Thank you for all the reviews and for sticking with me through this story and the entire trilogy:)

If you recognize them, they're not mine :)

And thank you Margaret for reading ahead as my beta once again.

Slight smut warning.

Chapter 44—Wedding Marches

Somehow Carlos convinced Elliott to come up to New Jersey and spend a few days with us. As Lula mentioned, I didn't even know I was being shrunk until my dreams subsided and I felt like I could breathe again. Don't ask me how he did it, because we didn't even talk one-on-one with me lying on a couch or anything.

Bobby had removed my drain before Elliott showed up and I felt like I'd gotten back some of my dignity. At least I could use the bathroom on my own. And little by little I was gaining my strength back and spending more and more time out of the wheelchair. I wasn't sure I'd be dancing at my wedding yet, but I knew I'd be able to walk down the makeshift aisle we were setting up on the beach.

Unbeknownst to anyone, myself included, the family barbecue had become a practice run for a beach wedding. It was just a natural progression as our furniture moved from poolside to oceanside. Elliott actually suggested it as he noticed more and more of our Adirondack chairs, tables and umbrellas migrate from the deck to the beach.

"You like the ocean, don't you Steph?" he asked as we walked along the shore one morning.

"I love the ocean. I love the way it smells; it calms me and makes me feel, I don't know...reborn."

"Did you ever think about getting married down here?"

"Carlos' sister Lauren used our beach for her wedding and I think Carlos wanted to do something different. I just assumed we'd say our vows on the dance floor and have it all lit up or something."

"So you went along with him?"

"We just never discussed it further. We both thought a dance floor over the pool would be a cool idea."

"Yeah it is...for dancing."

"I see your point. I'll bring it up when we go inside. You know Elliott, I gotta say, you've helped me tremendously. Thank you for everything. I really feel like a new person."

"I'm honored. And you've made great strides in just a few days. I had planned to stay for two more, but you may not need that. Why don't we see how you feel after tomorrow and you can make that decision for me."

"Well, even if I don't need to be shrunk anymore, why don't you just stay the extra day? This way you won't have to change your flight."

As soon as I said that, I knew why. I was afraid I'd relapse once he was gone. And instead of keeping that to myself, I told him.

"I'm glad you trust me enough to be able to share that with me, Steph. And I'm pretty sure you'll be ok once I leave but I think I will stay the full time I've allocated for you. Another walk on the beach tomorrow morning?"

I smiled at him and nodded my head in agreement. I really liked Elliott.

I went directly from the back door with Elliott to the door to Carlos' home office. He mentioned earlier that he had paperwork to catch up on this morning, so I knew I'd find him there.

"Knock, knock," I said, faux-knocking on Carlos' open door.

"Babe," he replied, a smile escaping his previously blank face. "Come in and close the door behind you."

I did. Carlos was up from his chair as soon as I turned towards the door to make sure it was closed.

"I was thinking about you," he said, maneuvering me to him and pulling me close.

Well that was obvious from what I was feeling against my belly.

"Mmmmm," I answered. "And you feel good too."

"Babe," the reply, as he pulled me in for one very heated kiss.

And as things have a way of progressing rapidly when the two of us get together, the next thing I knew my shirt was pulled over my head and discarded among his paperwork. Having the need to feel flesh on flesh, I made sure his followed suit. We'd yet to make love since I've been home, as he was afraid of hurting me, but that was going to change now.

I deepened the kiss and began rubbing him through his cargos.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Stephanie?"

"Mmmmm," I answered lowering the zipper on his pants and taking him out.

I made my way down his body until I was face to face with his other head. I lifted it, feeling its sheer weight in my hands before I took him into my mouth. I heard Carlos groan, so I knew I made the right decision.

His hands were on my shoulders and his head was thrust back, the look on his face, one of sheer pleasure. I continued my assault until he stopped me.

"Babe I'm going to come."

"So?"

"I want to come inside of you."

I need very little encouragement and those words undid me. I let Carlos pull me down onto the couch, and somehow my shorts and panties disappeared at the same time. Next thing I knew Carlos thrust into me. Deep. Ah, heaven.

I suppose we were at it for a while. I came numerous times and never bothered to look at the clock. It was the knock on Carlos' door that brought me back to reality.

"Steph? Ranger?" It was Bobby. I almost forgot that he and Ashley were in the house. He was supposed to monitor my blood pressure, amongst other things, and now was so not a good time to take it.

