Going to the Chapel
This was written for the June Wedding Challenge over on CCOAC; sorry it's a few days late! My characters were Hotch and Morgan, with prompts of minister, Bible and congratulatory toast. And for my friend Pandorabox82, Strauss is alive! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still don't own them. Damn it.
Saturday June 23rd had turned out to be a beautiful summer day and, luckily for the tuxedo-clad men in the Westover Baptist Church anteroom, not nearly as humid as the average Virginia summer day could be. Three of the men watched in amusement as the fourth paced the small room, steadily shredding a boutonnière, oblivious to his friends' conversation.
"I certainly hope that isn't the one he's supposed to be wearing when he gets to the altar."
A rare, amused smile came from another, "Of course not. JJ made sure to order a couple of extras when they finalized the account with the florist, just in case this happened."
"That's our girl. Good thing too, or you my friend would be in deep trouble." This last remark was directed at the youngest member of the trio, who looked offended.
"Me? Why would I be in trouble?"
Rossi laughed, his tone one of experience in these matters, "One, you're the best man and as such it is your sworn duty to ensure that Reid is on the altar sober, impeccable and on time. Two, do you honestly want to face your wife if everything doesn't go off without a hitch today?"
That brought an appropriately concerned expression to his face; his baby Girl had a very definite vision of how Reid and Austin's big day was to go and nobody but nobody wished to risk the wrath of Penelope Garcia-Morgan…especially not when she was three months pregnant and already hormonal. He'd like to retain his ability to have more children. So with his friends' laughter behind him Morgan crossed the room and took the young genius by the shoulders, halting his pacing, "Reid, calm down before you wear a hole in the rug."
The nervous groom blinked at him, "Statistically speaking, it would be impossible for me to wear out the rug in a short span of time. The material is…"
"Not the point right now. It was just an expression. You need to relax."
"I am relaxed," Reid smiled sheepishly when Morgan took the shredded flower from his hand and held it up between them, "Okay, maybe I am a little nervous."
Hotch walked over to join them and pinned a fresh boutonniere to the young genius's jacket, "Reid, you'll be fine; just calm down. It's almost time."
"Yeah, no one's going to be looking at you anyways."
"Dave!"
"What? It's true!"
Hotch sighed, "Don't you have a young lady waiting for you to escort her down the aisle?" Austin didn't have any family, at least none that she talked about but had grown close to the BAU team in the year and a half since she'd moved to Virginia. As a result, to the surprise of some, David and Erin Rossi were standing in as father and mother of the bride today. Thankfully, Dave took the not-so-subtle hunt and left with a grin and a wave to check on the bridal party, leaving Hotch and Morgan to keep Reid from shredding the flowers again. Of course, Morgan being Morgan, teased Reid in order to distract him.
"Y'know, I never thought this day would come: the baby of the family is finally getting married!" Reid shot him a dirty look and Hotch shook his head in amusement; both responses drawing a grin from Morgan, "What? It's true!"
Luckily for Reid the minister entered the room, Bible in hand, before Morgan could say anything else. To the surprise of the men, Emily Prentiss came in on the minister's heels; she was visiting from England for the occasion. The minister took Reid aside to impart some last minute words of wisdom and Prentiss drew the other two men to the side. After hugging each in greeting she informed them that they were needed in the back of the church; the bridal party had arrived and they were ready to begin.
While Morgan retrieved the nervous groom (and double-checked on the continued survival of his boutonnière) Prentiss took her former boss' arm and remarked, "Y'know Hotch, we really need to stop meeting like this," which drew an unexpected laugh from the former Unit Chief. It was true; out of Prentiss's last six visits home, one was for a birth and this was the fourth one for a BAU wedding. And that wasn't even counting the trip the team took to London for her wedding last fall. It was becoming a bit of a habit.
"Don't worry; at least this is the last wedding. Although I suppose you'll have to come back again when the baby comes in a few months. How've you been?"
"Not too bad. Mark and I are doing well and work's been quiet for once. How's the new job treating you? The kids have gotten big!"
"Never been better. My schedule is more predictable now, which is a definite plus." The two reached the pew where Emily and her husband were sitting and where Diana Reid would join them soon. "I'll catch you later." With a brief nod to her husband he turned and re-joined Morgan, who had gotten Reid to the altar.
As they made their way up the side aisle towards the back of the church Hotch caught his friend briefly by the shoulder and asked, "What are you planning to say at the reception?"
That got him a confused look, "Huh?"
"The toast…which I've been asked to remind you is a toast not a roast…what are you planning to say?"
Morgan quickly fixed an insulted look on his face, though the grin he was suppressing threatened to slip through, "Hotch, I promise, I won't pick on the kid. At least not too much. Don't you trust me?"
That got a dry chuckle, "Of course I do, for the most part. However, I will remind you that during the wedding party dance, you're dancing with my wife and we both know that she won't hesitate to stab you in the foot with a stiletto if you go too far."
Morgan winced at the reminder of the feisty blonde; JJ was a mama bear and friendship (or the fact that he was technically her boss) wouldn't save him if she deemed him out of line, "Understood. Don't worry Hotch, I promise I won't tease him too much."
"Fair enough." The two reached the back of the church where the rest of the wedding party was waiting for them. Personally, Hotch wasn't too worried about the toast but Morgan's habit of teasing Reid did occasionally go too far, so he couldn't blame his wife for wanting him to pass on the reminder. Speaking of his wife….
Hotch kissed JJ on the cheek and then took Diana Reid's arm for their walk to her seat, "Mrs. Reid, how are you doing today?" A slightly nervous smile was his only answer. Her nurse/companion would meet them at her pew and watch out for her during the ceremony and reception. Reid's mother had grown slightly more comfortable with her son's friends over the years, on the rare occasions that they met, but she still maintained a high level of skepticism about them as well. But still, she took Hotch's arm and prepared to follow Morgan and Erin Rossi down the aisle as the music started. The crowd and the strangers made her nervous but this was her only son's wedding and she wasn't going to miss it for the world.
Once Morgan and Erin were halfway down the aisle Hotch patted her hand reassuringly and led her to her pew. There was a brief moment when he thought she would bolt but the sight of Spencer at the altar seemed to calm her. When they reached her pew he helped her into her seat next to her companion and then moved to stand next to Morgan. This was it.
To Morgan's amusement, Reid finally seemed to relax a bit as everyone's attention moved from him at the front of the church to the back, awaiting the appearance of the bride. Jack Hotchner came first, carrying the rings, followed by Henry who was escorting their two-year-old sister. Little Elizabeth was having a grand time tossing flower petals about by the handful. Penelope and then JJ followed the children. Morgan's grin grew at the expression on Reid's face when he finally caught sight of Austin at the end of the aisle; the kid looked like he'd been struck dumb at the sight of her. Luckily for him, he seemed to recover by the time she reached the altar and Rossi gave her hand to him. He may have promised to behave during the toast but that didn't mean he wasn't going to tease Reid about his deer-in-the-headlights expression at some point today!
Hotch, for his part, glanced around the church with a smile threatening to form on his lips. The last few years had been alternately happy, stressful and nerve-wracking and at times even traumatizing for his team. Marriages, retirements, promotions, a birth, relocation and shifting roles within the team had changed their lives in many ways. But seeing his wife and kids, seeing their friends happily married made all of the hard times worth it. And now, watching the youngest member of their little family, the one who had arguably endured the most heartache in his short life, marry the one woman who could keep him grounded when his mind began to run away without him, who completed him, put Hotch's mind at ease.
Life was good.