Chapter 39: We Didn't Start The Fire
"Stop right there, Callahan," came a commanding voice from behind the desk.
"Crap," Cailin swore, "what the hell have I done now, Sergeant Platt?" she asked, frowning at the other woman.
"I am under strict orders to not let you got up there today."
"Strict orders, from whom?" Cally asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Detectives Lindsay, Dawson and Olinsky, Sergeant Voight and that bossy former paramedic from 51. She left you this lovely little note," Platt replied, waving a piece of paper in Cally's direction. "And even if they hadn't decided I was the darn telegraph company, I would be ordering you to, I repeat, stop right there. In case you forgot how to read a calendar, today is December 26th."
Cally crossed her arms over her chest, staring the other woman down. "I am acutely aware of what day it is, Sergeant. Now if you don't mind, I am trying to hide from my family and I have some paperwork to catch up on before I leave for five days."
"I am not letting you up there. Don't make me come around from this desk, Callahan. IU doesn't revolve around you, cupcake, it will go on just fine for five days," Platt warned, seeing a familiar pair coming by. "Burgess, Roman, cuff her if you need to, but get her out of my district, now!"
Cally threw up her hands, "I'm going, going. Call off the hounds, Trudy! Get your hand away from that taser, Officer Roman. You still up for helping me with my makeup, Kim?" she asked looking at the other uniformed officer who was yanking on her partner's arm before he did taser the detective.
"I'll be there, Callahan. 4:30pm, even if I have to leave this one on the side of the road."
"Speaking of which, don't you two have a gun buyback to get to, try to not make it as interesting as the last one," Platt said, giving the two officers a warning look.
She turned, ready to make her way to the door when Erin appeared on the stairs, Hank at her side. "Detective Lindsay, please escort Detective Callahan to wherever she is supposed to be, which I am positive is not here," Voight said, neither his tone nor expression leaving any room for argument.
Erin gave a smirk to both her boss and friend. "Yes, sir, Detective Callahan, this way please," she said, leading the way with her arm.
"You're enjoying this a little too much, Erin."
"What did you do, wait for us to fall asleep and sneak out?" Shay admonished as Erin shoved her not so gently back into Shay and Severide's loft, where she and Erin had spent the night, Gabby joining them as soon as she got off shift.
"Sorta," Cally admitted. Her mother had been irrationally insistent that she not see Jeff before the wedding, including not sleeping at their place the night before. Cailin was sure her mother was attempting to get her to spend the night at Coleman's, but luckily Shay intervened and offered up her place for both Cally to stay and for them all to get ready.
Christmas Eve turned into an impromptu pseudo-bachelorette slumber party, with a side stop at Midnight Mass to appease Cally and Gabby. Erin, Lindsay, Nadia and Sylvie were all good sports, happy to spend the night with friends, as opposed to moping over ice cream and sappy Christmas movies.
Erin and Cailin had gladly volunteered to hold down the IU fort Christmas Day, alongside Halstead, so everyone else could spend the day with loved ones. Fortunately, it was fairly quiet, with the exception of the guilt calls from the Callahan clan. Voight stopped by more than once, and Cally wasn't quite sure if he was checking up on them or just didn't have anything better to do.
Shay, Erin and Cally stayed up late talking until the other two women sent her to bed teasing that Kim wasn't a miracle worker with make-up. Erin camped out on the living room sofa as though to prevent Cally from sneaking out. Which she probably would have done if Clarke wasn't on a relief shift.
"Cally, you are getting married in a few hours, why were you trying to work? Oh never mind," Shay said, shaking her head.
Gabby intervened, knowing the pressures that Cally was under. "Let her be, Shay, come on Cal, let's get some food in you, can't have you passing out on the altar."
"Yes, please, I am starving, especially since this one wouldn't stop on the way back here," Cally frowned, hitching her thumb toward Erin.
"I was not stopping in the middle of the 'hood for fried chicken," Erin shot back, "with our luck, we would have walked into the middle of a major drug deal or stick up."
Cailin wrinkled her nose, "knew that 'I'm the bride, I get what I want' thing was complete BS."
"Oh so now suddenly you want to be the bride, huh?" Shay teased, getting out a stack of take-out menus, "here, you go, bride's choice, they all know us by name, because I hate cooking and I am pretty sure I've seen Kelly burn water!"
