Too Good to Be True

"Just because we're having a small wedding doesn't mean we shouldn't send out invitations," Matt said. "I'm sure your parents would appreciate having one and mine would, too." He hadn't missed Charlie's strange change in demeanor when he'd gotten up to get his pain pills from the bathroom but he chalked that up to her being pregnant and moody. For the next nine months or so, he would have to tread carefully around his soon-to-be wife. When Charlie laid down in bed, Matt took that as a sign that they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, at least not in the next fifteen minutes or so.

"Of course I'll protect you," Matt said, grinning. He reached over to rest his hand on Charlie's stomach. "You think I've been protective of you over the years? No one's going to touch our baby, in or out of you. Daddy's on guard." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Charlie's cheek. He was sure she knew just as much as he did that he would go to the ends of the earth to protect their child. Even something as innocent as a stranger reaching out to touch Charlie's protruding belly would spark a protective instinct in him. As long as he was alive, no one would lay a finger on Charlie or their baby.

"We should probably get going if we want to be home by dinner," Matt said a few minutes later. "We'll go shopping for baby stuff and then I'll treat you to a nice dinner. Whatever you and little bean are craving." He smiled as he pushed to his feet, offering his hand to Charlie. "Let me get your shoes," he offered. He slipped on his own shoes before grabbing Charlie's, taking them over and dropping them at her feet. Turning his back to her, Matt reached into the drawer of his nightstand, pulling out his pistol and tucking it into the waistband of his jeans. No matter what happened, he would never feel safe leaving the house without a weapon, especially after what had happened to Charlie and even more especially since she was pregnant.

"If we want to, we should probably look at invitations somewhere today as well... since we need to get them sent out pretty much immediately," Charlie commented, deciding that arguing over sending invitations out really wasn't worth it. Besides, maybe Matt was right. She was sure their parents would cherish a wedding invite, as simple as it was. Smiling to herself, Charlie was careful as she cuddled into Matt's side. She was content to just lay here all day with him but she knew that they had things that needed to be done today. Charlie was quiet for a few minutes as she shut her eyes.

Charlie let out a groan in protest when Matt said they should probably leave. She laid there a moment, looking up at Matt as he climbed off of the bed. She pouted, reaching out to take Matt's hand after another few seconds had passed. Charlie pushed to her feet, deciding that the yoga pants and shirt she was wearing was enough for the day. It wasn't as if she looked like a mess; just looked like she was comfortable and content and she could certainly settle for that.

"I know there's that website that I always see commercials for... vistaprint, I think it's called. We could use them for our invites. See how long the turn around rate is and if it's not fast enough, we can always shop around town," Charlie offered, settled into the passenger seat of the suv. She glanced toward Matt before reaching over, setting her hand gently on his thigh. "Unless you'd just prefer to find somewhere around town to get them to begin with. Whatever you want."

"How about we swing by Walmart later and check on the options there and if we don't find anything we like, we can look at VistaPrint?" Matt suggested, reaching down to squeeze the hand Charlie had resting on his thigh before turning his attention back to the road. "Even if it takes a few days to get the invitations from VistaPrint, it won't be that big of a deal. It's not like we're getting married next week or anything." The first place Matt headed was the nearest bridal salon. Charlie's dress needed to be picked out as soon as possible, especially since it would need to be rush-ordered. The actual scheduling of the wedding would likely depend on when Charlie's dress would be ready.

"I guess I'll uh, wait here in the lobby," Matt said as he and Charlie entered the bridal salon. "Since I'm not allowed to see the dress before the wedding and all." He gave Charlie a short peck on the lips before the consultant led her into the back, plopping down onto a nearby chair. He could definitely fall asleep here but he would try his hardest to stay awake because if he took a nap right now he would be cranky for the rest of the day and that was the last thing he wanted. Pulling out his phone, Matt sent a quick message to Brian, asking for an update. He couldn't really go out and work like he used to with his injuries, but that didn't mean he couldn't keep tabs on everything. He was still the boss, after all, and be needed go stay up to speed on what was happening.

Matt wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed before Charlie came back into the lobby. "Did you pick something out?" Matt asked, looking at Charlie. Next, he turned to the consultant. "I guess I should put down a payment now? We're going to need to rush-order the dress." Matt took Charlie's hand as he walked over to the counter to give his credit card information for the down payment. He was glad to have this out of the way and be one step closer to having Charlie tied to him forever. Even though they could technically get a divorce, Matt knew Charlie wouldn't do that unless he did something absolutely horrendous and he'd already locked her in their basement. What could he possibly do that was worse than that?

