A Med Force Wedding

[Doc Holliday]

This morning was different. Normally, he would go through his medical files for the day's rounds over his coffee. This morning though, he was a nervous groom. Sure, he had been through this once before, but this was different. He was alone getting ready for his ceremony with Isabella. He had no one to help him get ready. Really, he didn't need it. His tailed tuxedo was something he wore often at piano recitals. Today though, it felt different.

Finishing his shower, he started on his first cup of coffee as he paced in his quarters in nothing but a white t-shirt and underwear. He was in thought. Pretty soon, these quarters wouldn't just be his, they would be theirs. A remodel had been finished to accommodate her. He had been through things pretty thoroughly to not live in the past. It was time to move forward. With each slow step in his pacing, he was looking for that thing he might have missed. So far, he saw nothing.

Finishing a cup, he re-filled it but not before he put on his black socks and the shirt for his tuxedo. Again, he paced, deep in thought. Caffeine probably wasn't helping his nerves but, on this day, little would. He was getting married and any groom would be nerves even if it wasn't his first. But that was his thought, it wasn't his first. He thought of the lessons he learned from his marriage to Midori. Ultimately, she still loved him when she left. He had advised her not to have more children after a bad hemorrhage would probably mean death if she tried childbirth again. Her decision to try with another man was her end.

Of course, Doc himself wasn't blameless. Trying to maintain Med Force Enterprises on his own, making trade runs for needed goods and being a diplomat not just for his people but for that of others. He learned from all of this. He now had department heads to run things and he limited diplomacy to Med Force matters only. Naturally, there were some groups he had given up on entirely, the Bretonian Crown being his biggest dislike. "They have much to answer for," he would often tell people. Yes, he took those lessons and applied them accordingly.

He then put on his pants, tucking in the shirt and putting on his belt. He put his coffee down, went to the bathroom mirror and began fixing his hair. He hadn't cut it in awhile but his shoulder length locks were well kept. He looked at himself for a moment. Age was showing on his face. He wondered what she saw in someone old enough to potentially be her father but she told him more than once that it didn't bother her. He didn't doubt is. He finished with his hair, leaving it with a slightly wet look to keep it neat. It was when he left the bathroom and walked by his bed that he noticed something that he had missed.

On his nightstand was a picture of Midori, him and the kids from when they were little. Miidori was holding each of the twins, one in each arm. He picked it up and looked at it. This was his history. This was his family and the mother of his children even if his eldest, Emiko, had no more contact with him. He stared at it.
"Dah'lin," he said to it, "You said that what I am doing will be OK, that I deserve to be happy."
He wrestled with his thoughts. She was his past and his past was something he wanted to leave behind for his new future. Rather than put it away forever, he took it to the wall where pictures of old friends hung. He found a nice spot near his old friend, Wyatt, and hung it there.
"There," he said, "that looks right."

He then re-filled his cup. He had more time to prepare so it would be a bit before his bow tie and coat would go on.

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[MFE]Med Force One | Tales of Recovery|Med Force Enterprises