Out of the Ashes

by Twyla Mercedes

Romantic (a little comedic) Rumbelle set in a modern-day city. A damaged, angry, relationship-shy (& very successful) businessman comes to southern town for rest & relaxation, meets a young, free-spirited bookshop owner & begins an unconventional (mostly uphill) friendship that quickly becomes a little more than just camaraderie. Rated M (mostly for smut) (Char are OUAT, not mine)

38. The Wedding

OUT OF THE ASHES

Chapter 38

The Wedding

"We are already set up here at Triple Falls for the Wedding of the Century," the announcer's bouncy voice seeped into Gold's consciousness.

"As you know, for this very special event, this section of Dupont Forest has been closed. Now there are still people on the bridge up above us and they will be able to enjoy the wedding as uninvited guests from where they are. The invited guests will be sitting on these plush chairs that have all been hand-carried down here for the event. Along the side you can see where there will be a variety of foods for the guests to partake in, including an open bar. The string quartet will be setting up back here. They've been busy getting the sound system to work under these adverse circumstances so you may hear them come in from time to time." The camera was panning around the Falls area. "For those familiar with the area, we are standing at the bottom of the second of the three falls, in a large flat area which has been roped and sectioned off for the ceremony.

Gold recognized the announcer who was there on the scene for the affair. That was Aurora somebody or another, a pretty face, but he had never thought there was much depth there. She was always a bit breathless and seemed kinda dazed, as if someone had just awakened her from sleep. There were other camera operators setting up, cameras from other networks, including the competition Entertainment Channel with Mallie Schentz.

"Is this crap on already?" he asked, feeling bleary-eyed and exhausted. What the fuck time was it? This was no way to start a day.

"They are going to be having on-again, off-again coverage all day," Belle was awake and sitting up like it was the middle of the afternoon.

Hospital dementia, he had thought. Lying in bed all the time with no clear way to differentiate between night and day, a person gets confused. Maybe he needed to open the blinds and curtains to let the actual light of day, whenever it was due to arrive, come in.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"About five o'clock. They're showing the camera crews arriving and setting up. Boy, it's going to be a long day for those people," Belle observed.

"Why should they be special?" he grumbled.

"Oh go back to sleep. I didn't mean to wake you," she told him.

He huffed and considered lying back down, but sleep would never happen this morning. Damn Milah, she was still intruding into his life and making him miserable. He certainly hoped with this wedding that she would be out of his hair forever and ever.

But, somehow, he doubted it.

When Belle saw he was determined to stay awake, she continued on. "They're doing all this technical stuff, saying how they got all the equipment down the staircase and what they're using for power sources."

How could he have forgotten? Little Miss Sunshine. He was in love with Little Miss Sunshine.

He stumbled up and into the bathroom, washing his face with cold water. Briefly he considered not shaving again, but then opted to un-scruffify himself with a razor. He dressed, not in a suit today, but nice pants and a clean dress shirt, foregoing the tie and jacket.

"That's a nice look for you," Belle complimented him when he came out of the bathroom. "But then I think you always look nice."

"Uh hum," he managed to grunt back at her. He swallowed and prepared his words before speaking, "How was your night?"

"Pretty good, either the pain medication is working or my pain level has gone down, but I'm feeling much better. I think I'm really going to feel like getting up more today. Are you awake enough to help me into a chair?"

"Sure." Yeah, she didn't weigh very much and had probably lost a couple of pounds living primarily on IV fluids for a couple of days.

"We're supposed to call the nurse," she went ahead and pressed the Call Button.

They responded promptly and soon enough, their CNA was in the room. She was a large woman, rather loud. Gold had to look at the message board to recall her name, ah yes, Joanne Ward. Hurricane Joanne.

She blew in. "Come on, honey. You're ready to get up? Wow, look at you. You are just full of pep this morning. Let me help. You," she addressed Gold, "you spot her on the other side. We're going to let her go at her own pace. All right, darling, whenever you're ready."

Belle swung her feet over the side of the bed and rested while the bed was lowered to the ground. Belle leaned on the two to help her stand and then slowly, with Gold and Ward spotting her, shuffled her way over (pulling the IV with her) to the one comfortable chair in the room. At Ms. Ward's direction. Belle held onto Gold and he gently lowered her into the chair.

"Whoa, that took more out of me than I thought I would," Belle told them.

"Now, dear, do you think you're going to be able to be up just a little while?"

Belle nodded.

"Great, then, I'm going to go ahead and get your sheets changed and give you a sponge bath and get you a clean gown. You'll feel so much better, I promise you."

"Sounds wonderful," Belle told her.

Ms. Ward soon returned with clean bed sheets and efficiently stripped the bedclothes. While working away, she noted what was on the television.

"Oh my goodness. Is that the wedding, already? I just love that Milah."

