I really struggled to make this chapter worthy of our VinCat. I hope I did them justice. Thank you to all who have commented. And Azucar - I appreciate your encouragement! Pardon me as I learn my way around this site - I know all the formatting does not come out right. I hope to get better at it. BTW, I am considering these stories as episodes in what I'm now calling my Alternate Universe Season Two (AU-S2). This is ep AU-S2.05. Hang on, more are coming...

Chapter 3

"Catherine, you are truly a vision." Gabe spoke from the top of the staircase leading to the roof. "Vincent is a lucky man."

Catherine blushed and joined him on the landing. It was twenty minutes before dawn—time to make her appearance. Vincent had been adamant she not see the roof before the ceremony. She guessed it was his way of getting back at her for not letting him see the dress last night, although he'd tried every form of persuasion before giving up.

She smoothed a hand down the front of her lace skirt. "Thank you for doing this, Gabe. It means a lot to me."

"It's my pleasure. Every pretty lady deserves to be escorted down the aisle, and I owe this one big time," he looked pointedly at her. "And to see you both so happy, well . . . You ready?"

"Is that even possible?"

"Catherine, you've faced hardened criminals and a room full of reporters. This should be a piece of cake."

She didn't know about that, but took a big centering breath. "Then I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Wait. You just need one more thing." He reached behind him to a bag hidden in the corner of the stairwell and pulled out a large bouquet of cut flowers.

She gasped. "I thought I smelled roses! Are those for me? Oh, Gabe."

"Along with an escort, a bouquet is a must-have."

She and Vincent had talked about flowers. As far as she was concerned, it was an unnecessary extravagance. It was one of the few arguments he'd conceded on. Apparently, he'd forgotten to tell Gabe. Now she realized how much of a difference they made. Last night Vincent had admitted that the wealthy D.A. had insisted on covering much of the cost of the wedding. For this kindness alone, she owed him a lot.

He offered his arm and she took it, but as he reached for the door handle, she hesitated.

"This is the right thing to do, isn't it?"

Gabe smiled down at her. "If you could have seen his face a little while ago, you wouldn't be asking that question." He opened the door.

Still under the cover of darkness right before the dawn, the rooftop glowed with the shimmer of a thousand twinkling lights. Directly in front of them lay a long straight path across the roof, lined on both sides by fragrant greenery set in large, clay pots. Strung overhead and throughout the pathway were more lights, some caught in the tulle netting woven above their heads. Tiny white ribbons, seemingly from everywhere, danced in the early morning breeze, waving them forward. The air was filled with the fragrance of hot house roses and gardenias.

She clutched his arm. "Am I dreaming? You sure we're on the roof and not transported to a fairytale wonderland?" she asked, amazed at the sight before her.

Gabe grinned, happy that it pleased her. "That smile was definitely worth it."

"Who did all this?"

"Oh, I think everyone played a part. Come, Catherine. Your groom awaits, and it looks like he just might pass out at any moment, so we'd better hurry."

Tess, off to one side, pressed the button on the music player and the mellow sounds of St. Leonards' Best Part of Me filled the space.

At intervals along the petal covered path were the photos, beautifully framed, of her sister, Thomas, and her mom. Gabe let her pause at each as they passed.

Can you see me, Mom?

Incredibly handsome and attired in a suit of black with gray and white accents, Vincent waited at the end of the path, JT just behind him in another tux, beneath a big bowed arch of white pine which, amazingly, had long strands of climbing ivy mixed with vine roses woven up both sides of the trellis and hanging down from above. Another of Gabe's gifts, no doubt.

As the D.A. brought her to stand before the men, she couldn't take her eyes off of her groom. Vincent wasn't smiling but had an expression closer to the way she felt—nervous and a little bit anxious. But as the first rays of dawn broke over the cityscape, it backlit her groom and spread a golden glow over the entire scene, and she smiled.

"Um, okay," JT said as the music drifted off. He nervously looked down at his notes. "Who gives this woman to be married to this man? Like we don't already know," he added, sotto voice.

