Chapter 7: Vows

September 1987

"Arthur, will you relax?" Ben said tensely as Mark adjusted his tie for the thirtieth time that minute. "You've had the world's longest engagement. This is just a natural step."

Mark adjusted his tie again, making Ben grab his hands and put them down by his side. "But..."

"There's no buts." Ben interrupted. "Jesus Christ. You've been engaged since 1985. Relax. She loves you."

Mark started playing with his watch. "I don't know if I can do this."

"What's so different?" Ben asked, shaking his hair back. "You two have been living together for a year and a half. You're already completely a part of each other's lives."

"The people," he stuttered.

"Since when have you had nerves in front of people?" Ben sighed. "Arthur... Mark."

Mark stopped, shocked at hearing his old name fall from Ben's mouth.

"Mark, you're an ex-MI-5 agent. You know how to remain calm under pressure," Ben said, his arms on Mark's shoulders.

"You called me Mark."

"I thought it might be a shock to your system. Get rid of some of the nerves."

"You got that bloody right," Mark mumbled, starting to fiddle with his cufflinks.

"It's a small wedding anyway, Arthur," Ben said, reverting back to the name he was comfortable with. He smiled at Mark. Mark took a deep breath in, focusing on assessing Ben to calm his nerves.

Ben's normally messy long blonde hair was combed nicely, and the grey of his tie made his eyes seem even more blue. His shirt was not tucked in, and his vest unbuttoned. The flower was half hanging out of his button hole and his cufflinks had yet to be put into his cuffs. Of course Ben could be completely at ease. He wasn't the one about to commit to a lifetime with a woman. Mark wanted it to happen, of course, but now that the day was here...Well, he would go ten rounds with Will Grey rather than walk down the aisle.

"Do I look okay?" he asked.

"You look fine," Ben reassured him. "Much better now that you shaved that stupid beard off your face. I thought I was going to have to chase after you with a razor for a while."

"I like my beard," he protested as Ben slowly started to put himself together.

"Yeah, but Mum hates it, and today is her day, isn't it? And besides, if you had refused, she would have gotten me to get my friend Geoff to shave it off for you. Isn't it better to be sans Geoff and plus Mum?"

Mark raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"Good. If you hadn't said that, I was going to go to her and tell her everything so that she could punish you later."

"You're awful."

"I'm the evil stepson," Ben said, grinning, finally completely buttoned and putting on his suit jacket.

"Too right. I'm surprised you haven't given me a poisoned apple."

"That'll come later. Now, the music is starting. Walk down that damn aisle."

Mark swallowed, making the lone walk down the aisle. Sarah had argued with him about inviting his mother, but eventually, she was left out of the invitations list. He stood at the front, watching nervously as Ben walked in with Sarah's maid of honour. The music changed and then, she was there.

Sarah looked radiant in her dress. It wasn't expensive; she had said that since it was her second wedding she didn't really need all the frills. Mark didn't mind, and now, he knew that the frills would have ruined her stunning beauty.

She walked down the aisle slowly, and Mark finally remembered to breathe. As she approached him, she smiled softly, adding to her beauty.

She stood next to him, and Mark smiled. "You look stunning," he murmured. She smiled up at him.

"You too."

The ceremony passed quickly, simply a blur for Mark. It seemed like no time and then they were back at her house, to have their reception with a few of their friends. Sarah's mother had been at the house for days, cooking and creating food for the guests. It had resulted in the house smelling delicious and Mark getting his hand slapped more than once.

Mark held Sarah's hand as they approached the door. "Are you ready, Mrs. Newton?" he murmured.

She smiled at him. "I'm ready, Mr. Newton."

They kissed and he picked her up.

"You're so cheesy," she said, laughing.

"It's not cheesy, it's romantic," Mark admonished.

Sarah just raised her eyebrows. "If you say so."

Mark grinned and walked through the door to the cheers of their friends. Iggy was barking loudly. He heard Ben shush the dog as he set Sarah down and their friends starting to chatter amongst themselves once more.

Ben came up to mark, smiling. "Congratulations, Arthur," he said. "I think you'll like my speech." He smirked.

Mark suddenly felt worried. "You know you can't..." he started.

Ben smiled widely. "I know. But that doesn't mean that I can't have a brilliant speech. You might want to have a small drink or two first."

Ben smirked again, walking off to find Sarah, who had gone to the kitchen to talk to her mother. Mark felt dread building inside his stomach. He looked at the clock, deciding to go outside and smoke. However, just as he was about to light up, a familiar weight settled on his shoulders. He looked up, smiling. "Hey Iggy. You should get down."

The dog removed himself from Mark's shoulder, licking his cheek and settling next to Mark. "Good boy," Mark murmured, scratching Iggy's ears. Iggy wagged his tail, leaning into Mark's hand. Mark continued to scratch the dog absentmindedly, lost deep in his thoughts.

