Author's note: This is
my first piece of Adam-12 fanfic though I've written some Star
Trek. Please, let me know if you like it. It takes place roughly a year
after the events of "Something Worth Dying For." Many thanks to Karen
for beta reading!
Author's note: This is my first piece of Adam-12 fanfic though I've written
some <I>Star Trek</I>. Please, let me know if you like
it. It takes place roughly a year after the events of "Something Worth Dying
For." Many thanks to Karen for beta reading!
Officer Peter Malloy of the LAPD sat in the locker room staring at his locker.
He was apparently lost deep in thought and didn't hear his partner approach.
"Hey, Pete," Jim tapped him on the shoulder.
Pete jumped, "Reed…"
Jim laughed, "Roll call."
"Oh, right," Pete gathered up his equipment and headed for the door.
"Pete." Jim stopped him.
"Hmm?"
"Is something wrong?" Jim looked worried.
Pete smiled, "I'll tell you later. We don't want to be late for roll call."
* * * * * * * * * * *
"One Adam-12, Daywatch clear." Jim replaced the mic
and looked at his partner as the dispatcher confirmed the call. "So, are
you going to tell me about it?"
Pete glanced over. "Pretty anxious, aren't you?"
"It sure looked like it was something serious back in the locker room."
Jim shrugged. "Nothing's wrong, is it?"
"No, nothing's wrong." Pete shook his head. "You know, I'm not sure I should
tell you."
"C'mon, Pete, what is it?"
<I>"One Adam-12. One Adam-12. See the woman. Family dispute…"</I>
The rest of the morning was spent in much the same way. As soon as they
finished one call, they were dispatched to another. By the time they cleared
for lunch, Jim was beginning to wonder if he'd ever hear Pete's news.
They were finally cleared for Code 7. "Okay, out with it." Jim demanded
once they were seated.
"Aren't you even gonna let me eat first?"
"No." Jim shook his head. "If I do that, you'll never tell me because we'll
be interrupted. A 211 will go down or Mac will stop by with some news or
something. Just tell me."
"Okay." Pete crossed his arms on the table and leaned in towards his partner
ever so slightly. "I'm going to propose to Judy tonight."
Jim stared at him for several seconds with a look of shock on his face.
"Well?"
"That's great, Pete!" Jim finally found his voice. "That's really great!
Congratulations!"
"She hasn't said 'yes' yet." He pointed out.
"Oh, come on! She's stuck with you this long. Of course, she'll say 'yes.'"
"I hope so."
"Wait 'till I tell Jean!"
"Hey, Jim, let's keep this to ourselves for now, okay?" Pete requested.
"Sure, Pete."
"We can surprise her tomorrow night when we come over for dinner." Pete
shrugged. "That way if Judy turns me down, Jean will never know."
Jim shook his head. "It's about time. I was almost ready to give up on you
ever getting married."
"After listening to you harp on me for almost five years, I'm ready for
a break!"
The two continued their bantering through lunch. All too soon it was time
to return to duty. Reed had just cleared them when the radio sprang to life
again.
<I>"One Adam-12 clear and handle…a 211 in progress at the
grocery store. 10th
and Wellborne. One Adam-12 handle Code 3."</I>
"One Adam-12, roger." Jim acknowledged.
They were only a block away from the scene and arrived quickly. As they
pulled up to the store, two men ran out. The suspects were momentarily startled
at the sight of the black and white but recovered quickly. They fired at
the car as they ran past and disappeared down an alley. Despite the two officers
ducking for cover, one of the shots was a lucky one. Pete groaned as a bullet
hit home.
"Go!" Pete waved Jim out. "I'll handle the radio."
Jim hesitated slightly before running after the suspects. He hated to leave
his wounded partner, but duty called. He'd catch them and then help his partner.
As he neared the end of the alley, he slowed. He peered around the corner
and then holstered his gun.
