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Description
The plane ride to Vegas was better than the previous one. Nathan had to fill out another series of papers and go through about seven x-rays, but otherwise it was actually pleasant. Abby entered a trance as soon as they arrived, Jackson didn't get lost, nobody tried to get into a fist fight with a security guard, and nobody got trapped in a bathroom.

When they got to Vegas it was late at night. Neon lights were flashing left and right. Cars were everywhere, and head and tail lights dotted the road. Skyscrapers pierced the sky, and were decorated with flashing lights. Not even the stars could compare to the brightness of the city.

Abby and Nathan stared out of the window of the rental car in wonder. The car was perfectly silent as they pulled into the parking lot of the mammoth sized hotel.

The whole night, Abby stood at a window staring at the city. Hypnotized by the flashing lights.

~0~0~0~

The next morning Abby, Mia and Marie helped Mackenzie with getting ready for the wedding which would take place that evening. It was actually more like Marie and Mia fussing about it while Abby and Mackenzie just did what they said.

After Mackenzie donned her long flowing dress which was decorated with several multicolored butterflies, Abby tripped over the tail of it and knocked over a side table which had several bottles of wine on it, which almost spilled onto the dress.

"Okay, now you go make sure the guys aren't doing anything too stupid!" Marie shooed Abby out of the room after Mia scolded her a bit, "Come back in about an hour and we'll get you ready, 'kay?"

Before she could answer Marie slammed the door.

"Fine, I didn't want to help anyway." Abby glared at the door and began walking down the hall towards the large room where the men were setting up the decorations for the reception.

"No, no, no, no!" She heard someone shout just before she walked in, and that was followed immediately by a crash and the sound of about twenty doves screeching.

"Are you okay?" Abby poked her head into the room, most of the guys were chasing the escaped birds, a caterer was screaming at another couple of caterers, and Jackson just sat in the corner of the room listening to the chaos.

"Yeah, could you help please?" Nathan called as he chased a dove across the room, colliding with Tavish who was chasing a bird in the opposite direction.

"Why do you even need doves?" Abby asked as she stalked a bird which landed near a buffet table.

"They came free with the cake." Scott called from across the room.

"You got birds with a cake…" Abby caught the bird and returned it to its cage, "That's probably one of the most bizarre marketing gimmicks I've heard of."

"That's what I said!" Jackson shouted from his corner. Five doves rested on his shoulders and one was curled up in his hand.

After a while, all but one dove was found. Everyone just assumed it would turn up eventually while they were decorating and went back to what they were doing. Abby began to set up chairs when she heard a soft cooing from underneath a table pushed against a wall.

She lifted up the white tablecloth and saw a dove tangled in some wires flailing around helplessly, dripping in its own blood.

"Calm down…" she said softly as she untangled the wires, freeing the bird. She carefully cradled it in her hands and slowly pulled it out from under the table.

"Find the last bird?" Nathan trotted over to her then saw the bloody dove in Abby's hands, "Oh…"

"Do you think we can save it?" she looked up at him with fear in her eyes.

"I don't know… It looks pretty bad." He poked it slightly and it didn't move.

"I've got to go." Abby bolted out of the room with the bird.

~0~0~0~

The ceremony part of the wedding went perfectly, even if they were short one dove. Vows were exchanged, tears were shed, all of the stereotypical wedding stuff. The reception was a different story.

Half the people who attended were drunk, or at least very good at pretending like they were. Somehow someone had managed to lose the cake, but it was found in the women's restroom, no one figured out who put it there. At some point someone hooked up a karaoke machine, which in hindsight probably wasn't the best idea. Tavish and Soldier got completely and utterly drunk, and hogged it the whole night. Aside from the total chaos, the night was actually enjoyable.

Towards the end of the reception; Nathan, Scott and Jackson struck up a conversation near the buffet.

"Look, all I'm saying is that I've had it worse off than you guys-" Nathan explained.

"Are you kidding? My mom and brother were murdered, my father was an abusive a**, and I had three limbs blown up!" Scott cut him off, "You just have that robot skeleton thingy!"

"Yer both a couple of wimps, I bet no one's been through half the stuff I have." Jackson argued.

