Epilogue

Six Months Later

Ray stared at himself in the small mirror in the cabin. He was wearing his Navy dress whites and had just put his cap on, ready to go up on deck. A sweat had broken out on his brow and he desperately hoped the breeze up top would get rid of that. He didn't want anyone to see how nervous he was. Drawing in a shaky breath, he turned away from the mirror and made his way to the stairs to go up the few flights to the aircraft carrier's main deck. As he walked out he saw a hundred or so people gathered there, waiting for him to arrive. A lot of them were in uniform just like him but plenty were also in civilian clothing. A man approached him and shook his hand heartily,

'Good luck, Ray. Damn, you look nervous!'

Ray chuckled, 'I'm not sure I've ever been so nervous in my whole life, Eddie. I'm sweating like a pig here'.

Eddie wrapped his arm around Ray's shoulders and started to lead him towards the far end of the deck where the ceremony was to take place, 'Don't worry, man. You know you can do this. And you deserve it'.

Ray smiled at Eddie gratefully as they came to a stop. He nodded at the man in Minister's robes who was standing in front of him, a beatific smile upon his face. Ray couldn't bring himself to look at the people all crowded behind him so he just looked up and stared at the US flag fluttering lightly in the slight breeze that was washing over the deck. Now all he had to do was wait…

In the six months since Tom had been arrested and charged with various crimes, including Blackmail and Assault, Ray and Liz had managed to put the whole incident behind them relatively quickly. The trial had been hard, particularly for Liz as some of the photos from her honeymoon were given in evidence in the courtroom. However, they'd made it through it together and now Tom was going to be behind bars for at least four years.

It hadn't taken them long to move in together. Liz had moved into Ray's house and it was now their house. She'd spent a great deal of time and energy decorating it and making it into a home and now they both loved nothing more than just being there together, sipping wine on the patio, cuddling up on the couch or christening every surface of the house they could think of with their lovemaking. Life was good.

Ten minutes after Ray had come to a stop in front of the Minister, Liz left the Captain's Quarters with Samar and a few young girls, daughters of some of her friends. Samar was doing her best to corral the kids whilst Liz was trying just as hard not to fall on her ass in her four inch heels.

'Whose bright idea was it to do this on a ship anyway?', Liz huffed as she crouched and half-hopped through yet another bulkhead door.

'Do I really need to answer that, Liz?', Samar laughed as she lifted the smallest of the flower girls over the stoop.

'No…. I just hope it's not windy up there. This dress is quite light. I'm not sure I could handle that many people seeing my underwear. Or my garter', Liz finished with a wink to Samar.

Eventually they made it to their destination and were told exactly where to stand. Liz and Samar took hold of the girls' hands and braced themselves ready for the next part.

Ray was still staring at the flag when he heard the unmistakable sound of the elevator door klaxon ringing out across the deck. He turned at once and stared back. Now that she was nearly here, he found that his nerves were dissipating by the second. He stared, eager to see her emerge from the depths of the ship. All too slowly, the elevator came up and then there she was, resplendent in her white dress and surrounded by beautiful little girls in pale blue, all clutching flowers. The smile that graced his face was one filled with love and happiness. He felt tears pricking in his eyes as the raisable deck came to a halt and Liz started to move towards him and all their guests.

At that exact moment, the music started to play and the crowd all cheered briefly before returning to a more traditional silence. Liz was grateful for the music as it forced her to slow her steps so that she was walking at the same tempo. Her nerves were now getting the better of her and she reckoned she'd have almost run up the 'aisle' had it not been for the calming orchestral music that helped her to slow her pace.

Walking between all their friends and the few family either of them had left, she was glowing. She smiled at everyone and laughed and eventually felt tears of happiness starting to flow down her cheeks. Compared to her marriage to Tom this was most definitely the real thing. She knew that Ray was the one, had known within just a couple of weeks of meeting him and now they were going to be united forever.

