Four Months Ago & The Present Day
The Present Day
Alex turned over in bed and turned his alarm off. It was one in the afternoon, and he had just finished a shift rotation of nights and he knew that if he slept any longer he would be awake all night. He pulled the covers back over him for another five minutes in the warmth and comfort and felt Kira pad up the covers and snuggle up to him.
Slowly he got out of bed and grabbed the sweater that was lying over the end of the bed. He groaned as he saw the cat's hairs all over it and headed towards the closet instead.
As he rummaged around he saw his tux hanging on the rail and he smiled. Mark had suggested that it might be a good idea to buy one, and so he had blown, well he didn't even like to think about how much it had cost him, but it was worth it. The day he was thinking of he had worn it for the first time. That had been the last time everybody had been together, and it had been a wonderfully happy day. There had been cheerful times since, and worrying ones too, but he didn't want to think about those right now. As Alex headed towards the kitchen, now wearing jeans and a t-shirt his mind began to wander back over the preparations for Rae and Jesse's wedding, and how involved he had been in it all.
Four Months Ago
Alex grabbed a soda from behind the counter at Bob's and headed over towards the table where all his friends were sitting. It was a Sunday afternoon and the restaurant was closed. They had three hours before it would open again for the evening, and in that time they had a wedding to arrange.
He looked around and smiled to himself. In front of him was his entire life. All his friends were here, apart from one or two who, he knew, didn't mean as much to him as these people, and he didn't mean as much to them.
There was Mark, who he knew had taken him under his wing when he had started his internship, and even more so when he had lost his dad. Sitting next to Mark was Jesse, the doctor who he admired more than almost anybody else. He always managed to do everything with a smile and a kind word, he didn't think he could ever remember him being anything less than cheerful and kind to every patient he ever treated.
Rae was talking to Steve and Jo, and he could see that Eliana was sitting on her Uncle Steve's lap. The three of them were so tightly linked together, Rae and Jo were best friends, and she and Steve were partners, and all of them were friends he knew he could rely on at any time. He would never forget the day that Rae had come to see him after he had qualified to ask him to be her physician. He had known in that instant that everything he had worked for had been worth it, and then when she had registered Eliana with him as well, he had thought he would burst. She was a beautiful child, tiny for her age, and maybe a little behind where she should be development wise, but the love and care lavished on her every day would help her get to where she should be with all the back up she could ever need.
Alex sat down next to Amanda and she turned to him. "Hey, Alex, you looked miles away for a minute there, are you ok?"
"Yeah, I was thinking how lucky I am to have so many great friends." Amanda had smiled at him then and placed her hand over his.
"We are lucky to have you as our friend too, remember that."
Alex took a drink from his glass and waited for somebody to speak. It was Jesse who smiled and then began to talk. "Ok, I can hardly believe this myself, but we are here to try and sort out all the different things we need to do so that Rae and I can get married next month."
"Me, either, who would have thought that there was somebody in this world who wants to get married to you?" Steve had grinned as he spoke and Rae had batted him on the arm.
"Shhh. This is special to him." Rae had glared at him, and Steve had looked down at his feet.
"So, you won't want to be my best man then?" Jesse had looked at him, a smile on his face, knowing he had the best comeback possible.
"What?" Steve had looked confused and embarrassed for a moment. "Jess, I would be honoured. Thank you."
Rae had turned to Mark then and smiled a little sadly, Alex had thought. "Mark, my Dad is no longer with us, and I wondered if you would do me the honour of giving me away? And Texas, would you be my bridesmaid?"
Mark looked astonished and thrilled at the same time. "Sweetie, I would be delighted, if you are sure."
"Yes, I'm sure. I know that John and Patrick can't get here, and so I would love it to be you I am clinging on to as I walk down the aisle." Rae watched him as Mark got up from his chair and came round behind her.
"Thank you Rae." He kissed her gently on the cheek, ran his hand over Eliana's hair, and went back to his seat.
"So, where are you plannin' to hold the ceremony?" It was Jo who spoke. "Only if you would like y'all could hold it at my house, an' yes, Rae I will be your bridesmaid, thank you for askin' but what about Mara?"
