Five Days Later

Emily stared at herself in the mirror. She drew a shaky breath and then exhaled slowly. This was it. She had to do this. She looked at the camera bag next to her, the tripod leaning against it. She hadn't touched her camera in so long, but she had no choice.

She couldn't let Nell Hodgins have a wedding without a photographer.

She had worked hard to find someone, she really had, but no one was available. Then, Helpful Lee pointed out she could do it in front of Nigel, whose ears perked like a dog hearing a treat bag being shaken, and he insisted she do them...to avoid bad press, of course. How could she say no?

"It's fine," she told herself. "You can do this." She really didn't think she could. She had been a different person then. She'd been happy.

"You ready?" Nigel asked after knocking and sticking his head inside the room.

"I have to be," Emily answered dryly.

"I hope you don't mind, but I asked Lee to help out," Nigel said.

"You what?"

"You're busy, and I need someone to help me keep things in order."

"Why didn't you ask Andrea or Jane?"

"They're at a different wedding," he answered, waving his hand. Emily felt the tension in her stomach. Lee was going to be there. It was as if he'd known it would cause her more anxiety and did it on purpose.

"Show starts in ten minutes," Nigel said before leaving. Emily looked back at herself in the mirror.

"Shit," she said out loud. The door opened, and she turned to see Lee standing there.

"You good?" he asked.

"This is the bloody ladies' room!" she hollered, chucking a bar of soap at him. "Get out!" He ducked and pulled himself behind the door a bit further, but he didn't leave altogether.

"I just thought you'd need a cheerleader," he said.

"I don't go poking my head into the men's room now do I? Get out," she said again.

"Em, I know you're stressed..."

"That is nowhere close to how I'm feeling right now," Emily cut him off, holding up her hand. To her infuriation, he came into the room, latching the door behind him. She felt a slight shiver at this motion and didn't know why. She watched him come over to her closer before stopping right in front of her.

"Whatever it is," he said softly, "just don't think about it. This is today. This is not the past. Nell is counting on you. Let's do this for her."

"I know," she said back, rather irritably. She reached to pull out the camera, and the weight of it in her hands brought back a million memories. A laughing face was in a lot of them. She blinked. Then she jumped slightly when he placed his hand over hers.

"You can do it," he told her. She looked into his eyes, and he held her gaze.

"I have to finish getting ready," she said after a moment. He nodded and released her.

"I'll be out here."

She didn't watch him leave. She was too busy noticing the fear in her eyes in the mirror before she forced herself to tear her gaze away and picked up her gear.

It was time to begin.

...

"Thanks for inviting me along," Andrea said to Jane as they surveyed the room. Weddings always made Andy tear up. She didn't know why. Jane was looking stoic and calm as she helped anyone who asked for it and prevented mini disasters from happening.

"You're welcome," Jane said back.

"I didn't think you needed any help with this."

"I didn't."

"Then why am I here?"

Jane smiled and pointed out the bar to an older man who asked about it. She held the smile until the man was gone. Then she turned to Andy.

"Because if you weren't here, Nigel would have gotten you to help out at the Hodgins wedding and not Lee." It took Andy a full three seconds to understand this sentence.

"Ohhhh," she said, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, you cheeky devil!"

Jane waggled her eyebrows mischievously before greeting another guest and sending them on their way to the bathrooms. Andy was thinking about Lee and Emily and how clever Jane was to get them together on a job in a subtle way.

"Has his fiancee even graced our doors in the last few weeks?" she asked. Jane was thoughtful and then shook her head.

"No. She hasn't."

"That's very interesting," Andy mused. "What bride isn't involved in planning their wedding?"

"One who isn't interested in getting married," Jane answered. "But, I have heard there is a wedding book he's following, so she's created that at some point and is letting him handle making it work out."

"Still...you'd think she'd come around at least once or twice to check things out."

"You'd think," Jane agreed.

"You're convincing me more and more that Lee shouldn't marry this girl."

"Well, let's just hope he figures that out sooner than later," Jane said. "Oh, excuse me! Sir? Men's room is this way." She guided a very intoxicated 30 something year old man in the right direction. Another mini disaster diverted. Andy was in awe of her abilities.

She was very happy to be doing this job and learning so much.

...

Lee could tell Emily was fighting anxiety. Whatever that camera brought up for her, it wasn't good. His mind went through a lot of different scenarios as to what happened to her. He wanted to just ask her, but he knew she wouldn't tell him. He also thought she might hit him if he did, and he didn't want that.