@ castle.
are you still interested in doing this one?

{holy shit, i'm sorry }

Charlie had always imagined herself in a sexy, sleek dress... maybe some lace to give it more of a romantic feel but certainly, nothing like what she ended up with. She had been quick to explain to the consultant that she was pregnant and would likely be in her late second trimester, if not her third when Matt and she got married. The consultant had obviously been surprised and a bit concerned, explaining that it would change what they could look at. That she might be a bit more comfortable in an empire waist dress than the initial ball gown that she had wanted.

She'd been skeptical, of course, but then Charlie had put on the third dress the consultant had brought out and she'd just known. It was that simple. Charlie's heart had risen to her throat and she'd smiled so large that she thought her cheeks were going to split open. She'd spun around, looked at herself from just about every angle that she could manage. The consultant's smile damn near matched Charlie's because her happiness was damn near infectious at that point.

Charlie's smile had eased just a bit by the time she made it back out to Matt. "Hi," she greeted him, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips. She stood to the side as Matt paid, following him out of the salon quietly. It wasn't until they climbed into the suv and drove off toward Walmart that she finally spoke, her nerves calming a bit more even. "The dress is beautiful. I hope you like it..." she trailed off, glancing toward him. "Slash that. You better like it."

After putting the down payment down for the dress, Matt walked with Charlie out to the SUV. Next on their to-do list was a trio to Walmart to look at invitations and they didn't have any time to waste. Matt smiled when Charlie spoke, reaching across the center console to grab her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Of course I'm going to like it, you'll be wearing it," he said. "I love anything you wear. And seeing you wearing that dress, walking down the aisle to become my wife...well that will just make it better.

Matt held Charlie's hand as he drove on to Walmart, only letting go when he'd pulled into a spot and needed to shift the car into park. "Alright, let's get this over with," he said. He surveyed the parking lot, taking note of the number of cars. "This place looks packed." He climbed out of the SUV, waiting for Charlie to do the same before he locked the doors and shoved the keys into his pocket. As they walked into the store, Matt held Charlie's hand, rubbing his thumb gently across her knuckles. The more affection like this that he showed her, the less likely she was to suspect that he hadn't really left his work, or so he hoped.

At the photo lab, Matt took a seat on a stool next to Charlie, tapping through the options on the kiosk. "Okay, these stationary cards look nice," he said. "And they'll be ready today. What do you think, do you see any designs that you like?"

Charlie couldn't help but let out a small laugh, shaking her head when she fixed Matt with a hard look. Only to let out a giggle as Matt looked her way. "Yeah, yeah. Just trying to win yourself brownie points, hm?" She teased, lifting Matt's hand so she could kiss the back of it.

With how busy the store appeared to be, Charlie was careful to stay close to his side. She squeezed his hand as they stepped into the photo area of the store. Shifting through the options on the kiosk in front of her, Charlie glanced over when Matt grabbed her attention. She'd admittedly been moving a bit slower through the options than Matt had so she hadn't gotten to the one he was showing to her. She moved off of the stool she was on so that she could get a better look at his screen.

"Yeah, I like those. Let's get them," Charlie agreed, pressing a kiss to Matt's cheek. She settled back on the stool she'd just been on, figuring Matt would just fill out the information needed for the cards. "Do we need to do anything else after this?" She started, her eyes widening as she turned to look at him. "We need to find someone to make our cake. We need a cake!" She declared. "There's no wedding without a cake, Matt!" She said, becoming a bit desperate at the thought.

Matt poked through the choices on the kiosk for another minute or so before he pointed one out to Charlie. He wasn't too picky about what design they went with so he clicked on the first one she said she liked. All that really mattered to Matt was the marriage certificate, the little bit of paperwork that said Charlie was tied to him forever. He supposed she technically could file for a divorce but he knew she wouldn't do that. And besides, Matt still had so many people under his payroll that Charlie would be hard-pressed to find someone to represent her or handle the proceedings. And if she happened to get so lucky, there was no way she would manage to get custody of their child. In the end, it all came down to Matt being in a position of unwavering power and sway.

