Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it?

Author's Note: Well, it's finally here! We now get to take the journey inside Wanda's mind and find out what she was up to while her father was doing his dirty work.

I have to admit that I was a bit paranoid about posting this. I'm not going to say why because I know none of you want to read an insanely long author's note. I'll just let the readers prove me right or wrong.

I Can See It in Your Eyes

"Isn't this great, Wanda?" Cosmo said excitedly, reminding me of an enthusiastic ten-year-old. Cosmo had proposed to me the day before, and the two of us decided to be spontaneous and get married in less than a week. It wouldn't have been hard to do—weddings are astonishingly easy to plan with magic—but it must have been just as unreal to him as it was to me.

"It is," I sighed. "But there's still something we have to do before the wedding."

Cosmo gulped, "You mean…?"

I nodded.

Both Cosmo and I weren't exactly looking forward to telling my family about out us. I know my father better than anyone in the world, and I can picture exactly how he's going to react. He will, simply put, explode. He didn't even know Cosmo and I were dating! I don't know what we were thinking, putting it off for so long. It could only mean that he'd be angrier.

But, with an optimistic attitude, I figured that I could try to explain how much all of this meant to me. He'd have to listen, right? I'm his daughter, after all.

"Do we really have to do this Wanda?"

Poor Cosmo! As soon as I told him that my father was the Big Daddy, he's been terrified of meeting him.

"Yes," I answered. "It means everything to me to have my family at our wedding, you know that."

Cosmo sighed. "I know. But what if he hates me?"

"Oh, he'll love you, Sweetie," I reassured him, although I highly doubted that it was true. "Everything will be fine."

My fiancé sighed. "Let's get this over with."

This wasn't going as well as I'd hoped.

"All I want is for you to reconsider, Darlin'," Daddy was saying. "Do you really want to spend your life with a total idiot?"

I could actually hear Cosmo shaking behind the coat rack in Daddy's office. I couldn't blame him; my father was being so mean to both of us!

"Don't say that!" I yelled, extremely upset with Daddy's behavior. I decided to try explaining how much Cosmo really meant to me. "I love him, Daddy, and—"

"That's enough right there, Missy!"

"But, Daddy--" I felt tears running down my face as my father interrupted me again.

"Get out of my office! The both of you!"

Cosmo immediately swooshed his wand, bringing us back to his mother's house. I was glad Luna and Daisy still had Mamma Cosma held captive. It'd be awful to have to deal with her and my father.

"Are you okay?" I asked Cosmo, who still had a frightened look in his eyes.

Cosmo kept his distance, looking terrified of me.

"Cosmo, what's wrong?"

"I—I don't want to do anything to make him mad."

I flew over to the broken man and took him in my arms. "Don't you worry about him, Cosmo."

"I love you, Wanda."

"I love you, too." I said softly. "And nothing, not even my control freak of a father, will ever change that."

"No! No way! Nuh-uh! I am not going!"

I knew Cosmo was going to have that reaction. In truth, I was kind of hoping he would.

The next day, Daddy had asked Cosmo and I to join him and my uncles at Franky's. After he'd hurt both of us so much, I didn't see how he could expect us to say yes, but I didn't want to leave him hanging. I was hoping that maybe he wasn't lying to me when he said he wanted to apologize. And if I blew off his apology, I'd never forgive myself.

"Cosmo, please, just do this for me?"

Cosmo gave me a skeptical look. "Why do you want this so bad?"

"I want to show Daddy that you're not as awful as he thinks you are."

"Wanda…"

"Cosmo, please! This means so much to me!"

I would have given anything if Daddy could accept Cosmo into our family.

My fiancé gave in. "What do I have to do?"

I jumped up and hugged Cosmo. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

After I had released him, Cosmo said, "That still doesn't answer my question."

"All you have to do is show up," I answered. "I'll handle the rest."

As Uncle Carmine and my father were whispering at each other on the other side of the table, I suddenly felt more nervous than ever before. What were they saying? Was it about Cosmo? Was it good? Maybe it was just plain awful.

I felt Cosmo's hand reach for mine from under the table. While I really appreciated the gesture, I pulled mine away. "Don't make them hate you more, Cosmo," I whispered.

