Glad everyone is enjoying the story so much. Thanks for all the great reviews!

Thanks to ReeseisLAVAhot for the beta!

This is the last chapter. It is really long, I just did not want to break up the actual wedding day in different chapters, so enjoy.

Chapter 3 – Wedding Day

The long dreaded/anticipated wedding day had finally arrived and Joss stood in front of the full length mirror in her dressing room down the hall from the ballroom at the Fairview staring at the stranger in the mirror. She didn't recognize herself in all her wedding finery. Her wedding gown fit her like a glove, showing off her tiny waist and hourglass figure. Her hair was curled and piled on top of her head with two little wispy curls hanging down on either side of her face. Her lips were the same shade of red as the roses in her bouquet and her eye makeup made her eyes look absolutely huge and luminous.

For probably the first time in her life, Detective Jocelyn Carter felt like a princess and she had finally found her Prince Charming, even if she knew her Prince Charming had a rather large handgun stuck into his waistband under his tuxedo jacket.

Joss looked over at her mother, who could not stop sniffling. "Mom, you didn't cry this much at my first wedding!"

"Baby, at your first wedding you hadn't been through two tours of duty in a war zone or raised a child all by yourself or been a cop in big dangerous city."

Just then Christine let Finch and Taylor into the room. Finch had been flitting about like a crazed humming bird all day, seeing to all the last minute details but he paused mid-step, staring at Joss. Then Finch smiled the biggest smile she'd ever seen on his face. "Jocelyn, I'm speechless. You look like a goddess."

"Thanks, Harold. I just hope John agrees with you." Joss smiled shyly.

"Oh he will Jocelyn, he will."

Taylor grinned at his mother, "My mom's a MILF! John's not going to know what hit him." Alice frowned disapprovingly at her grandson. "Sorry Grandma." Taylor hung his head but the mischievous smile didn't leave his face.

Finch turned to Alice, "It's time for the mother of the bride to be seated. Taylor, please escort your mother and Christine to the ballroom in ten minutes."

Taylor checked his watch, "Ten minutes. Got it."

Finch escorted Alice from the room, leaving Joss alone with Christine and Taylor.

Christine looked over at Joss, "You're so calm! I was a wreck on my wedding day!"

Joss paused and then said, "I'm not nervous at all. I guess it's because I know this is the right thing to do. Marrying John just feels…right. I can't imagine life without him."

Christine started to sniffle and grabbed a tissue to dab carefully at her eyes, "Oh gosh honey, that's just beautiful. I just know you and John are going to be so happy for the rest of your lives."

Joss looked out the window so neither Taylor nor Christine could see the troubled look she knew she had on her face at that moment. Joss wasn't sure how long the 'rest of their lives' was going to be, but she suspected that for John, it might not be that long. But Joss had decided when she committed to John that she would rather have a couple of years with him than fifty years with anyone else. However, Joss was selfish; she wanted those fifty years with him.

Taylor checked his watch, "Let's go, mom! Can't keep John waiting!"

They walked down the hall where they were met by the hotel's wedding coordinator. She signaled the quartet who began playing the music for the processional. Making sure Joss could not be seen when she opened the door, the wedding coordinator opened the door to the room and sent Christine down the aisle towards the flowered arch at the front of the room where John, Harold, Lionel and Judge Gates were waiting. As soon as Christine made it all the way down, the coordinator moved Joss to the doorway and everyone in the room got their first look at the bride.

Joss however, only had eyes for her groom. As she paused in the doorway to the room, John turned and saw Joss in her wedding dress. His jaw dropped open and his eyes grew soft and filled with tears. He was positively moonstruck.

It was a good thing Taylor was escorting Joss down the aisle, because she forgot about everything but John. As Taylor gently steered her towards the front of the room, Joss's eyes locked onto John's and everyone else in the room ceased to exist for both of them. The normally hyper-observant detective didn't notice Finch or Fusco standing next to her beloved. She didn't see Judge Gates waiting to marry them. She didn't notice her mother as she passed by and she didn't see any of the guests. She even forgot about her son right next to her. All she saw was her John.

