A/N: It was only a matter of time for me to be able to write again after 2 weeks of pure happiness thanks to the 4x19 promo and the episode itself. Here's the first result.
I'm still planning to update 'Wicked Charm' weekly, hope I can keep this promise, since I'm ahead with the writing, but I also felt like starting another multi-chapter story based on the events in 'The Wheels of Justice'.
I can't tell you when the next chapter will be ready or how long this story's going to be. It's been a while since I started a new project without knowing where exactly I'm going with it, but I'm doing it again.
I literally stole the first part of ch1 from the show, I hope the writers forgive me for that.
I also stole the title, because 'Chapel of Love' is my new McHart anthem.
I don't own 'The Good Wife' or Kurt would be there on Diane's side all the time!
Reviews are always appreciated and motivate me to continue.
Chapter One
Diane was sitting in her office, without being able to concentrate on anything other than her own thoughts. It wasn't surprising after what she'd been through during the last days. She had been offered one of the highest judicial seats in the state, then learnt the darkest secret from her beloved father's life. She'd kind of unintentionally proposed to the man she hadn't seen before for almost a year, then she had been suggested to put their basically non-existent relationship on hold for the next six months for the campaign's sake.
A campaign that wasn't even sure yet, it depended on Peter Florrick winning the governorship on the first place. But she was forced to make a decision now, between a dream job and a man she felt she loved enough now not to want to sacrifice him again for her career's sake, like she'd done two years ago. Her choice had been obvious then, it wasn't that obvious now, she was greedy enough to want them both.
She had been thinking about all this for more than a day now, starting with why she'd suggested marriage to him on the first place. Had she really meant it? Was she really ready to marry anyone, let alone someone who had been in, but mostly out of her life for the past three years? She barely knew him and what she did know about him were mostly reasons why she shouldn't have married him, had she wished to campaign for a seat in the Supreme Court.
She wanted to do the right thing. This judgeship was a huge honor career wise, a one of a lifetime opportunity, but she still hesitated to put her relationship with Kurt on hold for it. She couldn't explain why, it was just a feeling deep inside her that she shouldn't have let this man walk out of her life once again.
They had parted three times already, one time it had almost been irreparable, but they still managed to find back to each other and being with him simply felt right. She had fun teasing him, bickering with him over politics, enjoyed making him smile and laugh, loved talking to him, kissing him, being in his arms. He made her happy and sacrificing this happiness suddenly seemed like a high price to pay.
She almost missed the opening of her door, only the two knocks on the wooden frame brought her back to reality.
"Hi again," he entered her office, with his gaze focusing on the ground as he closed the glass door.
"Hello," she replied with a slight grin, "Dropping off your invoice?" she asked, but the teasing just didn't feel right this time and it showed all over his face. He was obviously there to deliver an answer to the proposal she still wasn't sure she'd really meant, but she knew he had given it some thought nevertheless.
"Sorry," she buried her face from his eyes, "It's been an odd series of days," she tried to explain herself quickly, but wasn't really sure what else to say.
"Any word?" his question reminded her of the case that had brought them back together on the first place. Now she knew she shouldn't have waited for an excuse to see him, but it was too late. The past couldn't have been remade, but maybe their future could be different.
"No. Judge Politi's still deliberating," she kept her answer short.
"I wish I could say good luck on that," his reply made her chuckle slightly.
"Sweeney's a hard man to cheer for," she agreed and looked into his eyes knowing that the small talk was over already, now she had to let him say why he was there.
"I think we should wait and think about marriage," his obvious hesitation didn't make hearing his words less painful. She nodded, understanding it was what he wanted, like he'd accepted her rejection two years ago, but her doubts surfaced right away. They might have been doing something wrong again, like they had three times already. She wasn't sure they could have gotten away with making a fourth mistake like that. How many more chances could they actually get from life?
"I don't know. I worry we'll always be waiting," she said her thoughts out loud, with hope in her eyes as if she could have convinced him to change his mind with one look, but he seemed determined.
"Maybe that's fine," his words hurt even more now, but she tried to take them with grace, hiding her unvoiced sorrow from him by bending her head again, "I'll talk to you," he added and she heard him take a step, but she wasn't able to look. She didn't want to see him walk out that door once more, it was painful enough to process it was what he really wanted, to be away from her until they might have had another excuse to meet, a year from now, maybe.
