Partners

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She wished her mom were there to see her. Andrea sighed and plopped down on the edge of the bed, looking at her wedding gown wistfully. Of course she would’ve gotten an earful about ‘letting’ herself get pregnant beforehand, but at least she was marrying the culprit.

Andrea laughed at the thought of Chad being paired with the word ‘culprit.’ When she’d mentioned it last night, he’d just leered at her and said that he preferred to be called a perpetrator. She’d told him that he just liked that word because it sounded like ‘penetration,’ to which he’d offered to do just that.

A knock on the door was immediately followed by Annie barging in, travel cups from Caribou in each hand. “Brought you some tea before your hair appointment,” Chad’s sister announced, shoving one of the cups at Andrea. “The guys haven’t gotten here yet, so you’re free to roam around in your panties if that’s what you’re into – did you eat?”

Andrea decided not to tell her about the cold pizza she’d rescued from the mini-bar. “Yup.”

“It was something disgusting, wasn’t it? You know Chad’s told me all about what you eat when he’s not looking,” her friend scolded.

“I’m eating for two now, and she wanted pizza,” Andrea protested. “How am I supposed to say no to that?”

Annie shook her head. “Is this the type of argument you give him?”

“You betcha.” Reclining on the bed with her tea, Andrea watched as her friend bustled around the room making sure everything was ready before pulling an enormous legal pad out from somewhere. “If there was any doubt in my mind that you were adopted, this proves once and for all that you’re really Chad’s sister.”

“We can’t all be lounging about on a bed being carefree and pregnant,” Annie said loftily, flourishing her pen. “Now, let’s go over this one last time. The caterer arrives at noon, and the florist is already setting up in the grand ballroom…”

They went over the plans for the afternoon until the hairdresser, caterer, and the rest of Chad’s family all arrived at once, throwing everything into such confusion that Andrea’s head spun. “I’ll take it from here,” Laurel Shelten announced, clapping her hands for attention. “James, you go make sure that the groom and his attendants aren’t somewhere messing around. Meg, I need you to supervise down in the ballroom – take Becky with you and she can show the caterer where to set up.”

The room cleared with an abruptness that made Andrea blink in astonishment. “Wow.”

“I do my best, sweetie.” Laurel waited for the hairdresser to begin fixing Andrea’s hair before pulling out makeup samples and showing them to her. “I brought several different brands so you could pick which ones you like best…. how did this get in here?” she asked, holding up a tube of bright purple, glittery lipstick. “I think I would have remembered buying something that’s named ‘Midnight Harlot.’”

Andrea laughed, knowing exactly who’d purchased it. She opened her mouth to tell her future mother-in-law that Chad had done it when the familiar sound of multiple police radios going off at once cut her off. “Don’t even tell me that’s for SWAT,” Andrea started. Shouts and running feet past their door made her sigh as Annie went to lean out the window.

“There they go,” her friend announced, wincing at the screech of tires peeling out of the parking lot. “Should I go find someone with a radio, say that we’re going to kill Chad if he’s late, and have them relay the message?”

Andrea glared at her reflection in the mirror as a loose curl flopped in her eyes. “I’m sure he already knows that.”

The three hours before the ceremony crawled by, punctuated by many glances out into the parking lot. The mostly empty parking lot. She paced back and forth in her wedding dress, deciding to blame hormones as the reason she was getting so nervous about the fact that Chad wasn’t there yet. Casting a final glance outside Andrea went to find her father, who at last report was shadowing the extremely nervous caterer.

Chad would be there in time.

_ _ _ _ _

He wasn’t going to be there in time. Chad slammed a clip into his gun as Justin pulled the truck around the back of the building, squinting up at the fourth floor bank of windows. “We gotta climb the fire escape again?”

“Unless you’ve figured out a way to take the elevator without the crazy gunman noticing when it opens,” Chad growled. “If he makes me late, I swear to God I’ll kill him.”

“You’re pretty eager to get married again,” Faith teased from the back seat, passing him a handful of flash-bangs and strapping on her helmet as soon as the car was stopped. “We’ll just warn the guy that Groomzilla is coming to get him, and he’ll surrender in no time.”

Justin laughed and Chad scowled as he slid his vest on. “Very funny. You’re going up first, smartass.”

He kept himself from looking at his watch, trying hard to be patient as he talked to the dumb jerk who thought he was justified in holding his landlady hostage just because he hadn’t paid his rent in two months and she’d threatened to kick him out. “I’ve got issues, man,” the guy whined at him over the phone. “Nobody understands me!”

Chad clamped his hand over the receiver and pinched the bridge of his nose, praying for patience. “We’ve all been where you are right now,” he tried.

“Really? You’ve spent so much on por- uh, entertainment, that you couldn’t make rent?”

“Okay, some of us have been where you are right now.”

“Hey, don’t patronize me,” the guy warned him.