He let his mind wander to his cat. He'd called her Soapy. Emily had asked him what the hell kind of name was that, and he'd explained it had been a lady in his neighborhood growing up who had always been there for him, and she'd been nicknamed "Soapy" for reasons he never knew. It suited his cat in his mind. Lacy had been upset when she found her one day (he'd managed three days without her finding out aside from her sneezing right, left, and center...she'd freaked out when Soapy jumped on her head in bed), and she'd told him Soapy couldn't stay. In desperation, he'd taken her to the FLWP office, and Nigel had fallen in love with her and said she could stay there and be their office cat. Andy had offered to take her home some nights, but Soapy loved the office and refused to leave with anyone other than Lee. She also spent a lot of time in Emily's office, much to her chagrin and Lee's amusement. She'd already knocked all of Emily's things on her desk to the floor more than once. When Emily threatened to take her back to the pound, Soapy had the common sense to go hide and let her cool off.

"Little Ol' Lady is lost," Nigel said in his earpiece, bringing him back to the present moment. It had been his idea, the new style of communicating, and Nigel had loved it.

"I'm on it," Lee replied, scanning for the lost woman. He found her at the back of the building looking bewildered. She linked her arm through his and commented on how he was "such a nice young man" the entire way. She reminded him of his grandmother.

"Em, you good?" Nigel asked now.

"Remind me again why we're re-enacting a scene from Mission Impossible?" Emily asked, sounding disgruntled. She hadn't exactly been on board with the earpieces.

"Because it's faster than trying to locate one another in this crowd," Nigel answered back. Emily had no response, but Lee could picture her rolling her eyes and huffing. After a moment, he caught sight of her knelt down taking photographs of the two little girls in pink dresses twirling, tossing flower petals as they did so. Something about this scene made him feel warm inside. She could say what she wanted, but she looked alive behind that camera. She lowered it to look at the photos for a moment, and then she looked up right at him. Lee wasn't entirely sure what was in her eyes, but something was there. He gave her an encouraging smile, and she reverted back to her crusty self by rolling her eyes and heading off to photograph someone else.

Everything was going without a hitch. Lee felt anticipation and was surprised. He didn't think he'd get so invested in helping out on someone else's big day, but he rather enjoyed it. He viewed it as a mission where the worst crisis was someone's dress getting ripped instead of someone's head getting blown off. It was kind of nice for a change.

He noticed a couple standing off to the side near the entrance of the church. No one seemed to be paying attention to them, so he went over to see how he could help. He soon found out they were the bride's parents, and within seconds after he repeated that statement out loud, Emily was right next to his left elbow. It almost knocked him over.

"Hi," she said, breathless. "You made it!"

"Where's Nell?" the woman asked.

"You're not gonna kidnap her, are you?" Emily asked, sounding concerned. Lee held back his snort, but barely so. The woman looked like she was barely 120 pounds soaking wet, and Nell was very pregnant and much taller.

"No, no. I want to let her know we came."

"She'll be so happy..." Emily started. At this, the woman burst into tears. Lee inched away, not good with crying. The husband appeared to do the same thing.

"Come along," Emily said, leading the way. They both followed her, the woman still crying and dabbing at her eyes with a Kleenex with the man reaching to awkwardly pat her shoulder as a way of comfort.

"Ready to go in five minutes," Nigel said into his ear.

"On standby," Lee answered.

Yes, this was turning out to be quite a fun evening after all.

...

Lacy groaned. Her feet hurt. Her head hurt. Her back hurt. She was one big, dull ache. Her right hand was pressed against her forehead as she flipped through the binder in front of her. She had to memorize all of these people for some event coming up. She didn't think she could do it. Lee was helping at a wedding, which she found amusing. She never dreamed he would ever be interested in doing something like that, especially after doing the kind of work he did. She exhaled long and loud through pursed lips until she was out of air. Then she decided to go look at what Lee had been doing for their own wedding.

The invitations were good. She had to give him that. He was working on food next. His scribbles alongside her notes and thoughts were cute. He really was trying.

Her phone pinged, and she looked up from the wedding book to survey it carefully. It was most likely Lee asking how she was doing or telling her he loved her. She reached to pick it up.

Hey. Wanna grab a bite to eat?