Cosmo gave an apologetic smile and shrunk farther down behind his menu.

"What can I get for yous?" Franky was asking my family. They ordered their eggplant parmigiana, and when Franky turned to me, the only answer I gave was a hand signal. How did any of them expect me to eat at a time like this?

The only person left was Cosmo.

Cosmo slowly lowered the menu. "I'll—I'll have—"

Thinking quickly, I cut him off, saying, "He'll have the cheapest thing on the menu."

Cosmo looked at me questioningly. I winked back, letting him know that I knew what I was doing. I knew Daddy didn't really want to spend any money on Cosmo, so I went with the least amount I could. And I knew Cosmo would be happy with the choice. Franky's calzones were always extra cheesy.

My uncles turned to my father now, anxiously waiting to hear what he would have to say, just as they always did when it came to business of any kind.

"So, Cosmo. What do you and Wanda plan on doing after the wedding?"

Cosmo and I had planned for that question before we arrived. We wanted to get into godparenting, and I told him to say just that. Unfortunately, Cosmo didn't do so great under pressure.

"Uh…um…four?"

Uncle Piero rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Oh, he's a bright one."

I glared at my uncle to let him know I'd heard him. "We want to become godparents," I answered as I took a sip of water.

"I see," Daddy nodded, his eyes fixed on Cosmo. "May I ask how a career in godparenting is going to help you run the family business"

I choked into my glass. I knew there was something I'd forgotten to warn him about!

Cosmo stammered in response, which gave Daddy the cue to start his "In This Family" speech.

I've heard Daddy go on about that so many times before. It was the way he got all of Blonda's boyfriends to leave her alone. Not feeling the need to pay attention to Daddy, I glanced at my uncles and tried to find out what they were thinking. While Uncle Carmine had his eyes glued to my father, Uncle Piero was staring at me with the oddest expression on his face. As soon as he saw me looking back, though, he turned away.

As Daddy was finishing his speech, I spoke up before Cosmo could respond. Having plenty of experience with this before, I knew that the fiancé's answer was never the right one. "You're not being fair!"

"Hey! If I say it's fair, it's fair! Ain't that right, boys?"

I saw Uncle Piero nod, but he hesitated slightly before doing so.

Franky brought the food over, and it couldn't have happened soon enough. Cosmo looked elated when he saw the calzone on his plate. He smiled at me before he dug in.

I was happy for that brief moment, and then I looked at Uncle Carmine. He seemed disgusted by Cosmo's eating habits, which was not a good sign.

Daddy shocked me with his next question. "You do know that the man should call the shots in this family, don't you?"

Cosmo swallowed the cheese in his mouth and mumbled, "I really don't think so."

His answer wasn't loud enough for anyone else to hear.

"I said I really don't think so."

The look on my father's face assured me that I wasn't going to like what happened next. I stopped whatever it was before it could begin. "Daddy, why are you doing this?"

I hadn't realized my voice would sound so desperate, but it did. I could practically feel Cosmo getting nervous next to me.

"Let the boy continue!"

"I—I just wanted you to like me."

What Daddy said next is something I'll never forget.

"Like you?" he laughed. "From the minute I saw you I knew I didn't like you."

Uncle Piero flinched, but he never spoke up. I felt myself thinking that he should step up and be the man for once. He doesn't need to be afraid of Daddy, he's the oldest brother!

"Stop it!" I felt my eyes stinging. "Cosmo hasn't done a single thing to you!"

"If only you knew, my daughter, the things you've put me through."

Okay, now that just wasn't fair! I'd done a pretty decent job of staying out of Daddy's hair until I announced my engagement.

Just as I was about to say that to my father, Cosmo jumped up from his chair and totally shocked me. "You have no right to talk to Wanda like that! She doesn't deserve this!" my fiancé shouted. At the end, he tacked on a softer, "And I don't deserve this either."

I wanted to jump up on Cosmo right then and there, but Daddy instantly lowered my spirits. "Don't have any right? I have every right, Cosmo! I am her father. I call the shots around here! I'm Big Daddy!"

And off he went, having another ego attack.

