Chapter 1
"Do you Scott take Molina to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
Everyone sat in the their chairs, some almost in tears at the sight before them. They watched as Scott Hall stood proudly, saying, "I do."
Shawn smiled and watched from the side, folding his hands together in front of him, hoping his friend was having a good time. He also happened to notice his other friends, staring happily as they waited beside Shawn, Kevin balancing a pillow with two small rings on top of it. Hunter tugged at the brim of his collar while Kid continued to stare at the happy couple.
"Do you Molina take Scott to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do." Molina said, her accent trailing on some words.
"Might I have the rings, please?" The Priest said, turning towards Kevin.
Kevin stepped forward, smiling, and carefully balanced the pillow in his hands as he walked towards the Priest, who then took the rings and placed them in his own hands. He held them near Scott and Molina's fingers as he began to talk some more.
As the ceremony continued, Hunter felt a tug on his suit and quickly looked over, seeing Kid smiling back at him. Hunter grinned and nudged his friend back, smiling wider as he continued to listen to the Priest say what he wanted to say as he continued the ceremonial vows.
"It's going good so far." Kid whispered.
Hunter shrugged and continued to stare at Scott and his bride, who smiled brightly as they exchanged vows to one another.
"With this ring, I fee wed..." Scott was mimicking the Preacher as he was being told what to say. "...To be loyal and faithful to you..."
Hunter cleared his throat silently so he wouldn't disturb the setting. He caught a glimpse of his wife sitting in the second row, staring at the scene with their three daughters sitting next to her. Their oldest, Aurora, was listening to the priest while the other two were looking elsewhere. Their youngest appeared annoyed as she sat on one of her legs in the chair. Hunter smiled and continued to support his friend despite having to think about going back to work in a few days.
"Now, with the powers vested in me and the Lord Jesus Christ...I now pronounce you husband and wife."
The Priest stepped back and everyone clapped as Scott leaned in and kissed his new wife.
A few hours later, Scott approached his friends who were now sitting down at a nearby table. He had just come from a long line of people giving him praises and thanks for the evening.
"Hey, guys," He said, walking up to the table. "Thanks for being my best men today."
"You're welcome." Shawn said.
Scott leaned over and hugged Shawn tightly, then hugged the rest of his friends as they gave their congratulations.
"Anytime, man." Kevin said.
"Our pleasure." Hunter said, shaking Scott's hand along with a slight hug.
"Just glad everything went okay." Kid said, laughing.
"I'm more nervous than you are." Scott said in a joking matter.
They all laughed as Scott sat down in a seat next to his friends. He looked at all of them, once they finished their laughter, and smiled. Shawn looked behind him and noticed his wife, Rebecca, standing with all the other women, laughing and talking.
"I should probably mention my toast later on is going to include all of us." Scott said to Kevin.
"Just make sure you tell one of your great Shawn stories." Kevin joked.
Shawn turned around and hit his friend lightly on the arm, playfully joking around with him until Hunter spoke up, "It's nice to have you here with us."
"Me too." Scott said, looking at his friends.
A few hours Later.
"Hunter, we need to tell them."
Stephanie stared at her husband and tried to get him to listen to her. But all she was doing was making things harder on the both of them.
"Can't this wait until tomorrow?" Hunter asked, grabbing his plate of food and eating a slice of apple.
"No," Stephanie scolded. "They're old enough now to understand why we have to move."
Hunter sighed and chewed lightly as he thought to himself. Then, he looked at his wife and asked, "How can I explain it to them? It's hard enough I'm leaving Shawn behind."
"These last few years in Texas have been great," Stephanie said, touching her husband's arm. "But we have to move or else we'll be taking a three hour flight to work every morning."
"You're right," Hunter said, nodding his head. "I don't want that to happen."
Stephanie stared into her husband's eyes before leaning in and listening to his heavy breathing.
"We'll talk about this tomorrow, okay?" She said.
"Okay."
Just as Hunter was about to eat another apple slice, he saw it being snatched away from him by a familiar hand.
"Give it back you little thieve!"
"Okay, Daddy." Murphy laughed and placed the apple slice back on the plate.
"Where's your sisters?" Hunter asked.
"There over by the kids table."
Hunter smiled and looked behind him before turning around, saying, "Why don't you go find them and bring them here?"
Murphy smiled and raced across the lawn towards where her sister was, as Hunter and Stephanie laughed at her as they watched her movements.
A few minuets into the toast was all Scott needed to start talking about his friends, and how everyone got involved in helping him prepare for the wedding. He glanced over the crowd before continuing his speech.
"I would like to thank my friends for being there for me when I thought I didn't need anyone," Scott said, smiling. "I also have to thank them for being my support buddies whenever we were on the road together. It's hard being on the road a ton of days out of the year."
Shawn smiled and nodded his head, while Hunter and Kevin smiled. Kid smiled and raised his toasting glass.
"Now, of course, I could go into detail about their various upbringings and antics we pulled on each other back then. But tonight's about another person that I'm proud to have in my life, and her name's Molina."
A few people looked over at Molina as she sat quietly in her chair. She had a smile on her face as soon as Scott pointed towards her.
"Whenever you meet someone, they touch you in a special kind of...suplex touch...you get what I mean." Scott could barley get his words out as he looked on at his wife, causing everyone to laugh a little. "Anyways, thank you all for coming to my wedding and I hope whoever catches to Bouquet gets their shot next."
Scott raised his glass and drank a little out of it as everyone clapped and whistled at him. His friends remained where they were as Molina joined him onstage and kissed him passionately.
"So...planning anything big in near future?" Shawn asked as he sat next to Hunter.
"No. Why?"
Shawn stared at Hunter and waited for his response to change, but all the while he knew Hunter was holding a secret.
"Please tell me what's bugging you." He said.
Hunter looked up at his friend and attempted to find the right words to say, but soon found himself staring at the ground with nothing to say. "It's harder for me than anyone else."
"What is it?" Shawn asked, concerned for his friend.
"I..." Hunter's voice trailed. "I have to move again."
Shawn stared at Hunter for a few seconds before saying, "Oh."
"I didn't want to tell anyone now, but Steph's insisting I tell the girls as soon as we get home tomorrow."
"Where are you going?"
Hunter looked up briefly. "New Orleans."
"Okay," Shawn said. "So what's there to worry about?"
"I'll miss being in Texas," Hunter said. "That's the hardest part."
Shawn sipped some of his drink before saying anything to his friend. "Take it from someone whose been living from one place to the other, it is hard. But as soon as you get used to it, it's fine from there."
"I don't know if I can get used to it," Hunter shrugged. "I liked being close to you and having nice communities..."
"Hunter." Shawn interrupted.
"It's work, okay?" Hunter said. "I can't control where they want me to move."
"You'll be fine," Shawn said, placing a hand on Hunter's forearm. "We always are."
"Still." Hunter glared at his friend.
Shawn lowered his head, understanding his friend's pain, but there was nothing he could do about it. A few moments passed before he spoke up again, "I went to the Doctor last week."
"Oh, really?" Hunter sipped his drink before continuing. "What'd he say?"
"He said that the reason why my chest gets sore is because of a small fragmented bone." Shawn cleared his throat and continued to speak, "I think I'll be fine, but he said if the pain continues I might have to undergo surgery."
"Oh, man," Hunter's heart sank. "You can't have that."
"The rent's been up lately, so Rebecca took on more Sunday school teachings."
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"
Shawn smiled a little, pausing before saying, "Only God can tell."
"
