sure you can do this?"

"I've done it before, not in a place quite this... ritzy, but yeah."

Blake glanced around Company and frowned, "Ritzy?" She chuckled, "Whatever you want to call it Casey. Here's shirts, apron."

Casey raised an eyebrow, "No hat?" A grin came to her face. She was tall, with a runner's build. She had hazel eyes, and short dirty blonde hair that made it seem as though she had just been electrocuted.

Blake smiled and looked up as the door opened, letting out a customer and letting in a running Emma, followed by a slower Natalia. Emma jumped onto a stool. "Hi Blake."

Blake smiled at the little one, "Hey Emma."

Emma looked over at Casey. "Who are you?"

Natalia frowned at the young child. "Em..."

Casey chuckled, "It's okay. I'm Casey Jones, and you are?"

Emma glanced over at Natalia, who nodded, "Emma Spencer Spaulding. My Mommy's Olivia Spencer. This is Natalia. Do you know that you have the same name as the train guy Casey Jones."

Casey inclined her head, "In fact I do know that. 'Come all you rounders if you want to hear A story 'bout a brave engineer,'..."

Casey trailed off and Emma finished the stanza, "'Casey Jones was the rounder's name 'Twas on the Illinois Central that he won his fame.'" Emma clapped her hands together. "That is so cool, you're so cool..."

Casey smiled and shook Natalia's hand when she offered it. "Natalia Rivera."

Blake spoke up, "A late working night? Wedding plans?"

Natalia shook her head, "Movie night actually, taking a break from the wedding. Olivia's over at Cedars getting checked out. We'll have the usual."

Casey glanced between Natalia and Blake, "Someone's gonna have to tell me what constitutes usual."

Emma spoke from her stool with no other prompting. "Medium Well, you know, cooked, but not all black and icky, cheeseburger, no veggies." Natalia let a sigh escape her lips but Emma ignored it. "Mom likes well done, cheeseburger too, onions. She only eats half, otherwise Natalia gives her really stern looks, like when I want to have candy for breakfast. And Natalia likes it all on a well done hamburger, but no cheese." Emma shook her head.

Casey also raised an eyebrow, this time at Natalia, "No cheese?"

Emma giggled, "It's so weird."

"How else do you think I can keep this girlish figure?"

Casey chuckled, "Won't be too long for your burgers." She disappeared into the kitchen.

Another customer, Ashlee Wolfe, came in and Blake left Emma and Natalia alone at the counter. "Natalia, can we watch my choice for the movie?"

"I don't know, it's it your mother's turn."

Emma pouted, "But Mom's are never fun."

Natalia smiled and ran a hand through Emma's hair. "Well, we'll see if we can convince Olivia to let you pick. Though, we should leave out the part where her's are no fun."

Casey appeared at the counter. "Blake..." Blake looked up, "Apparently there's a trick to startin' up the stove back there?"

Blake nodded and made her way past Casey into the back.

"Sorry 'bout that. It'll be a little longe..." She trailed off. "Does anyone else hear that? It sounds... it sounds like..." Before she said another word she was over the counter. She grabbed Emma in her arms and plowed into Natalia, throwing herself and them across the room as the world seemed to contract and explode at the same time.

Olivia barely knew that she moved. One moment she was sitting in an exam room, being talked at by Rick, the next she was staring at the wreck of what had been Company. For a second it was as if she were stuck in time, she couldn't move, her heart was beating so fast she was surprised her monitor wasn't bleeping the hell out of itself. Or perhaps it was, but she couldn't hear anything. She felt the heat of the fire, and she could smell... She didn't even want to think the thought. "Natalia, Natalia, Emma, Em..."

She started towards the former restaurant, but was brought up short as a figure barreled out of Company with something in his or her arms. The person spoke, "Do NOT go in there, here, take them..."

Olivia stumbled as a stunned Natalia, who was holding a sobbing Emma was practically thrown into her arms. "Wait... what..."

The person dove back into Company, and Olivia sank to the ground, holding onto her love and her daughter for dear life.