For his part, John saw nothing but his bride walking towards him. He didn't see Taylor at her side, he forgot about Harold and Lionel and Judge Gates standing right next to him. The guests ceased to exist. All he could focus on was the vision in white as she made her way down the aisle, ready and willing to tie her life to his.

When Joss was about halfway down the aisle, John started grinning like a fool and his blue eyes sparkled at her . At that point it took all her self-control to not run down to him and launch herself into his arms. He was so freaking handsome in his tuxedo and his giant smile!

After what seemed like an eternity, Joss finally reached the flowered arch and John. Christine stepped forward then and took the bouquet from Joss. Taylor moved to stand next to Christine; Joss turned to face John and they held hands. Neither one could tell you what was said during the ceremony, even though it was a standard civil wedding affair. They gazed into each other's eyes and answered the questions automatically, still completely unaware of everyone else in the room despite the fact that their best friends were standing a few feet away. They exchanged rings and finally Judge Gates joyfully announced, "You may kiss the bride!"

John gently cupped Joss's face in his hands and gently but firmly kissed her. When their lips parted he touched his forehead to hers and whispered, "I love you." Joss whispered back, "I love you, too."

The applause from the spectators finally broke them out of their own little world and brought them back to reality. They both looked at the assembled guests, a bit surprised that they were not alone but rapidly recovered and led their wedding party back down the aisle.

For the record, let it be said that Harold Finch knows how to throw a party. After all the worry and fuss, the reception turned out to be a complete and total blast.

The food was five star and plentiful. No one left hungry. As a matter of fact, no one left who wasn't groaning in pain from their swollen belly.

Except, of course, Leon Tao. Leon passed out in a corner from too much champagne where Bear found him a while later. Disappointed that Leon didn't have any noodles on him, Bear consoled himself by eating Leon's bacon wrapped filet instead. Later that evening, Finch was puzzled by the fact the dog wasn't interested in his kibble, but chalked it up the excitement of the day. Leon slept unnoticed in the corner until he woke up to the sounds of the cleaning crew after the party was over.

After dinner, Finch rose to give the toast.

"Lord Byron once said 'Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey' which I think is fitting for this occasion when we consider the jobs the bride and groom do every day. I think we all know that there is a lot of darkness in the world and I find it a small miracle that two people who have made it their mission to battle that darkness, have managed to retain enough optimism and faith to come together and made something so beautiful together.

"Both of them have known the depths of despair and loss before in their lives and that makes it even more of a miracle that they've found each other and decided to build a life and a family together. I can only hope that they will continue to be a light in the dark for each other forever."

There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Then the party really got rolling.

John and Joss kicked off the dancing by dancing their first dance to Elvis Presley crooning I Can't Help Falling in Love with You. Joss chose it specifically because John was an Elvis fan and his Elvis impersonation never failed to crack her up.

After that, Lionel and Rhonda owned the dance floor. All those ballroom dancing lessons that Rhonda had dragged Lionel to paid off and Fusco was rewarded with seeing the look of complete surprise on John's and Joss's faces as he gracefully twirled Rhonda around. He smiled serenely at them as he and Rhonda glided past like he had been doing this his whole life. John and Joss stared, wide-eyed with shock at their friend's unexpected grace.

Christine even managed to coax Finch out onto the floor for dance. Finch had loved dancing with Grace before his accident but had refused to even think about it since then. But a couple of glasses of the expensive champagne he had ordered for the reception had lowered his inhibitions and the bubbly Christine was irresistible. Finch was quite pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoyed it, despite his limited mobility.

When it was time to cut the cake, Joss finally got a good look at Jolie's creation up close. It had white frosting with red accents as well as a cascade of roses down the side, sweeping across the front as they had agreed. However Joss looked closely at the design around the bottom layer of the cake. It looked like a series of tall thin gothic arches, straight on the sides and coming to a rounded-off point at the top, the shape looked vaguely familiar and it took her a moment to place it. She turned to Finch, "Are those supposed to be BULLETS?"

Finch nodded cheerfully, "You figured it out. Yes, it's the outline of bullets standing on their end."

Joss rolled her eyes, "Don't tell me the vertical stripes on the top layer are…?"

"Prison bars," Finch finished for her. "Yes, Jolie did say she wanted to incorporate something about how you met Mr. Reese." His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, "But no one will know but us."

