After talking to his "friend", Beckett learned that all of the experiences had been steadily sold out and the waiting list was long. Even with all of his pull, he didn't feel quite right about using it to push someone else out of a coveted spot at that table. He did learn that there was another type of immersion experience that was going on by Tablemation at select locations, one of which was Chicago. Somehow, he felt better about using his connections there to make sure that they all were able to go the Friday coming. The girls were beside themselves when he showed them the website. After configuring their calendars, everything naturally fell into place. It was quite exciting to have plans already made for an idea that Bethany had sort of pulled out of thin air. After the plans had been set, it was back to Sunday as regularly programmed, even though it was actually a Monday. The three women began throwing their laundry in piles on the floor and preparing it for the wash. Mai took the cleaning supplies from under the sink in the kitchen and headed for the guest bathroom. Re'em began separating the dishes that needed to be hand washed in preparation to clean. Beckett started pulling garbage bags out from under the sink and replacing the full bins with empty liners. Bethany stood up from the laundry piles for a moment and couldn't help but become sentimental at the scene. They were all cogs in a perfectly working machine. Everyone knew their job and flowed together seamlessly. Sundays would never be quite like these again. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and continued sorting. There was one thing missing....and then she heard it...Beckett had turned on the Sunday Spotify playlist. Bethany bopped her head with a simple happiness.

Within a tad over two hours, the apartment was back into order with the exception of the laundry. Laundry was always the last to finish. It was so nice to have fresh linens though, that no one minded the tumble of the dryer. The three slumped onto the couch together in one single minded poof. "You're the first of us to experience thirty-nine. To be honest, the only reason you seem older to me is because you got married, " Reem surmised leaning her head back into the pillow cushion behind her and turned toward Bets. They all three gently giggled because it was true.

"Will you guys still come over on Sundays so that we can do this together forever?" Bethany asked. She sat in the middle of silence for a good minute before they all burst out laughing. They would have to figure out another Sunday ritual. On that note, Beckett came in from taking out all of the garbage and dumping it into the dumpster outside.

"That was record cleaning!" He drawled as he headed steadily to the faucet to wash his hands. Bethany's heart gave a lurch. He was going to say that he needed to go and get the dog...and that meant heading home. She suddenly felt unexpectedly torn. This was still home, but so was Beckett. The girls all stiffened with realization. The next time Bets would be coming back, she would be taking more and more of her stuff with her.

Beckett didn't say anything. He saw the three sad pandas on the couch and was quiet. He couldn't deny that he wanted her to choose to go home with him. He also understood that look on her face. It wasn't a look that said that she felt like she'd made a mistake in marrying him. It was the look that he knew meant she was leaving a piece of herself with these two and it hurt him to see her hurting.

He took a breath, and said, "I know that you've still got some things to get together here. I, unfortunately, have to go and get Dougal, and I guess, I should tell my mom that I'm married," he smiled sheepishly. Mai and Re'em gave Bets a look that clearly said, Awww! Bethany smiled teary-eyed and pushed herself up off of the couch and walked over to him.

"You mean, we'll go get Dougal, and we will tell your Mom, " she corrected, gently leaning up to kiss him. "I appreciate you for reading the room so well, but you're my number one." she heard a muffled grumbling from the two listening in on them. "I have to make a good impression as the perfect partner to your mom if no one else!" her eyes glimmered with humor. He chuckled, locking her gaze for a moment.

"My mother has known you were the one since the beginning of time," he responded with a smile. She nodded because this wasn't surprising news to her.

"You don't think that she wouldn't get all mama bear on me if I ditched you on the second day of marriage??" They all laughed. It was humorous to think of Beckett's mom all snarly. She was a little bit of a thing. Bethany was pretty sure she was ninety pounds soaking wet and barely five feet tall in heels. It was amazing that someone of Beckett's statue-like size had come from her. At over six feet tall, he was holding a lot of cards in the looks department. That darn dimple was blossoming so cutely on his left cheek. "Stop...you look like a thinner version of cartoon Hercules!" she closed her eyes to him. He couldn't contain the laughter.

"What?!" he asked. The other two women tilted their heads and then couldn't un-see the image Bethany had painted. Beckett did seem to be a thinner version of the mythological legend."You weirdos," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. He looked down at Bethany, "Do. Not. tell my mother that," he forbade. Mai, Re'em, and Bets all laughed. Beckett couldn't help but smile, but he was pretty serious. The last thing he wanted his mother to hear was that she had given birth to mini Hercules. He'd never hear the end of it.

"Let's go get your baby," Bethany smiled up at him. She turned to her two buddies who were smiling sweetly over at the couple. "I will see you two, tomorrow," she blew them each a kiss, which they in turn captured with a hand grab. With that, she pushed her shoes on and grabbed Becks by the hand. She led him with a tug to the door. He turned and gave them a single wave before Bets pulled him out into the hallway. He was constantly surprised by her conviction. When she made up her mind, it was instantaneous. There was no turning back. "Did you drive here??" she asked him, still pulling him along. He nodded his head affirmatively.

" I parked over in the far corner. There wasn't anything closer." It was his turn to take the lead as they made their way outside and down the three step landing. He led her about a tenth of a mile over in the far corner of the parking lot.

"Jiminy!" She was surprised by the distance. "I haven't had to park over here in a zillion years!" She headed around to the passenger side of his Acura. They both hopped into the car almost in sync.

"I know, right?!" He turned the key into the ignition and the trusted engine rumbled to life. He made sure Bets was securely fastened and backed out of the spot and out of the parking lot. His mother wasn't that far away from Bethany's apartment. It didn't matter. He could count on Bets falling asleep the minute that he started driving on the road. Twenty minutes later, as he turned into his mother's driveway, he wasn't surprised to see a slumbering woman in the seat beside him.

