A/N – many thanks to Tea-Induced Scribbles and Scousedancer for inspiring this drabble and encouraging my craziness. Hope you all enjoy!

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Norfolk, Virginia; four years after Season 4

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"There she is! The woman of the hour!"

Kat Nolan stopped in the doorway to the base cafeteria, face flushing as she realized that Azima's comment was directed towards her. The Kenyan let out a sharp wolf whistle as the small group of women from the Nathan James - comprised of Azima, Andrea, Sasha, Kara, and Alisha – beckoned for Kat to join them at their table.

"Come show everyone the ring," Kara instructed. Turning back towards her lunch companions, she added, "It's gorgeous."

Alisha rolled her eyes. "Of course you think so. You helped pick it out."

Kat giggled as she approached, holding out her left hand, the one that was now adorned by a small opal ring in an antique gold setting, for inspection. As a junior enlisted on the Nathan James, under ordinary circumstances Kat would barely know these women, who were all far senior to her. But by dint of her weeks on the run with Kara and President Howard, followed by eighteen months of living with Greens until she was old enough to enlist, Kat was treated by most of the Nathan James' leadership like a little sister. It could be awkward at times – the TAC team had taken it upon themselves to interrogate every boy she expressed any interest in and one time Kat slipped up during a double-shift and called Captain Slattery "Mike" – but having lost both of her parents, Kat also felt incredibly blessed to have found friends who were more like family.

"It's lovely," Sasha said, taking Kat's hand in her own and twisting it back and forth, letting the light bring out the glow in the gemstone. "So how did Diaz pop the question?"

Given to that Sasha was Ray's direct commanding officer and he had asked her permission before popping the question, Sasha undoubtedly already knew the answer to the question. Still, Kat was happy enough to repeat the story. She might not be a girly-girl but if there was ever a moment to gush over her boyfriend – now fiancé – of four years, this was it.

"It was incredibly sweet. We had hiked out to the sand dunes to watch the sunset and were waiting for the stars to appear when he pulled out the box." Kat could feel tears pressing against her eyelids as she remembered how concerned she was when Ray turned towards her, his voice shaking as he told her that there was something they needed to talk to her about, instantly convinced that his orders were changing and their time together in Norfolk was about to be cut short. Fortunately Ray caught on quickly and got to the point, Kat's disappointment transforming instantly into joy as she assured Ray that yes, she would marry him. "I can't even remember what he said. Just that he was so nervous that he stuttered!"

Kara stood, clearing her tray and making room for Kat to join them at the table. "Sit, I'll grab you a tray. Bacon made that meatloaf you love. Besides, Danny's cooking tonight so you may want to fill up now."

Kat laughed as she switched spots with Kara. Although she technically had her own place on base, Kat rarely spent any time there, preferring to stay in her old room at Danny and Kara's place between deployments. The only downside, if it could be considered that, was Danny's tendency to charbroil everything he touched. Last time it was his turn to cook, he baked catfish in tomato sauce, claiming that Cruz taught him the recipe. After choking down two bites of burnt fish slathered in cold tomato paste, Kat attempted to slip her food under the table to Halsey, only to discover that the dog didn't want it either.

"Have you given any thought to wedding plans?" Andrea asked, scraping up the last few crumbs of her meal with her fork. Although the food shortages had been resolved, the memories were still fresh and (edible) food rarely went to waste.

"We were thinking about going back to the beach where Ray proposed. It kind of feels like our spot now," Kat explained, smiling as she accepted the tray of meatloaf and mashed potatoes that Kara handed her.

"Outside is nice," Sasha replied, nibbling on a peanut butter cookie. "You just have to be careful about the time of year."

"Yes, stick with May or September," Alisha advised, helping herself to what looked like an oatmeal cookie from the plate on the center of the table. Noticing that none of the other tables were sporting plates of cookies, Kat surmised that someone, probably Azima, must have charmed Bacon into handing it over. "Summer is way too hot."

Sasha nodded, taking another tiny bite of the cookie. "Good point, you don't want anyone passing out. Especially if the guys are wearing their dress whites. Oh, and make sure to have a back-up location in case it rains."

"But not a tent," Andrea interjected. "I've seen a tent collapse if the wind gets going."

Kat chewed her meatloaf slowly, suddenly not quite so enthusiastic about the idea of getting married on the beach.

"And make sure to pick a fitted dress," Alisha added, smirking. "Nobody wants to see your ass if the dress goes flying."

"Ah, yes," Kara said, shaking her head. "That was what? Wright's second wedding?"

"Third," Alisha corrected with a snicker.

"Skip the heels too. Flip-flops are better for the sand," Kara continued, dismissing Wright with a wave of her hand. "Oh, and plan to put your hair up. You don't want your hair blowing in your face while you're saying your vows."

"Got it," Kat replied, wondering if she looked as overwhelmed as she felt. No wonder it took years to plan a wedding. "No short dresses or loose hair or heels on the beach."

"How about the reception?" Sasha asked.

"And whatever you do don't say the multi-purpose room," Alisha mumbled.

