The brakes on the van make the wheels stop spinning. The big tires skid a little further on the loose dirt on the ground. The noise travels through the open doors of the church.
"Here they are." says Murdock to his heavily pregnant fiancé.
"And only 5 minutes late." Cassie says, smiling. "I guess I can live with that."
She puts her 2 hands on her heavily extended belly and breathes out deeply. It feels like the baby is playing football in there and Cassie isn't very comfortable. Her man beside her notices and supports her as they stand in front of the vicar together.
Hannibal, Face and BA enter the church together. They are all wearing a tux, yet they do look a little crumpled. They had put them on whilst driving, otherwise they would have been late.
Hannibal looks at Cassie standing there round like a beach ball. The last time he saw her she was nowhere as big as this. He stops for a moment to just look at her. She looks so happy. Murdock next to her looks as proud as ever. They look so happy together. Murdock's madness has subsided remarkably. He'll never get rid of the dreams and quite often he still gets lost in his own head. But when he's with Cassie he seems to prefer to live in the present than in his own world.
Cassie slowly walks toward Hannibal. BA stands behind Murdock, smiling broadly at him. He's holding his shoulder and squeezes it softly. Murdock just smiles wordlessly at his friend. They might bicker until the sun falls from the sky but when push comes to shove they have each other's backs. Face stands there on the other side opposite of Murdock. He smiles at Cassie, awaiting her standing there.
As she arrives in front of Hannibal, they look each other deep in the eyes. Hannibal feels all warm and fuzzy inside. He's worried he'll cry soon, but on a day like this you're allowed to cry. He takes a deep breath and holds it in. He smiles at Cassie and extends his arm.
"Shall we, my lovely lady?"
She takes his arm and together they walk towards the altar. "You look beautiful love." he whispers.
She smiles at him. Their steps follow the same beat until they arrive at the altar. There Hannibal stops. He now has to give her away. In movies, the father sometimes holds on a little to long, just for comedic effect. That not letting go of the arm of the bride, that's funny somehow. Hannibal now understands how they feel. He'd rather not do this. He knows Murdock will do right by her, he knows Murdock really well. And yet. He'd feel better if he didn't have to do this. He does feel immensely proud though.
He turns to Cassie, kisses her on the cheek and hands her to Murdock. Murdock looks him in the eyes and nods gratefully. Hannibal breathes out deeply and sits down on one of the chairs in the church. He takes a moment to look at his shoes and gather his thoughts. Then he looks up and takes in the moment. His girl standing on the altar, holding Murdock and looking so radiant and happy he thinks his heart will burst.
They exchange vows. It's nothing special, just promises to always be there for each other and to love each other always. Face and BA smile when the vicar asks for witnesses.
"If anyone objects to this union, let them speak now or be forever silent."
Silence follows that remark. Murdock and Cassie look at each other, smiling like idiots. They hold hands. The beams of sunshine break through the glass and touches Cassie's face. It looks like she is wearing a golden halo. She looks like an angel in her white dress. A heavily pregnant angel, that is.
"I now declare you husband and wife." BA clasps his hands in front of his mouth and smiles through his fingers. Face just clasps his hands in front of him and looks at Murdock, feeling very proud. Hannibal wipes away a tear.
The happy couple comes together and kisses for the first time as husband and wife. Everyone starts clapping. Cheers fill the church and scare away the ravens there nesting in the rafters. Cassie and Murdock come apart and everyone joins in a massive group hug.
Later that day everyone sits down in Cassie and Murdock's living room. Cassie is in the kitchen, getting some snacks ready. Murdock looks at his friends sitting in the couches and hears his wife walking around in the kitchen.
He stands up and says "I'll be right back guys."
"Better go and help the missus Murdock!" Face quips, holding his beer.
Murdock smiles at his friend. "Exactly!" and leaves for the kitchen.
The team sips from their beers and sit in content silence for a moment. Suddenly they hear raised voices coming from the kitchen. Face's eyebrows shoot up and he leans over, trying to listen. Hannibal grabs his shoulder and pulls him back into the couch.
"That's private Lieutenant." he says.
Face looks around uncomfortably. "It sounds like Murdock isn't the one wearing the trousers in this relation, that's all."
BA leans forward. "Mind yo own Face."