"Hey. Sleepyhead." He gently unlocked her seatbelt and lifted it around her cautiously. He saw her eyes flutter open and smiled in welcome. She gave him a sweet smile in return.

"I look okay? Not like I just woke up?" she asked genuinely worried. She did look like she was a bit unfocused still, but he didn't care. He knew his mom wouldn't care either. He knew that she did though, so he nodded. He waited for her to check herself in the mirror and fix her hair and rub the imaginary dust from her eyes. She pouted her lips and looked at him. "I don't need make-up?" she asked. He shook his head. Nope. She just needed to get out of the car. He smiled. She opened the door and they both got out and walked up to the front door. Before walking in, Beckett turned to Bethany.

"You're good?" he asked. She nodded and leaned into him. He opened the door and yelled out to his mom. The happy prance of Dougal's nails was heard flying on the slippery tile floor. "Hey...Hey...Slow it down, you goober," Dougal was all over the place happy to see his dad. He made it a point to knock into Bethany several times as a reward for bringing Beckett. The big red dog was a five year old puppy. Neither of them noticed his mother wasn't too far behind him.

"WELL, speak of the rays and the sun appears! Happy Belated birthday, you!" she pointed at Bethany. "You are a sight for sore eyes! Come 'ere!" She hugged Beckett quickly, and then immediately hugged Bethany with a loving pat of her arms. "Let's all go have a seat on the deck." She led them through the large foyer, which was open and so aesthetically pleasing with minimal knick knacks but a few pictures of Beckett through the years. They then traveled through the kitchen, which was state of the art, because, who was Beckett Graham to let his mother live without a proper commercial kitchen? They all then went out the door wall, on the far side of the dining area, and to a spot with a covered umbrella and a small table and chairs. It looked out over this massive expanse of yard that was well maintained considering that a big red dog tore through it like a grizzly bear at least three times a day. "I'll get some lemonade, or would you prefer some sweet tea??" she asked them both as she headed back through the sliding glass door. They both responded and it was an amalgam of sorts that sounded like 'swee-ade' that his mother heard. She was used to this response and came back with the correct orders "So tell me the news...I know you've got some, and it looks pretty juicy if I trust my gut." she stared at both of them in anticipation. Beckett looked at Bets, who smiled and nodded for him to just tell her.

"Last night we got married," he blurted out. His mother, thankfully, was just drawing the tea to her lips before quickly setting it down on the table. She was so shocked by his response she didn't say anything for a good minute had the clock been ticking. It seemed like the world had stopped in that instant. The trees stopped rustling. The birds stopped squawking. The silence was deafening.

"I knew it!" she smiled. " I knew you'd do it in a way that would cause a stir...and I always knew it would be with her." she clapped her hands. " Well, congratulations. " she said, pointedly to Beckett. He knew that she would say it that way. His mother thought the world of Bets. He honestly didn't know anyone that didn't... "Stay right there!" Becks mom scuttled back through the door wall on a mission to retrieve something in the house. Bethany smiled widely as the little woman zipped past her like a hummingbird. Beckett turned to Bets rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"Is there any person in this world that loves me before you?" he asked. She couldn't stop the giggle that gurgled out of her mouth. He half-rolled his eyes at her.

"Well, I mean JoJo Moyes is a pretty great writer...and even the movie was pretty popular. Who doesn't love Emilia Clarke? Am I right? " He looked over at her as if she was from another planet, which only made her erratically breathe in that way that laughter made people do.

"You're oh so witty, you," he responded. Beckett would have gotten up, but big red was on his feet..and his mother was clambering at the glass with a package as big as her whole body. Bethany scrambled to her feet to open the sliding door. Becks gave them both a side eye with arms crossed. There wasn't really any need for him or the dog to be there. These two were happy just being in each other's own company. "Mom, what the heck?" he asked in reference to the size of the surprise. She set it down with a huge smile, and opened her arms begging them both to open it.

Bethany waited for Beckett to get up and they both took a side and opened the gift. It was a black and white blown up image of the two of them at six years old, walking down the sidewalk to the bus stop hand in hand. They were both surprised that such a moment had been captured and Bethany couldn't hide the tears that blossomed in her eyes when she turned to thank his mother. She touched her chest, and smiled with so much love, "I love it!" she whispered with unabashed emotion. "Thank you," she reached out and hugged the older woman warmly.

"Yeah, thanks Mom, " Becks replied. It seemed to go unnoticed, but luckily he knew both women well enough to know that they heard him.

"Alright, Hercules. You can take it out to the car so you don't forget it," his mother turned to take her seat at the table while taking a sip of her tea. Bethany snorted and Beckett glared at her as if to accuse her of saying something. His mother looked between the two of them. "What? You do know that you favor that singing one. I've told you this before, haven't I?" Bethany was outright laughing without censor. Beckett huffed and took the picture with him and the dog through the house and out to the car. It was clearly time to go home. He shook his head as he placed the picture carefully into the trunk with a blanket wrapped securely around the frame.

The two women came out the front door soon after with smiles on their faces. His mother came up to him. "It's always gonna be you, honey. I promise." she said. He shook his head. Bethany.... But it somehow made him feel good at the same time. He hugged the tiny woman back.

"Thanks for everything, Ma." Bethany waved from the passenger seat as they backed out of the driveway.

"Hercules!hercules!" Bets whispered the popular Eddie Murphy movie line under her breath with a barely controlled smile... Beckett laughed loud enough for his mother from the driveway to hear him. Bethany's little arm was pulled up as if to show off her muscles and her sleeve yanked back in an exaggerated manner.

"I hate you so much," he laughed heartily. Bets giggled happily with so much joy that she reached over and hugged his free arm with love. 

" I love you too," she replied looking over at him smugly.