Spencer, Morgan, Diana and Kate didn't arrive back at the inn until five, exactly an hour before the rehearsal dinner. Diana excused herself to her room to rest before dinner and Spencer took Kate back to their cabin to make sure she got a bath.
"Will you check in with Penelope?" he had asked before returning to the cabin.
"Sure thing babe. I'll meet you back at the cabin."
True to his word, Morgan sought out Garcia. The first place he looked was the living room of the inn. He didn't find her, but Rossi and Hotch were there, sitting together on the faded couch reading.
"Hey, you guys seen Garcia?" Morgan asked.
"Not since we finished decorating the reception hall an hour ago," Hotch replied.
"Try her room. Even if she isn't there Emily is and she might know where Penelope is," Rossi said.
"Thanks," Morgan said. "Hey, where's Jack?"
"He went for a swim in the pond with JJ and Will," Hotch said.
Morgan's next stop was Garcia and Prentiss's room. They were on the second floor, right between Hotch and Diana. He knocked once, not hearing any movement from inside.
"It's open," Prentiss called. Morgan opened the door, looking around at the room. Prentiss was sitting against the headboard of her bed with her laptop in her lap, but Garcia was nowhere in the room.
"Hey Morgan, what's up?" She said, not looking up from her screen.
"I'm looking for Penelope, do you know where she is?"
"She should be in the pavilion supervising the caterers."
"I guess I should go check on her."
"Spence didn't spend the whole day worrying did he?" Prentiss asked.
"Surprisingly no. We had a great time. Even Diana liked it."
"That's good to hear." Prentiss said.
"There is one downside though." Prentiss cocked her head and gave Morgan a confused look. "I think we have to get Kate a bearded dragon now."
Morgan found Garcia in the pavilion, instructing a crew of caterers on how to set the food up. She was already dressed up in her pink and green polka dot evening gown, and her hair fell over her shoulders in soft curls.
"Lookin' good mama," Derek said, pulling her into a hug.
"Derek, why aren't you getting ready?" She asked.
"Don't worry, I've got plenty of time."
"Guests are going to start arriving soon, you need to go get dressed." She pushed him away and in the general direction of his cabin.
"Okay, okay, I'm going, just take a breath. If you're stressed you're gonna make Spencer stressed, which will make me stressed, it's a vicious cycle," Morgan said.
"I'm not stressed, I just want to make everything perfect for my two favorite guys in the world."
"Penelope, it's going to be wonderful, now take a break. You've done everything you can."
"Fine. As long as you go get dressed," she shoved him towards the cabin again.
"Alright, alright. I'm going," Morgan said with a deep chuckle.
Morgan could hear music playing when he entered the cabin. It was small, one main room, two bedrooms and a bathroom, so it didn't take long for Morgan to locate Kate and Spencer. They were in the bathroom, Kate sitting on one of the barstools from the living room. Spencer stood behind her, curling her long golden brown hair with precision that only came with years of practice.
Spencer was singing along to "American Pie", he knew all the words of course. Kate was singing with him, although she only knew the chorus. It was adorable and Morgan just stood in the doorway, watching the two of them. It was times like these when Morgan was reminded of how young Spencer was when he had Kate. The two of them had practically grown up together. They truly were best friends.
"You're gonna be the prettiest girl at the party," Morgan said once the song had ended. Kate cracked a wide smile, turning to look at him.
"Really?" She asked.
"Really."
"Wanna see my dress?" Kate asked. "Auntie Penelope got it for me."
"Of course I wanna see it, go put it on."
Kate rushed out the door into her room to get dressed. Spencer came up behind Morgan, wrapping his arms around his lover's middle and dropping his forehead to Morgan's shoulder.
"Hey pretty boy," Morgan said, placing his hands over Spencer's where they rested over Morgan's stomach.
"Does Garcia have everything under control?" Spencer asked.
"Yup. It looks stunning." Morgan turned to face Spencer. "Just like you."