"Go away," I called out.

I heard laughter from the other side of the door. I guess I amused Bobby too.

"Your housekeeper, or whatever you call him — Philipe — just dropped off a few boxes of supplies. Looks like there's salad makings, and chicken breasts that are floating in some kind of marinade. Ashley and I can make lunch while you do whatever it is that you're doing in there."

I looked over at Carlos. There was no way I could have a conversation at the moment.

"Do whatever you want," Carlos told him, his voice still husky from lovemaking.

Again laughter, as footsteps walked towards the kitchen. I think this Ranger amused him too.

It was at that point that we decided to get up. I quickly threw on my clothes from earlier and padded down the hall towards our master suite. I really needed another shower. I heard Carlos behind me and wondered if he was going to join me. We never just showered when we shared the stall and thinking about it made me want him all over again. I quickly shed my clothes and jumped in. I wasn't going to wash my hair, but I really needed to get the scent of sex off of me. Carlos joined me minutes later and as soon as he pulled me to him, he was hard again. But we did end up all squeaky clean and totally relaxed when the water finally turned cold. The hot water heater here didn't hold as much as the one in Trenton did.

When we emerged from our bedroom suite there was the smell of grilling chicken in the air. I guessed Bobby really did want to talk about lunch earlier. At the time I only had an appetite for Carlos, but now that I smelled the wonderful scents, my stomach made itself known.

"Babe. Are you hungry?" Carlos asked as another huge growl set the stage.

I nodded and another grumble escaped.

"I think we need to feed that beast. Bobby, Ashley, thanks for doing this," he said as mysteriously Elliott, Erik and Eugene appeared. Guessed everyone smelled the chicken.

I still hadn't had a chance to bring up a beach wedding with Carlos and more than once I caught Elliott looking over at me almost as if to say 'so, did you work it out?' No we hadn't but I'd talk to him after lunch; maybe we could take a short walk on the beach to open the conversation.

Since Bobby and Ashley prepped and cooked it seemed only fair that Carlos and I clean up but as soon as I stood to start bringing plates into the house so did Erik, Gene and Elliott.

"We got this guys, why don't you take a walk on the beach," Elliott said, as if reading my mind.

"And then you need to get off that leg for a while," Bobby chimed in.

I knew I was pushing it, I hadn't used the wheelchair once today, but I didn't care. I had eight days before my wedding and I was going to wear heels, walk down the aisle and dance with my husband, father, father-in-law and as many Rangemen as I could. This was my wedding after all.

"I brought up something with Elliott earlier," I said once we were out of earshot, "and he thinks I should talk to you. It's about our wedding."

Carlos stopped in his tracks.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"No. Never. I'd just like to have the actual ceremony down here on the beach. As close to the shore as we can. I know Lauren and Brett had theirs here, but this is what would make me happy…" I rambled on.

"Thirty seconds ago I thought you wanted out. You're more important to me than the sun coming up in the morning and as long as I know you're still in my life I'll do anything you want. We can make our ceremony different in other ways."

"I'm sorry…that came out all wrong, didn't it? And I'm sorry I momentarily hurt you. I love you more than anything Carlos."

"I know Babe. Just don't scare me like that again," he said pulling me into a tight embrace and kissing the top of my head. "We've never talked about the actual ceremony, only that we both thought it would be nice if Victor, my army chaplain officiated. And he's agreed. Honestly, I was afraid to bring up anything further; I wasn't sure what you'd physically be up to. I just knew you didn't want to get married sitting in a wheelchair, unless you had no recourse."

"But see, I'm good. This is my second walk on the beach today…"

"I know; you're doing great. And I don't see why we can't have the ceremony here."

So like that, it was done. I was getting my beach wedding after all.

Magically, things moved quickly from there. I was pronounced in good mental and physical health; even my blood pressure was good — 110/70. Bobby, Ashley and Elliott left on Saturday, one week before our wedding.

The threat of Chongos coming east was still a possibility, so we did keep our Rangeman security, but they kept their distance and I only saw them maybe once or twice a day, usually during changing of the guard. Lula and Tank came over a couple of times but for the most part we spent the week together. So much had transpired since I was knifed and then abducted that, although we kept our wedding scheduled where it was, we did postpone the honeymoon. We'd go to Bora Bora in September, when we were sure I'd be able to spend time hiking, swimming and doing anything else I wanted without having to worry about my leg. In the meantime, this was our honeymoon, so what if it was before the wedding? We spent a lot of time in bed, and no we weren't sleeping. We also spent equal amounts of time trying out the other rooms in the house. I even had Carlos take me upstairs to the armory and yeah, we made love up there too. It had a really romantic view of the ocean.

