This was originally going to be a story with just one chapter, but now that a resounding YES vote has been returned in Australia, this story will continue for a bit, hence the reason for the change in its title. I ask that you play along and suspend the timeline of the events in canon so they fit into the current headlines from Down Under. Isn't the word YES one of the happiest words ever?

After escorting their last wedding guest out the door, a tired Kate and an equally spent Caroline found themselves alone for the first time since they returned from the Registry Office. They snatched a passionate kiss before making their way back to the kitchen to survey the damage. Neither was in the mood to do anything but head upstairs to consummate their marriage but Kate knew better than to try to drag her wife away from the mess that awaited them. Despite being dead on her feet, she dutifully followed her as she didn't want to run the risk of Caroline having to deal with Celia on her own if she had the nerve to come over to the house now that all the guests were gone.

Seeing the mess was bigger than she expected, Kate unintentionally telegraphed her exhaustion with a heavy sigh. Knowing she'd be out of energy by the time it was tackled, she hopefully suggested, "How about we forget about this mess until tomorrow? Maybe a dish fairy will appear overnight."

Caroline, who was counting at the stacks of dirty plates and realizing that at least two dishwasher cycles would be required if it were properly loaded, responded, "If only. I'm just going to get the dishwasher on and then I won't be worrying about it."

William, who overheard them from the other room, quickly entered and moved to block the dishwasher. "Dish fairy reporting for duty," he said with a two-finger salute aimed at his mum. "You shouldn't have to do any cleaning on your wedding day, or on your wedding night for that matter."

Kate rushed to him and gave him a grateful hug and a big smacking kiss on the cheek, which instantly made the handsome ginger blush as she declared him to be her hero.

Caroline cocked her head to the side as a grateful smile overtook her tired face. "Are you sure? It's rather a big mess." Their eyes met briefly and she saw a look of understanding from her eldest. She loved William's unflagging support from the first time they discussed her budding feelings for Kate.

"Go on, it's not like I haven't memorized your endless lectures about how to properly load a dishwasher; rinse the dishes first. Put the big glasses on the outer racks and smaller ones and cups on the inner racks. Load the top rack from back to front. Silverware goes in with handles up so you don't touch the ends you put in your mouth when you put them back in the drawer. Should I go on?"

Kate broke out into an infectious laugh as she already knew that lecture well. It was now Caroline's turn to blush. "It's really the only way to make sure none of the glasses break," Caroline said a little defensively. "They're not endless, are they?" Without waiting for a response, she said, "At least I now have confirmation that one of you have been listening to me over the years."

William removed his suit jacket, untied his bow tie and unbuttoned his collar as Kate gave Caroline a pleading look and nodded her head toward the stairs.

"Seeing as I didn't have the time or budget to get you a proper gift, consider this a poor student's last minute wedding gift," William said as he finally rolled up his shirtsleeves and moved to lift up a small stack of dessert plates closer to the sink to rinse them off. "And I think now's a good time to tell you that I promised to run Lawrence and Angus over to Angus' later and then I'm going to a mate's for the night too. You'll have the house to yourselves and I'll make my way to the train in the am. You two enjoy yourselves and I'll call or text when I get back to Oxford tomorrow."

Caroline beamed with pride at William's thoughtfulness. She couldn't be prouder of the man he was becoming and how he made Kate feel accepted. The newlyweds exchanged unexpected goodbye hugs and kisses with him and a few minutes later were alone behind their bedroom door, delighted with the surprising turn of events and intent on making the most of their wedding night.

Just after seven the next morning, Kate returned to the bedroom with a couple of mugs of tea to find Caroline sitting up, reading glasses on, smiling down at her iPad.

"What's put that grin on your beautiful face? You can't be so bored with married life that you're looking at porn already," she teased as she put Caroline's tea on the nightstand.

Caroline shot her a grin and peered at her over the rims of her glasses. The sight of Caroline in her simple wire frames always turned her on.

"Just catching up on my emails and text messages from yesterday. There's a lovely one here from Patsy congratulating us. I responded that I hope the vote goes well so she and Connie can follow us down the aisle soon."

"That's nice. Who else did you hear from?"

"Beverley. She just wanted to say how much she enjoyed our ceremony and the after party. She also said that before she left on Friday she marked me out on Monday and cancelled all my appointments for the day."

"God Bless Beverley!"

"There's a text from Gillian but I'll read that later. She probably just wants to rail at me for being so dismissive of Alan yesterday." When Caroline eventually looked up from her iPad, Kate noticed the smile evaporating from her face at the thought of her having hurt him.

"So wife, what do you want to do today?" Caroline inquired in an effort to think about a more pleasant subject as Kate moved back to her side of the bed and climbed on top of the covers. What she didn't know was that Caroline was dissappointed about not having made any special plans to sweep Kate off for a short honeymoon. It took all their effort to pull the wedding together in a fortnight so there wasn't any extra time to piece together even a simple get away.

