Things Aren't Always What They Seem

***8 months into Charlotte and Patrick's relationship***

Charlotte sat next to Patrick and felt him release her hand from his own so they could both applaud the new married couple. Jon sat on Charlotte's other side clearing his throat as he glanced at her holding hands with Patrick before slowly joining in on the polite, congratulatory clapping. Corey Crawford had said his vows to his new bride and naturally Jon and Patrick were guests at the wedding.

"She's a beautiful bride," Jon leaned over and whispered in Charlotte's ear as the processional music played and the bridal party marched back down the aisle. "But you'd have her by a mile." He looked at her and smiled and she did the same.

"Look at you," she teased him. "This love in the air must have thawed that ice cold heart of yours-- throwing out compliments and all," she giggled and gave him a little nudge.

That might have been true-- though Jon always pictured Charlotte when he imagined who his wife would be. He looked down and swallowed his pain away as he watched Kaner slip his arm around Charlotte's waist and pull her to him. When he looked up he realized the daggers Kane was giving him before he took his gaze off Jon and gave Charlotte a kiss on the cheek.

When they walked inside for cocktail hour Patrick immediately jetted for the bar while Jon hung back by Charlotte. "So what do you think?" he asked as he put his glass of water to his lips. He didn't look at Charlotte but she knew he was talking to her.

"About what?" She asked him as she stood close to him, both of them watching the festivities take place around them.

"This. The whole shindig."

Charlotte couldn't help letting out a laugh. "You mean their wedding, Jon?"

"Well, not this wedding. I mean a wedding in general."

"I'd like to have one, if that's what you're asking."

Jon swallowed a gulp of water and nodded his head up towards Patrick who was at the bar. "With him?"

"I don't know," Charlotte answered with a little shrug. "Maybe him. I don't know what the future holds any more than you do."

"Well picture your life," Jon insisted a little too desperate for some type of answer. "This is your wedding...is he the guy you're marrying?"

Charlotte didn't say anything for a few seconds, presumably taking him up on his request. "I don't know," Charlotte repeated. "First off, this wouldn't be my wedding."

"What do you mean?" Jon wrinkled his brow and looked over at her. "This doesn't impress you?"

"No," Charlotte shook her head as she realized Jon misunderstood her. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean this is a beautiful wedding, but I think I'd want something smaller. Or maybe not. I don't know what I want."

"C'mon," Jon pressed. "I know you, and I know you've fantasized about your wedding on a time or two, Cinderella. You're a pure romanticist at heart."

A cute smirk spread across Charlotte's face and her cheeks turned pink. "I have, I can't say I haven't. But. I think I always thought more about who the Prince Charming would be in all it. Not so much the wedding. Can't have a wedding without the right guy."

"Well, I guess that's what I'm asking you then," Jon directed his eyes over to Pat who was seemingly getting ready to come back over to he and Charlotte. "Is he the right guy?"

"How bout this-- how about I'll let you know when I figure that out. I promise."

"What's holding you back from knowing one way or the other? It isn't like you just started dating," Jon wouldn't let her drop it.

"Well it kind of is. I mean I always thought about marrying someone who made me laugh, who took care of me, who took my breath away in good times and bad-- in short, my best friend. I mean the list goes on but there are a few bullet points for you."

"So I guess you should be marrying me," Jon quickly chimed in with a crooked smile and he knew by the look she gave him that she knew he was messing with her.

"I guess so," she playfully tossed back at him. "Why all these questions anyway? Whether or not Patrick and I end up getting married it's way down the road I'd say. I mean," she nodded her head up at Pat indicating she wanted Jon to do the same, "Look at him. Does that look like someone who is ready to settle down?" There was a slight hint of sadness in her eyes as she watched her boyfriend extra smiley with the pretty bartender.

"How about you dance with me in the mean time," Jon suggested in a sexy yet random tone of voice.

Charlotte couldn't shake the smile that pinched on either side of her cheeks. "Yeah," she said cynically with a laugh. "That doesn't start til the reception starts, and right now we're still in the midst of cocktail hour. So unless you plan on dancing in front of everyone with no music I'd say I'm calling your bluff."

Jon quickly raised his eyebrows and gave her a flirty look, thoroughly pleased with her answer as it was exactly what he expected and hoped it would be. "Well, you underestimate me."

"Do I?"

Jon nodded his head as he spoke. "Uh huh. See, there is a room over through that door," Jon lifted his hand and pointed across the room and Charlotte followed his direction where she noticed the man sitting at the piano playing soft music in the equally softly lit room. "We can't go in there!" she squealed

"Why not, it's only for a song. Not like we're really crashing"

"Jon that's not part of this wedding! Who knows who is in there!"

