A/N: There will be a few chapters about their special day, believe me, but there will be no third season of the Emerald Series. This is not Downton Abbey, East Enders or Upstairs, Downstairs - or worse: Coronation Street. I won't write 11k episodes! The Emerald Series ends after season 2. I won't stop writing though...

Now back to topic...

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Emerald Bond

Here Comes the Bride

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If Tommy had looked out of the window earlier he might have seen Barbara's bridesmaids gathering there before they entered the foyer of Westminster City Hall.

It took a few moments longer for the bride to arrive.

All her girls already had left the hotel and were on their way to the wedding venue when Barbara rushed up to her room again. She almost had forgotten her flower bouquet. At the hotel's reception Winston already was waiting impatiently for her. He wore his dress uniform.

"Gee, Barbara!" the Detective Constable almost cursed. A small handbag was pushed into his chest. It was made of light blue cloth, gathered at its top by a drawstring. "What's that?"

"My handbag." Barbara explained, rolling her eyes about his obvious stupidity, and when Winston kept looking quizzically at her she added "Keys, IDs, change, tissues..."

He groaned. "Whatever. Now get going!" Gently but insistently Winston steered her towards the exit of the hotel foyer. "I mean, I know we can't be late," he chuckled. "but I don't want to force Chief Inspector Thornton to set the sirens. I may be a detective, but he's still superior to me."

"Thornton?" Barbara asked full of surprise. "Wilfred Thornton?"

Winston nodded but his following explanation went to no one because Barbara, although in wedding clothes, literally ran outside.

At the front of the hotel a police car waited with the blue lights blinking. A uniformed officer held the car door open. He was grinning broadly.

"Thornton!" Barbara cried out and flew into the officer's arms where she quickly added "Sir!"

"Hello Barbs!" the man answered laughing. He was the only person allowed to call her Barbs. "Well, Winston and I thought you'd be in a hurry today, and I can't have my best girl being late for her wedding with Detective Inspector Poncy, can I?"

Wilfred Thornton was Barbara's boss during her uniformed duties. Back in those times, he was the only one who never saw anything but a very good officer in that small but courageous and feisty woman and he always had treated her well. He also was the one who literally had pushed her towards the Detective ranks and Barbara had become good friends with him in that time. She was overwhelmed that he now was here.

"Well, get into that car, Barbara." Winston finally interrupted their welcome. "Or we really have to set the sirens."

"I will anyway." Thornton laughed boisterously. "I'll retire next month. They can't really punish me anymore for that, can they?"

And indeed he drove her to Westminster City Hall with siren wailing and blue light flashing and a bit above speed limit. They were there in no time.

"Sir, this was highly illegal." Barbara laughed. "And it was such a fun. Thank you so much."

"Never mind, Barbara. And start using my given name."

"Oh, where have I heard this before?" Winston muttered when he followed his Sergeant out of the car.

They entered the building and Barbara rushed to the registrar's office first to confirm the details for her marriage certificate. She was there exactly those required ten minutes before the wedding was scheduled. Afterwards she met with Winston again in front of the wedding room. Yazza, Letty, Judith, Nicky and Emily, who had sneaked out of the ceremony room just a few minutes ago, also already waited for her. Suddenly nervosity struck Barbara like lightning.

"Oh, blimey." she cursed. "Can I get a few moments of rest before we enter?"

"No!" All bridesmaids said it simultaneously.

Emily chuckled, hugged the bride quickly and went back inside. She was there to give the start signal. In the very last moment Winston had tossed her Barbara's bag.

Inside some organ music began. Barbara tried to brace herself and was not so sure anymore that this idea was a good one. This was no church, so at least the aisle was not really a long one. Still, all eyes would be on her and on her alone for quite some time. How the hell would she survive that? She straightened her shoulders and deeply inhaled. More to herself she nodded. Her eyes were glued to the closed double door.

Winston also nodded. When he saw that the doors opened, he held out his arm to Barbara and she took it. He could feel it shaking, so he squeezed her hand. Her other hand strangled the wrapped flower stalks of her bouquet.

It was 2 minutes after their scheduled time.

Tonight Tommy had not seen Barbara after she had left to stay at the hotel, away from her fiancé, as tradition dictated. He had missed her dearly.

And his bride obviously had rearranged the ceremony in secret to surprise him once again. He pondered on it while he let his eyes wander across the guests. Not more than 20 attendants were allowed in this room, plus the bridal couple of course.

The room was simple and rather small. The dark red carpet was nothing but practical but the walls ingeniously were decorated with white drapes. Some of them covered windows but some only hid walls without windows. Hidden lights behind them though made it look as if the sun was shining through. Two waist-high columns made of fake marble next to each side of the double door carried bouquets of flowers in the style of Barbara's bridal bouquet. The chairs in four rows of five seats on each side of a short aisle were stylish but simple.