As she got as far as Ray she looked up and saw that he too was crying and couldn't help but laugh at him.

'There's my big softy'

Ray reached out and took her hand, placing it on his arm and turning to the Minister, 'Hush now, Lizzy, my fellow sailors cannot possibly learn this of me'. He turned and winked at her and she grinned back, eager to get married to her perfect man.

The ceremony itself was traditional and the vows short but heartfelt. When it came time for the kiss, Ray lifted Liz's veil and stroked her cheek gently with his thumb before he leant down and fastened his lips to hers. She responded eagerly and reached her arms up to fasten round his neck, pulling him in closer. After a few seconds, Eddie cleared his throat and they both looked up, realising that they'd almost forgotten they had an audience.

'Sorry', Ray said, blushing a little.

'No problem, big guy. But maybe save some of your moves for the bedroom, eh?'

Liz laughed and slapped Eddie's arm as they walked past him, heading back down the aisle, man and wife. She'd gotten to know Ray's best man well over the last couple of months and she loved him dearly. Especially as he teased Ray relentlessly. Almost as much as she did. Honestly, she didn't know how the poor man coped with the two of them when they set upon him.

Back below decks, the Officers' Mess had been transformed into a dining area fit for a wedding and although it was a very tight fit to get everyone in there, nobody seemed to mind. It was noisy and fun and the alcohol was flowing freely. Although the ship was decommissioned now and acted as a floating museum for tourists, Ray had managed to wrangle the catering crew of his last command to come and act as cooks for their guests. Something they were more than happy to do. The fact that their ship was berthed just half a mile away at the Naval Docks made it easy for him to get the current Captain's permission to borrow his men for a few hours.

He sat down next to his bride and reached out under the table to rest his hand on her thigh, 'You okay?'

'Of course I am, you just made me the happiest woman in the world', Liz replied, beaming at him proudly.

Ray leant over and kissed her on her cheek, squeezing her thigh briefly before returning his hand to the table. He poured them each a glass of wine and they started to eat their starters of seafood salad and freshly baked bread.

By the end of the meal, most of the guests were happily drunk. Ray looked out over them all and sighed, 'I do wonder if it was a good idea inviting quite so many sailors to my wedding. This could get messy'.

'Oh, don't worry about them. I mean, there's still a brig on board, isn't there?'

'Good point, my dear. You are very wise in the way of drunken sailors'.

'Oh, I'm learning more every day…', Liz replied, poking Ray in his ribs.

Ray decided the time had come to start the speeches and so he tapped his wine glass with a spoon a few times until there was silence. Getting to his feet, he cleared his throat and looked out over the room. Just before he opened his mouth, he felt his hand being grasped and then Liz's lips, kissing his knuckles reassuringly. He smiled down at her and felt tears pricking his eyes yet again. I really am the most fortunate man to walk the earth he thought to himself as he turned forwards once more and started his speech.

As Liz's father had sadly passed away she decided she would give the father of the bride's speech herself. She wasn't used to public speaking at all but stood for ten minutes, talking briefly about her father and her upbringing and also about Ray and how finding him had made her feel invincible and worshipped. By the end of it, both she and Ray were in tears again and when she sat down there was a huge round of applause as the two of them huddled together and kissed.

Eddie's speech helped to lighten the mood. His tales of Ray's younger days went down a storm with all the guests and Liz. Ray himself spent most of the time studying the pattern on his dessert plate and trying hard not to blush too hard. He cursed Eddie's seemingly infallible memory and then cursed even louder when he realised that Liz must've given him some of the photos from his father's photo album as pictures of Ray in the bath as a toddler, a bit older with a shocking haircut and then in his late teens wearing the tightest jeans known to man were displayed to the delight of the room. When Eddie sat down, Ray looked along the table and glared at him. Eddie just grinned back and raised his wine glass in a toast.