"Honestly, I just want to stay in bed all day with you, wife. It would be a shame to waste having the house to ourselves." Kate placed her mug back on the nightstand and rubbed her tummy in response to the baby's movements, which felt more like acrobatics than anything else at that moment. Thanks to her last scan, she knew the baby was already head down and fully effaced. That knowledge made the impending birth feel more real. "What would you like to do today?"

"Other than not wanting to be out of your arms, I just want to avoid seeing mum. It was a relief that we didn't see her before we retired last night. I worried she would come over when she saw our guests leaving."

"I can grant you both of your wishes then," Kate said with a knowing smile as she pulled a folded piece of paper out of the pocket of her pjs and handed it to Caroline. "Your mum left us this note saying she was sorry about yesterday, that she will phone tomorrow as she is going to Halifax to make amends with Alan today. Her car is gone already so she must have set off early."

"She's incredible. She lays down a path of destruction and thinks she can be forgiven just like that. She clearly didn't hear me yesterday," Caroline said before sitting up to read it. When she finished, she crumpled it into a ball and gave Kate an incredulous look. She turned and threw it into the waste bin by the window before taking a sip of her tea that was quickly growing cold on her nightstand. Kate could tell the blonde was on system overload again as she processed Celia's terse apology.

"Remember the other night, when you said you hadn't had time to get me a wedding present, and so you asked what I wanted and I said I'd let you know? Well I've thought of something," Kate ventured in what Caroline thought was an effort to change the subject.

"Anything. You name it, as long as it has nothing to do with forgiving my mum." Caroline's expression softened in anticipation of pleasing her wife with what she hoped would be a sexy request given how Kate rolled over so the length of their bodies made full contact as she spoke.

Slowed by Caroline's words, Kate rolled back over and reached for her tea. Caroline instantly felt the loss of their connection and she watched Kate take a couple of swallows of her tea. Caroline didn't understand that Kate was trying to buy time to find the right words before turning back to look at her. She knew that as long as Caroline was angry with Celia, her pain would keep creeping into even the happiest of their private moments. She wanted Caroline to enjoy their day alone and she was intent on getting as much of Caroline's undivided attention as she could.

"Can't you find a way to forgive Celia for yesterday for me?"

Caroline scrunched her eyes shut and ran her fingernails hard through her hair and over her scalp, scratching the very top of her head for good measure in an effort to find the right words to respond to say 'no' without making Kate defensive. Caroline's pain was still so raw and she couldn't believe her ears and suddenly worried that Kate just didn't understand.

"Before you say anything, I know it's an unfair ask. It just seems to me that our reconciling, twice now, is due at least in part to Celia."

Caroline slowly opened her eyes and glared at Kate who was unfazed by the piercing blue eyes that were narrowing in on her own. "How can you say that?"

"First, there was her coming to my house and asking me to give you a second chance. Then there was her asking me to play at their wedding which got us in the same room." Kate was valiantly trying to give reasonable excuses that would allow Caroline to forgive Celia without having to concede any of her dignity in the process. Predictably, Caroline wasn't about to buy into any of it.

"Seems to me that our first break up was because of how she behaved at my birthday dinner." Caroline could feel herself getting defensive and she struggled to keep a destructive tone out of her voice as the last thing she wanted was a row with her new wife over Celia.

"I know, but she seems genuinely more accepting of us than she was in the beginning and I suspect that by the time our daughter arrives she'll have come full circle."

"You're conveniently forgetting about my conversation with her when I went over to tell her we got engaged."

"No, I'm not, but I'm suggesting more of a forgive and forget approach. I honestly think yesterday was more about Alan and your dad than you. Can't you find it in your heart to at least give her the benefit of the doubt? Life's too short to hold onto that much anger."

"But she's," Caroline began before Kate cut her off.

"But she's your mum. What if, God forbid, you had the police knocking at the door today because she was killed in an accident on the way to Halifax?" Kate noticed Caroline wince at the macabre thought. Realizing Caroline was remaining reticent, Kate doubled down with her last shot. "Can't you forgive her as a gift to me and to our baby? Like it or not, she's going to be one of only two grand mums to our little one." Kate took Caroline's closest hand and put it on her belly just above where the baby was moving. Caroline remained silent as she felt the promise of the daughter she couldn't wait to hold in her arms. Goosebumps instantly covered her body as she flushed with happiness at the thought of the life to come with Kate and their already beloved child.

"And so it begins," Caroline said with sound of quiet resignation now appearing in her voice.

"And so what begins?" Kate shifted a bit, feeling a little defensive before noticing the smile behind Caroline's eyes. A feeling of relief flooded over her.

"Using the baby to gang up on me," Caroline replied playfully as she pulled Kate into their first deep kiss of the morning.

When they finally broke to come up for air, Kate responded, "I'll take that as a 'yes', then."

"Seems to me I vowed to say 'yes' to you until death do us part, didn't I? What kind of wife would I be if I broke that vow on our first full day?"