Chapter 53

Peter was surprised to find his wife scurrying around the kitchen when he returned from dropping off the lovebirds in Manhattan. Granted, she wasn't moving around at her typically frantic pace or with the same efficiency she usually displayed but she'd managed to collect all the dishes and carry them into the kitchen and she'd lined up all the empty wine bottles by the back door, ready for the recycling bin.

'Hey' he said as he slipped into the kitchen. 'I thought you'd be sound asleep by now.'

'I got my second wind' El replied as she busied herself by the dishwasher.

Peter reached into the refrigerator and poured his wife a tall glass of water. 'Here, you're going to need this.'

She smiled at him through slit eyes. 'Thanks, honey!'

'Why don't you leave all this and go on up to bed? I can finish up down here' Peter offered, rubbing her back.

'I think it's better if I keep moving a little while longer' she confessed. 'But I could use some help.'

Peter began to wrap up some of the leftover food, picking mindlessly at some of his favourites — the bacon mini-quiches and the cheese puffs.

'So… the party got a little rowdy, huh?' he asked as he worked.

'In all fairness, you did warn me about having strippers' she admitted. 'I guess unlimited booze and lap dances are a dangerous combination.'

'Neal's going to have his hands full; Sara was feeling pretty… amorous on the drive over to the hotel' Peter said.

Elizabeth laughed. 'I didn't have the heart to cut her off; she's been so stressed lately and then, she got into the tequila shots and she started to loosen up and, the next thing I knew, I'd kind of lost control of the situation and I just gave up and decided to join them.'

'Well, I'm glad she had a good time; let's just hope she's back to her old self in the morning.'

'So, did everything turn out okay at Clinton's place?' Elizabeth asked.

Peter chuckled to himself as he recalled Neal sitting there, squirming, as he was held captive by department issue cuffs. 'Neal was a good sport… and it was great to spend time with all the guys.'

'I bet he really appreciated you telling the story about how he ran off and hid in the washroom at Dr. Kirkwood's office, huh?' she said.

Peter rolled his eyes. 'It was a big hit' he replied with a laugh. 'Oh, and he really loved it when Jones cuffed him. It was just like… old times.'

Elizabeth sighed as she glanced around the chaos that surrounded them. 'Well, maybe it's a good thing Ken and Ginette insisted on staying at a hotel after all. Look at the state of this place.'

Peter could see the uncertainty on El's face and he moved in closer, wrapping his arms around her waist.

'Honey, you've been working on the wedding for weeks and everything is ready to be rolled out: the backyard is ready, the food is on standby and everybody knows what they're supposed to be doing. There's nothing more you can do. You'll see, all you need is a good night's sleep and everything will be fine.'

'Well, I've deputized Emily and I've put her in charge of keeping an eye on things until I get there in the morning' she confided. 'Everything is all set up and, barring some unforeseen situation like Mozzie doing something crazy…'

'You're kidding, right?' Peter said with a grin. 'Honey, I think Mozzie doing something crazy is pretty well a given… and there's nothing you can do about it, so stop worrying.'

He stopped for a moment, realizing she needed a little more encouragement. 'Honey, it's going to be an amazing day, Neal and Sara are going to be ecstatic and everybody will have a wonderful time, you'll see.'

El's eyes fluttered shut for an instant as the remnants of wine and the fatigue caught up to her. 'Maybe I will take you up on your offer to finish tidying up' she said, sounding exhausted.

Peter kissed her forehead. 'Go on up to bed' he said with a smile. 'I'll be up as soon as I'm done.'

WCWCWC

Sara had begun to sober up somewhat by the time Peter dropped her and Neal off in front of the Four Seasons. They boarded the elevator up to the 50th floor, her hands resuming their groping ways, moving from Neal's hair, down his back, to his butt, stroking and squeezing all accessible parts of his body as she ground herself up against him. It was late, they were alone on the long ride up and they took full advantage of the few seconds of privacy to resume the make-out session they'd started in the car on the way over.

