Chapter 28

It'd been about a month since the blind date and Jasina discussed how to handle their friends with Mark, both deciding against telling them right away. Jasina spent most of her nights -there were about five days out of the previous month she had stayed home after work- with Mark at the ranch, helping him finalize blueprint plans with the building of their new home. Jasina was shocked when Mark asked her a few days after their wonderful night on the property if she would move in with him.

She declined the offer to move back into the ranch because of her lease, but did agree that when the new house was built, she would move in immediately, lease up on her house or not. Mark reluctantly agreed with her compromise and immediately got started on plans. Though Jasina practically lived with him anyway because half of her things were at the ranch.

Arielle walked into the ranch, never giving her key back from her Dad and smiled up at a nervous Gary, both of them having butterflies in their stomach. This was the day. This was the day they both had both waited for and dreaded, hoping Mark didn't blow his stack like before.

"Why are you stopping?" Arielle demanded when Gary froze, his eyes straying to the living room, more specifically, the couch. "What...are...THOSE?"

"They look like women's panties, Arie. Maybe this is a bad time..."

When Gary and Arielle decided to reluctantly venture further into the house, they had to stop again because there was a bra laying on the stairs and a pair of boxers. Just as Gary was about to skip suggesting this was a bad time and just say it WAS a bad time, Mark came flying down the stairs, bare assed naked, with Jasina over his shoulder. He seen his daughter, shouted an apology and kept going, straight for the pool.

"I think I'm scarred for life..." Arielle had her hands clapped over her eyes. "Did you see what I did?"

Gary wasn't about to admit to anything he had just seen, knowing to never bring it up that he had seen more of his future in-laws today than he ever had before.

"Oh my god, MARK!" Jasina squealed out right before he dropped her naked form into the water, having barely caught a glimpse of her daughter and Gary on the way out there. No sooner had she surfaced, Mark immediately followed with a belly flop, the sound echoing throughout the ranch, making her squeal out again. "You big mongrel!" She growled playfully, dunking his head before he could fully recover from the belly flop, only for him to pull her against him as their lips connected under water, both surfacing when both needed air. "I cannot believe you just did that and we JUST took a shower!" She chastised, teal eyes sparkling before kissing him again. "Was it my imagination or is Arie and Gary here?"

"It wasn't your imagination, we just passed them in the living room." Mark said without any hint of shame.

That would teach his daughter to just walk into his house without calling first or something. Granted, there had never been any need for it in the past, but...now there was. "And darlin', I wouldn't of done this if you hadn't thought it was a good idea to get shavin' cream in my hair AFTER the shower..." He had made a suggestion about whipped cream and she had substituted with an evil grin on her face. Cheeky wench.

"You love it and you know it." Jasina simply shot back cheekily, wrapping her arms around his neck as their foreheads pressed together.

"MOM! What the HELL is going on here?!" Arielle demanded, storming out on the deck, not caring if her parents were naked because she was irate that they'd kept this from her. "Seriously?"

Gary was shielding his eyes. "I can't see anything, I promise!" Arielle had pulled him bodily out onto the deck against his will.

"I am TRYING to have a moment alone with my soon-to-be husband." The sparkling sapphire on her left ring finger shimmered in the sunlight and Jasina never looked away from Mark. "Do you two mind, Arie? Gary doesn't want to see his future-in-laws naked."

"It is so not my fault that instead of going upstairs like respectable parents and puttin' on some clothes that you two...sexual deviants decided to come play nookie in the pool!"

"Sexual deviants, I like that..." Mark grinned impishly.

"Arie, it is their house- wait, future in-laws?"

"You two are gettin' married? Again? No, me first!" Arielle stamped her foot, trying not to grin and be upset at the same time. "We wanted to tell YOU something, not the-wait, when did this happen?!"

Jasina couldn't help laughing at her daughter's bewilderment, turning to where she was still covered by Mark by able to look up at Arielle. "Trish and Steve decided to set us up on blind dates, lying to us in the process and their own devious plan worked like a charm."

"A blind date eh?"

"Hey, they can't take all the credit!"

"Arie, now isn't the time..." Gary groaned when she just kept going off at the mouth without realizing what she was saying.

"It was MY idea, not theirs! They just set it up!"

"EXCUSE ME?"

Arielle began backtracking as fast as she could, dragging Gary with her. She let out a squeak when her Dad hauled himself out of the pool, quickly closing her eyes and walking backwards. "Now...Daddy..."

"Girl, when are ya gonna learn to quit meddlin'?" Mark demanded, reaching for one of the large pool towels in a nearby lounge chair and wrapping it around his waist. He was glad he and Jasina were back together, but not so pleased with the meddling part.

