Author's Note: I know, I know; I should be ashamed of myself going this long without an update to this story. I've all but finished it in my mind but it's not as easy going getting it down on paper the way I want it. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: CBS, Anthony E. Zuiker, Carol Mendelsohn, and Ann Donahue own all rights to the characters and premise of the show. I am making no money off this story and it is for entertainment purposes only. However, this particular story is my creation and should not be used without my express written permission.
Begin Anew
Chapter 21
"Dat?" Lucy pointed to the picture in her book as she snuggled close to Danny on the floor. He'd left what should have been the comfort of the couch two hours earlier to sit on the floor with his aching back against the hard front of the couch. He'd discovered when he'd been injured after the shooting at the bar that this was sometimes a more comfortable position for him . He'd actually discovered it by accident when he'd tried to maneuver himself from the couch to his wheelchair one day while Lindsay had been at work and he'd missed the chair and ended up sitting on the floor for several hours until Lindsay had come home from work. Knowing she'd be worried to think he'd fallen while she wasn't home, he'd let her believe he'd moved to the floor by choice but had been surprised to find that it had been comfortable.
"I don't know, what is that, Lucy?" Danny asked. It was a game they often played when it was the two of them. She'd sit beside him with a pile of picture books and they'd read them together. She would question what was on the page and he'd turn her question back on her so that she would have to identify the picture.
"Bu bird." Lucy supplied. Danny smiled. He loved listening to her toddler-speak but also knew at some point she'd have to start pronouncing her words correctly. Still, it wasn't a fight he wanted to actively pursue just yet; the day would come that she'd grow out of it and he wasn't ready for that day to come any too soon. So instead, he settled for repeating the words correctly for her so she could hear the proper pronunciation.
"I think you're right. That is a blue bird. My Lucy is so smart."
There was a sudden pull on the short hairs on his head followed by a round of wracking coughs. He waited until they subsided before glancing up on the couch where Lindsay had stretched out taking a nap. She'd fallen asleep running her fingers through his hair and several times during her nap, he'd found his hair being pulled as a precursor to a coughing fit. She didn't wake up and Lucy and Danny exchanged a glance when it was over. Lucy shook her head.
"Poor Mommy gots a bad cough."
"Yes she does." Danny agreed. He was glad the coughing was no longer waking her up. He knew she hadn't slept well the night before as the coughing kept her awake. Between her lungs and his back, they were quite a pair and he was glad that Mac had given them the time off. Although he was curious as to what was going on with the case.
"Her needs her medis?" Lucy asked, setting the book aside. Danny glanced at his watch and saw that it was time for both of them to take their respective medicines. He hated to wake her up when she was sleeping so well but the coughing had gotten steadily worse in the last half hour and he was sure it was just going to get worse.
"Yeah, it's time for both Mommy and Daddy to take our medicine."
Lindsay scrambled up from her seat next to her father, ready to be helpful. "I gets it." The she looked at him, holding her small hand out pointing her finger at him. "Daddy stay."
Danny shook his head as she then ran toward the bedroom. "Did she really just give me the same command we give Reese's?"
The puppy lifted her head at the sound of her name, looking almost balefully up at Danny. Then seemingly realizing she was being spoken about rather than to, returned her head to its perch on Danny's leg. Danny chuckled. Days where the entire family could just laze about were few and far between and it seemed that even the dog was determined to enjoy every minute of it. A few seconds later Lucy came running back out carrying a bottle of pills and Lindsay's inhaler. She handed both to her father and then narrowed her eyes in concentration. "You need water?"
Danny glanced at the empty bottle sitting on the coffee table and realized Lindsay had obediently emptied it before falling asleep earlier. He nodded and started to get up to get another one. Lucy stamped her foot at him, looking very much like a miniature Lindsay when his wife started to fuss at him about something.
"No, Daddy. You hurt too. I gets it." She ran back to the kitchen and he could hear her small stool scraping the floor as she pushed it close to the refrigerator before opening the door to retrieve a bottle. A moment later she was back holding a cold plastic bottle in her small hands. "Here Daddy. Lucy big girl. What else I get fo' you?"
"What are you making our daughter do for you, Mr. Messer?" Lindsay's sleepy voice came from the couch as she began to run her fingers once more through his hair. Her tone was amused but Danny harrumphed anyway.
