Obey My Orders, Chap. 2
Disclaimer – Don't own 'em. Wish to hell I did.
A/N – This is an idea that was suggested to me by Sirius7.
"Best reaction?" Marella asked, smiling.
"No question," Michael replied. "Dominic. Or at least, his will be the loudest reaction." Marella smiled and nodded in agreement, then Michael continued, "First reaction?"
"I'm going to say Caitlin," Marella replied, smiling as they waited for Dom, Cait and String to arrive at the cabin. They were all getting together to celebrate the end of a successful mission, but Archangel had something else on his mind.
"You're probably right," Michael agreed, grinning at his wife. He still couldn't believe how quickly things had evolved since Zeus had locked them in a closet seven days prior. When Michael had invited Marella to his home after work that night, they had made love for the first time, and then, Michael had proposed, completely out of the blue. Marella accepted, of course, and they had been married a few days later in a small ceremony in Las Vegas. Michael felt bad about not having String and Caitlin there for his wedding, as he had been there for theirs, but he hadn't been able to reach the Hawkes to let them know about his plans before he married Marella.
"All right," Michael said, "so what are the terms, Mrs. Coldsmith-Briggs?" Michael asked with a smile.
"Very simple," Marella responded, smiling. Michael recognized the gleam in her eyes. "If I'm wrong about any of the things I've said...I'm all yours for a week, and you may do with me what you will. But if I'm right...which I will be..." she didn't need to finish the sentence, she knew. Because Michael knows that if I'm right...he's all mine...and I can do whatever I want with him.
"Marella, my dear," Michael replied, taking her into his arms, "I'm already all yours, don't you know that?" Marella simply smiled knowingly at her husband of three days.
Just then, Michael heard a helicopter approaching the cabin, and a short time later, Stringfellow Hawke appeared in the front door, with his wife Caitlin and their friend Dominic Santini along with them.
"Michael," Hawke began, smiling, "I know I asked you this once before, but don't you two have a home of your own?"
Funny you should put it that way, Hawke, Michael said to himself. Aloud, he said, "I thought we had agreed to meet here after the mission, Hawke," and was relieved when String nodded.
"Yes, Michael, we did," Hawke replied, stepping behind the bar.
"So, Caitlin," Marella was saying, "how have you adjusted to living up here?"
"Oh, it's okay," Caitlin replied, smiling at her husband, who walked around from behind the bar to join his wife.
"Just okay?" Hawke grumbled, but both Caitlin and Marella could see the glint of humor in his eyes.
"Hawke, you know me better than that," Caitlin replied as she slipped an arm around his waist, and felt his slide around her shoulders. "You know I love living here with you and..." she suddenly stopped as something caught her attention.
"You and...Cait? You okay?" Marella asked, concerned about her friend. Then she noticed Caitlin's eyes focusing on her left hand. "Something wrong with my hand?"
"No, Marella," Caitlin replied, staring harder. "It's just...when did you...I mean...are you...?"
"Yes, Cait, Stringfellow," Marella answered, and noticed Michael and Dom coming towards them. "Michael and I are...married," she said.
"MARRIED? YOU TWO? I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Dom shouted, and Marella made a mental note that she'd won the bet.
"Believe it, Dom," Michael replied, moving over to take Marella's hand as String moved back behind the bar for a bottle of champagne.
"When did this happen, Marella?" Caitlin wanted to know.
"We got married in Vegas about three days ago," Michael replied, noticing Hawke's surprised glance. "Stringfellow, Caitlin, we're sorry we didn't let you know about it...but things developed rather quickly last week," Michael said.
As he finished pouring the champagne, Hawke said, "Michael...I didn't even know you and Marella were in love...let alone thinking about getting married. How did all this come about?"
"Funny you should ask, Hawke," Michael replied. "It all started about a week ago. Actually, it started even further back than that, according to Marella...she'd been upset about things between us practically since your wedding day," Michael admitted ruefully. Caitlin recalled the photo taken of the four of them, and Marella's expression. Although she was smiling, Marella had seemed upset about something when that picture was taken, and now, Caitlin could understand what that something had been.
"Marella, why didn't you ever say something?" Caitlin asked, then caught herself. Because you never asked, she said to herself.
"I wanted to, Caitlin," Marella admitted. "But I never could figure out a good time to talk to you about it. And besides..."
"I never asked," Caitlin finished Marella's sentence. "That dawned on me about two seconds after I asked my first question. I'm sorry, Marella...I should've recognized that something was wrong. It's not like I hadn't felt that way for two years myself." She noticed Marella's smile at that statement.
"That's true, Cait," Marella replied, smiling. "I often thought about talking to you about my feelings for Michael...especially after you and Hawke got married, but I just didn't know how to broach the subject."
"Well, Marella," Caitlin replied, putting a hand on her shoulder, "please, know that you can talk to me about anything...okay?"
"Okay, Cait," Marella agreed.
"The same goes for me, Michael," Hawke said, glancing at his friend.
"Thank you, Hawke," Michael replied, then added, "I may take you up on that, someday."
"Any time, Michael," Hawke replied, and Michael knew from the look in the young pilot's eyes that he meant it.
"Well, Michael," Hawke said, smiling as Dom distributed champagne for everyone, "I want to propose a toast. To Mr. and Mrs. Coldsmith-Briggs. May you both live a long and happy life." Glasses clinked all around as the new couple was toasted by their friends.
