Chapter Twenty - The Reception, Part 1

Weiss met them at the door.

"Late to your own reception?"

"Shut up, Weiss."

"Hmmmm. Mike, your, uh, tie is crooked."

"Shut up, Weiss." Exasperated, Vaughn turns to his wife. "Est-ce qu'il est ivre?" ("Is he drunk?")

She barely manages to hide her smirk. "Oui, amour. Très." ("Yes, love. Very.")

"I'm gonna hate that habit," Weiss complains.

They flash him matching dimpled smiles before stepping past him smoothly.

"Shall we, Mrs. Vaughn?"

Still beaming, Sydney hooks arms. "We shall, Mr. Vaughn."

--

He is trained to handle the most awkward of situations with ease and to make every conflict disappear. But standing in the reception hall and watching his little girl and her new husband stroll into the room after being announced is apparently the one exception.

So now he sits awkwardly at a table while they share their first dance, laughing and carrying on like the children they will always be to him.

"I know how you feel, you know."

Startled, he jerks his gaze upright, only to relax when he recognizes the speaker.

"How so, Dixon?"

"I have a daughter," he reminds dryly. "A daughter that is just now starting to notice boys."

Jack nods. "Keep your gun loaded."

--

"Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could please have your attention," Weiss announces grandly. "For those of you that don't know me, my name is Eric Weiss and I am Michael's better ha - er, Best Man. And I have right here," he pauses to wave a piece of paper grandly, "the Best Man speech!"

Craig, sitting off to the side, applauds wildly while Vaughn buries his head in his hands.

"I met Michael Vaughn when he was still a young pup," Weiss lies dramatically.

"You did not!" Vaughn protests. "We met after your recruitment, which was three years after mine!"

"Quiet," Weiss replies. "Anyway, I always felt sorry for the poor guy. Mission after mission, but still, no pretty lady to show for it! I mean, I guess it didn't help that his very dashing partner was a chick magnet."

"You were my partner?" Vaughn asks Craig.

"And yeah," Weiss plows on, "he finally got himself a girlfriend, but she had the personality of a brick wall when she was drunk, which doesn't say much, now does it?"

Sydney smirks at that.

"And then he met Sydney," Weiss continues. "And that was the end for the CIA's Balls of Steel. If he wasn't talking about her to everyone that would listen - " he modulates his voice to a high pitch Vaughn wouldn't have reached during puberty - "have you heard of this Bristow girl? How amazing she is? How hot she is? - "

"Weiss!" Vaughn groans, mortified.

" - he was busy thinking about her. Especially when she was on missions; I'd have to go in his office and drag him out to get food, or he would've wasted away."

"Thanks for that," Sydney calls to him sweetly.

"You're welcome," Weiss replies. "At least someone thanked me."

Vaughn groans, resigning himself to his fate. "I never thanked you? Tell you what. I'll give you a drawer. Two drawers!"

"I told you to shut up. Anyway, I do have something meaningful to say, and Mike - not a word on what I just said."

Vaughn held up his hands in surrender.

"Mike is my best friend, and he has been for years," Weiss says seriously. "And even before I really knew him, he was pointed out as an example to all us wet-behind-the-ears recruits, simply because he was just so motivated, so focused, it made everyone around him sick."

"Thank you," Vaughn says dryly.

"But aside from that," Weiss continues. "I've always looked out for him, I guess. Look up Michael Vaughn in the dictionary and you'll see him under reckless. Especially after he met Sydney, he seemed to make it his life's purpose to scare the hell out of everyone that knew him."

"I agree with that," Kendall murmurs from another table. Devlin nodded.

"So uh, in conclusion," Weiss stammers. "I'd just like to say… to Mike, my best friend and the little brother I never had, I'm uh, proud of you, buddy. I wish you both all the happiness in the world, because God knows no one deserves it more than you two."

He raises his wine glass. "To Michael and Sydney!"

"To Michael and Sydney!" The room echoes.

- to be continued -

It ain't over 'til it says Epilogue! Don't go anywhere! lol

Review Responses

Jaryn: You betcha.

Candice: Oh no! Lemme know if you want me to clear anything up. :)

Jasmine: There's more Vaughn/Irina awkwardness coming! That dynamic fascinates me as much as the whole Jack/Vaughn relationship. Gotta say, he's awfully brave to marry into such a… unique family!

Mandi: There sure are! Four more, I think, including the Epilogue.

Noa jeo, sallene, Aliasgurl: Thanks! :)

Britt: Luckiest woman on earth, man.

Black kitti: I dunno, I mean, she did kill his dad. I think by not killing her he's tolerating her, but anymore than that is way too much to ask of him, ya know? I'd feel weird around her, too.

Abby: Lessee. The Reception, Part 2 is next, followed by even more reception entitled "Final Tests", followed by The Wedding Night (PG-13 rating!), followed by the Epilogue.

K4e: aww! Thanks for leaving one even if you were in a rush!

Nattie700: They are just adorable! Love them to pieces. lol

Ilovemypenguin: Aww, thanks!

Linda: Alas no, but did this make up for it? You got the drunk part! ;)

2 or 10? ;)