A few hours later, the small group of Joes- Grand Slam, Spitfyre,
Stunner, Flash, Hawk, Lifeline and Short Fuse- are at the airport,
waiting for the rest of their group to join them. All of them look as
if they had lost their best friend, which, essentially, they had.
They were huddled around in groups of two and three, Taffy crying on Tony's shoulder, and Cadence weeping on James's. Lifeline is standing in the corner looking for all the world like he's just upset only a little, but if you look closely, there's tears in his eyes. Short Fuze and Hawk are sitting next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, both of them trying to hold on by a slim thread.
Attention turns towards James and Cadie as she draws back a little ways and starts punching him in the chest. It wasn't hurting him; he knew that she was giving him the benefit of the doubt, and that it appeared that her blows were unfocused and not as accurate and painful as they could have been, due to the fact that she was in mourning.
He knew the reason she had started the punching. It was because she had seen Chuckles and Mainframe coming down the ramp. Flint, Lady Jaye, Scarlett and Snake Eyes are right behind them. People give them a wide berth, somehow sensing that they were there on some personal business, very important, dangerous, personal business.
"Why?" screamed Cadence into James's shoulder. "Why did they have to kill her? She wasn't doing anything to them."
James hugs her harder and whispers to her, attempting to calm her down.
"All she ever wanted was to live her life in peace. Why couldn't they let her do even that? She wasn't bothering them," Edwin stated, tears beginning to roll down his face.
Lady Jaye walked over to James and hugged both him and Cadence. "I am so sorry James. You two were just starting out in your relationship and now she's gone. You don't deserve this pain. She didn't either. She was finally happy, and they killed her."
Chuckles envelopes Cadie in his arms like a little sister. They talk quietly while each one tries to comfort the others, retrieve the luggage and leave the airport. A whole large group of Joes was supposed to be flying in the next day for the funeral the next afternoon. On the way back to James's parent's house, they discuss what it is that has them all upset, besides Cadie's being shot.
Chuckles and Spitfyre are in the back of the van, talking. He tells her what he has found out about who the traitor was. She begins to quake with rage as he reveals the identity of the mole.
"I can't believe I didn't see it before! What has she got against me? Why is it always me?" queries Cadie in anguish. Then she looks up, her eyes blazing. The color has changed from her usual silver-green to a very dark silver-violet, a sure sign that there was going to be violence if they didn't get her calmed down quickly. "Her ass is mine. I'm going scorched earth on this one. Nothing left standing except me."
"Cadie, calm down. She's going down anyhow, little one. Don't go on a vengeance streak by yourself. That's why we're here. To help."
"Philip, I don't care anymore. They don't want me to be able to live happily if they can't, and as long as there's one left, I won't be able to be happy. I have to take the whole group down before I can end this."
She becomes quiet as James turns up the radio. "This next song is for a special little Widget from a Heavy Artillery Sergeant with the message 'This song says exactly how I feel about you, little one'. So here it is, 'Everything I do (I do it for you)' by Bryan Adams."
From out of the back of the van comes a chunk of crumpled paper, bouncing off of James's head and landing in the garbage bag.
"Three points!" laughs Chuckles. "Nice shot, Cadie."
She nods in recognition of his praise, "Thank you."
Flint leans over to Lady Jaye. "Remind me not to try that one with her anytime soon."
Cadie leans over to Chuckles. "How are we going to get her to trap herself? And after that, what are we going to do with her? We need to have an alternate plan in place, one that she doesn't know about."
"No problem, Cadie. I figured that we could have her sandwiched between Steeler and Flash, and I'd be directly behind her, with Beach Head blocking in the other side. When she goes to escape, we block her in and arrest her for treason. A Tribunal will be able to find a case on it very easily. She set you up for murder two or three times, so she'd have a weak case if she decided to fight it. She also gave out classified information, so that would also add to the number of years that she would get in Leavenworth."
"We'll all be behind you in this, Cadie. I love you, Widget. No matter what happens, I will always love you. If you want or need me to do anything, all you have to do is ask," James vowed from his spot in the drivers' seat.
Flint turns in the seat and looks at her. "We all feel like that, Cadie."
Chuckles slides his arm across the back of the seat, and reaching around to hug her. "All you need do is ask. We're all on your side."
They get back to James's parent's house and prepare their alternate plan. After a couple of hours, Lifeline notices how pale Cadence is and recommends that she get some rest. All of the medical personnel agree and James swings Cadence up into his arms and carries her up to his old bedroom, tenderly laying her down on the bed. He kneels beside it and takes her hand in his.
