She was about to call Callen when she saw his car pulling into the parking lot. Callen parked his car and got out. He walked up to Zoë and saw a bit of an angry look on Zoë's face.
"Nice of you to show up," Zoë spoke annoyed.
"Sorry honey, there was an accident on the road so had to take a detour," Callen explained. "I'm sorry." Callen gave her a soft kiss on her cheek. "Come on, let's go inside."
Callen took Zoë's hand and together they walked inside. They had a look around the venue. It was absolutely beautiful. Zoë could totally see them getting married here. They talked to the manager about what things the venue could arrange and which things they had to arrange. Callen and Zoë were both very happy with the arrangements they made. They booked the venue for the nineteenth of July, their wedding day. The venue could hold the ceremony and afterwards dinner and reception.
"We've set a wedding date!" Zoë exclaimed when they were outside.
"Yes we have," Callen replied as he wrapped his arms around Zoë's waist. "I can't wait for it, it's gonna be perfect."
"Yes it will."
Zoë gave Callen a soft kiss before they went to their cars and drove back to the office.
"Hey guys," Kensi spoke as Zoë and Callen walked back into the bullpen. "How was the wedding venue?"
"It was perfect. It was so beautiful," Zoë stated. "And it's gonna be on July nineteenth but you will soon get an invitation for it."
"That's good."
They finished with their work day before going home. After dinner Callen cleaned the dishes as Zoë went to look online for wedding invitations.
"Hey G, what do you think about this invitation?" Zoë asked when Callen walked back into the living room.
Callen sat down on the couch next to Zoë and looked at the invitation on the screen.
"That's beautiful. It looks good."
"How many do we need?"
"Let's see, for the team, that would be seven, your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister and one for the DC team."
"So thirteen then, than we have one for ourselves we can add to our wedding book."
Zoë ordered them and pay for it. They would be delivered in about a week. Zoë grabbed their checklist to see what they had already done.
Guest list. - done
Set a wedding date - done
Visit and book your reception venue and ceremony location – done
Best man - Sam
Maid of honor – Fay
Order invitations - done
"Damn that's a lot of things that need to be taken care off," Callen exclaimed as he looked at the list.
"Yeah a lot of things come into play here. But we're only gonna have a small wedding so some things are taken care of pretty fast."
"Oh I can't wait for this one," Callen said as he pointed to 'order wedding dress'.
"Too bad for you, cus you're gonna have to wait until our wedding day to see it. You can't see my dress before the wedding."
"Too bad, cus I'm sure you're gonna look beautiful in it. But if I don't see your dress how will I know what suit to get?"
"Fay is gonna come with me to shop for a dress so she'll go with you too to make sure our outfits go together."
"Is your mother gonna come over as well?"
"No, she couldn't come over earlier but she'll come over about a week before wedding so she can help with the last-minute details and such. But when I go dress shopping, we're gonna videocall her so she can be there."
"Ah that's nice."
Callen looked further down the list and he saw honeymoon. That's something he'd never thought he'd go on. He was never one for taking a vacation, especially not going on a honeymoon. But he was looking forward to getting married to Zoë, he couldn't wait for their wedding day and he was sure he was gonna like the honeymoon as well. He had taken a couple of vacations with Zoë and he had liked them.
"Mmm… honeymoon," Callen remarked. "Where do you want to go for that?"
"I don't know exactly. Our wedding is gonna be right at the start of our summer vacation so we have a couple of weeks after that. How about a trip through the south of Europe?"
"A trip, like multiple cities?"
"Yeah. We can go to a few cities and then perhaps end the vacation with a few days of relaxing on a nice sunny beach."
"Hmm, yeah that sounds like a nice vacation."
"I already have a few cities in mind. Have you ever been to Europe before?"
"No not on vacation, except the one that I took with you when we went to Holland and England. But yeah, I have been to Europe, but I'd rather not go to that part again."
"Oh yeah right, Romania. Don't worry, we're not gonna go anywhere near the Black Sea."
"Good."
"Can I ask you something, about Romania?"
"Sure," Callen replied, normally he didn't want to talk about it but to Zoë he could open up about this.
"Do you remember a lot from your time there, apart from the event that happened on the beach?"
"No not really. It wasn't until I went back to Romania I remembered that the memories I had of me playing on the beach was there. Other than that, I can't remember anything. I was so young when we went to America, I don't even know how me and Amy got to America. Perhaps my dad arranged it with Michael Reinhardt or something but I don't remember any of that. But then again, I can't remember the first few years I was in America either so. I have gotten some answers over the last few years but there's still so much I don't know. Hopefully I will find the answers one day."
