"Sorry, sorry, sorry!"
Kate's brows furrow upon hearing the distant, though unmistakable, sound of Lanie's voice echoing throughout the hallway of the house.
The detective's eyes narrow as she briefly sticks her head out the door; extremely relieved to see her maid of honor practically flying up the stairs and into the master bedroom of the Hampton House.
"Finally," the detective thinks to herself with an annoyed sigh as she falls back down onto the bed, choosing to stay put instead of rushing to great the M.E. with open arms.
Beckett is absolutely furious at her maid of honor's disappearing act. She was supposed to arrive at the Hamptons over an hour ago, and Beckett only has exactly fifty-three minutes to be completely ready before the wedding starts.
Okay, so maybe she is already completely dressed; except her dress, of course.
And, maybe, she did not really want anyone to help her do her hair and makeup.
But she did not actually think that she wouldn't have any other option than to do it herself.
As the M.E.'s full appearance comes into view, Beckett's eyes widen; her anger instantly replaced by amusement. The slightly tousled hair, combined with the woman's dilated pupils, is more than enough to elicit a loud laugh from the detective. Lanie's face contorts into a terse glare at Kate's reaction, causing the detective to quickly place a hand over her mouth in attempt to suppress the overwhelming urge to laugh.
Upon regaining her composure the detective folds her arms across her chest, lips curving into a knowing smirk as she meets her friends gaze; eyebrows raised with an unasked question as she silently interrogates the M.E.
"Since when is it okay to interrogate your best friend?," Lanie defensively retorts as she takes in the detective's familiar stance.
Kate merely rolls her eyes at the woman's accusation. "Those sound like the words of someone with a guilty conscience," Beckett replies easily; her smirk growing wider as she narrows her eyes.
Brown eyes lock on green; both women refusing to move a muscle until the other surrenders.
The sound of a piano playing in the distance brings both women out of their stare down and back into reality.
"You're going to miss your wedding," Lanie says casually, in a slightly panicked tone of voice, hoping to deviate Kate's attention to something else, suddenly oblivious to the fact that neither woman is completely dressed.
"Really? That's the best you can come up with?" The detective chuckles at the M.E.'s failed attempt to redirect her attention, strategically ignoring the obvious discrepancy. "Last time I checked, the wedding can't exactly start without the bride," Beckett responds, punctuating her words with a teasing smirk.
The music continues to play softly in the background; though, neither woman moves.
Upon hearing the beginning notes of the wedding march, Lanie's eyes widen. She cannot understand why Kate refuses to let this go. "It's her wedding for goodness sake," Lanie thinks inwardly slowly beginning to feel her resolve break as she takes in the detective's stubborn expression.
Finally, Lanie relents.
"Okay, okay. Yes. It happened," she practically yells at Kate while simultaneously shoving the bouquet of flowers into her friend's hand, "I will not be the reason you miss your wedding, Katherine Becket, now get out there!," Lanie finishes as jerks the detective off of the bed and roughly shoves her toward the door.
The detective's features contort into a sly smirk upon hearing Lanie's confession.
"Thanks for the help, Martha!" Beckett yells as she pokes her head out of the bedroom doorway. Her future mother-in-law is sitting at the downstairs piano with a cheeky smile on her face as she continues quietly running her hands over the white and black keys. The detective flashes the older woman a bright smile before calmly re-entering the room.
Lanie's eyes widen in realization at her friends words; her mouth falling agape as she struggles to form her thoughts into coherent speech. The M.E. groans loudly as she clumsily falls onto the bed, placing both arms across her eyes in embarrassment.
Beckett bursts into a fit of laughter at the M.E.'s reaction. She plops gracefully onto the bed next to Lanie, chuckling quietly for a few more seconds before attempting to regain her composure. The detective's eyes twinkle with curiosity as she nudges Lanie's hip with her elbow.
"So, you were saying?"