Disclaimer: You know the drill...
A/N: for the purposes of this story, the Roberts twins don't exist. :)
Chapter 47:
"OK" said Mac as the ladies piled out of Harriet's van at the church. "Let's grab our stuff and get in out of the cold!"
"I'm with you there!" said Jen. Everyone took a quick turn pulling their dress bags out of the neat pile in the back of the van, then picking up their make-up cases and such, everyone followed Mac inside.
"The brides room is down here" said Mac, turning right down the long corridor, then left at the end of it.
"Wow" said Mattie, "it's huge!" There were tables and mirrors along 3 of the 4 walls, hooks on the wall to hang their dresses on, a bathroom down at the end - it was a really nice room.
"Yeah, it's pretty big" agreed Mac, "but you can bet we'll put the space to good use between the 5 of us."
"Who gets what table?" asked Chloe.
"It doesn't matter" said Mac, "they all look the same to me."
"OK" replied Chloe. "Mattie, why don't we take the two at the end?"
"Works for me" said Mattie, and the girls carried their dresses and bags to the far end of the room.
"I'll take this one" said Jen, pointing to a table on the right side of the room.
"Do you care, Mac?" asked Harriet, looking at the remaining tables.
"Nope, take whatever you want" said Mac.
"This one'll do fine" said Harriet, taking a table across form Jen.
"This one looks as good as any, huh?" asked Mac, choosing a table in the near right corner.
"Should we do our make-up before we get dressed, you think?" asked Mattie.
"Yeah" answered Mac. "We want to wait to get into our dresses until the last minute, keep them from getting too wrinkled before the ceremony."
"Got it" said Mattie. She and Chloe dug out their cosmetics and went to work just as Mattie's cell phone rang. She pulled it from her purse, looked at the Caller ID and flipped it open to answer.
"Hey, Harm" she said. Everyone immediately looked in her direction. A tiny wave of panic fell over Mac.
"She shouldn't be, I don't think" said Mattie, "but lemme ask Mac, hang on."
"Ask Mac what?" said Mac.
"He said Ainsley is fussy and he wanted to know if she could be hungry" said Mattie. "I left her in such a hurry, I forgot to tell him when she'd eaten last."
"I dunno" said Mac, "what time is it?"
"2:40" said Jen.
"I fed her when we got back from the salon" said Mac, "and that was about 1:30 or so, she shouldn't be hungry, but her schedule is so messed up, tell him if he thinks she wants a bottle, he can give her one, that's fine."
"Will do" replied Mattie. "Harm, yeah Mac said she shouldn't be hungry, but if you think she is, you can feed her. OK, not a problem. I'll tell her. OK, love you too, bye."
"He said to tell you that the guys are all gonna be ready to head over here no later than 3:00" said Mattie to Mac, "and he's gonna try a bottle and see if that's what she wants."
"OK" said Mac. "I'm betting she's more sleepy than hungry, but she may take a little of the bottle and then go to sleep."
"Which of these would look best one me?" asked Jen, holding up two different shades of blue eye shadow.
"I say the darker one" said Mac, unpacking her own cosmetic bag. "It'll contrast with the ice blue dress and still bring out the color in your eyes."
"OK" said Jen, tossing the lighter shadow back into her bag as the bride's room became a flurry of activity.
…meanwhile, back at the hotel…
"Are we ready, gentlemen?" asked Harm as big AJ, Sergei, Sturgis and Bud & his little boys met up with him in the lobby.
"I think so" replied Sturgis.
"Everyone got everything they need?" asked Harm. "Everything?"
"Let's see" said Bud, "6 tuxes - 5 adult, one kiddo - 6 pair of shoes, 6 accessory bags, Jimmy's outfit and bag…I think we've got everything."
"Do you have everything?" Sergei asked his brother.
Harm looked around himself and rattled off the items he'd been charged with remembering. "Baby…diaper bag…milk bottles…Mac's ring…honeymoon papers… don't think I forgot anything!"
"Let's be off, shall we fellas?" asked big AJ. "If we're not at that church, ready for pictures at the stroke of 4:30, we'll see a side of Mac best reserved for our national enemies!"
"Amen to that!" said Sturgis.
Harm tucked Ainsley's blanket in around her and pulled her knit cap down over her ears. "Don't want you to get sick, little one" he said. He picked up the car seat, put the diaper bag on his shoulder, grabbed the cooler with hermilk in it, and led everyone to the parking lot.