That caught Gold's attention. "What?!"

"She's so gorgeous and poor thing, she's had such a tough life."

"Yeah," said Belle winking at Gold. "I think she was married to some stingy, old, rich guy. I understand he was quite the grumpy gus."

"Yeah, I'm so glad she's found Mr. Jones. He's certainly gorgeous," Ms. Ward chattered on, oblivious to Gold's identity.

"Pretty is as pretty does," murmured Gold. Belle heard him but Ms. Ward had not.

"I don't know what her first husband looked like," Ms. Ward continued on. "To hear her talk, he was quite the goblin, with the personality to match."

"But very rich," Belle was enjoying herself.

"Yeah, I hear he's rolling in it – some kind of a gazillionaire. Probably inherited it."

Belle watched Gold out of the corner of her eye. He sat up at this last remark but managed not to say anything.

"Oh, I hear that he started out without two nickels to rub together or in his case two shillings to rub together. Made his money in real estate, clever investing," Belle informed her.

"I heard there might have been some racketeering involving drugs and guns."

Gold muttered, "Bribery and extortion. Crooked deals. Buying and selling babies." Belle could just barely make out what he was saying.

"And if he was legit, then I bet he spent all of his time involved in his work and no time on his wife," Ms. Ward had another explanation of what happened to the marriage.

"Probably," agreed Belle.

"What's he doing now, I wonder?"

"I hear he's dating a gorgeous young woman half his age," this time Gold spoke loudly enough to be heard.

"Really?!" Ms. Ward was most interested. "Well, you know what they say, for every million a man has, it takes off ten years."

Gold leaned back, "Is that what they say? Then the young woman is robbing the cradle." He gave Belle a smirk.

"I hear she's very happy with him," Belle smiled back at him.

"He's probably buying her cars, and jewelry and islands and such," Ms. Ward speculated.

"He'd like to," Gold was speaking under his breath again.

"I hear she's a very sensible young woman and likes the man for himself, not for what he can give her," Belle spoke to Ms. Ward but she looked at Gold.

"Well, bless her heart then. I just hope he cares about her as much as she cares about him. In that case, I hope he's able to keep up with that young woman."

"We all do," Gold said to himself.

"The issue may be whether or not she's able to keep up with him," Belle said with her own little smile on her face." Gold reached over and took her hand.

"Is this your daughter?" Ms. Ward asked him.

"No, this is the gorgeous young woman half my age that I'm dating," he explained keeping his face bland and expressionless.

Ms. Ward gapped at him and then started laughing. "Oh no, wait. People were talking about some super-rich guy having his girlfriend on the ward. My shift just started this morning so I'm a bit out of the loop. But you're him, aren't you?!" Anyone else might have been embarrassed but Ms. Ward seemed to think it was a big joke on her. "Well, I guess you both are doing all right."

Ms. Ward finished making the bed and ordered Gold out of the room, despite his protests, to give Belle her sponge bath. He hung around in the hallway muttering something about bossy women and how there were too many of them in his life.

He loitered in the hallway. It was minimally lighted and there wasn't much going on. He strolled down the corridors and stopped in a well-lit lobby with large windows that looked out upon a lovely little flower garden, way down on the ground. Belle would like this. Maybe he could help her walk this far today or another day. He dawdled awhile and then made his way back to the room. The door had been re-opened and he could see Belle, still sitting up. He couldn't tell if her gown had been same – one green striped hospital gown with shoulder snaps looked like another.

Ms. Ward was still talking, "Now, honey, is there anything else you think you might need?"

"I'm fine. I'm gonna try to sit up and have my breakfast here and then I'll probably need to lie back down again."

Ms. Ward gave her an encouraging smile. On the way out she spotted Gold. "You let us know if she wants to get back into bed. Don't be trying to do it yourself."

"Yes ma'am," he agreed quickly. This woman looked like she could kick his ass; he didn't want to piss her off.

0o0o0o0o0

He was not feeling any less magnanimous when breakfast time came around at eight o'clock. He groused and went down to the cafeteria to get himself some food and then returned to find Belle already back in the bed. The television station had gone back to regular programming which improved his mood somewhat.

Oh, but then came the first of the pre-recorded segments. Flashbacks to Milah picking out her dress and shoes for the wedding. She explained how she would need three pairs of shoes for the ceremony, one pair to manage the stairs, one to wear during the ceremony and another for afterwards, the reception line and circulating among the well-wishers. She'd gone with her favorite shoe designer, Christian Louboutin, for all three pairs and shared, confidentially, with her viewers that the shoes totaled more than her dress. Milah then shared where her viewers could get somewhat similar shoes without the Louboutin price tags.

oooooooo

"Well, that almost sounded like she was being nice," he remarked, feeling marginally better after eating.

