Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.
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Chapter 72- I Love You
Legates stood in front of the mirror shaving and grumbling.
"Honey, stop bitching," Michelle chastised as she swept an orange color over her eyelids. Legates scowled at her and continued to grumble under his breath.
"It's going to be fifty million degrees and I have to wear that stupid uniform that makes my butt cheeks itch," he whined at her.
"And I have to tape my boobs into this dress, glue fake eyelashes on and wear heels that will make me wish I hadn't," she said, closing her eyeshadow with a snap.
Leaning over, he dropped a kiss on her cheek.
"Okay, you win," he said.
"Wasn't trying to win, just pointing out that you won't be the only one uncomfortable," she said primly then scowled at the sight of shaving cream on her cheek.
Glaring at him, she wiped it off and walked from the bathroom in a pair of panties.
•◊•◊•◊•◊•◊•◊•◊•◊•◊•
The invitation to Booth and Brennan's wedding had arrived the day after the meteor shower. Interestingly, it was addressed to them both. Michelle shrugged it off as Dr. Brennan's pragmatic approach to things and Booth's cheap approach. Legates laughed at her explanation and let it slide for now.
Andrea and Michelle disappeared the next day to shop for dresses and Legates headed to his dorm room. He planned on packing everything up and taking it back to Michelle's apartment. It was time to lose the safety net. He stood in his dorm room and held the box in his hands looking down into it. Techie stepped into the dorm room and looked over at Legates.
"You going to stare at it or pack your shit up?" Techie asked with a smirk.
"I'm going to pack but leave it here until I tell her something and we'll go from there," Legates said, swallowing he set the box on the bed and started with his more personal items.
"You're one to talk. Your shit is still here too and I know you haven't been here. You've been with Andrea," Legates pointed out.
"Mine's pure laziness," Techie laughed out, "not commitment issues."
•◊•◊•◊•◊•◊•◊•◊•◊•◊•
Turning, Legates watched Michelle walk away and shook his head. How the heck was he going to deal with the fact that he knew she was wearing nothing but tape and panties under that dress. Turning back to face the mirror, he finished shaving and wiped the excess shaving cream from his face. He applied the aftershave and sucked in a breath as it lightly stung his cheeks.
When the stinging passed, he walked into the bedroom and started pulling on his uniform. He idly watched Michelle move around the room gathering up everything she'd need and shoving it in her purse. When she was satisfied, she walked to the closet and pulled out her dress. Dropping it down over her body, she smoothed the bodice then walked to the dresser.
Legates admired the way the dark purple of the fabric of the bodice clung to her breasts then fell soft and straight to the floor in the back and in the front it was cut shorter near her ankles. The color faded from the bodice to the ankle and at some point it turned orange. He wasn't sure exactly how it worked but it did. He jerked his gaze to her face when he heard her suck in a gasp. She smiled as her eyes watered just a little.
"Tape sucks," she said in a pain choked voice.
Shaking his head, he made a note to never talk about itchy butts when she did things like putting double sided tape on her breasts to hold her dress in place.
"Didn't that have some of those pasta strap thingies on it?" Legates asked, squinting at the dress.
"You mean spaghetti straps? Yes it did, but they make me look like a football player so I cut them off," she said, shrugging.
"So you spend a hundred and fifty some odd bucks on a dress then take a pair of scissors to it?" He asked incredulously, looking at her in surprise.
"Looks better on me this way," she said, shrugging again.
Walking to the bathroom, she placed the flower in her hair and pinned it down. Legates eyed the riotous curls all over her head. They should look messy but for some reason they looked soft and almost fairy like the way they floated around her as she moved. Her whole appearance was ethereal. When she walked, her dress made her appear to float. Her shoes flashed out from under the hemline and gave a peep of sparkle and the curls in her hair floated around her head as if they were held by magic instead of pins.
