Saturday July 28- 1:25pm
It was nearly 1:30, and nobody had heard from Antonia or Grace. Guests were arriving, and talking as they found their seats in the outdoor garden, visiting and laughing with old friends and colleagues, none the wiser to the slight panic that was occurring within the walls of the clubhouse. Jack was talking to several guests, still completely unaware of Grace's departure, though he had noticed that his mother had been acting a bit skittish, and he simply brushed it off as her being nervous about her only child's big day. He turned toward the clubhouse, noticing that his father was looking out over the hill toward the road, then he ducked into the building quickly. His brow furrowed, and he took a step or two toward the building.
"Jack." Aiden's voice interrupted his train of thought and stopped him in his tracks. He had Melody in his arms, smiling brightly as she looked around at all of the people, dressed up and happy that surrounded her. She had her safety net with her, there was nothing to worry about.
"Hey, Aiden." Jack smiled. "Is everything okay in there?"
"You mean with the reception preparation? Yeah, everything is fine. There was a little mix up with some vegetarian dish or something, but your mom straightened them out." He shrugged. "Why?"
"Dad keeps coming out and looking out by the road. Is he waiting for someone?"
"Oh, yeah. Tex had to run out and get something, and she's a little behind." He said calmly, noting that Jack wasn't quite buying it, but let it pass. "She'll be here soon, nothing to worry about." He said, patting Jack on his shoulder, they looked across at the guests. "Quite a crowd you have here."
"Yeah." Jack said, swallowing hard as he looked out at everyone. "I don't even think Grace and I know most of these people, honestly." He whispered, laughing nervously.
"Leave it to the parents to make it the social event of the season." Aiden laughed, watching as Jack nodded his head. "You look nervous, are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah." He nodded. "Yeah, just a little nervous, I guess." He shrugged. "You'd tell me if something was up with Grace, right?"
Aiden watched Jack for a second, his eyes narrowing just slightly. "Would you freak out if there was something up with Grace?" He asked honestly.
"In this particular scenario, is she in danger?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"No." He said, shaking his head. "No danger." He smiled to reassure Jack.
"Also, in this scenario, is her sister trying to find her?" He asked, glancing to the door to see Hodgins step out again, though this time he made eye contact with his son, and then skittered back into the building.
"If this scenario were to have occurred, her sister would have already found her, and they'd most likely be on their way back by now." He said, watching Jack take a deep breath, seemingly calming him. "I can have her call you when she gets here."
"Thank you." Jack smiled, glancing to the guests.
"Not a problem." Aiden said with a smile.
"Hello, Melody." Jack signed to the little girl. "You look pretty." He said.
"Thank you." She signed back, pushing herself against Aiden slightly, she gave Jack a shy smile. "You look pretty too." She signed back, giggling a little as she watched Jack smile brightly at her.
"Hey, there are my parents. Let's distract you a bit." Aiden said, patting Jack's shoulder. The other man smiled thankfully and nodded, walking across the lawn with Aiden toward Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald, distracting the young groom from the bright flashing emergency lights that were coming over the hill toward the clubhouse.
Booth was standing just outside the clubhouse as he watched the flashing lights of Antonia's truck come rumbling over the hill. He was thankful that she refrained from using the siren, and shook his head as it slowed and came to a stop at the curb.
"Oh, that's my girl." Hodgins said from the doorway, a bright grin on his face as he waved to Antonia and approached the car with Booth. They opened Grace's door and she unbuckled her seatbelt with a sheepish expression on her face. "You saved the day." He winked at Antonia, as he looked to Grace.
"I'm sorry." Grace whispered to Hodgins. "I had a moment of insanity." She said softly. He took her hand and helped her from the car, only to come face to face with her father. "Daddy."
"Are you alright?" He asked, watching Grace nod. "Did she smack you around a little?" He asked, nodding toward Antonia in the truck.
"A little." Grace laughed, nodding.
"Good, now get in there and get dressed. We don't have a lot of time." He said, accepting her kiss to his cheek as Hodgins took her hand and walked with Grace into the building. He looked in the passenger window at his daughter at the wheel and watched her eyes sparkle at him. "Is she really alright?"
"She's good, Dad. We talked, and she's good."
"Are you okay?" He asked, watching her bright smile.
"I'm great, Dad." Antonia said, a giggle escaping her lips as his eyebrow lifted. "What?"
"Nothing." He said, giving her a slightly suspicious glance. "Let me park the car, you go in and get into your dress, help your sister, and get Melody ready to go." He said as he walked around the front of the car.
"Geez, Dad. You'd think this was my wedding." Antonia teased as she climbed from her seat, and hopped to the ground, she held the door open for him to climb in.
"Can we please take this one step at a time?" Booth asked, sighing heavily as he got into the driver's side and closed the door, looking out at her.
"Sure, Dad. I love you." She leaned in and kissed his cheek, watching him smile grumpily at her. "Daddy." She said, watching as his expression soften a bit as he watched her tip her head.
"Don't do this to me, kid." He said, feeling a lump in his throat as his oldest daughter watched him with her introspective gaze, staring into his eyes as if she were trying to see into his soul. "Baby girl." He shook his head.
"Daddy, she's always going to be our Squeaker." She said, watching his eyes close for a second longer than needed. She knew that she was getting to him. "It's just Goof, Dad. Gracie and Goof, just like always." She said, trying to lighten the mood, she watched him take a deep breath and nod his head.
"Gracie and Goof." He nodded his head. "Thanks for that." He nodded. "I needed that. Go on now, go get dressed. I love you."
"I love you." He said, watching as she took a step back, he gave her a light wave and drove toward the parking lot.
Antonia watched her car disappear over the hill, and smiled after her father, walking toward the building quickly. She was walking into the building at the same time as a young man, who looked strangely familiar to her. He held the door open for her and she smiled, thanking him politely.
