Hi y'all! So, LB here, and as you can see, we're up to the next part of VTR! Which is super exciting. I think so at least. So, as you know, AC and I don't own anything. Except AJ and Beth that is. And a big thank you so much to the reviewers and readers, you guys keep us writing!

Beth rested against the couch after changing into something comfier than that wasn't pink ruffles or super-tight denim. It was burning up in the apartment—she'd never bothered to figure out how to work the thermostat, and since John had left, she couldn't figure out how to turn the blasted A/C on—the temperature was constantly fluctuating between really hot and really cold. Which is why she was in a faded pair of jean shorts, a green tank top, and a big yellow 80's type sweater with belt. She had stopped by to see Ellie, but Devon had told her it probably wouldn't be awesome to see her at the moment—she wasn't really up to company. So after giving Devon a plate of sugar cookies with the assurance he'd hand them to Ellie, Beth headed back home. Which is where she was now—hot, tired, and desperately wanting to go back to Castle and see John. But, he had his men there—and she was pretty sure he never got enough guy time. Chuck, Awesome, and Morgan were good guys, but they didn't have the military background that John could easy to connect with. After pacing around for fifteen minutes, she was just about to give up the goat and head back to Castle when her phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she was slightly surprised to find it was Sarah.

"You rang?"

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Now?"

"Yes, now. You're needed at Castle."

"Sure, what's up? Wait, Roark didn't—"

"—He's fine. Chuck's using his government money to pay for Ellie's second wedding. We could use your help. I'm heading out looking for bridesmaid dresses with AJ right now—Casey and his team are working on location and decoration."

John…wedding planner? Now this, she had to see. "I'd love to—I'm headed down to Castle now. Do you know if anybody has the cake?"

"You'd have to ask Casey—he's in charge of everything there."

"Will do. Good luck finding dresses! And I swear to all things good and holy, if they're pink again I will personally see to it that you never see another pink object in your life."

Sarah laughed, and Beth ended the call. Grabbing her purse, recipe book, and phone, she headed down to help with the preparations.

Ellie had barricaded herself in the bathroom, and Devon was trying to calm her down, so Mr. B. went to talk to Chuck while AJ caught up with Sarah. Sarah's dress was in worse shape than AJ's, which was definitely saying something since the latter had tripled the length of the tear in her skirt during her spat with Wu. Both women took a seat in the living room, sitting in silence for a few moments.

"So I hear you got into a fight with Anna," Sarah finally said.

"Yup. I hear you got into a fight with enemy spies."

"Yeah."

They both sighed.

"Maybe we should go check on Chuck," Sarah suggested after another beat.

"Good idea."

Entering Chuck's room, Sarah asked, "Hey, you okay?"

"No, I'm not. I'm not okay; I don't want to have to save my sister anymore using a Special Forces team. I just want to be a normal guy who helps his sister in normal ways. Like right now if I could give her anything in the world, I would…" he trailed off, and it was clear he'd just gotten a brilliant idea. He moved to grab something from a drawer, pulling out an envelope with a check in it.

"What is it, Chuck?" AJ asked.

"I think I might know how to fix this." He turned to Sarah, holding out the check for her. "Do you have time for one more mission before you take off?"

"It's not what a normal guy would do," she answered, accepting it with a smile. Turning to AJ, Chuck asked, "Can you help?"

Catching on, she said, "Of course. You just go talk to Ellie; we'll handle this."

He nodded and left.

Looking between Sarah and AJ, Mr. Bartowski said, "I'll leave you girls to it then," and followed his son out the door.

"So how do we pull together a wedding in a handful of hours?" AJ asked Sarah.

Sarah considered, and then answered, "We call in the troops."

While she pulled out her phone to call Casey, AJ decided to make herself useful and start searching the web for places where they could get new dresses fast. By the time Sarah finished her call, AJ'd found a promising place not too far away.

"Okay, so Casey's onboard; they're handling everything except the dresses. How are we doing on that front?"

"I've found a good prospect, Voluptuous Val's Vintage Dresses. It's about a thirty minute drive from here."

"Voluptuous Val?" Sarah said skeptically.

"Well it's not like David's Bridal does rush orders."

"Alright, let's go then. I'll call Beth from the road."

"But first, we really need to change."

Dressed much more comfortably in jeans and sweaters, they took the Jeep so that AJ could drive, and made good time to the store thanks to the GPS on AJ's phone. When they arrived, the saw Voluptuous Val's was a small, hole in the wall sort of shop, and there was only one other car in its parking lot.

"Are you armed?" AJ asked Sarah as they walked towards the front door.

"…Yes."

"Good."

They walked into the store and were immediately greeted by Val herself, who was indeed quite voluptuous. "Well what a wonderful surprise! What can I help you lades with?"

Sarah looked to AJ. Apparently, her spy training hadn't included how to deal with such overly enthusiastic people.

