Disclaimer- Nope.
A/N: As promised! First of all, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I'm overwhelmed by the response! Thanks, too, for all the wishes and kind words!
Here we see Steph's POV, and until the end, we'll be alternating between Steph and Ranger.
In lieu of trying to make my dedications in chronological day to meeting these people, this chapter is dedicated to a most amazing friend that I'm extremely grateful to have made; this chapter is dedicated to chesi66. You've been a huge support and driving force, and I can never tell you how much I appreciate all the times you've been so straight with me, both in this world, and in real life. I can hardly imagine not knowing you anymore! To my awesome friend and the rare bond we've managed to shape. Love ya!
Also, to Josie, who is inevitably in my thoughts today :)
Enjoy!
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Stephanie
Ugh, I hated weddings.
The overdone themes, the nauseating colors that looked suspiciously like a clown-murder scene, the stuffy dresses, the droning music that- funny enough- still couldn't drown out the nosy relatives' slew of questions, the inevitable amount of kettles and toasters and photo albums that pile every available space until you're tripping over them, the whole spectacle of it all. Weddings were supposed to be intimate and heartfelt and meaningful, not a chance to out-do the rest of the world by buying the most expensive flowers and wearing the most A-Line dresses and ordering the most giant tiered cake America had ever seen. Not that I minded too much about the cake.
But my point was, when did the beauty of two souls coming together in the holy sanctity of marriage, to be bonded for an eternity together, become such a God damned commercial affair?
I glared darkly around me, refusing to participate in the deception that was being produced to the world. I had come all the way to Newark and crammed myself into a ridiculously complicated, Victorian style gown to go with my cousin, Tiffany's, wedding theme, all to watch as she recited vows straight from Runaway Bride while getting an eyeful of the best man. I would have felt sorry for the poor jerk marrying her, until he caught a handful of Tiffany's best friend's ass and squeezed, winking lecherously while Tiffany was busy texting God-knows-who. It sickened me, knowing that anyone could take this kind of profound vow so callously and carelessly. I considered it a personal blow too, since the Dick had done precisely the same thing to me.
Since when did people marry for the glamour of it?
I know my passionate outrage at the defiling of the practice might confuse everyone who ever thought they knew me. Yes, I was wholeheartedly and profoundly against marrying again…but that didn't mean I didn't respect what it was supposed to signify. What it was supposed to stand for and be symbolic of. I was scared to put that vow in the same sentence as my life, but only because I was so horribly scarred by it. Just because The Dick screwed me over (or rather, screwed Joyce Barnhardt, the town slut, over our dining room table) deep down I knew that it wasn't a testament to all the men in the world. Look at my Daddy. He and Mom have been married for years and years and yet every morning, from as far back as I can remember, they share a look over the breakfast table. A look that disgusted me as a child, warmed me as a teenager and humbled me as an adult. A look that spoke of the love between them that was as strong as the day they first met.
So yes, I was scared of marriage. But I respected it. I respected what I knew it used to stand for. Which is why this wedding was pissing me off.
I wondered idly to myself whether I would face my fears and take the proverbial plunge if I met the right man…and promptly shut that line of thinking down. Too many painful emotions in a place that was already turning me emo.
I flopped on to my chair and rearranged the endless layers of skirts until I was sure it covered all the necessary parts. The dress's corseted bodice was a killer, and though it did my breasts a world of good, it hindered my breathing enough to make me think twice about sighing that deep sigh that had been building up since I got here. Instead, I chose the more pleasing evil and snagged one of the doughnuts on the table. I figured I deserved it, for fitting into this torture contraption in the first place.
That stuff'll kill you, Babe.
I giggled breathlessly to myself as Ranger's words played in my mind. Only Batman could make me laugh even when I wasn't sure I could smile anymore, leave alone the fact that he didn't even need to be here.