"Hey, Jim, these guys yours?" Woods had just finished putting the handcuffs
on the second suspect.
"Yeah, Woods, what happened?"
"We were only a couple blocks away when the call went down so we thought
we'd cover the back for you. They were so busy looking behind them that they
didn't see us pull up; they actually ran into the car. All we had to do was
put the cuffs on them." Woods grinned expecting some wise crack about arrests
being handed to him on a silver platter.
"Oh, great, Jerry." Reed replied as if he hadn't really heard the other
man. "Look, um, Pete caught a bullet. Can you load 'em up while I go check
on him?"
Woods frowned. "Sure, Jim. We'll be right there."
Jim nodded and ran back the way he had come. <I>Pete, you better
be okay. Please, be okay.</I> It seemed like the longest alley
he'd ever seen.
The driver's door was open on the squad car but Pete still sat inside. He
was cradling his right arm with his head resting on the back of the seat,
eyes closed.
"Pete?" Jim leaned down. "You all right?"
Pete turned towards his partner. "I've been better."
"Yeah," Jim laughed. "I'll bet."
"Did ya get them?"
"Woods and his partner got them coming out of the alley." He nodded towards
the black and white pulling up alongside. "Here they are now."
"You better go check in the store." Pete told him. "No one's come out."
"Right. Hey, Jerry, stay with Pete, would ya? I'm going to go check the
store."
"You know, Pete, if you didn't want to go fishing with me this weekend,
you could have just said so." Woods joked as he came over.
Pete smiled, "I'll keep that in mind next time."
Two more black and whites pulled up to the store. Sergeant MacDonald got
out of the first car and Wells and Brinkman got out of the second.
"I'll go call in a Code 4. Did you already call for an ambulance?" Woods
wondered, watching the others come rushing over.
Pete nodded.
"Pete, you okay?" Mac came over. "What happened?"
"I'm okay. They fired on us as we pulled up. I took one in the arm."
"Where's Jim?"
Woods nodded toward the store. "There he comes." Jim was ushering five people
out of the store.
"Hang in there, Pete, the ambulance should be here any time. I'll go see
what Reed has." Mac touched his good shoulder and went over to talk to Jim.
"They were locked in the cooler." Jim explained. "They're a little chilled,
but not hurt."
"Wells and Brinkman can handle them. Why don't you go with the ambulance
and fill out the report when you get back to the station? I'll have the car
taken care of and come to the hospital when we're done here."
"Thanks, Mac, here's the ambulance now."
MacDonald motioned Wells and Brinkman over as Jim went over to help Pete
out of the car. The ambulance attendants came over as well.
"I can make it." Pete waved off the attendants. "Don't bother with the stretcher."
"Here, Pete." Jim took his elbow and helped him out of the car. "Looks like
the bullet went clean through."
Pete looked back. There was a hole in the seat where the bullet had lodged
itself. He smiled. "Looks like the car needs more patching up than I do."
Jim laughed and helped him into the back of the ambulance.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Jim sat in the waiting room of Central Receiving filling out the reports
on the 211 incident. He was about half done when a nurse walked over. "Officer
Reed?"
"Yes?"
"The doctor has finished with your partner. He's going to be just fine."
"Is he giving you a hard time yet?"
She laughed. "Is he always so stubborn? We advised him that he should spend
the night for observation, but he insists he's going home."
"That sounds like him. Look, I'll try to convince him to stay if you think
it would help."
"Like I said, it would be for observation, just as a precaution. I really
don't see any reason he can't go home provided he takes it easy for a little."
"I'll see what I can do." Jim sighed. "But you've seen how stubborn he is.
I don't think he'll listen to me either."
"You never know." She shrugged. "It can't hurt to try. He's in Treatment
Room 1. He wanted to talk to you. I'll show you the way."
"Thanks." Jim followed her down the hall. She opened the door for him but
did not enter. He stood in the doorway, shaking his head. "If you keep this
up, you're going to have more scars than Ed Wells!"