"Blonde girl, blondie, blonde girl. If you can hear me, say something, say something, scream something..."

Casey heard a cough, and a soft voice, "Ashlee..."

"Ashlee, good, is my voice getting closer?"

Another cough, "Yes, my... my ankle hurts."

Casey practically dove at the pile of wood that Ashlee seemed to be under. "Hey, you know how many broken ankles I have, I had a thousand bucks for each time I broke it, well, I'd have at least five grand. Ah..." She pulled off the second to last beam. "There you are. And, still blonde. Does anything else hurt?"

Ashlee's eyes went wide when she saw Casey's face. "Oh my God, you..." Then the blonde sniffed, "That smells like gas."

"I know... can you wriggle out?" Ashlee shook her head. Casey nodded, mostly to herself and gripped the big beam that lay across Ashlee's ankle. "So... I'm new in town. Casey. Do buildings generally explode here?" Her muscles spasmed, but the beam didn't move.

Ashlee slowly shook her head, "Fire sometimes, but... I can."

Casey cut the younger woman off, "Don't move, okay. This is only a fuckin' piece of wood, and wood does not intimidate me." Ashlee frowned as Casey smirked to herself. She bent down, gripping the beam again. Then she pulled, using her knees, quads, back, arms, and every part of her being. A yell bubbled up from her diaphragm, made its way to her throat and Ashlee jumped as the groan turned into a full fledged primal scream, but the beam was moving, and moving.

Through gritted teeth Casey spoke, "Back up, back up, back up."

Ashlee scooted back quickly, and with a giant crash the beam came down. "Casey, are you…"

"Shush..." She knelt down and with one move threw Ashlee over her shoulder. "You think you're gonna fall, grab my belt or jeans, okay, 'cause we're gonna go fast now..."

Olivia jumped as a hand came down on her shoulder. She looked up, "Doris?"

The Mayor looked as freaked out as Olivia had only moments before. "Ashlee, where is my daughter, tell me you saw he..."

Everyone jumped as the building that had housed Company was totally obliterated. Debris rained from the sky. Where there had just been a restaurant, a boarding house, now there was debris field, wood, destroyed pots, pans, even torn to hell and back clothes. Doris stood in the middle of the street and stared at it. Her head started shaking, and it didn't stop, just kept going and going, and going.

Olivia stood and took a hold of one of Doris' hands. Her family was safe, but Doris' wasn't. Someone had to keep some sort of pretend calm in the situation. "Doris, Doris... Wolfe..." She slapped the mayor, who jumped, and focused on Olivia. "Speak words Doris. Was Ashlee..." The words got lost in Olivia's throat, but no words were needed as she saw the look on Doris' face.

Olivia put an arm around the Mayor's shoulders. "It didn't happen at the..."

Doris pushed Olivia away, "She was... she just wanted a sa... Did I, I didn't tell her I loved her... I haven't in such a lo..."

Everyone looked up as the young woman in question came shooting around what had been Company. "I need help, I need help, she's bleeding so badly, and Blake's with her, but she's hurt so bad, and she saved me..." She didn't get to finish her thought as she made an 'omfph' noise as Doris engulfed her daughter in a crushing hug. Ashlee tried to get out of it, wriggling and wiggling until she broke her mother's grip. "No, she's hurt, Casey's hurt. She saved me..."

And then Ashlee's ankle went out from under her. It was a combination of Olivia and Doris who caught her before she hit the ground. Olivia let her mother take care of Ashlee and looked down at Natalia, "Are you..."

Natalia waved her hand, "We're fine, go, go Liv, we'll send the paramedics back."

"Don't get up Casey, don't get up."

Casey pushed away Blake's hand and stood. She turned and came face to face with Olivia. "Move..."

"Have you seen yourself? I'd listen to Blake, she's not just the Manager of Company, she's done pretty much everything else in this town, and you... half your face is hanging off your... well, your face."

It was only a moment later that Remy and his partner came running around the corner.