"I won't announce it to the rest of the group until after the funeral, but I have one very special question for you. Before you give me an answer, I want you to seriously think about it. The way I've felt the last few weeks with you is the way I hope to always feel about you, Widget. It would be a great honor if you would consent to marry me and be my wife and love me forever. I know it comes as a surprise to you that someone would feel this way regarding you, but..."
"Yeah, but, you know, I had a lot of time to think about it and when I was in that coma, I know it sounds silly, but when I was in that coma, I was able to delve deep into myself to figure out what I should do. I peeled away a lot of the layers of pain and agony that I have suffered all of my life, and I became conscious of what I felt about certain subjects. I realized what you really mean to me, and what I felt about you deep down inside. I love you, James. No ifs, ands or buts. I love you. My answer to you, James, is yes. Yes, yes, yes!"
He hastily stands up and sits down on the bed next to her, drawing her into his arms, hugging her close to him. He rains light kisses all over her face and neck, taking her hand and sliding a beautiful diamond and alexandrite ring onto her finger.
"Do you have any idea how happy that you just made me? I'm going to have a hard time keeping this just between us. The guys are probably going to ask me what kind of happy pill I took or what I been smoking or drinking. I was going to ask you at the Christmas Dance that they had for the Children's ward of the Medical Center, but since we never got to go, I decided to go ahead and ask you when I felt you were ready for the shock. Merry Christmas, Cadie. " Both of them laugh.
"Merry Christmas to you, too. James, can your parents keep a secret? I have an idea that will allow us to have a little fun in addition to getting the bad guys."
"Yes, they can keep a secret. What's your idea?"
"Well, after the funeral, you know most of the Joes are going to be in a really, really, bad mood, right? Because somebody ruined their Christmas," she asks, slyly. He nods, starting to understand where her train of thought is leading.
"Well, I was thinking that we could be mischievous again, and have the wedding right after the funeral. It isn't everyone who can get married just minutes after they're laid out in their coffin, apparently dead."
He looks at her, dumbfounded. It was as if she were a master at pulling practical jokes. She could probably outprank Airtight, Quick Kick, and Short Fuze combined, given half a chance. "You know, that would work. Baby, you are a genius! Do you want me to go get my parents so we can get the details down? I'm sure they would be delighted to help."
"That might be a good idea. We have quite a few details to work out."
"Right."
He goes downstairs and somehow manages to get his parents upstairs in the room where Cadence was staying. As all of the participants find a seat, James addresses his family.
"I know that this is going to shock you guys, and you're going to need to keep it a secret until we do it, but I've asked Cadence to marry me, and she said yes."
"Oh, James," Sharon exclaims. "This is excellent news! I never thought you'd ever get married."
"What we want to do is to have the wedding right after the "funeral". We want to do it with her parents right there, looking on and maybe realizing what they missed by throwing her away at such a tender age. Think we can run into town later on and get what we need? Mom, you could go with Cadence and get her a dress and everything she needs, and Dad and I'll run to the courthouse and see to the paperwork."
"What better way to celebrate than to have a wedding right after the funeral goes bust?" Ronnie asked, chuckling.
Cadence chooses that moment to let out a large yawn.
"Why don't we do it when Cadie gets up from her nap? We could say something about going to take care of a little unfinished business as an excuse."
His parents look at each other and back at the engaged couple sitting on the bed. "Works for us."
He hands Cadence a glass of water and a couple of huge, horse-choker pills. "Edwin sent these up to help with the pain," he says. She takes them and swallows the entire glass of water, settling down into the pillows and falling asleep quickly.
Everyone except James leaves, and he sits on the edge of the bed, watching over Cadence until the medicine kicks in and she falls asleep. Then he lovingly brushes a lock of hair off of her face where it had fallen, pressing his lips softly against her temple.
He then goes downstairs to talk with the rest of the Joe team that was there.
After a couple of hours, Cadence awakens and dresses herself in something that was easy to put on and take off, because she knew that she would be trying on dresses and such. After that, she goes downstairs and meets up with the rest of the group. Because her shirt has too long sleeves, her hands are hidden, which keeps the rest of the bunch from seeing the ring and figuring out what she and James were up to.
"I'm ready to go, James," she sweetly says to him.
"Okay, Widget, let me let Mom and Dad know," he replies to her just as sweetly. "There's some unfinished business that we have to take care of in town," he tells the rest of the group.
"Do you need us for anything?" Taffy asked.
"No, I think we'll be okay. You guys just stay here and relax. We have a big day for the next couple of days."
Hawk spoke up. "We'll go ahead and get dinner made, that way, we can be of some use."
"We'll probably need some help unloading the car when we get back, too," added Cadence.
"Right. You know, Cadie, we really ought to take someone along for extra security. Mainframe, what do you have planned for this afternoon and evening?"