"We need a wedding dress and three bridesmaid dresses," AJ answered, smiling sweetly.

"And which of you lovely ladies is the lucky girl?"

"Neither of us; the bride's currently at home depressed because her wedding got… rained on. So can you help us, please?"

"Aw, that's awful! Of course I'll assist you!" She grabbed AJ's left arm and Sarah's right and dragged them over to a section of her store full of wedding dresses. "What size are you searching for?"

"Oh, I've got the measurements," Sarah said, searching her pockets for the piece of paper with all of the girls' dress sizes. "Here you go, top one," she said, handing Val the paper.

"Well, what about this wedding dress?" Val said after a minute, pulling out a frilly atrocity from the rack.

"No munchies!" "Definitely not."

Val returned the dress and pulled out the next one. It was something AJ imagined Anna Wu would wear; short and skanky. Definitely not right for Ellie.

"Oh God!" "Merde, no!"

Putting the dress back, Val held out a third option. It was very basic—thin strap with no sleeves, and more importantly no over the top frills.

"Perfecto!" "Perfect!"

Val smiled triumphantly.

Back at Castle, Beth was wondering what the heck she'd walked in upon. John's men were in a tizzy, walking to and fro, half of them on cell phones, papers and flyers everywhere. She heard one of the men ask John how to spell begonia, John replying for the man to spell it out. She stood in the doorway for a second, just watching them.

It looked like a fabric store had exploded. Rolls of fabric stood everywhere; thankfully, there wasn't a piece of lace in sight. She dodged around one of the men—Crawford, she thought—and headed toward John until one of the men approached him first.

"Sir, what about this one?"

Giving it a cursory glance, he shook his head. "No, no, that'll clash with the bunting."

Waving him away, his phone call must have picked up because he started talking. She heard some words about perimeter and a matter of national something. Leave it to John to call in his connections. She wandered over to one of the tables filled with papers. Hmm…menus. That's what they were. For catering. As if they're gonna be able to wrangle up that much fancy food—even Beth knew that this late in the game, their best bet was an easier alternative to fancy catering. Gah, and who on earth would order that much caviar? No, this wasn't the type of food they'd want. She dug into her purse…she had a pen somewhere. Nope, not lip gloss, not—

"Need a pen?"

Half turning, she saw the soldier who had called her babe holding out a pen. What was his name…crap…oh! Thompson, she thought.

"Yes please, Sgt. Thompson, right? D'ya know which soldier was workin' on the menus?"

"That's right, ma'am, Jeremy Thompson. Been a part of the Colonel's crew for a couple years—off and on, since he moved to this mission. As for the menus, well, we've all been trying to help with it; everyone's been tryin' to get the actual weddin' together—no time for the reception really."

Beth laughed. "That would explain why there's barbecue and caviar on the same menu. Well consider the meals officially taken over—I know a thing or two about food; one being that the current menu will not do. I don't think anyone wants to be eating barbecue ribs while moving further on down the line to the baked lasagna. Oh, and it's Beth. Or Daniels. Or even 'hey you'. As long as it's not babe or ma'am. The first because John will kill you; the second being because I will kill ya. Whereabouts are ya from? I can tell you're southern, I just don't know how southern. Alabama perhaps?"

"Louisiana actually. You're from a lil' northern of there, right? I'd stake my money on you bein' a Tennessee gal."

"Then you'd win the betting pool. Tennessee born and bred. If you're not otherwise engaged, would you like to help me with the menus? I'd love an extra hand."

"Be much obliged to help ya, ma'a—Beth, but the Colonel's got me workin—"

"Thompson, you and Everly are to head to location to set up—Colonel's orders—the supplies will be there when you arrive."

Thompson nodded in affirmative to the brunette soldier, and turned back to Beth momentarily. "Looks like I won't be able to help ya, but I have a feelin' you know your way around a banquet—southern hospitality an' all."

"You would be correct in that assumption. I can whip up a meal sure as the world." Beth completed her statement with a flourish of her pen, acting as if it were a whisk. Laughing, Jeremy bid his goodbyes, and headed towards Everly, leaving Beth shifting nervously from one foot to the other as the unknown soldier stood in front of her. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't like the way he was looking at her. Or looking in general. It made her uneasy. Thinking maybe it was because she didn't know him, and his personality was closed off, unlike Jeremy's, she smiled brightly, holding out her hand to his.

"Beth Daniels, now officially in charge of the food. Pleasure meetin' ya. What's John got you workin' on?"

He stared at her hand for a second, but didn't shake it; rather, he kept staring, and Beth mentally docked him points while withdrawing her hand. She didn't know just who he thought he was, but he was bein' just plain rude. And she would have said so too, had John not walked over at that particular time.

"Miles, you're supposed to be confirming the flower orders, and heading over to the courtyard to set up for the reception, not lollygagging around—Beth, when did you arrive?"