This time, Neal responded eagerly to Sara's overtures, squirming and moving restlessly from one foot to the other as he tried to keep the pressure off his aching groin. Truth was, Sara felt wonderfully warm and pliant in his arms and he was eager to get her up to their room where he'd arranged for some special surprises to cap off their anniversary celebration.

The discreet 'ding' of the elevator interrupted their fervour and they looked into each other's eyes, silently telegraphing their mutual desire, as they reluctantly pulled apart and stepped out into the hotel hallway.

'We're here' Neal whispered as he whisked her off the elevator, taking her hand in his and pulling her along towards their corner room.

He let himself into the room first so he could take a quick glance around; he wanted everything to be perfect when Sara stepped inside. He'd instructed Maurizio to have their anniversary song playing on a loop and he instantly recognized it playing softly in the background as he opened the door. He spotted the lit candles throughout the room, the trail of rose petals and a quick gander towards the bed confirmed that Maurizio had remembered to set out the expensive bottle of cider in the ice bucket alongside some chocolate dipped strawberries.

'Neal…' Sara sighed as she followed him in. 'What… what did you do?'

He beamed like a little kid, thrilled at her reaction. 'Just a few little surprises… to finish up the night.'

'Oh, honey…' Sara cooed, still somewhat tipsy as she glanced around the suite. 'You did all this for me?'

'Of course I did this all for you, it's our anniversary' Neal grinned, pulling her in against his body with a soft moan - which she mistakenly assumed was fuelled by lust and desire.

He began to move his feet to the music - which had the added benefit of keeping his discomfort in check - and he began to sway, feeling Sara relaxing in his arms to the sweet sound of Al Green's voice echoing softly in the room.

'And… that's our song' Sara finally clued in as she latched on to him to keep from losing her footing.

He murmured in her ear. 'I… I'm so in love with you…' he crooned softly, rocking back and forth and dipping Sara as she giggled.

'I can't believe you did all this' she sighed breathlessly as she let him lead her around the room on his nimble feet.

'It's tradition' he reminded her, swaying to the beat and following the trail of rose petals which, surprisingly, was leading them not towards the bed but rather, towards the bathroom.

'Where are you taking me?' Sara asked with that warm tinge in her voice that always made his heart melt.

'You'll see…' he murmured softly, nibbling on her ear. 'I want to spend my life… with you-ou-ou…'

The trail of flower petals led them to the foot of the large tub which had been filled and left at the perfect temperature with rose petals covering the surface of the water. Candles burned all along the edge of the tub and all over the bathroom counter, giving the room a warm glow and Sara noticed a gorgeous bouquet of orchids which hadn't been there earlier.

She laughed heartily at the enchanting sight. 'You've really outdone yourself, Caffrey' she sighed.

'So tell me, are you planning on letting me soak in there all by myself while you use that amazing shower again?' she asked, making fun of his apparent obsession with the rain shower head.

'Not tonight…' he replied seductively. 'You did say it was big enough for two.'

'How did you manage to do all this?' she asked, looking around.

'I had an accomplice' he admitted, pleased with himself. 'So, you like your little surprise?'

'I do… I love it' Sara replied, her voice languorous. 'Thank you, sweetie.'

She held on to his arm to keep from losing her balance and stepped away, awkwardly kicking off her shoes and throwing them in a corner of the room while giving him a crooked smile; those tequila shots still lingering in her veins.

Neal took advantage of the distraction to pull the small box from his pocket and hastily placed it on the edge of the tub while Sara had momentarily turned away.

She spotted it right away but didn't say a thing. Instead, she gave Neal a naughty eyebrow wag. 'You want to help me out of my clothes?' she asked.

'I would love to help you out of your clothes' Neal replied with a leer as he moved around her to tackle the zipper on the back of her dress.

He winced in response to the pain flaring in his groin and this time, Sara couldn't help but notice.

'All right, Caffrey' she finally said. 'Either you had some really bad shrimp or you're in some sort of pain. Now, which is it?'

'I'm fine' he lied with a put-on grin as he moved to stand behind her so she couldn't scrutinize his face quite so much.