Cailin caught the slight movement of Erin's jaw, wondering if things were really as friendly between the former pair as her fellow detective claimed. Before she could question her about it, Cailin's phone starting ringing, a Rolling Stones tune filling the air.
The other women's eyes darted first to the ringing phone and then to Cailin as she picked it up with a sigh saying, "no mother, I am not at home and I haven't seen Jeff, I swear!" She rolled her eyes and looked at her friends before wandering off to finish her conversation.
She came back, after repeatedly reassuring her mother she was not going to see her fiancée before the wedding, even if he was the person she most wanted to be with at the moment, her friends still looking slightly agape.
"That seriously isn't your mother's ringtone," Gabby said, bursting out into a fit of giggles. "Mother's Little Helper?"
Cally shrugged, "she had six kids, and hasn't murdered anyone, you tell me how she did that without pharmaceuticals. Tell me any of you wouldn't do different."
"No argument here," Erin said, also starting to laugh.
"Me neither," agreed Shay, "I might need Valium for one, let alone six!"
"I might need one to get through the rest of today," Cally said with a sigh, her phone starting to ring again.
A couple of hours later, after Kim had worked her magic on Cailin's make-up and Nadia had done her hair with a skill she had no hope of ever recreating, it was time to put on the dress. This time, she was ensconced in Shay's bedroom with her mother out in the living room being attend to by Kim and Nadia so no mention of her tattoo could be made. Her bridesmaids finished the buttoning, Shay angling a mirror so she could get a full-length view. Even though she had a final fitting at Valentina's, there was something about her reflection, with Shay excitedly holding the mirror and Gabby and Erin grinning like fools on either side of her that made Cally gasp.
She took in the slight v-neck of the sleeveless gown demurely hinting at her curves, the ivory lace over the champagne silk skimming over her body ending in a scallop hem and the slightest hint of a train. Her friends in similar lace and silk, though in their case navy lace over red silk, each dress a slightly different style to flatter each of their body types and paying homage to both the PD and FD.
"Yeah, girl!" Shay exclaimed.
"Shay, somebody snuck a bride into your bedroom!" Cally said, turning slightly from side to side and feeling the slightest bit of butterflies in her stomach. She was a bride. She never would have guessed that a year ago. Upon returning to Chicago, she was pretty sure she was incapable of feeling anything ever again, let alone true and deep love. But here she was, getting ready to get married to Jeff Clarke.
"Eh, not the first time," Shay said with a wry smile, causing the other women's heads to snap her way. "What? I like to think I prevented a messy and expensive divorce," she said with a full on grin.
"Cally, your bother is here with the flowers," Nadia called up the stairs.
They trooped down the stairs, her friends going first as Cailin carefully descended the staircase, thinking it would be in bad form to break a leg on the way to her wedding. Nadia, Kim, Sylvie, her mother and her brother all fell silent as soon as she became visible. The silence only broken by Mary Margaret's sniffling and rummaging through her purse for a tissue as her waterworks started again.
"Ma, stop it, you don't cry this much at funerals!" Cally sighed, though she still went over and drew her mother into a hug.
"I'm sorry, I can't help it," Mary Margaret replied after she had covered her daughter in hugs and kisses and had fawned over her past the point of discomfort. Cally was thankful her co-workers were talented enough to make her hair and make-up Irish mother proof.
"You look great sis," Connor remarked, kissing her on the cheek before handing her a bouquet of deep red roses and creamy gardenias accented by juniper and holly berries. Kim passed out the smaller bouquets of ivory peonies, splashed with holly berries and crowned with evergreen to Erin, Leslie and Gabby.
A strange honk sounded from outside. "Oh, I think our ride is here," Erin said, raising her eyebrows.
"Lindsay, what have you done?" Cally asked, hand going to her hip.
"You'll love it, I promise. The four of us have to get to the church somehow," she replied mischievously.
Everyone clamored toward the door, Shay shoving through saying, "it's my door!" and flinging it open to reveal Antonio Dawson parked at the curb in a 1950's vintage police car.
Cally pursed her lips, fighting back a smile before saying, "damn if you aren't right, Er, I love it!"
"Well we better get on it, then, I'm supposed to make sure you aren't late and I got a Benjamin down on us being on time and I stand to make a bundle."
"Of course there is a betting pool," Gabby replied.
"Let's roll," Cally said, getting snickers from her friends as it was the same thing they all said before a call out.
