A/N: SOOO SORRRY for the delay...I had a huge case of writer's block. It is very hard to write a wedding without it being too sappy and I don't think I succeeded. Sorry for that. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this final chapter and thanks to all those who stuck with me and supported me, especially AngelsinSydney! I would have given up a long time ago if it weren't for your encouraging words.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Flashpoint...but I don't :(
Knowing Where You Need To Be
Chapter 51
The sun was barely peeking around the blinds when Spike opened his eyes. He and Anisa were still entwined in the same position as they were when they fell asleep. He moved his eyes to see what time it was. The clock read 6:56AM. He smiled, feeling content. Slowly he extracted himself from their embrace causing her to stir only slightly. As he scrambled out of bed pulling on his pants and shirt, she rolled over and opened her eye trying to hide her wince.
"Hey," she said in that crackly morning voice he loved.
"Hey, yourself," he smiled back at her. "I don't think the groom is supposed to see the bride on the day of wedding, so, in an effort to avoid any potential bad luck I am out of here. I'll see you at 5:00 at the church." He saw her lips curl up into a beautiful smile, as he bent down and kissed her tenderly. "I love you more than you know," he whispered.
"I don't know about that..." she mumbled dreamily and closed her eyes. "I love you, too."
Anisa's phone buzzed at 9:14 jarring her out of a deep sleep.
"Wake up sleeping beauty, I am on my way to pick you up," came the familiar sound of her partner's voice.
"Hey, Ryan," she said groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"How are feeling? Parker, called me yesterday and told me about the bomb. I was wondering why you didn't call me back yesterday," he chattered on.
Anisa sat up carefully, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, which caused her to inhale quickly from the pain. "Umm...yeah, sorry about that," she said, trying to hide the pain she felt in her side.
"The ribs are hurting, huh?" he asked with genuine concern.
"Just a little," she said standing up slowly. "I'm gonna jump in the shower. Let yourself in when you get here."
"OK. Be there in about 15 minutes."
A short time later, she emerged from the bedroom wearing a t-shirt and jeans and saw Ryan sitting on the sofa with his feet propped up on the coffee table. As she came out, he hopped up and handed her a coffee.
Noticing the new cuts and bruises on her face he said, "How ya feeling, Red?"
"I'm fine," she muttered. "Quit fussing. We need to get going and you have to carry my stuff... doctor's orders." She giggled and nudged him in the arm playfully.
"OK, but before we go, there is something that I want to say," he said stuffing his hands in his pockets nervously.
"Okay..." she said with a slight question in her voice. She sat down on the arm of the sofa and looked at her best friend expectantly.
He was not really one for words; he was more a man of action. So he leaned against the door jamb looking at the floor trying to formulate the words. He raised his eyes to hers and began, "'Nis, we have been through so much together...great loss and moments of pure joy. We have helped each other through the worst times of our lives and I know that I couldn't have done it without you. You are my family and I know that I am yours." He inhaled slightly before continuing, "I have always felt it was my job to make sure you are safe and happy and I have done that the best I could over the years. I have to admit that I was skeptical about Spike, especially since he is a bomb guy…I didn't think it would be good for you. You didn't need any more heartache. But, I couldn't scare him away, even when I tried," he said with a smirk. He paused, looking down at his shoes then raised his eyes to hers and said, "Honestly, Red, I didn't think that you could have been any happier than you were when you were with Sean, but I was wrong. Not only are you happy, but you are at peace and you have brought Spike peace. You two seem to bring out the best in one another, and that is a gift." He paused again for a moment before continuing, "Now I am getting sappy, so I guess I just want to say that I am beyond happy that you and Spike have each other. I don't think there is a more perfect couple than the two of you and I wish you both a life filled with happiness and a home filled with laughter and lots of kids."
She knew how hard it was for this big lug of a man to speak about his feelings, so she simply embraced him and said, "Thank you. That means more to me than you know."
He cleared his throat and said, "Umm… yeah well we better get going. We have a tight schedule and if we are late, Mel will have my ass."
Off they went to Ryan's house, where Mel had a hearty breakfast prepared for them including mimosas to celebrate the day. Next on the agenda was a trip for Mel and Anisa to the hair salon to control the crazy curls. After they had been pampered and styled, the ladies returned to the Lambert's house where they saw Jules' car parked out front. When they walked in the door, they were greeted by Mel's daughter, Mina, who was carrying a bouquet of deep purple calla lilies.
"They are so pretty," exclaimed the girl showing the flowers to Anisa. Anisa smiled and she squeezed the girl to her side.
"Yeah they are. You are going to look beautiful carrying them down the aisle today," said Anisa placing a kiss on the youngster's head.
"Jules is in the kitchen," announced Ryan, as he entered the family room with his two sons in tow. "I am getting these guys out of here so you can do what you girls need to do. We will catch up with you later." He opened the door carrying a garment bag. "Don't forget, the limo will be here at 4:00," he reminded them, as he walked out the door.
Meanwhile at Spike's house, Mrs. Scarlatti was flitting about the house checking all of the boxes to be shipped to Italy when Spike walked in.
"OK, Ma, one more trip to get these boxes in the mail and the rest go to Ria's or storage, right?" he said looking tenderly at his mom's face. Her expression was a mix of sadness and excitement with a touch of relief.
