Atlantic City, Saturday Morning…

We got in late last night. Steph and Hector had a skip that gave them a lot of static, so we ended up leaving late.

It's early now. I got up to spend some time at the hotel's indoor track. I'm currently debating whether or not to wake my wife to go with me. On one hand, she's used to the exercise. On the other hand, waking her at five in the morning is always a precarious move.

She had a busy day yesterday. It started at the mall, where she and Hector met Lula to shop for a wedding dress. That took them multiple hours, as the mall didn't have what Lula wanted. They finally found what she was looking for at a small clothing store not far from Stark Street. I didn't dare ask what it looks like. After they found a dress, they went hunting for shoes. From there, the ladies had their hair and nails done while Hector arranged the wedding reception.

While Lula went home to get packed, Steph and Hector went out to hunt for Elmer Smith. Since his address was listed as a homeless shelter, and he has no friends or family locally, they had a hard time tracking him down. Steph finally hit upon he idea of returning to the bar he'd been arrested for trashing. Sure enough, there he was.

I look down at her, sleeping peacefully, and decide to let her sleep.

Steph is running around our suite, searching for God knows what. Her dress is laid out on the bed. Her shoes are on the floor next to it. She's wearing her under things and stockings already, along with her jewelry.

"Babe."

She stops emptying her suitcase and looks at me. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

"I can't find the card!"

I pull the card out of my suit pocket and hold it up. "This card, that you gave me to hold so it wouldn't get lost?"

She flashes me a dazzling smile. "That card."

I walk across the room and kiss her gently. "Get dressed, Babe."

She drops the robe she is wearing and my mouth goes dry. Jesus. You'd think I'd have gotten used to seeing her half dressed or naked by now. I haven't, though. Every time I see her – in any state of dress – she takes my breath away. She slips into the ice-blue dress she chose for the evening. She turns her back to me and I zip her in, pausing to kiss the nape of her neck. "You look beautiful."

She blushes and turns to me. "So do you."

"Babe." That gets me an eye roll.

She slides her feet into her shoes. Not for the first time, I wonder how she manages to walk in heels that high. But, oh, what they do for her legs. I heave a mental sigh. It's going to be a long evening.

"Let's go," she finally says. I take her hand and we leave the suite. We take the elevator down to the conference room where Tank and Lula will be married by a Justice of the Peace.

All of the off duty RangeMan employees will be there. Hal will record the who thing so that Tank and Lula will have a DVD of the ceremony, and to show anyone unable to be here. Heather, Connie, and Melvin were also invited. Vinnie was not.

Hector is giving Lula away. He seemed pleased to give away his 'favorite ladies.'. Steph will be standing up for Lula, as I am for Tank.

Lula, Juan, and Hector are standing outside the door to the room. Tank must already be inside. I do a double take when I see Lula. Holy shit. I have to work at putting a smile on my face without my jaw hitting the floor. She's wearing white spandex and lace. The dress is not unlike the one she gave Steph. It's long and white, but skin tight, backless, and has a V down to her navel. The spandex is stretched to its limits, and the lace filling in the V is looking strained. Lula looks stressed. Her smile is a little wobbly, and she can't seem to stand still.

Steph goes over and hugs her. "You look great!" she tells Lula. She's right, too. Despite the outfit, Lula is glowing. She looks beautiful.

Hector nods his assent. Juan says, "Very beautiful," and nods, too. Apparently, everyone is in agreement here. I'm betting Tank will think so, too.

I kiss her on the cheek. "Ready, Lula?" I ask her.

She beams at me, nodding. "Damn skippy!"

I do my best to hug her. She's a big woman. "I'll see you in a few minutes," I tell her as Hector takes her arm.

I enter the room to find Tank fidgeting. For a minute, I'm reminded of Steph. I smile at him. "Ready, Tank?"

"Yeah. Oh, yeah." He looks a little dazed. I hide a chuckle. I guess they're both nervous. I don't recall being nervous at my first wedding. I was too relieved that Steph was actually going to marry me to be nervous when we exchanged vows.

"Nervous?"

"Nope. Not me."

"Stop shredding that flower arrangement."

Tank looks down at his hands and then shoves them into his pockets. He looks at me sheepishly. "Oops."

I grin. "It'll be over soon enough."

Tank grunts at me. "No it won't."

The room is fairly full. I see Connie and Melvin, and my employees. Somehow, they aren't just employees any more. Since Steph showed up bearing cake and flowers, she's slowly bound us into a family. We work better together. We're more efficient. We know more about what makes each other tick. Once again, I am struck by how much things have changed – all for the better – since I made the decision to let her into my life.

My thoughts are interrupted as music starts. I turn to Tank and whisper, "Here we go." He nods and wipes sweat off his face with a cloth he pulled from his pocket.

The doors at the back of the room open. Everyone is on their feet now, waiting for the bride. First, though, my bride walks through the door. She's wearing a dazzling smile and carrying a small bouquet of wildflowers.

She takes my breath away. Always.

