Renee couldn't believe it. She was married. She was a married woman now; she was Dr. R.I. Sanders-Stokes. All through dinner she found she was pausing to look at the gorgeous band she wore that now matched her engagement ring – both custom designs – and more than once she caught Nick doing the same thing. She squeezed his hand tightly as the entrees of grilled steak and rumaki were served and felt him squeeze back. They'd decided to let the speeches occur between each course so that everyone would have a chance to digest their food so that by the time the desert was finished along with the final speech, everyone would be ready to party.

Naturally there had been toasts from each of their parents but Nick and Renee had also asked their siblings from the wedding party to make a small speech. Renee watched as Riana stood up to address the room of a hundred people. Her voice, trained from years of commanding a fifth-grade classroom and pee-wee baseball team, carried clearly throughout the room.

"Hi everyone, thanks for being here. I'm Riana Thurman, I'm the groom's sister, and I think I can say with out any doubt that everyone in my family, Tracy, Diana, Aaron, Marley and Abby, is both shocked and impressed that our baby Nicky has finally made the leap. Mom I think this means you owe me twenty bucks."

The entire room roared with good-natured laughter as Nick turned red and murmured to his bride, "I thought she'd forgotten about that, but apparently not."

"I think it's very cute," she murmured back.

"But seriously," Riana continued, adjusting her reading glasses, "when Nick called me and told me his plan of proposal for Renee, I thought two things. First off, who is this girl that her idea of a perfect proposal would be at the Field of Dreams? And second and perhaps more importantly, how has this woman captivated my little brother? When he brought her to the farm in Iowa, I immediately saw a tough and passionate woman who without even realizing it melted my brother into a big puddle of gooey Texan. Someone who would be both physically and mentally capable of handling the pressures that came with his job. Someone who could open him up and get him to talk with barely a word. Someone who will be a perfect match for him through the ups and downs, and the tribulations of life."

Riana lifted a flute of champagne towards her brother and new sister-in-law. "So I raise my glass to the wonder woman of my new sister-in-law, and I wish you many happy years together." The rest of the room followed suit; the ting, ting, ting of touching crystal fluttered through the room.

As the wait staff cleared the plates from dinner, refilled wine decanters, Riana stood up at the podium once again. "And now, I'll turn the mike over to someone with more comedic style and fewer good looks now, the best man of the wedding party, Renee's brother Gregory Sanders."

Nick swallowed deeply. He could only imagine what Greg had planned for his toast. After the wild party that was his bachelor send-off, he knew he had to be prepared for anything. Greg approached the podium, set down his glass of water and sent Riana a saucy wink.

"Thanks Riana. When I first met Nick Stokes, I was twenty five, just like my sister was, only I didn't meet him at the Orpheus and he didn't buy me a couple of drinks," he began, and once again the anecdote was met with a ripple of laughter, "I met him working as a CSI lab tech eight years ago, and very early on, I liked to tease him about his taste in women as so many others did. Nick would laugh it off, but every so often, that romantic side would creep through and the wanting of someone in his life who was special and mattered above all others. When I first found out about my sister being that one for him, I was…well shocked to say the least as my colleagues will tell you."

A hysterical laugh bubbled in Renee's throat, that Greg would deem nearly breaking Nick's teeth with his fist a reaction to being merely 'shocked'. But it died instantly when she heard the shift in Greg's voice.

"Then as she came around more and more, it became very clear that for Nick, there was no other woman. Through car accidents, being held hostage, undercover work, amongst other things, rather then threatening to tear them apart, it only fused that connection and bond which so many people in the world wish they could find." Greg wasn't so surprised that he was choking up; she was his little Gizmo after all. "Renee, Nick I don't need to wish you many years of happiness for the future, because I can already tell that will be there no matter what. To you."

Renee drank her champagne deeply to help stave off the tears she knew were threatening to ruin her makeup and she'd be damned if she'd look like a blubbering, gibbering idiot on her wedding day. Now came the part she'd been terrified of all day: the secondary vows she and Nick were going to recite in front of everyone. They'd opted for traditional Christian vows in the church but still wanted to have their own words as well, so they decided to have personal vows at the reception.