It was funny, he realised, that he had to die in order to find true happiness in his life. He thought he had been happy before, when he had first started in the service, and maybe he was, but the happiness he felt now was so much more substantial. Maybe, after all the years of adversity and struggle, he had finally learned to appreciate it.

He sighed, thinking about his mother. Sarah had tried to get him to tell her that she was alive, but he had refused. She had wanted his mum at the wedding, but since Mark wouldn't go near her, she couldn't invite his mother. He had told no one why they had such a row, only that it involved work, when really, it was about nothing of the sort.

He thought back to when he was six, and his mum's friend had sat him down on the couch. "Your mum and I are getting married, Mark," the man had said. "I'm going to be your daddy."

Mark hadn't liked the man, but at six, he really didn't get much of a say in the matters of his mother's personal life. Their marriage hadn't been a happy one; they split up when Mark was twenty, but Mark still called the man his dad. The row came much later, however, only four years before his supposed death.

"Hey," Sarah said. Mark turned to see her standing in the doorway. He smiled.

"Hey," he replied.

"I was wondering where you'd gotten to. Ben said that he saw Iggy following you to the garden."

"I've never been the best in crowds," he said. "It gets too stifling."

Sarah smiled, going to sit next to him.

"No, don't sit down yet," he said. "You'll ruin your dress."

He took off his suit jacket and laid it on the ground.

"You'll ruin your jacket," she replied.

"Yes, but I'll never look as good in it as you do that dress. And besides, your dress is white. My jacket is black. Where's the dirt going to show?"

Sarah looked at him, but sat down. They sat next to each other, just enjoying each other's company, watching Iggy run around the garden, chasing squirrels.

"That dog is obsessed with squirrels," Mark commented.

"I'm worried about that," Sarah said. "One day, he's going to rip the lead out of my hand and run out into the street."

"I'll go after him," Mark promised. "And who knows? My running skills have improved greatly over the past several years. I can probably run faster than him now." He pulled her into him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. "I'd catch him, Sare. I promise."

She smiled up at him. "I knew I married you for a reason."

"You know I never really liked dogs?"

Sarah gave him a look. "What?"

Mark shook his head. "I didn't mind them, I didn't mind training them, but I couldn't imagine owning one. I thought they were dirty and noisy and irritating."

"How did we get together?"

"Your dog jumped on me," he said, smiling as she rested her head on his shoulder. "And I was willing to take the dog if the owner would even consider being friends with me."

"You know all the right things to say," she murmured.

Mark kissed her head as they watched Iggy continue to run. No matter what, he never seemed to tire. It would be a sad day indeed if he did wear himself out.

"What the hell are you guys doing out here?" Ben asked from behind them. "Everyone's wondering where you went. It's time for speeches. Come on."

Mark looked at Sarah. "Ben says his speech is amazing."

"Oh, he just likes to boast. You know that."

Mark smiled. "I'm a bit nervous about how it's going to end up."

"Relax, Arthur. He'll be...well..." She cocked her head, thinking. "Maybe we should just go see."

Mark nodded, helping her up and picking up his suit jacket. He left Iggy out in the garden, figuring it was safer than letting the dog into a house full of people.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" Ben's voice asked loudly. "Arthur here asked me to give a speech, and I honestly don't know what he was thinking. I've got enough dirt on him to get Mum to make him sleep with Iggy for months."

"Iggy sleeps in your mum's bed!" Mark called, and the room sniggered.

Ben just grinned. "You know, when I met Arthur here, we didn't really get on. Some of you here will remember that my dad just walked out when I was sixteen. I didn't trust any man Mum went near after that. And Arthur was no exception. But you know, there was something special about him. When Mum talked about him, her voice got excited. Her face lit up, something that I hadn't seen for years when she was with Dad. And he didn't try and bullshit me either. He told me exactly what he thought, and promised me that he wasn't trying to get together with Mum. Three days later, he and Mum were together." The room laughed.

"I wanted to be angry about it. But I couldn't be. Mum was too happy for me to be angry at Arthur. So I did the next best thing. I promised him that if he ever hurt Mum, I'd come after him. And I know now, he won't do anything of the sort. He loves my Mum too much. I remember Christmas Eve of 1985, he came and asked me permission to propose."

Sarah looked at Mark in shock. He didn't realise that she didn't know he had done that.

"He knew Mum was concerned about my opinion, so he wanted to get my opinion before he shoved her between a rock and a hard place. And so I told him yes. So he has me to thank for celebrating this day," Ben said, looking at Mark laughingly.

"Arthur, I'm really glad that Iggy chose you to try and kill, instead of any other man in the park. Mostly because of the Arsenal tickets, but you are also great for my Mum. I wish you nothing but happiness in the future of your marriage and life."

Ben raised his glass. "To the bride and groom."

The rest of the room murmured the toast and drank. Speeches continued for a little while longer, but eventually, someone put Spandau Ballet on and True came on the stereo.

Sarah looked at Mark. "Cheesy," she said.

Mark smirked pulling her close. "Romantic," he murmured back.