"Oh, Texas, that would be wonderful. We wondered about asking Mark if we could hold it there, but it is so open, and I would like this to be something private." She paused for a moment and there was sadness in her voice as she spoke again. "I would love for my children to be here, but we just can't afford to pay for them to come. Tony is coming, but he is combining business with pleasure."
"Sorry, Rae, who is Tony?" Alex had looked a little confused, but Rae had just smiled.
"Tony is my ex-husband, Alex, but we are still friends, and I am just thrilled that he can come to my wedding."
Mark looked across at her, and decided not to talk about her children any more. "Honey, I would be happy to hold your wedding at the beach house, but I agree with you, Jo's house would be much more private."
"Besides, Michael is just itchin' to have a weddin' to organise." Jo leant in towards her friend and whispered to her, "It will be good practice for me, I hope!"
Alex had looked over to see whether Steve had heard what Jo had said, but he was bouncing Eliana up and down and playing horsey games with her, and was in a little world of his own.
"So, I have arranged the priest, we now have a venue, a best man, 'father' of the bride, and a bridesmaid, so I guess that is about it, huh?"
"No, not really." It was Rae who spoke up. "Jesse, I've been married before, but you haven't. This should be a really special day for you. If you would like I will pay for the main players, that is you Jess, Mark, Steve and Alex to wear top hat and tails for the ceremony."
Alex looked at Rae, he felt a little embarrassed. "Ah, Rae, I don't have anything to do, did I miss something?"
"Alex, I'm so sorry. We want you to be our usher. Make sure everybody is in the right place at the right time. And also, we would like you to take some pictures and a video of the day. We won't have an official photographer." Rae shuddered for a moment, "I don't think I could cope with that."
"Thank you, Rae, I would love to do that for you. I guess I had better start practicing my shots." Alex smiled at her; he was thrilled to do what she had asked him.
"Jess? Would you like to wear top hat and tails?" Rae looked a little disappointed that he hadn't answered her.
"Well, maybe… what did you say? Sorry I was watching Steve and Eliana." Jesse looked at her and waited for her to explain.
"Would you like to wear top hat and tails for our wedding?" Rae looked a little exasperated as she asked her question for the third time.
"Top hat and tails? Wow, that would be great. " Jesse's face was grinning now. "I can pay for mine, Honey, they aren't cheap."
"Jesse, please, let me do this for you."
Alex could see that Rae was really enthusiastic about what she was saying and he knew by his friend's reply that Jesse could too. "Ok, if you don't mind, I would love for it to be really formal."
"Ah, Rae, I already have a tux." It was Alex who spoke, and Rae turned to him. "Mark suggested I buy one after I qualified, for the Benefactor's Ball and things like that, it's new, I've not worn it yet." Alex had blushed as he remembered Mark's words. He had been so flattered to think that now he would be invited to things like that because he was a doctor. For a moment he was sad that his own Dad hadn't lived to see it, then he had pulled himself together. "So I'm ok, you could just rent the jacket and the hat couldn't you?"
Rae had nodded and then looked at Mark and Steve. "You two will wear it, won't you?"
"Of course, Sweetie, I have a tux too, and I know that Steve does, don't you son?"
"What, have what?" Steve looked up from where he was gently rocking Eliana who was now fast asleep.
"I'll sort it out so that you all match, ok?" Rae had smiled at her friends, and then Alex watched as her eyes rested first on her daughter, and then on her husband to be, and he felt so happy that life was being kind to her for a while.
Alex looked across at his friend the cop; he really admired and liked him. He could see that Steve would be such a great father; Alex hoped that he and Jo would be in this position before too long. Although maybe it would be better to do the wedding first and the baby later.
The Present Day
Alex took two slices of bread and put them in the toaster, and then he took the tin of cat food out of the refrigerator and put some in Kira's bowl. He remembered Rae talking to him as they took the plates back out to the dishwasher at Bob's that day. She had agreed with him, whenever Steve picked up Eliana or even saw her his whole demeanour changed and he became a huge softie.
