Union(Izzie)

[Gordon McFadden]

Middle of July and they wanted to have a wedding on a rooftop?! What kinda crackpot family was this anyway?

Gordon stood near the edge of the expansive roof that played host to Shaun Fritz's wedding, a champagne glass in hand and thoughts swirling inside of his head(there were a few beads of sweat forming on his forehead too). For one thing, he didn't want to be here. Izzie had to give him a puppy dog face AND promise him that they would have some free time for themselves once they unglued themselves from the family engagement(Gordon wanted to actually see the city if they were going to be here). The biotic chuckled at the thought of actual "free time", seeing as both he and Izzie had been occupied with the crazy events of the past year. There were a lot of terrorist cells that had attempted to fill the power vacuum that R4 left and Gordon was bounced all over the galaxy with the recruits that the Alliance had shipped them(Gordon missed going on ops with Anna, but the woman had gotten torched too hard to keep on going. He managed to keep in touch via messaging, but it wasn't the same. Like havin a sister missing), having to train them himself while the board searched for a replacement(that was SO fun). Through all the insanity, he had one stable anchor: Izzie. She had helped him get through the stress of some of the tougher missions, like one op that had Gordon and his team descend deep underground to try and root out a cell, only to find that it was a trap, his team almost getting trapped two hundred feet below ground due to a series of orchestrated explosive charges planted within the walls(Gordon lost two that day). Being with Izzie had helped him sort out some of his own emotional baggage, which prompted others to comment on his calmer, more peaceable demeanor. Of course, this family event wasn't helping that demeanor. He had been asked for the past two hours about his past, his occupation, what he liked to "do" with his spare time. What was he gonna tell em? Oh yeah, I'm a biotic that served with the most powerful terrorist organization and now I kill terrorists for a living. Yeah, that wouldn't go over well.

Izzie's parents had been bearable, even likable, and her siblings had welcomed him amicably enough, although he could tell Shaun had been keeping a watchful eye on Gordon ever since he and Izzie's relationship got out into the open. Gordon could hear footsteps behind him, so to be polite, he turned around to address his possible conversation partner.

[Izzie McFadden]

The last year had gone by in a flash. Just because R4 had been disbanded, didn't mean that the Venia finished it's mission, or that there was any less drama. In fact, the drama had been getting increasingly worse over the last twelve months. For what it was worth, Izzie was kept mostly out of harm's way on the ship, doing training sessions with people, whipping the new ensigns into shape. There had been a couple of mishaps on board; a electromagnetic burst from a sun they happened to be passing at the time wreaked havoc with their systems for over a week, and a invasion of Rexlefelt Moss, which corroded all the equipment in the gym, made it difficult for her to work.

And then there wasn't just her that she had to worry about. She'd become Gordon's rock, the person who kept him down to earth and calm. In the beginning, she'd bore the brunt of what emotional outbursts there were, but she stayed because she loved him - it wasn't every day that you risked your life for a guy. There had been arguments, of course. They were both stubborn as anything, so they clashed heads, sometimes with explosive consequences. But they got through it, coming out stronger each time.

When she'd found out her big brother, Shaun, was getting married, after five years of being engaged to Liv, she couldn't have been happier. She'd used her brown puppy dog eyes on Gordon to get him to come (she could have gone alone, but she figured it would be as good a time as any to break the ice between him and her family). So far, everything had gone down pretty well. David and Sara had responded to Gordon the best, and that didn't surprise her. Sara was, pretty much, infatuated, and kept stealing glances at Gordon whenever she could. And David was Izzie's twin. Enough said.

"Where did Gordon get off to?" David asked, his arm lightly around Izzie's waist.
"I'm pretty sure he's skulking somewhere," she smirked, "I had to use these babies," she gestured to her eyes with her half full champagne glass, "to get him to come."
"Scared, was he?"
"No, just, not a social butterfly, unlike some people." She raised her eyebrows and looked in the direction of Mia, who was doing her round of all the tables, catching up with all the family -- her husband not too far behind. "She doesn't stop."
"Why do you think we call her the bionic socialite?"
Izzie snorted into her glass. "When did you come up with that name?"
"It was Sara's idea, one afternoon when she'd had too much coffee."
"That explains it."
There was a pause.
"Shouldn't you try finding your boyfriend?" David tickled her bare back.
"Yes, I probably should."