"She was. She may like spending money and shoes are certainly one of her primary vices, but she also knows a bargain and she's beginning to get a feel for her audience. Many are women of limited resources who want what she has, but who will never have the money."

"You did that," he said to Belle. "You talked with her that she'd have even greater appeal if she could help other women copy her lifestyle – the clothes, the shoes, the makeup, the shoes, the decorating, the shoes."

"Maybe," admitted Belle.

000o000o000

It was midmorning and there continued on-going live coverage, interspersed with regular programing and pre-recorded spots. In came the deliverymen from Best Buy, carrying a very, very large rectangular box. They proceeded to unpack, taking down the small set and installing a very large flat screen television. It must have been at least sixty inches, the largest Belle had ever seen.

"What is this?" Belle asked.

"I knew you were planning on watching the wedding and there might be some other things later on. . . " he was evasive. "The hospital was fine with me having it installed here for now when I said I would be happy to donate it to them after your stay is completed."

"Really, you think I need a television where the heads are bigger than my own?"

"Yeah, why not."

So now, the rest of the staff would wander in and out of the room to watch wedding coverage. Apparently, everyone was a Milah fan. If they didn't like her, they still liked to watch her – trainwreck was a term Gold heard on more than one occasion.

00oo00oo00

Some of the prerecorded spots were with Killian, picking out his tuxedo, describing his adventures in finding this particular spot for the wedding, talking about the selection of the wedding ring and such. Most were with Milah. Along with shoe segment, there was another one with her undergarments (these she did not model), her selection of heavy hor d'oeuves for the wedding party, her amazing and confidential remarks that she had, on her own, opted for another wedding dress and it was to be a surprise for everyone.

Periodically, they would cut to live segments, the crew setting up, the wide array of celebrities coming in for the ceremony, Milah getting ready. She'd started with her hair.

o0o0o0o

Lunch was brought it by twelve thirty and Gold stayed with Belle while she ate before going down to the cafeteria for a to-go plate of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans. He got himself some strong ice tea to drink. He hadn't yet succumbed to his pocketed scotch, but he felt secure knowing it was there.

0o0o0

By one o'clock the station was in full swing with Milah coverage. There were flashbacks to her earlier shows. How she had met Killian, their whirlwind romance, her doubts, her resolutions about him. They continued showing her preparing for the ceremony. It was more than an hour's drive to the park, so by one thirty, Milah and Regina had set off in one limo and Killian and his cohorts in another. There was someone in Milah's limo with a hand-held camera.

"So far everything is going perfectly," Milah said.

"Uh hum," Regina agreed with her. Regina was already dressed in a simple black silk dress with blood-red accessories. She looked elegant and just a bit scary.

0o0ooo0o0

"Does she have to look like a dominatrix?" Belle asked Gold.

"Well, she pretty much is. If you ever have to face her in court, she's quite capable of ripping your heart out and squeezing it to death in front of you," he told her.

Belle asked him shyly, "Is that what kind of relationship you had with her?"

"What?! No. . . Hell no. Can you see me wearing a leather collar and saying 'yes mistress.'?"

"No," Belle paused and then she impulsively added, "But I could see you putting Regina in a leather collar."

"Hah, Me telling Regina what to do? Interesting idea, but, Belle, our relationship was nothing more than a hurried, quick couple of times in a semi-public place. She came on to me. I was feeling pretty low and undesirable at the time. She's a beautiful woman. I guess I said, what the hell?" He got quiet a moment, "You know, now I wish I had walked away. But I didn't know you were in my future. If I had had any idea that there was someone out there for me, someone like you, I'd've been minding my p's and q's for sure, walking the straight and narrow, keeping my eye on the prize."

Belle scrunched up her nose, "Well, I don't hold anything you did before you met me against you. You're a grown man. You had a life before you came to Asheville. I'd be silly and naïve to be expecting you to have never been anyone else before you met me," she smiled big at him, "Besides, I expect I owe all those women a little 'thank you' for teaching you how to be, well, how to. . . " she waved her hands in the air.

"Well, you'll probably be upset to find many of my finer moves came from Cora."

"Eeuu. Yes. I still don't get you and her," Belle was shaking her head.

"She had a certain charm. We had a lot in common. I'd never met a woman like her before – strong, self-sufficient, ambitious in a world-dominating way. What can I say? I was feeling very lonely and she came along and with her flattery she easily seduced me. I was weak. And, just for the record, she's a lot scarier in court and out of court than her daughter. She's a top-notch defense attorney – takes on some big cases."

00ooo00ooooo00ooo00

The camera had switched and was now in Killian's limo where the riders were smoking. The camera cut on and listeners caught someone in the wedding party delivering the line, "What do you mean, 'wrong hole?'" something that was met with uproarious laughter.

The groom's party seemed to be involved in playing a variety of video phone games and casting aspersions on the groom's ability to perform with his new bride (which were responded to with amazingly good humor). As a group, they seemed more than a bit tipsy.