It was Hutch. Lacy stared at the message. Why was Hutch texting her and inviting her to dinner? He knew she was engaged (she'd asked him to do their photos!). It was very puzzling to her. Her fingers hovered over the keys, thinking of a response. He'd only gotten her number because she'd been helping with a photo shoot, and he had been running late, so Miranda wanted someone to find out where the hell he was. It turned out that was Lacy's job.

Can't, she wrote back, busy with work.

Everyone needs a break, his reply came back quickly.

Sorry.

Is this about the boyfriend?

Fiance, and yes, it's not appropriate for me to hang out with you when I'm with someone else.

We can't even be friends? Married people have friends of the opposite sex.

This was true. Lacy pondered this. It wasn't illegal to have friends who were guys. Lee had women that he knew and talked to. Hell, he spent all day almost every day with three women at work and at the bar sometimes after work. She could do that too. What was the harm in having a guy friend?

Fine. Where?

Meet me at the office first.

Ok.

Lacy set her phone down and looked at the binder on the coffee table. She was tired of studying. She would take a break for food and then come back to it. Her phone dinged again, and she smiled as she picked it up, expecting some other smartass comment from Hutch.

It was Lee this time.

Love you.

Something about those words made her feel like shit for going to have dinner with Hutch without telling him about it. Then again, she reminded herself, he was hanging out with Emily all night. Granted, she was their wedding planner, but he was spending a lot of time with her lately. There was nothing going on there. She knew that. Lee was loyal. She could be too. There would be nothing going on with Hutch. She could control herself. She could. Seriously. No, really. She could.

And she would.

...

Emily was getting into the swing of things, and her anxiety was way in the background now. She was actually enjoying herself, which was surprising.

After getting Nell reunited with her parents (a lot of makeup had to be fixed afterwards), Emily had returned to her post by the entryway of the congregation room. When Nell walked down the aisle on her father's arm, the woman's smile was so wide her face looked about ready to crack in half. She was radiant. Emily snapped photos all the way down. It was perfect.

The ceremony was going well, and she noticed Lee sneaking peeks at her every so often while the vows were being said. She wished he wouldn't concern himself with her so much. She was bloody well fine.

The newlyweds kissed, and then Nell made a face that made Emily freeze. Lee was giving her a look that showed he had no idea what was happening. Nigel already had his phone whipped out. There was murmuring amongst the crowd.

"What's wrong, love?" Nell's husband, Chris, asked, looking very concerned. It was as if he thought she just realized what a big mistake she'd made marrying him.

"The baby's coming," she answered. Yup, Emily figured as much. Nigel was already calling for an ambulance.

"The b-baby's coming?" Chris repeated rather dumbly.

Nell's response was to let out a howl of pain. The more Emily thought about it, the more she realized Nell had been doubling up a bit here and there while wincing or breathing heavily numerous times today. The woman had been having contractions all day, apparently, and now it was starting to happen full force.

"I'll drive," Lee offered, moving into action.

"No, it's coming right NOOOOOOW!" Nell screamed. Chris covered his ears with his hands, a horrified expression on his face. Emily leapt into action, rushing towards them.

"Paramedics are on the way," Nigel informed them. "Five minutes out."

"I can't wait that long!" Nell shrieked. "I'm so sorry, baby." She was looking at Chris now. "My water broke a while ago, but I thought I had more time cos I read on Google that it can sometimes take 12 to 24 hours before contractions start, so I thought we'd get through the ceremony first and then go to the hospital. I've been wanting to scream for the last half hour, but I held it in til now."

Google? Emily raised a brow. Did she not talk to her doctor about this?!

"It's okay, love," Chris started.

"I wanted our wedding to be perfect..."

"And it is!"

"Just breathe for a moment," Lee instructed. Nell obeyed. Chris looked at a loss for what to do.

"Oh God," Nell moaned again, doubling over. Emily had been timing it. Just over three minutes apart. She had to give Nell credit for barreling through those cramps all day. She really did want the best wedding day.

"Come on," Lee said. "It'll be alright. You've got some time still." Apparently he had been timing her too.

"I don't think so," Nell whimpered, going to sit on the pew as instructed. Chris sat next to her and held her hand.

"Did Google also tell you that active labor can last between three and five hours before transition starts?" Lee asked her.

"I know, I know. And I did talk to my doctor about all of this. I've just been trying to remember so much stuff between that and the wedding..."

"It's okay," Chris assured her. "No one is judging here."

"You've got time yet. Trust me," Lee said. "No pushing." Nell nodded slowly, clutching Chris's hand tightly.

