"Okay. Time for me to call it a night," Michelle announced.
Stella swallowed. "Let me finish my drink."
The other woman shook her head. "You and Lindsay stay."
"No," Lindsay objected. "As your bridesmaids, it's our job to make sure you get home safely and get up on time."
Michelle rolled her eyes. "Stay. Drink. Don't be hungover for my wedding tomorrow."
"Are you sure?"
"I think you two have some things to talk about," she said, giving them both a pointed look. "I'd love it if my bridesmaids were best friends again."
Stella gave her a small smile. "We'll work on it," she promised.
Michelle hugged them both. "Good. I'll see you in the morning. My place at seven?"
"We'll be there."
She nodded, and then made her way out of the bar. Lindsay and Stella watched her go, silence settling over them as they realized that they were alone, that they had no one else to fill in the conversation. Stella took another drink and grimaced.
"I owe you an apology. I've owed you one for a few months now."
Lindsay sighed. "I think it goes both ways," she said quietly. "I hurt a lot of people."
"Yeah," Stella admitted. "But I should have told you why I was upset with you. I shouldn't have yelled at you -"
"No," the other woman interrupted. "That was a good thing. I needed that. If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have been honest with Hawkes and then fixed things with Don." She paused, staring into her glass. "I never meant to hurt him."
"I know."
Lindsay shrugged. "How are you two doing?"
Stella tried to stop the smile, but she couldn't. "Really good, actually. He asked me to move in with him."
Her friends eyes widened. "Really? You said yes, right?"
She laughed. "Yeah. We're gonna do it after the wedding."
"I'm happy for you, Stella. I really am."
"You know, I should actually thank you."
Lindsay frowned, her nose crinkling. "What for?"
Stella thought for a moment. "If all this...if you hadn't broken his heart...we never would have fallen in love with each other. And I wouldn't trade him for the world."
She laughed. "I'm glad I could help then."
Stella watched her as she took another drink. "What about you and Danny? Flack says you two have been spending more time together."
"We're friends. It's nice to spend time with him again."
"Is that all you are?"
Lindsay shrugged. "It's complicated. I still love him - you know that. And I've forgiven him. It took a long time, but I think I'm honestly past it now."
"Then is it really that complicated?"
Lindsay looked at her, meeting her eyes. "Do you think I'm a fool?"
"For loving him?"
"For wanting to go back to him?"
Stella reached out and rested a hand on her arm even as she shook her head. "No," she said gently. "Everyone makes mistakes, Lindsay. Danny's not a cheater. He made a bad decisions, and he has regretted it every single day. If you've forgiven him, and if you think you can be with him again without holding it over his head, then I don't see a problem."
Lindsay's eyes filled with tears. "This is what I've missed," she sniffed. "My friend."
Stella stood up and pulled the younger woman into her arms. "I'm so sorry."
"I'm sorry, too. Can we call a truce now?"
They pulled back, and Stella smiled. "Let's do better than that and call it forgotten."
"I like that idea."
Wiping her eyes, Stella looked around. "I'd say we're done here."
"So what do we do now?"
The older woman smiled. "We go bug Michelle. It's against the rules for the bride to be alone the night before her wedding."
"We're not going to stay up all night and paint each other's toes are we?"
Stella laughed. "No, we'll probably all be asleep in an hour. But it's tradition."
Lindsay rolled her eyes as they paid and walked out of the bar. "No arguing with tradition."
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Stella smiled as she watched Mac watch Michelle. She hadn't seen him this happy since Claire, and even then, it had been a long time before she died that he had smiled like this. The light in his eyes seemed to dance as he stood across from his bride-to-be, and she imagined that even though he would take his vows more seriously than life itself, he was barely listening to the priest at that moment. His hands shook slightly as he reached out to take Michelle's, but Stella knew that it was only nerves - he knew he was right where he was supposed to be.
Her eyes lifted and met Don's, as he stood next to Danny as the second groomsmen. He was gorgeous in his tuxedo, as she had already learned on one of their cases. But it was his face that held her attention, and the way his eyes never left hers as the priest spoke of marriage and the love of God binding two people together. Somehow, Stella knew that they were making a promise right then, to see this thing through, to not run away when things got hard or scary. She had been unsure that she would ever be able to make a promise like that, but when the moment came, she found that it was the most natural of choices. She loved this man with all of her heart, and she knew that they were both in it for good.
She pulled her thoughts back as she realized that the ceremony was nearing an end, and Mac and Michelle were exchanging rings. Tears were falling from Michelle's eyes, and Stella thought she saw Mac's eyes filling as well, but mostly he just looked like he had finally come home.
"I now give you Mr. and Mrs. Mac Taylor."
Stella handed the bouquet back to Michelle as husband and wife prepared to walk back down the aisle. She took a step forward to join Danny, but not before sharing another glance with Don. He was still smiling at her, and she felt a blush creep up her neck.
"That boy wants to marry ya, Stell," Danny murmured as they walked toward the church doors.
She smiled, looking over at her friend. "Then tell him he should ask."
His eyebrows rose. "Yeah?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
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"Have I told you yet how beautiful you are, Ms. Bonasera?"
She blushed, resting her cheek against his. "Once or twice," she murmured.
Flack smiled. "Good. And I'm gonna keep tellin' you."
They danced in silence for a minute, their bodies slowly drifting to the music.
"I talked to Danny."
Stella picked up her head, looking at him. "Yeah?"
Flack nodded. "Do you really wanna marry me?"
She thought about that. "I'm not sure we're ready for marriage," she told him honestly. Pain flashed through his eyes, and she rushed to explain. "But I know you're the one, Don. I know that this is it, that this is what I want. So when we are ready..." She smiled, brushing her fingers across his cheek. "Yes, Don. I would love to marry you."
He beamed at her before leaning down and kissing her softly. "I love you so much," he murmured, wrapping his arms more tightly around her body.
"I love you, too," she whispered.
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"Dance with me?"
Danny looked up from his beer to see Lindsay standing next to him. She looked absolutely radiant in her dress, and he hadn't been able to keep his eyes off of her the entire night. And now she was standing in front of him, her hand extended out.
"I'd love to."
He got up and took her hand, letting her lead them out onto the dance floor. He was unsure of how close to pull her, and where to put his hands, but Lindsay took care of that. She brought her body up against his and wrapped his arm around her waist before entwining their fingers and resting her head on his chest. As they began to sway to the music, Danny closed his eyes and breathed her in, thanking God for letting him have even this much after everything he had done.
"This is nice," she murmured.
"Yeah," he choked out, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill out. "Yeah, it is."
She pulled back slightly, her eyes searching his. "Do you still love me?"
It was becoming difficult for him to breathe. "Yes," he whispered.
Lindsay nodded, her face serious as she seemed to think about his words. Then she pushed herself up, resting her lips against his in a simple but firm kiss. Danny froze, afraid his heart would burst any second. When she finally ended the kiss and pulled away slightly, he stared at her in shock.
"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice shaking.
She gave him a small smile and kissed him again before resting her head on his chest. "Turns out it's not as complicated as I thought."
He wanted to leave it at that, but the words were tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. "What does that mean, Montana?"
Kissing his chest through his shirt, she sighed contentedly.
"It means I'm yours, Danny."