0o00oo000oo00o0

"That's a frightening scene," Belle observed. "One of these guys is the groom and this is how they spend their time before the wedding."

"Before, during and after," said Gold.

o0000o0000o0000o

Back in the car one of the party spoke up, "Hey, Jones, are you gonna keep up with that little copy franchise you've got going?"

"Hell yeah, at least for awhile. It's bringing in a nice amount of money. But I'm still making more money following Gold's investments," Killian told him.

Gold sat up when he heard this.

"Yeah, why don't you let us in on that?" one of the other party members asked.

"Sure, it don't hurt nothing. I just started with that monthly statement but then I found out that the accounting is posted every day on line and Milah, bless her, gave me access. I used to think that ten percent was a fair return but then I saw this bastard was typically pulling down a forty percent profit on his investments. Well hell, I thought. Those statements would say what he was selling off and what he was buying. I couldn't invest the amount that he did, but if he went in for 50,000, I might could go 5,000. When he bought, I bought. When he sold, I sold. When this little battery business started showing up in the statement, I invested very heavily in that and, man, it paid off big time."

"That prick! That son of bitch!" Gold said listening to this. "He's been using me to make money." He had vaulted out of his chair.

"It's actually very clever of him," Belle observed.

"He's using me, my experience, my intuition, my research! That lousy, sneaking, son of a bitch! I'll kill him. I skewer him," Gold was pacing. "I will skin him and hang him out to dry."

"No you won't. You will quit sending them daily statements."

He turned and looked at Belle. "I could send him some phony statements and bankrupt him."

She smiled at him, "But you won't."

He stood a moment and took several deep breaths. He glared at Belle. She smiled at him.

He stomped back over to his chair.

He sat down.

He slumped.

0000000

The show cut to Milah and Regina. Milah was putting on makeup, giving a line by line, or in her case, a brush by brush, commentary. She was going for what she called a 'dewy' look, with soft coloring. Regina had gone with black eyeliner and blood red lipstick, nothing subtle there. Milah then put in a plug for her makeup line, explaining that she was going to be having a special on the Wedding Makeup on QVC. You would be able to buy Milah's soft palette or Regina's edgier palette. Milah had also put together two other palettes, one for blondes and another for redheads. She shared how she had met the young singer Ariel and had worked with her to find just the right tones for the young redhead.

oooooooo

Gold had remained sitting quietly, pouting. "I feel used," he told Belle.

"Well, that's only because you were, dear," she confirmed. "But there's not a whole lot you can do."

"Hell if there's not, but you won't let me," and Gold opted to take a swig of his scotch.

0000ooo0000

Off camera there was some activity. At the venue there were some early bird guests already on the scene and wandering around the outdoor area. Aurora and Mallie had been chatting and were beginning to comment on the sundry stars and near stars that were showing up. Reality show stars, movie star, political stars – everyone who was anyone had been invited.

All the Kardasians were to be there, along with their dear mother. Political figures, Sarah Palin and Anthony Weiner were expected. Donald Trump, Simon Cowell, and Chaz Dean would all show up. And Nicki Minaj, oh the list just went on.

Aurora watched Mallie moving in on Bae and his striking companion (two among the early arrivals) but she moved in more quickly. She of course recognized the son of the company's owner. Aurora moved in with the cameras and gave a short introduction for the Golden Network viewers.

"Oh my viewers, this young man is Milah's son. I know, it's hard to believe she is old enough to have a son this young man's age. You may know that his father was going to walk Milah down the aisle but a very dear, very close personal friend of his was shot in a dramatic drug arrest, a completely innocent bystander who was taken hostage. Mr. Robert Spinner is, I sure, watching this wedding, while he stands by the bedside of this very dear friend. His son, Baelfour Spinner agreed to take his father's place. And," Mallie turned to Bae, "who is your lovely companion?"

"An old-fashioned girl who thinks you should be in the paper only three times in your life," he responded, giving his most charming smile to Aurora.

There were several more banal comments exchanged and Aurora finally smiled and allowed him to go on, signaling for the cameras to cut off.

Mallie was standing by while Aurora was unsuccessful in getting Bae to share anything about his date. She slowly sidled up to Bae, in Aurora's hearing.

"You're date's Emma Swan, isn't she, the ATF agent who took down that scumbag Facilier – the guy who shot Miss French, your father's very good friend," she spoke in low tones but knew quite well that Aurora was listening.

Bae looked at Mallie, "Ms. Schentz, I don't know how you know this, but we'd appreciate it if you would sit on this information." Bae was quite unaware that Aurora was eavesdropping.

"Of course. Your dad and I are kinda in a truce and I don't want to do anything to upset the Spinner family," Mallie smiled at him and went off to interview another one of the guests.