He waved his hand at Miles, and the man exited, looking none too happy. Beth glared at his back—she hoped he fell in the fountain. Smoothing her features, she addressed John's question. "Got here just a bit ago; Sarah called while en route to some place called Bodacious B—ran into your Sergeant; we bonded over your as-of-now atrocious reception menu. Now don't fret too much—I've got it under control. I managed to whip up a five hundred meal dinner for a shotgun wedding when I was nineteen; this'll be cake. Cake! Shit! We don't have a cake, do we? Hells bells!"

She looked around frantically, spinning to nab up a few of the flyers before she was pulled away from the table by John. "You've been here for over fifteen minutes and haven't even given me a proper hello?"

"Oh you're incorrigible." She kissed his cheek, looking over at the preparations his crew was making. "And also a wedding planner, so it seems. John Casey, you sure are a man of many talents."

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he whispered in her ear, "You haven't even scratched the surface, darlin'."

"I repeat—incorrigible. So what have y'all done so far? Sarah said you were in command of the wedding—they were goin' to get the clothes."

"Place is secure—a stretch of beach along the coast. Setup's already started there. Reception will be courtyard; decorations and colors are planned."

"What color scheme?"

"Purples. Gardenias and begonias are in the bouquets. White roses too. There's a terrace set up on the beach—flowers and greenery interspersed between."

"Called the minister?"

"She's ready for the ceremony."

"Flowers will be ready?"

"Yep."

"But we don't have a cake."

"Not yet. But we'll—"

"—oh! Yes we do!" In a flash Beth dodged to her purse, throwing things out at random. "Now darn conflab it, where in the dilly did I put my—ah! My phone!"

She held up a hand to John while quickly dialing a number. It rang twice before someone picked up.

"Tomes and Treats, how can I—"

"Kate! I need your help."

"Beth? But don't you have a wedding to be attending?"

"No, well, yes, but not any—okay, it's a very complicated story. In short, Ellie's wedding was called off because it got rained on by the fire sprinklers in the church after some pyrotechnics got lit. Yes, because some idiot brought them to the wedding—I don't know how it happened. So, everyone was distraught and sad and, well, we're putting on another wedding. And most of the details are planned out, but…we have no cake."

"Say no more. What do I need to pick up?"

"You'll have the ingredients in your shop, right? We'll need tiers, and a topper. And I can make the fondue flowers—thank God for that bakery class. Let's see…I think that's everything, am I forgetting anything?"

"When I go to the store, I'll double check. You have a recipe?"

"I'll send it to your email. Meet you in twenty?"

"Sure thing. What's the time limit on this?"

"…trust me, you don't wanna know."

"Timeframe?"

"Tonight."

"We can do that. I'll leave the back keys under the mat—you come in and start the fondue; I'll still be out getting the ingredients. We'll whip this thing. You know how we baking types are."

Beth laughed, nodding to herself. "I certainly do, Kate. And I really appreciate this. I'll letcha go; we got ourselves a helluva workload cut out for us."

"That we do. See ya soon chika!"

She hung up the phone, and looked at John triumphantly. "There, we have a cake! Well, we have cake ingredients. We still have to make the cake."

John looked mildly surprised, and commented, "You can make a wedding cake?"

"You'll learn, Colonel, that you're not the only one with a few surprises up your sleeve."

"Enlighten me sometime. But not now, you need to be headin' over to Kate's, you got a cake to decorate."

She nodded, moving toward the door, pulling John along with her. "Ain't that the truth. I'll give ya a call when the cake's done? I'll have Kate deliver it to the courtyard; I'll have to be gettin' ready for the ceremony by then. Oh, and I'll leave my recipe book—you still need food for the reception. Simple finger foods would be best; don't have time for fancy faire. Don't suppose you're interested in accompanyin' me?"

"Got to stay with Roark and my men."

She heard the slight sadness in his tone, and smiled brightly enough for both of them. She knew he had his duties; he had his place, and she had hers. "No worries, next time I'm goin' to a weddin', I promise you, you will be there, cause third time's a charm. I'll stop by before the wedding to say goodbye, if that's alright?"

He kissed her cheek, shoving her gently towards the stairs. "I'll hold you to that promise; now get. You've got a cake to make, and I've got—what the hell? I told them that color was wrong." He turned back to find Beth already halfway up the stairs. She waved to him in parting, and laughed to herself when the last thing she heard before she exited into the Orange Orange was John's displeased voice saying, "Are you deaf soldiers? Maroon is not an accompanying color to purple. Now you'll take this back and…"

And there we have it! So, John as a wedding planner-priceless, no? And Val...quite a woman, lol. Beth's making the cake and Sarah and AJ have been successful in nabbing the dresses-let's hope they haven't forgotten anything! Stay tuned for the next piece soon!