The storms are raging on the rolling sea,
And on the highway of regret.
Though winds of change are blowing wild and free,
You ain't seen nothing like me yet.
I could make you happy;
Make your dreams come true.
Nothing that I wouldn't do.
Go to the ends of the Earth for you,
To make you feel my love,
To make you feel my love.
Adele – Make You Feel My Love
July 2019 - Seventeen Months Later
Marriage seemed like an easy ride compared to having a baby. After all they had been a couple for five years before they had Molly so the only difference was a child under two being present in their lives. However, Wendell knew Carlie was the one for him and so he went down on one knee when Molly was two months old. It wasn't exactly romantic but it was right for them.
They had scheduled the wedding for two years after, but when you mix alcohol, Las Vegas and a spontaneous Englishwoman, things have to be put ahead of schedule. However, one journalist decided that a cheap wedding with no one present but an Elvis impersonator who conducted the ceremony would not do. So, Lisa's plan was for them to have a wedding but not mention the marriage certificate that they had to the minister.
"I think we have set a record for the shortest amount of time between a wedding and the vow renewal." said Wendell.
"Well, just think I can actually say what I feel about you in front of everybody." said Carlie. "Besides, I have I really tight, blue, satin négligée that I have been waiting to show you for a while and this is the perfect opportunity."
"I am very much looking forward to it." said Wendell kissing her on the lips.
"Mommy." said a little voice coming from the doorway. There stood Molly. Seventeen-months-old and interested in everything. So much so that they had to baby-proof everything in the house, aside from the toilet. Her hair was a combination of her mother's hair type and her father's hair colour and her eyes remained the same bright blue as when she was born. Molly's skin colour was similar to her father's rather than her mother's pale skin. She was as bright as a button; a bit of a handful sometimes but adorable none the less.
"Hey baby girl." said Carlie moving over to Molly and swooped the toddler into her arms causing Molly to giggle. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." said Molly giggling into Carlie's shoulder
"Okay, but we need to give you a bath before we go to Auntie Tempe's house." said Carlie. "Then we can get you into that pretty pink dress that your Grandma Loulou bought."
"I'd best get a shower before you bathe her. What time is your dad coming?"
"He said about three so I'd best get my stuff ready." said Carlie placing Molly on the bed. She noticed that Molly's cheeks were red so after checking her temperature, she looked inside Molly's mouth. "I think she is breaking in another tooth. It's her back teeth I think."
"How many teeth is that now?"
"Nineteen. We're almost done with the teething, which is strange since she didn't break her first one until she was nine months old. She could do with a hair cut actually." said Carlie stroking her daughter's soft blonde waves. "I'll try to give you one after I have bathed you."
"Why do you want to cut Molls' hair. It looks cute like that." said Wendell.
"It is way too long and her hair will be damaged if she doesn't get it cut every now and again. I think she'll look cute with short hair." said Carlie. "I thought you were getting in the shower?"
"I was. Just don't do anything drastic." said Wendell kissing the top of their heads. Molly reached out for her father and Wendell picked her up. "Do you want me to give you a bath?"
"No." she said.
"I think she just wants a cuddle." said Carlie. "Come on sweetheart, let's get you clean and cut your hair."
bxbxbxbxbxb
Once Molly was bathed and dressed in a little pink dress that had a few frills at the bottom, Carlie had left Molly with Brennan's son Harry, who was just five months older than Molly, so she could get ready. Carlie had cut Molly's hair so it was just below her ears and a side fringe.
The dress that she had bought was white and strapless but had a purple ribbon around the waist. To match, Wendell had a black suit with a waistcoat and a purple tie. After Molly was born, and the Christmas that followed a couple of weeks later, the baby weight dropped off aside from a couple of pounds that she couldn't shift so her figure was back to its former slenderness. Her hair and makeup was done and she was ready to make her way to the church.
"Hey, do you want the good news or the bad news?" asked Angela walking into the room.
"What's wrong?" asked Carlie.
"Your dad cannot make it."
"What? You are kidding."
"Sweetie I wouldn't joke about that." said Angela.
"What happened?"
"Your stepmother said he wasn't well so she cannot make it. What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. Is my brother here?"
"Yes Al is downstairs and ready."
"Okay I'm going to ask him to give me away."
"Listen, don't stress. Remember this is about you and Wendell and no one else."
"Why am I doing this when we are already married?"asked Carlie.
"Carlie, you have planned this day since you got engaged so you deserve to have this day." said Angela.
"Okay, are Will and Molly ready?"
"As they'll ever be. Do you have your something old?"
"My mom's ring from before she died."
"New?"
"The earrings Wendell bought me for my birthday last month."
"Borrowed?"
"Brennan's perfume."
"Blue?"
"Don't want to mention."
bxbxbxbxbxb
Wendell's choice of best man was difficult. First there was Hodgins but he had already been best man for Booth. Then he thought Clark but Clark was Molly's godfather when she was christened. Finally, he asked Finn. Finn had been with them during the early days of their relationship and through the aftermath of the ectopic pregnancy so he was next to be chosen for something.
