"Can't find it…can't do this…omigod, where is it?" Dawn hears when she pushes the door open.
"What are you looking for sweetie?" she asks, closing the door.
"I can't find my goddamn Metro card!" Joyce huffs, shaking her duffel bag; Dawn quickly crosses the room, placing her hands over her daughter's.
"Whoa, whoa J.J., why on Earth do you need your Metro card? You really want to ride the subway in a white dress?"
"I just…I have to get out of here, I can't do this mom!"
"Can't do what? Joycie, everyone here loves you," she assures the blonde, sitting down on the couch and pulling her daughter down to sit next to her. "You look absolutely gorgeous, you found the most perfect dress, everyone who loves you is here, and you found an amazing man who is just waiting with bated breath for you to walk down that aisle. What makes you think you can't do this?" she asks with laughter in her voice.
"Not everyone is here. I can't do this without him."
"Oh sweetheart, he's on his way, you know that," Dawn soothes, kissing Joyce's forehead. "Your father will be here, and do you know how I know that?"
"Cause you'll castrate him if he's not?"
"Because I will castrate him if he's not," the brunette confirms, "so stop crying before you mess up your makeup."
"It's waterproof."
"I don't care if it's apocalypse-proof, a bride should only cry tears of joy on her wedding day."
"Ya know you should listen to your mother," a voice interjects, "she's pretty smart." Joyce sits up straight, her head whipping around towards the door.
"Daddy!" She's on her feet in a second, throwing herself into her father's arms. "I thought you weren't gonna make it."
"And risk you and your mother's wrath? Not a chance J.J." He squeezes her tighter for a moment before releasing her and taking a step back. "Isn't something missing here?"
"I didn't want to put it on until you got here," she snuffs, accepting the tissues from her mother and drying her eyes, "didn't want to test my luck."
"Before you do that," Dawn interrupts, stepping up behind her and draping a simple string of pearls around Joyce's neck. "I have your something old. These were your grandma Joyce's. They were one of the only things we managed to take from Sunnydale. She wore them when she got married, and I wore them when your dad and I got married. Now they're yours."
"You're gonna make me cry again, I hope you know that."
"Sorry, sorry, jeez; I'm gonna go cue the music," Dawn begs off, stepping in front and landing a kiss on her cheek before leaving the room.
"So where's the rest?"
"Rest of what?"
"The rhyme."
"Something old – the pearls – the dress and veil and everything else are something new, the posts are borrowed from Tandy's impressive jewelry hoard," she explains, gesturing to the simple pearl earrings, "And my garter is blue," Joyce rattles off with a smile. "Are you ready?" she asks as Steve slides the veil into her hair right behind the tiara.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he laughs, pulling the second layer over the top to cover her face.
"Nope. You're the one who's gonna be crying; you and mom."
"You're not gonna shed a single tear?" he teases, squeezing her gloved hands in his.
"Maybe one or two," she admits.
Neither of them hears the door open and for a moment, Dawn just stands there staring. It had taken them three weeks and about ten different stores for them to finally find the A-line, V-neck tulle wedding gown, but the search had been well worth the effort, she decided. Joyce looked absolutely stunning in the Le Spose de Gio gown and Aruna Seth shoes, decked out with tiara, full veil, and lace gloves. Steve standing next to her in full dress uniform made the moment absolutely picturesque and she tried and failed to choke down a sob. Both of them turn to face her and she bites her lip.
"They're waiting for you," she chokes out.
"Then let's do this thing," Joyce announce, heaving in a deep, calming breath, taking her father's proffered arm.
"Let's get you married J.J."
.
.
A/N: Felt this needed to be written.
Bridal details:
kidnap-the-muse. livejournal / 15288 .html