63:The Happiest Place in the Universe: 3 and 4


by Dabin Reece
80102.0
Following Part Two

-=Still in the Magic Kingdom=-


After securing her hat on top of her head, Bru turned her attention back to the walkway ahead of them.

"What is THAT?" She asked, as she saw the large rock face up ahead.

"Oh. That, is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. You wouldn't be interested."

"Why not?"

"It's fast and loud and jerky. Kind of like Salvek."

February burst out laughing. "So? Don't I pilot a starship for a living?"

"Yeah."

"So why wouldn't I like this?"

"Well you are welcome to give it a shot you want, and I'll meet you in the gift shop." Dabin said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Chicken?"

"Bru..."

"Bawk bawk buckaww!" February bellowed, flapping her arms to punctuate the poultry effect. Dabin felt the eyes of others around him staring at them.

*Fine, I'll show you who's chicken.* Dabin was about to step to the entrance when the sound of screams began to fill the area. The train car spun around the corner, whipping back into a cave as fast as it had appeared, its passengers yelling and flailing their arms all the while.

February stopped in her tracks and snatched the map from Dabin's hands. "So, what else is there to do around here? We haven't been over to this Tomorrowland yet."

"Oh! That's the best part. Space Ranger Spin is the most popular ride in the park's history. Come on, let's go!"

"Wait!" February exclaimed. "First, cotton candy."


--=/\=--


Night was beginning to fall, and as the sun went down, the lights in the park began to come alive. The castle was awash in pink as they passed in front of it once again.

They stopped and took in the sights and sounds. Dabin turned to face February, standing between her and the castle. He reached out and slowly removed her pirate hat, letting her blonde hair fall back down over her shoulders. Placing his hand behind her head, he pulled her in and kissed her. As beautiful as the castle was, her eyes closed, and she lost interest in everything around her, except Dabin.

As he released her finally, he said softly. "If we are going to go see Buzz Lightyear, we should do it now. We don't want to miss the fireworks later."

"Fireworks! Can it get any better?"

Dabin gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

*Oh, it's going to get a lot better.* He took her hand and they crossed the bridge to Tomorrowland.

---A short time later---

"I didn't know you could shoot like that!"

"Neither did I. I think Gentry used to take target practice. I guess you could say it is another long lost ability I've regained since the Zhian'tara. All I did was find a high point target in each room and shoot at it."

"So you were cheating."

"Don't be a sore loser. Just because you got owned by a girl. . .We could have a rematch if you like?"

"Well as much as I'd like to prove that was a fluke, the park is going to close for the day soon. We should pick out a spot for the fireworks."

"As you wish." February shrugged. Again she took his hand as they made the walk back to the castle.

They selected a spot for watching the show, and leaned against a railing, looking up at the sky and the stars, and breathing in the fresh night air.

"I wonder where Trill is? I don't even know what part of the galaxy we are looking at." Dabin observed.

"Do you miss it there?" February asked. "Are you sad we can't go home?"

*One never likes to be told they can't come back to their planet. But, I am home. This is home, or the Alchemy is home, or the Sera will be. Wherever you are is home.*

As if punctuating his statement, the first fireworks blazed across the sky, lighting up her face.

*You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, February Grace.*

February nuzzled against him as they watched the fireworks fill the sky, and listened to the music that surrounded them on all sides.

Dabin couldn't help but think back to their mission on Trill, when they were so close to losing February, and his love for her had sneaked up on him so fast, from the first moment he had lifted her up in his arms and just known that he had to help her and protect her.

Snippets of the music in particular struck him as the memories flowed through his mind.

As the show wound down, the grand finale began. Colors of crimson, gold and violet filled the sky and the crowd ooed and ahhed with delight.

Dabin felt February's hand squeeze tighter and tighter around his arm, till she finally pulled him to her lips and kissed him as the last shells of the evening exploded all around them.

At the end of the display the crowed cheered loudly. Dabin and February just went right on kissing, as the families around them gathered up their things to head for the exits.

*Dabin,* she thought as she kissed him. *This has been the most wonderful day of my life, but...*

"But?" Dabin asked, as he released her from their kiss.

"I'm STARVING!"

"Me too! Don't worry, I made us a reservation at the Cafe back at our hotel. It's not the swankiest place at the resort, but I just find myself relaxed when I'm there. Let's go get cleaned up. They have real hot water showers here, not that sonic stuff."


--=Back at the Resort=--


Dabin had learned quickly that when you share a telepathic link with someone, it makes keeping a secret from them damn near impossible.

He had been working on this particular surprise for days before they had left on the rescue mission; and he was determined not to give up on the idea even though he believed that she had, at times, caught a glimpse of what he was up to no matter how he'd tried to keep it from her.