Not having the luxury of time for a rehearsal, the wedding coordinator was about having kittens when they arrived, despite them being early. Erin used her negotiation skills and Connor worked his charm to calm the woman down. They milled about in the side vestibule, shielded from the eyes of the rest of the wedding party and the still arriving guests.
Connor adjusted his tie, asking, "did you only ask me to walk you down the aisle because I have a CFD uniform?"
Cally couldn't help but smile, leave it to her eldest brother. "No, Connor, I asked you to walk me down the aisle because you are my big brother, you've always been like a second father to me. Not to mention you & Bridget have an amazing relationship, one of the best; I can only hope Jeff and mine will stay as strong as yours."
"I have a pretty good feeling it will," her brother replied, bumping her lightly with his hip. "Pops would have been proud of you," he said, getting slightly misty.
"For what? I'm just getting married, people do it all the time!" she protested.
"You know what I mean. For everything. He was proud of you, for leaving, becoming a cop, going through what you did, coming home. And he liked Clarke. First time he ever liked any guy you brought around."
"He was a pretty tough sell," Cally said, blinking back her own tears. "Now crack the door, would you? Let's see who the slackers are."
He complied, but only opened a side door the slightest bit so the people gathered wouldn't think they were starting.
Cailin's breath caught in her throat; Jeff standing up at the altar, Kelly next to him, laughing at something Matt just said, Peter rounding out the groomsmen. Cullen was also trying to not laugh, adjusting his collar, one of his last official acts before leaving his vocation, the ultimate wedding gift for his little sister.
Cally cast a glance at Leslie, Gabby and Erin who were making final adjustments, lining up as instructed, readying themselves to walk down the aisle, thankful for having true girlfriends for the first time in her life.
"I can still totally pull a car around," Shay quipped.
"You were the one that suggested this whole big wedding thing!" Cailin protested.
"Oh, not for you, for Clarke," she shot back.
Cally smiled, "I love you Leslie Shay. I love all of you, I hope you know that."
"Back at you, babe," Shay smiled.
"You sure I'm not stealing your spotlight, Gabs?" Cally asked, wrinkling her nose.
Gabby puffed out her cheeks before answering. "6 months difference, different church, different reception, different bride & groom; it's all good, like I've told you how many times?"
"You ready to do this?" Connor asked.
"I was ready the day he proposed, so let's get this show on the road," she said with a broad smile as the coordinator cued the organist.
Chapter 40: Love Fire
Connor drew his sister back as the coordinator flung open the doors, practically shoving Leslie, Gabby and Erin into place. He was determined for her to have her moment, even though she kept insisting she didn't want one. He saw how broken, empty she was when she came back home from New York. He was certain her inner flame had been forever extinguished, that was until she got with her Marine though. And slowly he saw the light creep back into her eyes, except for those few weeks where it went out again, the embers finally catching and she became more of the Cally he remembered. She was still different, forever changed by what she had gone through, but he wasn't worried about her anymore, he knew Jeff Clarke would move mountains if needed to keep Cailin safe and happy. He heard her take in a deep breath, letting it out with a whoosh as Erin, the last before her, started her walk down the aisle.
"You okay?" he asked, taking in the flush creeping into her cheeks.
"A million people staring at me and a high tripping probability, why wouldn't I be okay?" she smirked.
"Well not a million, Cal, and I'll make sure you don't fall," Connor replied with a smile. "Let's go get you married and don't say 'again', dear little sister."
Cally glowered, "I wasn't going to, big bro. Jimmy would want this, I know that without a doubt. So if you don't mind, let's get this show on the road so I can marry my fireman!"
"Alrighty then," Connor said, nodding at the coordinator, who cued the organist.
Cally clung to her brother's arm, the fire-engine red shoes Shay had talked her into higher than she normally wore, but her bridesmaids were all in agreement the added height would look better in photographs.
She gave a silent thanks to Hermann, Mouch, Otis and Dawson for their ushering skills, as both sides of the church were a mix of family: Callahans, CFD, CPD, USMC and other assorted friends. She also offered up gratitude to the church's Christmas decorating committee, decking out the place in gorgeous garlands, big red bows and endless poinsettias. They hadn't had to add a thing. She took in the crowd, all eyes on her as she made her way carefully toward the altar; catching sight of Shay launching a hug at Clarke before going to her appointed spot and Cullen making funny faces at his only sister until she smiled, something he had done most of his life.