A voice in her head started screaming 'Don't let him go!' and it was only a matter of seconds until she decided to listen to it.
"Wait," she called a little louder and it made him stop right at the door. He could have been outside already, but he was still in there, the hope wasn't gone completely yet. "I don't want to wait," she stood up determined this time not to take no for an answer, "Please," she added then she started walking in his direction, "I don't want to wait. I don't," she repeated to convince him she truly meant it.
The confused look on his face almost made her feel sorry for him, but she really just wanted what was best for them, for this relationship, she wanted them to be happy, because they simply deserved it.
"And then what?" he asked not quite understanding what she meant.
She opened her mouth to say something but closed it right away. She couldn't repeat the question, could she? But she wanted to. It took her some time to figure it out, but she finally knew what she wanted more than anything and this person was standing right in front of her eyes. She didn't want to wait six months or another year to be with him, she didn't even want to wait another day. She loved him too much to let him go again.
"Will you marry me, Kurt McVeigh?" she popped the question in a formal way to make it hard for him to say no this time, still leaving him a chance to reject the proposal if he really wanted to though.
She wasn't sure what he wanted, if he'd only offered to wait because he'd thought it had been her unvoiced wish, that she'd regretted the proposal already. She only knew that she wanted him, his name, his guns, the Tea Party, the Palin photo, she just wanted it all. These were all parts of a man who she'd learnt to love after so many years she'd spent alone, thinking she'd been fine on her own, that marriage was nothing more than a mysterious institution for the luckier ones. And because of that she'd almost missed out on this man, who - despite all their differences - had the potential of making her really happy.
Her question made him smirk at first, but he quickly stopped, sensing she was all serious now. There could have been no more doubts, she meant every word this time and hoped for the only right answer.
"Is there anyone who dares to say no to you?" he was the one who started the teasing with a cute smile on his face and she considered it a good sign. Being rejected would have been even more embarrassing than popping the question unintentionally like she'd had the other night.
"I've never asked anyone to marry me before," she said nervously, still waiting for his reply.
"I'm honored," he kept smiling, "And the answer is yes, I will marry you."
The weight quickly lifted from her shoulders and her lips finally curled up to a smile.
"Do you think we could marry right away? Like this weekend?"
She wanted them to do it as soon as possible, before either of them could have changed their minds again, before anyone else would have found out and tried to talk them out of it. For once she wanted to do something for herself only, put happiness first and adjust everything else to this decision.
"What? Why the rush? Isn't it kind of short notice?" Kurt obviously didn't understand her unvoiced reasons.
"Why? You need to sign some divorce papers first?" she asked teasingly and the chuckle that escaped from his lips was already worth it. Soon she felt his arms reaching out and pulling her closer to him and their lips united in a sweet kiss.
"We'll discuss the details tonight, I still have the room in the Edgewater."
"How about you bring your things over to my house instead?" she suggested abruptly. Living arrangements was one thing they needed to discuss, but using her place for tonight seemed like the obvious choice.
"Okay," he nodded, agreeing to her terms easily.
"Good, I'll be home at seven."
"I'll be there at seven."
She leaned in for another kiss before she finally let him walk out of her office, but this time their separation wasn't supposed to last for more than a few hours and the smile didn't want to fade away from her face as she watched him leave.
"What did I miss?" Will suddenly appeared in her doorway and she tried to mask her happiness by turning around and heading back to her desk.
"You didn't miss a thing."
"You do know my office has glass doors too, right?" she heard him step inside and walk closer and she only lifted her gaze to him when she was able to stop smiling despite his funny remark.
"What's your point?" Diane kept pretending she didn't know what he could have seen from his office. Not that she didn't trust him, but she preferred to keep this between her and Kurt for now.
"You look happy," Will said after a short consideration and this time Diane couldn't control her smile.
"Maybe I am," she replied mysteriously and was grateful for the interruption provided by Will's cell phone.
"The verdict is in," he said after checking the message, "Will you thank Kurt for us? Whatever it is, we couldn't have done it without him."
"I will," she promised and could only hope that the effect the mentioning of Kurt's name caused in her wasn't written all over her face.
After Will left and tactfully closed the door behind him she turned in her chair to face the windows and a wide smile appeared on her face again. She couldn't quite believe it yet but soon she was going to be a married woman. It was time to get used to this new role in her life, which was probably only the first step to a new and better future.