"Don't look at me. She's the one giving me orders. Definitely takes after you." Danny grumbled and then laughed when she used the hand that had been playing with his hair to swat him in the back of his head. "Ouch."
"Mommy, you take you medis, now. You gots a bad cough." Lucy handed her mother the inhaler. Lindsay obediently took two puffs on the inhaler, realizing that Danny was right about Lucy enjoying giving the orders. Danny took his own muscle relaxant before the two-year-old could return to ordering him around. Then he leaned his head backward so that he was looking up at Lindsay.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like an elephant is sitting on my chest. How about you? Sitting down there helping?" She leaned her head down to give him an upside down kiss. Another round of coughing broke off the moment of affection prematurely, but Danny wasn't surprised. The inhaler usually caused more coughing right after she used it before it helped.
"Not so much that it's helping but not hurting it worse. Plus, it's giving me some quality time with our very smart daughter. She's been reading to me."
"I likes weeding to Daddy." Lucy admitted, apparently satisfied that her patients were being well taken care of. That is, until Lindsay's stomach made a most unladylike gurgle and growl. She blushed as Danny laughed.
"Hungry, Babe?" It had been after ten by the time they had gotten out of bed that morning so they had settled for a late breakfast/early lunch. Now that it was closing in to the supper hour, it was surprising that both of their stomachs weren't protesting more.
"Don't laugh at me, you loveable jerk. Yes, I'm hungry but I'm finally in a very comfortable position. I don't want to have to get up and figure out supper just yet."
"I do it." Lucy volunteered and scrambled out of the living room. The young couple exchanged a glance as she disappeared once more.
"She's not really going to try to cook is she?" Danny asked, slightly concerned at the damage she could cause.
Lindsay shook her head and snuggled a little closer to Danny. "Sure, she is. She made a beeline straight for her kitchen set in her bedroom. I hope you like plastic fish sticks, peas, and carrots because that's probably what we'll be having if we leave it up to her. I know we were blessed with the sweetest, most generous child in the entire world but is it just me or does she seem even more helpful than usual?"
Danny reached up and took the hand that wasn't playing with his hair in his own and gave it a slight squeeze, being careful since it was her injured wrist. "I'm sure we have Ma to thank for that. I can hear her now as she was bringing Lucy and the dog home today. 'Now, Lucy, remember that both Mommy and Daddy have ouchies. You be Noona's big girl and take extra good care of them.' I wouldn't put it past Ma to have given a similar talk to Reese's. She's been pretty calm herself today."
Again the puppy raised her head at the mention of her name and gave a small bark as if to confirm Danny's theory before settling back down. Both Danny and Lindsay laughed, some of the tension of the last week easing as they enjoyed the simplicity of just being together. "Your mother means well. I'm surprised she didn't insist on keeping them an extra day but I'm glad to have Lucy at home."
"She tried." Danny admitted. "I practically had to beg in order to get her to return our child to us. I also had to assure her that we'd probably be calling on her to keep Lucy overnight when we actually start the move. Figured it would be easier moving the big stuff without those cute little feet getting in the way."
Lindsay's stomach gurgled again and she slapped Danny's head again when he once again laughed. He reached to his side and pulled out his phone. "As much as I love Lucy's pretend cooking I think we're going to need something more substantial than plastic food. That new Hibachi place sound good? They'll deliver."
"Sounds perfect. Think we'll be able to get Lucy to answer the door when it arrives?" Lindsay inquired, stealing the water bottle for a quick drink.
"Now who's all for using our daughter to run errands for us? Like we'll probably be given a choice." Danny called in their order and was just returning his phone to its holster when Lucy emerged from her bedroom balancing a tray full of toy dishes. She set her offerings on the coffee table and carefully handed out empty plates to her mother and father.
For the next fifteen to twenty minutes, Lindsay and Danny munched on the best fish sticks they had never tasted as Lucy's smiling angelic face looked on. Every time they thought their plates had been satisfactorily emptied, Lucy had immediately refilled it. At this point, Danny wasn't sure he'd be able to eat his fried rice and hibachi chicken and shrimp when it arrived as he filled up on invisible food.
When the doorbell rang, both Lindsay and Danny were sure their food had arrived. Lucy practically bounced up and down in excitement at a possible visitor. "I get it?"