"Very funny, partner." Pete grimaced as he eased himself off the bed and
leaned against it to steady himself and fight back a brief dizzy spell.
"Pete, are you sure you're ready to leave?" Jim questioned, noticing the
slight unsteadiness. "Maybe you ought to spend the night."
"I'm fine. It's just a flesh wound."
"Yeah, sure."
"Look, Jim, I'm fine. Really." Pete pulled his shirt up over his shoulder
as far as the sling would allow. "Let's get back to the station and fill
out that report."
"Back to the… Pete!" Jim was amazed. "You should go home and get
some rest!"
"I will… just as soon as we finish that report."
"All right." Jim gave up on the argument, knowing it was useless. "Mac's
waiting in the hall. How about if I drive you home when we're done at the
station? Jean can come pick me up, and your car won't have to sit in the
parking lot for the weekend."
"That'd be great. Thanks."
"Hey, Pete," Mac greeted them. "Ready to go home?"
"You two are impossible!" Pete rolled his eyes.
Mac gave Jim a quizzical look, not sure what Pete was complaining about.
"We're going back to the station and do the report." Pete explained. "Then,
I'll go home."
"Pete, I really think you ought to go home now. Reed can do the report."
"Mac, please, I'd rather go finish up. I have the next two days off; I'll
get plenty of rest then. Okay?"
" Reed, are you sure he didn't hit his head, too?" Mac wondered. "Okay,
Pete, but if you change your mind, let me know, and I'll swing by your place
first."
"Let's get going, huh?"
Mac and Jim merely shook their heads at Pete and followed him out to the
car. Pete was grateful that it was a fairly short drive back to the station.
Every bump sent a jolt through his arm that almost made him wish he'd stayed
at the hospital – almost, but not quite.
The paperwork was finished and handed in to Mac relatively quickly. Several
people stopped them on their way out of the station to express their relief
that everything had turned out okay. Many were amazed to see Pete there instead
of in the hospital, but he assured them he was fine and waved off their concerns.
"Boy, am I glad to get out of there." Pete sighed as he settled into the
car.
"They're just glad you're all right."
"I know," he glanced over, "but Carter didn't have to slap me on the back.
I thought I was going to die!"
Jim laughed, "He was so glad to see that you were okay that he didn't even
think about it. Don't worry, I don't think he saw you bite your lip!"
"I thought I was going to bite <I>through</I> it!" He
laughed.
"C'mon, let's get you home."
"Hey, did you call Jean?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "She'll come get me as soon as her sister gets there
to watch Jimmy. She was coming over tonight anyway."
The ride to Pete's was quiet as Pete leaned his head back and closed his
eyes. He didn't sleep because he had to consciously ignore the pain from
his arm. As long as he thought about the night ahead, that wasn't a problem.
"You might as well come up and wait for Jean." Pete told him as they pulled
into his apartment parking lot.
"Okay. She should be here soon, though."
Pete took the car keys from Jim and led the way up to his apartment. He
awkwardly unlocked the door with his left hand.
"Pete," a voice stopped him before he could get into the apartment. "Are
you all right?"
Jim stepped back; Pete glanced over and then took a step back into the hall.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. O'Brien."
"Pete, you didn't answer me."
"I'm fine, Mrs. O'Brien." He smiled at her.
"Then what happened to your arm?"
Pete shrugged his uninjured shoulder, "Arm wrestling match gone bad."
Mrs. O'Brien wagged a finger at him. "Pete."
"I got shot in the arm." He finally explained. "But I'm fine."
She patted him gently on his good arm and led him into his apartment. She
steered him over to the couch and made him sit then leaned down and kissed
him on the cheek, "Peter Malloy, you take care of yourself." With that, she
turned around and left, gently closing the door behind her.
Jim looked at his partner in amusement then chuckled. "How do you like that?"
"I told you she was a sweet woman."
