Susan immediately got her things together. "Please, Lord... let this work...", she whispered as she quickly got out of the hotel room and headed straight back to her car; praying that there may have been a camera and certainly hopefully caught the event.
With Peggy assisting by using her eidetic memory to remember, they looked extremely well through the alley, the store corners and the bar corners, but to Susan's shock and Peggy's rage, there was no cameras straight on the sides of the alley or into the alley, and only the cameras on the corners was only visual, no sound.
Luckily, Derek and his buddies were long gone, probably to his house or one of the corner pharmacies as the corner cameras never saw a single police car or an ambulance truck at all, only proving that Derek would have just as well kicked a dumpster or at a wall in his drunk stupor, playing a dare or something for his buddies next to a flowerpot falling off a balcony, probably because of a stray cat or bird that Derek would easily explain.
Susan felt destroyed, practically her last true hope was now dead. All that remained was maybe one of the groomsmen throw Derek under the bus and even that idea was grasping at straws almost. She sat down on the ground and started to sob again.
Peggy sat next to her on the curb and tried to kiss her on the temple which Susan only felt a breeze touching her skin, and glanced at Peggy who whispered, "I'm so sorry, Susan...".
Susan murmured, "It's okay, Mum...", and Peggy gave a small smile, "It's chilly and dark...You need to sleep, honey. Maybe things will look up in the morning.". Susan sighed, nodded and got up from the curb, heading back to her car, to her hotel room.
She was exhausted and upset, but she managed to get a decent amount of sleep, with Peggy and Steve attempting to tuck her in, and with words of love, Steve and Peggy vanished, taking off the old wolf stuffy, turning off the stone.
In the other earth, Steve held Peggy as she cried against his chest, "It's not fair! Why did she have to see and hear that?! That fucking bastard!".
"And we can't do anything to help.", Steve shook his head as he just let Peggy sob. "There really isn't anything we can do?", she sobbed.
"Not unless we can somehow get this stone to Susan in the next few hours... by that point, it'll probably be too late...", Steve replied with a frown.
Peggy nodded, "And Stark said that the portal isn't ready yet as he's double-checking the last details before it would be set next week...And I doubt people over there would believe a movie-reel stone as well, it's not normal...".
Steve sighed, "Yeah...The best we can do is right now, as soon as dawn comes, we can still be there through the stone, to support Susan, and watch Tara get married even if it's wrong...She deserves to be appreciated and acknowledged by all of us...".
"If Susan even shows up...", Peggy whispered as Steve understood. Susan might just feel so terrible, and Tara's words so stinging that she wouldn't even go to the wedding.
Steve kissed Peggy on the head, "I couldn't blame her, but she's still family, and besides, Carl and Wendy would want both sisters to be there, even if Susan wouldn't tell them about what happened...After all, Carl and Wendy are all too absorbed and happy to see their first daughter get married and all, and they like Derek somehow.".
Peggy sighed deeply, "True, and Carl and Wendy had met Derek's parents, and well, they somehow felt fine to me, but Derek...How did the apple fall far from the tree?".
"Ego, probably, you saw him at school through Susan at times; seemed to have most things going for him...", Steve said.
Peggy nodded, "Sounds about right...Come on, luv, let's catch some sleep before Henry wakes up for his feeding or something else.", and Steve kissed Peggy on the temple, "Yeah...I would need it, alright...I still wish I was able to strangle that bastard.".
"You and me both, luv.", Peggy chuckled in agreement, and they went to bed, with a one-time wake up feeding for Henry, unknowing what the night is bringing.
In the universe of Susan's world, a huge boulder-sized meteorite is moving through outer space, and into the Milky Way galaxy, through the solar system, soon passing over the moon, and slowly approaching Susan's Earth.
Somewhere on the borders of Antarctica, in a secret outpost of the United States of America, two men named Chris and Marco is making out, grinding against each other.
"Marco...", Chris moaned at the touch of his lover. One of the good things with the research outpost with them was that most of the time it would be just the two of them, free to share their love without judgement or persecution. Chris, as usual, always let the olive-skinned lover be in control whenever they would give in to their passions.
Marco grinned, his dark green eyes glittering in delight as he kissed Chris, having a buzz cut of dark brown hair, and of course, olive-colored in his skin tone.
It's hard to believe that a Spanish son of immigrants like him would find love in an incredible man who had been bullied for his glasses and belief in human rights, for Chris is dorky and cute with his dark blue eyes and his shaggy black hair, and pale skin.
Seeing them side by side, especially with their heights; 5ft for Chris respectively, and 6 ft for Marco respectively, and of course, stereotyped looks, people would assume that they wouldn't get along with each other, but boy, no way.
Marco grabbed his hips tighter as he grinded against him, "That's right, Chris...What do you want?", and Chris moaned, gasping, "I want you, Marco!", as he went to grab Marco's clothed yet tight rod.