Jon grabbed her hand and led her sneakily across the room. He stopped at the doorway and looked at Charlotte for confirmation. She looked at Jon then flickered her eyes over at Patrick, who was still chatting up the bartender, and then met Jon's eyes once again. He could tell by the way she grinned at him that she was game and he casually walked in the room with the soft piano music-- a room full of others they didn't know. Jon settled his slight nerves when he pulled Charlotte to him and began to sway with her in his arms.

"For someone who hates dancing this is quite an adventure for you," Charlotte teased him as she pulled her neck back and looked up at him. "But I think I love that about you-- that with me you're always so unpredictable."

Jon felt his cheeks flush and he swallowed in attempt to calm the butterflies erupting inside of him. "Yeah well sometimes I like to surprise you. Besides I don't like club dancing. There isn't anything wrong with this," he said softly as he rubbed his hand sensually up and down her back.

"What about you?" Charlotte asked seemingly out of nowhere.

"What about me?" Jon asked unsure of what she was referring to.

"You wanna get married someday?"

Jon had a very similar reaction to Charlotte's-- he paused and took a deep breath thinking about his response. Of course he couldn't actually tell her his honest answer, so he skated around it. "Maybe someday. Why not. I want to get married and have kids, so yeah."

"I never pictured you as the marrying type," Charlotte said a little surprised by his response.

"Hey!" Jon objected. "That's mean!" He was laughing and he wasn't really offended but deep down it stung a bit.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Charlotte shook her head and immediately went to rectify the situation. "I just meant that I didn't picture you as someone who thought about marriage. I think the opposite as how you took it-- I actually think you'd be an amazing husband. So don't take it the wrong way, please."

Jon looked down at her and swallowed. He desperately wanted to kiss her as he held her gaze for a few seconds. "You think so, huh?" He asked with a quiet yet suddenly serious voice.

Charlotte looked up at him and started to very slowly nod her head but before she could get any words out she jumped as she felt a third hand rest on her back. She turned her head and saw Patrick standing next at the side of her and Jon and it was clear he wasn't entirely too happy with how close they were. "What's going on you two?" Patrick asked in an attempt to be casual. "I couldn't find you, I was beginning to think you ran off," he asked turning his entire attention to Charlotte.

Charlotte pulled back from Jon and stood in front of Patrick. "No," she shook her head. "Just killing some time since you were taking a while at the bar."

"I'll see you guys inside," Jon interrupted before turning to walk away. He looked at Charlotte from behind Patrick to make sure she was alright and when she gave a quick nod he took it as his cue to leave them alone.

***Present Day***

Jon swallowed hard when he saw Rose walk through the doors hanging on Kaner's arm. He felt Charlotte grip him a little tighter, felt her body tense up, and he knew right then his nerves weren't on behalf of himself-- they were out of concern for Charlotte.

"It's okay," he cooed into Charlotte's ear at a decimal so low it was barely audible as he protectively rubbed his hands up and down her sides, all the while his eyes were locked on Rose and Kaner. He was angry Patrick would do this to all of them-- that he'd bring Rose back into all their lives when he and Charlotte were trying their best to be civil and move on.

Rose flung her head around and looked back and forth between Jon and Charlotte with a smile. She let go of Pat's arm and headed over to the uncomfortable couple. "Hi Jon," she purred out as she stepped in between him and Charlotte and gave him a hug. "Charlotte," Rose said her name but barely acknowledged her as she kept her attention on Jon.

Jon squirmed away from Rose and rolled his eyes at her as he reached out and grabbed Charlotte's hand. "Good night Rose." He started to lead Charlotte out of the room when Rose stopped him by wrapping her fingers around his bicep. "Wait," she said delaying his exit. He looked at her annoyed and Charlotte released Jon's hand as she went to exit the room by herself.

"What do you want Rose?" Jon asked with his focus entirely on Charlotte as he watched her leave.

"I was hoping you and I could talk," she said as she rested her hand gently on his arm and gave it a little rub. "There are some things I need to say."

"Just stop," Jon pushed her arm away and when he lifted his eyes up and glanced around the room he realized Kane wasn't there.

"But-" she tried to get his attention but he completely ignored her as he left the room.

Jon rushed out to find Charlotte and quickly saw her down the hall face-to-face with Patrick. Jon cursed under his breath as he walked over to them and shook his head in disbelief. The amount of drama his confession of love to Charlotte had caused was unbelievable. "Charlotte," he reached out and grabbed her wrist pulling her away from Patrick. "Let's get out of here."