The multi-purpose room, where all base functions were held and reminded Kat of her high school auditorium, was not in the running. But since Kat's mouth was full of mashed potatoes Azima spoke first. "What is wrong with the multi-purpose room? Isn't the room designed for this type of gathering?"

"That's exactly the problem with it," Alisha replied smartly. "No personality. Besides, do you really want anyone comparing your wedding to Wright's?"

The answer to that was a striking no. Kat took a sip of Bacon's newest batch of homemade root beers. He was getting pretty good at the homemade brews, both alcohol and non. "We were thinking about Look Park. There's an old converted barn that we could use."

"Does it have indoor plumbing?" Andrea asked. Kat looked up to see everyone at the table nodding. "Because nobody likes porta potties, especially the bride."

"Totally," Alisha replied groaning. "The day that Kara told me that she was going to wear her dress uniform for the ceremony was the second happiest day of my life, right behind finding out that I wasn't going to die from the Red Flu. No need to hold those hoops above the toilet."

Apparently sensing Kat's confusion, Andrea leaned across the table to explain. "Hoop skirts were popular back around the time that you were born. Problem is that there's no way to hold the hoops up, get your underwear down, and balance on a toilet at the same time. So the bride would have her bridesmaids hold the dress while she did her business and everyone would pray that nobody got stuck in the bathroom stall."

"What Andrea means," Alisha corrected, "is that her wedding dress had hoops. Did you get stuck?"

Andrea sniffed. "Of course not. I'm an engineer. I'm capable of measuring spaces."

Once the laughter died down, Kara turned to Kat again. "Have you made any decisions about a wedding party? Dress shopping is more fun with a group. Although I've always liked it when the bride lets the party pick their own dresses. That way you don't have to worry about finding something that flatters all body shapes."

"Just don't let anyone go with strapless," Alisha added, exchanging a look with Azima before the two began snickering.

Sasha looked between the two ladies. "I sense a story. Spill."

Alisha took a sip of Azima's root beer before speaking. "Well, when Wright got married the second time," – Wright was currently working on his third divorce, none of the marriages having lasted more than six months – "Tamara had the girls in sleeveless dresses and turns out nobody thought to bring body tape. There was a bit of a nip slip. Not what you want to happen with Captain Slattery in the front row."

Kat didn't think of herself as being particularly uptight, but the idea of a boob popping out in front of Mike Slattery was enough to remove any possibility of a sleeveless gown making an appearance at her wedding.

"Still better than what happened at the third wedding," Kara noted, absently nibbling on a cookie.

"What happened then?" Sasha asked reluctantly. Wright's long-running crush on the Commander was no secret and had become embarrassing enough that Sasha avoided him whenever possible.

"The bachelor party got a little out of hand and Wright somehow misplaced his dress pants. So an hour before the ceremony he's calling everyone asking to borrow their pants." Kara shook her head. "He ended up wearing O'Connor's uniform and walking around the whole day in highwaters."

Sasha shook her head. "Why do you still go to his weddings? They are always a shit-show."

"Alisha makes me," Kara replied with a shrug.

"A girl has to do something for entertainment," Alisha chimed in. "And now that Burk's hitched, I don't have a steady supply of dating disasters to keep me amused."

"Personally I enjoy the shit-show," Azima said primly, finishing her root beer.

Sasha rolled her eyes before turning to Kat. "Don't let them scare you. It's your wedding and it will be beautiful. We're all hoping to be invited to share your special day."

"Says the woman who eloped," Kara muttered.

"Says the woman who couldn't wait for her mother to arrive," Sasha tossed back.

Kat laughed, knowing that the teasing was all in good fun, before focusing on Alisha. "Oh, I meant to tell you. I ran into Lieutenant Mir and apparently she's being transferred back to the James."

Thirty minutes later, Kat was completely caught up on local gossip and stuffed to the brim with a second helping of Bacon's meatloaf. Leaving the cafeteria, she made her way over to the field where Ray was doing PT, knowing that the team would be breaking shortly to avoid the hottest part of the afternoon. Leaning against a tree, Kat watched the guys make their final circuit, enjoying the way that Ray's tee-shirt molded to his body. Up close she was sure that he stunk, but from here the view was pretty nice.

She didn't have to wait long before Ray said goodbye to the guys, responding to the predictable clucking with a single finger salute. He trotted towards Kat, wiping his face and head with a towel.

"Hey." Ray stopped two feet away, but the small smile that crossed his face told her just how happy he was to see her. "I wasn't expecting you. Slow day for rescues?"

Kat rolled her eyes at the lame joke but found herself returning his smile, her heart speeding up slightly. This was the man who she was going to spend the rest of her life with. "Chopper is getting an overhaul. Metevier kicked me out, said I was annoying him so I met up with Kara and the girls for lunch. They had a lot of ideas for the wedding."

"Really?" Ray seemed surprised but not displeased. He had previously admitted that most of his knowledge on weddings came from Wright, and those mostly fell in the don't-do-it-that-way category. "Anything good?"

Kat cocked her head to the side, scuffing her foot for a moment before taking the plunge. "That depends on how you feel about Vegas."