Lindsay reached out and gave her daughter's cheek a loving caress. "Sure, Baby. Go ahead. Ask who it is before opening the door though."
Lucy ran to the door and climbed up in the small chair they kept there just so she could answer the door. "Whosit?"
The answer was not the one they expected. "Uncle Mac."
Lucy squealed with delight as she swung open the door and immediately launched herself at her godfather. The first time she'd ever greeted him in that way, Mac had been taken by surprised and almost dropped her before catching her. Now, he was so accustomed to her leaping into his arms that he caught her without a thought. He hugged her close to him as he came into the apartment and closed the door behind him. Lucy was used to affectionate greetings from all of her pseudo uncles and aunts from the lab but even she squirmed at the tight embrace she suddenly found herself in. She'd never known her beloved godfather to almost squash her to his chest the way he was currently doing. Still, any visit from someone from the lab, even Flack who was over at least once or twice a week, was a cause for celebration. Being squashed or not, she was going to enjoy the attention.
"U'nca Mac. You hungry? I made fish sticks."
"Maybe later, Princess. Maybe later." He carried her over to the overstuffed chair near the couch and sat down, still holding her close. It wasn't that unusual for Mac to show up after work, especially with everything else that had happened in the recent months to check on the couple. The way he was clutching Lucy close to him as if holding on to a lifeline wasn't normal, though. But given recent events, neither Lindsay nor Danny could fault him for wanting a comforting cuddle or two. They both could contest to the fact that their daughter was the best at that.
"Mac, is everything okay?" Lindsay asked quietly as she set up on the couch. His clothes were rumpled in a way she'd not seen even after he'd pulled double or even triple shifts at the lab. He also appeared to be a little shaken.
The older man nodded and they got a good look at his face for the first time. Lindsay gasped, tightening her hold on Danny's hand. Danny frowned. "Mac, what the hell?"
There was a bloody smear on his left side of his face that seemed to come from a deep graze on his cheek. Lucy noticed the blood for the first time and her eyes widened. "Poor U'nca Mac. I fix it."
She tried to scramble down out of his lap to run to her room to trade her imaginary chef's apron for equally imaginary medical scrubs and her doctor's kit. Mac didn't let her go and they noticed his hands were trembling as well. Lindsay stood.
"Thanks, Lucy, but I think Mommy better take care of this one. You stay there and keep Uncle Mac company." She went for the first aid kit wondering what had happened and why the hell no one at the lab had taken care of the wound before letting Mac out of their sight.
Danny shifted off his perch on the floor up to sit on the couch, his hands gripping his knees. He'd seen that kind of wound before; it could have only come from a bullet barely missing its mark. "Mac, you've been shot. What the hell happened?"
He knew he'd used two curse words in front of his impressionable daughter and knew also that he'd probably pay for his lapse of good sense more than just throwing a couple of quarters in the curse jar. But for the moment, he didn't care. His friend was hurt and looked like he was also in shock and Danny wanted answers.
"No, not shot. Almost." Mac muttered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come and scare anybody. I just needed… I don't know what I needed… but I came here so I guess I needed this."
"It's okay, Mac. You're family. You're always welcomed here." Lindsay assured him as she returned with the medical supplies. She perched on the side of the chair and dabbed at the wound with a peroxide-soaked cotton ball, removing the GSR and blood from around the wound. Mac hissed as it stung but didn't protest. Once the wound was clean she could get a better gauge of the severity of it. It was nasty but not as bad as it could have been. "You could probably use a stitch or two but I guess I'd have more success talking that wall into going into the Emergency Room than getting you to agree."
Mac nodded. "A couple of butterfly clamps will be fine if you have them. If not, just a regular band-aid. Maybe not a Dora bandage though, if that's okay." His attempt at levity only briefly reassured them.
"Oh, we have them." Lindsay assured them casting a worried look over at Danny. Both were dying to know what had happened but realized that Mac wasn't ready to talk about that just yet. Lindsay closed the wound as best she could and held it in place with the use of two butterfly bandages. Then she taped a clean piece of gauze over the whole wound. Once she was finished, Mac reached up and gave her uninjured hand a squeeze, thanking her.