What the hell was with people and doing that to them?

Gary let go of Arielle's hand in order to cover his own eyes when Jasina got out of the pool next, not about to get his head kicked off his shoulders if Mark seen him looking or something.

"What the hell do you mean it was your idea, Arielle Marie Calaway?!" Jasina demanded angrily, no longer in the euphoria she'd been in only moments ago, wrapping herself up in the towel to where everything vital was covered. "You're the one who told them to set is up on a blind date?!"

"I...I...I uh..."

Gary knew he was going to regret this in the end, but he couldn't let Arielle take the fall for this, even though it WAS her idea initially. "I did it." He uncovered his eyes, swallowing hard and stood in front of his fiancée. "I saw how unhappy you two were and went to Trish, who went to Steve, and I'm the one who came up with the blind date idea."

Arielle couldn't believe Gary was covering for her, emerald eyes wide. "Gary..."

"No baby doll, I did this and I deserve to get the ass kickin', not you."

Mark looked over at Jasina, who had her teal eyes narrowed at Gary though he didn't miss the way they flickered to Arielle, gathering she was coming to the same conclusion he had. Arielle was behind this and Gary was just trying to take the heat off of her. Cracking his knuckles, he growled menacingly as he approached Gary, not missing the way his eventual son-in-law flinched.

Arielle's jaw hit the patio floor when Gary got pulled into a big bear hug.

"I oughta whip your ass good for what you did, Arielle." Jasina scolded, folding her arms in front of her chest, but couldn't stop the huge smile spreading on her face. "But I'm also glad you did meddle because now me and your father are back together. We're engaged." She flashed the beautiful sapphire ring cut in the shape of a square set on a silver band at her daughter, grinning from ear to ear. "Now let me see yours. I know that's why you two came here today. We've actually been wondering when Gary was going to pop the question."

Gary blushed furiously.

Relieved she wasn't going to get punished for her blind date idea, Arielle stuck out her hand, proudly displaying her own engagement ring with a broad grin. Gary was just glad he wasn't going to get his ass kicked, though he did wish Mark would take his arm off from around his shoulders. The man was almost naked and soaking wet.

"So...congratulations?"

"And the same to you." Mark grinned down at him. "About time you make an honest woman out of my daughter."

Arielle started to say something only to let out a shriek when Gary went flying into the pool, screaming when she was thrown next. She surfaced next to her fiancée, sputtering indignantly while her father laughed his ass off. "DADDY!"

Jasina couldn't stop the tears from sliding down her cheeks because she was laughing too hard, leaning against her fiancé for support. "That's what you get for setting us up!"

"Man...That is just...COLD!" Gary sputtered out, water up his nose.

"MARK WILLIAM CALAWAY!"

Both stopped laughing promptly when they heard the shrieking of Trish Stratus coming toward the patio, knowing Steve must've received their blind date bill. "Uh oh..."

Steve was planning on hurting his best friend in his own damn house, growling. When Steve actually went to swing at him, Mark ducked and then straightened up, sending Steve into the pool next. Then when Trish wouldn't stop screeching, he chucked her too, green eyes wide at the sight of all four conspirators in the pool, drenched and cursing him out, unable to keep himself from laughing.

"If it makes ya feel any better, we really enjoyed our date."

"You mother...fucker..." Trish sputtered out, coughing.

Mark grabbed Jasina's hand, pulling her towards the house. "Let's lock 'em out and hide upstairs darlin'." He drawled softly in her ear.

"Next time, don't meddle in your best friend's lives!" Jasina called over her shoulder heartfelt, agreeing with Mark and not to mention they had to put some clothes on.

Mark locked the screen door and made sure all the doors were closed, knowing Arielle probably still had her house key, but they would be barricaded up in Mark's room by the time the foursome got out of the pool. Jasina giggled when Mark swept her up and carted them upstairs, kissing him in the process, deciding they didn't need to get dressed right away. There was no hurry after all.

Trish could not believe she'd been chucked into the pool by Mark, cursing up a storm to her husband, who was just as pissed off. "How the HELL did they keep it from us for a month?!"

"Beats the hell outta me, now I gotta pay that fuckin' bill..."

"THIS ISN'T FAIR!"

Gary covered his ears because they were bleeding from Trish's shrieking.

Arielle stood there dripping wet, staying silent and feeling guilty.

Once he and Jasina were both dressed, Mark opened his bedroom window in order to lean out. Whistling to get the four's attention, Mark waved when they all glared up at him. He winced when Trish began screaming even louder, if that were possible.

"There's a valuable...well alright, pricey, lesson to be learned here. Quit meddlin' with us. We're appreciative that ya wanted us back together, but stop bein' so damn sneaky about it."