"I'm glad we moved these seats earlier today" said Harm as he secured Ainsley into the SUV, then helped Bud get little AJ and Jimmy strapped into their seats. Since Harriet needed the van for the women, they'd decided that Bud and the boys would ride to the church with Harm and Ainsley, something which proved particularly convenient when Mac lost track of time and Mattie had to rush Ainsley down to Harm so they could leave.
"Me too" agreed Bud, "Do you want all the tuxes in the back here?"
"Yeah, if they'll fit" said Harm, "that's fine." Bud laid the pile of garment bags carefully in the back of the SUV and closed the hatch before getting into the front passenger seat.
Harm led the way to the church, and big AJ followed. They arrived roughly 20 minutes later.
"Should we get the kids inside first" asked Harm, "then come back for the stuff?"
"I was thinking maybe the other way around" said Bud. "I'll stay here and watch them if you wanna take all the stuff inside."
"Works for me" said Harm, popping the hatch release before getting out of the drivers seat.
"Where do we go in there?" asked Sergei, nodding towards the church. "Are we supposed to stay away from the ladies?"
"We don't all have to stay away from all the ladies" said Harm, "I just have to steer completely clear of Mac. If you guys wanna go on in, we get the big room all the way down the south hall and to the left."
"OK" said Sergei, and he, big AJ and Sturgis headed inside. Harm picked up the stack of tuxes from the SUV and followed closely behind.
"This is a nice place, Harm" said big AJ as they men stepped into the large dressing room.
"Yeah, it really is" he agreed. "I can see why this place does a lot of weddings. It just has a 'wedding look' to it."
"Indeed" said Sturgis. "Should we start getting ready yet?"
"Soon" said Harm, "Lemme go help Bud bring the little ones inside, I'll be right back." He zipped his coat up once before stepping out into the chilly wind once again.
"Ready to go inside, guys?" he asked as he opened the back door on the SUV.
"Yeah" said little AJ, "it's cold out here!"
"I know it, pal" said Harm as he unbuckled the straps on AJ's car seat and helped him climb down as Bud was helping Jimmy on the other side.
"Wait right there till I get Ainsley out, please" Harm said to his godson.
"Yes, sir" replied the little boy. Harm leaned over AJ's seat and detached Ainsley's infant seat from it's base. He made sure her blanket was covering her snugly as he pulled the seat out of the car.
"Here" he said to little AJ, "take my hand, please." The little guy reached up and took hold of Harm's left hand while Harm carried the baby seat in his right.
"Got everything, Bud?" he asked as he slowly walked towards the church.
"Yeah, I got it" replied Bud, carrying Jimmy and his bag. "Are they all staying with us?"
"I know the boys are" replied Harm, "and I know getting them dressed is up to us. I'm not sure if Mac wants Ainsley yet or not."
"I can go find out for you" offered Bud.
"Thanks" said Harm, "I know Mac's gonna get her dressed and ready, I'm just not sure how soon she needs to do that." They got the kids inside, and while Harm took to getting their coats and hats off, Bud went down the hall to see how the "belles of the ball" were faring.
"Harriet?" he called from outside the closed bride's room doors.
"Bud?" she called back.
"Yeah, honey, it's me" he answered. "We're here, got here a few minutes ago. Harm wants to know when Mac will want the baby down here so she can get her dressed?"
"Lemme ask her" said Harriet, "just a second, sweetie."
"OK" said Bud.
Harriet walked to the back of the room to where Mac was helping Chloe with her mascara.
"Mac" she said, "Bud is outside the door, he said Harm wants to know when you need Ainsley in here to get her dressed."
"I can take her now if he needs me to" said Mac, "in fact it'd probably be a good idea if I let her nurse if she wants to before I get dressed."
"OK" said Harriet, "I'll have Bud bring her down." She walked back to the door where Bud was waiting.
"Mac said go ahead and bring her down now, please" said Harriet through the still-closed door.
"I'll be right back with her" answered Bud. He headed back down the long hallway to the guys dressing room.
"Mac said she's ready for her now" he told Harm, who'd just finished getting Ainsley out of her car seat.
"Alrighty, baby girl" he said to her, "you be a good girl and cooperate with mommy. I'll see you in a couple hours." He gave her a big kiss before handing her to Bud.
"Here's this" he said, handing Bud the diaper bag. "Oh, probably better take these, too" he added, handing Bud the cooler bag with the milk bottles in it. "I'm not sure where Mac wants this."
"OK" said Bud as he went to take Ainsley to her mother. He made his way down the long hallway once more, and knocked again upon the bride's room door.
"Bud?" asked Mac from the inside.
"It's me" he answered. Mac opened the door and smiled at her little girl.