Shaking his head, he finished getting dressed. He was thinking like some sort of romantic poet or something. He snorted and started chuckling under his breath at his thoughts. When everything was in it's place they left the apartment and went down to the truck. Legates was antsy as he drove, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel.
"You okay, Honey?" Michelle asked, shooting him a worried look.
"Huh, yeah I'm fine," he said, chewing on his bottom lip as his mind wandered.
Michelle watched in amazement as he drove through the traffic yet she could tell his mind was a million miles away. She started to fidget, wondering if he was going to dump her or something. She kept her eyes on the road and said nothing. He pulled into the parking area sectioned off for the wedding guests and parked the truck.
Getting out, Michelle closed the door and walked away from the truck leaving Legates sitting there with a strange look on his face. Michelle approached the group from the Jeffersonian who were standing together in a group.
"Oh, Michelle, that dress looks..." Angela trailed off, looking for the right word to describe it.
"Yummy?" Wendell offered with a smirk. Legates had approached from behind and shot a glare at Wendell making the other man swallow hard.
"I was going to say pixieish," Angela offered with a toothy smile.
Michelle snorted and rolled her eyes. Legates' eyes widened slightly at how close Angela's train of thought had been to his earlier.
"Sweetcheeks, looking absolutely fabulous as always," Angela said, grinning at Legates.
"Thank you, ma'am," he said, distantly polite.
Angela's eyebrow rose in question and Michelle. Michelle shrugged and turned to walk away from the group. She was headed towards the bathroom when Techie and Andrea intercepted her. Trying not to burst into tears, she tried to smile but it came out more of a grimace.
"'Scuse me guys, I need to go to the little girl's room," she said quickly, trying to get away from them.
She brushed past them, making Techie squint in confusion. Andrea squeezed his arm then followed Michelle to the bathroom. Legates walked to where Techie was standing and shot him a glance.
"Did you see where Michelle went?" Legates asked, looking around for her.
"Bathroom. What the hell did you do to her? She's acting all squirrely," Techie said.
"Did you just call my girlfriend a rodent again?" Legates asked, wearing a scowl.
"No, I said she was acting squirrely not that she was a squirrel," Techie corrected. Legates' fingers were tapping on the side of his thigh and his eyes scanned the crowd.
"Ahhhh haa, you know you should get a twitter account," Techie told Legates with a grin.
"Huh, what?" Legates asked, bringing his attention back to the conversation.
"You should get a twitter account because you're being a twit," Techie said, raising an eyebrow at his friend, "she's acting squirrely because you're acting squirrely. The real question is though what did you do to make her act that way?"
"Nothing and that twit comment was stupid," Legates said defensively.
"Mmmhmm, we'll see. We'll see," Techie said with a mysterious smile.
"Why? What did you do?" Legates asked, starting to frantically look for Michelle.
"Nothing, Andrea followed her to the bathroom," Techie said, nodding his head in the direction of the bathrooms.
Michelle entered the bathroom and let out a sigh that it was empty. Being pretty sure that no one was handicapped, she entered the larger stall and began to pace. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she chewed on her lip. How to deal with this? Could she deal with this? She knew she loved him, she also knew she hadn't said anything either. And now she wasn't so sure he loved her. Her heels made a rhythmic click on the tiled floor.
Michelle didn't hear the door open or Andrea enter. Andrea leaned against the wall and watched for a few minutes as Michelle's feet moved around the handicap stall. She knew Michelle wasn't actually using the facilities so it was time to intervene.
"Alright, Miss thang, what is going on?" Andrea asked in a quiet voice.
Michelle froze and hoped that Andrea would just go away. But having hung out with the woman she knew better. Andrea was smart, beautiful, tenacious and warm hearted. She had been a little nervous the first time Michelle had drug her into the sex shop but had quickly gotten over that. With a sigh, Michelle opened the stall door and walked out.