Purring, "Heaven to my ears, my sweet star.", Marco nipped at his skin as he pulled down Chris's pants and boxers in a yank and was about to remove his pants and briefs down to his shoes when a loud beeping sound pierced the air, echoing through the small research outpost.
"Oh, come on!", Chris shouted as he clearly was pissed off. "Ruin the mood, why don't you?!", he was obviously shouting at the alarm rather than Marco. "Hey, we can always just ignore it if you want.", Marco teased as he kissed Chris on the cheek.
Chris looked at him with a longing look, "Believe me, Marco, I want to, but I can't with that alarm in my ears, and besides, how many times did the alarm go off?".
Marco blinked, "As of now? One.", before groaning, "Fine, I'll check it.", before leaving Chris to go look at his laptop, and Chris sighed as he buttoned himself back up, clearly bent up.
"Oh, shit. Chris, you better see this. Palmar picked it up.", Marco called back, and Chris frowned, "Coming.", walking up behind Marco's chair, to look, with Marco commenting, "Really big too, and it's on our way.".
"What exactly is it?", Chris asked. "Meteor of some kind... dimensions... fairly small.", Marco observed.
"So, more a meteorite then?", Chris commented. "It's large enough to break through the atmosphere, certainly can leave mark wherever it lands... but it's not a close pass by, it's going to hit the planet for sure.", Marco grimaced.
"How is it no one saw it until it's practically within the system? Much less pass the moon?", Chris frowned in concern and confusion.
Marco shook his head, "Beats me, but the energy is definitely off the charts. Adjust the machines so I can get a lock on it, Chris.", and Chris nodded, and fiddled with the machines.
Marco called out, "Almost, almost, got it...Okay, looks like it's going into the Northern Hemisphere...good ole America...California...Chris...it's our hometown...", horror and fear filling his eyes.
"Modesto... Where exactly?", Chris whispered as he felt almost all the air leave his lungs. "Can't pinpoint that... might be somewhat out of the way though...", Chris said as he kept tracking. "I think somewhere just barely south of any residential areas... maybe near the forest...".
Chris inhaled and exhaled, "That is good news at least...I'd hate for it to hit a residential street...or Susan's house...". Marco bit his lip, "Yeah...Probably would ruin some fields or something, but it's better than nothing, maybe lose some crops or whatever...".
Chris nodded, "Right. Still, this is big news.", before grabbing the phone, pushing a button before a ring sounded out, with a voice responding, "Yes?".
"Supernova, this is Red Dwarf. We have a Code Nimoy. I repeat, Code Nimoy!", Chris replied quickly and sharply. "Roger. We see it.", the voice on the other end said before it hung up.
"I actually really hate those guys stateside, not even taking emergencies that seriously with the codewords...", Chris sighed as Marco rubbed his shoulders. "Any way I can help make you feel better?", he asked.
Chris looked over his shoulder with a smile, "At least I know Susan is gonna be okay, and that is a good sign for me, and to even make it way better...All of this brought my libido back down, but I know a way for you to bring it back...Wanna go doggy style, my hunky bull rider?".
Marco purred as he leaned his chin into his shoulder, nipping his skin, "Now you're talking...I'm going to make this really good, my sweet star.", before grinding into him as he lifted him up, and Chris moaned as Marco took them to the couch.
Elsewhere, sometime later on, around 5 am, Tara was sleeping, intending to be that way to 7 am, but that didn't defy the band of bridesmaids for they got a phone call from Derek, claiming that he got a little surprise for Tara on TV.
"Alright, we'll tell her.", one of the bridesmaids said. "Oh, and just also let her know that I might just be a bit late getting there. Having some issues with my foot and having to probably get it looked at after the ceremony. Freak accident last night, a flowerpot fell and shattered on my foot while I was out with the groomsmen.", Derek chuckled.
"Don't worry, we'll let her know that too.". The call ended as one of the girls looked at another, "Well, that'll probably kill the honeymoon mood.".
The bridesmaid shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not, but we know Tara. She and Derek can figure something out, it's lucky that it's only his foot, and not you know what.". The other bridesmaids nodded in agreement, seeing what she meant by that.
They soon got into Tara's bedroom, clicking on the lights, and Tara groaned, "Five more minutes, Mom.", and one of the bridesmaids laughed, "We're not your mom, Tara! Wake up!".
Tara blinked sleepily at the bridesmaids, furrowing her eyebrows as she glanced at the alarm clock, "It's 5 in the morning, what's going on?", and another bridesmaid replied, "A surprise! Turn on the tv!".
"What's on TV at 5 in the morning other than infomercials?", Tara obviously was still in a fairly down mood; on top of still being really tired, there was also the issue with Susan. She didn't tell her parents about what had happened so they'd probably only know by the time the ceremony would start.
