Disclaimer: Not mine

A/N: I apologize in advance for this chapter. I was really stuck and I think this is a boring filler chapter, but I wanted to push on. If anyone has any constructive ideas on how I can make it suck less, I'm all ears.

Twenty Six

"Do you like it?" Jack asked Kate. They were finally lying in bed together, after a long slow tour, a long slow unpacking session and stowing the bike, and a short and sweet getting reacquainted session in the shower that left them both lazy and satisfied. Kate lifted her face to look at him from the awkward angle where her head was resting on his chest.

"I don't think 'like' is a strong enough word for how I feel about this house. I don't think there is a strong enough word for how I feel about this house."

Jack smirked, feeling very satisfied with himself right now.

The next day, Jack and Samantha had just wrapped up an interview and were on the road when Kate texted him that she was at the courthouse, and did he have time to come by and go in with her to fill out the marriage license? She wanted to do it now so they could get married on Friday. Jack had a friend who was a nondenominational minister and had already spoken with him; Friday night was a go.

He looked over at Samantha, filling her in. "Do you mind?"

She shook her head. "We're at a dead end on this anyway, for now. It's a good time."

Once the paperwork was completed, the three of them stood on the steps. "I bet it's good to finally be here and moved in," Samantha told Kate sympathetically, and Kate rolled her eyes. "You have no idea. I have so much to do before Friday and I have no idea where to start. I have to find some flowers, food…" She shook her head. "I need to start a list."

Samantha looked thoughtful. "I know a place where you could get the flowers on short notice. They do really good work. As for the food…" She looked at Kate to find her staring like she'd just offered her a million dollars in unmarked bills.

"That would be a lifesaver. Could you make me a list now? I'd like to see them while I'm here today."

Samantha looked at Jack. "Well, it's about lunch time anyway. Could I take my lunch now, and help Kate get some of these things squared away?" She almost laughed out loud at the blatant expression of unease on his face. It was comical.

"Oh please, oh please, oh please!" Kate begged him, and finally he laughed and shrugged.

"I have no chance when the two of you gang up on me like that," he grumbled, and then brightened, looking at his fiancé speculatively, taking in her jeans and sneakers. He knew that she rarely wore anything more than sundresses or shorts when it was this hot. "What vehicle did you bring?" As if he didn't know.

"The bike, of course. I came alone!" Duh. "It was a great ride in." But then she caught his meaning, and the reason for this line of questioning. She looked at Samantha. "If we need to drive anywhere, do you mind the bike?" She gestured to where she'd parked the Harley, and Samantha's eyes gleamed with mirth. "Not at all." Ha, take that, Malone. Now he was really looking worried, and Kate kissed him. "Thanks for the loan of your agent. I'll be sure to get her back as soon as I can."

Jack walked back to the car alone, positive that this was going to turn out to be a really bad idea. At least for him.

The florist had been a success. They had quickly found a caterer as well, a restaurant that the team frequented, and the owners were happy to accommodate Agent Malone's wedding. Now they sat on a bench in the shade, eating hot dogs from a cart. The silence was comfortable, and Kate realized that it had been fun shopping with Samantha. They had even stopped at a small boutique and found a beautiful dress for a reasonable price.

Kate looked over at Samantha. "Thanks for all your help today. I wouldn't have had a clue without you."

Samantha smiled. "It was fun," she said without thinking, realizing that it was true. She had very few friends outside of work these days, and it was kind of nice to have a girlfriend again. Weird that it was Jack's soon-to-be wife, but nice nonetheless.

As if she'd read her mind, Kate asked, "Should this be weird?"

Samantha laughed. "Probably, but it's not. I like your company," she said honestly. "Driving Jack insane is just a happy bonus."

Kate laughed at that. "Yeah, he looked pretty nervous."

Samantha looked at her. "I'm glad you're okay with us still working together, with us still being friends."

Kate shrugged. "Honestly, I feel better knowing that you're there, watching his back. You're good at what you do, and if it means he'll come home to me safely, I'm happy. I'm glad he had you," she said quietly. "He hasn't had a lot of people in his corner, and I'm glad you were there for him all the times that he needed you," she said honestly. Samantha looked at her in surprise. There were not too many people who could say a thing like that, and mean it. She could tell that Kate meant it. "Oh, I know that he still went through a lot, and I know that things weren't always easy for the two of you," she said quickly. "But I'm still glad he had you. I'm glad he has you, as a friend. You can never get enough true friends."

"I know I shouldn't like you," Samantha said with a grin, "but to hell with it, because I do."

