Valentine's Dates Over the Years

Colin grinned as Brooklyn slipped into the living room. “Is it all set?” he asked.

The twenty-one year old grinned. She was in her last year of college and Colin knew that Lincoln was proud of her. Although she had been away at college, she’d eagerly helped Colin plan his surprise for Lincoln. “I’m so glad you’re finally doing this,” she said.

“I needed to wait until Linc didn’t feel guilty about shifting his focus from you,” Colin said.

Brooklyn rolled her eyes and he was reminded of the pre-teen he’d met so many years ago. “Linc needs to get over his guilt complex,” she said. “So normally they don’t do appointments, but since it’s you…” She dug her phone out of her jeans pocket, tapping at it for a moment before saying, “they agreed to hold a spot for us. We need to be there at one to sign the paperwork for the license and then the ceremony will be right after.”

He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Okay. So we’re really doing this…”

Brooklyn frowned at his words. “Did you change your mind? Don’t you want to marry Lincoln?”

“No, I didn’t. I do,” he assured her. “I’m just a little nervous. What if he doesn’t want to marry me?”

“Well, you won’t know unless you get your act together and get going.” She shoved him towards the door. “I’ll make sure that Lincoln is there on time and dressed appropriately. Don’t worry about anything.”

Colin took her at her word, allowing her to push him out the door. He had made plans to change his clothes at his uncle’s house so that Lincoln wouldn’t guess the surprise sooner. Glancing at his watch, he saw he had a little over two hours before they needed to be at the courthouse. He would take a long shower and get dressed before making his way to the building.

When he got to the correct floor, Colin made his way to the office, checking in and then taking a seat to wait for Lincoln and Brooklyn.

When Lincoln walked in just before one, Colin was pleased to see that Brooklyn had convinced him to wear a nice shirt and slacks, although like himself, Lincoln wasn’t wearing a tie. Brooklyn looked lovely in a flowing maroon dress. Lincoln was following his sister, but looked a bit confused.

Colin greeted him with a kiss as he linked his fingers with the other man’s. Lincoln’s eyes were flitting around the hallway, taking in the groups of people standing around. “Col, what’s going on?” he asked.

“I thought this was the perfect day to do this,” Colin said as he led Lincoln by the hand. Brooklyn followed them as they entered the office.

“Do what?” Lincoln asked.

“Colin Kingsley and Lincoln Stone for Judge Reynolds,” Colin said. “I know we need to fill out the paperwork, but he should be waiting for us.”

“Colin. What is going on?”

Colin turned to face Lincoln, tugging him so they faced each other. “We’ve put this off long enough.” Indicating Brooklyn, he said, “Brook fully supports this. Marry me?”

Brooklyn’s eyes filled with tears as Lincoln nodded in stupefaction. “Yes,” he whispered. He cleared his throat and answered in a stronger voice, “Yes. I will.”

The clerk cleared her throat, handing over the paperwork they needed for the marriage certificate. “Just fill this paperwork out and then the judge will see you.”

Brooklyn had brought the paperwork that they needed so the two men sat down and quickly filled out the form, handing it back when they were done. They were told it wouldn’t take long so they headed back out to the hallway to wait.

Colin knew that it would have been quicker and easier if they’d obtained the license ahead of time, but that would have ruined the surprise of getting Lincoln to the courthouse on Valentine’s Day.

Thirty minutes later, they were walking back out of the courthouse after a brief ceremony with matching bands on their left hands. Colin already had plans to have a band tattooed on for when he was on duty, but for now he enjoyed the comforting weight of the metal. Lincoln seemed almost in shock as he looked at his own hand.

He turned to Brooklyn as they reached the foot of the steps. “I didn’t even think to ask if you were okay with this.”

She laughed, wrapping her arms around both men. “Of course I am!” she exclaimed. “It’s about damn time.”