Sara wasn't easily fooled and she turned to look at him, the sudden movement causing her to falter as the room continued to spin for a split second.

'Whoa' she said, grabbing onto his arm. 'I guess I'm still a little tipsy.'

'Here, sit down' he suggested, depositing her on the edge of the tub and reaching over to pour her a glass of water.

'Have some of this' he instructed, taking a seat next to her and trying his best, but failing miserably, to withhold an audible groan.

'All right, that's enough. What's going on, Neal?' she asked as she took a nice long sip of water.

'I just… I pulled a muscle, that's all' he confessed, wincing in pain as he sat.

'Doing what?' she asked, her eyes narrowing.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. 'The guys took me rock climbing and I… I just pulled something… it's really nothing.'

'It doesn't look like nothing to me' Sara replied, finishing up her glass of water and getting unsteadily to her feet. 'Where did you hurt yourself?'

He looked sheepishly at her and pointed in the general direction of his groin.

'You're kidding' she moaned. 'Let me see.'

'I'm fine. Come on, let's just get you out of those clothes so we can soak in this perfectly tempered bath before it starts to cool' he coaxed, hoping to distract her.

'I'm drunk Neal, not stupid' she declared as she got down on her knees and began to unbuckle his belt.

'Babe…' Neal whined. 'You're kind of killing the mood, here.'

Despite his temporary affliction, he'd been hoping for a little romance, not a therapeutic examination of his family jewels.

'Just stop being so stubborn and let me take a look' she insisted, opening up his pants and pushing past his underwear to take a peek.

Neal sighed; she was obviously doing this whether he was on board or not. He leaned back as her hand gently grazed the inside of his thigh and he moaned in pain at her soft touch.

'Oh, Neal' she moaned. 'You're all swollen down there… and red.'

'I thought swollen was good' he countered in an attempt at humour.

'Not that kind of swollen, you idiot' she replied without missing a beat. 'Get out of those pants and I'll go get some ice.'

Neal groaned in frustration. 'Noooo. Sara, this is our special night. I'm fine, I can… play through this little glitch… really.'

'This is not a little glitch Neal!' she argued. 'Come on, get out of those clothes. We'll alternate… cold and heat, right? Why don't you soak for a while in the tub and then I'll apply some ice.'

She was getting that obstinate look on her face, the expression she always got whenever an idea popped into her head that was going to be impossible to dislodge - the fact that she was still inebriated only seemed to add to her determination. Neal exhaled, realizing he had to cut his losses - the best he could hope for was to mix business with a little pleasure.

'I'll get in the tub on one condition' he bargained with a grimace. 'That you come with me.'

'Fine' she replied curtly, all prospect of romance seemingly evaporated.

'Honey…' he lamented as he reached for her. 'Come on… how about giving your old man a little TLC, huh?'

She seemed to relax and she smiled at the big kid sitting there. 'How do these things always happen to you, Caffrey?'

He shrugged, hand reaching behind her and tugging on the zipper of her dress. 'Just lucky… I guess.'

WCWCWC

There was a full moon on the night before Sara and Neal's wedding; surely a good omen. Friends and family had come from all over in order to join in the festivities and as they turned in for the night, each one of them had a fleeting thought for the happy couple.

Hope and Cameron fell asleep from sheer exhaustion with baby Jacob, tucked in between them, a blissful smile on all three of their faces. A few miles from the Armstrong home, Moira and Scott Rivers curled up on the tiny couch in their hotel room, watching their four daughters drift to sleep, exhausted from having criss-crossed the big apple on a search for new adventures. The tired parents gave each other a longing look and Scott lovingly caressed his wife's baby bump while Moira lay her head on her husband's shoulder.

Somewhere in Manhattan, Lydia Jordan was busy prying a special dress off a very excited flower girl as she slept and she proceeded to hang it on the hook behind the child's bedroom door before kissing both her daughters goodnight and joining her sleepy husband in bed. Not too far away, Ken and Ginette Murphy sat up in their hotel room bed, admiring the Manhattan skyline before turning out the lights and settling in for a good night's sleep.

