Title: The Day of The Lemon
Author: Mindy35
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Tina's etc.
Spoilers: "Seinfeld Vision"
Pairing: Jack/Liz, Liz/other, Jack/other
Summary: Liz gets cold feet on her wedding day.
-x-x-x-
He saw the bride in her wedding dress before the ceremony. Way before. Years before. Before her wedding date was even a glimmer in her bizarre brain. This should not cause any bad luck though, as he is not the groom. So that old superstition doesn't apply. He is merely a guest. The bride's closest friend. And her preferred pep-talk bestower. The only person Liz is willing to talk to at this juncture. It takes a fair bit of knocking and cajoling but eventually she unlocks the door and allows him into the lavish lavatory where she has squirreled herself away. Jenna tries to squeeze in behind him but Liz calls out, "Just Jack!". So he wrestles the door shut and puts his back against it. She is sitting in a slumped heap on the fluffy hotel bathmat, her ham napkin pooled about her, her hair upswept, her make-up half ruined with rubbing at tears and an enormous bowl of candy in her lap.
Jack releases a large breath. "Well, Lemon."
She looks up at him, hugging the bowl of candy closer. "You know you can't call me that after today. Won't be my name anymore."
"So you are intending to go through with the ceremony?" he asks, his spine relaxing.
She pauses, forehead furrowed. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Jack waves a hand at the door, indicating the world beyond her little sanctuary. "Well, you've been locked in here for the past hour, refusing to talk to anyone or come out. Your guests have all arrived and are waiting. Your fiancé has no clue what on earth is going on. The minister has a funeral to officiate over in twenty-five minutes. Meanwhile, Jenna is passing out Mexican muscle-relaxants to the entire wedding party which they may need very shortly as she is also threatening to start singing love ballads to fill in time. Your wedding – the one you've been waiting and wishing for, for all these years – is on the verge of being cancelled."
Her brow furrows further, her head bowing. "I just…needed a little time, I need to be alone for awhile."
"Haven't you been alone long enough?" he asks. "Isn't that why you're getting married?"
"Hey!" Her head snaps up again, her eyes narrowed. "I let you in here to give me a proper pep talk, not to…do that thing you do where you make me feel like a moron."
"You'll get your pep talk," Jack tells her. He takes a tentative step towards her, reaching out both hands. "But first…give me the candy."
Liz tucks the bowl into her side, guarding it warily. "No. I need it."
Jack encroaches on her cautiously, waggling his fingers. "Come on, Lemon. You can do it. Hand it over."
Her grip starts to loosen, her expression relenting. Jack curls one hand around the bowl, causing her to plunge her hand in, desperately grabbing one last handful as he draws it away. "Wait, no, wait-!" She pops some candy in her mouth, grabs some more then finally gives a nod, relinquishing her hold and allowing him to place the bowl on the marble basin.
Jack turns back to her, puts out his hand. "Now give me your hand."
Liz stops shoving the candy in her mouth and blinks up at him. Her lips part, the inside of them stained a wicked purple. She throws the last few bits of candy into her mouth, chomping down on them as she gives him her hand. He pulls her to her feet, retaining his hold on her hand so as to keep her steady while she slips her shoes back on. Then she straightens, withdrawing her hand from his and running it over the skirt of her wedding gown.
"Am I all wrinkled?" she asks, standing a little lopsided and still chewing.
"You're fine," Jack says with a small smile. "You're…" he pauses, a little lost for words. "You look lovely, Lemon. Quite…beautiful."
"I don't look ridiculous?" she mutters with a dubious shrug. "Like a 40-something-year-old nerd way past acceptable bride age?"
Jack shakes his head. "You don't look ridiculous. Believe me."
She blinks a few times, ducks her head. "Jack- did you…did you get all nervous right before? Right before you got married?"
"Of course," he nods, fingering the ring on his left hand. "Everyone does. To some degree. But I knew what I wanted." He leans a little closer to add, "And so do you."
Liz gives a little shudder, seemingly trying to shake off her fears. "Yeah. I don't know. I just…I can't stop thinking that if it felt…perfect…then it would be easy. That it should be easy. Then I wouldn't be having all these…feelings. I'd be sure. I'd know." She looks at him, tips her head to one side. "You know?"
"I'm not certain it works that way," he replies gently. "There are no guarantees here. Sometimes, you just have to leap."