"I have no idea what's going on? He's acting so weird and the only thing I can come up with is he's planning on dumping me," Michelle said, shrugging then wrapping her arms around herself.
Andrea stood there processing and shook her head. What in the hell had Legates done to make Michelle think that.
"What the hell has he done that makes you think that? Seriously, that man loves you to death and I don't see him leaving you unless you do something like cheat on him," Andrea said, shaking her head in confusion.
Michelle snorted at Andrea's 'he loves you to death' comment. Andrea rolled her eyes and tried not to think of ways to strangle the pair at the same time.
"He's all twitchy, his mind is constantly somewhere else, I get one word or monotone answers," Michelle listed, ticking off the clues on her fingers, "it started when we got in the truck. It was just like..." Michelle shrugged as she trailed off as she looked over at Andrea.
A bright smile lit Andrea's face and she grabbed Michelle's hand. Dragging Michelle out the bathroom door, Andrea ducked around the corner where they could view the gardens without being noticed.
"Now watch. Most of the unit is over there where we left Justin," Andrea said, pointing to where most of the unit stood, "watch them."
Michelle squinted against the late afternoon sun and observed the men. Michelle watched the men, looking from one to another and didn't see anything. Shrugging, she turned to look at Andrea.
"Okay, watch Brown. See how he keeps cracking his knuckles. Perkins keeps tugging his earlobe. They have these ticks when they get the feeling that something is up. They get these-"
"Gut feelings," Michelle supplied and Andrea nodded.
"Legates just happens to drum his fingers and space as he tries to pinpoint what's going on," Andrea said, gesturing towards Legates who was drumming his fingers on the side of his thigh. Goodman waved his hand in front of Legates' face to draw his attention back to the conversation.
"Why didn't he just tell me?" Michelle asked, trying not to be irritated.
"Most of the time they don't even realize they're doing it. I had to point it out to Justin this morning. He scowls and rubs his neck," Andrea said.
Michelle pursed her lips and nodded her head. Stepping out from the overhang, she left Andrea standing there and walked back to where Cam was standing. Legates watched her walk past and his brow furrowed. She didn't even look at him and that worried him. Techie watched Michelle walk past and laughed at Legates.
"You, my man, are in trouble with a capital 'T'," Techie said.
Andrea sidled up next to Techie but stayed silent. Legates looked at Andrea with a questioning look, hoping she'd be able to fill him in.
"She thought you were leaving her. Your twitching made her think you were trying to figure out how to do it. Your twitches are indicators of emotional distress or agitation," Andrea said, nodding towards his fingers that were still moving.
Legates jerked his gaze to Andrea and gave her a surprised look.
"She thinks what?" Legates asked, swiveling his face around to look over at Michelle.
"I just made sure she understood that wasn't the case but I think maybe you should reinforce that and be nice about it huh," Andrea said. Legates groaned, shook his head, spun on his heel and headed towards Michelle.
"Incoming," Angela warned Michelle. Michelle shrugged and made a 'whatever' face.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Legates asked, gently tugging at her arm. Michelle nodded then turned back to the group.
"Excuse me," she said, stepping away from the crowd.
Legates led her near the Robert Clements roses and stopped. They were surrounded by the deep apricot hued roses that were surrounded by glossy green foliage. Their scent wafted from the shrubs and drifted to Michelle's nose. Legates turned and faced her. She looked up at him with a blank look.
"Michelle," he said with a sigh, "I am not leaving you. I understand that I may be acting a little strange and I'm sorry for that. I get this way when something isn't sitting right. It feels like something big is about to go down and I have no idea what it is. The rest of the guys are feeling it also."
"Then when I asked if you were okay, why did you say you were fine?" She asked, crossing her arms to show her irritation. He rubbed the back of his head and looked at her almost as if he were embarrassed.
"I have a hard time explaining to people about this sort of thing," he said sheepishly.