"Nothing that I know of, James, "answered Blaine. "Why?"
"Why don't you come along with us and I'll explain on the road?"
"Sure."
They were huddled around in groups of two and three, Taffy crying on Tony's shoulder, and Cadence weeping on James's. Lifeline is standing in the corner looking for all the world like he's just upset only a little, but if you look closely, there's tears in his eyes. Short Fuze and Hawk are sitting next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, both of them trying to hold on by a slim thread.
Attention turns towards James and Cadie as she draws back a little ways and starts punching him in the chest. It wasn't hurting him; he knew that she was giving him the benefit of the doubt, and that it appeared that her blows were unfocused and not as accurate and painful as they could have been, due to the fact that she was in mourning.
He knew the reason she had started the punching. It was because she had seen Chuckles and Mainframe coming down the ramp. Flint, Lady Jaye, Scarlett and Snake Eyes are right behind them. People give them a wide berth, somehow sensing that they were there on some personal business, very important, dangerous, personal business.
"Why?" screamed Cadence into James's shoulder. "Why did they have to kill her? She wasn't doing anything to them."
James hugs her harder and whispers to her, attempting to calm her down.
"All she ever wanted was to live her life in peace. Why couldn't they let her do even that? She wasn't bothering them," Edwin stated, tears beginning to roll down his face.
Lady Jaye walked over to James and hugged both him and Cadence. "I am so sorry James. You two were just starting out in your relationship and now she's gone. You don't deserve this pain. She didn't either. She was finally happy, and they killed her."
Chuckles envelopes Cadie in his arms like a little sister. They talk quietly while each one tries to comfort the others, retrieve the luggage and leave the airport. A whole large group of Joes was supposed to be flying in the next day for the funeral the next afternoon. On the way back to James's parent's house, they discuss what it is that has them all upset, besides Cadie's being shot.
Chuckles and Spitfyre are in the back of the van, talking. He tells her what he has found out about who the traitor was. She begins to quake with rage as he reveals the identity of the mole.
"I can't believe I didn't see it before! What has she got against me? Why is it always me?" queries Cadie in anguish. Then she looks up, her eyes blazing. The color has changed from her usual silver-green to a very dark silver-violet, a sure sign that there was going to be violence if they didn't get her calmed down quickly. "Her ass is mine. I'm going scorched earth on this one. Nothing left standing except me."
"Cadie, calm down. She's going down anyhow, little one. Don't go on a vengeance streak by yourself. That's why we're here. To help."
"Philip, I don't care anymore. They don't want me to be able to live happily if they can't, and as long as there's one left, I won't be able to be happy. I have to take the whole group down before I can end this."
She becomes quiet as James turns up the radio. "This next song is for a special little Widget from a Heavy Artillery Sergeant with the message 'This song says exactly how I feel about you, little one'. So here it is, 'Everything I do (I do it for you)' by Bryan Adams."
From out of the back of the van comes a chunk of crumpled paper, bouncing off of James's head and landing in the garbage bag.
"Three points!" laughs Chuckles. "Nice shot, Cadie."
She nods in recognition of his praise, "Thank you."
Flint leans over to Lady Jaye. "Remind me not to try that one with her anytime soon."
Cadie leans over to Chuckles. "How are we going to get her to trap herself? And after that, what are we going to do with her? We need to have an alternate plan in place, one that she doesn't know about."
"No problem, Cadie. I figured that we could have her sandwiched between Steeler and Flash, and I'd be directly behind her, with Beach Head blocking in the other side. When she goes to escape, we block her in and arrest her for treason. A Tribunal will be able to find a case on it very easily. She set you up for murder two or three times, so she'd have a weak case if she decided to fight it. She also gave out classified information, so that would also add to the number of years that she would get in Leavenworth."
"We'll all be behind you in this, Cadie. I love you, Widget. No matter what happens, I will always love you. If you want or need me to do anything, all you have to do is ask," James vowed from his spot in the drivers' seat.
Flint turns in the seat and looks at her. "We all feel like that, Cadie."
Chuckles slides his arm across the back of the seat, and reaching around to hug her. "All you need do is ask. We're all on your side."
They get back to James's parent's house and prepare their alternate plan. After a couple of hours, Lifeline notices how pale Cadence is and recommends that she get some rest. All of the medical personnel agree and James swings Cadence up into his arms and carries her up to his old bedroom, tenderly laying her down on the bed. He kneels beside it and takes her hand in his.
"I won't announce it to the rest of the group until after the funeral, but I have one very special question for you. Before you give me an answer, I want you to seriously think about it. The way I've felt the last few weeks with you is the way I hope to always feel about you, Widget. It would be a great honor if you would consent to marry me and be my wife and love me forever. I know it comes as a surprise to you that someone would feel this way regarding you, but..."