Once Charlie had chosen the design for the card, Matt began the process of entering all of the information onto the card. Since they were having to rush the wedding so much, it would be much easier for everyone involved if they held the ceremony in their back yard. He'd just barely submitted the order when Charlie started to panic about the cake and he couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Charlie, baby, calm down," he said. "We'll find somebody to make our cake. I'll rush order that, too, if I need to. So don't you worry your pretty little head about it. Stress is bad for the baby. I've got everything under control, I promise." Getting up from the stool, Matt grabbed the ticket from the kiosk and stuffed it into his pocket.

"So while we're waiting for these to finish, should we go look for something to cook for dinner?" Matt asked.

Charlie's face twisted into a scowl when Matt laughed at her, only for it to dissolve when he started to speak. Her shoulders sagged as she moved to lean against Matt, breathing a reluctant sigh. She let out a small whine, reaching up to rub her face as she gave a tiny nod of her head. "Fine. If you say so," she murmured, moving away from him after a moment. He'd always known how to calm her down and she was doing her best to stay calm, despite the unease that had settled in the pit of her stomach. There was no way that they were having a wedding or a reception without cake. Half the reason people even went to weddings was so that they could eat cake!

"As long as it's red velvet, I guess I don't care," Charlie spoke after a moment, giving a firm nod of her head. Red velvet had always been her favourite and she was pretty lucky in the fact that Matt would eat just about any dessert put in front of him. She didn't think he would mind too much about the flavour she was hopeful about.

Reaching over, Charlie laced her fingers through Matt's as they made their way over to groceries. She hummed as her eyes scanned the meats before she looked up to Matt with a raised brow. "I honestly think I just want salad. That mandarin salad I make with the maple dressing," she said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure I could always grill up some chicken and toss it in there too.." she trailed off, mulling over her options. "Unless you just want to have something else, we can always fend for ourselves tonight?"

"You know I'm not going to say no to a red velvet cake," Matt said, grinning. That was one of his favorite cake flavors as well as Charlie's. And if anyone didn't like it, well, they just wouldn't have any cake. It was their wedding, after all. Matt gave Charlie's hand a squeeze as they made their way over to the groceries, making a face as Charlie explained what she wanted for dinner. "I may have you grill up that chicken for me and just get the stuff to make a sandwich with it," he told her. Somehow he doubted that a salad would be enough to fill him up, especially while his body was still healing from the gunshot wound and surgery.

Matt followed Charlie as she collected the supplies for her mandarin salad, making a quick mental list of what he would need for his sandwich. Obviously, he would need chicken breasts, hoagie rolls, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, and bacon. There was never a way to go wrong with bacon. "Alright, I think the invitations should be done by now, don't you think?" Matt asked, looking over at Charlie. "Let's go grab those and get going. I'm getting hungry and I need to take another pain pill." He punctuated this statement with a scowl, rubbing at the wound on his stomach. He walked with Charlie back to the photo lab, taking the invitations from the woman behind the counter and tossing them into the cart with the rest of their things.

"Why don't you go out to the car?" Charlie offered quietly as they walked away from the photo lab. Her stomach twisted slightly because she was concerned that the offer might sour Matt's mood but she hoped that it wouldn't. That he would only see it as the offer that Charlie had meant it as. She glanced up to Matt, offering him a soft smile as she reached out to set a hand on top of his as he pushed the cart along. "I only have to check out... it's not too busy in here so I don't think I'll be more than a few minutes. I'll text you when I'm on my way out so you can pull the car around and I can load it right up."

Charlie was a bit relieved when Matt gave a nod of his head. She thought that she was safe, after all she was in the middle of a public store. No one would come for her in the middle of a place like this. It would be ridiculous if they did. Charlie was in and out of check out in less than five minutes, just like she'd said she would be. Charlie smiled as she appeared with a few bags hanging from her hand. Charlie set the bags into the back seat before she climbed in, settling into her seat. "Alright. Let's get home, mister. Then you can relax while I get started on supper, okay?"