"So, next time try. You'll find me to be an understanding person open to new ideas," Michelle said quietly. Legates walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm sorry, Baby," Legates said, kissing her temple then sighing.
"Just don't tell me you're fine when you're not," she said.
"Okay, I can agree to that," he said, running his hand down her arm, he clasped her hand.
Turning, he laced his fingers through hers and they walked back to the gathering crowd. Michelle saw Angela glance over then saw her moving from group to group to have them sit down. Michelle tugged his hand and led him toward the second row where Techie and Andrea were going to sit down. Michelle and Andrea sat between Techie and Legates. The rest of the unit filed into the seats beside them.
Caroline took her place under the arch and turned to look left then right. Nodding, she looked over to the string quartet sitting just over her shoulder. Pachelbel's Canon in D began to drift across the air and a slight breeze moved with the music. Booth and Brennan stepped out at the same time; Booth on the right and Brennan on the left.
Booth wore a tuxedo with a royal blue vest and tie. His cocky belt buckle glinted in the early evening sun and a pair of striped blue and black socks flashed as he walked to the arch.
On the left, Brennan, dressed in a white, sweetheart neckline trimmed in blue, dress stepped out. The back was corseted together with ribbons in sapphire blue. The same color ran down the middle of the back, under the corset to the ground and spread onto the back of the train. A swirl of white flowers decorated the blue fabric from the middle of her back to the end of the train. Her hair was twisted from ear to ear, pinned in place by baby's breath.
Her lips were a dark blush color, her eyes made to look wider with the light color brushed over her lids. She carried a bouquet of pale pink flowers and baby's breath that had been picked from the gardens just that morning. Booth had to remember to breathe, to keep moving as she came into his view.
They met in the middle of the arch and stopped in front of Caroline. As they stopped in front of the arch, the colors of the sunset burst behind them. The crowd gasped in awe at the sight before them. Michelle swallowed hard and blinked away tears at the sight of the pale white scars that criss crossed Brennan's shoulders.
"You have been invited to this place at this time to bear witness to the joining of two people. And it's about time," Caroline said.
Booth glared at her for the last statement causing Brennan to grin. Michelle grinned at Caroline's comment, it was so Caroline.
"What, Cher? It's true. Anyway, Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan have chosen this spot because this is where it all began. This is where a partnership began and this is where they chose to stand to tell the world that this partnership will only consist of the two of them for the rest of their lives. Today they will tell the story of how it all began. If you have any reason any reason at all that this union should not be made then sit down and shut up," Caroline said. Legates chuckled at Caroline's order and glare that went with it.
"A case this big and the Director is going to create a special investigation and if I line all my ducks up in a row I could maybe... maybe I can head it up," Booth began.
"I don't know what that means but I think I could be a duck," Brennan continued, remembering this conversation.
A small laugh rippled through the crowd at her trademark statement. Michelle rolled her eyes at Brennan's 'I don't know what that means'.
"You're not a duck ok! On this one we stick to the book. Cops on the street, Squints in the lab," Booth told her, a glint in his eye.
"Well in that case, the Jeffersonian will be issuing a press release identifying the girl in the pond," Brennan threatened.
"You do that, I'm a dead duck. What are you trying to do?" Booth asked, trying not laugh knowing the upcoming statements.
"Blackmail you," Brennan said. The first and second rows burst into laughter at her statement.
"Blackmail a Federal Agent?" Booth questioned her with a grin.
Michelle clapped her hand over her mouth to squelch the laughter that was bubbling up in her throat. Legates looked down at her with a questioning glance.
"Yes," Brennan simply said.
"I don't like it," Booth said, trying not to do his trademark hand on hips action.
"I'm fairly certain you're not supposed to," Brennan said, trying not to laugh.
"Fine. You're in," Booth said.
"So, began the seven year dance of denial," Caroline said, looking towards the sky.