At the front of the church, Wendell and Finn stood wearing suits and Wendell was tapping his fingers on his hand. The music started up and he turned to the back and saw Carlie walking down the aisle with her brother on her arm. Her hair was curled more than it usually was and the makeup was fairly neutral aside from the purple eye shadow. She didn't have a veil but she had a small tiara in her hair. She was beautiful as she always was to him.
Once she got to the front, Wendell took her hand and smiled at her brightly. They finally got to the vows and Wendell turned to Carlie but never let go of her hand.
"Okay, Carls, I have loved the last seven years I have spent with you and I do not regret anything even the fights and the bumps in the road. It suited us because our first meeting was me banging my head under an examination table. It hurt trust me but it hurt less because I think I was a little entranced. You were so beautiful and I think this was the first time I knew that this girl was for me. You were honest and you just took care of me. I cannot describe how I felt but I knew it was love. I think like every other couple we had our problems but we can move past them and I think that our little girl brought us closer together and I'm glad that you and I are still together after so long." said Wendell.
The minister turned to Carlie and she said, "Wendell, from the moment I first saw you, I knew you were the one with whom I wanted to share my life. Your beauty, heart, and mind inspire me to be the best person I can be. I was going through some rough patches but I think you managed to ground me and help me though my problems. You took Will on as your own and I knew from the moment I found out I was pregnant with Molls that you would be an amazing father. So that said I love you so much and I think that you and I will be fine in the future."
"Do you take her as your lawful wedded wife?" asked the minister.
"I do."
"Do you take him as you lawful wedded husband?"
"I do."
bxbxbxbxbxb
During the reception, Carlie had decided to rest her feet while Wendell and Molly had a little dance. She beamed at him adoringly.
Carlie absolutely loved Molly and really struggled to be away from her for more than two hours so she had asked Cam if she could reduce her hours and work from home so she could spend her time with her children. During those months when she nursed her daughter she felt closer to Molly than she did Will when he was an infant. As Carlie was still at school and then college, she had to leave her son with a nanny so that caused the slight emotional distance between them.
Wendell had proven to be an excellent father and he simply adored his little girl. He had even gotten a tattoo with Molly's first and middle name and her date of birth on his arm along with the day that he and Carlie got married in Vegas. He had spent a lot of time with his daughter. He had taken her to a couple of hockey games, played with her but he had taken responsibility of her as well. He fed her, changed her and done everything he felt he should do. Though he didn't see the funny side of some of the jokes about her getting a boyfriend. If he had his way, Molly wouldn't have a boyfriend until she was thirty.
While there were moments where Will got annoyed with Molly crying, he was rather helpful. After they had tackled Molly refusing to sleep anywhere but in either Wendell or Carlie's arms, Will burned a little lullaby mix of songs to try to sooth her into a sleep. Turns out Will was their saving grace because he looked up everything to do with sleep, and they did work.
Sitting there watching her husband and daughter dance together made Carlie think about her family and whether she was content with just having one baby with Wendell. Then something occurred to her: she was late.
bxbxbxbxbxb
While Wendell put Molly to bed, Carlie changed into the négligée and did a pregnancy test. She sat on the bed while she waited for Wendell to return.
"Okay, she's asleep." said Wendell. "Carls, is that –"
"Yeah, I realised during the reception that my period is late so I thought I would do a quick test to see if I was pregnant." said Carlie. Wendell sat next to her and looked at the test.
"How long left?"
"About two minutes. We – We can deal with this right? We have done a good job looking after Molls."
"Yeah, I am just wondering how this happened."
"We might have forgotten to use a condom at some point but I thought the pill would be enough defence. So if the test is positive, we just carry on and repeat the process that happened about twenty-seven months ago."
"What if it is negative? Do we want to try for another or do we wait until Molly is older to have a baby?"
"I'm not ready for another baby. If I am pregnant I would love it more than anything. However, if I am not then I know I am not ready. I just want to spend time with the children I have before I can focus on another baby." said Carlie.
"What if another accident occurs?"
"We love the baby like we do Will and Molly." said Carlie. "I think it is time." She looked at the stick and it showed a line. "Negative."
Wendell saw a little disappointment in her face and he knew that even though she thought she wasn't ready, he sensed that being ready didn't matter to her. She was nowhere near ready to have Will but she loved him no matter what.
"Are you okay?" asked Wendell.
"Yeah I just thought it may have been possible. No biggie." She said going to the bin where she threw the test in.
"You look really beautiful." said Wendell. Carlie smiled and straddled Wendell's lap.
Their lips touched and Wendell gently lay her head on the pillow and pulled down the strap on her négligée. Carlie smiled and started to unbutton Wendell's shirt.
"For what it is worth, you, Wendell Bray, are a perfect human being."
The End