Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 70th cycle. Now cycle 71!

"Bells Are Ringing"
Sam/Rachel, Nell, etc
Sam & Nell, Samchel series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

The days had been ticking away at an alarming speed, faster than felt natural, and before they knew it, the chosen date was upon them. Today, Rachel and Sam were going to be married.

They had been parted since after dinner the night before, when Sam had taken his things and gone to spend the night at one of his band mates' house, so he and Rachel wouldn't see each other until she came down the aisle. Her friend Allison would have been happy to take her in for the night, too, but it had been decided it was better that Rachel be amongst her own things, the morning she had to start getting 'bride ready.' This also meant that she had Nell to get ready, too, which was more than fine.

Before long, the house had been invaded by bridesmaids and the fathers of the bride. Everyone would be ready and out the door in time, and that was a guarantee from the bride. They almost had to tie her to a chair so she would sit still and let them look after her, rather than have her running off to help the others.

Nell had not gotten over how pretty her little dress was to her. The moment they'd put it on her, she'd started walking around like someone had draped her in the most precious thing in the world. And on that morning, when they'd done up her blond hair and everything, she was properly in heaven… she was a princess. Rachel, as a present for the wedding, had gotten her a sparkling tiara, to complete the effect. When she'd come into the room to show Rachel, it had taken the bride all the strength in the world not to burst into tears and wreck her makeup at the sight of her.

She was causing some tears, too, at least for her fathers, who saw her all done up and bride like, and had not stopped gasping, and hugging, and complimenting her, amid constant happy sobs. With how busy they had all been, planning and buying, it had not felt like a wedding so much as a giant event. But today was the day, and everyone was putting on the clothes, doing the hair… and without realizing it she had turned into a bride, and it was official… she was getting married.

"Mommy, look!" Nell held up a small piece of paper from the small drawstring bag they had given her for the day. They were just getting in the car now, to go to the church, when she held it to her.

"What's this?" Rachel asked, taking it.

"It was in my bag!" she declared. Rachel unfolded it and smiled. "What is it?" Nell asked, trying desperately to see. Rachel showed it to her.

"It's from your father, see?"

"What does it say?"

"It says 'Can't wait to see you both. I love you,'" she read out, and Nell smiled.

It seemed like only yesterday that their story had begun, two kids in school, only it had been revealed one of them was also a parent. They had started spending more time together, and those times had involved spending time with Nell as much as it did spending time with Sam. The little girl sitting by her side now had been a baby still, when they had started. She hadn't suspected she would grow to be her mother, to love her as a daughter.

She still made sure that Nell knew she'd had another mother before, even if she'd never met her. They hadn't known whether Nell truly understood it at first, but she did now. A lot of the credit, along with both Sam and Rachel telling her about her birth mother, had to go to Summer's parents, who had not let their daughter's death go in vain. Instead, they had become a valued part of Nell's life. They had visited up to New York a few times already, and they would be in attendance at the wedding today.

Rachel thought about everything that had happened since they had become a couple, through those last years of school together at McKinley, to the long year apart, her in New York and the rest of her little family back in Lima. That they had come out on the other side, so strong, was a testament to everything they were for each other, and this wedding was only going to take them further. Today here they were, her at NYADA, him at culinary school, working at the restaurant. His boss and mentor, Chef Lydia, had even insisted on doing the catering, free of charge, as her gift to them.

They were ready for this, and that thought filled her with a feeling of ease as she began down the aisle, with her fathers on either side of her. She saw Sam at the front of the aisle, and she could hardly tell what his face looked like at the moment, as she could barely see through her tears.

"Slow and steady," Hiram told his daughter softly with a smile.

"Yes, Dad," she smiled back.

They made it along the aisle, and now that she was standing next to him, she could finally see her groom's face. She didn't know that she'd ever been so happy to have him there with her. She had never once doubted that they were ready for this, and neither did he. If it had been a couple years back, they might have said they were willing, but they wouldn't have been ready, not the way they were now. They had become a family together, and now they would make it official. It was going to take them forward, but it wasn't going to change them.

"Thanks for the note," she whispered when she had the chance, and he passed her a smirk.

"I knew you'd like that," he whispered back.

"It is kind of your thing, isn't it? Leaving me notes," she thought of their engagement.

"You made the connection, good."

"I did. And I'm keeping this one, too."

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!