Michelle let the laughter erupt from her mouth with the rest of the audience. Legates shook his head and shot a look to Booth who was ignoring the laughter of the audience. The sun had begun to hover just above the skyline during their story and the arch lit with twinkle lights casting a glow on the pair standing in front of it.
Michelle's eyes glowed with happiness for her family. She could tell how happy the pair were together. Even after all they'd been through, all they'd done, they were finally here. This was their place and their time. Legates' thumb rubbed over Michelle's knuckles as he saw the glow in her face and eyes. The setting sun kissed her visage, giving her a lovely glow.
"I am not going to ask whether they do or don't. We all know they do and I'm not giving either the chance to change their mind. Being the rebels that they are, Booth and Brennan have decided to write their own vows. They have promised not to bicker during the other person's vows," Caroline added.
Once again chuckles ran through the seated crowd. Michelle snorted quietly and shook her head, this she'd have to see.
Booth reached out, took Brennan's left hand, and slid a ring onto her finger, stopping at her knuckle.
"Temperance, when I met you I gave you a nickname which you hated. I called you Bones because you worked with bones. I did not realize that over the course of the next few years, you would become my bones. Bones do three things, they support, they protect and they provide movement. When I met you I had some very dark moments, some very confusing moments and some very happy moments. You were there to support me through them all. You carried the weight of my past, the weight I carried in the first few years and you continue to support me in every way, every day. You protect my mind, my heart and my life. You have my back at every turn and there is no one I would rather have there. You provide me with movement each and every day. You give me reason to wake up every morning, a reason to keep doing my job every day and reason to go home every night. You are my Bones and will be my Bones until the day that I no longer draw a breath. I promise to take care of my Bones everyday for the rest of my life," Booth pledged.
He looked into Brennan's cerulean depths as he slid the ring on her finger.
Brennan's eyes glistened with unshed tears at his vow. Michelle let out a soft sigh at Booth's romantic vows. Taking a breath to steady her voice Brennan reached out and took his left hand. Sliding the ring onto his finger up to his knuckle, she stopped and looked into his eyes.
"Booth, when I met you I believed that marriage was," she paused and glanced over at the crowd in expectation.
"An archaic institution," Michelle said with the rest of the crowd.
"And did not believe in love. I believed it to be fleeting, to be ephemeral. You have taught me different. When you love someone, you open yourself up to great joy and great suffering, that's the truth. Maybe they'll break your heart and maybe you'll break theirs, or maybe neither will happen. Either way you will never be able to see yourself the same way. Those are the risks, those are the burdens. Like wings they have weight, we feel that weight. It comforts us, it stabilizes us, these burdens they lift us. They are burdens that allow us to fly. I pledge to spend the rest of our lives metaphorically flying together. Bearing the weight and burdens together as partners," Brennan said. Brennan looked deep into Booth's eyes and pushed the ring over his knuckle and onto his finger.
Michelle sniffled a little and Legates bit back a chuckle. Chicks always cry at weddings, he thought.
"By the temporary power vested in me by the District of Columbia I now pronounce you man and wife. Kiss that woman, Boy," Caroline said with a smile.
Booth pulled Brennan to his chest, covered her lips with his and kissed her until they both saw stars. Michelle stood up with the rest of the crowd and cheered. The unit's cheers rose in unison over most of the crowd.
"The bride and groom would like you to join them at a reception around the corner in the large white pavilion," Caroline said, gesturing towards the pavilion.
Michelle and Legates followed Techie and Andrea out of the row of chairs. Michelle reached out and grabbed Legates' hand. They walked between the beds of perfumed roses, the scent of the roses had become more prominent just after the sun had set. Michelle grinned when she heard Andrea sneeze behind them. Large glowing orbs flanked the path they were walking on.
"That was so them," Michelle murmured. Legates chuckled at her statement.
"It was their wedding. It should be so them," Legates said, smiling softly at her. She shrugged her shoulders and grinned at him.