"I'm sure you will and I'm gonna be right there with you when you do."
"I know you will honey." Callen gave her a soft kiss before they went back to the list to see what else they could do already.
….
Not that weekend but a weekend later, on Saturday, Zoë went dress shopping. She took Fay with her to the store and when they would get there they would call her mom.
"You ready sis?" Fay spoke as Zoë got in the car, Fay had come to pick Zoë up.
"Yes I am. I can't believe I'm shopping for my wedding dress."
"I know right! I'm so happy for you two."
"Thank you sis. I'm so happy with Greg, I love him so much."
"Yeah I can see that, and I can see that he loves you very much too."
"Yeah he does."
Fay drove them to the wedding boutique and once they were in the spacious dressing room they called their mom.
"Hey mom," Zoë replied when her mom popped up on the screen.
"Hey sweetie, you're ready to pick out your wedding dress?"
"Yes I am," Zoë replied with a big smile.
Zoë had told the saleswoman what kind of dress she was looking for so she grabbed a rack and grabbed a few dresses for Zoë to try on. Zoë and Fay sat there enjoying some champagne and a variety of high tea treats.
"Alright, I've got some choices for you here," the saleswoman spoke when she returned with the rack. "Just have a look through them and if there are any dresses you don't like you can put them here and I will put them back."
Zoë started looking through the dresses. There were about fifteen dresses there. Zoë eliminated five of them immediately already, she didn't like those. The other ten Zoë wanted to try on. She took the clothing rack into the spacious changing chamber and started trying them on. Five other dresses were also eliminated as soon as Zoë put them on, they didn't look nice on her.
"How's it going in there Zoë?" Fay asked since Zoë hadn't come out to show them a dress yet.
"It's going. I've got five dresses that I want to show you."
"Alright, we can't wait to see them."
One by one Zoë put the dresses on and showed them to Fay and Kirsten.
"I think I like dress one and three the best," Zoë stated once she had put all the dresses on.
"Yeah, those looked beautiful on you, they all did. But yeah those two are my favorite as well," Kirsten spoke.
"Put them on again sis," Fay said.
Zoë went back to the changing room and put dress one on again and after that dress three.
"You look beautiful sweetie," Kirsten spoke with a little crack in her voice. "I can't believe one of my little girls is getting married."
"Oh mom, you're gonna make me cry now too," Zoë replied, while her eyes were getting a bit watery as well.
She decided to go with dress number three. The saleswoman went to look for a matching veil and shoes. Zoë went back into the changing chamber to take the dress off. But before taking it off she looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't quite grasp the fact that she was here shopping for her wedding dress! In a few months she would get married to Callen! She was so happy to get married to Callen and couldn't wait for their wedding day and she was sure Callen was going to love this dress. When everything was taken care of it was Fay's time to try on a bridesmaid's dress. The saleswoman picked out a few in the color Zoë had mentioned and that would fit Zoë's dress. Quickly they decided on a dress and they picked out shoes as well. They paid for everything and Fay drove Zoë home.
"Hey honey," Zoë spoke as she and Fay walked into the house.
"Hey honey," Callen replied. "Did you find a nice dress?"
"Oh yes I did. It's beautiful."
"I can't wait to see it."
"Too bad, you're gonna have to wait till our wedding day."
"Not even a little hint?" Callen pleaded.
"Nope sorry. Now go and get yourself a suit."
Callen gave Zoë a soft kiss before Fay took him to get a suit.
"Hey Sam," Callen greeted him when they arrived at the shop. Sam had joined them too to get a suit as well.
"Hey G."
"Sam, this is Zoë's sister Fay. Fay this is my best friend Sam and my best man," Callen introduced them.
"Hi Fay, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too Sam."
They went inside and Fay showed Zoë's wedding dress to the salesman so he could find a suit that would fit with Zoë's dress.
"Can I see the picture?" Callen asked, hoping Fay would show him.
"Uh-uh, nice try mister, you're not gonna get to see it until the wedding day."
"Just a little peak?"
"Nope."
Fay quickly put her phone back in her purse. A little later the salesman returned with a few suits for Callen to try on. Callen took the rack and went into the changing chamber. He took the first suit off the rack and put it on. Once it was on he looked at himself in the mirror. He couldn't believe that he was here shopping for a wedding suit! Later this year he would get married to Zoë! If someone told him a few years ago that he would be shopping for a wedding suit he would've probably said they were crazy, that that wouldn't happen in a million years. But here he was, trying on wedding suits. The thought of getting married scared him a bit, he hoped he would be a good husband for Zoë. But he loved Zoë more than anything and he couldn't wait to get married to her.
