The extended epilogue from "Ducks in a Row"
(warning: HUGE sap factor)
………
Greg stood at the mirror in the backroom of the tiny church, nervously fidgeting with his tie. Why on earth Sara thought he looked good with this thing on he would never know. He ran a hand through his hair, making it a bit more disheveled than Sara probably wanted. There was a swift rapping at the door, then Nick's voice from the other side.
"Hey man, can I come in?" Before he could answer, the door swung open, and Nick stepped in, closing the door behind him with a silent click.
"She hasn't changed her mind, has she?" Greg turned back to the mirror, and his vain attempts at straightening his tie.
"No, she's almost ready. Have you seen her dress?" Nick leaned against the edge of the counter, facing Greg, watching him with an amused expression as the younger man fought with the tie.
"She wouldn't let me see it. She didn't even bring it home, took it straight to Catherine's. My sister got to see it as soon as she got off the plane. And Warrick wouldn't stop talking about it yesterday. I'm dying to see it."
"She looks beautiful."
"She is beautiful." Greg slipped the knot out of the tie in disgust, sighing in frustration. "When I dreamt of this day, the tie was never a problem." He turned helplessly to Nick. "Can you make it not suck?" Nick laughed, taking the tie from Greg and smoothing out the creases the other man had caused. Nick created the perfect knot out of what Greg could only consider thin air. Greg turned toward the mirror to inspect Nick's work, and grinned brightly.
"That better?"
"Yeah, thanks." Greg stepped away from the mirror, rubbing his eyes. "You have the rings."
"Yes."
"On your person."
"Yes."
"Right now."
"Yes, Greg. Relax." Nick dug into the breast pocket of the inside of his jacket, and held out in front of Greg two gold wedding bands, tied together with a white bit of ribbon. "No, you can't read the inscription on yours. I promised Sara." Nick tucked the wedding bands back into his pocket and ruffled Greg's hair affectionately.
"You talked to her?" Nick laughed at Greg's words.
"Yeah, actually, I was sent with a message for you."
"Let's have it then." Greg settled his hands on his hips.
"She said if you feel like you're getting cold feet, there are socks in the bag from the cleaners." Greg smiled, and shook his head.
"Well, tell her that I love her, and my feet are anything but cold." Nick nodded, and slipped out the door. Greg made his way to the garment bag from the cleaners, from which earlier he had taken out his suit, and peered in, to see a pair of white athletic socks balled up at the bottom. He pulled them out, and untangled them, his fingers feeling a piece of paper in the toe of one. He pulled out a post it, and smiled as he read Sara's script on the little yellow square. "Just in case- I love you." He tossed them back into the bag, and turned for a last glance at the mirror, fidgeting with an already perfect tie. The little old reverend popped his head in the doorway, reading glasses already posed on his stubby little nose.
"Greg? It's time." Greg nodded, and took a deep breath, praying that he would not forget his vows. He followed the little old man out to the altar.
This was it.
There was no changing minds, not that he would have anyway.
There was no going back, they already had a baby on the way.
This was it.
Greg smiled at his sister, who was seated beside Nick. She winked at him, returning his lopsided grin with an identical one of her own. Lindsey had made her way halfway down the little aisle, tossing daisy petals from the flower lady on Tropicana out of a little basket Sara had given her. She smiled brightly at Greg, taking her seat beside Catherine, as she flashed him a thumbs up.
He turned his attention to Sara, who had started to make her way down the aisle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Warrick look up from Sara, and give a nod to whoever was at the piano off to the side of the tiny altar. Suddenly familiar notes started to fill the room. Seated on the piano bench was Warrick's musician friend, strumming out one of Greg's favorite songs on an old acoustic guitar.
Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
Give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my love to you
See the man with the lonely eyes
Take his hand, you'll be suprised
He choked out a laugh, as he recognized the song. He watched Sara pause, confused expression on her delicate features, then recognition as well. She grinned at him, and closed the distance between them quickly.
So give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
Now's the time we need to share
So send a smile, we're on our way back home
Nick was right, Sara's dress was beautiful, gently loving her curves, hugging her figure in all the right places, lazily flowing away from her hips, but not hiding the slight swell of her abdomen. Greg didn't notice the rest of the room falling out of sight. He took her hand, pressing a soft kiss to her fingers. He smiled, blinking away teardrops from his lashes. He spun her around, taking in her dress, forgetting for a moment that they were at their wedding. She grinned, chuckling as he took in her figure in the ivory sundress. He pulled her to him, placing his free hand on their baby, kissing her gently, before the reverend began to speak.
"You're supposed to wait for that part, Greg." She whispered, smiling against his lips.
"I love you. You're beautiful." His fingers brushed a stray curl away from her face, and he pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek, making her blush.
"Greg, Sara, are you ready?" The kindly old reverend leaned forward at the altar, amused at the pair before him. He looked expectantly from Sara to Greg, and couldn't help returning their smiles.
"I- I've just never seen the dress before." The few occupants of the tiny chapel chuckled to themselves, and Greg turned to Sara and shrugged. "Sorry."