Bru contentedly flipped through a guidebook, planning out the next day's visit to EPCOY, (which Dabin explained stood for the Experimental Prototype Community of Yesterday and was now preserved as a historical tribute to what Disney's vision of the future had been) while he jumped into the shower.

Now, as she took her turn to wash up, he swung into action, quickly dressing up into the tuxedo he'd hidden in his luggage.

He then took the long suit carrier he'd retrieved earlier out from the closet, and left it hanging on the back of the door for her with a note attached to it that simply read, "Grand Staircase." Then he slipped quietly out of the room.

"Dabin?" February called, as she cracked open the bathroom door, and stepped out to look for him with a towel wrapped around her body.

She saw the zippered case, and her heart soared. She knew instantly what it was.

It was a gown.

It was her gown.

They had gotten married on the spur of the moment, while wearing heavy-duty cold weather gear. Parkas, boots, everything possible to protect them from the unforgiving elements of Yensul V, while stranded on that frozen planet in the middle of nowhere.

Somehow, Dabin had still managed to see her as his bride beneath all of those layers of insulation, and apparently he intended to give her the dress he had imagined she would have worn, if their wedding had happened under normal circumstances.

She excitedly slipped into the dress he'd dreamed up for her. It was pure white, form fitting through the bodice and down to her waist, with thin straps over the shoulders to hold it up. The skirt of the dress was full and fell to the floor, and made a swishing noise as she walked.

She zipped the gown up, then stopped and looked at herself in the mirror. She had never imagined she would ever own a dress this fine.

Suddenly she realized, her feet were bare and she had seen no shoes in with the dress. While she loved them dearly, her pink Converse didn't seem the right accessory for the dress she was wearing.

She fished around in the bottom of the zippered bag and found two things.

First was a small velvet box, which she pulled out and set down on the bed.

The next thing she felt was the rubber sole of a shoe, and she burst out laughing when she saw that Dabin had replicated her a pair of white, lace Converse high tops to wear beneath her dress. There was a small note tucked inside the left shoe that said, "I wanted you to be comfortable, these seemed to be the way to go."

"I love you." February laughed. She set the shoes aside for the moment and turned her attention to the velvet box.

Inside, she found a simple, shining white-gold tiara he had selected for her as well. After a momentary debate over hairstyle, up versus down, she twisted her hair into an up-do, and secured the tiara in place.

Finally, she spun one more time in front of the mirror, quite impressed with the care he'd taken in designing this one of a kind gown, just for her.

"You really are an artist, Mr. Reece." she said softly to her reflection. "I hope I live up to your vision."

She finally tied on her shoes and left the room, making her way back to the main building. As she got closer to him, she felt the impression of his thoughts grow stronger.

February entered the Grand Lobby, and instantly blushed as she heard Dabin’s thoughts and realized he had finally seen her.

*Oh... my... God.....*

February still could not see him however. She looked around. *Come out, wherever you are.*

*Take the elevator, and go to the top of the steps.*

Dabin watched her disappear and grinned, stepping out from the piller he'd been hiding behind.

He walked to the landing of the staircase and watched from below as February emerged from the elevator upstairs. He couldn't believe it was finally happening. After all his daydreaming, he was finally going to get to see her descend the staircase in that dress.

As she turned the corner, she saw him standing there, at the bottom of the Grand Staircase. He was dressed from head to toe in black, save a white button down shirt with matching buttons. He straightened his bow tie and cuff links just for show.

They stood staring at each other for a long moment, she at the top of the stairs, he at the bottom, speaking without words across their link.

*How do I look?*

*Like a million bars of latinum. What about me?* February asked, punctuating her question with a twirl to show off all of the dress.

*Like a Goddess or an angel, or some other word for beauty that just can’t possibly do justice to how breathtaking you look in that dress. When I dreamed you in that dress, I never could have imagined how much more incredible you would look in it for real.*

February felt her face flush, as Dabin signaled the pianist who had been waiting for his cue. Dabin held out his hand to her, as beautiful music began to fill the lobby, emanating from the grand piano.

February held the railing as she took one step at a time down the staircase. When she reached the bottom, Dabin took her hand and dropped to one knee, kissing the back of her hand.

A man nearby snapped a holoimage, and handed the data rod to February.

“So you can always remember this day.”

“Thank you.”

Dabin rose from bended knee, and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“We never had our first dance, or any kind of wedding dinner together, for that matter. I thought we could take care of both of those things, right now."


-----------------------
Lt. Commander Dabin Reece
Chief of Science
USS Serendipity NCC-2012

NRPG: If you'd read the Yensul wedding post,
you'd know why he wanted to do all this. ~ZL