"Too bad Sergeant Sanchez wasn't here to see it. I think he still has nightmares
about her."
Pete smiled at the thought of the time Mrs. O'Brien had been victimized
by a purse-snatcher. While the detectives had searched for the suspect, she
had staked out the station and driven them crazy. "Hey, Jim, make yourself
at home. I'm going to go change."
"Good idea, Pete. I really don't think Judy wants to see your uniform like
that."
Pete looked at the bullet hole and the bloodstain that was particularly
obvious on the white undershirt he wore underneath. "Yeah, I don't think
it would help my cause tonight."
"Are you still going out tonight?"
"Actually, she's coming here. I was going to make her dinner, but I think
we'll just order out."
"Very romantic, Pete!"
"Give me a break, Reed." He growled.
"Just kidding, Pete. So, are you still going to ask her?"
"Sure. Nothing's changed." Besides, she stuck with me when I got shot last
year, and I was in worse shape than I am now."
Jim nodded. He would never forget that time. Pete had taken a bullet in
the stomach and Reed had gotten the Medal of Valor for pulling him out. It
had been a tense night. Jean hadn't taken Jim risking his life to save Pete's
well. His undercover work with Narcotics had already been a source of arguments
and the shooting had only served to fuel the fire. Jim had been the one to
pick Judy up and take her to the hospital, and he'd sat with her while waiting
for news on Pete. When the doctor told them that Pete was going to be fine,
Judy broke down in tears. She had confided in Jim that she didn't know what
she would do if she ever lost Pete, but made him promise never to tell his
partner. He had agreed but wondered if he should break that promise now.
Jim sat down in the easy chair in the living room while Pete went into the
bedroom to change. "So what time is Judy coming over?" He yelled towards
the other room.
"Around 7. She was going to make David supper before the sitter got there."
"So," Jim grinned, "are you ready to become a father as well as a husband
if she says yes?"
"You know, I'm not sure. David's a great kid, but what do I know about raising
a kid?"
"Well, I think you'll make a great dad." Jim reassured him. "I've seen how
you handle the kids that we run into on the job, and Jimmy thinks you're
all right. You'll do just fine."
"Thanks." Pete emerged from the bedroom and stretched out on the couch with
a sigh.
Just as he settled himself on the couch, there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it," Jim crossed over to the door. "It's probably Jean."
"Jim, you're all right?" Jean asked as soon as the door opened.
"Honey, I'm fine." Jim leaned down to give her a reassuring hug.
"Don't get up, Pete." Jean waved him back down as he started to get up from
the couch as she came in. "How're you doing?"
"I'm fine, really. It's not as bad as it looks." He tried to convince her
though she still looked concerned.
"C'mon, honey, let's let Pete rest."
"You let us know if you need anything, okay, Pete?"
"Sure, Jean, thanks." Pete did get up then despite Jean's protests. "I'll
see you tomorrow night for dinner."
"If you don't feel up to it, let us know." Jean reached up and gave him
a quick hug, being careful not to bump his arm. "I'm glad you're all right."
She whispered, choking back tears.
"Hey, hey," Pete held her arm so she didn't turn away. "I'm okay, and so
is Jim. There's nothing to worry about. Okay?"
After looking at him a second, she nodded and finally smiled. "Okay."
Halfway down the hall, Jim turned back to his partner who was still standing
in the doorway, "Hey, Pete, good luck tonight!"
"Thanks, partner." Pete smiled back at him and waved as they left.
Judy arrived a little before 7, and Pete was more than ready. He'd gotten
a little bit of sleep, and his arm felt much better. He was just lighting
the last candle on the table when there was a knock at the door. He took
a deep breath to prepare himself and visually checked to make sure everything
was where he wanted. <I>Perfect.</I>
"Hi, Pete." Judy greeted him with a kiss then pulled back in concern. "What
happened?"
"It's nothing." He led her over to the couch to sit down. "I'm fine."