Up the street from the Caffrey residence, Donna and Jeff Mason prepared for bed, exchanging stories about their respective parties, Jeff gloating about having beat Neal in an impromptu race and lamenting his lack of good fortune at the card table. Donna just shook her head and kissed her husband goodnight. Four doors down, a tired Raffie slept soundly by the foot of the couch in the Caffrey family room where Caitlin had bunked in for the night while up on the third floor, Emily Ellis-Foster dreamt of her baby sister's special day. Directly underneath her room, a distracted Will Allenby tossed and turned on an air mattress on the floor next to the snoozing best man who had fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Not too far away, Cody Miller's last waking thoughts were of young Liam Caffrey while his parents dozed in the bedroom down the hall from him and Ivy Jones returned home to find her husband tidying up the basement. She coaxed him up to bed without having to do much convincing; with the boys at her mother-in-law's for the night, they weren't about to miss out on an opportunity for a little romance.

All was well with the world.

And up in the sky… the cow jumped over the moon.

WCWCWC

Once he'd settled in the bathtub, Neal began to relax, the pain receding temporarily. Sara lay in the tub with her back against his chest, both of them unwinding as they compared notes about their respective parties.

'Peter really cuffed you?' she asked, running her hand up and down Neal's arm.

'Not a word of a lie' he replied. 'And they stuck a lamp in my face like it was some kind of interrogation.'

Sara giggled. 'I would have loved to see it' she sighed. 'With any luck, one of the kids will put it up on you tube.'

Neal grunted in response. 'And I would have loved to see you drooling over those hard bodies gyrating in your face' he said with just a hint of indignation. 'Maybe we'll get so see that on you tube.'

'I was not drooling' she argued, unable to keep a straight face. 'All right… well, maybe just a little.'

Neal squirmed a bit and Sara felt his body tense underneath her. 'How does it feel?'

'Fine' he sighed in frustration. 'As long as I don't move.'

'Oh Neal, stop complaining. It's not the end of the world if we don't have sex tonight.'

Neal pouted, not that she could see his face from where she lay. 'But I was looking forward to it. You were in the zone and…'

She turned to look at him in the tight quarters of the bathtub and gave him a blistering smile. 'Awww, honey, we'll get there, tomorrow or the next night or the night after that. That's the nice thing about commitment, I'm not going anywhere for the next twenty-five years.'

He smiled, seemingly content with her answer. 'I suppose' he muttered. 'But tonight was going to be our special night, we'd been waiting a while to… you know, consummate our relationship.'

She laughed loudly. 'Consummate our relationship?' she repeated, incredulous. 'Honey, I think that train left the station almost thirty years ago.'

'What? Has it really been that long?' Neal said, thinking back to their very first roll in the hay, all those years ago.

'Yeah, that's about right. Of course back then, it wasn't much more than just a little fun' she reminded him as he squeezed her tight.

'A conman and an insurance investigator…' he mused. 'I wonder what kind of odds they would've given us in Vegas.'

Sara chuckled. 'Not very good ones, that's for sure' she said as his arms tightened around her.

Neal's mind seemed to wander and he lay eyes on his gift for her, still lying untouched by the edge of the tub. 'You know, you've shown amazing restraint, not asking me about that little box' he declared.

'I know…' she replied with a devilish grin. 'Would this be an appropriate time to mention it?'

Neal brought his lips to kiss her neck, lingering just to keep her waiting a little longer. 'In a minute' he moaned as she gently elbowed him in the ribs.

'All right, all right' he said, reaching over for the gift and holding it in his hands.

'I wanted to get you something special' he began, his voice soft. '… so you would know just how much you and the kids mean to me.'

He grew quiet and Sara knew he was getting sentimental; her husband was a very romantic guy and his gifts were always meaningful - why would this one be any different?

She pulled his arms tightly around her and sighed. 'I know… how you feel about me, Caffrey. You never have to worry about a gift to show me just how much.'

'Still…' he continued. 'I love you… so much and when I think about you and our wonderful life, our incredible kids, what we've built together… everything we've been through to get here.'