Peripherally, she took in all her friends and family, all of them looking beyond happy for her; even her mother was smiling ear to ear through her tears, surrounded by the rest of the immediate Callahan clan.
But her entire world narrowed as soon as her eyes met Jeff's, cutting a dashing and handsome figure in his dress uniform, somehow infinitely more attractive than he was in his tux, and that was saying something. It was like the first night she had met him, all the air escaping her chest, her focus on nothing but him, everything else in the universe ceasing to exist. But this time, it wasn't panic, wasn't a wall of trauma; now it was a flood of love and peace, as everything else just fell away, leaving the only thing that truly mattered to her, Jeff.
Clarke resisted the urge to look at his watch, his anxiety increasing by the second, Severide, Casey and Mills trying in vain to distract him with teasing. The church was filled, far more people turning out than he expected the day after Christmas, including a few of his Corps buddies and his brother with his family in tow.
He had just let out a long, slow, calculated stream of air when the organ started and the doors opened, his candidate stepping through looking far different than he was used to seeing her. He heard noises from both Matt and Pete, caught the glare from the former to the latter, exchanging his own with Kelly.
Shay practically skipped up the aisle, launching herself at him in a bear hug saying, "we're still going fishing, bud!" Following it quickly up with, "I'm so happy for you guys!"
Gabby made her way to her appointed spot, grinning and giving her lieutenant a thumbs up and yanked Shay to her spot.
He felt Kelly shift beside him, Erin also making her way up the aisle, again looking very different than her normal detective gear. He saw her eyes zero in on his best CFD friend and couldn't help but catch the intensity of the look that in his eyes. Was the other man feeling regret? He had clammed up on the fishing trip after twisting his ankle and it was something that had continued since that girl from Vegas had made her way to Chicago…
Clarke's thoughts cut off as the organ changed to a bigger fanfare, not the standard here comes the bride, which didn't surprise him, but something that definitely announced something momentous.
His world shifted as the doors opened wide, Cailin stepping though clutching her brother's arm. Her smile hesitant at first, but growing wide and genuine. So different from the first time he saw her, but the punch to the gut was the same. As if deep down he had known since that first meeting that they would end up at an altar. She was almost floating, bathed in the soft lights of the church; her dress perfectly skimming her body, somehow incredibly sexy yet demure. Modest but alluring enough to leave him weak in the knees, much like Cally herself.
His eyes met hers, those deep blue pools he knew he wanted to swim in for the rest of his days, her smile growing even wider, making his heart speed up enough that he wondered if Cullen could hear its thundering. He fought down the lump in his throat, feeling the pinpricks of moisture at the corners of his eyes. Reminding himself he was a Marine, a firefighter, a medical student; he was not going to cry at a wedding, even if it was his.
He was vaguely aware of Cullen saying something, prodding him forward to take Cally from her brother, shaking the other man's hand, resisting the urge to draw his bride into his arms and plant one on her.
"Howdy, cowboy," Cally quipped with a wink, landing a light peck on his cheek, though she wanted to do far more.
"Cal, you look, I just," he stumbled over his tongue, until he heard Cullen clear his throat.
"You two wanna join me up here and get married or what?" Cullen asked giving them a look and a Callahan smirk.
The pair quickly immediately complied.
Cally froze in the doorway, a lump forming in her throat. On the surface, it was still Molly's, the neighborhood pub, their 'place', but it has also been transformed with love and care.
All the regular tables had been moved out, high top cocktail tables in their place, each swathed in navy fabric and topped with someone's turnout boot or helmet as a stand in for vases, the arrangements mirroring the bouquets. The fairy lights had spread from their usual place to covering the entire ceiling and wrapping down the support poles as well as the area Katie, in her chef whites, had commandeered as her own; the food stations filled to the brim with a variety of delectable treats.
She took in the crowd of friends and family in the room, feeling tears of joy prick at the corners of her eyes, happy for Jeff's arm firmly around her waist. So many smiles beamed out at them, even on Hank Voight's face, growing broader still as he and Alvin moved aside so she could see what they had been shielding.
The "cake" table, draped not in lights like the rest of the food tables, but in crime scene tape spelling out "just married" and featuring not a traditional wedding cake but a tower of donuts. The groom's cake beside it a fire engine, its passenger's caricatures of a blonde bride cuffed to a fireman groom.