"Come on, you'll miss it!", one of the girls pushed her out of bed as Tara landed on the floor. "Ow...", Tara groaned.
The said girl sheepishly apologized, "Sorry, but you gotta see this now.", and Tara sighed, and grabbed the remote, turning on, and blinked at the channel, the channel where Derek works, getting up, and looking at him.
"The day's early with fog skies, but they're turning into sunny skies with no clouds. A perfect seventy-five degrees. A wonderful day for going off to the fairgrounds to check out the rides, or a glorious day to marry Tara Murphy down at the church. I love you, babe.", Derek warmly and happily said with his hands forming into a heart.
Tara sighed happily, petted the TV with a big smile, "I love you too!", hearing the bridesmaids give sighs of awe, along with the news anchors who was impressed, and Derek grinned, "And good morning, Modesto!", with a flair of his hand.
"Told you it was important.", the bridesmaid teased as Tara rolled her eyes. "Now come on, we've got to get you ready!".
Tara raised an eyebrow, "I told you once, I will tell you again. I need to sleep, and don't wake me up until 7. And the ceremony isn't on until 9.", and the bridesmaids rubbed the back of their necks, hearing the tired, annoyed tone in her voice, and nodded, "Okay, okay, we'll go.", leaving the bedroom, and Tara shook her head, sighing as she went back into the warmth of her bed after shutting the tv off.
Like intended, Tara slept hard, and woke up at 7 by the alarm clock, and planning to grab snippets of sleep in the limo and such as she still feels a bit tired, she went on to join the bridesmaids to get ready.
Meanwhile, Susan woke up to the sunlight through her hotel room blinds, and sighed heavily as she remembered last night, and now today is her big sister's wedding...She saw the illusion of her dad appearing and sat next to her as she sat up in bed, "I don't know if I can do this, Dad.".
"You must... at least try something if not anything. Even if it doesn't work, you did try. I know you'll regret it if you don't at least try that last desperate idea.", Steve said as Susan sighed.
"I know... I'd probably also regret not showing up...", Susan shook her head. "But... I'm just still... AH!", she shouted as she punched the pillow.
Steve watched Susan punch the pillow a few times before she panted, feeling a tad better as she had imagined Derek's face as the pillow. Steve replied, "You're doing this for Tara. Keep that in mind...Sure, the wedding would be ruined figuratively if the people know, but at least Derek's reputation would be crumbling to pieces, and Tara would be safe from him...just like you wanted...".
Susan exhaled deeply as she listened to her dad, and nodded, "Yeah, yeah, you're right...I can't be a coward...not now...", before getting out of bed, heading to the bathroom, grabbing her things on the way in, and Steve smiled softly and proudly to himself, "That's my daughter...".
And so, Susan, keeping her dad's advice in mind, got ready, and headed out to the church in her car, her heart still heavy, but her soul is holding strong...Desperate things call for desperate measures, indeed...
Susan quickly saw her phone buzzing when she discovered that it was Tara texting her. Susan was expecting one of two things. Either to delete her number or tell her to stay away. Susan was a bit surprised to see what was texted.
'For the sake of Mom and Dad as well as all the years we've shared... I want you to come back, but I want you to apologize to me.'
Susan took a deep breath. At least she might have a chance to then to get close to one of the groomsmen. And then of course, there was her last desperate plan that probably might get her attacked by Derek... or the police depending on how he and his friends reacted.
At a stoplight, she quickly texted Tara, 'Already on way to church. Will see you before ceremony.', hoping that she could still do her plan and apologize to Tara all the same...Of course, Tara might be upset and all if the plan works...After all, it's hard to tell when she will be there to witness Derek's confession...Weddings doesn't always go on time...
She eventually reached the church; thankful she got already early and would probably still have time. She sighed as she just hoped things would work out for the best. She could feel Peggy and Steve's love which at least helped her confidence.
"Okay... one way or another... I'll save her...", Susan nodded to herself with determination.
Susan wandered around, trading greetings with people and having sincere, slightly fake smiles, searching around for any of the groomsmen, and found one of them. She narrowed her eyes, heading to the groomsman, barely hearing her mom's voice announcing that the wedding's on in 30 minutes.
"Hi..", Susan smiled warmly. The groomsman, distracted with his tie, glanced over, and smiled, "Hello. Er, you're Susan Murphy, right? Tara's sister?".
Susan nodded, "Yep, through the surname is Rogers. Tara is my big sister in relation of adoption.", and the groomsman blinked, "Oh, yeah, I heard a bit about that. You know, I would have mistaken you for your sister easily, if it wasn't for your short hair and all.".
Susan laughed, "You ain't the first one to think that. We're close as best friends and sisters as we would be! So, anyway, I heard on the chain gossip that Tara's boy, Derek got injured on the foot.".