Sara turned so she could see his face, noticing his eyes, full of emotion. She kissed him and he held her gaze for a moment, just staring at her in the dimly lit room.

'After what happened that night…' he began, his voice growing quiet.

'Neal, don't…' she interrupted. 'That's ancient history. You really need to let it go, I've totally forgiven you for what happened.'

'I can't, though. I'll never forget the look of hurt and betrayal in your eyes that night. I never want to forget it… I never want to hurt you like that again.'

'Neal…' Sara said, her hand reaching out to cup his face.

'I always want to remember that we somehow got past it and that you forgave me' Neal replied, his voice tight with emotion.

'Honey, everybody makes mistakes and you weren't well, back then. It doesn't take away from the amazing man you are and it doesn't negate all the wonderful years we've had, facing everything life throws at us… together. You gave me two wonderful kids… and now, we have little Jacob… Neal, you've given me so much more than I ever could have imagined and I love you for making my dreams come true' Sara said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Neal swallowed down the emotion and held out the box as Sara settled back in his arms, her eyes moving to peek inside as he held it open for her.

She gasped as she saw the beautiful ring, its significance not lost on her. Besides being a gorgeous piece of jewelry, it represented their life over the past twenty-five years, their history as a family.

'Oh, my God!' she murmured as Neal lifted the ring out of the box and held it in his hand.

She began to examine it, recognizing the various stones displayed between the rows of emeralds. In the candlelit room, the gems shone as the light hit them just so.

'You added Caitlin' she realized, pointing. 'And… is this Jacob?'

'Yeah, that's what I had to do yesterday… one last minute addition to the family.'

'What are these two little…' Sara asked as it suddenly dawned on her what the two smaller diamonds represented.

Neal finished her thought. 'I know that they're always there, in the back of our minds and it… it didn't seem right not to include them.'

Tears began to flow down Sara's cheeks at the realization of what Neal had done, including the two babies they'd lost on their long trek through life together.

The tears morphed into soft sobs as Neal took her right hand and slipped the ring on - a perfect fit. He brought her finger up to his lips, kissing it softly.

'This way, we'll always be with you. Even when we can't physically be there' he said, his voice quiet.

'Neal, this is the most amazing gift you've ever given me' she said, her voice trembling. 'And the emeralds… you know I'm a sucker for emeralds.'

'It'll match your wedding ring' he commented, taking the naked ring finger of her left hand and bringing it to his lips. 'I can't wait to slip it back on your finger tomorrow.'

'Oh, and I almost forgot' Neal said, reaching for the new ring and tugging it gently off her finger. 'I had it inscribed.'

He held it up for her to see and Sara squinted in an effort to read the inside of the ring; without her glasses and the benefit of good lighting, it was impossible for her to see what had been inscribed.

Neal laughed; he knew all too well the frustration of not being able to read without those damn reading glasses.

'I'll put you out of your misery' he said, running his hand lovingly along the inside of the ring. 'It says 'This is our happily ever after'

Sara let out a rather unladylike sob and her body shook as Neal held her tight against him.

'You're right' she cried as he slipped it back on. 'Our family… it's everything, isn't it?'

Neal nodded and brought his lips to rest on the top of her head.

They sat for a long while, neither of them moving - or speaking - with Sara holding up the ring every few seconds in order to continue admiring it.

'Neal…' she finally said after several minutes of silence.

'Yeah?'

'You know, we're going to fall asleep if we don't get out of this tub soon' she stated. 'And besides, I need to ice your family jewels.'

Neal chuckled; so much for romance. 'Aww, baby…' he said, stifling a laugh. '…you've never sounded sexier.'

'Plus, I left your anniversary gift by the bed next to that expensive bottle of cider and I really want to dive into those chocolate covered strawberries. Godiva?' she asked.

'Only the best for my girl' Neal replied.

She turned to look at her husband, her voice full of emotion. 'I am so, so lucky to have you in my life, Neal Caffrey.'

'Well, if you want to make me happy, you just make sure you're waiting for me at the altar tomorrow afternoon.'

TBC