"How much do you wanna bet?" Abby popped up behind Nathan, "Now you're going to teach me how to dance." She pulled Nathan into the crowd, despite his protests.

"A match made in psycho Heaven." Mackenzie laughed as she walked up to her husband, "Hey Jackson, how're you doing?"

"Pretty good." He shrugged his shoulders, "The wine's a little bitter though."

"Speaking of which," Scott cut him off, "How come you haven't tried any?"

"Oh, it would be irresponsible of me." Mackenzie smiled.

"It would only be irresponsible if you drank as much as them." He jabbed a thumb at Tavish and Soldier, drunkenly singing across the room.

"At this point any would be irresponsible." She grinned smugly.

"Yeah, I'm confused."

"Scott," she said sweetly, "I'm pregnant."

"Wha- you're- woah…" he leaned against the wall.

"I'll let you two talk about this alone." Jackson started walking along the wall, "See ya later."

~0~0~0~

Jackson spent about five minutes idly walking around the edges of the room, avoiding as many people as he could. As he was circling the room for the third time, he bumped into a frail figure, spilling wine onto it.

"Watch were you're going, young man!" an elderly woman's voice scolded him, "Ye nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, are you okay?"

"Well you ruined my good dress for one thing! Ye know yer gonna have ta pay for it, right?"

"Um, sure, how much?"

"I don't know; TAVISH, GET OVA HERE AND TELL ME HOW MUCH THIS DRESS IS WORTH!"

"Coming, mum!" Tavish ran over to them, gaining some sober-ness, "Hi Jackson, I see ye've met me mum."

"Yeah…" Jackson shifted awkwardly.

"Now what's all this fuss about?" he put his hand on his mom's shoulder.

"This little nut spilled wine all ova me!"

"Mum, don't worry about it, it was an accident."

"So, he still has to pay for it!"

"Mum, cut him some slack, he's blind." He said in a hushed tone.

"So am I, but I don't go 'round ruining peoples clothes!"

"Don't worry 'bout it, mum. It won't cost much to clean it anyway."

"Fine, I'll let him off the hook if he'll be my date for the rest of the evening."

"W-what?"

"I'm old, I should be able to have a little fun. 'sides, you sound like a handsome young man."

"Just this once?" Tavish whispered into his ear.

"Fine, but you owe me." Jackson muttered back as Tavish's mom grabbed his arm, "A lot."

~0~0~0~

Jackson spent the rest of the evening listen to Tavish's mom tell stories about her husband and his various jobs, Tavish's childhood, life in Scotland, and an incident which involved a large boar, a saddle, and a bucket. Then the last song of the night began to play. It's slow, soothing melody filled the room.

"Come on, lad." She pulled Jackson to the dance floor, "After this yer off the hook."

As they slowly spun around, she continued telling her stories.

About halfway through the song, Tavish tapped his shoulder, "Mind if I cut in, lad?"

"Go ahead." He passed her to him and felt someone tug at his arm.

"Would you like to finish with me?" a gentle and unfamiliar voice asked.

"Um… sure."

"I'm Alicia, what's your name?" She asked.

"I'm Jackson." He answered awkwardly.

"That's a nice name. I've always liked it."

"Um… I like your…"

"You don't have to compliment me; I know you can't see me." She calmly said, "My grandpa was when he was alive."

"Oh," Jackson was unsure of what to do in this situation, "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's okay; he died happy." A hint of sadness was in her voice, "So, where are you from?"

"Australia."

"Ooh, I've always wanted to visit there. What's it like?"

"Hot, dry and unforgiving; the people there aren't much better." He cringed as he recalled the unpleasant memories. "I haven't been there in a long time though, things might have changed."

"Hopefully." The music began to stop, "Hey, do you have a phone? Maybe we could meet up again sometime."

"Oh, um sure." Jackson's cheeks grew hot and he felt a knot in his stomach form.

~0~0~0~

Right at the end of the reception, everyone who was involved in the war a year ago gathered outside by the pool with 5 small lanterns. Each was decorated with a different symbol, a blue bomb, a red wrench, a blue fist, a red rocket, and a red cross. Each was released into the night sky one by one; giving those they represented a proper sendoff.