"Peter Malloy, there's something you're not telling me. Now, what happened
to your arm?" She crossed her arms over her chest to show him she meant business.
He laughed at her stern look. "Okay, I give up. I know when I'm beat!" He
took a deep breath, unsure of her reaction. "I got shot in the arm at work
today."
She gasped in shock though she'd half expected it when she saw the sling.
She looked at the apprehensive look on his face and knew he had been dreading
telling her. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine." He took her hand and held it gently in his left. "The bullet
went clean through and didn't hit anything major. I won't even need the sling
in a day or two."
"What happened? Is Jim okay? Was anyone else hurt?"
"It was a robbery. Jim's fine, and no one else was hurt." He smiled. "Interrogation
over?"
"Are you sure you're okay? Maybe I should go and let you get your rest."
She started to stand.
"Judy, I'm fine. Honest." He held onto her hand and pulled her closer to
him. "If I didn't want you here, I would've called. But you're going to
have to take a rain check on my home cooked dinner."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you arranged this to get out of making
me dinner!" She teased him.
"You know me too well!"
Judy laughed, the tension gone. "It took me so long to convince you to make
me dinner, that I guess I shouldn't be surprised!"
He shrugged, "Well, you'll be missing out on a rare and wonderful treat!"
"So what will we do for dinner?"
"I thought we could order out though it's not very romantic."
"That'd be fine, Pete." She glanced over at the candles on the table. "The
candles are romantic enough."
Pete smiled, hoping she wouldn't mind one more romantic gesture on his part,
but it wasn't time for that just yet. His thoughts were interrupted by another
knock at the door. "I wonder who that could be."
He opened the door to find Mrs. O'Brien standing there holding a casserole
dish. "Pete, I brought you some supper since I didn't think you'd be cooking
tonight with your arm the way it is."
"You didn't have to do that, Mrs. O'Brien." Pete wasn't sure what else to
say. He hadn't expected this.
"And you have never had to do any of the things that you do for me." She
stepped past him to set the dish on his counter. Then she noticed the candles
on the table and Judy sitting on the couch. "Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt,
Pete."
"No, no, that's okay." Judy assured her.
"There is enough for two, I suppose. I had thought you could finish it tomorrow
if you needed to."
"Mrs. O'Brien," Pete had finally recovered from the surprise. "You're the
best! It'll be perfect for dinner tonight."
"Yes, it will." Judy agreed. "It smells delicious."
Mrs. O'Brien smiled, "Then you better sit yourselves down and eat. It's
much better when it's hot."
"Thank you, Mrs. O'Brien, that was very thoughtful of you." He leaned down
to kiss her on the cheek as she'd done to him earlier.
"Now, Pete, don't go getting mushy on me in front of your girl." The old
lady chided. "Sit down and eat. I'll come by and check on you tomorrow."
"What a nice lady." Judy observed after the door closed behind her.
"Yeah, if you're on her good side." His eyes twinkled remembering those
who'd gotten on her bad side. "Well, let's eat while it's still hot."
Dinner was excellent and the mood lightened as they finished their meal.
Judy cleared away the dishes, which allowed Pete to disappear into the bedroom
for a moment while her back was turned.
"What?" Judy wondered as she turned around to see Pete staring at her smiling.
"Come sit down and I'll tell you." He led her over to the couch again. She
stared up at him unsure of what he was doing.
He knelt down in front of her. Taking her right hand in his left, he held
the open ring box in his right hand. "Judy, will you marry me?"
She gasped and felt tears roll down her face. "Oh, Pete, of course I'll
marry you!"
He sighed in relief and released her hand to get the ring out of the box
and slip it on her finger. "I love you."
She looked at the ring on her finger and quickly wiped the tears away as
she spoke. "Pete, I love you, too."
"This wasn't exactly the way I'd planned on asking you, but I kind of had
to change plans after this afternoon."