"Now that you've seen it, let's continue, shall we?" The reverend winked at Greg, and turned his attention to the slim book in his hands, as he officiated. "Welcome. Greg and Sara have asked that we join them to be witness to their vows to each other. Greg, would you like to start?" The little old man looked from Sara to Greg. Greg took Sara's left hand in both of his, his finger gently touching Grandma Elsa's diamond. He brought his gaze from her fingers to her eyes, smiling when he saw her blink away welled up tears.
"Sara." His voice hitched. He took a deep breath, trying to remember what he had written. He felt her right hand brush away a stray tear from his cheek. He dropped one hand to her waist, in an attempt to steady himself. The little old reverend took a step back, giving them space. Greg rested his forehead against Sara's, closing his eyes.
"I love you. I've been in love with you for years. I love that even if you are mad at me, you still smile at me. I love that you wear my old sweatshirt twenty-three hours out of the day. I love that you love me, and you agreed to marry me, because I wouldn't have survived without you. I'm promising you that I will always sleep beside you, walk beside you, laugh beside you." Greg opened his eyes, to see that Sara was staring intently at him, lips twisted into the beginnings of a smile. "You are everything to me, and you've made me so happy." Greg blinked away more tears, and tightened his grip on her waist. "I will always love you, I will always be your friend, your companion, your level one to boss around. I will love you and our beautiful children all the days of my life. I promise to never leave your side. I promise to be the Ben Braddock to your Mrs. Robinson, minus the whole falling in love with the daughter thing." She stifled a laugh, and Greg grinned, laying his palm against the swell of her belly. He took a deep breath, trying to finish. "No matter what happens, good, bad, ugly, I promise to always make you laugh, and treasure what we have together. I love you Sara, and I will love you always. Everyday, I wake up, and I fall in love with you all over again. I can't wait to fall in love with you for the rest of our lives." Greg took her hand again and pressed a kiss to her palm. Sara smiled, and pulled him to her, kissing his cheek lovingly. Greg grinned at her affectionately, and her smile broadened.
"Sara?" The little old reverend turned his attention to her, nodding encouragingly. She took a breath to gather composure, and met Greg's gaze.
"Oh, Gregory," She ran a hand through his hair, settling her fingers at the base of his neck, pulling him closer. "I love you so much. You always believed in me, and made me smile, even when I had forgotten how. You have never given up on me, in any of the facets of our life. I used to think that it was that I learned to love you, but now I know that it was that I loved you all along." She ran her fingertips along his jaw line, tracing the faint hint of his five o'clock shadow. She smiled up at him, gathering her thoughts. "I love waking up in your death grip every morning, and falling asleep against you every night. I love sitting on the counter, watching you make pancakes or popcorn after a tough shift. I love showers that turn cold and lazy mornings that turn into all day affairs. You were all I ever wanted, and you knew it long before I ever had any idea. You've given me this child, just when I thought I had missed my chance." She wiped her eyes gently, and grinned at him as he came into focus again blearily. "The kind of love that lasts is born from companionship and trust and loyalty and laughter, and we have all of that and more. Our life started a long time ago, we just didn't notice. I'm sorry I didn't see what was literally right in front of me twelve hours a day, but I'm so glad that you caught on." She took his hand from her abdomen, and held it in both of her smaller ones. "I never dreamed this would be my life, and you have made all my dreams a reality, with tangible evidence, and motive and theories, and fact." Greg's low chuckle made her smile, and she pushed a stray wave of light brown hair out of his eyes. "I promise to love you and our baby until the sun burns out, and time is no more. I love you, Greg, for better, worse, and everything in between. And I will love you forever." Greg pressed a kiss to her forehead, pulling her against him.
"The rings, then." The little old reverend spoke after a moment. Sara and Greg turned to Nick, who dug into his pocket, retrieving the gold bands. He handed Greg's ring to Sara, and Sara's ring to Greg, and took his seat. The reverend nodded for them to continue, and Sara took Greg's hand, slipping the band over his finger. She paused, glancing at Greg's sister, before smiling broadly.
"Tar dette, og tar min hjerte. Take this, Gregory, and take my heart." She stumbled through the Norwegian, but she could only assume she didn't butcher what Malena had taught her, as Greg was grinning back at her, astonished. He took her hand, and placed the delicate band on her finger so it touched the diamond.
"You are my only love, Sara Jane."
"Kiss her, already." The little old reverend instructed, laughing. Greg leaned in, and captured Sara in a gentle kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, as hers lay instinctively around his shoulders. The clapping and the whistling from their two dozen witnesses did nothing to deter their attention from each other. Greg broke away from Sara, and bent, pressing a kiss to her little bump of a stomach. Hr fingers ruffled his hair affectionately, and the reverend took that moment to conduct his last duties.
"Introducing Greg and Sara Sanders."
……………
A/N: sorry for the delay… this is part one of two… the other is the party at Catherine's and Greg and Sara's version of all that reception stuff. (song played by Warrick's musician friend is 'Give a Little Bit,' and it was the Goo Goo Dolls version I had in mind.) A little too sappy, but I wouldn't expect anything less from Greg, and once Greg got going, so did Sara. Merci pour le reviews, as always.