Dell released the first one; "Sorry, bud, wish we could'a known ya better…" he sighed as the lantern floated slowly into the air.

Roger, the RED Pyro, released the second, he and the RED Engineer had been very close friends; "Goodbye, old friend… Just so you know; it was me who broke your good wrench." He smiled and held back tears as the lantern rushed to catch up with the other. Mia walked up and put her arm around him.

Josef, the BLU Medic, released the third together; "Thank you, for everything." Josef whispered as it caught a breeze and flew away. Francis, the BLU Spy walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder as they watched it fly away.

Scott and Mackenzie released the fourth together; "Tell your sister I said hi." Mackenzie smiled with tears in her eyes. "You were the most awesome guy I knew." Scott grinned, "It was an honor serving with you too."

Abby released the last one; she didn't say anything but as soon as it and the other lanterns disappeared, she ran off into the bushes crying.

Nathan followed her and arrived at a tree where Abby was hunched over a small mound of dirt, decorated with two sticks tied together like a cross with a white, bloody feather attached to it, weeping. Nathan sat next to her, pulled her into a hug, and allowed her to cry into his chest.

"I-it's not fair!" she sobbed, "People sh-shouldn't die."

"I know." He whispered, cradling her in his arms as tears stained his shirt, "Everything's going to be alright."

They stayed underneath the tree for three hours, listening to the wind rush through the tree, and watching the lights of the stars above them desperately try to outshine the lights of the city, and for a moment, it seemed like they succeeded. A star streaked across the sky, and for a split second, this seemed to give the other stars enough energy to glow their brightest, outshining the neon lights below.

The moonlight glistened through the trees, reflecting off of Abby's tear-stained cheeks and dark hair, perfectly framing her face with a soft, pale glow. They sat in complete silence until Abby fell asleep in Nathan's arms, and hr carried her back into the hotel.

As soon as he got inside, a loud crash was heard outside as the caterers packed up their stuff. The 19 other birds flew away, escaping the caterers. They flew to the tree were Abby and Nathan had been sitting, and gathered around the small grave. Perfectly silent as they mourned for their lost friend.

Description
The plane ride to Vegas was better than the previous one. Nathan had to fill out another series of papers and go through about seven x-rays, but otherwise it was actually pleasant. Abby entered a trance as soon as they arrived, Jackson didn't get lost, nobody tried to get into a fist fight with a security guard, and nobody got trapped in a bathroom.

When they got to Vegas it was late at night. Neon lights were flashing left and right. Cars were everywhere, and head and tail lights dotted the road. Skyscrapers pierced the sky, and were decorated with flashing lights. Not even the stars could compare to the brightness of the city.

Abby and Nathan stared out of the window of the rental car in wonder. The car was perfectly silent as they pulled into the parking lot of the mammoth sized hotel.

The whole night, Abby stood at a window staring at the city. Hypnotized by the flashing lights.

~0~0~0~

The next morning Abby, Mia and Marie helped Mackenzie with getting ready for the wedding which would take place that evening. It was actually more like Marie and Mia fussing about it while Abby and Mackenzie just did what they said.

After Mackenzie donned her long flowing dress which was decorated with several multicolored butterflies, Abby tripped over the tail of it and knocked over a side table which had several bottles of wine on it, which almost spilled onto the dress.

"Okay, now you go make sure the guys aren't doing anything too stupid!" Marie shooed Abby out of the room after Mia scolded her a bit, "Come back in about an hour and we'll get you ready, 'kay?"

Before she could answer Marie slammed the door.

"Fine, I didn't want to help anyway." Abby glared at the door and began walking down the hall towards the large room where the men were setting up the decorations for the reception.

"No, no, no, no!" She heard someone shout just before she walked in, and that was followed immediately by a crash and the sound of about twenty doves screeching.

"Are you okay?" Abby poked her head into the room, most of the guys were chasing the escaped birds, a caterer was screaming at another couple of caterers, and Jackson just sat in the corner of the room listening to the chaos.

"Yeah, could you help please?" Nathan called as he chased a dove across the room, colliding with Tavish who was chasing a bird in the opposite direction.

"Why do you even need doves?" Abby asked as she stalked a bird which landed near a buffet table.

