"What do you say we just get married, now, today?" Alex Vartan usually was a patient man, but after all that had happened he wasn't patient when it came to how he felt about Sophia and after several conversations that they'd had, he knew that she was not particularly looking forward to planning even a simple wedding.

Sophia's face reflected a hint of surprise, but the smile that followed revealed that maybe she wasn't really surprised at all. "Today." It wasn't that she was against the idea and if they were going to do this right now Vegas was a very convenient place to be. She was just maybe a little surprised that he wanted to do it this soon. It had taken a long time for them to come to grips with having a secret relationship; a relationship that both of them really didn't want to keep a secret and now that everyone knew about it there was another level to it that neither one of them had anticipated that had ignited a joy between them that was unquenchable.

"Yes, today." Alex smiled broadly at her where they sat snuggled together on the couch just enjoying each other's company. "I have the night off and I was thinking that maybe I could take a little vacation time and we could have a proper honeymoon while you're still recovering." It made perfect sense; they wanted to get married and Sophia already had several more weeks before she was going to be cleared to do anything more than push paper around a desk. Then there was the issue of getting that time off for him. He didn't think that Brass would be a hard sell, but the Sheriff might just be another issue altogether.

"A honeymoon." Sophia really was surprised now; something like a honeymoon took some planning or you ended up paying through the nose and with the house they'd bought together not that long ago, an expensive trip really wasn't the best financial decision that they could make right then. Still, a honeymoon in some tropical locale sounded absolutely heavenly after the time that she'd spent in the hospital; that is if her doctor would go for it.

"Somewhere we can be alone without anyone to disturb us." Alex hadn't really thought this one through, but there were plenty of places that had last minute vacations at discounts, maybe he could get lucky and find them just the thing. He'd still have to call Brass, but he needed to know for sure that Sophia wanted to get married today.

"That sounds really nice." Sophia smiled because he seemed oblivious at that moment to the fact that they were alone and since he had the night off there shouldn't be any interruptions unless aliens invaded Vegas. She leaned in and placed a kiss against his cheek. "I think getting married today sounds wonderful actually." There would be no headaches about picking a bridesmaid or paying too much for a dress with too many frills, and best of all, she would be able to marry Alex without days on end of her mother chiming in with her two cents worth about flowers and colors and all the details that made planning a wedding a living hell for some brides.

If his smile could have gotten any brighter it would have rivaled the sun. "Today. We're getting married today." Of course he had absolutely no idea where to get married; despite the plethora of wedding chapels on the Strip, he wanted a little less glitz and a little more glamour for their big day. Then there was the question of whether or not to invite anyone for the nuptials; witnesses would be good.

"We should call Brass; maybe my mother." Sophia knew that if she didn't call her mother she would never hear the end of it; as it was getting married at a wedding chapel in Vegas would give her enough material as it was.

"I'll call Brass; he'll need to approve my time off." He only hoped that on such short notice it wouldn't be a problem; it was one thing when Sophia was in the hospital, getting married was another story. Still, Brass had a soft spot for Sophia so he was hopeful that it would be a slam dunk.

"Are you sure you don't want to break the news to my mother?" Sophia smirked at him. The truth was, her mother would probably be glad so that she would be free to indulge in her new favorite hobby of traveling.

"She loves you Sophia." Alex slid his fingers into her hair; he could tell that despite the outward conflict that she had with her mother that Sophia only wanted to measure up in her eyes; something that he wished she could see that she'd already done. "And I love you even more."

The kiss was soft and tender and thoughts of calling anyone were set aside for a while as they just indulged the pleasure of that kiss. So many things had been taken for granted and with a new lease on life neither one of them wanted to take each other for granted again.

Alex was the one that finally pulled away smiling. "I'll call Brass."

They were surprised at just how easy it was to pull things together. As cheesy as getting married in a chapel in Vegas sounded, it was almost effortless because these chapels knew what they were doing and where you might have forgotten something, they had thought of everything.

Brass approved the time off telling them that he'd take the heat from the Sheriff if he had a problem with it. And in a softer tone he offered to give Sophia away; she gladly accepted.

By the time they'd assembled at the tasteful wedding chapel, word had spread and a few people from PD as well as Grissom had joined Brass and Sophia's mother to round out the wedding party. Small and tasteful was just what Sophia wanted and in the end, Alex was just happy that Sophia had agreed to become Mrs. Vartan.

It was later as they lounged at home in bed that Sophia considered what a beautiful moment this was; how things could have turned out so much differently for her and that the pain that her death would have caused Alex would have been something she wouldn't have wanted him to have to deal with.

"Alex?" She wasn't sure if he was sleeping yet or if he was just feeling as relaxed as she was.

"Yeah, babe?" He wanted to memorize this moment forever; he was married; married to a woman that was feisty as hell and yet soft and vulnerable. He loved her more than anything and he was so thankful that he had that second chance.

Words seemed to escape Sophia at that moment. All the things she wanted to say seemed to swirl together into a vortex somewhere; sucking them right out of her mouth. Her eyes though seemed to convey to him all that she couldn't say with words as she finally managed to speak; her voice filled with emotion. "I love you so much."

Alex heard the hitch in her voice and his was just as thick with emotion as he answered her. "I love you too Sophia; I love you too." They would get to that honeymoon eventually over the next few days, but for now this was more than enough.