"What do you know, he does have a sense of humor," Cally quipped after she burst out laughing.
"It was almost cupcakes, but I stopped him," Alvin said as she went over to hug the two senior members of her team.
"Thanks, I think," she said, moving down to hug the rest of IU sans Erin who was hanging back with the rest of the bridal party.
She and Jeff moved about the room, taking in all the embraces and kisses they knew they couldn't escape, the ones they had been steeling themselves for when something struck Cailin. "Uh, babe, should I be worried I am not seeing a DJ?"
"It's fine, Cal, just use Shay's phone, she has a record store on that thing," Clarke replied, hiding his smirk, Hermann's 'wedding gift' still hidden behind the back door.
"True enough, though I don't think record stores actually exist anymore, old man. Speaking of old men, where are Hermann and Mouch and the rest of the guys?"
Clarke shrugged, happy he could do so without the shot of pain in his shoulder. "Probably hiding from their wives. Guess I should how to do learn that." She gave him a look. "Just kidding, babe, only hiding I want to do is with my wife. Speaking of which, think anyone will notice if we sneak out the back?"
"Jeff, we've been here for ten minutes, we are not having the world's shortest reception after all the effort everyone but into this. I don't think I have ever seen Molly's this clean, did you know it had wood floors?" she exclaimed.
"I taught my Candidate a thing or two about scrubbing floors," Clarke replied, "but still, just give me a couple of minutes alone, would you?"
"Fine, but I give you three minutes before my mother sends out my co-workers to find-" she broke off as Clarke pushed open the backdoor.
What had formerly been a defacto storage and junk area that Hermann kept whining about as wasted space, was now a gorgeous courtyard patio; and with the addition of heaters and serious sound-system, also a prime dance floor.
"Happy wedding you two!" Hermann said, pulling Cally in for a hug after once again getting rebuffed by Clarke. "I know I complained a lot about closing for the night and whatnot, but I am glad you two got hitched and are having your reception here."
"Mostly because, as I have been saying for months, you will really increase your revenue with outdoor space when the weather is nice," Mouch interjected.
"Is this the emergency project you guys have been working on for the past couple of weeks?" Cailin asked, taking in the nods from the pair along with Mills, Tony and Capp.
"Tons of fun pouring concrete in a hard freeze," Mills said, hands stuck his pockets, a huge grin belying his complaints.
The IU team came busting through the back door. "Told you three minutes, cowboy," Cally teased as Nadia led her friend to the DJ table.
"Callahan, get your butt back in here so we can toast you!" Voight ordered.
"Well, I wouldn't want to hold up anyone's alcohol consumption," she replied, heading back inside, hand still entwined in Jeff's.
After countless toasts and hugs and trying to consume some of the delicious food Katie had whipped up, the happy couple was all but dragged out to the back to dance, despite their protesting they weren't bothering with any of the usual reception traditions. In that regard, Voight's prank cake worked in their favor, it was infinitely harder to cut donuts not to mention Adam and Kevin had already half demolished the darn thing.
"Are you happy?" Clarke asked as Cally nestled against him under the canopy of lights, her hair and skin glowing from the lights and the nearby heaters on full blast.
"You really asking that, cowboy?" she smiled, feeling an intoxicating blend of giddy and serene.
"I mean, it's not like the wedding Gabby and Matt are planning," he gestured at the makeshift patio dance floor.
Cally scoffed,"Yeah, well you haven't heard Gabby's complaining." He gave her a look. "Okay, maybe you have…but this is more us, don't you think, Jeff? It's perfect," she smiled up at him, "though I wish I had gotten you on the dance floor earlier."
"I don't really dance, Callahan."
"Could have fooled me," she said, laughing as he dipped her low to the floor, adding after his long kiss, "and that's Mrs. Clarke to you."
"Speaking of which, how long do we have to stick around here?" he asked, giving her a heated look. "We live together, there's nothing you haven't seen before," she protested.
"I've have been on shift and you spent last night with the girls."
"Nice try."
"Can you blame me?" he said, walking his fingertips down the bottoms on her back, stopping at the base of her spine, smiling at the goosebumps he raised on her skin.
"Pretty sure if I was blaming anyone other than you for that, you would kick their ass," she retorted, standing on tiptoe to kiss him.
"Assuming you hadn't already arrested him," he replied feeling like everything was exactly as it should be in the world.