"I have to leap?" she asks, eyebrows raised in alarm. "Marriage is a leap? No one ever told me that. I don't think I'm made for leaping. Leaping sounds very dangerous."
"But what if the leap works out?"
"What if it doesn't?"
"Listen to me, Lemon. Bottom line-" Jack takes one of her hands in his, gives it a reassuring squeeze, "You love him. Right? You want to be with him, you want the life he wants."
She takes a breath, then nods once. "I do."
"And he loves you," he goes on, voice pressing, inciting. "And he's out there, waiting for you, waiting to say I do, waiting to give you what you've always wanted. This is it, Lemon! This is your day. Your moment. All you have to do is walk out there, say a few nice things about love and then we can all go eat."
"Well, that's just unfair," she grumbles sullenly. "Baiting me with food when you've taken my candy away."
Jack smiles, draws in a breath. "So. What do you think? Want to get married?"
"Today?"
"Ideally."
"Not to you though, right?"
"Clock's ticking, Lemon."
Liz is silent a moment. "I do want this. Of course I do. I…want to be happy."
His hand squeezes hers again, then releases it. "You deserve to be."
She looks up, studying him a moment, eyes indecisive. "Jack-"
He holds her gaze. "Yes, Lemon."
"I-" She hesitates then proceeds, faltering with every few words, "You know my dad can't walk me down the aisle because of his hip operation and my mom gets chronic stage-fright in front of even small groups of people. She starts sneezing and wheezing and all this mucus just-"
"Lemon."
"Right," she nods, hurrying herself along. "Well…I know I'll be okay once I get there. They'll be seated up front. And he'll be there and I'll be fine when I see his face. But…would you…walk with me? I'll be calm if you're there, I'll be…sure. And I know you won't let me do anything idiotic like trip over my dress or try to make a break for it."
Jack's face melts into a grin. "Whatever you wish, Lemon. This is your day. And I'd be honored."
She gives a sigh of relief. "Good, okay, thankyou. And if I start to slouch, just tell me to stand up straight, alright?"
"I will."
Liz shifts on her feet a few times then raises her arms, a hopeful expression on her face. "Wanna hug it out? One last buddy hug before I'm no longer a Lemon?"
Jack opens his arms, moving in and only telling her when his lips are against her hair: "You'll always be Lemon to me."
Her chest shakes with quiet laughter and his arms clasp her a bit tighter, so his chin can tuck into her shoulder while her arms relax on his shoulders. They stay there, like that, for more than a moment, before they must move on. Silence envelops the embrace, weighty and unfamiliar as they breathe against each other. Then finally, slowly, they pull back. Liz taps him on the shoulder with one hand as she lowers her heels back to the floor. Jack's eyes run over her face. He gently grasps her chin with one hand, pulling her face towards him. He kisses her once, mouth on mouth, lip lightly touching lip. The kiss lingers and lasts. But it is completely innocent, devoid of anything other than genuine, unique affection. It's the kiss of a friend, the kiss of a soulmate, the kiss of someone who knows…everything. And though it only lasts a few moments, it fills twice as many heartbeats and puts a period at the end of many years' friendship.
After they part, Liz opens and shuts her mouth a few times. Then she claps her hands together awkwardly. "Ooookay then. Let's go get married, huh? Not you. Me. I'm the one getting married. But you'll-"
"I'll be there," he finishes for her, a small smile on his lips.
"Great! Let's do it." She slips past him, looking over her shoulder as she unlocks the door. "Ah- bring the candy though. Just in case."
Jack eyes her sideways. "You're not planning on walking down the aisle with it, are you?"
"I might."
"You can't."
"Hey," she demands sharply, "whose day is this?"
"Yours," he answers, handing over the bowl. "It's your day, Lemon."
She accepts it, giving a satisfied huff. "And don't you forget it. Any dude who marries me, also marries my food. It's part of the deal. It's even in the vows." She rattles the candy bowl in her arms. "Til death do us part."
Jack chuckles, the sound intimate and affectionate. His hand reaches for the doorknob but pauses there. "I must say, Lemon. It has been a pleasure fighting with you."
She smiles back at him, eyes glowing with warmth. "Always, Jackie."
A moment later, she gives him a tiny nod and he opens the door. Then Jack bends to collect handfuls of her ham napkin, following as she heads toward her brand new life.
END.