They walked onto the dance floor and, taking a mike from the DJ, Renee breathed deeply. "When we took that trip up to your sister's farm, and you took me to the Field of Dreams baseball diamond, it was one of the most perfect moments of my life. I couldn't believe I had met someone who understood what going to that place would mean to me, and then you made my heart stop when you tossed that funny looking baseball towards me. And I hate to say this, but my brother's right," she said, with a watery laugh, "I don't need to think about the future happiness we'll have together; I know we'll have it."

Renee swiped gently at the single tear as she passed the mike to Nick, her heart brimming over with joy. She'd wanted to keep her speech short and sweet, for she knew she'd have close to a nuclear meltdown if she had to say anymore.

"For so long I was told that I was a ladies' man, that I was too pretty for my own good and I would always be a heartbreaker, and somewhere along the way I started to believe it, started to think that I wouldn't be as lucky as other people in my life who'd found that special person. Then I met you, and it felt like you'd been there all along, you just slid so perfectly into my life, into my heart. And I knew I'd be a damn fool if I let you get away. We've shared a lot of ups and downs together and I know there will be other times like those, but it won't matter, because I'll have you with me, and we'll make it through together because I love you so much." He turned, set the mike down behind him on the DJ's table, then scooped Renee up and kissed her fully on the mouth, spinning her around just as he had when she had shrieked out her answer of 'yes' to his proposal.

Later, when everyone was mingling, drinking and raising holy hell on the dance floor, Renee moved from group to group, making sure she spent a little time with each guest, a smile never leaving her face. Somehow it widened when she reached the table of CSI's; there was Sara and Grissom, deep in discussion about the music being played, Catherine and Lindsey and Catherine's date playing ring-toss with the napkin holders over the floral centrepieces, and even Brass was there along with a dark-haired woman she didn't recognize.

"Thank you all, for being here, it means a lot to Nick."

"It was a lovely ceremony. Who knew that our two biggest flirts would be married men by the end of the year?" Catherine joked. "Where is your hubby, even?"

"Trying to talk Warrick out of another drink so he wont' hit on any of his sisters." Brass lowered his voice. "I overheard a conversation with him on the phone to his wife. Looks like they are going to split after all and Warrick's none too happy about it."

"Well, if anyone can talk to him, it's Nick," Catherine started, then interrupted herself. "Incoming sister-in-law and niece at one o'clock."

Renee turned saw Nadine approaching with Sonny in her arms. The little toddler stretched her arms out for Renee and put her hand to Renee's ear.

"Mama has a surprise for you and Uncle Nick."

"Does she?" Renee looked over at Nadine, who nodded in confirmation. "Well, we better find him."

"Daddy says he's in his room."

"Then to his room we shall go."

Once in the honeymoon suite of the Resort, Renee sat in one of the silk covered chairs, thankful she could sit down out of her Jimmy Choo's. However pretty they were, over twelve hours in heels was bound to do even the most stalwart feet in. She smiled when she saw Nick walk in from the parlour with Greg, who carried four glasses and a bottle of champagne. On her aunt's knee, Sonny was all but vibrating with excitement.

"Can I tell them now?"

Nadine could only laugh. "Yes you can tell them now."

"I'm getting a little brother from Indonesia."

Renee and Nick looked at Greg and Nadine in utter shock. "Seriously? It went through?"

"We just got confirmation from our adoption agency yesterday morning. We've been on the waiting list for nearly five months but we're finally getting a baby," Nadine said tearfully. "His name is Dharma, and he was born about two months ago. We're flying to Indonesia in about six weeks to clear through the red tape, but we'll be flying home with our new baby."

Greg handed his sister and brother-in-law glasses of champagne. "We wanted to tell you in private like this, so that you wouldn't think we were stealing your thunder."

"Can we go dance now?" Sonny asked, patting her hands against Nadine's shoulders.

"Yes."

Nick watched them go, chuckling as Sonny's chatter faded away. "We're babysitting our niece while they go, aren't we?"

"Yes I think we are." Renee stood up, put he feet back into her shoes. "Ready to go, Mr. Stokes?"

"Absolutely Mrs. Stokes."