Chapter 25: Si je te propose

Disclaimers: not mine, the same ones applied

Spoiler: Green Piece

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"I need you to be my maid of honour."

Stella could feel the hot coffee that threatened to come out of her nose at Danny Messer's words. It wasn't that the younger man surprised her (no, he had been fidgeting ever since he entered the break room, which was nothing unusual these days since Lindsay had announced her pregnancy). No, it was definitely not because Stella was unaware of his presence.

Rather, it was the very peculiar request.

"You want to try again?" she choked out, being putting on a teasing grin, "Unless there's something that I don't know about you – should I warn Mac he might need to pull your personnel file to change some pertinent information?"

"Neh, come on, Stell, you know me – I'm 100% man!" Danny protested. His words went out of his mouth before he could process how they sounded. His expression turned sheepish the moment realization hit, though, and his hand went to rub the back of his neck, "Ahh, crap. That came out all wrong."

Stella was barely containing her laughter, "You wanna try again?"

"Eh, well, I'm gonna get married."

There was no hiding her surprise at his statement, but soon that emotion was covered with excitement. She went on to hug the younger CSI and planted a kiss on his cheek, "Congratulations, Danny! Now when is the wedding? It'll have to be after Lindsay returns from Montana, right?"

"Eh, actually," the younger man stammered again, his hand still rubbing back and forth behind his neck.

"Come on, Danny, spit it out," she wasn't really annoyed – no, but she did want Danny to move beyond the um's and the eh's.

"Are you free this afternoon, say around 3?"

Confusion must have registered on her face, because Danny was quick to elaborate, "I've looked into it. The judge is available until around 4:15 today."

Realization, just a trickle of it, dawned in her, "Please tell me you've proposed to Lindsay?"

The sheepish look appeared once again on the man's face, "Well, you see, eh – stop glaring at me, Stella – well, I proposed a while back – "

"You did?" she had to interrupt. She had been examining Lindsay's hand diligently every day since they had announced the pregnancy, but there hadn't been a ring.

Had the two been hiding their engagement from the lab?

"Yes, I did, and she turned me down."

Stunned somehow wasn't quite enough to explain what it was that Stella was feeling, but she definitely wasn't certain how to make of the situation.

"She turned you down."

"Uh huh," a nod from Danny.

"Yet you're still taking Lindsay to see a judge today, for something that would require my being a maid of honour."

"Your deductive skill continues to amaze me, Stella," the sarcasm wasn't lost on Stella.

"Watch it, Messer," she didn't mean to snap. "Please tell me you've thought it through."

"Yes, I have. I've talked to Mac about it as well."

"And Mac told you to get married?" that didn't sound like the Mac Taylor she knew at all.

"Well, no, but he gave me a lot to think about and I know this is the right thing to do."

"No regrets, Danny," she needed him to understand. "A baby's involved. You're in it for the long haul."

"I'm already in," he sounded confident, and Stella believed him.

"And you want me there," she stated, but the question inherent was obvious. "Not Flack, not Hawkes, not Adam."

"Well, I don't think it'd go over too well to be called the maid of honour," he started, and she looked at him challengingly, as if daring him to continue. "Plus, you're like the big sister from Greek that I never had, Stell."

She paused, letting the sentiments behind that statement wash over her.

"Stell?" he was waving his hand in front of her face.

"It's good that you said sister and not mother, Danny. Otherwise I would have seriously hurt you."

"I love you too," Danny threw back with a wink, and waved someone in the break room. Stella turned around to see Mac standing there.

"We about ready to leave or do you two need any more declarations?" he deadpanned, and Stella fought to hide her amusement.

"No, no, no," the younger CSI waved his hands negative. "I'll, eh, kidnap Lindsay to the Judge's. Meet you two there?"

They nodded and watched as the groom-to-be dash off in one direction.

"That sounded wrong," she finally said when they were both alone in the break room.

"It's Danny," Mac responded by way of explanation. "Shall we?"

Side by side, arms brushing, they walked towards the elevators that would take them to the garage.

"So you knew about it," she said once they were buckled in his SUV.

"What? This? Yes," Mac nodded as he started the car and maneuvered them out of the parking lot. "I talked to him earlier about this all, and then he came this morning and asked for the time off."

"And now you're his best man," she grinned.

"And now I'm his best man," he grinned back.

They were driving along at a snail pace towards their destination. Stella let her mind wander, thinking about the wedding of her two friends, about life, about the baby.

About the man beside her, and how, for the first time in her adult life, she thought about marriage, with her standing at the altar.

She had long since given up the elusive dream of marriage, but lately, she found herself glancing a little more at the wedding magazines at the grocery store.

She wasn't sure what Mac was thinking about it – they hadn't really talked about it, and the whole need for secrecy wasn't exactly conducive to engagement and marriage between them two, either. And it wasn't as if she wanted that piece of paper to prove that they were meant to be.

No, it was just that the image of pledging her life to someone, in front of their family and friends appealed to her.

As they were moving along the busy streets, Stella spotted one of the flower boutiques she frequented, and her hand shot out to squeeze Mac's arm, "Park here."

Her partner didn't ask any question, though his curiosity was obvious. He did as she asked and killed the ignition.

"Stella?" he turned to look at her. She was already fishing out her wallet from her bag.

"Wait here," she commanded before dashing out of the car, onto the pedestrian traffic into the familiar little shop.

10 minutes later, she came out armed with a small bouquet of fresh flowers. She grinned in satisfaction when Mac looked at the bouquet with a knowing smile.

"Good thinking," he said when he started the car again.

"Well, I know it's not a traditional wedding, but women all love flowers, you know," she shrugged.

"Are you trying to tell me something here?" he asked teasingly – but was he asking her if she wanted flowers?

"I don't live for flowers myself," regardless, she wanted to reassure him. Mac wasn't a flower person – but he showed his appreciation in more ways than just buying her flowers.

That, to her, was more important.

"I'm sure," she smiled, and knew that he was glancing at her from the corner of his eyes even as he was navigating the traffic. "But if you're so inclined, I won't mind getting a few daffodils and calla lilies now and then."

She could tell that he was noting it in his mind, and she knew a bouquet would make it to her apartment or her desk at work at some point in the future, but really, she didn't mind.

She took off the seatbelt and turned to face him soon as he put the SUV into park.

"Mac," she called his name and waited until he turned to look at her. "I'm not a flower person."

"I know," he answered softly. "But as you said, women love flowers, right?"

"Right," she agreed. "But the smart ones don't need them to be assured of their partner's feelings."

She watched as he mulled the point over, and she wondered if she had gotten the point across. Regardless, they had a wedding to attend.

"We don't want to be late," she said, getting out of the SUV and rounded to the front to wait for him.

His hand went to the small of her back; his fingers skimmed a soft touch of her skin where her shirt had ridden up.

Side by side, just as always, they walked up the steps to the old building: a man and a woman and a bouquet of flower between them.

They had a wedding to go to.

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Ahh, here we go… I was going to have them in the judge's office too, but then that just got on too long, so next week, haha… I guess you all should have learned not to trust me too much, right?

Anyway, I know I still owe replies to reviews. I will get to them, I swear… life's just been busy for a working professional taking 2 courses and helping organize a church choir…

Let me know what you think!

Until next time!