Turning her head, she looked to see where Gordon had disappeared off to. Aha.
Leaving her glass with David, who down the rest of it in one, she approached Gordon. He heard her coming, turning to face her as she drew near.
"I'd fail as a ninja in these heels," she said with a smile. "What are you doing hiding over here?" She pulled herself closer to him using the lapel of his jacket. "Hmm? Have you had enough of the great Fritz/Hartley circus?"

[Gordon McFadden]

"Circus is right." Gordon laughed slightly, kissing her on the lips before he continued:
"Ain't as bad as I thought it was gonna be though. Your fam is earthbound. I like that a lot. Shaun's been givin me weird looks all day, like I'm about to steal you away from the family and ravish you without your consent. As if I needed your consent." Gordon added playfully, taking a sip of the delicious(and expensive) alcoholic beverage in his glass before looking Izzie over for a moment, a wave of thankfulness coming over him. He had the greatest girl in the universe standing right in front of him, and she was willing to accept him, faults and all. Boy he was lucky. Gordon was about to tell Izzie what was on his mind when he heard music floating through the makeshift speakers at the four corners of the roof. The wedding goers filtered to the center of the roof, Shaun and his bride getting there first. It was a dance.

Wait. A dance?

"Seriously?" Gordon looked over at Izzie, the biotic realizing what she would ask him. Probably.
"Ooooh no. No. You couldn't get me out there if there wa..." Gordon stopped mid-sentence, fully aware that Izzie had sacrificed a whole lot for him without batting an eyelash. Why not? Gordon set his glass down on a nearby table before taking Izzie's hand and leading her to the improvised dance floor, Gordon bringing his right arm around her waist, his left hand taking her right(He attempted to mirror those around him as much as possible) and began to....dance.

"I'm doin this cause I love you. I hope you know that."

[Izzie McFadden]

The look on Gordon's face when he heard the music come on was absolutely priceless, like a deer caught in headlights. Generally, Izzie did enough dancing for the both of them. Gordon was the one who ran about, shooting bad guys and risking life and limb for the crew and other humans throughout the galaxy. To others, he seemed fearless. And yet a four beat melody almost made his heart stop.
Initially, she had been going to drag him onto the floor whether he liked it or not. But then she thought, if he didn't want to, then why force him?
And then he did something which actually surprised [/i]her[/i], taking her hand and leading her onto the dancefloor.

A wide smile spread across her face as she rested her left hand on the back of his shoulder, her other hand captured in his.
"Oh, I know it," she couldn't help but chuckle a little through her grin, "I'll make it up to you later." Kissing him while he was trying to direct his feet probably wasn't the best idea, but they managed it, and he was leading... pretty well, actually.

Sara snuck up behind her sister, peering over her tall shoulder. David was trailing behind her. "Can I trade?" she asked hopefully, looking at the both of them.
Izzie sucked in her bottom lip, amused, and failing at trying not to show it. "Why not?" she cast a glance back at Gordon as she let of his hands, switching to David instead, who promptly dipped her all the way back, she let out a loud giggle.

[Gordon McFadden]

"I like the sound of that." Gordon returned the kiss as he drew her a bit closer to him, allowing his feet to actually attempt to lead. After comparing dancing to target practice(just get the feet to their position, like bolts on a target), he had been able to get the idea somewhat, but he was still out of his comfort zone. And of course, that comfort zone was totally demolished when he heard Sara's request. Gordon looked from Sara to Izzie, who casually walked away with her trademark smirk(That smirk was tactical. She was so getting it at the hotel), leaving Gordon to do the nice thing and dance with his possible sister in law. He hadn't talked to Sara very much during the course of the wedding and seeing as the kid had been talked up by Izzie as this fantastic young woman, why not poke her with a few questions? Couldn't be that bad.
"So Izzie tells me you're tryin to be the next dance sensation? How's that goin kid?"