Joss snickered, it was a lovely cake but she was glad the second layer of the cake had tiny randomly placed tiny hearts in instead of blood drops. Joss guessed that this particular creation was not going to wind up in Jolie's portfolio.

It would not be a wedding without the obligatory wedding hook-ups and the Carter/Reese nuptials were no exception. Taylor Carter scored Theresa Whitaker's phone number. She was quite impressed that Detective Carter was his mom, John Reese was his stepdad and Harold was sorta an uncle to him. The two teens agreed to meet for a burger the next weekend.

Andrea Gutierrez left with a grinning Adam Saunders firmly in tow. Finch watched them go with a big smile on his face. Andrea had just won another huge settlement from the state of New York for another wrongful conviction and incarceration and when you combined the big fat check she just got with Adam's investment savvy, that big fat check was about to get a lot larger! Between Adam's work with the homeless and Andrea's work with the wrongfully convicted, those two were going to be able to do a lot of good for a lot of people. Finch felt quite pleased with himself and John for saving those two lives.

Then there was the not-so-successful attempted hook-up. Pierce Logan followed Zoe Morgan around like a puppy, hoping to get to know the lovely woman better. But, unfortunately for him, he was being his usual irrepressible self. (Translation: he was being an obnoxious drunk, except he was stone cold sober) Normally, Zoe would be polite and charming to someone with Pierce's money; the rich and powerful were her bread and butter after all. But after a scant few minutes in Pierce's presence, she was feeling borderline homicidal and decided that this was one potential client she could afford to lose. She glared at him like she had found a turd in her scallops with white wine cream sauce and then she put in him in his place with a few well-chosen words. Pierce slithered off to a corner to lick the nearly fatal wounds to his pride. He quietly bailed on the reception shortly after.

John had witnessed the entire exchange and gleefully brought Zoe a fresh glass of champagne.

It was getting quite late in the reception and Finch was sitting quietly at a table, watching John and Joss slow dance around the floor. Joss was resting her head on John's shoulder when John said something to her and she looked up at him and smiled. John smiled back at her and Joss returned her head to his shoulder. John rested his cheek on top of her head as they slowly waltzed together.

"We did very well Harold, did we not?"

Harold turned to see Mildred sitting next to him. Her blue eyes twinkled merrily at him and her hair was still as white and her cheeks were still as pink as ever. She was happily devouring a rather large piece of wedding cake. Harold could not help but smile back at her.

"It's been a long time Mildred," Harold said softly.*

"Has it? I must have lost track of time," the angel said thoughtfully.

Harold gave the angel a wry smile, "I would imagine that a couple of years isn't much time to someone who lives forever."

"I have not forgotten you. I do watch over you and John. You are two of my best warriors for the Light, Harold. You and John bring the Light a victory nearly every day. "

"Ironic, considering how John thought he was the Dark for so long."

"He never gave his heart to the Dark. He always wanted to do the work of the Light. You gave him that chance."

"And you gave me mine," Harold pointed out.

"You built the Machine without my help. You just needed a nudge from me to carry on Nathan's work with the Irrelevants."

Harold grew quiet for a few minutes at the mention of his friend. He bowed his head a bit, shamed by some of the things he had said and done while Nathan was alive.

He looked up and returned his eyes to John and Joss where they danced slowly, holding each other close. "I've been wondering just how much of this was due to you," Harold said softly.

"I set a few events in motion, the rest was up to Jocelyn and John," Mildred said primly. "You know there are strict limits on the amount of intervention I am allowed."

"Yes," Harold said, "I do remember."

"All I had to do was make sure that Jocelyn was working the night John was brought into her precinct. They fell in love on their own. They were destined for each other."

Harold arched an eyebrow at her with a smile on his face, "That's ALL you did?"

Mildred actually looked a bit embarrassed. "I did give John a bit of a help last Christmas. He was quite depressed one day and needed to be reminded of his purpose."

Harold looked back at the happy couple of the dance floor, "She has been so good for him."

"John needs someone to love and be loved by. She makes him stronger."

Harold watched as John led his bride off the dance floor. John pulled her close into his body and held her tight while kissing her passionately. "Well if love makes him stronger, he's probably bullet proof right now."