Spencer took Morgan's face between his hands, kissing him deeply. Morgan kissed back, grabbing Spencer's hips.
"We should get dressed," Spencer said after he pulled away.
"Yeah, yeah okay," Morgan agreed.
They weren't wearing their suits for the wedding tonight. Morgan was wearing a navy suit with a white button up and a black tie, and Spencer had on a jet black suit and shirt with a plum tie.
Kate joined them in their bedroom once she was dressed. The dress that she and Penelope picked out was a deep purple color like Spencer's tie. It was made of layers upon layers of fluffy tulle that reached her ankles. She spun for them, showing off the big bow at the back.
"Do you like it?" Kate asked.
"Spencer, I didn't know we invited a princess to our wedding," Morgan said. Kate beamed outwardly.
"You look beautiful sweetheart," Spencer said, kneeling behind her to zip up her dress the rest of the way.
"We should get going. Don't wanna be late to our own party," Morgan said.
"You're right. Ready to go Kate?" Spencer asked. Kate nodded, skipping off to the door. Spencer and Morgan shared a good natured laugh.
"After you babe," Morgan said, placing a hand on the small of his back to lead him towards the door.
The sun was just starting to set when they got back to the pavilion. The team, Spencer's mom and Morgan's sisters were already there chatting and sipping drinks from the bar. It was quarter to six and the rest of the guests would be arriving soon.
"Penelope this is beautiful," Spencer said, hugging his friend.
"Told you we had it under control," She replied.
"Remind me never to doubt you again."
"I hope I'm not interrupting," Morgan's mother said from the entrance of the pavilion.
"Hey Ma," Morgan said, hugging her tightly.
"How's my favorite son?" She asked once they had broken away from each other.
"I'm your only son Ma," Morgan snorted.
"I was talking about Spencer." She moved to pull Spencer into a hug, kissing him on the cheek.
"That's cold Ma," Morgan said, although he was grinning from ear to ear.
Over the next half hour the rest of the guests arrived. Most of them were Morgan's extended family, but a few of Spencer's aunts and uncles, and some friends from the bureau like Strauss and Kevin were also in attendance.
They all socialized for a while, Spencer and Morgan greeting each of their guests. Kate and Jack were nearly inseparable the entire time, they had even been seated together at dinner.
Before dinner was served, Morgan stood up and clinked his knife against his glass to get everyone's attention.
"Hey everyone, I hope you're all having a good time tonight," he started. "I'll keep this brief cause the real speech will be coming tomorrow. First I want to thank my good friend Penelope Garcia. She put together this entire dinner so that Spencer and I could have a day out as a family without worrying about the preparations."
Garcia shapes her hands into a heart over her chest for Morgan to see.
"She didn't do it alone though. The rest of our team was instrumental in setting up, and I'm grateful for each and every one of you."
"Finally, Spencer, I love you so much and I can't wait to marry you tomorrow."
The guests clapped as Spencer stood up from his seat and kissed Morgan. It was quick and chaste, as both men were aware that they had an audience.
"Alright, let's eat," Morgan said after they broke away.
After dinner was over they hit the dance floor. Morgan and Garcia had designed the playlist and although Spencer had his doubts at first, he had to admit that they had done a good job. Even Spencer's mom was up and dancing with one of Morgan's uncles.
Sometime after the sun had long set, Garcia found Spencer sitting by the bar nursing a glass of red wine and watching Morgan dance with his sisters.
"Hey, walk with me?" She asked, linking an arm in his. He followed happily as she led him out of the pavilion and along the dirt path.
"Where are we going?" Spencer asked.
"I have a surprise for you. Think of it as an early wedding present," She replied.
They continued up the path until they got to the Gazebo by the lake. Spencer could see a figure standing there, but it was so dimly lit that he couldn't make out their face until he got close. As soon as he recognized the man, he was sure his mind was playing tricks on him.
"Surprise," Garcia said.
It couldn't be him, could it?