Future

It may have taken her three years to see how much he meant to her, attraction played out in witty banter, subtle, yet lingering looks. A mutual affection that neither seemed to talk about.

Up till this moment, she was not sure who started it, but she did know who finished it. He'd always been standing right there, waiting for her to open her eyes. Thing was...they had been open, from the very beginning.

Her feelings for him were undeniable. She wasn't oblivious, it was all about the timing.

And here she was, now, standing in her wedding dress.

With her soft brown hair pulled up into a nice tight bun, she lifted her hand to the veil, fixing it before letting her finger curl around a tendril. It twirled around her digit, and she watched in the mirror, the way it shone, deep chestnut against the bright white sparkle of her ring.

Tiny spiraling curls framed her face, dancing and tickling at her cheeks when she moved, but they never strayed.

Each bouncing wave dared not cross her and she stared at her own reflection down in the mirror, her green eyes fixated on the dress. How it clung to her body, and flowed in all the right places. She marveled at it, chest rising and falling in a measured rhythm as she tried to keep herself calm.

The act not unlike her routine before entering a courtroom.

She shook her head at herself. What a ridiculous charade. This was her wedding day not some courtroom drama. Presenting the evidence, pleading not guilty.

But she was.

Guilty as charged.

Motion to be free, happy and in love...granted.

A huge smile graced her lips, fingers releasing the ringlet, to then glance over her engagement ring. Smoothing over the surface, a hitch in her chest, a excitable, nervous flutter in her heart as she softly caressed the skin that would soon hold her wedding ring.

A gentle promise as it would slide over her finger to rest next to its mate.

Always.

Her eyes brightened, her lip dragged into her mouth by her smiling teeth. She dropped her hands to her sides, feeling the smooth material of her dress brush at the back of her hands until she curled her fingers slightly in it.

Lifting it up, she moved closer to the mirror, palms pressing into her sides as she let it pool back around her feet.

Power heels that she would soon abandon in favor of sensible flats. The power of love and motherhood far more tangible than the superiority she gained in court with those added inches.

But this wasn't a courtroom. Those people out there waiting for her to commit herself to more than the law, were not her judge and jury. The decisions she made hereafter were for her to decide.

Her, and James Beckett.

In a matter of minutes, she would be Mrs. Johanna Beckett.

The thought soothed and overwhelmed her at the same time. It brought tears to her eyes, a happy lump in her throat she tried to swallow, and just a little...ounce of fear.

Never cold feet.

But no one ever knows what the future holds. And she wasn't on her own anymore. She had him, to share her life with, and...

A sigh escaped her lips, shoulders rising and falling as her hand rose up, pushing at invisible wrinkles in her dress, nails toying with the tiny flowers stitched into a heart shape across the bodice. But her hand dropped lower, pulled by a force greater than her, until it lay flat over her stomach.

"Katie." She whispered, thumb rubbing along the barely visible bulge.

No one had noticed.

But she had, when she slipped into her dress this morning. Felt the seams stretch with hardly enough give. She had stood there, tisking at herself in her bare feet, dress not even halfway on.

And again her mind stole into preparation.

When to tell him, how to tell him.

Should she make a thing of it? Calmly over dinner...or...a surprise you're gonna be a daddy! banner.. or...a pregnancy test with a bow on it, stuffed into his briefcase... no that's probably a bit much...

Johanna laughed, and quieted herself as she thought of what would happen next. All their plans would have to change, because they had created a life together even before they started theirs.

How do you tell your future husband that the first 6 months of your marriage will be filled with weird cravings, mood swings and a screaming baby.

And now her vows just didn't seem to be enough.

Johanna grinned, rubbing a small circle in her belly as she thought of the vows. "I take you James, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in baby."

She laughed, one ha! feeling the dress tighten around her midsection as she bent over a little. Oh to see the look on his face...

But he would be so happy.

Shocked.

Terrified.

But he would be happy.

The three of them, her, her husband and their little girl.

They were going to have a girl.

She could feel it, mother's instinct or the call of the universe, whatever it was she was certain. Johanna didn't need an ultrasound to tell her that baby Katherine was growing inside her.

Her Katie.

The future of their family, the first female chief justice. The chief of police or head of emergency medicine, grade school teacher, musician, writer, lead singer in a rock band...though Jim would have issue with that...she laughed, it didn't matter.

Whatever she wanted to be, as long as she was happy. That they all were.

And as she unfolded the veil, settling it over her face, and taking in a deep breath, she knew, it all started with this one pivotal moment. Walking down the aisle towards her soul mate.

The start of their family.

She smiled, placing a hand on her stomach, feeling a flutter as she sighed and thought it was also the start of their future.

THE BEGINNING. :D