So, today was our wedding day. I was wearing the Marc Jacobs dress Ella found for me. I had the Jimmy Choos on my feet and the baby's breath headband on my head, my curls tamed but left to hang loose. Our friends and family had started to arrive. I went up to the armory to watch the cars pour in. I knew no one would be able to find me up there—in fact, this part of our house was undetectable from the street. I saw Jace and Tasha arrive, Bobby and Ashley, Ram with Megan, my mother, father and grandmother, Carlos' family, Val, Albert and their brood, Joe and the date he said he was bringing, Lula and Tank, Connie came with Hal, Hector with Argo, Julie with Rachel, Ron and her siblings.

I assumed my bridal party had already assembled. Connie, Lula, Val and Mary Lou and Carlos' men, his brother Alex, Tank, Lester and Bobby. I also supposed they were all wondering where I was since I'd pulled the stairs up with me.

Finally I got a text from Carlos, "Babe?"

"I'm in the armory. I was watching everyone arrive."

"Victor is here. We're waiting for you."

"Help me down?"

"You know how to open the staircase."

"I do. I was just hoping you'd be there to catch me in case I tripped. I'm wearing five inch heels."

"I'll be at the bottom of the stairs."

I hit the switch to lower the stairs and just hoped no one but Ranger was in the lobby as they descended. I'd give away two things: my secret hiding place and the fact that this house has an upstairs attic. No one would know about the arsenal.

True to his word, Ranger was waiting at the bottom as I made my way down. The stairs are quite steep and once I got close, I let him pick me up from the staircase and deposit me on the floor. He then sent the stairs back up and no one was the wiser.

"Victor's all set up and most of our guests are assembled outside on the beach. You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Is my dad with the wedding party?"

"He is and he's looking like he'd like to get this over with so he can take off his tie."

"His tie and the shirt. He hates anything but his Tony Soprano polos."

"That I can't offer him but maybe he'll feel better after a glass of champagne?"

"Maybe."

I made my way over to my dad. He was standing with Connie, Lula, Mary Lou and Val. I think Tank, Bobby and Lester still scared the shit out of him and I doubted he felt comfortable enough with Alex to strike up a conversation. Yep, it was better to hang out with the women. I kissed my dad on the cheek.

"You look beautiful Pumpkin, and he doesn't look too bad either," he gestured to Carlos.

"Thanks daddy. Are you ready?"

"Only if you are."

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this."

As if on key, the processional began. We chose Train's Marry Me and Connie and Alex led the troops down our makeshift aisle. They were followed by Lula and Bobby then Mary Lou and Lester. My sister was next and bringing up the rear were me and my dad. Tank, Carlos and Victor were already standing at the top of the aisle. It was a little hard to walk in heels on the beach and also the chairs had a tendency to bury a leg or two into the sand, so we solved that by putting down planking last night. I was certainly glad we did, or I think we'd have done this barefoot with our guests standing.

We hadn't planned a very long ceremony and it seemed to me that the walk down the aisle took longer than the ceremony itself.

"Stephanie and Carlos. We're here today to join the two of you together in a legally binding union," Victor began once my dad left me at Carlos' side. "Since this ceremony can be as long or short as you make it, I thought we'd keep it brief. Tank, do you have the rings?"

Tank pulled them from his breast pocket and handed them over to Victor.

Victor held the smaller of them up to show us as he spoke.

"The custom of wearing a wedding ring on the third finger of the left hand came from the ancient Egyptians. They believed that from this finger a vein of love went directly to the heart. And to add a little symbolism to that, your rings form circle which represents unending love, as there is no beginning and no end."

He then handed the ring to Carlos.

Carlos took my hand and placed the ring on my finger above my engagement ring before repeating the phrase we both have been saying to each other since we've become serious.

"Forever, Babe."

Victor then handed me the larger ring and I went through the same steps.

"Forever Carlos," I said, the tears beginning to well.

"In the eyes of the lord and by the authority vested in me by the state of New Jersey, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

All Carlos needed was that little prompt. He bent me over backwards so he could properly kiss his wife to cat calls from somewhere. Probably Lester.