Everyone was staring. The minister looked very pale and like he was on the verge of fainting. Lee remained calm as he got Nell to continue breathing. Nigel shooed everyone away to give her privacy and room. Emily was astounded at Lee's ability to handle this without panicking or freaking out. Nell kept saying the baby was early and panicking, so Lee kept distracting her with questions and making her talk about other things. It all seemed like a blur to Emily, and within what felt like moments, the paramedics arrived and took Nell to the hospital to give birth. She hoped it wouldn't take too many hours for Nell's sake.

"Well," Nigel said when everyone was gone and it was time to clean up. "You don't see that every day."

"Nope," Lee agreed. He was smiling. Emily put away her camera and equipment slowly.

"Nice work," Nigel said, clapping Lee on the back. "Do you need a part time job?"

"I tend to leave delivering babies to doctors," Lee commented. Nigel laughed out loud.

"I meant helping us," he corrected, wiping his eyes after.

"That would be great," Lee answered. Emily watched them talking, feeling wary. What was happening here?

"Well, if you'd like, you can tag along and help us out whenever you can. We'd greatly appreciate it," Nigel told him. "In fact, we won't even charge you for our services for your wedding. You help us, and we help you."

"Sounds great," Lee said with a smile, shaking Nigel's hand. No one asked Emily what her thoughts were, not that she'd share them. Knowing she was going to be spending a lot more time with Lee was unsettling.

And she didn't know why.

...

Barney missed Lee. He didn't want to admit it, but he missed Lee a lot. He even missed the sarcasm and threats to stab him. He wondered what his friend was doing now. He hadn't answered his messages all evening, so something must be up. He wondered if he was hanging out with his wedding planner. Barney had a feeling about this woman, but he kept it to himself, though. There was no need to get Lee all worked up, which didn't take much to do.

Without really thinking or wondering why he was doing it, he packed a bag and headed for his plane. He thought a visit was in order.

Just to see what was going on over there.

...

Lee got home to find Lacy gone. She'd left him a note saying she'd gone out for dinner and then had to go to the office for a bit after. He looked at his watch. It was ten thirty now. They'd finished with clean up and such by nine. He'd lingered to look at Emily's photos, which he had pestered her relentlessly until she caved and showed him. Just as he expected, they were beautiful. She'd gone a pretty shade of red when he'd told her that.

She still declined doing his photos, though. He felt pretty sure she was going to box that camera up again and never use it. He hoped not. He hoped she learned that despite the pain, she enjoyed doing it.

He looked at Lacy's note again and sighed. Trust. He had to trust her. He would trust her. How many times could someone cheat on you anyway? No, she was working. The job was demanding. He was trying to understand. He would, for her.

He trusted her. He did.

Did he?

...

Lacy laughed, falling on top of Hutch. She was breathing hard and sweaty. It was always the way after a good romp under the sheets, and Hutch proved to be very good.

"Oh, yea," he said now, laughing a little. "That was amazing, Lace. Simply amazing."

"You weren't so bad yourself," she commented slyly. She lay on her back for a bit, thinking about what she had just done. It had felt incredible. It hadn't taken much convincing after a bottle of wine and a dimly lit restaurant.

Then the guilt kicked in.

"Don't think about him," Hutch ordered.

"He is my fiance," she said. "Kind of hard not to think about him."

"Obviously, he's not doing a good enough job keeping you satisfied," Hutch reasoned. "Why else would you keep going elsewhere?"

She'd told him about the two affairs. He'd done very well at opening her up and getting her to share things.

"I'm still marrying him, Hutch," Lacy warned. "This was just a one time thing."

"If you say so," he said with a shrug.

"I think maybe you shouldn't do our wedding photos after all," she added. "If Lee meets you, he'll know what we did here." It was going to be hard enough to not have him notice just by looking at her.

"Whatever," Hutch said. He got up and went to the shower. She watched him go, picking up her phone to check the time as she did so. It was almost 11. She had to get home. She got up and dressed, running her fingers through her hair. Once it was un-sexified, she grabbed her purse and left without saying goodbye.

The whole way home she kept going back and forth about whether or not to tell Lee. She didn't think she should. It would just upset him. It was a one time thing. That's all. One last fling before settling down.

She tried very hard to believe herself this time.

I'm not an expert on childbirth. I used Google for information, so I apologize if I've somehow misinterpreted what it told me. Thank you, and I hope you're all having a good day wherever you are :)