*
"Danny?" I tap the door again. "How are you doing in there?"
"Like throwing up might not be outside the realm of possibility."
I shoulder my way into the tiny room. Danny's slumped at the vanity, head on the countertop, tux jacket slung over the side table. "Don't fall apart, Danny. Now's not the time."
He actually checks his watch. "When is?"
I smile. "How does after sound?"
"After's no good. I'll be dead."
"Relax, Danny."
He blows out a sharp breath. "I'm getting married in ten minutes. I think the fact that I'm still conscious is a real point in my favor."
Before I can answer that, there's a knock at the door. "Danny?"
Danny perks up instantly, raising his head from the table. "Martin!"
I'm across the room like a shot, barring Danny's path to the door. "What the hell are you doing here, Martin?"
"Just checking that everything's okay. Can I come in?"
"Sure!" Danny yells happily, but I'm faster.
"Absolutely not."
That throws Martin. "Why not?"
"You are not supposed to see each other before the wedding."
"Come on, Jack." Danny glares at me. "That's a stupid old superstition."
"It may be an old superstition," I tell him, "but it's anything but stupid. Marriages have been destroyed before they're even started by things said in the ten minutes before the wedding."
From outside the door, Martin starts to protest, but there's a scuffle of feet behind him. "Sorry, Jack," Sam pants. "He snuck away from me."
"That's all right, Sam. Just get him out of here."
"No!" Danny hasn't sounded this plaintive in - actually, I don't remember him ever sounding this plaintive. "Don't make him go."
"You have the rest of your life together." I put my hand on his shoulder. "Take these ten minutes apart. Just trust me on this one."
Danny's still glaring at me, but he slumps down in the chair again, turning his back to the door.
"Come on, Martin," Sam says, coaxing him back up the hall.
"We're not children," Martin grumbles. "I love you, Danny. See you in ten."
"Love you, too," Danny calls. Then he turns on me, eyes wide, resentment swept aside by a new wave of fear. "Oh God, Jack. I can't get married in ten minutes."
"Getting married is easy," I assure him. "They ask you a couple of questions; you answer, 'I do,' it's done. Simple."
"Yeah." He stares intently at his hands as though searching them for answers. He stares so hard I find myself staring at his hands, too. I never noticed they were freckled. "The problem is that after that, everyone will expect us to stay married."
I quirk an eyebrow. "We shouldn't expect that?"
"I've never been married before, Jack!" he hisses. "What if I'm no good at it?"
"Being married to Martin isn't going to be substantially different from living with Martin, and you've been doing that pretty well for almost five years."
"It's really different," Danny whispers. "It's forever."
"Danny. Listen to me." I pull out a chair and sit down across from him. I wait until he reluctantly raises his head to look at me. "The instant you and Martin met, I knew something really impressive was about to happen. It took you two a little longer to figure it out, but I knew you'd get there eventually. Together, you're unstoppable. I may be the head of the team, but you and Martin have become its cornerstone. I've seen the way you bolster each other during rough cases, and the way you mend each other when cases end badly. I already had faith in both of you as agents and respect for you as individuals, but I cannot think of a single thing you do or a single way you are that isn't better because you're together. The only thing that changes today is your tax return filing status for one state that you don't live in anyway. You're still Danny; he's still Martin; you're still exasperating and immature; and you're still two of the best agents I've got. And I can't think of a thing that could happen because of this ceremony that would change that."
I sit back, exhausted from too long a rant. But, oh, it's been too long since I've given a little speech that didn't start, "I'm sorry; we did all we could to find your loved one."
Danny smiles at me, his eyes flooding with relief. "Thank you, Jack," he says. "That helps. But I know that marriage changes things, no matter what you intend." He grabs my hand. "Promise me you'll keep us honest."
I think of Marie, and my throat tightens. But then I think of Danny and Martin, and it relaxes again. "I promise" I say. "I'll keep you honest."
END