Wedding Dos and Don'ts
Weiss and Caitlin's wedding day - of course things are going to go wrong. Sequel to The Science of Table Turning.
Summary: Wedding day jitters and laughable hijinks; a one-shot sequel to The Science of Table Turning. I'd highly suggest reading that first.
Disclaimer: Caitlin and Haley Sinclair are mine, the rest belong to JJ Abrams.
~*~*~
Eric Weiss stood in front of the mirror, tying and retying his bow tie. It was a gorgeous day outside, and he was getting married.
Him. Eric Weiss. Married.
He knew this should feel weird. He had been the last of the bachelors. The one who had said just two years ago, on a very drunken night, that there was no woman on earth that would want to be his wife. To be standing here today, knowing that his entire family was sitting just outside. Knowing that the woman he thought he'd never find was waiting to marry him.
It should have been weird.
Instead, it was the most natural feeling in the world.
He turned his head as his best man entered the tent. "Well?" he asked impatiently.
Michael Vaughn laughed at the impatience on Eric's face. "Relax. She looks gorgeous. Perfect."
"Of course she does. She always does." Eric ran his hands through his already tousled hair. Damn. Now he'd have to comb it again. "Do you have the ring?"
"What ring?" Vaughn asked innocently. "Oh. You mean this ring." He pulled the velvet box out of his pocket and handed it to Weiss.
Eric opened the box and inspected the platinum band. He lifted it out, and for the millionth time, read the inscription on the inside. Love says we will.
One night after one of their frequent arguments, Eric had slumped down onto the sofa, head in his hands. "I don't know, Sinclair. Who says we'll even make it?"
She had kneeled in front of him, placing her own hands over his. Forcing him to meet her gaze, she had smiled a little smile. "Love says we will."
Now that the day was here, there was no room for doubt. "Love says we will," he murmured, placing the ring back in its box.
"I wonder where Sydney is," Vaughn said casually, lifting up the tent flap and peering outside. His eyes widened and he sucked in a breath. "Houston, we--"
Eric's hand snapped the ring box shut with a loud crack. "If you say we have a problem, I'm going to wring your scrawny neck and make Ethan my best man."
Vaughn chuckled nervously, backing away from his best friend as he did so. "Hmm. Well. As you've always managed to scare me, I'm reluctant to tell you this."
"Vaughn," Weiss growled out.
"Remember Christine Phillips?"
"Who?" A very different blonde than the one he should have been concentrating on slipped into Eric's consciousness, dredged up from a very distant memory. "Oh. Her. What about her?"
"Well...she's just outside."
"Who invited her?"
"No one. But I'd be willing to bet that the wine glass in her hand convinced her that crashing your wedding was a good idea." Vaughn motioned Eric over. With a look of horror, Eric saw Christine wandering around, stumbling a bit in her heels. She was followed closely by Sydney, who was obviously attempting to reign in the drunk CIA agent.
Eric swore profusely as Christine suddenly changed direction. "No, no, no. Please, don't go in there, for the love of God, please..." He watched helplessly as she entered the tent where his bride was getting ready.
"Vaughn, go stop her! She can't talk to Caitlin, she'll ruin everything!" Vaughn's facial muscles twitched, his lips slightly pursed, obviously trying to prevent the burst of laughter that was threatening to escape. "Are you...laughing?" Eric asked incredulously. "This is serious!"
"Why don't you go? It's your bride, your wedding, after all."
"Oh, that stupid tradition, you know, I'm not supposed to see her before the ceremony!"
"Well I'm certainly not going. So let's just see how this plays out, shall we?"
Weiss threw up his hands. "Oh, God."
~*~*~
Caitlin Sinclair smoothed her hands nervously over the satin of her bodice, hoping to calm the butterflies in her stomach. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she kept seeing small imperfections. The dress was too plain, her hair wasn't right, and her makeup was just plain horrible.
Caitlin took a deep breath. She reminded herself that she loved the dress, had loved it ever since she first saw it in the shop. Sydney had loaned her the perfect necklace, and Haley was a master at hair and makeup. Caitlin knew that Eric would love her finished appearance, and that was all that mattered. *Chill out, Sinclair.*
She didn't know what was wrong with her. She was marrying a funny, adorable, intelligent man that she just happened to be crazy about. She hadn't been nervous when Eric proposed, or in the months following. She was certain this was the right thing; so why was she so damned scared?
"Just nerves, Cait. Don't analyze it too much." Her sister Haley smiled knowingly, coming from the back of the tent, carrying the beautiful veil. "I know you, and I know you're second guessing everything about today. But the most important thing to remember is this. You're not marrying just any man, you're marrying the right man. That's all that matters." She placed the veil on Caitlin's head and started arranging the folds. "If you have the right man, even a quickie wedding in Vegas would be perfect. So just relax, and go out there and become Mrs. Eric Weiss." Haley dropped a kiss on Caitlin's shoulder. "You look so beautiful."