Aurora had slipped out her phone and began making calls. She was smiling when she got off the line.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

In the groom's car the camera was back on. "And then, to make him cry, we went out back together and I showed the horse that it was true." The car erupted into laughter again.

"Hey, Killian, where will you guys be living?"

"We've got a place in Beverly Hills. Suits us both to a T. Gold will still be paying the taxes on the place, so all we have are the utilities and the upkeep."

"What a sweet deal, to have the ex-husband still contributing like that. I heard he agreed to quit alimony payments and paid you a very large lump sum settlement."

"Yeah that he did. Enough for my Milah and me to live quite comfortably for a very long time. We're heading towards the Caribbean after the wedding for a month." The group were all passing around flagons of lord knows what. "Let's have a drink to Gold's generosity." The group raised their bottles and toasted Gold.

"And to Milah, the only woman smart enough to take him down. Even though she got caught sleeping with me, she still came out very nicely in the divorce." And the group drank a second toast.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Gold had folded his arms. He sat very still a moment and then reached into his pocket and pulled out his own flask. "I've heard enough," he said and took a swig. "I don't know if I can hang on much longer."

o0o0o0o0o0o

The cameras were now back at the venue and rolling. Each celebrity that arrived at this point was able to walk a red carpet, a literal red carpet, onto the flat area below the falls. Food was already being served. Drinks were already being prepared.

Unbeknownst to her, Emma had become the focus of one of the cameras and reporters. She tried to duck away but was unable to avoid Aurora and her cameraman.

"You're here with Baelfour Spinner, aren't you? One of the world's most eligible bachelors," Aurora began.

"We're just friends," Emma replied and began to pull away but Aurora followed her. "You're Emma Swan, aren't you? My information is that you work for the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms bureau and just finished up an undercover investigation of Dr. Facilier, a New Orleans drug lord."

Emma managed a weak smile and turned away resolutely from the camera. She moved as fast as she could, walking in heels over rocks away from the intrusive cameraman and reporter. Shit, that was all she needed - to have her face all over the television. How had the woman found out who she was?

0000000o0000000

Watching from home, Gold was impressed. Mallie had apparently allowed young Aurora to track down Emma's identity and blow the woman's cover. Mallie had then stood on the sidelines, acting the professional, not revealing information about a government agent whose job depended on anonymity. As long as the job was done, it was done, as far as Gold was concerned.

Mallie would not be someone he'd want to play chess with.

ooOoOoOoo

Emma went back to circling the area, keeping one eye on Bae who was waiting for the call that his mother had arrived and another eye on the cameraman and reporter hoping the exposure had been brief and insufficient. Bae was to go back up the stairs to get his mother and walk down with her so that she could make An Entrance.

Emma was surprised to find the open bar, already serving. And the food that had been set out all over. Milah had managed to usurp a mega-order of cro-nuts. She also had a bread pudding made with Krispy Kreme donuts, brownie brittle, and, because the groom had requested it, there were Vienna sausage pigs-in-a-blanket. Amazing array of "in-food," she had thought. Emma considered grabbing some champagne but settled for a soda.

She circulated and was able to hear a variety of conversations.

Some were phone conversations: "Yeah, I'm at the wedding. . . Right, I think so too, but I came anyway."

Another conversation: "And I hear she actually is going to wear white."

And another: "Not really, but it's a crapload of free airtime for me and my agent doesn't want me to pass up an opportunity to get on camera."

And another: "Honest to god, there will be an open bar during the ceremony. It's open now. Hell, I'm on my third tequila sunrise."

Emma watched Killian, wearing an odd tuxedo choice, one with a long coat, like something out Victorian England. She gave him some credit, he was a pretty man. He saw her and gave her a once over and then a big smile and was sauntering over before Emma could pull back.

"Emma Swan?" he remembered her. "Now aren't you looking delicious." He leered at her and leaned in. He had definitely been drinking and was smoking what appeared to be a well-rolled doobie. High and drunk, way to show up at your own wedding.

"I'm with Bae Spinner," she told him quickly.

"Really? e usually goes for dainty women, not healthy girls like yourself. You, my dear, are way too much woman for a nerd wuss like Bae."

"Well, he's a fast learner," Emma responded. Jones moved in even closer and put his hand on her arm. Emma slowly twisted herself away from the drunken lout.

"Well, I gotta say, he did manage to get you in a dress and to put on some lipstick. You are looking fine, girl." He looked around "Well damn, the drawback of an outdoor wedding. No coat room. Sorry," he apologized. "We'll have to make it another time." He let her go, bowed and stumbled away.

Had he just hit on her? At his own wedding?! Emma shook her head.