Chad glanced at his watch, grinding his teeth. He’d had enough of playing nice. “Patronize? Your mom teach you that word” he looked at the report Jameson was holding “Gerald? Can I call you Gerald?”

Faith’s eyes grew round and she shook her head violently. “Chad, don’t!”

“I got this creep’s number,” he assured her, holding his palm over the phone so ‘Gerald’ couldn’t hear, “And that number belongs to his mother. We play nice with this idiot, we’ll be here all day – I want his mother down here five minutes ago.” She ran off while he pretended to write down the list of demands Gerald was giving him, and Chad motioned to the rest of the team to get into position.

He convinced Gerald to let him talk to the landlady, who seemed more irritated than frightened at finding herself held at gunpoint, and was halfway to persuading the idiot to let her go when Faith and Williams returned with the woman of the hour, Gerald’s mother. “Is that my son you’re talking to?” she demanded. “Give me that phone, young man!” Chad handed it over and they all listened, bemused, as she read her son the riot act. “Gerry, you get out here right now! I’ll bet you don’t even have a real gun – I know all about the Laser Tag guns you bought instead of your medication…”

Chad looked at Faith, who face-palmed. “Did anyone actually see what kind of gun he had?”

“We couldn’t get a positive ID on the make and model,” Williams said sheepishly.

He shifted impatiently as Gerald emerged with the landlady, who was about as pissed off as he was, and a Laser Tag gun. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Chad groaned. “I’m going to be late for my own wedding because he wanted to play Laser Tag?”

Gerald’s mother cuffed her son’s ear. “Did you hear that? You just ruined his wedding day! Apologize right now!”

“Sorry, Lieutenant,” Gerald muttered.

Jameson came running up with a handful of officers from Metro. “They’ll handle it from here, Sir – we need to get you back to the hotel pronto.”

“But the paperwork-”

“Is something I can do later,” Justin offered, and then wilted under the knowing looks aimed at him. “If Faith will help me, I mean.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

“If that boy is off having a drink somewhere, I’ll tan his hide and make it into seat covers,” Joseph Battle growled, adjusting his boutonniere for what had to be the twentieth time. “Just when I thought he’d finally straightened up, he runs off to leave you at the altar.”

“Dad, a SWAT call-out doesn’t exactly count as ‘leaving me at the altar,’” Andrea sighed. “And stop messing with that, you’re going to wear a hole in your lapel.”

Her father sniffed. “Just like your mother.”

“Yeah?”

“She’d be proud of ya, kid.”

Andrea smiled and pretended not to see her dad rub at his eyes. “I hope so.” The screech of tires made her cock her head, listening as shouts and the sound of car doors slamming drifted up from the parking lot. “Looks like I won’t be left at the altar after all – disappointed?” she teased.

Her Maid of Honor poked her head from the bathroom, tube of mascara still in hand. “Are those idiots back yet?”

“Sounds like it,” Andrea said, glancing over at the window she’d been forbidden to look out of because it would be bad luck for her to see Chad before the ceremony. Personally, she thought the two of them had had enough bad luck to last five lifetimes – things couldn’t possibly get any worse than Eddie taking revenge by cutting Chad’s climbing gear, or the drama surrounding the death of Rita’s father.

The two of them must have used up all of the bad luck on the West Coast by now, but she didn’t tempt fate by trying to sneak a peek at her future husband. Faith ran in, out of breath and in a panic at finding Andrea already dressed, but Annie calmly ushered her into the bathroom to start getting ready.

All too soon they were lining up in front of the double doors that opened to the grand ballroom, and the Wedding March was playing. The Bridesmaids paired off with the Groomsmen as they walked through the doors, and Andrea fanned herself nervously as Megan gently urged her small daughter through. The little girl ducked her head shyly as she threw handfuls of rose petals to the ground, making everyone laugh when she tried to run back to her mother.

“Let’s get you married, sweetie,” Joe Battle said, holding out his arm. She took it and they walked down the aisle – her father beamed around the room proudly, but she had eyes only for Chad.

He looked more handsome than ever in a black morning suit, and the only clue that he’d rushed in from a SWAT call was the damp tuft of hair that was sticking straight up. Well, that and the fact he was still wearing his tactical boots. Chad lifted his shoulders slightly in a rueful shrug when he noticed what she was looking at, and she smiled as his gaze swept over her admiringly.

“Mess this up and I’ll shoot you between the eyes,” her father warned.

“Yes, sir.” Mollified, Joe Battle left to sit on Andrea’s side of the room where her uncles were sitting. “He was kidding, right?” Chad murmured.

Andrea wrinkled her nose at him. “Wouldn’t bet on it.”

The preacher cleared his throat as Chad opened his mouth to whisper something else to her – probably a naughty guess as to what her ‘something blue’ was – and gave them each a warning glance to behave. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”




tbc…
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