In The Light

Something Old

David had outdone himself with the decorations of his mansion, turning the grounds into a winter wonderland covered with twinkling golden lights. The house was just as gorgeous, and Tor had to fight the urge to pause and admire every perfectly placed bow or floral arrangement. David had been ecstatic when Tor and Aaron asked if they could have the ceremony and reception at his estate and had thrown himself into the wedding planning with so much fervor it was as if his biological children were the ones getting married. No detail was too small for David's critical eye, and Tor had been able to rest in the knowledge that he would not allow anything to derail the day.

The two women descended the staircase arm-in-arm while Tor maintained a vise grip on the railing. David entered the foyer from the main room, where he had no doubt been micromanaging every detail, just as Tor's heel made contact with the floor. He stopped and looked up at her in amazement as she felt Jess let go of her and take a step back.

"Ah," he exhaled as Tor shyly approached him. "Cara mia," he murmured, the term of endearment more than enough praise to make her cheeks flush. He held out his hand, and when she accepted it, he spun her gracefully so he could take in the full skirt of her dress. "You look perfect," he pronounced, twirling her back into his steady hold. "Absolutely perfect."

"David, you cannot make me cry this early in the day," she scolded him weakly, placing her hand over his beating heart. He gave her a paternal smile as he covered it with his own.

"Well, I cannot pretend like you do not look like heaven on earth," he winked. "Thank goodness you agreed to the videographer add-on. I need to see Aaron's reaction when he realizes he is marrying a vision."

"Oh, you-" Tor waved away his effusiveness and rose onto her toes to kiss his cheek. He chuckled as he kept her steady with a careful hand on her back. She had worn heels taller than the satin pumps she had that day, but something told her it would not be the ache in her soles that would have her swaying by the night's end. "I have something to show you," Tor said as she took just enough of a step back to see David's smile. "Jess, can you-"

"On it," Jess replied, turning and scurrying up the stairs with more speed than her heels should have allowed.

"What do you have in store for me, Tor Beauregard?" he asked with a jovial squeeze of her arm. "I'm going to need to get that out of my system," he warned her with a waggled brow. "Soon, you will be 'Tor Hotchner.'"

"Believe me, I'm going to be the last one to get used to it," she admitted with a weak laugh. "Every time someone asks for Agent Hotcher for the next two months, I'm going to look over my shoulder expecting Aaron to come through the door."

"Something tells me that for the next two months, he is going to stay close enough to you to respond to that name as well," David teased. Tor's blush deepened to a rich scarlet, but she was spared from having to respond by the sound of Jess hurrying down the stairs, the bouquet in hand.

"Beautiful!" David praised, looking at the edelweiss, roses, and ivy arrangement as Jess carefully handed it to Tor.

"The flowers aren't all I wanted to show you," Tor explained as she carefully turned the bouquet so he could see the fabric wrapped around the stems. David squinted as he crouched slightly, his eyes recognizing the lacy pattern along the edge of the fabric despite the years that had passed since he first saw it.

"Is that-" he exhaled, looking up at Tor with brimming eyes. She nodded, smiling in hopes of keeping her tears at bay.

"It's Caroline's," she confirmed. "From the handkerchief set you gave me. I wanted it as my 'something old.'"

A tendril of anxiety wrapped around her heart as she watched David take the flowers from her, his gaze transfixed on the stems.

"It's just that- well, you have been like a father to me ever since I joined the team- to Aaron too, and I- I never got to meet Caroline, but I am sure I would have loved her, and I wanted something to connect me to you while I'm going down the aisle and I found a specialty dry cleaner who can clean it after the wedding so it will be as good as new when we're done and-"

She was cut off from her anxious ramblings by David placing a tender, shaking kiss on her cheek.

"Oh, cara mia," he murmured as he tucked a stray lock behind her ear. "You are too good to this old man, you know that?"

"You are not old," Tor protested as he carefully handed the bouquet back to her.

"Well, you will always keep me young," he agreed with a watery wink. "You and Aaron both."

"I thought we gave you grey hairs," Tor teased in desperate hopes of averting more waterworks.

"Oh, yes, plenty of those," David confirmed, laughter warming his face. "But you two have each other now. And I can rest easy knowing you are both taken care of."

He placed his warm hands over her shaking hold on the flowers, steadying her despite the wave of emotions cresting within her. "Thank you, cara mia," he said earnestly. "Thank you."

Tor opened her mouth to speak when the front door opened, and Oliva, the wedding planner, burst into the foyer.

"There you are!" she exclaimed with an exasperated smile. "I was just coming to find you!" She had been hired based on her former military experience, which Tor knew would be helpful when wrangling the BAU. Judging by her unnaturally bright smile and the two watches she was wearing, she was already putting it to good use.

"Sorry, Olivia," Tor began with a weak laugh, but Oliva waved away her words.

"It's your special day," she reminded Tor firmly. "You don't have to apologize for anything. I, however, have to apologize for rudely pulling you away so we can have the first look!"

"You are far from rude," David assured Oliva as he let go of Tor's hands and stepped back. "I can take this up to the bridal suite if you'd like?" he offered, gesturing at the bouquet.

"You are a saint," Oliva announced.

"Hardly," David replied with a chuckle at her aggressive exuberance. "I just want today to go smoothly."

"And it will if we are in the gazebo in-" Oliva checked one of her watches, "four minutes." She looked up and blinked as if seeing Tor's gown for the first time. "Oh, wow," she exhaled, slowly raising her gaze to the blushing bride's face. "It's a good thing we scheduled some extra time for the first looks," she said with a grin. "Something tells me we're going to have a hard time getting Aaron to let you leave."

Tor covered her face with her hand, loosening her grasp long enough for David to take the flowers from her. Jess laughed as she looped an arm around Tor's and began to tug her outside.

"Come on," she coaxed, mirth making her voice light. "Let's hope the cold air gets that flush down."