Callen tried on a few suits before they decided on one. They grabbed some matching shoes and tie before it was Sam's turn to try on a suit. Once Sam had gotten a suit as well they paid for everything before going home. Fay dropped Callen off at home before going home herself.
"Hey Zoë," Callen called into the house as he walked in.
"Hey G," Zoë replied. "I'm in the kitchen."
"Hey," Callen called again as he walked into the kitchen.
"Did you get your suit?"
"Yes I did," Callen replied as he gave Zoë a kiss. "I can't wait to get married to you. It does start to feel real now though, now that we're planning."
"You don't regret asking me to married you, do you?" Zoë asked concerned.
"No, no of course not. I definitely want to get married to you. I just hope I will be a good husband to you."
Zoë wrapped her arms around Callen's neck and Callen wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I'm sure you're gonna be a good husband. I love you and I know you love me, the only thing that will change is that we'll be husband and wife. You have nothing to worry about honey, I just know you're gonna be a great husband."
"I hope so."
"I know you will."
Zoë pulled Callen closer and kissed him deeply.
…..
Zoë and Callen continued to play their wedding. It was just two months until their wedding. Almost everything had been taken care off already, just some last-minute details had to be taken care off. They had planned out a nice honeymoon with a trip through Europe. Zoë had picked her sister as a maid of honor and Kensi and Nell were her bridesmaids. They had asked Kamran to be their flower girl. With the venue they had gone over the planning for the day and what kind of decorations they wanted and what their dinner menu would look like and also the snacks during the party. The photographer, videographer and music for the wedding had been taken care of as well. Zoë and Fay had picked out a beautiful selection of flowers and corsages. The happy couple picked out a beautiful cake from a local bakery and selected two beautiful rings from a local jewelry. With the minister they had gone over the ceremony and selected a few readings and poems and such. They already had gone to city hall to get their wedding license. For them they had booked a beautiful honeymoon suit at a nearby hotel along with accommodations for the guests. A limo had been rented to take Callen and Zoë from the venue to the hotel. Sam would drive Callen to the venue and Zoë would come in with her sister. Zoë had her final dress fitting already along with the final dress fitting for the bridesmaids' dresses. Fay would pick up the dresses a few days before the wedding and would keep them until the wedding so Callen couldn't see them yet. Sam would pick up his and Callen's suit.
Everything was right on track for their wedding and both Zoë and Callen couldn't wait to get married. Zoë just hoped Callen wouldn't be away on an undercover mission. They had summer vacation right after their wedding but as always there was a change that there would come a case which required Callen to go undercover but Callen had reassured her that he would be there or their wedding, he wouldn't miss it for anything in the world.
Zoë grabbed her list to make sure they had everything ready. The only things left on the list were the last minutes details the two weeks preceding the wedding:
Two weeks before the wedding:
Deliver must-have shot lists to photographer and videographer
Give venue/caterer final guest head count
One week before the wedding:
Call all wedding suppliers to confirm arrangements
Give ceremony and reception site managers a schedule of vendor delivery and setup times, plus contact numbers.
Pack an overnight bag for the reception
Pack for the honeymoon
Two-three days before the wedding:
Confirm pick-up times with wedding car company
Reconfirm final details with all vendors.
Print off a sheet with the running order for the day, and the main suppliers' contact details, give copies to your best man and maid of honor
Drop off place cards, table cards, menus, favors, table plan to reception coordinator
Sort out payment (write cheques/organize cash) for any final balances to be paid at the end of the reception.
Ensure the cake is on track to be delivered to reception venue
…
The team was out working a case that had Callen and Sam at the docks about to board a submarine. Zoë was up in the OPS with Eric, Nell and Granger.
"… are…..sub," the heard Callen saying something over the coms.
"Say again, you're breaking up," Granger replied but his words didn't completely reach Callen. "I need eyes on that vessel, Beale."
"I know, I know. I'm trying," the tech replied.
"I've got the Coast Guard Air station on the line," Nell spoke. "The Coast Guard has a helicopter over the harbor, but they haven't spotted anything yet."
"They could sneak out underneath a tanker and we'd never know it," Granger replied.
Zoë listened anxiously what was going on. Were Callen and Sam really trapped on that sub? Probably with armed hostiles. She really hoped Callen would be okay. Eric tried everything he could but he couldn't get Sam and Callen's coms back up, probably because they were trapped in a steel box several feet underneath the water. All they could do now was wait and hopefully the Coast Guard would pick up the sub or that the partners found a way to contact them.