[Izzie McFadden]

Sara was enraptured, it was hard to deny. It took her a moment to realise that Gordon had actually asked her a question.
"Oh, yes!" she said hastily, "I mean, I'm nowhere near as good as she used to be. I mean, she used to make theatres full of people burst out into standing ovations. But I'm getting there. My teacher says I'm the best in the class, going to graduate with honors if I keep the same level of dedication." A shy grin graced her face. "You're pretty good yourself, have you been taking lessons?"

"The level of goo-goo-eyes that Sara is making right now has to be setting a new record."
"I guess good taste runs in the family," Izzie poked her tongue out at her brother cheekily.
"While he is rather dashing," David smirked, "I don't swing that way."
"Not even for my boyfriend?"
"'Fraid not."
"Shame."

Seeing as the beat to the song was actually fairly quick, the twins decided to try something a little more extravagant. All Izzie had to do was grin at David, and they immediately busted out in a mixture of cheesy moves accompanied by some swing ones - she'd often used him as a partner when she'd had to practice at home, and her proper dance partner wasn't around. He'd remembered the steps perfectly.

[Gordon McFadden]

Gordon could tell that this girl was focused on something else other than his question or the dancing, his mind making the connection rather quickly. He groaned inwardly, knowing that Izzie must have been having a grand time poking fun at the duo while Sara oogled him(He didn't like to be oogled). The biotic was impressed however with the dedication that Sara exhibited. She was gonna make her sister proud someday. Gordon knew that much.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Izzie and David showing off. Big time. Gordon couldn't help but look at Sara with a smirk on his face, saying:
"Come on. Lets show those punks we mean business." And with that, Gordon and Sara executed maneuvers that even Gordon didn't even know he could do by himself. Most of the moves came from vids Izzie had made him watch("Just watch them while you're eating, lazy!"), so they were a bit flashy, but they did the job. As the song ended, Gordon added a slight flourish by bringing Sara in close to where they finished with Sara wrapped in Gordon's arms.
"Good job, kid. You know how to follow well." He gave her a wink before releasing her, glancing over at Izzie with a challenging smirk.
"Watcha got now?" He called out playfully. Gordon was getting loose around the family.

A miracle.

[Izzie McFadden]

Gordon was putting up a fight, Izzie didn't expect anything less.
"You could always try dancing with David," she smirked, "he's three inches taller than you, so he gets to lead. We can see if you can follow direction."
David let out a hoot of laughter from behind her, and Sara chuckled quietly. "Yeah, Gordon, let's see what you've got," David joined in with the teasing for a moment, before whisking Sara away, hiding her blushing cheeks.

"I didn't know you could dance like that," Izzie said, drawing so close to Gordon that their bodies were touching, "I see you've learned a thing or two from that old copy of Dirty Dancing."
Biting her bottom lip, and grinned. She loved winding him up, he got rattled and retaliated, usually with amusing after effects. She knew she was going to get it later, and she was actually looking forward to it.

[Gordon McFadden]

"Ha! Sorry Big D, but I ain't in the mood to ruin my manhood for the sake of competition." Gordon was starting to like David(probably because he was so similar to Izzie in terms of personality), which was a good beginning for a relationship that could last for the rest of their lives. He watched as Sara was taken away by her brother before Izzie got oh...so...close. Gordon put his hands on Izzie's waist as he said quietly:
"You ain't seen dirty yet, baby." He kissed her gently, having to restrain himself from doing what he REALLY wanted to do(she knew what she was doing. Getting his competitive nature flowing, then taking advantage of his adrenaline rush by pushing his thoughts towards throttling her into the middle of next week. Oh she was goood).
"We gotta stay good for the rest of the time though huh? Don't want to cause a stir." Gordon took his hands off of Izzie's waist and did something quite out of character: He went over to Izzie's parents and began a conversation with them. This was morphing into quite a day.

The party was now winding down and Gordon had gotten around to talking a bit further with most of the family, even going so far as to offer to help take down decorations. Gordon wanted to leave rather quickly, but he lingered now, allowing Izzie to say her goodbyes. It might be a while before they had a chance to see each other again.