Placing the medical supplies on the coffee table alongside Lucy's toy dishes, Lindsay sat down next to Danny on the couch. Her arm was wrapped around his body needing his comforting presence just as much as it seemed Mac needed Lucy at the moment. They waited silently, hoping that soon he'd get his normal bearings together so he could explain what had happened. The doorbell rang again and this time they were pretty sure it was their supper delivery. As Lindsay stood, Danny reached for his wallet so he could give her the money to pay for it. He was surprised to find the pocket empty; he looked at his wife to see her carrying it with her to the door. He shook his head.
"Babe, I've told you; no fair ya pickin' my pocket if I don't get to at least enjoy it while you do."
Lindsay rolled her eyes but Mac didn't even react to the exchange. She paid the delivery guy and brought the bag to the coffee table. After setting it on the table, she put a hand on Mac's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. "Mac, why don't you eat with us. Danny ordered three adult plates and Lucy can't eat all of hers by herself. There's plenty for all of us."
Mac nodded absently and Lindsay retrieved four plates and forks from the kitchen. They ate in silence; Danny and Lindsay didn't seem to know what to say to help their friend and Mac seemed a little too lost in his own thoughts to contribute to the conversation. Even the normally chatty Lucy seemed to realize that something was going on and stayed quiet, still sitting in Mac's lap as they ate. Once supper was over, the shaking in Mac's hands seemed to have subsided. He looked down at Lucy who seemed content with the attention she was getting from her favorite person outside of her parents and grandparents. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
"Ready to tell us what happened?" Danny broached, quietly. "We're kinda going crazy over here worrying about you."
Mac nodded. "I'm sorry I worried you. After everything that happened today I think I just needed to be with family."
"We're glad we could be here for you." Lindsay insisted. Then she looked at her daughter. "Lucy, how about you go play in your room for a little bit. Maybe Uncle Mac will read you a story later before he goes. Okay?"
Lucy nodded and threw her small arms around Mac's neck giving him a huge hug. Then she kissed his uninjured cheek. "Loves you much, U'nca Mac."
He tightened his hold on her momentarily as well, taking strength in her innocent embrace. "Love you too, Lucy."
He released her and she scrambled down from his lap to do as her mother requested. With a deep sigh, he looked at the worried young couple sitting on the couch. "It's over. No, I guess that's the wrong way of putting it. It's not going to be over as long as people are still hurting from everything that's happened. But nothing else is going to happen."
Danny nodded, glad that he didn't have to worry about any further harm coming to Lindsay or any of his other friends. But still, looking at Mac, he couldn't help but worry about the cost that came with the capture. He waited for Mac to continue.
"It all boiled down to Manny Johnson."
Two interrogation rooms. Two suspects. Two trained detectives. One question.
"What can you tell me about Manny Johnson."
Parker Brandon blinked back at Jo nervously. "Never heard of him." He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his seat as if daring her to try to contradict him.
"Parker, I've seen the file and I know that's not the truth."
The young man's face betrayed no emotion. "Then if you've read the file, I guess you don't need me to tell you anything then. If you are going to insist on holding me here then I'm going to exercise my right to remain silent."
Down the hall, Travis Brandon had a much different reaction to Mac's question. The sadness that had been almost omnipresent underneath the bitter rage he'd hidden behind got substantially worse. The man ran his hands through his hair and seemed to age an additional five years at the question. "Manny could have been a good kid. He should have been a good kid but life fucked him over royally."
"How so?" Mac asked, his voice and tone both warm and conversational. This was a man who was on his last rope and needed compassion before he hung himself with it. But at the same time, Mac couldn't ignore what Adam had told him about the boy's rap sheet with juvie.
"He was born to worthless parents. Mom was a junkie who didn't even stop using when she found out she was pregnant. Manny was born addicted to crack, alcohol, who knows what else. How he survived his infancy is beyond me; might have been kinder if he hadn't. I don't know that his dad was ever more than just a sperm contributor. Had someone taken him away from that life when he was young enough - someone who would have loved him enough to get him clean and give him boundaries - maybe he would have had a chance. But they didn't and he started getting into trouble. Started getting arrested and then he did get people's attention but not in the right way."
"How did you come to know him?" Mac interjected. He had a feeling there was more to the story than what Adam's file had shown.