I opened my mouth to stop him, but Cosmo beat me to it. "But that still doesn't—"

"And another thing!" Daddy interrupted. I came so close to killing him! "How do you expect me to like you when you can't even get a straight answer to anything?"

I stood up next to my obviously nervous husband-to-be. "Maybe he wouldn't sound like that if you would just stop harassing him!"

"Face it, Wanda!" Daddy's voice was getting louder by the second. "He's an idiot!"

Cosmo said exactly what I was thinking. "I'm not stupid."

With that, Franky flew up and accused us of scaring away his money. I didn't even want to be in the same era as my father anymore, so I grabbed Cosmo's arm and poofed the two of us away from there.

"I'm so sorry, Wanda."

For some reason, Cosmo felt the need to tell me that every chance he could get. The night before, I had just wanted to sleep, so Cosmo let me be until I woke up that afternoon. Now, though, he was following me around like a hyperactive puppy.

This time I turned around. "What are you sorry for?"

"For being stupid. I didn't mean to disappoint you."

I softened and took the man in my arms. "Sweetie, you didn't do a single thing wrong at that restaurant."

"I didn't?" Cosmo asked, almost shocked, as he pulled away from me.

"It was them…my stupid family…they were the wrong ones."

I felt a clump of my hair fall loose from the swirl, and Cosmo tucked it behind my right ear. "I'm sorry. I know how much it means to you that they liked me. It means a lot me, too."

We were silent for a minute, and then I asked the question that had been lingering in my mind since we'd left the steakhouse. "Cosmo, what made you stand up to my father?"

Cosmo hung his head down and mumbled, "You were crying."

"Oh, Cosmo…"

This is what I didn't understand. Cosmo was the sweetest, most caring fairy I'd ever met. He was able to give me more than I could have ever dreamed of having. He gave me the attention I'd craved from my father, and then some. And Daddy couldn't think about anyone but himself and his stupid business.

And the way he was hurting Cosmo…gosh, anyone with eyes could see it! That stung worse than anything I'd ever heard of. And my own father was causing it.

The clock on the wall struck one. I sighed as I said, "I'd better go. Luna and Daisy wanted to help me look for a dress, and knowing their shopping habits it's best I leave early."

"He didn't!"

"He did," I sighed. As soon as I let it slip that Daddy had dragged Cosmo and I out to Franky's, Luna and Daisy wouldn't shut up about it. So I gave them the play-by-play, and they had gotten really interested when I told them how Cosmo stood up to my threatening father.

"Oh, Wanda!" Luna cried. "How did he dare?"

Daisy looked worried. "Cosmo's still alive, isn't he?"

"Daddy didn't go that far," I answered as I examined the beads on one dress. "Thank heavens."

"Wanda, you're so lucky!" Luna leaned against the soft green walls of the bridal shop. "Binky doesn't have the nerve to stand up to a dandelion."

"What drove him to do it, anyway?"

"He said it was because of how upset I was," I answered, still in awe at what Cosmo had done.

Daisy laughed in disbelief. "And you're father hates him."

My eyes were still fixed on the beads. "I think it's something about wanting someone smart to take over the business when he's done with it."

"Now I see his point."

"I hate to say it," Luna added, "but Cosmo really isn't the brightest penny in the ransom money, if you get what I mean."

I rolled my eyes at my friend's corny Mafia remark and said, "Well, I know that, but there's still so many other people he could have given it to."

Daisy was examining a strapless dress nearby. "Multiple marriages are illegal, even Blonda knows that. Hey, what do you think of the sequins on this?"

"Nice," Luna nodded at the dress.

"I'm not even talking about Blonda," I answered. "Any one of my cousins would be dying to do it. I don't see why he just doesn't give it to one of them. And I'm not one for the shimmering, Daisy."

Daisy nodded and moved on to another dress. "Tradition, maybe?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go with that," Luna was now on the other side of the room. "Oh my gosh, Wanda, you'd look like a model in this!"

I hurried over to the dress Luna was talking about, and I had to admit that the number was astounding.

"Don't even try and tell me you don't like this," Daisy stroked the material. "I know it's your type, Wanda."

A curly haired saleslady came up to us. "You gonna need that fitted?"

I could barely hear the girl. All I could think about was standing next to Cosmo; he in his tux, and myself in that dress.