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT BILL IS?"

"Nope."

"AND YER GONNA HELP ME..." Steve trailed off when he realized that Mark's name was no longer actually tied to the business and HE had been the one to insist Mark keep the credit card. "Goddamn it..."

"Jasina, this isn't fair and you know it! We were just trying to help you guys out!"

"Like my fiancé stated, quit meddling and stop being sneaky with us!" Jasina called back, standing in front of Mark with his arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"Do you have any idea- Wait...WHAT?!" Trish gaped when Jasina waved her left hand, the huge sapphire stone glittering and it was unmistakable which hand and what finger it was on. "YOU TWO ARE ENGAGED NOW?"

"Sure are and so are Arielle and Gary!" Jasina smiled when Mark kissed the top of her head. "So thank you for meddling, but no we're not helping pay for that bill. You should've taken the credit card when you had the chance, Stevie boy."

Trish was now gaping at her god-daughter.

"Con-grat-u-fucking-lations, hope ya don't mind if I don't get any of ya a wedding present, but I'm going to be paying this off for MONTHS! You maxed out this credit card!" Steve bellowed, pissed beyond belief. "Do you know what the limit was?"

"Five digits." Mark yawned, lazily kissing the side of his fiancée's head.

"Forget the card, they're getting married. We get to plan a wedding! TWO weddings!" From the look on Trish's face, Gary was guessing another credit card was about to get maxed out.

"Actually Trish, I hate to break your heart honey, but..." Jasina looked up at Mark, both of them smiling simultaneously. "We're going to Vegas and just having a quiet ceremony..."

"WHAT?!" Now Trish was pissed again, stomping her feet. "NO! You can't do that!"

"Yes we can and we are when we're ready." Jasina snuggled further against Mark, sighing when he held his hand up. "Just think though, we have Arielle's wedding to plan now."

"We're eloping!" Arielle shouted in somewhat of a panic.

"Over my dead body, my sweet daughter."

Gary swallowed hard when Jasina's eyes actually flashed down at him. "We won't elope, Jasina, we promise."

"Gary!"

Trish was in high spirits again. "Let the planning begin!"

"No, we wanted to elope and go to Mexico!" Arielle argued, refusing to back down. "I don't want a fancy weddin'!"

"You are so getting one honey."

"Arie...what's wrong with a fancy weddin'?" Mark called down, enjoying this from his safe perch. Steve had forgotten all about yelling at them in favor of having a mild stroke over the image of Trish shopping for ANOTHER wedding.

"I'm not fancy! I'm-I'm...a tomboy!"

"So get married in denim." Steve suggested, knowing that wouldn't hurt the bank account…much.

"Steve! Don't encourage her! I promise you, Arie, you will have a fantastic wedding like mine!" Trish beamed proudly.

Arielle knew she was going to be in hell until the END of her wedding. "Maybe getting married isn't a good idea..."

"Seriously?"

"Just kidding." Arielle giggled, kissing her fiancé's cheek. "But I still don't want a big wedding..."

"Hey Trish, the bigger the better." Jasina encouraged with a devious grin, knowing they could afford to give their daughter a dream wedding. Though most of the decisions would be Trish's, which they were fine with. "Consider yourself Arie's new wedding planner, Trish, hired full-time..."

Trish's brown eyes began sparkling, her mind swirling with ideas left and right.

"MOTHER!" Arielle gaped up at the window, emerald eyes shot open.

Mark actually felt bad for his devious daughter and cleared his throat, pulling Jasina into the bedroom. "Darlin', maybe we should let Arie and Gary decide what kind of weddin' they want." He suggested softly, knowing it would make Trish's day to plan the wedding, but at the same time Arielle was very low key. He could literally count the number of times she had gone all out for an occasion and most of those were from recent years. Birthday, graduation, Trish's wedding. "I'm sure Trish will work with them, right?" He hoped.

"MOTHER, GET BACK OUT HERE!"

"Trish is reasonable and Arielle doesn't have to go with anything she says. We need a wedding planner and there's nobody I trust more than Trish." Jasina said, ignoring her daughter's shrieking, smiling when Mark took a deep breath and cupped his face tenderly in her hand. "Unless you'd rather we just have a double wedding in Vegas?" She had no idea when Mark wanted to get married, giggling when her feet left the floor, her arms instantly wrapping around his neck. "What do you think about a double wedding in Vegas?"

~!~

After escaping Trish's wedding planning nightmare unscathed, Arielle was on her way to Vegas on a plane with Gary and her parents, all four of them deciding low key was the best way to go. Trish and Steve couldn't go because of the kids, but Jasina sent her love to both while hightailing it out of the house to the car with their packed bags in hand. They stopped at Arielle and Gary's apartment so they could pack their own bags.