Now that the music had started, a murmur went through the crowd. The groom, standing in front of the registrar's huge white wooden desk, straightened his back and finally looked up when everyone stood like they were supposed to.

This hadn't been planned but it was classical. Although it probably would just be a simple march-in of the bride and her maids, he slightly frowned at what would come. The concern he felt was not for himself but for Barbara. He inhaled but Simon's pat on his arm was able to soothe him. "It's just a surprise, Tommy, and it was her own idea. Don't worry."

First, the bridesmaids came in. They all were dressed differently but in almost the same light blue. All had the same blue shawl loosely hanging around their shoulders and a small wristband with a tiny thistle, a small white rose and some green leaves. The first pair of bridesmaids were Judith and Nicky, then came Letty and Yazza. Yazza went all the way to her chair next to the registrar's desk but the others sat down on their seats in the first and second row of seats, near the closest family and Tommy's groomsmen, and gave away the sight onto the aisle.

With a bit of delay after her maids the bride came in. The organ music changed into the Wedding March and there she finally was.

Winston, visibly proud, still honoured and deeply touched by her request, led Barbara into the room and down the aisle. He was her best man.

At the sight of Barbara Tommy was dumbstruck. It only lasted for a few moments before his expression changed into a broad grin because after the first notes played by an organ, the music suddenly had changed distinctively.

To the sounds of an electric guitar playing the Wedding March Barbara was led down the aisle by the proudest Constable in uniform. Tommy recognised him only at the second glance as DC Winston Nkata. But from then on Tommy's eyes were glued only to his soon to be wife. Although she looked horribly nervous and was blushing deeply she also was grinning like a fool.

And she looked oh so beautiful. Tommy could not get his eyes off of her.

Barbara had tucked her arm into Winston's and held her bridal bouquet with the other hand. Held together by a blue ribbon, blue thistles and white roses were perfectly composed with some green leaves and some twinkling glass stones. On her wrist the zirconia stones in the band of the silver bangle sparkled in competition with her eyes and some white and blue glass diamonds the hair-dresser skilfully had weaved into her hairdo. It was an apparently loosely pinned up bun with a few curls of hair kept out. With every step they waved as gently as her wedding garments.

Pan-Yong really had outdone himself with those. All in all it seemed to be a long dress made of light, gently flowing fabric but in fact she wore trousers. Barbara wore visibly comfortable blue trousers with very wide legs. An almost knee-length top perfectly hid her growing belly. It almost looked like a short white dress, its white fading into the lightest blue at the bottom. It even was almost off-the-shoulder. A white shawl with a light blue pattern at its ends hid Barbara's naked skin and surrounded her beautiful décolleté. In all that blue and white, the small gem on its thin silver chain around her neck almost glowed in contrasting Cornish green.

Tommy knew about a stretch part in her wedding dress because Barbara had told him about that detail, but it was completely invisible. Not so invisible were her shoes. When he looked closer he almost broke into laughter. Her footwear was of the same blue as the trousers, maybe a little darker, but all tone on tone and something at the sides was glittering subtly. It probably was a brand logo. It was not obvious at first glance but Tommy was sure they were some elegant sneakers.

Barbara definitely knew how to make an appearance, and all in her very own special way.

Her subtly made up face was radiating happiness when she slowly was walked towards her fiancé.

Originally this walk-in had not been planned like that. They had wanted to walk down the aisle together. Three weeks earlier Barbara had been joking with Yazza how funny it would be to make it more traditional and the two had worked it out in secret. Only the registrar was informed. Due to the fact that the change of plans would not hold up the schedule, there would be no problem.

Right now, Barbara was not so sure anymore that this was no problem, nor that this was funny. She felt so out of the place. Although she could not focus their guests at all, she knew that all eyes were on her. She only really saw the beaming face of her soon-to-be husband and that was the moment when she knew in the end that it was worth all the embarrassment.

For her the walk down the aisle between the rows of seats and under the eyes of their guests seemed to be endless.

"You look utterly beautiful, Barbara." Tommy greeted her when she finally arrived at the desk. He received her hand from Winston who gave him a solemn nod before he sat down.

Barbara handed the bridal bouquet to Yazza, so it was out of the way for the ceremony.

"I feel weird." she admitted almost inaudibly.

"In sneakers? No way."

Tommy longed to give his bride a kiss, so he bent down, but the movement instantly was interrupted by a distinct harrumph from the registrar behind the desk.

Unnoticed by the couple the music already had stopped a few moments ago.

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