"No," I answered. "All I need is the price."

The rest of the day, unfortunately, did not go as well as dress shopping.

The first thing I saw when I got back to my house was Uncle Piero standing in the doorway with an urgent look on his face. Before I could even think to ask what was going on, he told me the story.

"Your father sort of 'borrowed' Cosmo for the day…sent your cousins out with him to Uncle Knuckle's…and the three of us, we had to spy on them…and they all liked Cosmo…but Big Daddy didn't—"

"What. Is. Going. On." I asked slowly, hoping my uncle would calm down and stop talking a mile a minute.

When we heard Cousin Genaro's voice coming from the back lot of the company, I turned around to face that direction and tried as best as I could to listen. I could only pick up bits of the sentences, though. "Really…doesn't matter…he'll come around…we still…just go and…she won't…okay, see you around."

I turned back to face my uncle, but all I got was an eyeful of the front door.

I poofed myself down to the lot just as Cosmo was about to leave. My cousin looked almost nervous to see me there. "W—Wanda!" Genaro stammered. "What brings you here?"

I looked over at Cosmo, who was trying to hide behind one of the trucks.

"What happened?" I whispered, keeping my eyes on the truck.

"You—you see…" Genaro stammered, but my great uncle held a hand up to silence him.

The story Uncle Sal told me was not the one I wanted to hear. Genaro, Vinny, Tony, Dominic, and Uncle Sal took Cosmo out to Uncle Knuckle's Chuckle Bunker, where Daddy, Uncle Piero, and Uncle Carmine would spy on them. When Cosmo was talking about how much he loved me—how much he loved me—my father had lost it and blew up the entire building.

I didn't care about the spying. I hardly even noticed the part about the spying. All I was thinking was that my own father hated the man who loved me.

I didn't glance Uncle Sal's way once. All I saw was a shaking green-haired fairy hiding behind a garbage truck.

Later that night, Cosmo and I were sitting in his bedroom, discussing what had happened that day.

"—and he just stared at me like I was the worst thing he'd ever seen!" Cosmo was downright miserable. "Wanda, it was like he was trying to kill me with his eyes!"

I couldn't talk—I knew that if I opened my mouth I'd start crying—so I just hugged Cosmo tighter.

"I don't think I can marry you if it's going to make your father so upset, Wanda. I don't think I can live with this much longer."

I let go of Cosmo and straightened my back so I was staring in his eyes. "He can't hate you forever."

Cosmo blinked. "I'm not talking about him hating me."

"What else is he doing?" I asked. Was there something I had missed? Did Uncle Sal forget to tell me something?

Cosmo was speaking so softly I could just barely hear him. "He's hurting you."

"Wh—what?"

"Wanda, I know you're trying hard not to cry right now," Cosmo said, stroking my hand, something he had always been too shy to do, always afraid that he'd do something wrong. "I know you don't want me to see it, but I can. I can always see those things when it comes to you. It's the one thing I'm good at."

I was going to say that he was wrong, but Cosmo wouldn't let me speak.

"Big Daddy is being mean to me, I know, but what he's doing to you is worse. Not a single day has gone by since I met him that I didn't see you trying not to cry. Don't try to say you weren't," Cosmo tacked on when I opened my mouth to try and speak again, "I can see it in your eyes."

"Cosmo, really, it's—"

"Wanda, you don't have to be so tough with me!" Cosmo yelled, jumping up. "You're not helping anyone by holding this all in, not even yourself! The fact is that your father hurting you is making you hurt yourself! And that—" Cosmo fell back onto the bed, landing so gently that the mattress barely moved. "—it hurts."

There was so much I wanted to say, but all I couldn't seem to do it. All I could do was stare in his big green eyes and wonder how my father gained enough power to stab two fairies at once.

"How could anyone be heartless enough to hurt such a wonderful woman?"

I couldn't move. This was what I'd wanted ever since I'd heard the story of Cinderella.

"Why are you staring at me?" Cosmo asked after a while.

My eyes remained fixed in their place. "You can cry, too, Cosmo."

With that, the two of us fell on each other and let the tears fall on our shoulders.