Kate laughed. "Same here. Do you have a dress?" she asked, referring to the wedding like it was a foregone conclusion that Samantha would be in attendance, and at that moment she decided she wouldn't be able to stay away. "I have a couple I could wear, but I could always use another one."

"So, tomorrow, round two, same time, same place?"

Samantha laughed again. You just couldn't not like this woman, she decided. It was an impossible endeavor, and she'd already given up trying. "Sounds good to me."

They'd finished, and Kate rose from the bench. "I'll bet you twenty bucks that man hasn't eaten yet. Let me get something for him and we'll be on our way."

"Yeah, no way I'm taking that bet," Samantha shot back. "I know he hasn't."

They went back to the hot dog cart, and Kate frowned. "Damn, I don't know what he likes on his hot dogs." And Samantha just smiled. "But I do."

Kate knocked on Hanna's door. When the girl opened the door warily, Kate made her most pitiful face. "I need a favor, pleeeeeeeeeease?" Hanna rolled her eyes and went back in and flopped onto her bed. Having Kate here and home during the days was like having two cops for parents instead of just one. Her dad may be constantly tracking her via GPS, but this woman was a walking, talking cheerfulinator. It was irritating, because she was too cool. You just couldn't hate her no matter what. She hated being kept constant track of, she hated the constant cheerfulness, and she hated the fact that she had to go to summer school. She watched Kate as she sat down next to her on the bed. "Do you have an iPod?" she asked the girl, to which Hanna rolled her eyes. "Of course."

"Great. I got one for your dad for a wedding present and I wanted to see if you would help me program it with all of his favorite songs, and also some songs we can dance to at the wedding. I got a speaker system to go with it and since we're having it here, I thought you could make a wedding playlist and that will serve as our DJ." Hanna rolled her eyes again.

"All of Dad's music is on vinyl. It'll be impossible to get those songs on there. Unless I download them illegally." Hanna grinned evilly, and Kate handed her an iTunes card.

"Taken care of. There should be enough here to download plenty of songs—legally—as well as whatever you'd like on your own iPod as well. Payment for services rendered."

Hanna narrowed her eyes. "That will take forever."

Kate smiled sweetly. "You have two days. We'll need them Friday night for the wedding."

Hanna shrugged, but the wheels were already turning. Some of those songs were so old that she could probably find them somewhere for free… it would be a challenge, at least. The more she got for free, the more there would be to keep for herself. "Okay."

Kate smiled again. "Thank you."

Thursday passed in a blur of unpacking and house cleaning. Maria sent Kate up on the plane for the wedding, which Kate Senior, as the boys had begun calling her, thought was pretty magnanimous, which she was only able to think, Jack mused, because she hadn't ever met the woman. Magnanimous wasn't anywhere in her repertoire. But it was nice having his daughters around so much, so he really wasn't able to complain. He had enlisted pretty much all of his team to take turns coming to stay with the kids at night so that he could take Kate on a proper honeymoon. He knew she had never been to Niagara Falls, and thought she'd like it, so he'd made the plans without telling her and hoped to surprise her when they got there. That, and her wedding present, which he really hoped wasn't going too far, which, let's face it, he thought wryly, he was known to do. He had thought a lot about it, and this was the gesture he wanted to make to her on the day he promised himself to her. But he didn't trust his own judgment most of the time in matters like this, so he wasn't quite sure how it was going to be received.

Hanna had finished with her project and brought it to Kate that evening, a smug smirk on her face. Checking the songs, and even listening to the ones that were unfamiliar to her, Kate was unreasonably bowled over by the girl's wit. Hanna had managed to find a surprising number of Jack's favorites, or what she hoped were his favorites. She had put in a lot of beautiful love songs, as well, for the wedding itself, and Kate was touched that so many of them said perfectly all of the things that were often so difficult to say to each other. She took the iPod out into the dark wilderness of their new back yard to listen to them. Some of them were so haunting that she soon had to wipe away her tears. And then there were some songs by young teen stars that it were so far from Jack's tastes that it was clear they were put there simply to annoy her father, and it made her smile. One of them made her laugh, because she knew he would hate it, but the words were very true to her.

I'm missing you so much, can't help it I'm in love

A day without you is like a year without rain

I need you by my side, don't know how I'll survive

A day without you is like a year without rain

As she listened to the singer stretch "rain" out to about fifteen syllables, she laughed so hard she cried, picturing his face if he was forced to dance at the wedding to this, or even listen to it. And yet, somehow, all those over exaggerated teenaged declarations seemed perfectly appropriate. He made her feel more young and hopeful than she'd felt in a long, long while. Still smiling, she went back in the house to thank her stepdaughter for a job well done.

Selena Gomez & the Scene, A Year Without Rain