Title: Wedding Bells

By: Kasandra

Rating: K+ for brief language.

Pairing: Talleigh

Summary: One wedding should've been enough; apparently not.

Spoilers: Lost Son for the 'controversial' scene in which Speedle had a ring band tan on his left hand.

AN: Thanks to Marilyn for the idea – I think my plot bunnies died after the last story I wrote.

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Tim groaned sleepily as he woke up to an empty space next to him in the wee hours of the morning. His bare feet hit the cold surface of the wooden floor and the shock jolted him awake.

"Calleigh?" he called out tentatively, unsure of where his wife could be. He walked down the hall and found her in the middle of their living room, submerged in a sea of wedding magazines.

"Oh, hey darlin'," Calleigh replied brightly. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Tim watched her continue to cut pictures of wedding dresses out of one of the bulky magazines. She looked over one before placing it in one of the piles she had marked, 'Yes.'

"Calleigh, is this the hour to be working on the wedding? We have to be at work in a few hours." Tim replied, as he walked over to the sofa and as he went to sit down, Calleigh let out a small shriek.

"Tim you almost sat on the 'Maybe' dress pile!" Calleigh sighed, irritated. "Besides, I couldn't sleep."

Tim's eyebrow arched. "Uh, Call, does it matter if the pile was marked 'maybe'?" he questioned and let out a small chuckle. "Maybes usually result in a no."

Calleigh gave him a sharp look which immediately ceased his laughter. "I'm sorry if you find planning our wedding to be amusing."

Tim rolled his eyes as he cleared his throat. "Calleigh, weddings are just a materialistic way of couples announcing their love and commitment to each other. The most important thing is the marriage."

"And I agree," Calleigh replied. "However, just like my parents we had a shotgun wedding and you promised that when the time came, we'd have the wedding of my dreams."

Tim groaned once more. "Calleigh, that was three years ago. Why can't we just have a simple vow renewal with just our closest friends and family? You're making this into a big unnecessary hoopla."

"Our wedding is now a hoopla? Are you kidding me with this Timmy?" Calleigh's temper rose. "Someone's wedding day is supposed to be the most important day in their lives. I was robbed of the wedding I had planned for ever since I was little!"

"You planned your dream wedding since you were little? I'd imagine you were playing with guns." Tim joked once more, hoping to ease the tension that was starting to build up. He was in no mood to fight with Calleigh at 3:15 A.M.

Calleigh put down the magazine she was holding not before dog-earing it. "Tim," she began calmly and Tim immediately dreaded what she was going to say. "I want my dream wedding with calla-lilies and magnolias, just as I've always planned and I really don't care for your opinion on this anymore."

Tim cocked his head, his temper also beginning to rise. "Since when did you have the right to tell me when I could have a say in a matter or not? I have every right to present my opinion on this, since I am paying for the majority of this wedding."

"Don't you throw your money at me Tim! I told you that I am more than capable of paying for this wedding on my own." Calleigh spat, and her eyes widened in response as he scoffed.

Tim stood up from the sofa, "I am in no mood for this. I'm going to bed. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Fine! Don't forget that you have to take our rings to the jewelers for cleaning and resetting or is that too materialistic for your taste?" Calleigh all but screamed, causing him to grind his teeth in annoyance.

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"Where's your ring?" Eric questioned his best friend as they worked in the lab.

"Excuse me?" Tim questioned, looking up from the microscope.

Eric pointed to the band of white skin that indicated that where a ring had formerly been. "Your wedding ring."

Tim looked down to his bare left hand. "Wow, Eric you have a key eye for the obvious. I had to take it to the jewelers to be cleaned. Calleigh's going to have to pick them up after work because I don't think I'll be able to leave on time today; especially not after how this case is going."

"Speaking of the missus, Calleigh seemed to be in awfully bad mood. Is everything O.K. between you too?" Eric questioned as he resumed the task at hand.

"She's just pissed that I kind of joked about the wedding. It's not a big deal." Tim replied, not wanting to re-hash the matter with Eric.

"You joked about the wedding and you're saying that it's not a big deal?" a voice popped up. The two men looked up to see Valera standing by the doorway.

"Oh hey Maxine," Eric greeted. "Yeah, Tim can be an ass at times if you haven't noticed."

Maxine nodded. "Yeah, actually I have."

"Do you mind?" Tim replied. "I'm on the clock here and I'm trying to solve a kidnapping. I rather not have my private matters put on display."

Maxine shook her head. "No, you don't get away with this so easily. Calleigh's angry – I've never seen her like this." She walked over to them, handing Eric a folder with her finds.

Eric looked over at Tim who shrugged in response. "What am I supposed to do about it? She knows how I feel."

Eric jabbed him in response. "Wow, and you're supposed to be Level 3? Go work things out before she goes homicidal in the break room thanks to you."

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Tim had gone out of his way to avoid Calleigh for the remainder of the day. The only time he had spoken to her was when she found him in the break room, needing the ticket stub to pick up the wedding rings.

After parking the Ducati, he jogged up the stairs to their home and found Calleigh trashing all the wedding magazines she had purchased.

"What are you doing?" he questioned sharply, more so than he intended causing her to jump. She turned to him, her eyes red and puffy; her mascara was smudged.

"You're right Tim. We don't need a wedding that is filled with materialistic crap. The most important thing to me is a happy, strong marriage. If my dream wedding is going to cause a problem in our marriage, then I rather not have it at all." Calleigh sniffled.

Tim's heart immediately broke. He didn't mean to make her that upset. "Babe, I'm sorry," he started walking over to her and bringing her close to him. Her head rested in the nook of his neck and she wrapped her arms around him. He pulled away and looked down into her green eyes that were filled with unshed tears.

"I overreacted. Blame it on stress, blame it on the field we work in but I want you to have the perfect wedding even if it means I go bankrupt. If this makes you happy—" Tim began to explain but she cut him off.

"No, no – I just want us to be happy, that's all." Calleigh replied.

"Calleigh Speedle, I love you with all my heart and if a big wedding with all of Louisiana's magnolias is what you want, then so be it." Tim replied as he leaned down and kissed her gently.

Calleigh returned the kiss, before turning her back to him and leaned against his chest. She looked down at the heap of magazines in the trash. "The more I thought about it, the more I liked your idea of an intimate wedding. I came up with an idea – hear me out on this: as tacky as it may seem since we're in Miami, how about a wedding on the beach? And then we can have a reception in some restaurant."

She could've sworn she heard him smile. "I like that idea." Tim replied. "Now let's get these magazines out of the trash."

After the magazines were salvaged, they sat on the sofa looking through possible reception choices.

"What about this place?" Calleigh questioned, snuggling closer to Tim.

"Whatever you want babe; it's your dream wedding." Tim replied, looking over her shoulder.

"Our wedding," Calleigh corrected him gently. "Besides I've got you – my dream's already come true."

FIN