The consummate professional, Gabe ignored him and spoke up loudly and clearly. "On behalf of her family, I do." Leaning in, he kissed Catherine on the cheek and murmured, "They would all be very proud." As Catherine absorbed that, she handed Tess her bouquet and was led forward to Vincent, her hand placed firmly in his. Gabe winked at her then and went to stand opposite Tess as the other witness.

Vincent cupped her hands in his larger ones. Her fingers were cold. Searching her eyes and suspecting it was nerves more than the mild morning temperatures, he chaffed them gently with his own and turned them both toward JT.

"We are gathered here today," he read, "to unite this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Vincent, do you take Catherine to be your wife? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"And Catherine, do you take Vincent to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Okay then, Big Guy, I guess you're up first. Your vows?" JT prompted.

"Oh, yeah." Vincent had to tear his eyes away from his bride. Some of her silky hair had been swept up in a wistful knot at the top of her head, the rest left to spill over her bare shoulders. The dress was stunning on her, fitting her figure like a glove, and the intriguing glimpses he got of those little white boots peeking out beneath the lace were driving him to distraction. Digging nervously into one pocket and then the other, he finally produced a folded sheet of paper. Catherine bit her lip.

Keeping hold of one of her hands, he held her gaze a long moment, then began.

"Catherine, when you found me last year, I was a dead man walking. I had no life, no purpose other than trying to survive. And, even though I'd watched over you for years, I'd stopped dreaming of a future until I met you. Through your honesty, your courage, and your compassion, you brought me back to life. You stole my breath, and then you stole my heart.

"You saw me when I didn't want anyone else to see me. And you didn't run. But not only that – you always saw me. I can't promise our life will be easy, and I know I can't give you everything I want or everything you deserve, but as you have been my sanctuary, I will be yours. And I, Vincent Ryan Keller, promise to love you, Catherine Elizabeth Chandler, with all of my being, to protect you, and to walk with you down each path our lives take, the rough and the smooth, hand in hand, for as long as I have breath."

JT then nodded to her.

"Okay." She blew out a shaky breath, already incredibly moved by his words.

"From the moment we met, my life has never been the same. You found a cynical, insecure, hard-nosed cop and turned my world upside down. You saved my life, more than once, but more importantly, you saved me with your love, your protection, and your friendship. You know, from the start, you had me with your eyes. And despite the ups and down we've faced, I wouldn't change a moment of it. Love isn't about being safe, but taking risks. And I would risk everything for one more moment with you.

"And that's why I, Catherine Elizabeth Chandler, take you, Vincent Ryan Keller, to be my husband, not because I can't breathe without you, but because we breathe better together. I don't need normal—I just need you. And though the future may bring more challenges, I promise to be there with you through it all because what we have . . . it's worth fighting for. We are stronger together than apart; and frankly, I don't ever want to be separated from you again. I promise to be your partner through the good times and the bad, the happy and the sorrowful, and I will love you till the end of time."

Catherine's voice cracked on the last word and no one spoke. She was thankful Tess was behind her because she could hear her sniffle and knew she'd totally lose it if she had to look at her best friend's face just then. Finally, JT cleared his throat and had them exchange rings. There was a moment of surprise when she brought out a ring for Vincent, also, which he wasn't expecting. Then they walked to the side where a set of three candles had been placed on a small table, took the burning tapers on either side and lit the center one together.

"And now, I guess . . . by the power vested in me by the State of New York, even though they don't know anything about this," he added, "I pronounce you," JT caught Vincent's glare and smiled, "man and wife. Go for it, Dude!"

Vincent blew out a giant sigh of relief. "Yes," he said with feeling, and wrapped one hand around Catherine's face and the other around her back and pressed his mouth to hers, telling her in all the ways his words couldn't just how much she meant to him.

"All right, you two," Gabe laughed after several long moments and broke them apart.

The guys hugged, slapped each other on the back and shook hands all around.

As Catherine stood to one side, grinning, Tess came up alongside her, wiping a tear away. "Okay, I take back everything I've ever said about Vincent," she said with a sniff.