"They came free with the cake." Scott called from across the room.

"You got birds with a cake…" Abby caught the bird and returned it to its cage, "That's probably one of the most bizarre marketing gimmicks I've heard of."

"That's what I said!" Jackson shouted from his corner. Five doves rested on his shoulders and one was curled up in his hand.

After a while, all but one dove was found. Everyone just assumed it would turn up eventually while they were decorating and went back to what they were doing. Abby began to set up chairs when she heard a soft cooing from underneath a table pushed against a wall.

She lifted up the white tablecloth and saw a dove tangled in some wires flailing around helplessly, dripping in its own blood.

"Calm down…" she said softly as she untangled the wires, freeing the bird. She carefully cradled it in her hands and slowly pulled it out from under the table.

"Find the last bird?" Nathan trotted over to her then saw the bloody dove in Abby's hands, "Oh…"

"Do you think we can save it?" she looked up at him with fear in her eyes.

"I don't know… It looks pretty bad." He poked it slightly and it didn't move.

"I've got to go." Abby bolted out of the room with the bird.

~0~0~0~

The ceremony part of the wedding went perfectly, even if they were short one dove. Vows were exchanged, tears were shed, all of the stereotypical wedding stuff. The reception was a different story.

Half the people who attended were drunk, or at least very good at pretending like they were. Somehow someone had managed to lose the cake, but it was found in the women's restroom, no one figured out who put it there. At some point someone hooked up a karaoke machine, which in hindsight probably wasn't the best idea. Tavish and Soldier got completely and utterly drunk, and hogged it the whole night. Aside from the total chaos, the night was actually enjoyable.

Towards the end of the reception; Nathan, Scott and Jackson struck up a conversation near the buffet.

"Look, all I'm saying is that I've had it worse off than you guys-" Nathan explained.

"Are you kidding? My mom and brother were murdered, my father was an abusive a**, and I had three limbs blown up!" Scott cut him off, "You just have that robot skeleton thingy!"

"Yer both a couple of wimps, I bet no one's been through half the stuff I have." Jackson argued.

"How much do you wanna bet?" Abby popped up behind Nathan, "Now you're going to teach me how to dance." She pulled Nathan into the crowd, despite his protests.

"A match made in psycho Heaven." Mackenzie laughed as she walked up to her husband, "Hey Jackson, how're you doing?"

"Pretty good." He shrugged his shoulders, "The wine's a little bitter though."

"Speaking of which," Scott cut him off, "How come you haven't tried any?"

"Oh, it would be irresponsible of me." Mackenzie smiled.

"It would only be irresponsible if you drank as much as them." He jabbed a thumb at Tavish and Soldier, drunkenly singing across the room.

"At this point any would be irresponsible." She grinned smugly.

"Yeah, I'm confused."

"Scott," she said sweetly, "I'm pregnant."

"Wha- you're- woah…" he leaned against the wall.

"I'll let you two talk about this alone." Jackson started walking along the wall, "See ya later."

~0~0~0~

Jackson spent about five minutes idly walking around the edges of the room, avoiding as many people as he could. As he was circling the room for the third time, he bumped into a frail figure, spilling wine onto it.

"Watch were you're going, young man!" an elderly woman's voice scolded him, "Ye nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, are you okay?"

"Well you ruined my good dress for one thing! Ye know yer gonna have ta pay for it, right?"

"Um, sure, how much?"

"I don't know; TAVISH, GET OVA HERE AND TELL ME HOW MUCH THIS DRESS IS WORTH!"

"Coming, mum!" Tavish ran over to them, gaining some sober-ness, "Hi Jackson, I see ye've met me mum."

"Yeah…" Jackson shifted awkwardly.

"Now what's all this fuss about?" he put his hand on his mom's shoulder.

"This little nut spilled wine all ova me!"

"Mum, don't worry about it, it was an accident."

"So, he still has to pay for it!"

"Mum, cut him some slack, he's blind." He said in a hushed tone.

"So am I, but I don't go 'round ruining peoples clothes!"

"Don't worry 'bout it, mum. It won't cost much to clean it anyway."

"Fine, I'll let him off the hook if he'll be my date for the rest of the evening."