"Come to mommy" she said, taking the baby from Bud and kissing her cheek. "Did you have fun with your daddy today? Hmm, did you?"
"I believe she did" smiled Bud. "He had her in the pool earlier, she just loved it."
"That's what I heard" said Mac.
"Here's her stuff" said Bud, handing Mac the diaper bag and cooler bag. "Harm said he didn't know where you wanted this one."
"That's fine" she replied, "I'll have Mattie put it in the freezer in the kitchen. Hey, do you know if she took the bottle Harm offered her about an hour ago?"
"I think so" said Bud, "when I called down to see if he was ready to leave, he said she was almost finished eating."
"OK, thanks so much, Bud" said Mac. "Everything going OK down there?"
"Fine so far" he answered, "we're about to start getting dressed, and we'll be ready for pictures at 4:30."
"Good" replied Mac. "So will we!"
"OK" said Bud, "Which group is going first, do you know?"
"To my understanding" said Mac, "everyone except Ainsley and I are supposed to be in there to start with. They'll get the ones of all the groomsmen with Harm, bridesmaids with him, etc… All combinations that can be done without the baby and I. Once they're done with him, he'll go hide and we'll take out turn doing the same combinations."
"Sounds like a well-thought-out plan, Mac" said Bud.
"I hope it plays out that way" she answered as Ainsley wriggled in her arms. "I need to go feed her real quick so we can get dressed. Thanks again for bringing her by."
"Welcome" said Bud as he took off for the other room.
"OK, boys" he said to his sons, "I need to you sit over in that corner and play with your toys for a little while, OK?"
"OK, daddy" replied little AJ. "Is it time to get dressed yet?"
"Almost time" answered Bud, "but let daddy get dressed first, then I can help you."
"How is this possible?" asked Sturgis as he stood before the group in his jeans and tuxedo shirt, the sleeves of which were 3 inches too short. "It fit yesterday, now it's way too short!"
In a slight panic, Harm walked over and looked at the tag on the garment bag.
"Sturgis" laughed Harm, "you're wearing Bud's shirt." He held up the tag so Sturgis could see that it clearly said "Roberts."
"Oops" chuckled Sturgis. "I know what happened now - my accessory bag came off the hanger, and it got laid on top of the wrong suit, so when I saw my name on it, I grabbed it and the suit underneath, which obviously isn't mine!"
"No biggie" said Harm, "at least the formal wear shop didn't screw things up."
"That happened to me in high school" said big AJ as he adjusted the sides of his tux slacks. "Senior prom, I was running late to pick up my tux so I didn't try it on there like I should have. Got home, put it on, pants were 6 inches too short!"
"Oh, no!" laughed Harm. "What'd you do?"
"Wore a pair of slacks I already had" answered the retired CO. "Didn't look bad, but lemme tell you when I took that tux back on Monday, those folks got an earful!"
"I believe it!" said Bud. "Oh, hey, look at the time - we're all supposed to be ready in 15 minutes!"
"Whoa!" exclaimed Harm, grabbing his shirt out of the garment bag. "Where'd the time go?"
…back in the bride's room…
"Well, that do you think?" asked Chloe as she stood before Mac, all dressed up.
"I think you look absolutely beautiful" replied Mac. "That dress fits you perfectly."
"Thanks" said Chloe. "When are you gonna put yours on?"
"I'm ready whenever anyone wants to help me" answered Mac.
"Let's get on it, then" replied Chloe. "We've only got a few minutes before pictures!"
A/N: This will be the last chapter until I get back in town at the end of next week. I'll have no access to a computer the entire time I'm gone, but as promised I'll be writing down any brilliant ideas that come to me! I'll make the wedding worth the wait, honest:)
A side note, I saw today that DJE (or possibly his publicist, you never know for sure) wrote a short letter to TV Guide. It's in the March 20 - 26, 2005 issue (I think) on the page where they publish the letters that readers send in, whichI think is very cool considering he's not just any reader, you know! I can't recall his exact words, but something to the effect of he's sad that things with Don Bellisario had to end the way they did, or that Bellisario feels the way he does after such a great run (of JAG), something like that. This was in reference to DPB's comments in TV Guide a few weeks back about how he'd never planned for DJE to return next season even thought DJE wanted to. David said his relationship with CBS has been great, and he's thankful for the last decade and for JAG, and looking forward to his experience with ABC. It was signed "David James Elliott, Los Angeles". It just makes me so mad to see that, to read once again that DJE wasn't ready to see Harm go and it wasn't a mutual decision for him to leave. I'm hoping and praying there's not an 11th season, or if there is, that it FLOPS BIG TIME!
See you all whenI return!