Caitlin turned and circled her arms around her baby sister. "Thank you, Hales. Thank you for everything." Her eyebrows quirked. "Me, getting married. What is the world coming to?"
"That's what I'd like to know," said a slurred voice behind the sisters. Caitlin turned to see a woman in a red dress leaning against the tent post. "Caitlin Sinclair. It's been a while."
The bride wrinkled her forehead. "With all due respect, do I know you?"
The blonde sneered derisively. Sydney entered the tent after her, raising her hands helplessly at Caitlin. "Oh, you might not remember me. Christine Phillips. We were in Agent training together at Langley."
Caitlin tossed her head defensively. "You gave me a black eye during combat training."
"Good memory." Christine stared at Caitlin with such venom that Caitlin couldn't help but glare back. She hadn't the slightest idea why this woman was here, drunk, on this particular day, but Caitlin knew she didn't like it.
"Well I really would love to reminisce, but if you'll excuse me, I have a man to marry. You're welcome to stay, if you'd like. Sydney, could you find Ms. Phillips a seat?"
Sydney nodded and placed her hand on Christine's bicep. "Come on, Christine," she said, steering her toward the outdoor seating.
"Get your hand off me!" Christine yelled. "I'm not going anywhere until I do what I came for. Where's Agent Weiss?" She looked around, leering at all the wedding guests. "Agent Weiss, where are you?" she shouted drunkenly.
Caitlin glanced furtively at Haley. Sighing, she stepped outside and tapped Christine on the shoulder. "Excuse me. Could you tell me why you want to talk to my fiancé?"
Christine turned. "Why, didn't he tell you? We're old friends."
Sydney shook her head and whispered to Caitlin, "They met once. Weiss asked her out, but nothing ever happened."
"That's not true!" Christine argued. "There was definitely something between us. I'm just here to remind him of that."
Caitlin's face took on a dangerous look. "Eric and I are getting married today. Nothing is going to stop that, do you get me?"
Christine lifted her chin. "Why would he marry you, when he could have someone like me?"
~*~*~
"What's happening?" Weiss asked Vaughn, who was keeping watch by the tent opening.
He heard Christine call his name loudly. "What is my family going to think?"
Vaughn ignored the question, enthralled with the scene in front of him. "Hey, Weiss. Remember that thing about not seeing Caitlin before the wedding?"
"Yeah?"
"You need to make an exception. Right now." He glanced at Weiss. "Hurry!"
Eric wrestled with his conscience for a moment, then scrambled to stand beside Vaughn. He tentatively stared out into the sunshine. His first sight was Caitlin standing in the courtyard, surrounded by Sydney, Haley, and Christine Phillips.
His breath caught in his throat. *Oh, my God. She's never looked more beautiful.* That was his first thought.
His second thought: *Oh, shit.*
He knew the look on Caitlin's face. He'd often inspired that look. That look meant trouble.
Thwack.
Caitlin's right fist connected with Christine's eye, sending the woman sprawling back into Sydney's arms. Eric faintly heard the woman he loved say, "I owed you a black eye anyway. Stay away from my husband." She tossed her head in a triumphant fashion, her eyes flickering up to meet Eric's.
The crowd erupted in thunderous applause and catcalls. Caitlin smiled at Eric and shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry," she mouthed to him.
Eric shook his head, trying to look reproving and failing miserably. God, he loved her. And barring any more catastrophes, he would spend the rest of his life proving it to her.
Vaughn clapped his hand on Weiss's shoulder. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"That stupid tradition's already shot to hell. Just go kiss her already."
He didn't need to be told twice.
After winding his way through a crowd of guests, jumping over a stack of folding chairs, and stepping over a very outraged Christine Phillips, Eric found himself standing in front of his bride. "One hell of a right hook you've got there."
Caitlin tilted her head up to him, a smile playing upon her lips. "Any other dumb blondes I should know about?"
He shook his head. "You're the only one." He rubbed his hand up and down her bare arm. "You've always been the only one for me, you know that, right?"
"I know. Of course I know." Another bout of applause came from the captive audience as the bride and groom kissed. "So, I think it's about time you married me, don't you?" Caitlin asked Eric.
He twisted his head toward the stage. "Reverend!" The startled minister nodded in reply. "I do, she does, let's all go get drunk!" He ducked in time to avoid a slap from Caitlin.
The ceremony proceeded without a further hitch, as Christine was hauled off by two of the ushers before she could cause more trouble. The entire wedding party smiled as Eric and Caitlin kissed again, this time as husband and wife. They all piled into limousines headed for the reception. The music, conversation, and to Eric's delight, champagne flowed freely for several hours, until Haley stood up to make a toast to her sister and new brother-in-law.
"To Eric and Caitlin. Because they fought tooth and nail for this happiness. Because I've never seen my big sister look happier than she does right now. And because..." She trailed off, dashing a tear from her eye. "Well, damn it, because you don't mess with a Sinclair's man." She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders as the dance hall erupted in laughter. "You just don't!"
Posted by Carrie on 12:16 PM