The next memory was the day that they had all headed to LAX to meet with Jo's brother and Rae's ex-husband. Rae had asked Alex to come along because she wanted him to tape it so that it would all be part of the wedding video.
Three And A Half Months Ago
"Rae, will you sit down, why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?" Jesse was walking slowly up and down with Eliana on his shoulder trying to get her to drop off to sleep, but Rae was walking twice as fast as he was and didn't have any purpose to her journey.
"I'm sorry, Jess, it's just that I am real nervous about Tony coming. What if you don't like him, and what if he doesn't like you? What if the children are really upset about Ana? Sorry Eliana. What if…"
"Rae, shhh, it will be ok. He loved and married you, so there is no reason for me not to like him, and … well, everybody likes me!" Jesse smiled a cheeky smile and was relieved to see Rae slow down to a stop and smile back at him, but then the smile faded and she began to talk again.
"And Eliana? Mara is used to being the baby of the family, maybe she will be jealous of her new little sister. She's always been the only girl too. Maybe John and Patrick will hate the idea of a baby who doesn't have the same daddy as them…"
"Rae, for goodness sake." Jesse's voice was raised and Eliana hearing and feeling his tension began to cry again. "Oh, great, thank you so much!"
"Jesse, Honey, let me have a go at rockin' her for a little while." Jo smiled at him and held out her arms for the baby. At three and a half months Eliana was about the size of a month old baby, and she seemed to almost disappear as Jo placed her back in her stroller and began to push it back and forwards in front of her. The crying began to die down, and soon it was apparent to them all that Eliana was fast asleep.
Alex finished filming Jo and Eliana and then as he turned he saw Steve coming across towards them. "Hey guys, sorry I took so long, but I had to park right up at the top, I guess the whole world must be flying in or out of here today."
"Shhh, I just got the baby off to sleep." Jo put her finger to her mouth, but then let out a little squeal. "David, oh my I am so pleased to see you." She moved out from behind the buggy and rushed over to a very tall young man who was walking over towards them.
Alex looked at the man that he had heard Jesse and Steve talking about the night before at Bob's. He hadn't known what he had expected but somehow this man didn't look like someone who could run a multi million-dollar empire, although he had to admit he didn't really know what somebody who ran a multi million-dollar empire would look like.
David Walters was a very good-looking young man, well he's older than me, but not that much older than me. But then Jo was a beautiful woman. Alex felt himself blush as he let his thoughts wander and then he smiled to himself as he saw Steve draw himself up to his full height as he moved over to introduce himself.
Alex made sure he kept the camera on Steve. He was a tall guy, about six feet two inches Alex reckoned, but somehow he got the impression Steve seemed to feel a little …short, he couldn't think of another word for it, Steve had the demeanour of someone short.
Steve placed a hand protectively around Jo's waist. "Hey, Sweetheart," he gave her a gentle squeeze and she smiled up at him.
"Hey, Honey, this is my brother, David. David this is Steve Sloan."
David held his hand out and they shook hands. Steve was surprised to feel an extremely firm but not unpleasantly strong grip. "I'm mighty pleased to meet with you at last. Jo did nothin' but talk about you an' all her new friends when she was home with me. I'm glad to see that your hands are fine again now."
"David, this is Rae, an' Jesse, an' their little baby, Eliana." David turned to where Jo was pointing and Jesse and Rae both stood up.
"I'm pleased to meet you too, an' your little baby, Jo was just gushin' when she told me all about her."
"We are so pleased that you could come up to meet us all and come to our wedding. Texas is so special to me, and I was delighted that everything all fitted in so well."
"Texas?" David looked a little puzzled.
"She didn't tell you?" Rae smiled at this seemingly kind man in front of her who shook his head at her question. "When I was injured a while back, just after I had met her, I was a bit fuzzy headed, and I thought her name was Texas, I've called her that ever since. You don't mind do you?"