Following on from the meal, everyone made their way through to one of the storage areas of the ship. The whole area had been decorated beautifully and there was a live band setting up plus a bar. Ray and Liz took to the floor for their first dance. They hadn't rehearsed anything specifically as they both felt that they'd rather just approach the whole thing more traditionally. The song they'd chosen was 'Green Eyes' by Coldplay. Liz's choice but Ray had heartedly agreed, the lyrics resonating for them both.

At the end of the evening, all the guests, even Eddie, left the ship and Ray was left to escort his beautiful new bride to the Captain's Quarters. Ordinarily there would only be a single bed in there but space had been cleared in the main part of the room and a double bed put in just for the night.

Walking hand in hand through the ship, Ray stopping to help Liz step through every bulkhead door, neither of them could stop smiling. They were both happily exhausted and a little tipsy, although neither of them had gotten too drunk. They didn't want to forget a single thing about today. Eventually they reached the door and Ray pushed it open before turning to Liz.

'Now, this isn't going to be easy due to the width of the door but…', he started as he scooped Liz up into his arms and kissed her.

Liz giggled and tucked her body against him as much as she could. He stepped sideways into the doorway and they just managed to squeeze through together. He then carried her over to the bed and laid her down, kissing her again as she lay there. As they broke the kiss, Liz looked about and saw that since her time in the cabin earlier when she had gotten ready, someone had been in here to place flowers everywhere, along with petals and candles.

'Oh, Ray, it's beautiful'

'Good. Then you fit right in, sweetheart'

She reached up and cupped his cheeks, gazing into his eyes.

'Go shut the door, Admiral. I have plans for you'.

'Yes, Ma'am'

Ray hurried to the door and shut it, locking it for extra measure. He then turned to gaze upon his bride, lying across the bed, staring back at him, a smile upon her face he knew only too well. She bit her lip and then patted the bed in front of her. He toed off his shoes and then returned to her side, throwing his cap towards a chair as he did so.

'So, husband….. You got any plans for this evening?', Liz asked as she started to unbutton his uniform jacket.

'Well, there's a ball game on in about twenty minutes…..'

Liz tightened his tie just enough to stop him talking and narrowed her eyes at him.

'However, I think I could probably give it a miss', Red laughed as he loosened his tie enough to get the words out.

'That's good. Because I have exactly zero intention of allowing you to leave this bed until I'm so exhausted that I sleep for a week'

'Is that a challenge, Mrs Reddington?'

'I guess so'

'I love a challenge. And I'm fairly certain that I'm up for this one'.

Liz reached over and cupped his erection, already straining in his pants, 'Yes, that seems to be an accurate assessment'.

Ray laughed and rolled Liz over onto her front, hoping he could work out how the hell to get her out of the dress without ripping it. Thankfully he managed it easily and pulled it away, placing it on the chair next to the bed. He turned back and stared at her, resplendent in her underwear, the blue garter causing him to gulp loudly.

Liz laughed at him and pulled him back towards her, 'I love you, Ray. Today has been perfect. And I cannot wait to spend the rest of our lives together'.

'Me neither, my sweet Lizzy'

Ray kissed her now, harder than before and Liz's hands continued in their previous task of unbuttoning and undressing her man. Before too long they were both completely naked and Ray was hovering over her, his mouth and hands everywhere at once.

'Ray, make love to me. Make love to me as a husband makes love to his wife for the first time'.

He balanced himself on his elbows and looked her in the eyes, edging his length slowly into her as he did so. They both groaned as he filled her completely and started to move his hips just the way she loved it.

That night they made love a further four times, each taking it in turn to wake the other after only a couple of hours sleep at a time. Their first night together was perfect and everything either of them had hoped it would be. It was the start of a marriage that could not have been happier and filled with more joy. Two soul mates bound together and perfect for each other.

THE END

Thank you to all who took the time to read this. Especially during some of the longer gaps between updates…..

And an extra special thank you to Dreamlover83, my beta and inspiration. This was her prompt I worked from and she gave me countless ideas and loads of support throughout.