Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters. They all live in Shonda Rhimes' head, and occasionally, in mine. She can take them back though, they are kind of annoying.

Author's Note: After recent revelations on the show, I have decided to edit the first chapter. Enjoy!

Fall in New York is generally considered a reprieve; a reprieve from the summer heat that forces too many to stand on the streets, fanning themselves and drinking ice water, and a reprieve from the cold wind and snow that will blow through the area sometime in November. It is a season of beauty, of children going back to school, of parents finally breathing a sigh of relief, and of newly minted high school graduates to finally step foot into college. Carolyn Maloney, however, was standing in a wedding dress on October 3, 1963, the leaves outside a rich golden color instead of the green she loved so much during the summer.

It was a month before President Kennedy, the young Irish Catholic president that Carolyn found herself madly in love with, would be assassinated in Dallas. A month before she and her husband would stare at the TV in horror, clasping hands tightly. She was far too young to be aware of the war in Vietnam brewing that would soon change her life. The sixties would come to be known as a time of change in the country, in the city of New York, and yet all Carolyn was aware of was the way her dress lay against her skin, of how bare her finger felt without her diamond engagement ring as it waited for the heavy weight of the yellow gold Michael Christopher Shepherd would place on her hand.

Her mother and eldest sister were still arguing over the placement of the veil, still wondering what had possessed Carolyn to demand yellow and pink roses for today. Her two other sisters were sitting delicately on the settee, laughing over the pale pink of their dresses. Colleen's glasses were long-gone, forgotten on this day, when she wanted to look her very best for Michael's friends and brother. Evelyn and Cara simply laughed joyously at the rich fabric surrounding them. "Carolyn, dear," her mother, Kathleen, murmured as she reached to adjust the veil on her head, "you have never looked more exquisite."

"Thank you, Mother," Carolyn blushed madly. "Michael will like it? You do think he'll like it?"

"He won't be able to take his eyes off of you, Carolyn," Cara giggled.

"Or his hands," Colleen teased.

"Colleen!" Kathleen gasped. "Must you be so crude?"

"It's true, Mother. Michael has wanted Carolyn since the moment he met her."

"That does not mean a young lady needs to discuss such topics," Kathleen shook her head. "And to think you'll be gracing a church in a few moments."

"Sorry, Mother," Colleen murmured and Carolyn turned to smile slightly at her older sister. It was the truth, and Carolyn would never deny the passion that overtook her whenever she saw Michael Shepherd. Despite his nine years advantage over her, and the number of women he dated before her, he always looked at her as if she were the most precious jewel he had ever had the luck to hold and observe. He was handsome, and her friends all murmured enviously over her relationship with the tall, dark-haired Irish store clerk who had crashed into her car and then had managed to ask her out for a date while apologizing deeply. His hands had roamed over her body, and though she had known he was checking for injuries, she had been awed by the sudden rush of heat and emotions that lingered after his calm touches.

Here they were now, hardly six months later, and she stood in a dress, her hands calm as she imagined Michael in his tuxedo, waiting for her. Her legs did not shake, though she had practiced the graceful fall she would perform when Michael carried her over the threshold of their new house, the home that would be theirs, the home that would protect their children one day, the house in which they would grow old. Colleen had practiced with her again and again, until finally, she had felt she could be the perfect wife from the moment they stepped foot into their home. Michael would not let her see it yet, but she had found long ago that she trusted him and loved him unconditionally, and he seemed to feel the same.

She was getting married today. Just six days after her eighteenth birthday, and she was marrying the only man she had ever loved, the only man she could imagine herself loving. The dress was perfect, the flowers magnificent, and all Carolyn Maloney cared about today was becoming Carolyn Sophia Shepherd. She had no desire to go to college, no desire at all to follow the small amount of friends traipsing off to Sarah Lawrence. She had found the man she wanted, she had discovered the life she craved, and she couldn't imagine her wishes ever changing, her life ever swaying from the perfection of this very moment.

She and Michael had every moment planned. He was going to own a store, a store that would one day rival Macy's, and she would be his wife, the mother of his children. Michael came from a large family, six sisters, a brother, and himself, and he wanted a family just as large as his own. She had no complaints, of course, she wanted to start their family as soon as possible. They weren't going on any sort of honeymoon, he didn't have the time, and she supposed starting their family just after their marriage was as good as any drive to Niagara Falls.

"Is the bride ready?" her father boomed in the voice of his that so often sent small children and puppies scattering, before they realized he was a gentle soul, straight from the shores of Ireland. Joseph Maloney had come to this country by way of ship in 1929, when he was still a young boy, and had married her mother just before the world war had taken over their lives. He still had the tilt of language from the old country, and he often talked wistfully of going back to the isle. Today, he stood before her, his dark hair already beginning to gray, but his body still menacing as he smiled at her.

"Do I look pretty, Father?" she smiled at him.

"Pretty?" he laughed as he took a step forward. "No daughter of mine is just pretty. My dear girl, you are as breathtaking as the isle of Erin itself."

"Daddy," Carolyn giggled as he wrapped his arms around her.

"You are lovely, dearheart," he whispered. "And I've warned the lad…"

"Oh, Daddy, no," she shook her head. "He's a good man."

"That lad loves you," Joseph said firmly, pressing a kiss to each cheek. "He will take good care of my girl."

"I know, Daddy," she breathed as her father took a step back, surveying the room.

"And the rest of my girls," he grinned widely, "lovely as the day is long. How can a man keep his daughters in the house when they are all so beautiful?"

"Daddy, I'm too young to get married," Cara giggled as she ran her hands over the pale pink silk.

"Oh, that you are, my sunshine," he smiled. "But now, your sister must get married. Run along now."

"I'm ready, Father," Carolyn breathed as she made her way impatiently to the door. "He is there, right? Michael is here?"

"Of course, he's here," Joseph laughed. "Where else would the boy be?"

"He's hardly a boy, Joseph," Kathleen shook her head. "Colleen, put your glasses back on. Carolyn, take your father's arm."

"Your tone, Kathleen," Joseph's voice dropped several octaves as he stared hard at his wife and then took Carolyn's arm. Still, her body was not shaking. She expected it to shake, she expected to be afraid, but as her mother followed them demurely, her head ducked down before Michael's brother, Derek, swept in to take her arm and lead her into the church. It was time. This was the moment she would see Michael, and he would take her as his wife. "Are you sure you're ready, dear girl?"

"I'm ready, Father," she echoed her earlier statement as the church doors swung open. Michael stood, still facing the altar and then he turned ever so slightly. His dark curls were a wild mess on his head, a mess she had taken to calling the curse of the Irish, but already, she could see his deep blue eyes sparkling the closer she became to him. "Michael."

"Carolyn," he chuckled softly and then immediately took her hand before shaking her father's hand. "You are exquisite."

"Thank you," she breathed though she fell silent as he squeezed her hand and then moved to kneel at the altar. The ceremony began and though she had always dreamed of this very moment as a young girl, her heart was instead pounding in her ears as she listened to Father O'Connor. She was marrying Michael Christopher Shepherd, and though the world was changing at a disturbingly rapid pace, although she was only eighteen, although the leaves were golden instead of the green she had always dreamed of, Carolyn Sophia Maloney was more than happy, more than pleased to take the man next to her as her husband, as the man she would love for the rest of her life, as the father to her future children. She was more than ready to become Carolyn Sophia Shepherd.