"No, of course not, an' even if I did, I wouldn't dream of interferin'. She would have me strung up for sure if I did. Listen, everybody, I don't want to embarrass anyone, but I need to thank you, all of you for keepin' an eye on Jo, an' makin' sure she was safe after that … that creep injected her with… whatever it was she was injected with."
Jo put her hand on his arm. "I told you I had good friends here, an' that they cared for me, I am so glad that you are here so you can see that for yourself." Jo turned to her friends then and realised that there was one person she hadn't introduced. "Oh, David, sorry, the guy behind the video camera is Doctor Alex Martin, also the photographer for the weddin'." Jo smiled across at Alex who was watching the whole world in black and white. Suddenly the loudspeaker blared across the airport announcing the arrival of the flight from London and Rae began to get nervous all over again.
Alex lowered his video camera and moved over towards her. "What does Tony look like, Rae. I don't want to film the wrong guy."
Rae smiled at him, "Let's just say that you will have no problem spotting him."
The Present Day
Alex laughed to himself as he wiped down the kitchen counter after his breakfast. He hadn't understood what Rae had meant at first, but as Tony had appeared everything had become brilliantly clear to him, and it was another wonderful bit of film that he had been able to capture.
Three and A Half Months Ago
Alex had been surprised that Rae didn't seem to be looking out for Tony. She just sat where she was and looked out over the heads of all the people milling around. She waited quietly for over five minutes before a huge smile split her face and she got up and moved over towards a crowd of people. Alex turned the camera, thinking that if he followed Rae he wouldn't film the wrong person.
As he saw Rae slow to a stop he almost dropped the camera. No wonder Rae hadn't needed to look too hard to find her ex-husband. He hadn't been able to get them both in the same headshot and in the end he had to swing up and down between them to get a record of both their reactions to each other. He swung the camera back round towards the rest of the group of friends, and had to choke back his laughter as he saw Steve try to make himself even taller, and push his chest out a little more, and even David Walters who until a second ago had been just standing quietly also put his shoulders back and stood a little straighter.
Rae was chatting animatedly as she walked, and had a package in her hand with a large bow on it. She was fiddling with it and almost bouncing along. "Guys, this is Tony, Tony this is Alex, behind the camera, Texas, David who is her brother, and I just met five minutes ago, and this is Steve, who is my partner."
Alex had trouble keeping the camera still as he watched first David and then Steve shake hands with Tony, looking up all the while. Alex did some math in his mind. He still reckoned that Steve was about six two, and David was about six four, but Tony, he must be easily six foot nine, maybe even ten.
"This is Jesse, Tony." Rae had smiled as Tony had looked down and down, and Jesse had looked up and up.
"I'm very pleased to meet you Jesse, I'm glad that Rae has met someone she can have a conversation with face to face."
"Ah, yeah. Um." Tony's remarks seemed to have robbed Jesse of the power of speech. "Just how tall are you anyway?"
"Jesse!" Rae had been horrified at the question.
"I am six foot nine and a half inches, why, how short are you?" Tony had smiled as he spoke, and Jesse had the grace to blush.
"Ah, about five seven I think, I never checked." Jesse held his hand out to Tony and saw Steve standing next to him.
Tony saw him still standing there too, and looked at the two friends looking up at him. "Steve, you keep her safe, you understand me? Otherwise I will be back, that goes for you too, Jesse." Tony hadn't smiled when he spoke and Alex had gotten the impression both men knew, just as he did, that this giant of a man meant every word he said.
"Oh, I will." Steve held his hand out and Alex saw him wince as the English man shook his hand again. Then Rae moved over to her ex-husband once again and spoke softly to him.
"Tony, love, come here a minute." Rae placed her finger on her lips and the tall man moved quietly over. "This is Eliana."
"Oh, Rae, she's beautiful." Tony had a deep voice, and an accent not unlike Rae's had been when she had first arrived. "Open your present."
Rae had pulled excitedly at the ribbon and then taken the lid off the box underneath. She had let out a little gasp and pulled a photo frame out of the box. She had looked at it for a few moments and then she had moved over and held it up in front of Alex so that he could film it. The picture was of Rae's three children, all standing together, beautifully dressed, the boys in shirt and tie and Mara in a black glittery dress, her hair also shining and twinkling in the flashlight.