"Yeah, but, you know, I had a lot of time to think about it and when I was in that coma, I know it sounds silly, but when I was in that coma, I was able to delve deep into myself to figure out what I should do. I peeled away a lot of the layers of pain and agony that I have suffered all of my life, and I became conscious of what I felt about certain subjects. I realized what you really mean to me, and what I felt about you deep down inside. I love you, James. No ifs, ands or buts. I love you. My answer to you, James, is yes. Yes, yes, yes!"
He hastily stands up and sits down on the bed next to her, drawing her into his arms, hugging her close to him. He rains light kisses all over her face and neck, taking her hand and sliding a beautiful diamond and alexandrite ring onto her finger.
"Do you have any idea how happy that you just made me? I'm going to have a hard time keeping this just between us. The guys are probably going to ask me what kind of happy pill I took or what I been smoking or drinking. I was going to ask you at the Christmas Dance that they had for the Children's ward of the Medical Center, but since we never got to go, I decided to go ahead and ask you when I felt you were ready for the shock. Merry Christmas, Cadie. " Both of them laugh.
"Merry Christmas to you, too. James, can your parents keep a secret? I have an idea that will allow us to have a little fun in addition to getting the bad guys."
"Yes, they can keep a secret. What's your idea?"
"Well, after the funeral, you know most of the Joes are going to be in a really, really, bad mood, right? Because somebody ruined their Christmas," she asks, slyly. He nods, starting to understand where her train of thought is leading.
"Well, I was thinking that we could be mischievous again, and have the wedding right after the funeral. It isn't everyone who can get married just minutes after they're laid out in their coffin, apparently dead."
He looks at her, dumbfounded. It was as if she were a master at pulling practical jokes. She could probably outprank Airtight, Quick Kick, and Short Fuze combined, given half a chance. "You know, that would work. Baby, you are a genius! Do you want me to go get my parents so we can get the details down? I'm sure they would be delighted to help."
"That might be a good idea. We have quite a few details to work out."
"Right."
He goes downstairs and somehow manages to get his parents upstairs in the room where Cadence was staying. As all of the participants find a seat, James addresses his family.
"I know that this is going to shock you guys, and you're going to need to keep it a secret until we do it, but I've asked Cadence to marry me, and she said yes."
"Oh, James," Sharon exclaims. "This is excellent news! I never thought you'd ever get married."
"What we want to do is to have the wedding right after the "funeral". We want to do it with her parents right there, looking on and maybe realizing what they missed by throwing her away at such a tender age. Think we can run into town later on and get what we need? Mom, you could go with Cadence and get her a dress and everything she needs, and Dad and I'll run to the courthouse and see to the paperwork."
"What better way to celebrate than to have a wedding right after the funeral goes bust?" Ronnie asked, chuckling.
Cadence chooses that moment to let out a large yawn.
"Why don't we do it when Cadie gets up from her nap? We could say something about going to take care of a little unfinished business as an excuse."
His parents look at each other and back at the engaged couple sitting on the bed. "Works for us."
He hands Cadence a glass of water and a couple of huge, horse-choker pills. "Edwin sent these up to help with the pain," he says. She takes them and swallows the entire glass of water, settling down into the pillows and falling asleep quickly.
Everyone except James leaves, and he sits on the edge of the bed, watching over Cadence until the medicine kicks in and she falls asleep. Then he lovingly brushes a lock of hair off of her face where it had fallen, pressing his lips softly against her temple.
He then goes downstairs to talk with the rest of the Joe team that was there.
After a couple of hours, Cadence awakens and dresses herself in something that was easy to put on and take off, because she knew that she would be trying on dresses and such. After that, she goes downstairs and meets up with the rest of the group. Because her shirt has too long sleeves, her hands are hidden, which keeps the rest of the bunch from seeing the ring and figuring out what she and James were up to.
"I'm ready to go, James," she sweetly says to him.
"Okay, Widget, let me let Mom and Dad know," he replies to her just as sweetly. "There's some unfinished business that we have to take care of in town," he tells the rest of the group.
"Do you need us for anything?" Taffy asked.
"No, I think we'll be okay. You guys just stay here and relax. We have a big day for the next couple of days."
Hawk spoke up. "We'll go ahead and get dinner made, that way, we can be of some use."
"We'll probably need some help unloading the car when we get back, too," added Cadence.
"Right. You know, Cadie, we really ought to take someone along for extra security. Mainframe, what do you have planned for this afternoon and evening?"
"Nothing that I know of, James, "answered Blaine. "Why?"
"Why don't you come along with us and I'll explain on the road?"
"Sure."