"He has have a lot to live for now and there will be more to come," Mildred chirped.

"Do you know something I don't?" Harold asked in a teasing tone of voice.

"I am an angel, Harold, of course I do!" Mildred chided him with a smile.

"Any hints?" Harold playfully teased her.

"Do not throw away any of the baby items you bought for Leila," Mildred winked at him.

Harold looked at John and Joss in alarm and then back to Mildred's chair, but she was already gone leaving an empty plate behind.

It was time to throw the bouquet and the garter. Joss had hoped to pass on this tradition, but like the rest of the wedding, she was overruled by Finch and her mother. Well, mostly her mother.

Tradition says that the woman who catches the bouquet would be the next one to get married. As the single women lined up for the toss, their boyfriends watched, silently hoping their girlfriend was NOT the one to make the successful grab.

The ladies lined up, except for Sam Shaw. Harold tried to herd the ex-op out to the floor but she refused to budge. "Finch, that's going to be a girl fight. Have you ever seen a girl fight? I'd rather take down an Al Qaida cell with a water pistol than fight a bunch of girls. They fight dirty." Harold decided not to push the topic and left Shaw in her corner.

Joss stood with her back to them the eligible women, and everyone in the room counted down "One…Two…THREE!" Joss tossed the bouquet back over her head and the battle was on.

The ladies lunged for the bouquet like a bunch of lionesses swarming a wounded gazelle while the men watched in horror. Guys don't like to think of their girlfriends as vicious creatures and the men assembled in the room didn't recognize these feral beasts fighting over a bunch of meaningless flowers.

Bear, the combat trained dog, took one look at the fray and hid under the nearest table. Finch, seeing just how accurate Shaw was in her prediction, seriously considered joining the canine and probably would have had it not been for his limited mobility. Fusco was worried about Rhonda's safety and wished he had brought his gun instead of leaving it in the car. John said a silent prayer of thanks that Joss was not in that fight, or he might have had to rescue his beloved.

However, despite the mad scramble, the casualties were light. There were a few scratches from perfectly manicured nails as the ladies lunged for the bouquet and one small rip in a dress when Muriel Baker's thrice married but currently single youngest daughter tripped and face planted on the dance floor.

To everyone's surprise, especially Fusco's, Rhonda emerged from the battle triumphantly holding the bouquet aloft. John stole a quick glance at Lionel and nearly doubled over laughing. He had not seen that particular expression on Fusco's face for a long while, not since he'd dropped a flash bang grenade in the back of the cop's cruiser the first day they met.

So when it was time to throw the garter, John could not resist aiming squarely for Fusco, to Rhonda's great delight. Fusco desperately tried to hide in the back of the pack of single men, but John's sniper skills were more than equal to the task. Fusco watched in horror as the satin and lace object of doom sailed straight for him. Single men do not fight over the garter the way single ladies fight over the bouquet and they all obligingly took a big step back, allowing the projectile to find its intended target. Fusco held up his hands in protest and the garter neatly settled on his raised hand.

Fusco, carrying it between his thumb and forefinger like it had rabies, reluctantly moved to the front of the room. Later, when John and Joss would look through the wedding pictures they would get a good hard laugh out of the disgruntled expression on their friend's face. Rhonda, still holding the bouquet she had worked so hard for, sat down on a chair and Fusco kneeled in front her, totally missing the small but predatory smile on her face. He swiftly placed the garter on her leg to hoots and hollers from the assembled guests. Rhonda enjoyed every minute, while Fusco desperately prayed for the ground to open up and swallow him.

John and Joss left the reception shortly afterwards. Fortunately they were spending the night in the Bridal Suite on the top floor, so there was no rice thrown. Joss was grateful for that one small thing, she and her first husband had been deluged with rice and she had found rice in places where there should not be rice for a couple of days afterward.

Instead they quietly said goodbye to their guests and left to applause. They paused on their way out the door so Joss could give Finch a rib cracking hug. "Thank you, for everything Finch. It was beautiful," she whispered.

"It was my pleasure, Joss," and he meant it.