"Thank you, Tony, it's beautiful. How did you get them to all look so smart?"
"It was nothing to do with me, it was Shani, she arranged the whole thing. She loves them very much, Rae, and they love her too."
"Good, Tony, I am so glad." She stood on tiptoe and Tony bent down and they kissed each other and then moved apart. Rae looked in the box again and saw a little tag underneath where the frame had been. The card had been written, probably by Mara, in a pink pen, and read, 'This is for Eliana, so she knows what her brothers and sister look like until we can see her for ourselves. Lots of love John, Patrick and Mara. P.S. Please send a picture of you and Jesse and Eliana back with Daddy.'
"Ok, guys I think we'll have to pay rent if we stay here any longer. Maybe we should go." Steve moved over next to Jo and placed his hands on the handle of the buggy.
The Present Day
Alex picked Kira up off the floor and placed her gently on the sofa, he got down on his hands and knees and started to pick up the cat toys he had bought for her. Then he moved over grabbed the vacuum and began to tidy his apartment. As he did so he thought about the afternoon that he, Rae, Jo, Jesse and Steve had sat and watched the video he had taken at the airport. He had been a little uncertain as to whether what he was filming was how Rae and Jesse had actually wanted it, so he had asked if they would have a look, just to give him a confidence boost. He smiled as he remembered how pleased they had been with what he had done. Although Tony and David had been in the video as well, they both had other places to be, and so weren't able to join the five friends.
He had been watching Steve as he began to play the tape, wondering what his reaction would be to the film.
Three and A Half Months Ago
"This is just after Steve came back from the parking lot. David is just coming across towards us, and Jo just spotted him." Alex looked at Steve and had a hard time keeping a straight face. As Steve watched the film Alex saw him sit a little straighter in the chair, and Rae spotted it too.
"I see we are practising our posture again, Lieutenant!"
"Ha, ha. Jo, you never said your brother was so tall, but I have to admit I didn't realise I'd done that."
"Honey, I didn't mention it because he has always been taller than me, well as long as I can remember, an' it just never occurred to me."
The film moved on and they saw Jo introducing everybody to her brother, and then there was a pause and the camera panned out across the airport and there was Tony coming across to meet them. This time it was Steve who pointed at the screen and laughed.
"Look it wasn't just me this time, David stood up taller too. But you didn't Jess, but then I guess everybody is taller than you!"
"Oh, funny guy. Rae told me that she fell in love with Tony's belly button, but she fell in love with my eyes!"
"Eewwwww, Rae, that is gross!" Jo looked across at her friend, and pulled a face.
"Oh, thank you, Jess, any more little secrets you want to let out while we're here?" Alex watched the horrified look Rae gave her future husband.
"I couldn't believe how tall he was, Rae." Steve hurriedly began the conversation again. "It's not often I have to look up to somebody, and to have it happen twice in one afternoon, well, I guess I know how Jesse feels now!"
"Hey, I am here you know!"
Steve pretended to look under the table. "Did somebody speak?"
Jesse turned to his best friend and stuck his tongue out at him.
"I have to say though Rae, that when he shook my hand I was quite worried. It wasn't that long since I had been in casts…" Steve just seemed to run out of words and Rae had been instantly concerned for him.
"Steve, I am so sorry, I know he would be mortified if he thought he had hurt you."
"It didn't really hurt me as much as make me, I don't know, very nervous.
Alex had been surprised; he didn't think anything very much would make Steve Sloan nervous, he guessed that his hands being broken had really affected him.
Three Months Ago & The Present Day
The Present Day
Alex flopped down on the freshly made bed. He looked at the clock, it was just after three in the afternoon, and he was exhausted already. He hated nights, but everybody had to do them now and again. As he lay there he saw his tux in the open closet once again, and this time his mind travelled back to the day of Rae and Jesse's wedding.