Matt gritted his teeth instinctively at Charlie's offer. He knew she was only saying it because he'd mentioned being in pain but that didn't stop his brain from twisting her motives. It was only a few minutes longer before they would be out in the car, did she not think he could handle it? But in the end, Matt decided it wasn't worth arguing about and he nodded his head, heading out to the car. He slipped into the driver's seat and immediately reached for his bottle of pain pills, swallowing them dry in his haste to get them down. He then started up the SUV and pulled up to the front of the store to wait for Charlie. Thankfully it only took a few minutes before she appeared with the groceries and placed them into the backseat.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Matt grumbled, pulling away from the store. His pain pills obviously hadn't taken effect yet but they likely would begin to by the time they go home and then all he would want to do was sit on the couch and do nothing. He couldn't wait until he didn't need the damn things anymore. They made him lazy and vulnerable. When they finally arrived home, Matt waved Charlie off when she went to grab the groceries. "I've got it," he said. "You go unlock the door." He grabbed the grocery bags and followed Charlie inside, taking enough time to drop the bags off in the kitchen before he went over to drop down onto the couch. "If I fall asleep, just wake me up when dinner is ready, okay?"

Charlie settled her hands in her lap, keeping her eyes forward. She wanted to look at Matt, to offer some sort of comfort but she couldn't bring herself to. He was obviously in a bad mood and she certainly didn't want to make it any worse than she already had. She was a bit relieved when they got home, all too happy to rush forward and hold the front door open for Matt when he told her to. She stepped inside after him, kicking her shoes off. Lingering when Matt disappeared into the kitchen, Charlie gave him a timid smile when he reappeared to drop down onto the couch. "Yeah, of course, babe. It shouldn't be too long," she said, pausing to kiss his cheek before she headed into the kitchen.

It was the better part of an hour before Charlie had finished up dinner. She put together two plates, carrying them out to the living room. She figured that Matt wouldn't feel up to eating at the dinning room table. Setting both plates down on the coffee table, Charlie leaned down to press a kiss to Matt's lips. She grinned, cupping his cheek as she rubbed her thumb in gentle circles to help wake him. "Hey you. Dinner's ready. What did you want to drink? I'll go grab it while I grab my drink, hm?"

Matt waved Charlie off, accepting her kiss on the cheek a bit begrudgingly. The pain pills were starting to take effect and he was feeling a bit lethargic now. He kicked his shoes off and propped his feet up onto the coffee table, choosing something on the television that would soon become background noise. It was no time at all until Matt nodded off but it also felt like no time at all before he was being woken up again by something rubbing on his cheek. Any other time he would immediately be on alert but the medicine made him slow and he hated that. How was he supposed to protect Charlie and their unborn child if he was knocked out by pain pills?

"Huh, what?" Matt mumbled. He blinked the sleep away from his eyes, slowly focusing on Charlie's face. "I'll just have water, I guess. I don't think I should be drinking while I'm taking these pills." Matt groaned as he sat up, feeling the stiffness and pain from being in the same position for so long. As Charlie went into the kitchen to grab their drinks, Matt snatched up one of the plates, immediately starting in on the food. One thing he'd definitely noticed since he'd left the hospital and started on the pills was an increase in his appetite. It would be crucial that he was careful with that because with his gunshot wound, he was unable to exercise the way he liked to and he needed to stay in the best physical shape possible.

"Probably," Charlie agreed when Matt said that he probably shouldn't be drinking while taking his pain medication. She disappeared into the kitchen, pouring Matt a glass of water and one of iced tea for herself. She returned to the living room, sitting at the end of the couch so that Matt would still have plenty of time to lay down after he was finished eating. Charlie glanced over, only halfway through her plate when she noticed that Matt was nearly done his meal.

Charlie cleaned her throat, sitting up a bit straighter as she moved to set her plate down on the coffee table. "There's still some food left, do you want some more?" She offered, pushing the blanket off of her lap so that she could get up if Matt decided that he did want more. She smiled, raising an eyebrow. "You need to make sure you eat, so that your body can heal..."

Matt was nearly done with his plate of food when Charlie returned from the kitchen with their drinks. Hearing her question, he paused for a second, reading the signals from his body before he answered. he really didn't need to eat anything else but he definitely wanted to. And he supposed Charlie had a point. If his body was going to heal, he was going to need plenty of energy which meant food and rest. "Yeah, I'll have a little bit more," Matt answered. Seeing Charlie poised to get to her feet, he passed her his empty plate. "Not a full plate, though. Just a little bit more is fine."

Matt gave Charlie a smile as she took his plate and headed into the kitchen. He twisted on the couch to try and pop his back, groaning slightly in pain as his wound stretched. The pain pill had long since kicked but sudden movements like this still sent a spark of pain skittering up his spine. It made him angry all over again and if Thomas were still alive, Matt would go and kill the motherfucker all over again. When Charlie returned with his second plate, he thanked her softly before he started to dig in once again. "It's good, by the way," he said. "In case my crazy eating didn't clue you in."