"Ahh, Michelangelo, what am I going to do without you?" said the woman grasping his face between her hands and kissing both cheeks. "You always take such good care of me."
"I'll be right here, Ma, if you ever need me. But you have your brother and sister with you in Italy, they'll take care of you."
"I'm going to miss your face and your smile," she said with melancholy creeping into her voice.
Spike wrapped his arms around his mother and said, "Ma, we can Skype once a week, or more if you want. Technology will make it feel like we are in the next room." Giving her a squeeze he said, "And remember, you can come back whenever you want. You always have a home with us." With that, he kissed the top of her head.
He spent the next two hours loading and moving boxes. When he finally got back home, he walked into his house and was greeted by Ed's booming laugh and Wordy's friendly chuckle.
"Michelangelo, it is about time you got here!" teased Ed, as he stood to shake his teammate's hand. Ed was dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and tie.
"Hey guys!" greeted Spike noticing they had dug into the spread of food his mother had laid out. He walked over to the table and made a plate of food for himself realizing that he was famished. "Where's Ma?" he asked.
Wordy, who was dressed similarly to Ed, answered, "Your sister came and picked her up. They will see us at the church."
"Oh yeah, I forgot she was going with Ria," said Spike eating as quickly as he could. He looked at his watch and it said 2:30 and he still had to shower, dress and be at the church before 5:00, so he ate faster.
"Slow down buddy, you don't want indigestion while you are up there saying your vows," advised Ed with a crooked grin.
As he was finishing up, there was a knock on his front door, which Wordy jumped up to answer. Sam walked in with a smile wearing a dark suit and tie like his teammates. He walked over to Spike and gave him a hearty thump on the back.
"Hey Buddy, T minus 2.5 hours. You better start getting cleaned up. You smell a little ripe," teased Sam.
"Hi, Sam. Yeah, I am heading to the shower now. Help yourself to Ma's cooking, it's the last you will see of it … at least for a while," said Spike, as he stood up and headed toward the stairs.
While he was in the shower, his mind was racing, "Did he know where his passport was? Did he pack everything he would need?" As he dried off, he ran through a check list in his head of all the details that he needed to remember. He combed his hair and dabbed on a little cologne, smiling because he knew how much she like the smell of this particular one. He tossed his toiletries bag into his overnight bag, which was sitting next to his suitcase. He took his tuxedo shirt off the hanger and pulled it on, buttoned it and then pulled on the trousers. He could hear the jovial voices of his friends downstairs and it brought a smile to his face, as he sat to put on his shoes and socks. Taking the bow tie and placing it under the collar of his shirt, he stood before the mirror and began the tedious task of tying it. He was measuring the length of each side against the other when he heard a knock on his door.
"Come in," he said, turning to face the door. "Hey, Boss," he greeted, as Greg walked in.
"Hi, Spike, don't you look spiffy," Greg commented, stepping into the room.
"You clean up pretty well yourself, Boss," Spike grinned revealing his dimples then turned back to the mirror to tie his tie.
"Need a hand with that?" asked Greg taking a step toward Spike.
"Sure."
Greg took the ends of the tie in his hands and began by tucking one end under the other.
"You know, Spike, the whole team is happy for you," explained Greg
"Yeah, I know," said Spike with a little grin.
"I am too, buddy," said Greg pulling the tie into a bow. "But it's a little different for me. I feel like I am watching my own son getting ready for his wedding and I couldn't be prouder of you." Greg looked into Spike's eyes, then said solemnly, "When you first joined Team One I know you had doubts, you weren't sure if you would fit in. You didn't think you were as tough as some of the guys. You had always survived on your intelligence and your wit, but here, you weren't sure that would be enough. Over time, you realized that we all bring different things to the table and we all quickly learned that your contributions were integral to our team's success. You saved each of our lives more than once. You also proved that you are as tough as any member of this team, maybe even tougher. You have more internal strength than anyone I know… all the things you were going through at home, and we never knew any of it. You suffered more loss in the last couple of last couple of years than anyone, but you never showed it." He stopped and took a moment to collect his thoughts then leveled his eyes to Spike's.
"But what you may not realize is, that you brought something else to the team, optimism. You showed us to always look for the good in other people. This job can make us feel jaded and hopeless. But you were a constant reminder that there is always hope. That may be your biggest gift to the team."
Greg placed a hand on each of Spike's shoulders and said solemnly, "I am not the one to offer advice on marriage, so I won't. But I think that this marriage is destined to go the distance. I just wanted to say thank you for all you have brought to my life and how you continue to show me new things every day. Not only am I lucky to know you, but I am proud to call you my friend."
Spike stared at his boss, wide-eyed. He could feel his throat begin to constrict with emotion. He was at a loss for words.
Luckily he was saved by the sound of Sam bellowing, "Spike! We gotta go. If you're late to the church, it's my ass and frankly your fiancée scares me a little." That elicited a chuckle from Spike and Greg as they headed down the stairs. The group all piled into an SUV and headed for the church.
A/N: This chapter got rather long so I split it into two. Thanks for sticking with me and I promise the next chapter will be up much quicker. Feel free to leave reviews or comments.