Three Months Ago
Alex walked in the front door at Jo's house and looked around. It was only the second time he had been here, and he was still a little overawed by its grandeur. A very proper looking English man had opened the door to him and taken his top hat.
"Doctor Martin. If Sir would like to come this way, Miss Josephine and the Lieutenant are receiving guests in the morning room."
Alex just nodded mutely and followed behind the man he remembered was called Michael.
"Alex, how are you today?" Steve moved over towards him and he saw Jo talking with Mark and Amanda. Then he saw CJ and Dion in little tux's rushing out of the open double doors into a flower filled garden and turned back to Steve.
"Hey, I like the outfits on Amanda's boys."
"Yeah, aren't they cute? Rae asked them to hand out the order of service booklets for her, and when they found out that Jesse and I were getting dressed up they wanted to do the same."
"I guess I had better get them on film. And you, when you finally get changed." Alex looked at Steve and realised that he was still in his ordinary suit.
"What's the time? Oh great, I have about an hour, I guess I'd better go up and get ready hadn't I?" Steve moved back over to where Jo was standing and whispered something to her. Then they both moved off towards the house and Alex saw Ron and Amanda take over in their place to welcome the guests.
The Present Day
Alex laid on the bed his hands behind his head and a smile on his face. The next part of the day contained one of his best memories. He thought of it often, normally when Jesse was getting in a bit of a flap at Bob's, but now was definitely a good time to go over it again.
Three Months Ago
Steve and Jesse had been getting dressed for the wedding in Steve and Jo's room. They hadn't been hurrying, and had been chatting and just enjoying each other's friendship in an unpressured and pleasant set of surroundings for a change. They had finally put their wedding suits on and Steve had looked at himself in the mirror laughed and stuck his hands out at right angles from his body then he did the same with his feet and began to waddle around the room. Jesse had just stood and looked at him for a moment, and then with a huge grin he had begun to copy him.
Alex smiled at the memory. He had come up the stairs with the video camera in his hand just to get a couple of shots of the groom and best man before they came down stairs, but what he saw was beyond his wildest dreams. Standing quietly against the wall he had been able to film them without either man having any idea that he was being watched.
Steve had begun to quack and Jesse had stopped waddling, although he kept his position. "Penguins don't quack."
"I know, but they honk, and I can't honk."
"Oh, right. Ok. Quack, quack," Jesse had joined in and they had done one more circuit of the room before Steve had collapsed on the bed almost helpless with laughter. Jesse had quickly joined him and they had laughed together for a short while, before Jesse had placed his hand on the arm of his best friend. "Thank you, Steve."
The Present Day
Alex had turned the camera off then, and retreated back the way he came. He knew now how the conversation had continued, but then all he had been aware of was that he should be somewhere else.
Three Months Ago
"Thank you, Steve."
"For what? For behaving like a total loon, and making you act the same way?" Steve smiled. He had an idea that wasn't what Jesse meant, but he didn't want to go all serious on him just in case he was reading the situation the wrong way.
"Well, yeah, but for way more than that. You have been here for me, for us for the whole rough ride. I would never have met Rae if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have Eliana in my life, and I wouldn't be back to the way I should be. I won't ever try to repay you, because I know that isn't necessary and I couldn't do it anyway, but I want you to know that I understand what you have done for me, and for my family." Jesse smiled as he said family, and then carried on. "I won't ever forget that. Thanks, Buddy."
Steve had stood up as Jesse had been speaking, and now he held out his hand and helped his friend to his feet. Then he pulled Jesse towards him and took him into a warm and grateful bear hug that spoke all the words that Steve couldn't say. As they pulled apart both men could feel the emotion in their throats. They shook hands once and then Steve pulled down on Jesse's morning coat and smiled.
"Come on Mr. Groom, I think we are wanted down stairs."
The Present Day
Alex got up off the bed and looked at his watch, it was almost six o'clock. He must have fallen asleep as he thought about Steve and Jesse doing their penguin impersonations. Now he would have to hurry to get to Mark's party on time, still he smiled, it had been nice to reminisce, and he had needed the rest. He headed off towards the shower wondering what memories he would make tonight.