"Some people's weddings are by the book and they're uniform. Those weddings are like the five hundred other weddings that could be that day. Every once in awhile though, you have a wedding like this one. Traditional but not, it's completely unique like the people getting married," she said quietly, running her fingertips across the rose petals as she passed them. Legates chewed on that statement for a minute then smiled at her.
"Sometimes, you show wisdom beyond your years," he said.
"Did you just call me old?" She screeched in a laughing tone.
"Awww, Legates, you dumbass," Goodman called out, his voice full of laughter.
Legates swept Michelle to the side of the path allowing the others to pass by and tipped Michelle's head up.
"I would never call you old. First off, I'm older than you so if you're old then I'm ancient. Second off, you're only as old as you feel and act," he told her with an impish grin. He placed a kiss on her lips then stepped back from her.
"Now, let's get in the tent," he said, turning her and guiding her into the tent.
Round tables were covered with blue and white silk table cloths. The center of the tables held a blue or white candle, white place settings and glasses that glowed. The light was dim as hundreds of twinkle lights hung from the ceiling. The only place the light was not dim was the dance floor set up next to a table with three empty seats.
Moving to the table where they saw Techie and Andrea sitting, Michelle and Legates looked for name tags and found them. Legates held Michelle's chair out for her then sat down in the seat next to her.
"Why didn't you hold my chair out?" Andrea asked, smacking Techie on the chest.
"Because his mama didn't teach him better," Legates said, looking around at the decorations.
"Because he's got no manners," Michelle said, shooting Techie a teasing grin.
"Because I'm a dumbass," Techie said at the same time as the other two.
Legates picked up the glass at his place setting and sniffed it suspiciously.
"Josh, did you just sniff your glass?" Michelle asked in a voice choked with laughter.
"Yep, it's glowing. That's a little strange and I'd prefer not to drink out of something that glows and I don't know why. Most especially because of Hodgins," Legates said, still eyeing the glass in his hand.
Andrea clapped her hand over her mouth to muffle her giggles. Michelle took the cup from his hand and set it down on the table.
"Do you honestly think that Dr. Brennan would serve food in something that was poisonous?" She asked him with a grin on her features.
"Eh, guess you're right. Still funky though," he told her with a smile.
"I see you're not scratching your ass," Techie said genially, causing the other men at the table to start laughing. Andrea dropped her head into her hands and groaned.
"Can't take him anywhere," she said, shaking her head in resignation.
"Michelle threatened me with-" Legates sentence was cut off by Michelle's hand smacking over his mouth.
Angela looked over at the table full of laughing Rangers and saw Michelle with her hand over Legates' mouth. She shot Michelle a toothy grin and moved over to her own table. The men quieted down when the lights around them dimmed.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to present the Booth family," he announced. The table that Michelle was at cheered and clapped loudly as Booth, Brennan, and Parker entered the tent.
"Now ladies and gentlemen while you're getting your glasses filled we will do the one and only traditional dance on the itinerary," the MC announced.
Legates stood up and took Michelle's glass then headed to the bar. Michelle watched as Parker ran across the dance floor and sat down at the table next to Angela.
"The bride and groom fought, I mean bickered for days over their song choice," the MC stated, causing the people at the tables to roar in laughter. Michelle let a wide smile spread across her features as she laughed at the MC.
"So, Ms. Montenegro-Hodgins stepped in and picked for them," he told the crowd.
"Temperance and Seeley-"
"Booth and Brennan," Michelle said with the rest of the crowd. She was surprised that everyone had said it in unison.
Legates returned to the table, set her glass down in front of her and sat down.
"My apologies, Booth and Brennan would you care to step out here and have your first dance as husband and wife," the MC said with a smirk.
Booth and Brennan walked to the middle of the dance floor and the lights over Michelle's and Legates' heads went dark. The only light in the room was the glow from the DJ's station and the spot light that lit Booth and Brennan. Guitar music began to softly play and the words began to fill the pavilion. Booth pulled Brennan into his chest and placed his hand at her waist and grasped her other hand in his.
