Chapter 1

Central Park, New York City, 2009

The marriage ceremony between Detective Mac Taylor and Miranda "Randi" Wilcox went off without a hitch.

Randi wore a dress identical to the one worn by the lady in Nene Thomas's painting, Lovers, while Mac, somehow coaxed by Randi, wore what the gentleman in the same painting wore.

Detective Don Flack served as Mac's Best Man, with Fabio, Randi's beloved dog, was a groomsdog.

Angel, Randi's business manager and one of two BFF's, was the Maid of Honor and Candy, her other BFF and secretary, was a bride's maid, along with her three Chihuahuas, Tootsie, Macaroon, and Licorice.

Danny and Lindsey Messer's daughter, Lucy, who was also Mac's godchild was a Flower Girl, and she had a great time dumping her basket of flower petals all over her daddy's head. Randal, Angel's son, was the ring bearer with his daddy, Trey, Angel's husband.

Randi's father gave her away, Fabio fell asleep on Don's feet, and the groom kissed his bride.

The reception was a picnic gathering with everyone bringing food and drinks. Lucy and Randal loved the dogs and the dogs loved them. Mind you, the dogs loved anyone who paid attention to them and fed them.

There was only one problem. Someone had fed Fabio cheese, garlic, and onions, not realizing the ban or knowing the repercussions of doing so.

There was a nice campfire going for hot dogs and s'mores.

And Fabio proved that certain intestinal gases are indeed flammable when exposed to an open flame.

In typical Wilcox fashion, his timing could not have been more perfect. At that particular moment CSI Sheldon Hawkes was walking past the fire with a box of firecrackers, intended for use later that day. The minor explosion caused by Fabio's backfire not only startled him, but also Medical Examiner Sid Hammerback, who accidently hit Sheldon, which sent the box of firecrackers in to the fire.

And chaos ensued.

In the end, no one was seriously hurt but police were called in on account of 'gunshots' heard by witnesses. It took some explaining by both Mac and Randi to calm things down, along with some pacifying of the locals, thanks to the fact that Randi had the number of a bakery in Hoboken on speed-dial who did deliveries.

The next day the Times paper read, "Taylor-Wilcox Marriage Starts With A Bang."