"My wife was a social worker with the city. Manny was assigned to her. She saw his potential and knew he just needed someone to take a chance on him. Hell, I think she saw him and worried what could have happened to Tanner and Parker if their lives had been different. I don't think I ever saw her so emotionally involved in a case as she was his. Some nights I would just have to hold her as she sobbed. She was so scared he was going to slip through the system and wind up dead. She'd bring him hone with her sometimes; wanted him to see what a family could be like. I worried about it; thought he might be a bad influence on our boys but they took an interest in him as well. Tanner even begged us one day to make Manny their brother. Told him we couldn't because he already had a mother."
Travis was recounting the story but it was obvious he'd all but forgotten that Mac was even there. "Then Manny's mom died of a overdose and Manny was put into the foster system. By then even I had changed my opinion of him. We would have taken him in, even adopted him but we couldn't. Stupid regulations against social workers taking in their own charges. That didn't stop Pammie though. We might not could make him our son but she found a way to get him in the family. My brother and his wife took Manny in. Pam was convinced this was going to be the start of something great for Manny."
Knowing that final outcome for Manny, Mac could hear the bitterness in Travis's voice. "It wasn't though, was it?"
Travis shook his head. "I didn't know how bad it had gotten until Manny died. Pam was devastated. So were the boys." Travis didn't admit it but Mac was sure he'd been upset by the boy's death just as much.
"Manny was killed in the same alley that your son's body was dumped in. I don't think that's was a coincidence. Someone wanted the NYPD to pay for something. When we first identified Tanner's body I thought it all tied in to your wife's wreck. Now I'm thinking it has more to do with retribution for Manny's death. Someone wanting the NYPD to pay for taking his life."
Travis shook his head. "I don't have any love for the police department. They cost me my wife but they didn't do anything wrong the night Manny died. The kid was in over his head and he paid the price for it."
"How did your brother's family take the news?" Mac was getting closer to the questions he really wanted to ask.
"Mostly relived I'm ashamed to say." Seeing Mac's shocked expression Travis continued. "Manny wasn't alone that night. He was just the only one who got caught. I learned some things that night. Things I never suspected. When Pammie first brought Manny around I worried about the influence he'd be on my boys. Turns out the threat was already closer to home. Corey, my nephew, was the one who came up with the idea of messing up the bodega that night. He'd been fired earlier that week cause his boss had caught him using drugs while on the job. He's the one who got Manny using again. My brother and his wife were just glad it wasn't Corey who was killed. I never told Pammie. She would have blamed herself cause she's the one who talked my brother into taking in Manny."
"Sounds like Corey has a bit of temper as well as a drug problem." Mac suggested.
Travis nodded. "I guess you could say he has an exaggerated sense of retribution." Suddenly he paled. "You think Corey is responsible for all that junk that's happened?"
"I don't believe you did it, despite your confession. I think you thought you were protecting Parker when you confessed. Why did you suspect him?"
Travis didn't look like he wanted to say anything but figured if he was going to help his son at all, he had to be truthful. "Parker and his brother were as close as two brothers could be. He would want someone to blame for his brother's death."
Mac nodded and thought back to what Travis had told him about Corey and the fact that it had taken at least two people to commit most of the crimes. "Could your nephew have spurred Parker into retaliation. The way he talked Manny into vandalizing the bodega?"
Travis nodded reluctantly. "I forbade my boys from having anything to do with their cousin after what happened to Manny. I thought they were obeying me. Then after the wreck, Tanner was so messed up and Corey started coming around. Corey is the one who got Tanner mixed up in drugs. Corey is responsible for one son's death. I'll be damned if I let him be responsible for my other one going to jail."
Danny whistled low as Mac took a break in his story. "That's seriously messed up. But looking at your face there's got to be more to the story."
Mac nodded. "Flack brought Corey in. He wouldn't admit to anything but we ran his prints against ones Jo took from the steering wheel of the Malibu. They were a match. We tried again to question Parker; offered him a deal if he'd tell us what really happened. Travis even tried to talk to him. Nothing made him budge. Travis got aggravated and told Parker he was giving up on him. Told him he was on his own. Stormed out of the interrogation room. I followed him leaving Jo to continue questioning Parker. Maybe he was serious or maybe he was hoping he would shock Parker into coming clean. I don't know. I stopped him on the steps but before I could talk to him his brother came up."