"I don't care how you did it. I'm just glad you didn't decide <I>
not</I> to ask!"
"This wasn't very romantic." He apologized.
"Pete, this was just fine."
"Good." He laughed. "Not to break the romantic mood or anything, but do
you think you can help me up?"
She laughed as she gently helped him up by his good arm. She stood and looked
at the man she was going to marry. "I'm so glad you're all right."
"I know." He pulled her to him and stroked her hair with his good hand as
she began to cry softly against his shoulder. "That's something we're going
to need to talk about."
She nodded; face still buried against his shoulder. She took a deep breath
and then stepped back to look at him. "I'm okay, now."
"Let's sit down." He led her over to the couch and sat so she was snuggled
up against his left side. He put his arm around her and despite the sling
on his right arm took her hand in his own.
"Pete, I know that being a policeman's wife isn't going to be easy." She
sighed. "Just dating you hasn't been too easy sometimes. But I realized last
year when you got shot that I didn't want to live without you. And I've had
plenty of talks with Jean about what it's like. Frankly, I didn't know if
you would ever ask me to marry you, but I decided quite a bit ago that I
wasn't going to let your work get in the way."
Pete smiled. "I didn't know you'd given this much thought, but I'm glad
you have. It makes this conversation a little easier. I wasn't so worried
about asking you to get married as I was about this conversation."
"Why?"
He sighed. "Jim and I have been partners for a long time, and in that time
a lot has happened. We've seen friends killed on the job. We've been held
hostage, shot and, well, I'd rather not think about the other things we've
gone through. And through all of that, I've seen how he and Jean handle
it. Jean didn't take it well last year when Jim got the Medal of Valor for
saving me, and it really worked on Jim. He was miserable because she wasn't
happy, and it was all because of his job."
Judy sat silently as he paused to gather his thoughts. She didn't want to
interrupt.
"Jim has often asked if I haven't gotten married because of the job and
the dangers involved. He thought I was trying to save someone the worry,
but that's not it at all. I just never found the right woman until now. But
now that I've found you, I want as much time with you as possible. There's
always the possibility that I could get hurt or killed doing my job, but
I don't think that should stop us from being happy together."
"Pete, I can't say that I'm thrilled with the idea of you getting hurt on
the job, but I've accepted the fact that it could happen. I also realize
that trying to talk you out of it is useless." She smiled as she thought
of last year when she'd tried to talk him into a desk job and how far she
had gotten with that. It wasn't far as Pete had told her in no uncertain
terms that he wasn't about to change careers. "Pete, I need you in my life.
David needs you."
"What do you think he'll say?" Pete wondered. "Will he be ready to have
me as a father?"
"David doesn't remember his father very well since he was so young when
he died. He used to ask about him all the time. You know, what he was like
and that sort of thing. But lately all he asks about is you. He wonders
what you're doing when you're not with us, if you'd approve of something
he did. And just last week, he asked why you couldn't be his dad."
Pete was speechless. He was very fond of David but hadn't realized that
the boy was this attached to him.
"He looks up to you, Pete. He loves spending time with you and gets upset
when he can't see you very often. He loves you, Pete, and he'll be thrilled
to have you as his dad. And I know you'll make a great dad."
"Do you really think so?" Pete shifted a little to look at her. "I'm a little
worried about that. I've never been a husband before let alone a father.
What if I mess up?"
"We all mess up, Pete, but don't worry, you'll do fine. David loves you.
I love you. We'll make it work."
"Yeah." Pete settled back again, holding her close to him. They sat in
silence just enjoying each other's presence for quite some time.
"Pete, I better go." Judy told him some time later. "It's getting late and
you should get some rest."
"I'm okay."
"No, you're not." She reproved. "Your arm hurts. You're trying to ignore
it, but I can tell. You need to take one of those pain pills the doctor gave
you and go to bed."
"Yes, ma'am!"
She rose and smiled at him as he stood as well. "I'll call you in the morning
before I go to work."