After that we led the troops back down the aisle to I Do by Colbie Caillat.

I wasn't as nervous walking back as I had been walking down with my dad, so I took the opportunity to look around and smile at our guests. It was then that I saw that Hector and Argo were sitting with Lolo Sotolongo and a pretty, petite Latina woman. I knew Carlos had invited him but I never expected him to show up. I felt like I owed my life to him and I was going to thank him personally for capturing Kraven, but now was not the time. I'd seek him out during our reception. Instead I smiled at him and we made eye contact. It was then that I noticed that he was in a suit, his almost waist-length hair twisted into a bun at the nape of his neck. He looked pretty normal; well except for the bun.

"Carlos, Sotolongo's here," I whispered.

"I know, I've already spoken to him and he plans to dance with the bride at some point tonight."

"Really? I don't salsa all that well."

"I doubt he'll ask you to salsa, but you never know. And as I think you learned, he's a lot more cultured than he lets on."

"I think cultured is pushing it, but he's certainly crafty."

The afternoon turned into evening. We were toasted with champagne, hors d'oeurves were passed, wine flowed and food was served. People seemed happy and the dance floor was never empty. Even my mother and father danced but the cutest thing was Alexa, Val's toddler, dancing with Carlos. She's a little flirt and loves muscular men, obviously in contrast to her paunchy dad. Once Carlos put her down she toddled over to Lester for another pick up into a different set of strong arms and another dance. She knew the guys since we'd watched her a number of times, at one point for a few days, and she already had her favorite muscled men picked out, unlike Lisa, who at a year older, was clingy and scared of them. MA and Angie had the run of the place and were hanging out with Julie and Carlos' nieces. I was sure they were plotting something. I saw them giggling and pointing to us more than once.

At one point the music switched to salsa and Carlos' father broke in to dance with me, and Julie to dance with her dad. I was hoping our videographer caught all of this; they would make good memories.

Once, when I was whirling around with Lester, I saw Carlos pull Ella out onto the dance floor and then I watched Louis ask Eula for a dance, orthopedic shoes and all.

Hal and Connie danced almost exclusively with each other. I didn't know they were a couple, but I did see them arrive together. So what if Connie was about ten years older than Hal, their contrasts made them look good together. Tank and Lula danced a lot, with each other and with other people too. I even caught Lula dancing with my dad while Cal cut loose with my mom. They'd met during Lisa's birth when he passed out as amniotic fluid hit him in the face.

Joe and his date Julia, who turned out to be a teacher at Princeton's Montessori, spent a lot of time on the dance floor too. This was in direct contrast to the Joe I knew, who said he couldn't dance. Different time, different place, I guess.

Lester's girlfriend Autumn, the pastry chef, had made our wedding cake, which I'd been eyeing all night. I'd expected her signature fondant icing, but this looked like thickened whipped cream that had been applied with a trowel to give the look of a distressed wall in Sicily. In opposition to the feeling of an old wall, there were a few fresh flowers on top and on one the side of the cake. It was really very pretty and I wondered what kind of filling we find buried underneath? I guessed I didn't have to wait too much longer, as I saw Ella signal our photographer and point to the cake while Lester took the microphone to direct everyone's attention to us.

Together we made the first cut and I was pleasantly surprised to find that my cake was layered with strawberries and more cream. A strawberry shortcake wedding cake.

I snuck a piece while the wait staff passed out slices to our guests. Out of nowhere, Tank snatched the plate away from me. I was about to protest when he spoke.

"Bomber, you're supposed to share your slice with Ranger and have it caught on camera."

"I don't share cake," I said vehemently just as the photographer came over and caught me with my arms crossed over my chest, giving Tank death looks. Great, my mother would love that shot.

We finally agreed that Tank would hold on to my second piece while Carlos and I shared one for the camera. Stupid rules, but now I have it on film that Carlos will eat cake.

After the photos, I snuck back over to Tank and Lula's table to get my other slice. I was NOT giving that up after waiting all night for it. Jeez.

The rest of the evening went pretty much without a hitch, more dancing, a dessert table, a Cuban cigar bar and people insisting on giving us wedding gifts, mostly in the form of cards.

A lot of the men had congregated on the other side of the dance floor and were now under a haze of smoke. I went over to see what that was all about. I'd had cigars with my dad on occasion, so I wasn't a newcomer to them. I took the one out of Carlos' hand and inhaled. I could feel the room start to spin immediately, so I handed it back to the first person I saw, who was Lolo Sotolongo, and quickly found a place to sit until the dizzy passed. God, why didn't someone tell me? Lolo came over and sat next to me while I waited out the spins.