She was watching the crowd. There were an awful lot of people she recognized. Many had already taken seats at one of the many small tables scattered around - comfortable seats . . . with cushions. The entire affair reminded her of a dinner theater with a buffet and a bar. There were cameras everywhere and she was in an unending struggle to avoid them. Her new shoes hurt, actually it wasn't her shoes, it was her feet that hurt. The shoes looked good, well, they looked fabulous, but traipsing down the flight of stairs and standing on an uneven rock surface in heels was an unaccustomed activity for her. Now, looking around she noticed a number of men in suits and dark glasses. Security?

They didn't look like people Jones might have hired. The suits were dark and cheap. It made her think that something might be coming down. She had packed her gun in her purse and her handcuffs – you just never knew when you might run into trouble. She was startled when a short, greasy man came up to her elbow.

"Hey lady, you want a piece of the action?"

"What action?"

"Bets on how the marriage will last and who will cheat on who first," it was explained to her.

My god, they are betting on the marriage at the wedding! "What kinda odds are we looking at?" she couldn't help but ask.

The gambling agent smiled, "The odds right now are two to one that the marriage will be over in six months. There are bets that it won't last the honeymoon. The long odds are going for it lasting two years. The odds are even on who will cheat first."

"OK," Emma said. "Give me twenty dollars, split it on the marriage lasting less than the honeymoon and I'm guessing he will cheat first."

"Got it lady. Here's my card."

Emma handed over a twenty, gave the guy her work phone and pocketed his card. The man used his cell phone to record her information. "Nice doing business with you, lady."

By now, Emma had lost Bae and figured he was up at the top of the stairs waiting for his mother.

0o0o0o0o0

The camera was now back in the car with Regina and Milah. Milah was pretty much ready, except for her dress. She had a special changing room set up at the top of the stairs so that she could put on the dress in secret and surprise everyone.

Milah looked directly into the camera. "I'm so excited about this event and yet a part of me wants it to be over and for me to be starting my life with Killian. A very good friend of mine reminded me that the dress, the food, the flowers, the guests, these are all just things; the really important thing, the most important thing, is that I'm about to begin the rest of my life with the man I love, a man who loves me. It's not been easy getting to this point. Lotsa ups and downs, but everything I've been through has made me the person I am today, has made Killian who he is."

The car had stopped but Milah kept talking, "I want to give a special thank you to Bobby. You and I have had our bad times, for sure. We haven't always been nice to each other, but," she paused, "it looks like we both may have found our true loves and maybe, just maybe, we can start respecting each other as human beings again." She looked down for a moment, "In an odd way, I still love you. Not that I'd want to be married to you again," she added quickly. "But you did give me an awful lot, and not just money, but a wonderful son and . . . some faith in myself. Take care of yourself Bobby and good luck with you and your special lady friend."

0000o0000

"Wow, that was nice," Belle remarked from her hospital bed.

"Yeah," Gold agreed. "Not sure what her agenda might be," he added suspiciously.

Belle sighed, "Maybe she doesn't have an agenda. Not everybody has an agenda."

"Yeah they do. And they always seem to want something from me."

"Poor baby. I just thought she was trying to bury the hatchet."

"I don't know. More like she's planning on skipping out of town and leaving me with the check."

Belle had to smile at the man. He had no trust for anyone. Sometimes Belle wondered if he trusted her.

Oooo00ooooO

The camera had cut away to the large crowd gathered at the foot of the top falls. Someone in charge of the wedding party signaled the musicians to stop playing music for a moment and let everyone know to find a seat. The Bride was about to arrive. Killian got in place taking a few last puffs on a cigarette, then throwing the butt into the nearby flowing water. The camera was focused on the foot of the staircase where Milah would make her appearance.

Milah had chosen Pachelbel's Canon in D minor over the traditional wedding march. Regina entered first in her sleek form-fitting gown and carrying a single red rose. She took her place to the side of Killian. As the music reached its peak, Milah, holding onto Bae's arm made her appearance.

The announcer in hushed tones immediately began commenting on her new dress, a sheath with a beaded lace overlay. It looked like something out of the twenties and fit Milah's retro style personae quite well. She was wearing the second of the Leboutin shoes she had shown to the television audience (apparently having changed out of her first pair which had been designated the-walking-down-the-incredibly-long-flight-of-sta irs shoes).

0o0o0o0o0

"She looks gorgeous," Gold had to remark and many of the nursing staff had to agree.

It seemed like almost the entire staff had gathered in the room to watch the ceremony and hear the simple traditional wedding vows that Milah and Killian had decided to go with. Gold uncharitably remarked that it would have been too much to expect either Killian or Milah to have written their own vows.

Ooo0ooo0oooO

Bae had quietly returned to sit by Emma for the ceremony after handing off his mother to Killian. Emma glanced around, surprised by the number of cell phones people had out during the service. Were they tweeting, 'I'm sooo at this wedding right now.'?" she wondered. She also noted the men in black circling in. They had not taken seats like the other guests and she was instantly alert.