"So," Hawke continued as Dom moved into the kitchen to start dinner, "how exactly did you figure out your feelings about each other?" He remembered, of course, some of the grief Michael had given him about Caitlin before they finally got married. "I hope it didn't take you nearly as long as it did me," Hawke added.
"Actually, no," Michael said, grinning. But then again, I did have just a little bit of help. It started last week, when Zeus called Marella and me into his office. We figured we were going in there for a meeting, maybe to get some details about a mission for you, but when I got there, Marella was already there, but we couldn't find Zeus anywhere."
"That's right," Marella replied, smiling. "Finally, we heard Zeus' voice from a storage closet...I thought, that's a little weird, but we walked over into the closet, and promptly found ourselves locked in." She saw Caitlin and Hawke trying to stifle chuckles at the image of Michael and Marella locked in a closet together.
"Zeus locked the two of you in a closet together?" Hawke asked, smiling as he shook his head. "That sounds like him."
"Hey, String," Dom called from the kitchen. "Don't laugh, buddy. I'll have you know I was about ready to lock you and Cait in a closet back at the hangar, and not let either of you out until you figured your feelings out about each other!" Everyone laughed as they recalled the nearly two-year dance String and Caitlin had gone through, before finally acknowledging their own feelings and getting married a few months earlier.
"Well, I'm glad we didn't have to go through that," Hawke replied with a laugh. "So the two of you were locked in a closet, okay. Did you find out where Zeus was, or did he keep you guessing?"
"We figured he was around somewhere," Michael admitted, "and he made an announcement over the speakers in the closet a few seconds later. He told us we were to have a 'serious conversation. And that's...AN ORDER!'" Michael said, doing a poor impression of Zeus' voice. "I think the last was a quote from a professional wrestler. Sgt. Slaughter, I think Zeus said."
"Never heard of him, Michael," Hawke said, then added, "but that shouldn't surprise you."
"Not in the slightest, Hawke," Michael agreed. "So, Marella and I finally had that serious conversation. Of course, I think Marella had wanted to have it for a long time...but, not unlike you with Caitlin, I had been ignoring her feelings," Michael said, and braced himself for whatever Hawke might throw at him.
"Well, Michael," Hawke said, smiling, "I can't say that I'm surprised that you were basically doing the same thing to Marella that I did to Caitlin. And...I'm also not surprised at all that it took some intervention by Zeus to get you to admit your feelings. In fact," Hawke continued, "I am surprised you never did anything like that to us." He glanced over at Caitlin, who nodded her agreement.
"Don't think it didn't cross my mind, Hawke!" Michael replied, smiling. "I had half a mind to send you on a mission posing as a married couple more than once...just to see if it might trigger anything in that thick skull of yours...I just never could find a mission where that would fit as a cover. Fortunately for all of us, it ended up that I didn't have to," Michael said as Dom came out of the kitchen to announce that dinner was ready.
"That's true, Michael," Hawke replied as they sat down. "I did finally kinda figure that one out on my own." Michael smiled and nodded at the young couple.
Dinner became a lively conversation between the five friends, as Michael and Marella described their whirlwind wedding ceremony. It hadn't been nearly as intimate as Hawke and Caitlin's was, but it was obvious that Michael and Marella were happy, just as Caitlin and Hawke were. In fact, Dominic and Hawke both thought they felt a change in Michael's attitude, much the same as Michael detected in Hawke after his marriage to Caitlin.
"You're right, Hawke," Michael said after dinner, as the five of them sat and talked. "I...I am different since we've been married."
"I've noticed," Hawke answered with a smile. "And, I hope it never changes," he added with a smile directed at his friend.
"I wouldn't worry about that, Hawke," Marella chimed in. "Like Caitlin once told us about you, I don't plan on letting this guy go for a long time!" Everyone laughed as they recalled Caitlin's words.
"And, the feeling is mutual," Michael replied, joining hands with his wife. "I think we're going to be together for a long time as well."
"I certainly hope so, Michael," Hawke replied, smiling at his friend. "And I mean that, sincerely."
"I know, Hawke," Michael replied. "I wouldn't expect anything else from you."
Hours later, Dom, Michael, and Marella had left, and the Hawkes were alone again.
"Well," Caitlin said as she joined her husband on the couch, "that was a surprise."
"You're telling me," String replied as he slipped an arm around his wife, and felt her snuggle tight against him. "I never thought I'd see the day when Michael and I would be married men. I guess," he added, glancing at his wife, "I guess we just hadn't found the right women."
"Little did either one of you know we were right under your noses," Caitlin said with a grin as she hugged her husband. "I'm glad Michael and Marella are together. I just..."
"I know, Cait," Hawke said as he turned to look at his wife. "I wish they would have come to us, too. But," he said as he stood up and drew Caitlin up with him, "what's done is done, and we can't change the past, can we?"
"Nope," Caitlin admitted as they walked upstairs. "All we can do now is concentrate on the future."
"Right," Hawke said as they reached the sleeping loft. "Our futures...together."
"M mm," Caitlin murmured as they began getting ready for bed. "Together. I love the sound of that, Hawke."
"Me too, Cait," Hawke agreed as they slid into bed and into each other's arms, both knowing that they wouldn't be going right to sleep. "Me, too." Then, Hawke moved on top of his wife, moving inside her and capturing her lips with his own, and there was no more time – or ability – to talk.