"W-what?"

"I'm old, I should be able to have a little fun. 'sides, you sound like a handsome young man."

"Just this once?" Tavish whispered into his ear.

"Fine, but you owe me." Jackson muttered back as Tavish's mom grabbed his arm, "A lot."

~0~0~0~

Jackson spent the rest of the evening listen to Tavish's mom tell stories about her husband and his various jobs, Tavish's childhood, life in Scotland, and an incident which involved a large boar, a saddle, and a bucket. Then the last song of the night began to play. It's slow, soothing melody filled the room.

"Come on, lad." She pulled Jackson to the dance floor, "After this yer off the hook."

As they slowly spun around, she continued telling her stories.

About halfway through the song, Tavish tapped his shoulder, "Mind if I cut in, lad?"

"Go ahead." He passed her to him and felt someone tug at his arm.

"Would you like to finish with me?" a gentle and unfamiliar voice asked.

"Um… sure."

"I'm Alicia, what's your name?" She asked.

"I'm Jackson." He answered awkwardly.

"That's a nice name. I've always liked it."

"Um… I like your…"

"You don't have to compliment me; I know you can't see me." She calmly said, "My grandpa was when he was alive."

"Oh," Jackson was unsure of what to do in this situation, "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's okay; he died happy." A hint of sadness was in her voice, "So, where are you from?"

"Australia."

"Ooh, I've always wanted to visit there. What's it like?"

"Hot, dry and unforgiving; the people there aren't much better." He cringed as he recalled the unpleasant memories. "I haven't been there in a long time though, things might have changed."

"Hopefully." The music began to stop, "Hey, do you have a phone? Maybe we could meet up again sometime."

"Oh, um sure." Jackson's cheeks grew hot and he felt a knot in his stomach form.

~0~0~0~

Right at the end of the reception, everyone who was involved in the war a year ago gathered outside by the pool with 5 small lanterns. Each was decorated with a different symbol, a blue bomb, a red wrench, a blue fist, a red rocket, and a red cross. Each was released into the night sky one by one; giving those they represented a proper sendoff.

Dell released the first one; "Sorry, bud, wish we could'a known ya better…" he sighed as the lantern floated slowly into the air.

Roger, the RED Pyro, released the second, he and the RED Engineer had been very close friends; "Goodbye, old friend… Just so you know; it was me who broke your good wrench." He smiled and held back tears as the lantern rushed to catch up with the other. Mia walked up and put her arm around him.

Josef, the BLU Medic, released the third together; "Thank you, for everything." Josef whispered as it caught a breeze and flew away. Francis, the BLU Spy walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder as they watched it fly away.

Scott and Mackenzie released the fourth together; "Tell your sister I said hi." Mackenzie smiled with tears in her eyes. "You were the most awesome guy I knew." Scott grinned, "It was an honor serving with you too."

Abby released the last one; she didn't say anything but as soon as it and the other lanterns disappeared, she ran off into the bushes crying.

Nathan followed her and arrived at a tree where Abby was hunched over a small mound of dirt, decorated with two sticks tied together like a cross with a white, bloody feather attached to it, weeping. Nathan sat next to her, pulled her into a hug, and allowed her to cry into his chest.

"I-it's not fair!" she sobbed, "People sh-shouldn't die."

"I know." He whispered, cradling her in his arms as tears stained his shirt, "Everything's going to be alright."

They stayed underneath the tree for three hours, listening to the wind rush through the tree, and watching the lights of the stars above them desperately try to outshine the lights of the city, and for a moment, it seemed like they succeeded. A star streaked across the sky, and for a split second, this seemed to give the other stars enough energy to glow their brightest, outshining the neon lights below.

The moonlight glistened through the trees, reflecting off of Abby's tear-stained cheeks and dark hair, perfectly framing her face with a soft, pale glow. They sat in complete silence until Abby fell asleep in Nathan's arms, and hr carried her back into the hotel.

As soon as he got inside, a loud crash was heard outside as the caterers packed up their stuff. The 19 other birds flew away, escaping the caterers. They flew to the tree were Abby and Nathan had been sitting, and gathered around the small grave. Perfectly silent as they mourned for their lost friend.