Nick arrived at the chapel late. Purposely, because the hoard of reporters was the last thing he wanted to see.

It was bad enough that he had to be there. Not because of the event, of course. Nick had been proud for Howie. Probably the proudest of the whole group.

The reason was simply one word: Brian. Going to the wedding meant facing Brian for the first time in months. And that wasn't such a great thing.

Nick tried opening the front door. It didn't budge. Probably for the fact that the wedding shouldn't, and wouldn't be interrupted. So Nick walked to the back door.

He pondered if wimping out would've been a sign of weakness. No. It'd been a sign of stubborness and almost a sign of avoiding the group.

Nick almost kicked himself. The back door was locked too! "This is what happens when you try 'playing it safe', Carter!"

Nick raked a hand through his short, spiky hair. Not too far above him was a vent. He popped the screen off and set it to the side.

Nick shook his head in disbelief. He was going to climb through a ventilation system. "You're a real fuckin' Bond, aren't you, Nick?" he muttered to himself.

He crawled down the path, envying Tracee who was probably already inside. They'd patched things up since that vicious message she'd left. Their tempers were on an ultimate high that day. But he couldn't stand when she insulted him. He had never stooped as low as she had. She had insulted family. Brian wasn't blood family, but family nevertheless.

Nick sneezed from all the dust in the vent, knocking his head into a steel panel. He saw a screen and looked through it. He was overlooking the chapel. He could see everyone:

Kevin was maybe three rows back from the front, with his mom, brother and two other people. The chick was - what was her name? Yes, Temprence. The man he did not know.

Howie, of course, was at the altar nervous, as he should have been.

AJ was probably the easiest to spot. Not only was his hair tipped a firy red, so was his suit. Nick had to chuckle at him. Always the one with the audacity to wear outrageous clothes. Next to him was his mother and Sophia.

Sophia held AJ's hand, their fingers intertwined. She whispered something in AJ's ear and he laughed quietly. Nick was jealous. The was him before.

And finally, Brian. He was the hardest to spot. He was in the last row, with his wife and his daughter.

Nick stared at the baby. She was more beautiful than Brian had described.

She's gonna knock 'em dead when she grows up, Nick thought.

Brian looked so tense. So mute and unvaried. So --- unlike himself. His mouth was clamped shut, his blue eyes staring straight ahead. He only moved when Chelsea past the baby to him

Only then did Nick ever see a different side of Brian. It was so gentle and lulled. His eyes softened, in pure adoration of his child. He bent down and kissed its head as she yawned.

Nick sighed wistfully and looked for the vent he could climb out of.