Before Face can respond, the all look up and see a smiling Cassie shove Murdock out of his kitchen. Murdock doesn't seem sad about it at all. He walks back to his friends smiling. He sits down next to BA and grabs a beer.
Face quickly leans forward and asks "What was that about, Murdock?" before Hannibal can silence him.
"Lieutenant! Leave him alone." he snaps.
Murdock raises his hands in a pacifying gesture. "It's fine guys." he explains. "Apparently my lovely wife has a surprise in there. So I was asked to leave the premises." he concludes with a smile on his face.
Face sits slightly stunned. He usually isn't wrong about these things, but this time he really was barking up the wrong tree. He makes a mental note to not question the relationship of Murdock and Cassie again. He suspects he's the inexperienced one in this situation.
"Ok everyone, eyes closed please." comes from the kitchen.
Murdock smiles and closes his eyes. Grinning, everyone follows suit.
The team can hear Cassie approaching slowly. She must be carrying something heavy. She puts it down with an audible thud.
"Ok guys. Open them."
Murdock opens his eyes to see his wife stand next to their dinner table. On it stands a tall cake. It has about 4 tiers and looks glazed to perfection. The cake has a light blue shade and the top tier is four times a small as the bottom one. When he studies the cake in more detail he notices that it's not just black curls and lines that adorn the sides. There are drawings hidden in the design. He recognizes the black outlines of a leather jacket that now hangs in his closet. Black leather gloves. A Corvette. Feather's and golden chains. Cassie had made an A Team cake and it looks absolutely stunning.
On top she had put a little figure of a bride and groom, but they aren't wearing the standard things. Murdock walks closer and recognizes the little bride's dress. It's the lovely white dress Cassie wore in the mission of the oil baron. The first time they danced together. The small puppet isn't wearing a standard back tux either. His counterpart wears his clothes from that day.
He looks up from the cake and looks at Cassie. Her eyes sparkle and he can't even express how much he loves her right now. His stunned silence seems to be enough. He leans forward and kisses her slowly, something he usually doesn't do in front of the team. When the kiss ends he looks her in her eyes.
"I love you Cassie."
She smiles at him. "I love you to Henry." He pulls her into a hug. He's cautious with her massive belly and after a while he looks up to face the team.
They are all still sitting there, allowing the two lovers to have a moment for themselves. Now they notice the moment has ended and they also approach the cake.
Hannibal bows down to examine it closer. "Did you make this Cassie? It looks gorgeous."
Cassie shrugs modestly. "I discovered I like baking Hannibal. And I wanted Murdock to have a wedding cake." She looks up at her husband. "Remember? We were walking and you..."
"Yeah!" Murdock remembers. "That little shop had the best cakes ever!" Murdock says as his face lights up with the memory of that day. "They looked so pretty Colonel! Like joy on a plate! Like a big mountain of joy!"
He looks at Cassie. "But this one is the best one I have ever seen."
BA comes closer. "It looks so good Cas. Ain't never seen a wedding cake with feathers on."
Face has a plate in his hands. "Plates anyone? Seems a shame to ruin such a lovely cake, but you know..."
Cassie laughs out loud. She grabs the knife and starts to cut a piece for everyone. They sit down on the couches and enjoy a very delicious cake. Murdock makes sure Cassie doesn't move anymore. She isn't allowed to cook and Murdock tells her to sit back and let him cook dinner.
They have a lovely evening together, with good food made by the pilot. At the end of the evening Cassie starts to get really tired. It had been an exhausting day for her. Hannibal picks up on this.
"I think it's best for us to leave now guys, don't you think?" he proposes.
They say their goodbyes and move out. Suddenly the house feels very empty. It's a good empty. Murdock looks around at the mess and tells Cassie "Tomorrow I will clean, Mrs Murdock. Tonight we just go to bed."
Cassie yawns, so that is all the response Murdock needs to pick her up and carry her upstairs. He helps her undress, because she can't really reach her socks anymore. Seeing how tired she is, he tucks her in and gets under the covers with her. She is fighting to stay awake at this point. He lays himself down comfortably next her and puts his hand on her belly underneath the covers.
"Goodnight love."
She smiles at him, grateful for his support.
Before she can respond her eyes close and she's out like a light. Murdock looks at her face for a few more moments before he closes his eyes as well.