When she reaches Tank and I, I pull her into my arms and kiss her quickly, while everyone is still facing the doors. She smiles up at me and moves off to wait for Lula.

The music changes to the Wedding March.

I can feel the waves of anticipation coming off of Tank in waves. I stifle a chuckle.

I hear a hitch in his breathing when Lula and Hector walk through the door. This time, I let out the soft chuckle. Tank elbows me in the back.

Lula's eyes are locked on Tank. Her smile is even more dazzling than Steph's. The thought crosses my mind that Lula's big body is too small to hold the heart and spirit she possesses. I've thought the same thing about my wife more than once.

Hector is grinning like mad as he kisses Lula on the cheek before handing her over to Tank. I can hear Connie sobbing as Tank takes Lula's hand in his. Next to him, she looks almost tiny.

Tank's voice was strong and controlled as he repeated his vows. Lula's was soft and a little shaky. They never took their eyes off of each other. When Tank was given permission to kiss his bride he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, causing catcalls and cheering to fill the room. They both looked a little dazed when the kiss finally ended.

I went to Steph and grabbed her hand. "Ready for the reception, Babe?"

She grins up at me. My heart, as always, skips a few beats when she does that. "You bet."

We head down to the restaurant Hector reserved for the reception. Juan created the menu and helped with the preparation. No one – including Hector – has seen the cake yet. Juan made it at his restaurant and brought it down with him the day before, securing it in the restaurant while he was there helping with the prep work for tonight.

The evening passed quickly with good food, cheerful music, and good friends – no, family - and dancing. Several of the guys had brought dates. Hal was dancing with Heather. For a moment, I wondered how she could dance so well without being able to hear the music. Then my feet informed me that the floor was vibrating to the beat of the music.

A slow number came on, and I pulled Steph to the dance floor. I wrapped her tightly in my arms and reveled in the way she felt there. She lay her head on my shoulder and sighed.

"You tired, Babe?"

"A little." Another sigh. Something else is going on here.

"What's wrong?"

She looks up at me, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. "I'm so happy for her. I'm so glad she's alive."

I understood, then. Benito Ramirez had tried to kill Lula because she helped Steph, who has never forgiven herself. "She wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, Babe."

She snorts and the tears threaten to fall. "Right."

I nod. "Right. She'd be still hooking or dead."

I see the truth of my statement dawn in Steph's eyes. Typically, she missed the fact that while Lula was hurt because of her, Lula was also safe now because of her. The beating Ramirez had administered forced Lula to take a good look at her life – and then change it.

Steph's head returns to my shoulder. "Thanks, Batman."

"No problem."

The song ends and I return her to our table, where Connie and Melvin are waiting. They start chatting and I head off to claim a dance with the bride. I have an offer to make her.

I wait until the song playing is finished before I step up and ask her to dance. She takes my out stretched hand and tells Tank he can have her back in a minute.

A new song starts, slow enough so I don't have to shout. "Lula. I have an offer to make you."

She looks at me a little funny. I suppose that didn't sound right. "Oh?"

I smile a little. "A job."

She looks stunned. "What?"

"You won't be any happier sitting at home than Steph would be. I 'm offering you an office position at RangeMan for as long as you want it."

Her eyes get huge, followed by her grin. "So I'll work in the office with my man all day?"

"Yes."

"Doing what?"

"Research. Monitoring surveillance cameras. Things like that."

"You got yourself a new employee."

I figured I would. "You can start when you get back from your honeymoon."

"Okay."

With that, Tank cuts in and I head back to collect my wife. It's late, and I can tell she's getting tired.

"Ready to head out, Babe?"

She yawns and nods. We say goodbye to the bride and groom and head back up to our suite.

In the elevator, she asks what I was talking to Lula about. "I offered her a job in the office."

"Did she take it?"

"Damn skippy." Steph giggles. I love that sound.

"Does Tank know?"

"Yes. He and I discussed it earlier this week."

"I wondered what she'd do while she's pregnant. She can't be chasing skips, but I can't see her sitting at home, either."

"Tank and I decided this would be a good option for her."

Steph nods. "Yeah. I think she'll like the vicarious excitement and actually having something to do. Just don't expect her to do any filing. And maybe someone should try to keep her disarmed while she's working."

"Tank and I were thinking those same things, Babe."

I haven't told her about Morelli yet. I know she's heard about him seeing Georgia, and the problems he's having at work because of it. Steph knows Georgia is being released early because she goes to visit her regularly. She doesn't know Morelli has been offered a position at RangeMan. He hasn't accepted the position yet, but I need to tell her – and soon. She could be thrilled. She could be pissed. She could try to kill me.

We walk into the suite and she immediately kicks off her shoes and begins stripping. I decide that now is as good a time as ever to tell her. She's happy and relaxed, and maybe a little drunk. Hopefully, if she goes for my throat, her reaction time will be diminished. And hey, she's not armed. I take a deep breath.

"I offered Morelli a job at RangeMan."

She stops dead, her body frozen in the act of taking off her stockings. "You did what?"