John took Joss's hand and they walked out of the ballroom to the cheers of their friends and down the hall to the elevators. The hotel's wedding coordinator was a few minutes ahead of them and had already commandeered an elevator for them, so they were able to walk right on. John pushed the button for the top floor and the doors slid smoothly shut.

As soon as the doors shut John pinned Joss in a corner and kissed her like his life depended on it. Then he looked up into the security camera and said, "Thank you too, for everything."

At that very moment, in the Thornhill Corporation's new computer facility, purposely built on the Columbia River to take advantage of a new hydroelectric dam, a technician looked up in surprise.

"Hey, Jack, I just got a power surge!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it was a pretty quick blip on the screen but it was definitely there."

The other tech checked a read out on his screen. "Well that machine in there looks like it's running fine, so there was no harm done."

Finch said goodbye to Taylor and Alice right after that. Fermin Ordonez insisted in taking them home in his cab. He said it was the least he could do for the man who saved his life and the woman who'd brought his family to America for him.

Taylor bumped fists with the billionaire, "Epic party, Finch."

Finch grinned at the teen, "It was wasn't it? Do you still want to go see a movie tomorrow?"

"You know it."

"I'll pick you up at 5 then."

Alice couldn't even say good bye; she was crying tears of joy again. Taylor looked at Finch and rolled his eyes. It was going to be a long cab ride home. Fermin chuckled, winked at Finch and escorted them out of the room.

As the rest of the guests took their leave, Fusco walked up to Finch and handed him a cigar. Finch raised an eyebrow at the detective, "Really?"

"Don't knock it till you try it, Finch," Fusco smiled, taking a big puff on his own stogie.

Finch shrugged and decided to go with the flow, or maybe he was just drunk, he had no idea. He let Fusco light the cigar then they took a seat at an empty table littered with empty champagne glasses, cake plates and dirty napkins.

"Where's Rhonda?"

"I put her in a cab a few minutes ago. She wanted to meet up with some girlfriends and show off her prize." Even a bit tipsy, Finch could hear the cringe in Lionel's voice.

Finch nodded and took a tentative puff on his cigar and decided it wasn't half bad. "Well she fought hard for that bouquet; she's entitled to show it off a bit."

Fusco looked round the room at all the debris. "Hell of a party Finch. You started them off in style," Fusco said.

"That was the idea," Finch said stoking Bear's head. "It was worth every penny. I never thought this day would come."

Fusco took another puff on his cigar and chuckled. "You thought Joss would turn him down?"

"No," Finch said softly. "I never thought Mr. Reese would be healthy enough to ever love again."

"He was pretty intense when he first came to town. The only joys he had in life was kneecapping perps and hasslin' me."

"He did love to torture you, but not as much as he liked shooting people."

"Yeah, well now he's Joss's problem."

Harold took a puff on his cigar, "Somehow I don't think she considers him a problem."

Fusco snorted, "I think she does, but she married him anyway."

Joss woke in the middle of the night to find that John was not in bed with her. Curious she got up and went looking for him. She found him standing on the terrace in his robe, looking out over the lights of city.

Joss smiled and snuck up behind him, sliding her arms around his waist from behind and resting her head against his back.

"Mrs. John Reese I presume?" John chuckled and turned to take her in his arms.

She reached up and kissed him, "Where you expecting someone else in your wedding suite? What are you doing out here? You better not be brooding on our wedding night!"

"It's not brooding if I'm thinking happy thoughts." John sounded quite proud of himself.

Joss arched an eyebrow at him. "John Reese, thinking happy thoughts? Seriously?"

"It's just for tonight. Don't get used to it. I was just thinking about how lucky I am. Honestly, I thought I would die alone in some back alley in a third world country. I never thought I would ever be happy again."

Joss looked up him hardly daring to ask her next question, "Are you happy now?"

John looked down into her large dark eyes and smiled, "Yes, Joss, I am. I have a family, friends and a purpose. Everything I ever wanted."

"How about we move this indoors and I'll give you a few more reasons to be happy?" she purred at him.

John led her back into the suite without a word. Joss giggled and let him pull her inside

The End

*Yes, Harold knows Mildred too. I have a fic rattling around in my head where Mildred was the one who convinces Harold to continue Nathan's work with the Irrelevants and to look for a certain partner. Maybe someday I will get that one written!