Something was going down.

She opted to put her simple purse on across her body and she began to watch the men. One of them, a very large heavy-set man seemed familiar to her, very familiar.

Very familiar, indeed.

He had caught her eye and gave her a subtle nod.

Oh yes! She knew now. She knew him from. . . .

As the vows were completed and the couple exchanged rings, they were pronounced man and wife, kissed (entirely too long for Emma) and turned and faced the guests.

00000

"Now that was a very nice ceremony," Belle said to Gold. They had been holding hands during the service.

OOOOO

At the moment Mr. and Ms. Jones turned to face their guests, the heavy set man, along with two others, approached Jones. They talked to him quietly and he quickly seemed to become upset, then angry, ultimately breaking away from them. Abruptly, to the shocked amazement of everyone at the event, Jones went over the edge of the rock that the couple had been standing on, going down about a ten foot cliff. He began to climb on down the rocks that paralleled the third of the three falls. The men in black stood, equally as surprised as the guests, at the desperate move Killian had made.

However, Emma was instantly up and had shot down the side of the cliff, rapidly gaining on the fleeing man, even wearing her heels. The cameras began following her every move as she made quite the display in her bright red dress scampering down the cliff. As Killian reached the bottom of the drop, Emma was already just behind him and, with a flashy, leaping dive, was able to body-tackle the man, catching him around his waist, and in a heartbeat, taking him down onto the ground, keeping herself on top of him. She reached in her purse and with the speed of the well-trained, experienced police officer that she was, had pulled back his hands and slapped the cuffs on him.

0o0o0o0o0

"Way to be discrete, Emma," Gold commented. "You just got more airtime with that little stunt than anything I could have come up with."

"What is going on?" Belle was asking.

o0o0o0o0o

"Good job, Emma," the heavy set man had called down to her. Some of the other men in black had made it down the cliff by now. "I wasn't expecting him to run like that. Glad you were here."

"Get down here, Tiny. I'm just here as a private citizen," Emma called up at him, getting off of Killian and standing by with the other men as Tiny cautiously made his way down the rocks.

When he got there, he was huffing and puffing but managed to read the charges, 'Mr. Jones, I'm Special Agent Anton Garcia with the FBI. You are under arrest for media piracy, violation of the RICO act, contributory copywrite infringement and, I'm pretty sure the IRS is going to be entering some additional charges for tax evasion. You have the right to remain silent. . . "

Emma helped pull Jones to his feet while the big man continued reading him his rights.

Milah was leaning over the edge of cliff and was in hysterics. "What is happening? What is going on? You can't arrest him. It's our wedding!"

"Ma'am, I'm very sorry at the timing of this arrest, but we had information that he was about to leave the country," the big man explained, calling up to her.

"Yes, of course, we were going on our honeymoon," Milah was crying. "You can't take him away."

Unrepentantly, Jones called up to his new wife, "Oh luv, you know me. I've been arrested before and gotten off. This is just harassment. They don't really have anything on me. I just bet that ex-husband of yours put them up to it."

0o0ooooo0o0ooooo0o0

The cameras had picked up this last part clearly and, in the hospital room, all heads turned to Gold.

"I swear, I knew nothing about this," Gold began talking fast. "I'd started having the man investigated when I found out he was doing Milah, but the FBI came in and told me to butt out. I figured whatever was going on, well, they would take care of it or they would find out there wasn't anything happening," he told everyone.

"Poor Milah," Belle said. "She was so excited and so happy. And now. . . "

"She needs to decide if she's going to stand by the bastard or if she just wants to get an annulment," Gold offered.

His phone rang. He looked at the i.d. and took a deep breath. He answered it, "Hello Milah. I'm so sorry," he began.

It was an odd call. Everyone could hear her ranting on the television and hear his responses in the room. Milah was mostly incoherent.

"Did you do this, you son of a bitch? Did you wait 'til my wedding and have the man I love arrested? That is so low of you, you bastard! If you wanted to hurt me, why didn't you just slap me around like you used to?"

Gold winced, "I didn't do it, Milah. I didn't know it was going to happen. I promise you."

"I don't believe you! Why should I believe you?" she was screaming at him.

"Believe me, don't believe me, Milah. But Jones needs a good criminal lawyer and, if you're planning on standing by the man, you need to hop on it. I'd suggest Cora Mills. She's there sitting between Chris Jenner and Sarah Palin. If I were you, I'd put her on retainer. She'll have him out on bail by eight o'clock tonight," he advised her.

"I'll send you the bill," Milah got in one last shot and clicked off her phone.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Some of the cameras followed Jones and the federal officers, along with red-dressed Emma down the rocks to connect with one of the lower paths that ran along the river (with abrupt detailed reports of Emma's background and job with the ATF). The other cameras were following Milah as she clicked off her phone and went in search of Cora. Milah found her was standing with Regina among all the other stunned guests. They all stood still as Milah ran over to them. "I need a good criminal attorney," she told them.

