Perp-Loving Cop Hater 4

Author's Note: Continuing forward we get to the wedding!

Let me know what you think.

MMMMMM

Everyone had left for the wedding. Liz had her dress and makeup on when she got a text from him saying he'd be there in 5 but needed to shower. She started to do her hair, knowing he would be more than 5 minutes, and would need even more time to shower and dress. It was nice to be in a quiet house for once, she could take her time doing her hair and had music playing on her phone. Yes, they likely were going to be late for the ceremony, but he had been helping at the wedding site all afternoon, they would be forgiven for lateness. She spent her afternoon with Lisa and Maurice, sitting on lawn chairs outside of their RV listening to stories about Ressler, like the pierced girl, the fights he and his brother had, his struggles with Math in school, and his first time hosting them in DC after he got his apartment. They were great stories, nothing too embarrassing, but gave her an interesting snapshot into parts of his life he hadn't readily shared with her.

She heard a car door slam downstairs then the front door open and slam shut and saw him taking the steps 3 at a time to get upstairs.

"Why are you covered in mud?" Liz asked him as she stood curling her hair in the washroom.

"It rained last night and the poles they installed didn't hold up well, we needed to reinforce them," Ressler said as he walked behind her and toward the tub stripping off his shirt as he did.

"Give me a second to finish…" Liz started as she started to release her curl.

She stopped short when she turned to him to see a glimpse of his bare ass before he closed the curtain.

"Well, I guess I can just stay…" Liz chuckled.

"My dad is waiting downstairs to drive us back to the church," Ressler said as they shower turned on.

"What do you need from me?" Liz asked, sensing he didn't want to be late for the wedding.

"Can you pull my suit, shirt and tie out of the bag, they're all dry cleaned and hanging in the closet. They are ready but it'll save me the step," he said, his voice garbled by the water.

"On it," Liz said as she unplugged her curling iron and gave her hair a quick spray before she left the washroom.

She went to their room and pulled everything from the closet where it was hanging and laid it on their bed. She noted some link on the suit and went to her bag for her link brush and was brushing off some link from his blue suit when he walked quickly into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"I'll get out of your…" Liz started and then stopped when he interrupted.

"God, you look beautiful," he said as he admired her.

"Thanks," she smiled at him. "You look wet, but significantly less muddy."

He chuckled and walked toward his bag to get his underwear.

"I'll meet you downstairs," Liz said as she went to walk past him, and he stopped her with a hand on her waist.

"I mean it, you look amazing," he said as he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.

The kiss was cut short by a honking horn below.

"I'll go sit in the truck with Maurice," Liz laughed as he released her.

He laughed and let her go before he pulled off his towel and got dressed quickly, throwing his tie over his shoulder to be done up in the car as he quickly did his hair, put on some deodorant and ran downstairs with his suit jacket over his arm.

He hopped into the back of the truck and Maurice took off for the church.

"I thought Hugh was helping too?" Liz asked. "Why didn't he come back to shower?"

"He went with Derek to his house and was going to shower there and borrow a suit," Ressler said as he looked in the rear view mirror and fixed his hair.

"You look great," Liz smiled at him as she turned to look at him in the backseat. "Especially for a man who was covered in mud less than 10 minutes ago."

Maurice chuckled and Ressler smirked.

She watched him start to tie his tie as they were going down the road.

"What time is it?" Liz asked.

"Shit, I forgot my watch in Kevin's truck," Ressler said, annoyed. He always wore a watch.

"You can get it later," Liz said, trying to reassure him.

They got to the church just as Milly was pulling up in a car with a severe looking set of parents on either side of her.

Maurice parked quickly and Ressler took Liz's hand and they three of them quickly walked into the church, nodding and smiling at Milly who looked beautiful in a simple white dress that fell to the floor, her hair pulled back in a bun.

"She looks beautiful," Liz whispered to Ressler as they slipped into a pew next to his mom with Maurice.

"She does," Ressler agreed.

Liz turned and smiled at him. "We made it."

It was then that she noticed his tie was askew and fixed it for him.

"Thanks," he smiled warmly at her.

She placed a hand on his chest and smiled at him before they turned at the start of the music to see the bride coming down the aisle alone.

"Where the hell did her parents go?' Ressler asked.