"Are you ok Stephanie?"

"Hmmm. It's passing. What's in that thing anyway?"

"Unprocessed Cuban tobacco. The best stuff on earth."

"Yeah, well it kicked my butt. How are you guys still standing?"

"I'd say practice, but it's a rare treat."

"The dizzy is almost gone. Thanks for sitting with me."

"Come with me, let me introduce you to Adriana," he said, helping me up and leading me over to the table he was sharing with Tank, Lula, Hector and Argo.

"Stephanie, this is Adriana. Adriana, Ranger's wife, Steph."

It felt foreign being called Ranger's wife and it took a second for it to sink in.

"Is Adriana your girlfriend?" I asked innocently.

"She's my wife and we have two sons."

"Oh, I didn't know…"

"Not too many people do. She'd be a target if people knew — but I guess that's about to change. Your husband recommended me for a job on Governor Christie's task force. A paying job with good benefits and we were just discussing my taking it…"

"You'd be a fool not to," Tank broke in.

"As I said, Steph, "he continued, "things will change if I accept the job. I'll probably have to disband the Marielitas and move closer to Princeton. I think I'm ready for that though — I don't want my boys growing up like I did. But it's a big decision and one I still have a few days to think about. Would you like to dance?"

"Um, sure."

It was a slow song and out of the corner of my eye I caught Carlos watching us intently. He didn't like people getting too close to his wife and Sotolongo wasn't immune to his scrutiny.

"I want to thank you for capturing Kraven," I told him while we danced. "I can finally breathe again knowing he's not going to come after me."

"You're welcome. I could have killed him; thought about it, then decided I'd leave his fate up to you. You did the right thing. That man was not going to give up, ever."

"Yeah, I know," I told him, remembering the two times he actually did get to me, a little shiver escaping.

"You cold?"

"No, just bad memories."

"Well today should be a good memory for you. Look at all these people who've come out tonight to help you celebrate. It's a beautiful party."

"Thank you. It was all Ella's doing. I really had nothing to do with this except suggest the vows on the beach, but I'm glad you and Adriana are having a good time."

"Well thank you for inviting us," he replied as the song came to an end. "We have to get going, the boys are with my sister-in-law and they are a lot to handle."

"How old are they?"

"They're almost three. Twins, Mateo and Daniel."

"Well let me get Carlos, I'm sure he'd like to say goodbye too," I said, catching my husband's eye and calling him over.

After Sotolongo left, my sister and her brood packed up followed by Ranger's sisters with smaller children. Most of the Rangemen were still at the party, as were my parents and Carlos' parents. Our DJ spun quite a few more tunes and I think I danced with all of the Rangemen in attendance, before ending up with Hector.

"I'm glad you brought Argo," I told him while we were dancing, "You guys look good together and he's much friendlier than the tailor was."

"That's because he knows you and all the men. He's normally pretty shy."

"Well he didn't seem shy tonight and I caught the two of you touching on the dance floor. You guys spending the night together?" I asked, not shy at all. Hector, on the other hand, may or may not answer me.

"Tank gave us the keys to his and Lula's house in Hamilton, which is much closer than Argo's place. And I'm thinking about buying a house out here, near you and Tank. It's pretty on the shore and Argo's good at decorating."

"So you think you'll be seeing at lot more of him?"

"Things are good right now, and you know me Chica, I only live in the moment."

That made me feel a little sad, I wanted to see Hector happy, but maybe, just maybe, his moment with Argo would last a lifetime. I remember Carlos once saying I'd have to leave his bed eventually and that never happened, although I learned later that that was not how he meant it. He meant that we couldn't spend our lives in bed; we'd have to do other things eventually. I hoped the same for Hector.

The song we were dancing to ended and Donna Summer's Last Dance filled the air, signifying the end of our reception. Carlos found me and we danced to it together. On the dance floor with us were Gloria and Ricardo, my mother and father, our two grandmothers, Tank and Lula, Bobby and Ashley, Jace and Tasha, Ram and Megan, Connie and Hal and Hector and Argo. Other merry men who had brought dates soon joined us and pretty soon everyone was dancing on top of our pool, the lights underneath changing color like a disco ball.

It was a night to remember and the beginning of our forever.

The end.