"Dude, c'mon," Patrick quickly turned and faced him visibly flustered.

"No, you need to knock it off. What is with this little stunt you're pulling? Can't you just drop it?"

Patrick ran his hand through his hair and let out a deep breath. "It isn't like that for me."

"Oh really then?" Jon mocked. "What's it like then? Care to fill me in on what you said to her? What you just needed to say?"

"It's between her and me," Kane looked at him and tightened his jaw.

"Just drop the bullshit. I'm not gonna warn you again. You left your girl back there," Jon threw his head back in direction to the locker room in reference to Rose.

Patrick glared at Jon and didn't move a muscle. After a good few seconds he begrudgingly nodded his head, but Jon could see it wasn't over for him.

"Are you okay?" He asked Charlotte as he led her out the doors and pulled her to him.

"Yeah," Charlotte said meekly as she nodded her head.

"What'd he want?"

"Doesn't matter. Same old."

Jon could sense how upset she was and as he guided her into the car he bent down in front of her as she sat in the passenger seat. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

Charlotte shrugged and looked away from Jon annoyed. "It's just so stupid-- this entire situation. Why can't he just let us be happy? He wants to play this whole 'I love you, I never realized it more than seeing you with Jon' card and it just pisses me off. Not because I'm conflicted in how I feel," she said immediately making it clear to Jon that she didn't have any feelings for Patrick. "But because I thought when we met up for coffee before I headed to New York-- I thought we left it on good terms."

Jon nodded and took a moment to process her words. "I know what you mean. I'm not really surprised by how he's acting but what do you expect? He's a little on the immature side."

"I know," Charlotte agreed and rested her hand on his cheek. "Let's get out of here. Get some Chinese food or something and go back to my place. I'm just glad you have off the next four days. It'll be a nice break for both of us."

"Yeah," Jon said softly. "Yeah it will."

Jon gave Charlotte a kiss and headed over to the driver's seat where he took her hand in his as he got them on their way. They stopped for takeout and made it back to Charlotte's where they chose to get comfortable and do exactly what they always would have done-- they picked at their food and watched a movie as they cuddled up on the couch. Okay, maybe it was a little different, more intimate than before they started up but it was moments like this-- something so simple that made Jon feel relaxed and at home. Jon closed his eyes and breathed Charlotte in. Despite all the crap he had to put up with regarding Patrick and now Rose, it didn't phase him. Being with Charlotte and knowing she loved him made him happier than he'd ever been and the bumps in the road were barely noticeable anymore.

It wasn't very late when Charlotte stirred and peeled her body of the couch. Jon grabbed her wrist and playfully pulled her back down and into him. "Where do you think you are you going?" he breathed out as he nuzzled his face into her.

"I was going to the kitchen real quick, gosh," she gave a faux-annoyed response and nuzzled back into him.

"Hurry up," he told her as she got back up and he gave her ass a little smack.

"Well," Jon heard Charlotte yell with a conniving little undertone. "I was hoping you'd join me. I have a surprise for you."

Jon's lips curled up into a smile as he sat up and looked behind him to Charlotte in the kitchen. He saw her standing there with a little white bag on display for him to set his eyes on. He got up from the couch and joined her in the kitchen where he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist. "What's that?" he asked knowingly as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

"I picked these up this afternoon," she said back against his lips as her fingers dug into him and she held him to her equally as close. "Thought it might cheer your night up. Didn't think it would be as important as it is now. So what do you say baby-- you want your brownie?"

"Mmm," Jon moaned out as he held her close. It was simple gesture but it made him feel like the luckiest man on earth. He could feel her lips against his and the tip of her nose against his own and in that moment he felt completely at peace. "You wanna know what I want?"

"What's that?" Charlotte breathed out waiting to hear his answer.

"I want to marry you-- tonight."

Charlotte's eyes popped open and she pulled back looking him in the eyes not knowing what to say. Her heart was pounding so hard against her ribcage she was convinced he could hear it. Jon grinned when he realized she was speechless and leaned in calming her nerves with a quick kiss. "I mean it. We don't have a game for another four days. We could hop a flight to Vegas and make this official tonight. We know each other inside and out. We've practically been in a relationship with each other for the last eight years. I don't need to know anything else about you to want to wait. I've wanted this since before I knew what kind of commitment it really was. I'm so in love with you Char. So in love with you. I always have been. I always will be. I don't want to wait-- I wanna marry you. We could wait a few months...a few years...we could delay the inevitable, but to me it makes sense. What do you say?"