Charlie looked up through her lashes as Matt spoken again. She couldn't help but let out a small laugh as she shook her head, smirking. She raised an eyebrow, her eyes dropping to Matt's plate for a moment. "Nope. Definitely couldn't tell. Did you want me to make you something else instead? Since you didn't really seem to like your dinner..." she trailed off, settling back against the couch. She smiled as she dropped the blanket from the back of the couch, onto her lap.

Days like this were the most peaceful to Charlie. Even on the days before she'd even found out about what Matt did, Charlie liked the days where they could just be domestic and not have to worry about the outside world. But things had shifted and if she was being honest with herself, if she let herself think about it too much, she didn't know how many more days that she was going to have with Matt like this. Worrying at her bottom lip, Charlie looked up suddenly.

"What if we moved? Like, before our baby is born. That way we can have a fresh start after everything... we don't have to worry, you know? New places, new people... new life," Charlie suggested, a bit of hope blossoming as she thought over the idea.

When Matt finished his plate, he leaned forward to place the empty dish on the coffee table before he settled back against the couch. The pain pill was making him a little sleepy but he knew if he slept now, he would be up all night and he didn't want that. He gave thought about making a pot of coffee to keep himself awake but he didn't particularly feel like getting up right now. So he would let the food settle in his stomach and then get up to make his coffee. Or maybe he would have Charlie start the pot and he would just get up to make his cup, since he was so picky about his coffee.

Matt looked towards Charlie when she mentioned moving, his face settling into a scowl. He understood her reasoning for wanting to move. This town and this house probably only held bad memories for her and besides, she was under the assumption that he'd left his work, so in her mind, they had nothing tethering them here. But beneath the surface, Matt was still incredibly chained down. While he could theoretically continue his work from a different location, it would be more difficult. And beneath their business relationship, Matt did consider the guys his friends. Even Johnny had forgiven him for their little...argument. Matt had no reason or desire to leave this place. He was deeply rooted here and it would be far too difficult to pull them up.

"I'll think about it," Matt finally said. "If we did move, we couldn't move too far. I do like to see my friends, you know."

Charlie's face morphed into a frown as she looked to Matt, his scowl was enough to send chills down her spine. It wasn't that she was really afraid of Matt but she was suddenly feeling uneasy on whether Matt had actually left his work behind. She chewed on her bottom lip, looking away from Matt. "Matt..." she trailed off, wringing her hands together in front of her. "I know it wouldn't be easy but... they're bad influences, Matt. I love the guys, too. But staying here is only going to drag you back under. It's going to destroy the future that we want to build." Charlie took a deep breathe, staring down at her hands.

"We have a baby on the way. We have to.. have to start looking toward the future. A future away from here, away from the bad things that have happened here. We can build a whole new life. With new friends, and new adventures... with our little one with us," Charlie's voice cracked and she started to sound a bit desperate as she spoke. Because the gravity of the situation was beginning to dawn on her.

"We don't have the choice, Matt," She mumbled, closing her eyes as she exhaled. Charlie wasn't silly, she knew that the argument that was brewing wasn't going to be pretty.

"I don't want new friends," Matt said flatly. "I'm not five years old, Charlie, I don't have time to make new friends. And why do you think we can't have a future here? What's so fucking awful about this place that you want to leave? I can provide for you and the baby here just as well as I can anywhere else. And at least here, I'm happy. So we do have a choice. We can fucking stay here, which is what I would rather fucking do." He knew Charlie had reasons to want to move somewhere else and they were undoubtedly good reasons. But that still didn't mean Matt would give in. He liked it here. This was where his friends were, where his work was, where everything he'd ever know was. He had absolutely no desire to leave.

"And what exactly do you mean staying here is going to drag me back under?" Matt asked. "Do you honestly think I'm that weak? You think I can't stay away? I think I've been doing fine but apparently, you think otherwise." Matt slowly pushed to his feet, gritting his teeth at the pain that erupted at the sudden movement. "I'm going to lay down upstairs. Don't fucking follow me." Still moving a bit stiffly, Matt made his way upstairs, settling himself down onto their bed. He'd been trying to control his temper over the past month or so but he didn't appreciate being told what to do. Charlie could continue thinking he would change his mind and want to move, but she would be ultimately disappointed.