CHAPTER 24
Ana was standing over a body staunching the bleeding and applying direct pressure to the wound with the butt of her hand on the woman's shoulder. She had on a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff next to her. She was in her ecru lace wedding dress. The woman was all in black with and had her ski mask taken off her head.
Ana yelled, "Cap, get Pickles to find Bucks and guard him with The Wiz! No more fuck ups! Get the men to check the perimeter for any others!" Ryan took off to find Reynolds, Taylor and Christian. Ana's Uncle George was attending the other girl in a ski mask a little ways away.
Ana yelled, "Uncle Scott! Can you take over here and keep direct pressure on this until the EMTs arrive?" Ana's Uncle Scott took over the woman's injury.
Ana moved to the other woman and checked her abdominal injury. She was bleeding out through her back and died right then with one heavy sigh. Ana took a pulse and there was none. There was nothing she could have done.
Ana went over to Uncle George and said. "How's it going with her?" Another woman was lying on the ground.
Uncle George said, "This one will be alright, it's a collapsed lung and it went straight through her."
Grace was at a distance on the ground treating another girl with a handgun wound.
Ana checked Uncle George's gunshot victim's vitals and blood pressure. The woman had a gunshot wound to the chest by the lung, a through and through shot.
FOUR HOURS EARLIER
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Ana was standing in the mirror in her white lace corset, panties with garter belt and lace top stockings. She put on her robe and walked out to the guest room next to the room she was in at Bellevue to get her hair done by Franco.
She sat in the chair and Franco said, "My dear, you are bellissima!" He kissed his fingertips on one hand dramatically.
Ana said, "Do you tell that to all the brides that you do hair for?" He was brushing through her hair.
Franco put her hair up on top of her head and said, "No, just the exquisite ones. Why waste your time saying bellissima, if you can get away with just bella." Ana giggled at him and his fake Italian accent.
An hour later, Ana was dressed and waiting for the ceremony to begin in a little while.
Christian was on the opposite side of the house in the other guest room. Christian said, "Dad, can you deliver this to Ana. Tell her I love her so much and can't wait to marry her." Christian hands him a small gift bag with silver tissue and turquoise blue tissue sticking up.
Carrick smiled at Christian fondly and said, "I will go do that now, son." Carrick left to go deliver the present.
Christian was pacing and Elliot said, "Chill out, Christian, you know she's not going to bail on you. She's crazy about you. I can't figure out why you're such a tool." Christian picked up an item on the dresser and threw it at Elliot.
Christian said, "The only tool in this room is you, dumb ass." Elliot was grinning as he dodged the item. He was distracting Christian the only way he knew how, ribbing him.
Christian said, "I bet she's so fucking amazingly beautiful, like an angel. I don't know what I did to deserve her but she sure saved my life completely. It's amazing to feel this much for a person."
Elliot whined and said, "I wouldn't know, but I'd say you hit the jackpot on Ana, you lucky asshole. Now I have to find her clone, you took the original." Elliot pouted with his lip exaggeratedly sticking out with puppy dog eyes.
Christian grinned at his brother whining. He said, "You're such a doofus, Elliot." They both laughed.
Carrick walked into the guest room turned into a salon and gasped looking at Ana. He said, "Oh my, Ana. You, my new daughter, are truly a very beautiful vision."
Ana had baby's breath in her hair as it was a soft mass of curls cascading down her back with a garland of yellow roses and ecru lace with ribbons of the lace hanging down. It matches perfectly the ecru, old fashioned lace of her whole dress. It had a lace scalloped neckline, long sleeves, off the shoulder, form fitting dress with a mermaid flare of the dress at mid thigh. The dress had a small train to follow behind her. Her short veil was built into the back of the wreath of flowers. When the veil was brought forward, it hung down just past her chin. It was trimmed in ecru lace.
At that moment Uncle David came in. He was in his formal Marine dress blues with all his medals on his chest looking so very handsome. He stopped in his tracks and held his breath.
Uncle David with his hand over his chest, said, "Little girl, you got a beauty that could stop a clock. I don't mind if time freezes at this exact moment. I know if anywhere in the universe Ray will be here in this room right now." Ana looked at him tearing up. She kept dabbing her eyes so as not to mess up her makeup.
Ana said weeping, "I love you so much, Uncle David."
Eliza Jean, David's wife, came in the door and gave him a little whack on the arm and said, "David, now what did you do to make this sweet child cry? I only left her for a minute."
David said, "I only told her that she was beautiful and if Ray was anywhere in the universe it would be right here right now."
Eliza Jean said, "Oh, ok. Don't tell her any more sweet things like that, until after the wedding is over or her makeup will swim into her shoes." They all laughed.
Carrick handed her the present from Christian and said, "Christian wanted me to give you this."
Ana grabbed her gift to Christian and said. "This is for him from me." Ana opened the gift with a turquoise velvet box, it was a blue diamond solitaire drop pendant that was exactly like a raindrop fully round faceted with matching earrings smaller. Ana gasped and took off her earrings and pendant she had on and put the earrings in.
