Author's note: Wow everyone, sorry for the huge delay. Here's the next chapter of A Shotgun Wedding. Hoping to have some of the others updated soon. Enjoy!


"Hey Don, you go a sec?" Danny asked as he stopped beside his friend's desk. Don looked up, frowning slightly at the other man's expression. He was nervous, shifting from foot to foot as he waited for Flack's answer.

"Sure Danno, what's up?" He asked "Lemme guess, you pissed of Linds again and need someone to catch a game with?" It was an attempt at a joke, one that was lost on Danny.

"What? No, no, nothing like that. Look, ya mind goin' somewhere private?" Without waiting for answer, Danny headed for the interrogation rooms at the back of the precinct.

More than a little alarmed now Flack followed, concerned about what had his friend so nervous. "Alright Danny you got me alone, what do you need to talk about?"

"Lindsay and I are getting married." Danny blurted, thoroughly confusing the homicide detective.

"Uh, Dan I think you're confused. You guys are already married." Don slowly explained "You've been in the lab too long man."

A hand darted out, giving a light punch to the Irish-Italian. "Nah man, we're doing it again. Big, proper wedding, out in Montana with Lindsay's family. Trying to get the entire team out there too."

Flack let out a low whistle as Danny's words sunk in. "You talked to the bosses about this?"

"Mac and Stella. Stel said not to worry, she'd take care of the higher ups." A soft chuckle "And you know Stella. She can get it done no matter what."

"Yeah, you ain't kidding." Don joined in the chuckle. "Now, what did you want to ask me?"

"Would you be my best man?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Stella smiled politely at the receptionist as she was ushered into Chief Sinclair's office. Standing he reached across the desk to shake her hand before gesturing to a seat. "Detective Bonasera, what can I do for you today?"

"I need to talk to you about Detectives Messer and Monroe." To avoid confusion, Lindsay decided to keep going by her maiden name at work, making it easier to differentiate between her and Danny. Sinclair's face lost the polite smile he had pasted on there for their meeting, a frown taking it's place.

"And what exactly have they done now? Let me guess, after all the trouble they caused now they want a divorce." He stood now, pacing behind his desk.

Trying to control her rising irritation at the man across from her, Stella shook her head. "No. In fact, they want to do a real wedding in Lindsay's hometown. And they want all of us to attend."

She fought back a smirk watching the chief's face change. "And what exactly makes you think I'm going to allow that to happen? You know Bonasera you've been a blemish on this department for some time now. Four civilian complaints and those are only the official ones. Not to mention this recent stunt of continuing your own investigation despite the order to drop it." With a sigh he dropped back into his chair "I should have fired you when Taylor didn't."

"So fire me now." Stella shrugged, leaning back as she watched him. "If you think Mac is a problem now, try giving him a new partner. Not to mention how the team will react." Sinclair's eyes narrowed as she continued. "I'm sure the public would love to know why a detective from the crime lab with four complaints on her record had to travel to Greece in order to solve a case that was supposedly being handled by another department. Now, you and I both know that they won't care that I was ordered to stand down, especially if I fail to mention that little fact. Or if it's discovered that that same detective was also cleared of manslaughter charges after she shot her boyfriend. And that the investigation was lead by her own team instead of Internal Affairs."

Leaning forward, she locked eyes with the chief. "I'm not Mac Chief. I have absolutely no problem playing politics, especially for someone I care about."

The chief of detectives practically had steam coming out of his ears as he thought over her threat. Firing her would cause more problems for the department as a whole, and she was right, Taylor would never handle another partner. Finally he let out a deep breath "What do you want?"

Unable to stop herself, Stella allowed a satisfied smile cross her features as she answered. "Three days off, taken out of personal vacation time. For all of us. Flack, Angell, Messer, Monroe, Ross, Hawkes, Hammerback, Mac, and myself. No contact, anything that happens can be dealt with when we come back."

"Very well." She stood before he spoke again. "This is a onetime deal Bonasera. Next time something like this comes up, I won't hesitate to fire you."

"Understood sir. Thank you." And with that she was out the door, giving the receptionist another smile. The reality of what she had just done didn't hit her until the elevators. But it had been worth the threat of losing her job. Her teammates were her family, with Danny and Lindsay taking the place of younger siblings. She wanted everything to be perfect for them.

Sinclair sat back in his chair as she left, replaying their conversation in his mind. Finally a smile crossed his face. Bonasera would be a fine supervisor once Taylor retired. And perhaps a more interesting one as well.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Alright Lindsay, you got us here, now what's the big surprise?" Hawkes asked after the entire team had filed into the break room for Lindsay's big announcement.

She sent a mock glare at her friend before addressing all of them. "Now that I'm not the size of a whale, Danny and I have decided to have a real wedding. Church, dress, tux, the whole nine yards. We're going to have it in Montana and I want all of you to be there."

Each of the faces around her displayed some form of shock or amazement. "Montana?" This time Angell was the first to speak up. "Lindsay, it's great that you guys are doing this, but how are you going to get all of us out there at the same time. Sinclair's never going to allow it."

"Don't worry about that. The Chief has no problem with us taking a few days off and leaving the city." Stella answered, her expression and tone leaving no room for questions on how she had done it.

Dubious glances were cast in her direction, each of her friends wondering what she had done in order to accomplish it.

Finally Sid stepped forward, hugging the couple. "And when should we be expecting to 'head out West'?" He asked with a smile.

Danny now spoke, wrapping an arm around Lindsay. "Well, we haven't really set a date yet. Kinda hoping for something in the early fall, but it's up to her." The Italian gave his wife a kiss on the top of her head.

Blushing slightly Lindsay turned back to the group. "There is one thing I need to tell you guys. When I transferred here, I was living and working in Bozeman. But that's not where I grew up. The wedding will be taking place at my home church. The First Church of Manhattan, in Manhattan, Montana."


Yes, there really is a Manhattan, Montana. It's about 20 miles from Bozeman. I couldn't resist using it. :)

Reviews are appreciated.