"I'm looking for the Booth wedding. Any chance you know where that is?" He asked, looking quite lost. "I'm meeting my parents, and I wasn't sure if this is the right place."
"The wedding is right out there." She said, pointing toward the garden, she smiled. "I'm Antonia Booth, the bride's sister." She said politely, still trying to figure out where she had seen this person before.
"Brendan Sweets." He smiled, noticing her eyes widen just slightly as her smile seemed to tighten slightly. "It was nice to meet you, Antonia."
"Nice to meet you, Brendan." She said. "Enjoy the show." She said with a bit of a laugh, as she turned and hurried toward the dressing rooms, trying desperately to tamp down the creeping anxiety she had growing in her chest.
Booth parked the car and moved immediately toward the gathering guests in the garden, his eyes scanning the crowd to see who he recognized, and who he didn't. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the familiar gait of someone coming in his direction. "Ace." He said with a smile as his hand found its way to his friend's. "Thank God."
"What happened?" He asked, seeing a bit of panic in Booth's eyes.
"Just a little bit of a runaway bride situation." He said, catching Aiden's gaze from afar, he watched as Aiden signed 'Ant' to him. He pointed to the building, and Aiden made quick work of bringing Melody toward the building.
"Seriously? What happened? Is she okay?"
"Toni says she's okay. She's here now. She seemed okay."
"Are you okay?"
"I think I need a drink." Booth laughed.
"Well, if she's here now, why don't we mingle a bit and hopefully this thing will get underway soon." Ace said, giving Booth a firm smack on his back, he watched him nod his head and look at the crowd of people that were finding their seats and talking.
"I have no idea who any of these people are." Booth whispered to Ace.
"Don't worry, we'll find a familiar face or two in the crowd." Ace laughed, as they made their way through the throngs of guests.
By the time Antonia stepped into the dressing room, it was a flurry of activity, and as soon as her mother saw her, she was grabbed by the arm and pulled toward the stall where her dress was. She threw Grace a pleading look, her eyes just as wild with anxiety with Angela's pushiness. "Geez, Mom, you're going to kill me here."
"Dress, now." She said, turning to walk out of the stall, she said nothing more as Antonia began to get dressed.
"Where is Melody?" Antonia called over the partition.
"Don't worry about Melody, worry about you." Angela exclaimed.
"I'm fine, geez. I feel like a Barbie doll." She said as she turned, trying to zip the dress, she backed slowly out of the dressing room and directly into a strong set of arms.
"Woah there." Aiden laughed, looking down as she looked up at him with a smile. "You need some help?"
"Yes. What are you doing here?" She asked, looking up at him as he carefully zipped her dress.
"Apparently helping you learn how to walk backwards. You're going to trip over yourself." He said, dropping a kiss on her nose.
"Aiden, why are you still in here?" Angela asked, as she straightened Melody's dress and the bridesmaids helped Grace with her makeup.
"I have to talk to Grace." He said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Call him." He said, and every woman in the room stared at him for a moment. "He needs to talk to you. I promised him."
"Judas." She whispered, taking the phone from him, she waved her hands at her friends to get them to walk away from her, and she dialed Jack's number.
The phone rang twice, and after a moment, Jack's voice came through the line. "Hey." He said, seeing Aiden's number.
"I love you." Grace said into the line, hearing a sound of relief in his sigh. "I'm sorry I freaked out. It wasn't about you, it was about me."
"You freaked out?" He asked, clearly teasing her. "This is the first I've heard of this. Everyone has been extremely good at keeping this information to themselves. I never once saw my dad walking in and out of the building, or your dad pacing like a caged lion… and my mother, she's not avoiding me at all." Jack laughed. "What happened, Gracie K?"
"I…" She said, trying not to cry, she turned her head and watched as her sister looked into Aiden's eyes, the way they seemed to just focus absolutely and completely on one another, the way he tipped his head back just slightly when he laughed at something she said, that devilish grin on her face. It was just a split second, but she could see it, she could feel the electricity, and she knew that she felt that electricity with Jack and nobody else. She knew that she only wanted and needed him. "I don't want to have kids." She whispered into the line. "I don't think... I don't think that I want to have kids, and I wanted to make sure that you know that before we get married... before you're stuck with me, and you want something that I don't want. I don't... think I want that." She stammered quietly.
"Okay." He said honestly.
"I mean, right now…"
"Well, we're in separate rooms, and I'm pretty sure we're both surrounded by people, so that would be particularly difficult at…"
"Goof!" She shouted into the line.
"I know what you mean. It's you, Gracie. It's you that I want. You, only you. All of that other stuff is just cake. Oh… I want cake too, you and cake. OH! You in a cake!" He exclaimed, "Or on a cake... smothered in cake? Mmm..." He groaned into the line.
"This is you getting back at me for the whole running off thing, isn't it?"
"You got it, baby cakes." He said. "Mm…Cake" He hummed. "Listen, I should get going. I'm getting married in a couple of minutes, and I probably shouldn't be on my phone." He said playfully. "I am getting married, right?" He asked, and though he was just teasing, there was a bit of concern laced in his voice.
"Yes." She said. "I love you, Jack."
"I love you, cake... I mean Gracie." He said with a laugh.
"I'll see you soon." She smiled.
"I'll be the guy in the powder blue tux." He said playfully as he hung up the phone.
"Goof!" She shouted at the dead line, letting out a laugh that she couldn't stop. She looked around and noticed that everyone was watching her. "Okay, what are we doing just standing around here staring for? It's time for this girl to get married!" She said with a smile as she stood up, and everything started to fall back into place.
Next Stop, Ceremony and Reception... Gotta end on a high note. ;) Comment and ye shall be rewarded.