I felt a pang as I realized I missed him. He'd been in the Wind about 3 weeks now, and he'd been deliberately vague about everything. All that served to comfort me was his sincere promise that it wasn't a dangerous mission. Still, I prayed for him every night.
Ranger was…my best friend? No, that wouldn't encompass everything the Man in Black was to me. He was also my protector, my mentor, my pillar of strength and my backstop. He was my Achilles' heel and my anchor in a storm. He was…
Making me far too God damned clichéd.
I giggled softly to myself again. Tracing the intricate pattern of the bodice with the tip of my finger, I absent-mindedly hummed some inane tune I'd heard earlier on the radio. When the buzz at the base of my neck materialized, I thought nothing of it, relishing in the surface buzz coating my body and pretending Ranger was here. But how could he be? Besides being in The Wind and out of contact, no one outside of Mary Lou knew I was going for this charade of a wedding. I snapped out of my stupor as my niece ran up to me, giggling breathlessly and looking flushed with excitement.
"Auntie Steph!" she cried, barreling into me and brandishing a white rose. "Look at the pretty flower!"
I grinned and inspected the single blossom that, surprisingly enough, was inordinately beautiful. White roses were among my favorites, given how classy they were, but they were way out of line with the mass of pink and red roses that were threatening to rob me of my sense of smell.
"It's stunning, Mary-Alice," I bounced the flower lightly off the tip of her nose, grinning when she went into another bout of giggles. "Where'd you get it?"
"It's for you, the big scary man asked me to take it to you!" she exclaimed, and my entire body froze, blood turning to ice in my veins. Was this another sick, twisted death threat? "He's not so scary, Auntie Steph," MA babbled on, oblivious to my terror. "He's a nice man."
"Aun' Seph!" a screech pulled me out of thoughts and I saw Lisa toddling toward me with a broad grin on her face. In her hands, she held two roses. I accepted them wordlessly, stunned and worried, snapping out of it when Lisa latched on to my right leg. Desperate for information, I turned to my middle niece.
"MA," I started urgently, before being interrupted by another, somewhat more restrained call. I looked up to see Angie walking dignifiedly to me, careful with her dress, and wielding, now, a small bouquet of the long-stemmed, white roses.
"Angie, sweetheart, who are these from?" I asked her, trying hard to keep my voice calm. The oldest girl shrugged delicately.
"From the man you work with, Auntie Steph," she replied innocently. "He asked us to bring them to you."
The man I worked with?
The buzzing became more pronounced and as my hand went to the back of my neck, I had to swallow hard and try to will away the hope budding inside me. I turned in a slow circle, hoping to spot the familiar face.
Ranger.
He stood at the other end of the room, leaning against the wall in that casual way of his that never failed to make my heart skip. He looked the epitome of debonair, in what, I would bet my life savings on, was a black-on-black, tailor made Armani suit. He smiled at me, a lazy, charming grin, and keeping his eyes locked on mine, loped forward, until we were almost a hair's breadth away.
"Babe," he rumbled, in that husky tone that turned my knees to Jell-O.
"Batman," I returned breathlessly, drinking in the sight of him. Flicking my eyes over him in a cursory glance, I sighed in relief when I found no injuries.
"How was the mission? And how did you find me?"
"I went to Mary Lou's house," he admitted, flashing me a grin. "And babe, I wasn't on a mission. I was being debriefed."
"Can you tell me what for?" I worded the request carefully, waving my nieces away with a flick of my head in the general direction of Val and Albert.
"My contract was being terminated." The simple statement was punctuated with a full-on, 2000 Mega-watt Ranger-Grin.
A pang resounded in my chest. "Is that a good or a bad thing?"
"It's a great thing."
"Why?" I asked curiously. "I thought you loved it."
"I used to," he consented. "Now I love someone else even more."
He locked eyes with me and pulled my hips flush into his. Inches away from my lips, I could barely breathe.
And so, four simply uttered words changed my life forever.
"It's time for Someday."
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