Part 1

A white dress was falling like a second skin over Sofia's body. The smooth silk felt like the soft and warm spring wind on the skin after a long hard winter.

"You look stunning." Sofia's mother had to fight with her tears. Seeing her daughter in her wedding dress was something that made the captain swallow. She could face dozens of criminals, could handle shark like lawyers but seeing her daughter ready for her big day, that gave her the tears.

"If you start crying mom you'll ruin your make up." Sofia looked at herself in the big mirror. Her white wedding dress started over her breasts, leaving the shoulder free and ended on the ground. She always wanted to have a long white dress, that would swing like a bell when she walked and exactly that was what she was wearing now.

"The white dress and your blond hair make your eyes shinning even more." Her mother sobbed.

"I don't think it's the dress and the hair color, I think it's because I get married in an hour. Thanks for not freaking out, mom."

"You know you shocked me when you told me on your birthday you'll marry Sara."

"Scared your daughter is gay?"

"No…yes…no…it never occurred to me that you and Sara could be up to something like that. I thought you were joking."

"We were joking about this for years until my birthday came closer and closer. Somehow we knew, we had talked so much about it, we had to do it."

"At least you're marrying somebody who loves you. Not in the way you're supposed to love your wife but it's love and you won't fight."

"Nothing will be different for us. The state won't accept the wedding as a legal partnership, we will be two house mates. And we both won't mind when the other wants a divorce. It's more that we can say: yes, we're married."

"I can remember when you were six and tried a white dress, playing bride in front of my mirror. I only wish you'd marry the man of your dreams. A real wedding, a real family with children."

Sofia wished the same but it never worked out and she was sick and tired of waiting for Mister Right. And she was running out of time, she was forty and if she wanted two children it was about time to get pregnant. She didn't have the time to wait another few years until she found the man who wanted to start a family with her; if there was this man around. So far he managed to stay out of Sofia's life.

"You'll get your grandchildren. Sara and me will be busy with family things the next months. After the honeymoon we'll look for a house, move in together and in around half a year, when everything is settled with the new place, I want to get pregnant. There are two children on my list, you'll be a grandmother." For not being a real family they had really family like plans.

"That sounds old."

"No that sounds like the captain won't chase bad boys but cheeky children." Sofia's mother was close to her retirement, she was in her last year and Sofia was sure, her mother would love to have a new preoccupation. Especially when that meant she had to spend time with her grandchildren.

"You won't stop working?"

"No. I'll stay home for two or three months and after that the child will go to daycare. And mom, Sara will be the legal guardian. I want her involved as much as possible. No matter if we do all this for fun, she'll be with the child and me in the house, she'll take care of it, I want her to be as much involved as possible. She will be his or her mother too. The same rights, the same obligations."

"I know. I hope she knows how important she is to you."

"She does and so am I to her. Now when you stopped crying like a little girl and worrying like a mom could you become a helpful captain and close the zip?"

"Sure." Sofia's mother smiled. She wished she was as eased as her daughter. There were no signs that Sofia was nervous, her daughter seemed to be calm and relaxed. Excited yes, happy, absolutely, but not nervous.

"Wow, you look stunning." Sara smiled when Greg came in her room. He wore a black suit with a little flower and his hair looked tamed and had only one color.

"So do you, I wish I could run away with you to…Reno…and marry you. God, does Sofia know how lucky she is?"

"Is she?"

"You looked in the mirror lately…let's see there's a huge one next to you. Pay some attention to it, Sara."

"I will as soon as you have helped me with my dress. Zip please."

"My honor." He walked to her and closed the zip of her dress. "I hope Sofia doesn't dream of a white wedding."

"She does. For herself. It was never mentioned that I've to wear white. Can't steal her the show in a white dress."

"That's why you wear a deep red one?" Greg laughed. He could barely take his eyes out of Sara. She wore a long red dress, her hair was tied up so that her shoulders were completely free. Her eyes seemed to be darker today, they had almost the color of her hair.

"She's such a lucky woman."

"Stop drooling or I've to look for another groomsman."

"Sorry. Isn't a man allowed to dream? The last minutes his dream woman is available. In less than one hour you'll be married and I've to stop dreaming of you. How did you sleep last night?"

"Perfect. I worked until midnight, went home, called Sofia and fell asleep around half one."

"You worked? Grissom made you work?"

"No, he let me work, I asked for it. No need to sit around alone." Without a family there was nobody than her colleagues in Sara's life. Having them working made her evening boring and lonely.

"You didn't see Sofia?"

"You're not supposed to see the bride the night before the wedding. Didn't you read the wedding handbook?" Sara laughed.

"Yeah…who is the bride?"

"We're both."

"Weren't you supposed to have a hen's night?"

"Without my best friend? Impossible. And I don't see any good reason for this night. I mean some women behave like they'll lose their life the next day, if I'd feel like I'll end up in a cage, I wouldn't get married. Nothing will change for me, I can still date whoever I want after the wedding. No need to celebrate a goodbye of anything."

"You can celebrate something new, being married."

"I will after the wedding."

"You've got barely time." At least not with her friends.

"I know. Sorry."

"That's alright, you'll have to go out with me when you're back." He pulled her in his arms. "I'm glad you're happy, Sara."

"Thanks Greg." She leant in for a second. It was good to have her friend around. The wedding ceremony was at nine o'clock, they had chosen an early appointment so that their colleagues could go from work straight to the wedding. A later appoint-ment would have meant they had to get up early. It was better to stay another four or five hours awake and go to bed then. Grissom, for the first time in his career, had finished working before his colleagues and was over at seven to join Sara for her breakfast. He didn't want her alone after there was no family she had around herself. That was a reason why Sofia didn't feel comfortable with the not seeing the night before the wedding business. She didn't want Sara to be alone neither but Sara had insisted of the tradition. She was fine with the work until midnight, the phone call and the breakfast with Grissom.

"You'll get married, that sounds so crazy." Greg chuckled.

"It does, doesn't it?" Sara had to giggle.

"But you marry a woman, something unusual and against most odds. That is typical Sara Sidle…will it be Sara Curtis after the wedding?"

"No."

"You both keep your names?"

"Yes we do. Remember, it's not a marriage the state approves. We didn't want to many hassle with it, all we want is to wear our dresses and have the ceremony. No matter if we won't get any legal benefits with it, it's only for us and making a childhood dream come true."

"Again that doesn't sound like you. Marriage a childhood dream."

"Stop making me sound like I'm an anti-social person."

"Nobody would ever say that about you." He grinned and nudged her. It was good to see Sara happy and relaxed and he hoped, she'd stay it for a long, long time.