"I should have known you were involved in this."
Mac glanced over at the newcomer. He couldn't be completely sure who he was but from the family resemblance he assumed it was Travis's brother. He didn't look happy. The two brothers just stared at each other without saying anything for several minutes. The tension was thick and Mac was just about ready to encourage the newcomer into going inside. He really felt like Travis Brandon had handled everything he could for one day. Then suddenly, the brother reached in his pocket and pulled out a small revolver firing as soon as it cleared his jacket. Mac reached for his own sidearm but felt the burning sting crease his cheek before he could. He went down seeing Travis Brandon fall beside him. Vaguely he heard a second shot ring out.
Once again Mac was shaking just from reliving the experience. Lindsay left her spot beside Danny and went to Mac's side. Both Danny and Lindsay knew Mac had been shot at before; they knew his distress wasn't over so much the near miss itself but everything else.
"The shot that grazed my cheek hit Travis in the head. He died instantly. Another officer had come out just in time to see what was happening. He shot the brother in the chest. I finally got the whole story from Parker who was more willing to talk once he heard his father was dead."
"Dad is dead? Uncle Scott killed him? Why?"
Mac shook his head. Jo and Flack both had urged him to get his cheek taken care of and let them handle the rest of the interrogations but he couldn't. A man had died not two feet from him and he needed to know why. "I don't know. The only thing your uncle said was that he should have known your father was involved in this. Do you know what he meant?"
Parker shook his head. "Dad didn't have anything to do with any of this. He's been too wrapped up in his own grief and rage to even notice what was going on with Tanner. I never thought it would go so far. Uncle Scott and Corey were there for me and Tanner when Dad wasn't."
"Being there by supplying Tanner with drugs?" Mac questioned. "Was that both Scott and Corey or just Corey?"
"Corey. Look I know drugs are wrong but Tanner was really messed up. I tried to tell Corey he shouldn't give him the drugs but Corey said that Tanner could always get the drugs from other places, places that might not be as careful about the product. Besides, Tanner was old enough to make his own decisions. He wasn't going to listen to me."
"What happened the day Tanner died?"
"I called Corey. I was freaking out not knowing what to do. I wanted to call the police but Corey and Scott showed up and talked me out of it. Uncle Scott said with the drugs Tanner had in the apartment I could be in trouble as well. I told them the plan I had with Grandma's donuts and they said I should make the police pay for the pain they caused Tanner as well as what they did to Manny. It was their idea to leave Tanner's body in the alley, to make a statement they said. After we left his body, they took me to Grandma's and I made the switch. On the way back, Uncle Scott pulled out a gun and said we were going to make the police regret the day they didn't save my mom. I didn't know what he meant until we drove by the alley and he shot at the officers standing there. I swear to you that's the only time I was there. I don't know about the other attacks you were talking about. It was all Uncle Scott and Corey. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. Too many have been hurt already."
Parker lowered his head to the table and began to sob. "Damn them. Damn them all."
"What's going to happen to Parker?" Danny asked. He didn't care what happened to Corey after everything Lindsay had been through or after what happened to Paul Jenkins but he couldn't muster the same ill will toward Parker.
Mac shrugged. "I don't know. If he's telling the truth and the first shooting was the only one he was there for, the DA may go easy on him. Probation and community service maybe, certainly not hard time. I don't know. I didn't stay around to ask too many questions. I had to get away. I'd seen family at its worst all day long and I suddenly felt an incredible need to see family at it's best. I left the station, left Jo and Flack still hammering at me to get my face looked at, left everything behind and climbed into the Avalanche. It took me all of two minutes to realize I was coming here. I didn't know why but I knew I had to be here. I think I just needed a little of Lucy's innocence and the love that all three of you have for each other and your extended family to balance out the bad."
Almost on cue, Lucy emerged from her bedroom, holding a well-worn book. Lindsay recognized it as Lucy's favorite. The toddler crawled up in Mac's lap once again and looked up at him with a big smile. "You read me now?"
Mac hugged her tightly. "Yeah, Lucy, I think I read you perfectly."
- CSI: NY - CSI: NY - CSI: NY -
Author's note 2: Hopefully worth the wait and didn't disappoint. This is not the end of the story but the end of the angst. Coming up next will be Stella and Brady's arrival for the wedding.