"I don't know…" Liz said as she noted the strange look on Milly's face. One moment she looked happy and the next distraught.

"Something's happened," Lisa whispered next to them.

"Yeah, it looks like it," Ressler agreed before they saw Kevin leave his spot at the altar and walk up the aisle to Milly, kiss her softly on the cheek, whisper something to her that made her smile, and walk her down the aisle to the altar. "That's different."

"I think her parents…" Liz whispered.

"I think so too," Ressler quietly agreed. "Jesus Christ."

The rest of the ceremony progressed as expected with many religious readings, some traditional vows, an exchange of rings, and a kiss. The crowd on Kevin's side of the church clapped and Milly's side seemed to join and quietly clap after a few moments.

Liz looked at her side of the church and noted that it was sparse with people compared to the Doyle side and that the people looked more stern or stoic than they should for a happy occasion.

The bride and groom, both beaming, walked down the aisle toward the back doors and the rest of the crowd emptied the church to go and congratulate them outside. Liz could hear the whispers of many family members about the interesting entrance and, it seemed, most people were drawing the same conclusions as they did: Milly's parents had refused to support the marriage by walking her down the aisle.

When they got outside and eventually made their way to the bride and groom Ressler hugged them both and told Milly she was gorgeous.

She smiled and blushed, obviously not liking all of the attention from everyone.

Liz hugged Kevin and kissed Milly on the cheek telling her she was so beautiful and that she and Kevin were perfect for each other.

Milly smiled and seemed to appreciate the support.

Everyone watched Milly and Kevin drive away in a classic royal blue car and clapped as they left. Liz noted her parents standing off to the side; they had just missed their daughter's wedding and Liz, who had hardly no family, couldn't believe that they were so callous about theirs.

"Ready kids?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah," Ressler said as he placed a hand on the small of Liz's back and guided her toward the truck.

"They missed their daughter's wedding because she didn't marry some backwards farmer they chose for her," Liz said to Ressler.

"I know," he said. "I wonder if they will bother coming to the reception?"

Liz raised an eyebrow. "Good point."

Ressler opened the door for her and helped her climb in with her heels on.

"It'll be more fun without them there," he said as he got in after Liz.

"Donnie!" His mother hissed.

"It's the truth ma, you're thinking it too," Ressler chuckled.

"They do seem like a really sombre group," Lisa said as she looked toward them. "I'm glad Milly is away from them a bit more. It can't be healthy…"

Liz and Ressler chuckled.

"What?" Lisa asked.

"Just you're funny," Ressler said with a chuckle.

"We'll see if they show up once we get there, everyone buckled?" Maurice asked, trying to get the Ressler's moving.

"Go Maurice," Lisa said slightly annoyed.

Liz felt Ressler take her hand in his. She looked over at him and he was sitting there simply smiling at her.

"What?" Liz asked.

"I should bring you to every wedding," he said with a smile that broadened.

"And why's that?" Liz asked him with a wink.

"You clean up real nice Keen," he said as his pink finger that was clasped with her hand ran slowly an inch up and down on her outer thigh where the edge of her dress sat. "It's short."

"You complaining?" Liz asked him with a smirk.

"Never," he said as he continued to play with the edge of her midnight blue satin dress. "I'm completely in favor of you wearing more short dresses. You've got great gams Liz."

Liz burst out laughing. "Gams?"

"What? You've never…" he started.

"I know what gams are," Liz chuckled. "It's just funny hearing you say it. I feel like I'm in a 1940's black and white cop show."

Ressler chuckled as he looked out Liz's window to see the gold club where the reception was being held.

"Well, let's try and just be a regular couple tonight," Ressler said as his eyes met hers. The use of the word 'couple' was not lost on Liz and she swallowed hard.

"I hope the DJ and the band are good," Lisa turned at looked at them looking at each other. "I feel like dancing and so should you too. Donnie is a great dancer."

"You are, are you?" Liz asked him as she squeezed his hand.

"I can hold my own," Ressler smirked at her and squeezed back.

"Well, you may need to give me some dance lessons, so I don't step on your feet," Liz said as they parked, and Maurice and Lisa started to get out of the car.

Ressler leaned over and kissed her cheek whispering, "I'm happy to demonstrate anything you want." Before he slid out of his seat and was standing on the ground holding up a hand to help her get down.

To be continued…