The church had beautiful stained glass windows, and the sunlight that streamed into the church through those multi-colored windows cast the interior of the church in a soft, ethereal glow. He tried to remember if the colors of the flowers had been picked specifically with the stained glass windows in mind. Colby couldn't recall when any flowers had ever looked quite as beautiful as they did that day, bathed in the soft, colored light.
He thought about the planning and preparation that had gone into this occasion. No raid or assault that he had ever been a part of had required quite the planning that this wedding had received. Realizing that life and limb would be in far more danger than at any raid in his career thus far, he had done his best to stay out of the way of these preparations, offering a response only when one was requested of him. And then only responses that he thought would make her happy. He counted himself lucky, there had only been one bout of tears.
The unity candle in front of the altar caught his eye. Smiling, he reminisced to himself about the choice of this candle. He hadn't understood why it couldn't be just any candle. He wasn't sure if he understood, even now, why this candle was THE candle, the one to represent the union of two lives. It hadn't looked any more special to him than all the other candles they had looked at, at least not until they'd pressed one of the pair of xeraphim into it. Something old and something borrowed at the same time. Amita had lent them the pair of xeraphim, silver coins of old seventeenth century Goa. They had been in her family for generations. Pure silver coins that apparently no longer existed. All but these had been melted down over the generations, for the silver. He remembered how touched Amita had been at the request, when they told her they had chosen these coins as a symbol of longevity for this union.
Breathing in the fragrance of the tulips and a host of other flowers he couldn't identify, he marvelled at the flower arrangements. There were four huge stands of flowers, all in shades of purple and pink. He particularly liked the little arrangements on the lacy paper, doilies, he thought they were called, that decorated the ends of the pews. They had been designed with small gifts hidden in them, to be given to the children of their guests after the ceremony at the church. The idea that the children would have a memento of the occasion had appealed to him.
The guests were beginning to fill the pews. Colby looked up, and acknowledged Don's encouraging smile with a nod and a smile of his own. David stopped to shake his hand, smirking a little when the slight tremble in his hands betrayed his nervousness. Happiness, and some emotion he couldn't identify, rose from his chest to his throat and threatened to choke him, as he watched their families stream in, mingling with their ever-widening circle of friends.
The butterflies came back in full force when the music for the procession began. Sunlight glinted off the other xeraphim, catching his eye. Despite all the custom jewelry at her disposal, she had chosen to wear the xeraphim on a silver chain, nestled at her throat. Colby's eyes met her anxious ones. He smiled reassuringly, and was rewarded with a smile that rivalled the sun in its brilliance.
The voice of the minister caught Colby's attention. "Who gives this woman to this union?"
"Her mother and I do," Colby said, with quiet pride.
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Author's Note:
I admit it, there's not an original idea in this pathetic brain of mine. I loved Hope's K is for Kismet, about the birth of Colby's child, and Lady Nocturne's M is for Mine about Don's toddler. I simply had to do something similar. I did say that I wouldn't write Colby and Hannah's wedding, but I figured a gorgeous man like Colby would eventually get married and have children, right? ;-)