First Choice & Best Man

 First Choice

Month 14 Day 19

1705 Hours

Smitty

 The door opened and Anna stood, looking at him with disbelief on her face. "No," she told him shortly.

"You don't even know why I'm here," he protested.

"You're engaged," she shot back, and turned away from the door, expecting it to close in his face.

He hurriedly stepped inside before it could, and followed her halfway to her couch. "This has nothing to do with that," he stated, then changed his mind. "Well, it has, but—"

"It's not my fault if she won't have sex with you until you're married! I don't have sex with engaged men!"

"I'm not here for sex!" he declared.

She crossed her arms, looked him up and down. "Then why are you here?"

"First, to thank you for reminding me there were things that needed to be made, no matter how small a wedding we have."

"Still planning to go through with it, are you?"

"Yes, I am. In earnest. My second reason for being here is to ask you to be part of the wedding party."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "The bride picks the bridesmaids, Smitty."

"Not as a bridesmaid. As Best Man. Or, well, Best Friend of the groom. Until Michael got between us, you were my best friend, Anna."

"That was a long time ago."

"I still remember it. I still miss it."

Her arms loosened and then fell to her sides. "Well. It was a good friendship. Until Michael. I never should have—"

"It wasn't your fault." Michael was a slimy weasel—No, I'd best not say anything like that. If she's still got any feelings for him at all, it'll just make her mad. "So, will you, Anna?"

"I'm not sure I'd be any good at planning a bachelor party."

"I don't want one. There's no time for it, anyway."

"Why are in such a hurry to get married?"

He shrugged. "She drives me crazy."

"You know marriage requests don't come back from headquarters that quickly. Even if you got it sent in last night."

He shook his head. "Hope springs eternal. I can't think of anything else but having her as my wife. My head says I won't get approval that quickly, but my body won't let me act on that knowledge. We have to be married as quickly as possible."

"Brides don't usually like to be hurried into getting married."

"She's the one who set the date."

"She is?" That seemed to take her by surprise. "Why so soon?"

Smitty hesitated, not sure he wanted to tell anyone his suspicions about why Colleen had agreed to marry him. "She has her reasons." Reasons other than the captain caught us in a delicate moment.

"Well, you are charming, in your own fashion," Anna said. "Perhaps it's a matter of her morals doing battle with her urges."

Morals? Ha! She hasn't been any more circumspect than she had to be, only she finds herself in the same position so many women have been in before. So now she has morals, now that she's found someone who agreed to marry her. I wonder how she plans to explain an 'early' delivery that is obviously full term?

"Smitty?"

He looked up from staring at the floor. "What?"

"What's wrong? You looked... angry."

He shook his head. "No. She has her reasons for wanting a quick wedding, and so do I. We both know about the other's reasons, and aren't bothered by them."

Uncertainty rolled over Anna's face. "That hardly sounds like you're in love. In lust, maybe."

Why does everybody have to question our decisions? "Anna, please. Will you be the groom's best friend, or won't you?"

She stood up straight and stared him in the eyes. "No. I'm sorry, but I can't. I won't."

"What? Why not?"

"You had your doubts about Michael, when I started dating him. Let's just say I have my doubts about this marriage between you and Mac." She stepped around him and started back for the door. "Now, please leave. I'm sure you'd rather be with your... fiancée, anyway."

 

 Best Man

Month 14 Day 19

1748 Hours

Drake MacGregor

 Drake was mildly surprised to find Smitty outside his door when it opened. "Haven't you gone to the arboretum yet?"

"No, obviously, not yet," Smitty growled and walked in. He stopped when the door closed and turned to face his host. "I wonder if you'd do me the favor of being my Best Man next week?"

"Me?" I wasn't sure who he'd ask, but this seems rather last minute. "Kind of short notice, but I suppose I could get a poker game and some booze organized for a bachelor party."

"Fine, but I wasn't looking for a bachelor party. I just need someone to stand up with me at the ceremony."

A ceremony that probably isn't going to happen next week. And then what? Another bachelor party when and if the approval does come through and the ceremony is scheduled again? "You seem out of sorts. If getting ready so quickly is producing this much strain, maybe you should postpone for a couple weeks or months, give yourself time to get things sorted out."

Smitty ground his teeth for a moment, his face red. "Why is everybody determined to have us postpone? We aren't postponing! Colleen picked the date, and it suits me fine! We're getting married at the absolutely earliest opportunity!"

Drake raised his hands, tried to calm the other man down. "Sorry, Smitty, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm also sorry if you feel others are trying to get you to postpone. I suspect they're just surprised it's happening at all. You've been a dedicated bachelor for so long."

"Well, that ends next week! From now on, I'll be a dedicated husband and father! So will you be there or not?"

Wow. There doesn't seem to be any calming him down at all. "Sure! I'll be there. Glad to do it."

"Thank you," Smitty bit out, and walked out.

Drake stared at the door for several minutes after the engineer had left. So, who has been trying to get him to postpone the wedding? It certainly had him riled. And why did he mention fatherhood? Fleet marriages rarely involve children; it removes the woman from active duty for so long. And come to think of it, does Mac know he expects to have children? Seems like that's the entirety of her father's ambitions for her. Although it seemed to happen all at once, I really hoped everything would work out for those two. And if I stick my nose in where it isn't wanted, whose side am I on?