The next thing I knew, Mamma Cosma's old clock was stricking one as I was waking up. The first things I saw were Cosmo's bloodshot eyes staring at me.

"Are you okay?" Cosmo asked. He wouldn't have known anything that had happened. Cosmo refuses to sleep in the same room as me until we're married.

I sat up in bed so our eyes were level. "I—I'm sorry I was hurting you, Cosmo."

"Wanda, don't talk about last night." Cosmo said. "You were right from the beginning; everything is going to be fine."

Now there was the optimistic Cosmo I knew and loved!

"You're right, Sweetie," I responded. "It's all going to work out."

That night, I was up in my room, flipping through one of Blonda's old magazines, trying to find something to do with my hair for the wedding. It was hard to believe that it was two days away.

There was a knock on the already opened door. I hoped to see Daddy there, ready to apologize, but all I got was Uncle Carmine.

"Hi," I said, returning to the magazine.

"Hey, Wanda. You think I can come in?"

"If you want."

Uncle Carmine cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you and I might wanna…um…go…out? Yeah, out…"

The way my uncle was talking made me suspicious. "Where's Daddy and Uncle Piero?"

Uncle Carmine's face went white. "Oh, they're, uh…they…"

"They…"

"They're out…shoe shopping."

I put the magazine down and got up off the bed. "I'm not stupid, Uncle Carmine."

"You got me," he answered. "They went bowling."

"Uncle Piero hates bowling."

"Then they're not bowling! Who gave you the right to interrogate me?"

Just as I was about to ask what was going on again, Cosmo burst through the doorway and grabbed onto me. "Wanda, I'm so sorry!"

I can't believe it was possible, but Uncle Carmine's face got even paler. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be out having—"

"What is going on!" I yelled.

Cosmo looked absolutely terrified. "Wanda, your father brought me to this really scary lady and she took me to this bad place and started doing stuff to me and I said no and she wouldn't let me leave and—"

"Stop talking!" Uncle Carmine hissed. Cosmo let go and shrunk into the corner.

I glared at my uncle. "Daddy did what?" I said, trying not to hurt anyone.

"Nothing, Wanda, the boy's just—"

I knew what to say to get it out of him. "Don't make me turn off your wand!"

Uncle Carmine gave in. "Before I tell you anything, you should know that Piero isn't the one you should be mad at…he didn't do anything."

"So Uncle Piero had nothing at all to do with the slut?"

Uncle Carmine wasn't used to hearing me use a word like that, so he choked a bit before saying, "Well…look, Wanda, just let me explain."

I glanced over at Cosmo. "Why don't you go home, Sweetie."

Cosmo looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he just poofed away.

"I'm listening."

Uncle Carmine sighed. "The story starts the day when you told us about Cosmo. Piero saw how angry your father was, so he tried to—"

"You said that Uncle Piero had nothing to do with this!" I interrupted.

"I know, and it's true…just listen."

I nodded.

"Piero decided that we should try to get rid of Cosmo because…well, we really didn't like him much either. So we tried to come up with the best way to scare him off, and we figured that interrogating him at Franky's would have worked well enough."

"So you two were helping my father torture Cosmo?"

"We didn't want to, it was just hard to say no to--Wanda, don't give me that look!"

I knew perfectly well what look it was. It was the "I-can't-believe-you're-doing-this-to-me" look. I'd picked it up from my mother, who used it when Daddy refused to buy her yet another expensive necklace. It drives everyone crazy when I use it.

After I didn't respond, Uncle Carmine continued. "When we got back from the restaurant, Piero came up with Uncle Knuckle's idea, so we were sitting there trying to figure out who we were gonna introduce Cosmo to. And when we finished, Piero disappeared. When I found him, he was talking to the people that we'd chosen to invite, saying that no matter what Big Daddy tells them to do, they have to accept Cosmo."

"What?" Uncle Piero never had the nerve to stand up to my father. "But…how?"

"He told me it was because he knew how much it meant to you, and how upset you were at Franky's."

So that's why he'd been staring at me! "But if he knew that, then why make Cosmo go to some—"

"Don't say that word again!" Uncle Carmine stopped me.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry. It's just that you're still Little Wanda to me…and Piero feels the same way, that's why he decided that Celia should get involved. He wanted to make sure Cosmo would treat you right…see if he was honorable."