Ana asked, "Uncle David, will you put this on me?" David moved around behind her and clasped the necklace for her. Ana looked at the blue diamonds sparkle.
Ana said, "Carrick, my new father, can you tell him that I love him and his beautiful gift?"
Carrick kissed her cheek smiling and said, "Of course, sweetheart." He left to give Christian his present.
Carrick walked into the groom's bedroom and gave him the package and Christian asked, "What did she say, Dad?"
Carrick said, "Ana said she loves you and her beautiful gift. She whipped off her necklace and earrings, put in the earrings and had David put the pendant on her. She loved it. I must say, she is an exquisitely beautiful woman." Christian was all smiles. He smiled while opening his gift and saw the "A" and "C" in fancy script with a half carat gray diamond in between each letter. They were solid gold cufflinks. He took his off and put hers in. He thought they were so beautiful.
Ana was getting ready for the walk down the aisle. David was beside her and held her hand. He leaned over and said, "I love you dearly, little one. I'm so proud and happy for you. You're the same as one of my own. I'm honored to be your father's stand in." Ana got on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips.
She said, "Uncle David, daddy would be proud of you for everything you do for us. The rest of the uncles always follow through being there for me in these moments in my life. I didn't feel so all alone because of you and the uncles watching over me and helping me like all of you did when he died with financial and funeral arrangements. You're all God sent. I feel like the most blessed girl in the world." David hugged her.
He said, "You are a blessing too, little one."
The music started up and David took her arm and walked her down the aisle like a proud Papa would. She was his first little girl in his mind to love and taught him how to love and be proud of a child. Each Uncle took away the same or a different meaningful experience with Ana. Like her Uncle George said, she was their Training wheels to want their own kids.
When they walked into the tent everyone gasped at the sight of a beautiful summer breeze of lace and yellow roses that Ana was. Christian's heart constricted with the ache of loving seeing her so perfect and incredibly beautiful.
Elliot said, "Wow."
Christian said in a stunned daze, "Yeah." He couldn't break eye contact.
When she got to the front, she stepped up three steps next to Christian, where David placed her hand in his hand and said, "God bless you children." David went and sat down with Eliza Jean and his daughters, Lisa and Carrie Ann. The third daughter, Geana, was out of the country in the Marine Corps.
The minister said, "We are gathered here in the presence of God, family, and friends to unite Christian and Anastasia in holy matrimony. Marriage is an honorable estate, and is therefore not to be entered into lightly, but reverently, advisedly, soberly, and with God's blessing. Today, they will receive God's greatest gift; another person to share with, grow with, change with, be joyful with, and to stand with as one when trials and tribulations enter their lives. It is fitting, therefore, that we should on this occasion begin by asking for God's blessing on this marriage. Let us pray."
"Heavenly Father, we gather to celebrate your gift of love, and its presence among us. We rejoice that these two people have chosen to commit themselves to a life of loving faithfulness to one another. We praise you, Lord, for the ways you have touched our lives with loving relationships such as Christian and Anastasia's, and we give thanks for the special love and friendship you have put in their hearts. Renew within us an affectionate and loving spirit."
"Enrich our lives with the gracious gift of your love so that we may embrace others with that same love. May our participation in this celebration of love and commitment give to us a new joy and responsiveness to the relationships that we cherish. In your loving arms, we pray, Amen. You may all be seated."
The minister said the vows to repeat after him to Christian. Christian said, "I, Christian, take thee, Anastasia, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith."
The minister said the vows to repeat after him to Anastasia. Anastasia said,"I, Anastasia, take thee, Christian, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith."
The minister said, "You will now exchange rings as a symbol of the lifelong commitment and abiding love which you as husband and wife have promised to each other. Christian, please place the ring on Anastasia's finger, and repeat after me.
Christian said, "I give you this ring as a symbol of my love; and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." He touched her three fingers with the band.
The minister said, "Anastasia, please place the ring on Christian's finger, and repeat after me."
Ana said, "I give you this ring as a symbol of my love; and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." She touched his three fingers with the band.
The minister said, "Christian and Anastasia, having witnessed your vows for marriage before God and all who are assembled here, by the authority invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride! It is my pleasure to introduce you to you for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Christian Grey and Anastasia Grey."
All her uncle's wore their Marine formal dress blues with all their ribbons and chest full of medals. They were ready for their part of the wedding. The eight of them stood at the ends of each of the first four pews down the center aisle at attention. David gave the command, "Officers, Draw Swords." The swords were drawn from their scabbards in one continuous motion, rising gracefully to touch the tip of the opposite sword. There was a resonating sound of metal on metal. Then, David commaned, "Invert Swords." There was a quick turning of the wrist so that the cutting edge was up.
Christian and Ana walked down the row of sabers. They got to the last two swords and they brought them down blocking them from leaving. The Uncle Carl on the left took his sword down and whacked Christian on the ass and made him jump, then resumed the sword in the air. Uncle Carl said, "Welcome to the Marine Corps, son." Everyone laughed. The two last swords raised tips up to let them pass.
The tradition of the bride and groom walking through the arch of swords is meant to ensure the couple's safe passage into their new life together. Normally, they only do that to the wife.