"Everything?" Cat teased, eyes on her groom—correct that—her husband just a few feet away.

"Well, the bad things." Tess got serious. "I didn't understand at first, you know, about your connection. And it is special. He loves you, Cat. And I can only hope I meet a guy someday who will love me half as much as Vincent loves you. You're very fortunate, you know. But after all you two have been through, you totally deserve it."

"Thank you, Tess. I'm not sure about the 'deserving' part, but I want to make him as happy as he's made me."

Tess looked back over her shoulder at the trio of men. "Oh, I think you made Vincent a very happy man this morning." She hugged her tight.

After photographs were taken with Gabe's grand old Polaroid camera and the marriage certificate signed and sealed, the bride and groom were finally able to slip back into the apartment, alone at last. Vincent nervously twisted the ring on his finger, the unfamiliar feel of it giving him something to do as he waited for Catherine. Nothing had truly altered between them, but he felt different. Full. Home.

Having changed into more appropriate attire for their short getaway together, she came out of the bathroom. "How do I look? Ready for the back woods?"

Vincent snaked his arms around her, filling his lungs with the scent of her. "I'm sorry we can't go some place more special. A camping honeymoon isn't exactly the height of romance. And you're absolutely beautiful, by the way, Mrs. Keller. As always."

She flushed. "I love the sound of that."

" 'Beautiful'?"

"No. The other part—'Mrs. Keller.'"

"Oh, get used to it," he whispered, touching his lips to hers once, twice. The tide of desire started rising up again as he opened his mouth over hers. "Mmmm, I can never get enough of you."

She started to respond, then through sheer force of will pulled her head back. His eyes were already unfocused. She loved that she could do that to him. She ran her fingers up through his hair. "I'm happy wherever we go as long as I have you all to myself. But you know, Mr. Keller, unless you want to do our camping right here in the apartment, we have to get going."

Catherine had a feeling they weren't actually going to get to much of the 'camping' part of their quick, two-day trip to a secluded woods. They'd already lost an hour upon returning to the apartment when she made the mistake of asking for his help unbuttoning her dress. He'd taken on the task with relish, taking his sweet time with the long line of pearl buttons, deciding to inspect every new inch of revealed skin as he carefully opened each one. When he discovered the blue petal, however, things got somewhat out of hand. His determination to ensure there weren't other hidden treasures elsewhere led to a long, leisurely open-mouthed exploration of every part of her, and a dozen poor pearl buttons on the floor. She spared a small regret for the dress, which ended up torn in several places when all was said and done. She'd have to produce another dress for sure, now, for Heather.

What was left of the wedding cake never made it to the freezer as Vincent then made very creative use of it and the ice cream . . . .

After a quick shared shower in which very little actual showering had been accomplished, they weren't any closer to leaving.

Pausing a moment to think over her admonition, he finally sighed. "God. Yes, dear," and regretfully set her away from him.

As she grabbed her purse and jacket, Vincent reached beyond her to pick up their two bags, neatly stacked by the door, but bumped into her as he twisted around. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. My arm fell asleep. I didn't mean to wake you."

Catherine blinked. The room, which had begun to fill with bright morning light, was suddenly very dim.

"Are you still comfortable here, or do you want me to take you to bed?" Vincent's voice was slightly groggy and came from close behind her. He had one long arm looped around her middle.

Confused, she lifted her head and searched the shadows for his eyes.

"What is it?" he asked, concerned by the look on her face. "Bad dream?"

Dream? She scanned the room and stopped breathing. They weren't in her apartment at all, but the old club on the couch in front of the big screen. Catherine shook her head, unable to put voice to her incredible disappointment. "No," she finally got out. "No. It was . . . quite beautiful, actually."

Apparently satisfied with that, he shifted her on top of him and brought the throw blanket up around her as gray light slowly filled the room.

Catherine hid her devastation in the soft fabric of his shirt. As she turned her face away and closed her eyes again, a single tear rolled down her cheek . . . .

*End*