[Izzie McFadden]

As the rest of the family and guests filtered out, only the core members of the family were left. Liv had gone off to get changed and get ready to set off for the honeymoon. It wouldn't take Shaun so long, so he'd stuck around to say good bye to everyone before he left, help tidy up a little. Gordon was being good, helping out, which gave Izzie a chance to talk to her parents and her other siblings about him.
"I wasn't sure at first," Shaun said, his hands shoved in his pockets, "but he seems like a good guy. One hell of a dancer."
"Well, when you've been dating an obsessive dancer for over a year, I think some moves might begin to rub off on him," Mia pointed out.
"Obsessive," Izzie snorted.
"That's being kind," David teased her.
"I think he's nice," Sara piped up.
"That's mostly because you want to steal him for yourself, darling," Violet, their mother, smiled.
Sarah looked aghast, "I do not."
"Don't worry," Izzie hugged her younger sister, "I won't hold it against you."
"Are you serious about him?" Shaun asked.
"We've stuck together through thick and thin this past year," Izzie said, casting a glance back at her man, "tested each other to the limit." She smiled, "I'm definitely serious."
David slung an arm around her shoulder, "who would have thought it?"
"I know, you're falling behind David," Izzie smirked, "you're the next oldest. Why aren't you engaged yet?"
"Only by mere minutes."
"Still."
"She's out there somewhere, I'll find her eventually."

Izzie finally got round to saying her good byes, hugging and kissing each of her family members in turn. David was staying in the same hotel, but was going to give them a few minutes head start. She knew they'd probably see him again over the next few days, it was sort of hard to keep them apart.
Taking a hold of Gordon's hand, she smiled. "Now, good sir, you can do whatever you want with me."

[Gordon McFadden]

Gordon grumbled as he fiddled with an odd shaped star that wasn't coming off of one of the tablecloths, the biotic then realizing that he had a little something called gravity alteration. He smirked as he mustered a fraction of his ability, pointing his index finger at the star. It lifted...but it didn't come off the tablecloth. Frustrated, he took the whole cloth off the table and folded it, putting it on the surface. Let someone else deal with it! As he finished up his work, he felt a familiar hand take his, Gordon responding to the comment with a grin, saying:
"Now that's what I wanted to hear."

Gordon opened the hotel door and walked inside, allowing Izzie the decency of getting in the room as well before he grabbed her, kicked the door closed, and began to kiss her hard and furious, his hands working as he got her spread out onto the bed, managing to tug her dress halfway off before he stopped, smirking as he said:
"Nah. Nah. I'm not gonna make it that easy. You're in for it this time." He lowered his mouth to her neck, biting down just firmly enough to get her blood flowing. Oh this was going to be fun. As he went lower down her body, he heard a knock at the door.
"SERIOUSLY?!?!" Gordon bellowed, the biotic hearing the knock again, a bit more emphatically this time. He walked over to the door, tugging it open, ready to blast the pers...

No one was there.

Laying at his feet however, was a holocube. Gordon picked it up cautiously, knowing that it couldn't be an explosive nor a container filled with poison gas; he had held enough of both to know the weight. It was legitimate. Gordon looked left and right down the hallway before shutting the door, locking it and placing the holocube on the nightstand next to where he had placed Izzie. Instantly the cube lit up, a miniature hologram of a figure in a wide-brimmed hat coming into focus. He began to speak:
"Don't be alarmed, Gordon. This is to help, not to harm. You've struck up quite a number of enemies over the past year. If you want to find out which one is going to kill your loved one, I'd suggest you come find me. Times Square remains, two hours." It ended.
"Don't let that scare you. It's a bluff." Or was it?

[Izzie McFadden]

Gordon wasted no time in accomplishing what he'd been wanting to do all evening, and that was get her out of this dress. Her back arched on the bed a little as his lips migrated down her body, the top half of her dress bunched around her tiny waist.
Not hearing the knock at the door, she jumped slightly as he yelled, wanting to clap him round the head for startling her like that. What on earth could be so important that someone had to disturb them now?
Sitting herself up, she tugged the dress back up slightly, and watched as he brought the holocube back, the contents of it's message playing out automatically.
They couldn't avoid drama, it was impossible.