"Think we're doing the right thing? She's only seventeen still..."

Given that Steve was still a bit...no a lot more seriously pissed off with him over the credit card thing, Mark figured all four of them getting hitched in Vegas was the smartest thing ever. Steve would have probably tried to 'help' Trish plan the wedding if they hadn't or, if they had come along, he would have done something very cruel to them in Vegas. This way, everyone won, though Trish would lose out on planning another huge wedding.

"Darlin', she's graduated, has a job and lives outside our house. If she wants to get married and we tried stoppin' her, we'd be hypocrites. Only thing we can do at this point is support her and hope everythin' works out." Mark murmured, bringing her hand to his lips, kissing the top of it.

"You're right, it's not that I don't want her to get married. I just...We'll have to sign off on it because she's underage, you know that right?" When Mark nodded, Jasina smiled softly up at him, seeing how calm and collected he was about this entire situation.

She had no doubt in her mind that she wanted to marry Mark and have Gary as her son-in-law, Jasina just had to have a moment of uncertainty or she didn't feel like herself. It was weird, but that's who she was and Jasina would never change for anyone, not even Mark. They were finally on solid ground and it felt amazing, Jasina couldn't wait to get to Vegas and smiled when Arielle hopped into the truck with Gary a few minutes later, all four Vegas bound.

Mark had been expecting Gary and Arielle to announce their engagement any day now, so he had had plenty of time to prepare himself for it. Yes, there were a few moments where he wanted to lock Arielle away in her bedroom, stuff her in pink cowgirl boots and insist she go back to being eight years old, but...everything that had happened over the past year or so had mellowed him out. He couldn't force people to do things or change because he didn't like a situation and he sure as hell couldn't blow up over shit, no matter how pissed off it made him.

He had learned how to simmer down and stay calm, and learning it had been pure hell. But it was worth it. Mark was remarrying the love of his life and his daughter was happy. So long as Gary continued to make her happy, then Mark's temper would stay in check. Of course, that also went for Arielle hurting Gary since he genuinely liked the boy.

The plane ride seemed like it took forever, but when they finally arrived, it was time to track down their chapel. Mark and Jasina picked out the perfect one, knowing the kids didn't have a clue how to choose one. They arrived and got ready, the women walking down the aisle toward the men of their dreams. The ceremony was short and to the point yet sweet at the same time that ended with Mark stealing Jasina's breath away and Gary hungrily kissing Arielle. They all four walked out of the chapel with their small bouquets and headed to the hotel, each having their own suite so they had plenty of privacy.

"I feel like we just got our daughter laid for life." Jasina commented once her and Mark were completely alone in their suite, tossing her bouquet and veil to the side. "And somehow I don't feel bad about doing it."

Mark snorted, not voicing his personal opinion that Arielle and Gary were probably laying each other before making their relationship 'proper', though he couldn't help but grin at the way she had worded that. "Laid for life..." He echoed, shaking his head before scooping her up into his arms, kissing her soundly. "Mrs. Calaway..." He murmured, loving the idea of her having his last name again.

Though he knew she'd probably also use her maiden name for business and whatnot. Gary and Arielle would be just fine, and he had even sent them a wedding gift that they should have received by now. It was a gift basket from one of the many sex stores Las Vegas sported. He had even signed it from Mom & Dad, knowing that would freak those two out for months to come.

Sometimes Mark had a twisted sense of humor.

"That has a very nice ring to it." Jasina purred in his ear, feeling her back meet the bedding, having helped pick out some of the sex toys that they sent the kids. It was only fitting considering the kids had graced them with a box full of sex toys the weekend they were holed up together in Mark's bedroom kidnapped. Very ironic indeed. "Stop talking Mr. Calaway and make love to your Vegas bride." Mark growled and Jasina shivered, clothes disappearing moments later as they didn't waste any time consummating their marriage...repeatedly.

Sometime later that night, or morning, Jasina couldn't fall asleep as she heard Mark's deep breathing beside her, wrapped in his strong arms. She loved him with all of her heart and more, the ring on her finger only symbolizing how much he truly did love her. She couldn't help wondering how fast the days went by, how many changes and obstacles she'd gone through since returning to Houston when Arielle was just eleven years old. Now here they were, nearly seven years later, finally re-married and ready to start the next chapter of their lives.

"Days like these move too fast." She whispered softly, feeling Mark's arms tighten around her body and finally succumbed to sleep, looking forward to what the next chapter in her life held and knew Mark would be with her until days like these ended.

The End.