"Why couldn't you both just trust me?"

"You're right, we should have," Uncle Carmine answered. "We're just trying to protect you…and deep down I think that's what your father…buon Dio, you're father!"

"What?"

Uncle Carmine didn't answer me, he just poofed away.

I flopped down on the bed and cried at the ceiling. Uncle Piero and Uncle Carmine had risked losing their jobs just so Cosmo and I could be happy. Instantly, I felt horrible for being so angry at them. They were helping me in their own twisted ways, and I should have been thankful.

But, still, the biggest of problems weren't going to make them stand up to my father. And he was the one I really needed to see.

What felt like hours later, I was in Daddy's office. He didn't notice me at first, he was staring into the old photo album that Blonda and I used to flip through when we were younger. When he finally saw me there, he closed the book and faced me. "You hate me, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." I didn't mean to sound so angry, but something like that is hard to disguise.

"I just don't—"

I wasn't going to listen to any of my father's nonsense. "Let me tell my side of the story!"

Daddy nodded, which was something I hadn't expected him to do. I'd probably sounded worse than I thought.

"Tonight, while Uncle Carmine was feeding me every lie he could come up with, Cosmo practically exploded into my bedroom and clung to me, begging for my forgiveness. When I asked him what was going on, he said something about a girl dragging him off to God knows where."

"Wanda—"

"No, let me finish!" I didn't want to hear anything he had to say until I was done. "Uncle Carmine broke down and told me everything that's been going on these past few days. How you hired that hussy to get Cosmo away from me, how you planned to get into that argument at Franky's, and how you dragged him and Piero into this!"

I went on for a while longer, trying to ignore all of Daddy's interruptions. I didn't realize I was still crying until Daddy yelled out, "He should have asked my permission!"

"Don't interrupt me!" I shouted for what felt like the thousandth time. "The way you reacted that day was just too much for me. You were mad at me because you didn't like the man I loved."

"Would you stop saying that?" Daddy's face went red.

"No! I'm an adult now! I'm smart enough to know an amazing man when I see one!" I was thinking of everything that Cosmo had done for me despite Daddy's plans, and that only made me angrier. "He didn't deserve your stupid plots! He didn't deserve the pain you put him through! He doesn't deserve a father-in-law as shallow as you!"

"I will never consider that thing to be my son-in-law!"

"I've been crying every single night, every night, because of this!" I didn't know it was possible, but my voice was getting even louder. "And Cosmo has been fighting back tears constantly, not only because of how mean you're being to him, but because he can't stand to see how upset you're making me." I went on with that for a little while longer, quoting Cosmo from the night before.

"He doesn't know what he's saying!"

"He loves me more than anything, Daddy!" My throat was starting to hurt, so I lowered the volume. "Why can't you see that?"

"Because I love you more than anything."

I thought Daddy was lying at first. "If you loved me, you would—"

"Sweetheart, you don't have any idea what this is doing to me," Daddy continued. "I've been staying up half the night worried sick about you and what you're doing. You're the most important thing in the world to me, and I don't wanna lose you."

I was more shocked then than any other moment in my life. All those years of chasing away Blonda's boyfriends, I was the one my father cared about most. I have to say that I almost didn't believe it. I tried as best I could to question him. "But—but what about Blonda?" I stammered. I don't even know what I tried to say to follow that up with, but I do remember what Daddy said after it. And I'll never forget it.

"Blonda is your mother's daughter. Always being such a temperamental priss. You...you're the child I've wanted since I started this business all those years ago. I could never mold your sister into what I wanted her to be. You just have it in your blood. And there was a whole lot more to you, too. After your mother left me, you were the only girl I had. Blonda was always busy working on her stupid annunciation. You were all mine, Wanda. You still are. And--and seeing Cosmo take you away from me is just—I can't take it, Wanda. Why do you have to leave me? Why'd you have to love someone else?"

Something clicked in my mind when he said that. He doesn't hate Cosmo, he just thinks that me loving Cosmo is going to make me hate him. I couldn't believe that I didn't see that right from the start.