"That was... eerie." It was more like something that would happen in a book or a film, not real life. What was with the hat?
Heaving a sigh, she shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Knowing you, I'd say there was more than half a chance that he might actually be telling the truth."
The mood had been ruined. Or had it?
"Two hours is a long time," she mused out loud, letting the dress fall down, as she reached out to tug the waistband of his trousers, "and you owe me payback for my stunt earlier with Sara."
The smirk flickered onto her face.

[Gordon McFadden]

He smirked right back at his lover as he brought her back down to the bed, pants slipping off of his legs as he kissed her gently, allowing his taste to linger on her lips before telling her with a semi-serious expression on his face:
"You do know that I'm taking that seriously, don't you, baby? I ain't gonna sit back on my rear and let someone threaten your life. 'Sides, the cat looked legit." He kissed her once before getting back onto his feet, taking off his shirt before going over to the duffel bag he had laid near the window on the opposite side of the room. Gordon withdrew a medium sized plasma pistol, checking the charge and ammo supplies he had brought for the weapon before glancing over at Izzie, grimacing slightly as he realized the gravity of their situation. Their relationship had been defined by moments like these; they would be together for a brief moment, a day or two at the most, before he was tugged away from her again. He had promised her a year ago he would never leave her, never let her fall into danger. And apparently someone was trying to do just that. He couldn't let it happen. Not after their little adventure with Paul. Gordon walked over to Izzie and massaged her shoulders gently, saying quietly:
"Baby, don't give me the silent treatment. What are you thinkin?" Yeah, he had a sensitive side. Izzie had brought that out in him and it came in handy for situations where he had to be the one to listen.

[Izzie McFadden]

Nope, they weren't going to have their moment.
Izzie closed her eyes for a moment as Gordon disappeared off over to the other side of the room in his underwear, probably arming himself, knowing him. How was it that crap like this kept happening to them? She knew that they had to keep their relationship interesting and alive, that was how it thrived. But someone threatening to kill her, that was more of a buzz kill, not to mention worrying.
Heaving herself up into a sitting position once more, she felt the bed move as Gordon came back over, his hands finding her shoulders.
"It's just ridiculous," she said, reaching up to pull the pin from her hair, letting her long waves fall against her shoulders, "trouble follows us wherever we go. It's like we can't go more than a couple of days without one of our lives being danger." It was exhausting.
"I know you're going to go," she said, after a long pause, "but you're not going alone this time. If someone has the nerve to threaten my life, then I damn well want to know who it is, and give them a piece of my mind."
She was ferocious when she wanted to be.

[Gordon McFadden]

"You're not goin." Gordon said quite calmly(an oddity for him), continuing to massage her shoulders in an attempt to get her pacified enough to order for her to think clearly. He said after a few moments of silence:
"Listen to me and listen to me good. I promised you somethin a year ago, after Paul, after those kids got onto the ship. I told you I wasn't gonna let anything happen to you. You weren't gonna get caught up in the stupid stuff I did and throw your life away. I'm the one who needs to be risking his neck for you. At least if I croak, you can go on and do what you need to do." Oh those were the wrong lines and he knew it. Izzie and Gordon had argued long and hard about that idea for the first few months of their relationship, Izzie throwing a few dumbbells at Gordon's head at one point because of how frustrated she was. In order to repair the situation quickly, he followed it up with:
"I know, I know you don't wanna hear that noise, but hear me out, baby." He eased past Izzie and knelt down in front of her, hands on her thighs as he continued:
"If you do go, I let you go, we both arrive and everything's just great. We meet this cat and he tells us what's the word, then we get ambushed or there's a sniper on the ledge of a building. Plasma bolt rips through you and I'm left to wonder why I didn't force you to stay." He paused for a moment before he looked her in the eyes once before he said:
"You're it, baby. You're all I got. I can't lose you. Can't risk it."