"That would be me," Cora told her, stepping up. "Regina was too good to sully her hands with criminal law. She can draw up contracts and provide people with amicable divorces. But we won't see her in an intense courtroom scene." Cora spoke in a demeaning tone to her daughter. "Such a disappointment."

"Mother, I'm getting tired of your continual disapproval!" Regina snapped. "I know you don't like my current job, my current boyfriend, my current choice of friends, none of the decisions that I've made recently. Well, I've had enough of you and your judgmental shit. Get ready because what I'm going to do next will probably give you a stroke!" Regina was furious and turned to the camera. "Gold, if you're watching this then, yes, yes, I'll take that job as head of your legal department for Magicell. I'll be ready to come to work tomorrow!"

OOOOooOOOO

Gold smiled but then realized that Belle was looking at him. "You ok with Regina working for me?" he asked her, suddenly alarmed. Probably not the best way for her to find out about the job offer he'd made.

"This is one of the sweetest things you've ever done. Offering her a job so that she can stay here in Asheville and see how far her relationship with that nice Daniel Bean can go." Belle was obviously approving.

"You're not upset that I offered a job to a former . . . uh. . . former associate?" he asked.

"You aren't still interested in her, are you?" Belle asked

"Oh lord no, but I thought that you might think. . . " he trailed off.

"No reason to, is there? No, you did this to be nice. I won't let you weasel out of it," Belle was smiling at him.

"I wasn't being nice," he clarified. "She just happens to be one of the two best contract attorneys on either coast."

"And the other one isn't available. . . ?" Belle asked.

"The other one is a man who's impossible to get along with. He's arrogant, dictatorial and far too expensive for me to hire. . . "

Belle was giggling. "He's you, isn't he?" she asked.

"He's me," Gold admitted.

He sat a moment quietly.

"I wasn't being nice," he said again.

000o000o000

The coverage continued, mostly now focused on Emma's background and the pretty blonde's picture was regularly plastered over the screen.

"This is going to be so tough for Emma. She won't be able to do undercover any more, will she?" Belle asked.

"I'd think rather not," Gold told her.

"Maybe she'll consider your job offer now," Belle said quietly, her eyes very large and soulful.

"Maybe," he agreed.

"Things couldn't have worked out much better if you had planned it," Belle was still speaking quietly.

"I promise you, I didn't plan this. As much anger as I have towards Milah, I still genuinely thought that this marriage might get her out of my life and I wanted her to go through with it. I was just hoping that Emma might get enough exposure on the air that it would bother her bosses and give her a little push into considering working for me."

"Things do have a way of working out for you," Belle observed.

"Most things. Belle, I know this wedding arrest fiasco will continue on for awhile and will be on all the major networks for a while." He was hesitant, "I did want to ask you something else completely unrelated."

Belle sat and waited.

"During the past couple of weeks, on Thursdays, you and I would often do something as a couple. Go places together, do stuff together. I know you can't leave here but I thought that maybe, maybe, I could so something special here, in this room." He paused, "I'd like to take you on a date, a simple date, a nice meal and maybe a movie." He was watching her closely.

"I'd like that. What time will you come by for me?"

"Well supper in this place is what? four o'clock? I was thinking about six or seven," he answered.

"Let's make it six, I don't want to wait until seven o'clock," Belle told him. "How should I dress?"

"Oh, I think something with green stripes and a lot of snaps would be the ticket," he answered.

"I think I have just the dress," she told him.

He leaned in and gave her a very, very gentle kiss. "It's still all right for me to brush your hair?" he asked in a whisper.

"Please," she answered him. "I miss you," she told him and he knew she meant the intimacy they had enjoyed before her shooting. He was not able to get as close to her as he had been before, but brushing her hair gave them both sustained physical contact that served as a pale substitute, but a substitute nonetheless, for their deep passion for each other.

"I miss you too," he told her.

Thirty-eight days down, four to go.

A.N. So hope The Wedding didn't disappoint.

Special thanks, as always to those kind people who wrote reviews, RaFire, Ying-Fa-dono, Guest (LMAO), The Prince's Phoenix, jewel415, juju0268, Just 2 Dream of You, xanimejunkie, cheesyteal'c, Stargate533, Erik'sTrueAngel, Theresalwaysaprice, DruidKitty, TygTag, RoxyMoron, MyraValhallah, maizeblue7, ctdg, EevyLynn, and Guest (CatConvo) and also to Girlyemma96 for the pm.

Any ideas for what movie Gold should bring in for Date Night? (I have a couple in mind, but I haven't completely decided what would be the best romantic movie for our couple). Thx txm

NEXT: Fallout and Date Night