I saw my father's eyes misting when I said, "I'm not leaving you, Daddy."

"Well it feels like you are." I could tell by the sound of my father's voice that he was trying his hardest not to cry. "I've tried to do everything I could to make you happy. And now you're done with me, and you have Cosmo to look after you. It's like you don't even want me anymore."

I'd only seen that look on his face once before. It was the day when my mother left. He really did think I was stepping out of his life. I had to assure him otherwise.

"Just because I'm marrying Cosmo doesn't mean I don't love you," I spoke gently. "Even if I know Cosmo will never stop loving me, I'll always needyou in my life. You're my Daddy, and nothing will ever change that."

The room was silent for what felt like hours. I didn't know what Daddy was going to say or do next, but I did know that the air in the room had completely changed. It was so peaceful now, like we'd finally cleared everything up between us.

"So why are you guys going into godparenting?"

I was thrilled to know that he wasn't mad anymore. "We don't think we're ready to have kids of our own yet." When Daddy looked ecstatic, I continued. "But we both want to be parents. We figured this would be the best practice."

"So does this mean you two won't…you know?"

I had to say it. "Well, there's still the honeymoon, Daddy."

With that, my father's face turned white.

About an hour later, after leaving Daddy's office, I caught Uncle Piero outside. When he heard me behind him, he turned around.

"Everything okay, Wanda?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Good," he said. "I was worried someone was gonna get hurt up there."

I gave a small laugh, and there were a few minutes of silence before I finally thanked my uncle. "I really appreciate what you did."

Uncle Piero gave me a questioning stare.

"Talking to Genaro and Tony and everyone before that day at Uncle Knuckle's Chuckle Bunker."

"Oh," Uncle Piero said. "That."

I flung my arms around my uncle. "You're the best."
"Hey, anything for my little canoli, eh?"

I smiled at the pet name Uncle Piero had used for as long as I could remember.

"I ran into your little friends the other day," Uncle Piero changed the subject. "They told me all about the dress you got. I'm sure you'll look beautiful in it."

I sighed contently, feeling confident about the dress. I could see the look on Cosmo's face when—oh my gosh, Cosmo!

"I have to go!" I said quickly. Before Uncle Piero had a chance to respond, I poofed myself into Cosmo's house.

The first thing Cosmo did when he saw me was stare at my eyes. "You were crying again."

"Oh, Sweetie, nothing bad happened."

"Then what did happen?" Cosmo asked in a worried tone. "You've been gone forever."

"Daddy and I talked and things are clearer between us now." Reflecting on the night made me add, "A lot clearer."

Cosmo kept his eyes fixed on mine. "I still don't trust him."

"Cosmo…"

"I just don't know, Wanda," he said.

It was really late, and I knew Cosmo was as tired as I was, so I sighed and said, "Look, it's late, why don't I tell you everything in the morning?"

By one o'clock the next afternoon, Cosmo had heard the entire story, from the story Uncle Carmine told me to thanking Uncle Piero. I don't think Cosmo said a single word throughout my telling; he'd just nod his head. It felt like his didn't want to miss a single word. Like…he was still trying to analyze my family as best he could to see how good they were to me.

When I'd finally finished, Cosmo had the biggest grin on his face. "Your uncles really like me?"

I was smiling just as wide. "They do Cosmo."

Cosmo didn't say anything else after that, which made me a bit confused. He never said anything about Daddy. I guessed that it was just hard for him to get used to the idea that Daddy really wasn't such a bad guy.

Finally, the silence was broken. "Wanda, are we—"

There was a knock on the door. "Hold that thought, Sweetie," I said as we went to answer it.

It had to be the most shocking thing I'd ever seen in my life. My father, instead of poofing in with "power and authority" like he always does, actually knocked on a door and waited to be allowed inside!

Cosmo, unfortunately, was more scared than amazed. He was cowering behind me as I asked, "Daddy? What are you doing here?"

"I, uh, I wanna talk to Cosmo for a few minutes."

I could tell by the look in his eyes what he was going to do. "Okay, sure."

I had to ignore the look on Cosmo's face. It would have made it really hard for me to leave his side to go eavesdrop in the kitchen.

My trembling fiancé spoke first. "Uh…hi?"