Michelle's eyes softened as she watched Booth and Brennan dance around the floor to Never Gonna Be Alone by Nickelback. She had to admit that Angela had chosen well for the pair. The song suited them to a 'T'. Legates moved his chair closer to Michelle and draped his arm across the back of her chair. Michelle snuggled in closer and let her head rest on his shoulder.
A sigh slipped from her lips as she watched the pair twirl around the floor. On this day, Dr. Temperance Brennan was a princess and she had married her Prince Charming. When Michelle saw Brennan put her head on Booth's shoulder her eyes filled with happy tears. Legates dropped a kiss on the top of Michelle's head. Everyone in the tent could feel the love in the air. The doctor that everyone had always viewed as cold was showing a room full of people her softer side. The side that Legates suspected Booth had thus far been the only one privy too.
Legates' eyes skimmed around to the room observing others' actions and his eyes landed on Pelant standing in the doorway. Legates' heart sank and his stomach clenched. Wiggling his fingers, Legates caught Techie's attention. Jerking his head towards the door, he drew Techie's attention to Pelant standing there with a smug grin on his face. Techie's eyes widened and he shot a look at Goodman who pretended to be stretching as he looked over his shoulder.
Turning back to Techie, Goodman shot him a look that questioned what the hell the Colonel was doing here. They shot to their feet when the people around them began clapping. Joining in, they tried to act like nothing was wrong but they knew something was up and they were about to find out what.
Michelle saw Booth and Brennan staring at the entrance to the tent and turned to see Pelant standing there, her stomach sank. Pelant was dressed in his ACUs which meant he wasn't here to wish the couple happiness. Booth and Brennan walked towards him holding hands. United as they always had been and always would be.
"Pelant, what is the meaning of this? This is a private function," Booth growled in irritation. Michelle and Legates walked closer to the group at the door so they could hear what was going on.
"Sergeant Major Booth, you have been reactivated to active duty. You and your last unit will deploy to Afghanistan in five hours. You are to report to Fort McNair in three hours," Pelant said, smirking at the couple.
Michelle's eyes widened and Legates' heart clenched in horror. They were sending him back to Afghanistan and he would only have time to pack. No time to say goodbye, to make sure she knew anything. He could only hope Andrea would help her out in this regard.
"Can they do that?" Angela screeched in horror.
Michelle turned to look at Legates with fear pasted on her face.
"They can," General Carter said with a sigh. He glowered at Pelant who only shrugged disrespectfully.
"Sergeant Major Booth's DD214's were not filed because he was on medical leave not a medical discharge. His paper work informing the FBI of this situation was put on hold by the military during the investigation earlier this year. However, the paperwork to release him from the investigation only recently was processed," Pelant said, shooting a dirty look at Cullen who looked at the ceiling.
"The paperwork then took a few weeks to process. Your shipping orders were signed and sealed this morning. I decided to leave your notification off as long as I could but you are to get in the helicopter on top of the lab and fly to Baltimore for a physical. You will then be flown back to McNair and go through your deployment paperwork. We were able to keep you from getting arrested for going AWOL by having you to finish the contract for the missing time. You now owe us thirteen months," Pelant said, smirking.
"The rest of you are to report to your barracks within the hour," Pelant barked.
The men began to hustle out the door towards their vehicles. Legates turned pulled Michelle against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.
"I love you," he whispered against her lips before softly kissing her. He saw the tears running down her face and groaned in frustration. Using his thumbs, he wiped her face and kissed her forehead.
"I'll call you," he whispered before slipping out of her arms and leaving the tent.
Michelle didn't even have time to form a coherent thought or say anything to him before she saw his back disappearing out of the tent. She stood next to Andrea her mind in total shock. Wait!? Did he just say what I think he said? Her shock numbed mind wondered.