"Call me when you get home so I know you're back safely."
"Okay." She caressed his cheek softly. "And I'll call you in the morning."
"Checking up on me already?" He whispered.
"Someone has to keep you in line."
"I can't think of anyone better." He leaned down and kissed her deeply.
He reluctantly pulled away when the pressure of the embrace made his arm
hurt again.
"How about if I pick you up tomorrow night when we go to Jim and Jean's?"
"That sounds good. Why don't you and David come over a little early and
we can tell David together?"
"Sure, he'll like that."
"I'll walk you out to your car."
"Pete, you don't have to do that."
Pete nodded. "I want to. It's late and you never know."
They walked out to her car hand in hand. They embraced again and kissed
gently before he helped her into the car. "I love you."
She smiled up at him through the open window. "I love you, too. Get some
sleep, okay?"
"I will. <I>After</I> you call me when you get home."
She nodded as she started her car. "See you tomorrow."
He watched her drive away before turning back and going into his apartment
where he had the best night's sleep he had ever had.
* * * * * * * *
Judy pulled up to the Reeds' house and smiled at Pete next to her. "Well,
let's go tell them the news."
Pete smiled and got out of the car. He opened the back door to let David
get out as well. "C'mon, David, Jimmy'll be glad to have someone to play
with."
David ran up the walk as Pete and Judy followed slowly hand in hand.
"Hi, David." Jim greeted as he opened the door. "Jimmy's in his room. Why
don't you go and play a little before dinner?"
"Hi, Jim."
"Hey, partner."
One look at the couple coming through the front door and Jim smiled. "Judy,
Pete, come on in. Jean's finishing up in the kitchen."
"Hi, Pete, Judy." Jean emerged from the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel.
"How's your arm, Pete?"
"It's fine, thanks."
"You certainly look better." She noticed, then glanced at both of them and
knew something was up. "What's going on?"
"Why don't we go into the living room a minute?" Jim suggested.
"Go ahead." Pete urged Judy once they were all seated. Jean looked puzzled
while Jim just sat and grinned at his partner.
"Jim, Jean," Judy smiled and looked at Pete who just squeezed her hand in
encouragement. "Pete and I are getting married!"
"Wait, there's more." Pete held them in check a moment as they were about
to get up to congratulate the couple. "We talked about it last night. We're
gonna have a small ceremony with a justice of the peace, and we'd like you
two to be our witnesses."
"We'd be honored." Jim told them.
Jean got up and hugged Judy and then turned to Pete and hugged him as well.
"Pete, I'm so happy for you. Both of you. Congratulations!"
The women went back into the kitchen to finish the dinner preparations while
Jim and Pete stayed in the living room. Jim put a hand on Pete's shoulder,
"Congratulations, Pete. I knew she'd say yes!"
"Thanks," Pete smiled. "I must admit, I was more nervous than I thought,
but it turned out okay."
"Just wait, Pete, it only gets better from here."
"Thanks, after riding with you for so long, I think I've heard just about
anything that can happen!"
The two continued their good-natured bantering through dinner and afterwards.
The women ignored them.
Right before she and Pete left, Judy hugged Jim and whispered in his ear.
"Thanks for taking care of him, Jim."
Jim smiled and patted Pete on the shoulder gently, ignoring his teasing
scowl, "See you Monday, Pete."
Jim, arm around his wife, watched them walk down the sidewalk hand in hand
with David leading the way. <I>They'll make a good family.</I>
He smiled.
Jean noticed her husband's smile and gave him a squeeze. "What?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just glad Pete finally found someone that will make him
as happy as you make me." They turned back and went in their house. The door
swinging closed behind them.
That's all, folks. Hope you've enjoyed it – please
let me know! I welcome feedback. Besides, if you like it, I'll send more.
If you hate it, it might prevent me from submitting more – but I doubt
it!! Thanks again, Karen, I appreciate all your help!