"Relax, would you?" I don't think Daddy understood the concept of calming someone down. "I came to…to…I want to say…"

"Y—yeah?"

With a bit of difficulty, Daddy finally said it. "I'm sorry."

I didn't think Cosmo's eyebrows went that high. "Really?"

"I was being a jerk, I know." Wow, I never thought Daddy would have admitted that! "It was just…well, it happened so fast, you know? And—"

"And you hate me."

Now I got why Cosmo didn't bring up Daddy earlier. He never said anything about liking him.

"I don't hate you, Cosmo. I just hated that…I'm sorry, okay? Can you forgive me?"

My mouth was going to hurt later from smiling so much.

"Yeah, okay."

I wasn't really paying attention to the rest of the conversation. While I was still completely thrilled to see that Cosmo and Daddy had cleared everything up, there was still something else I wanted to hear. It was definitely a bit far-fetched, and I knew it was unlikely that it would happen, but I couldn't help knowing that it should.

The odds must have been pretty good, because just as Daddy was leaving he said it. "You're part of the family now."

Everything was suddenly perfect.

As soon as Daddy left, Cosmo poofed his way into the kitchen and tackled me with a hug. "Wanda! He really does like me!"

I was just as enthusiastic as he was, but all I could do was laugh.

After a bit more celebration time, I asked Cosmo, "So, what were you saying before?"

Still smiling, Cosmo thought for a few seconds. "Oh, that. I was wondering if we're going to have someone make the toast at the wedding? You know, with a speech and everything?"

"Of course, Cosmo," I said. Of course, with only thirty hours of planning time left I didn't know who'd be sane enough to write something. I figured I could get Donna to do it. She was a pretty talented writer, and I knew she'd do anything as long as Cosmo and I were getting married.

"Okay," Cosmo said. "Then…do you think we could ask your Uncle Piero?"

Remember how I said a few minutes ago that everything was perfect? Now perfect got three times better. Uncle Piero was the best person to make the toast, and I knew he would love to have the job.

"Let's go ask him," I said cheerfully.

And with about six seconds of persuasion, Uncle Piero poofed up some paper and a pen and started writing.

"Hey, great wedding, guys." Luna said to Cosmo and I. "Totally clichèd, just the way I like 'em!"

"Yeah," Cosmo agreed, "but it would have been better if Mamma was here."

Luna slapped her forehead. "I knew Daisy and I had forgotten something."

While Luna hurried off to find her sister, Cosmo turned to me. "Enjoying the party?"

The wedding reception was great, and Uncle Piero's speech was amazing, but I hadn't seen anything of Daddy until I noticed him standing off in a corner. When Venus, Donna, and Summer started talking to Cosmo, I flew over towards my father and asked, "Daddy, aren't you going to join the rest of us?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, of course. I was busy doing…uh…"

The sound of his voice said it all. "You were crying, Daddy."

My father gave up trying to hide it from me. "It's just so hard for me to believe all of this."

I'd realized then what would happen after today. Cosmo and I would be moving into an apartment near the Fairy Academy until we'd finished our godparenting classes. I wasn't going to be living at home anymore. I was really going to leave.

I'd never thought about moving away from Daddy before, and all it made me do now was cling onto his shoulders. When I felt him shaking, I murmured, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too, Wanda."

"I can't believe it, Wanda!" Cosmo was saying over and over again in the "Just Fairied" car Uncle Sal had rented for us. "We're really married!"

I laughed. Thank heavens my great uncle had also volunteered to drive us back to the house to make sure we had all our things packed for the honeymoon. I don't think anyone else could have taken my husband's bubbly personality.

I just sighed and leaned my head on the window.

"Wanda?" Cosmo asked me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Cosmo," I answered. "I'm just…thinking." Thinking about where we'd go from here.

As if my uncle could read my mind, he said, "You two really don't have to leave. I'm sure your father would love it if you'd stay in the house."

Cosmo looked towards me. "We could if you want, Wanda."

"We can't," I answered. Living with Daddy would make it harder for me to leave again when we went off to our first godchild. And besides that, when Mamma Cosma found out we were married, she'd probably want to destroy me and I really don't think Daddy should have to see that in his own house.