Full Circle

Chapter 13 - Let the River Run

Chapter Description: Fluffy commitment ceremony scenes, followed by a lot of angst featuring James and Noelle.

Baltimore. August 6, 2006. Sunday evening.

The trip to Baltimore had been a continuation of the party, with one train car reserved for the wedding couple and guests. Travis and other local friends who weren't able to take Monday off to attend the wedding, pitched in by helping fill the Winslow-Vasquez car with balloons and party favors.

Neal had a brief break in Baltimore, with time to check into his hotel room and change clothes. Then he knocked on the door of the wedding couple's suite.

"You're wearing a suit," Henry said, still in his casual attire from the afternoon.

"I'm your chauffeur," Neal said.

Eric stood next to Henry. "We're going to Win-Win for a quick meeting before dinner. Isn't it across the street from here?"

Neal smiled. "An old family friend on the Caffrey side drove up from Virginia in his classic Aston-Martin, and he agreed to let me borrow it. I thought you might like to go in style."

"Trent's car?" Henry asked, his eyes wide. "Hell, yes!"

Of course a car like that needed to go on the highway to be appreciated. That got the wedding couple away from the vicinity of the hotel long enough that they didn't see the wedding guests traipse from the hotel to the Win-Win offices. Because of course the un-bachelor party wasn't going to end with something as simple as a train ride to Baltimore.

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Sara Ellis stood in the lobby with Graham and Julia Winslow, waiting for the men of the hour to arrive from the parking garage.

"Surprise!" she said when Eric, Henry, and Neal stepped out of the elevator.

"You came for the wedding!" Henry exclaimed.

"Oh, is that happening, too?" she asked coyly. "I flew over to sign a contract with Win-Win."

"I'm so glad you could be here," Eric said.

Neal greeted her with a kiss that said everything she wanted to hear.

When they went upstairs, it was to find a buffet, with guests already enjoying a light dinner. While they ate, Neal told Sara about the Long Island party for the New York-based guests. Now with the addition of the Maryland and D.C.-based guests it was a genial but somewhat overwhelming celebration. Perfect for Henry and Eric, but not what Sara preferred.

"Our wedding won't be this big, will it?" she asked.

Neal shook his head. "It will be whatever we want," he promised.

As dinner wrapped up, Graham Winslow told the guests about a tradition at Win-Win: playing hide-and-seek. Winston and Winslow children were paired up with Vasquez children, so that the newcomers had partners who knew how this worked. Some pairs hid, while others looked for them. After a set amount of time, the hiders and seekers would switch roles.

Sara smiled at Neal. "Do you want to play?"

He grinned in return. "I love playing with you. Should we head back to the hotel?"

"Soon, but first I'd like to revisit our hiding spot from the last time we were here together."

They went to the elevator so they could return to the top-floor offices, where they'd once hidden from a security guard while Neal was impersonating Henry. Things had gotten... heated on that trip to Win-Win.

Graham waggled his brows at them as he walked past and checked his watch. "I'll give you a ten-minute head start before I go looking."

True to his word, about ten minutes after Neal and Sara snuck into the closet, Graham knocked on the door. "Don't do anything that will shock the security team," he advised, reminding them of the cameras monitoring each floor.