Sorry it took so long. I had a lot going on. But here is the final chapter. Warning, I didn't really have that much time to edit, so if there are any errors, or it doesn't make any sense, please let me know. I appreciate everyone who has been reading and reviewing, it means a hell of a lot to me. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!
One Year Later
Today was the day. It had been the longest year of Cece's life, but to her relief it had passed. The day that she had been waiting for was finally here. She was getting married. With all the anticipation she had building up for this day, she never thought about how she would feel when it was ultimately upon them. She was panicked.
"Okay…how do I look?" Cece was nervous. Her hands kept fidgeting and she felt like she was about to have an anxiety attack. Just the thought of standing up before hundreds of people promising to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved, made her far beyond anxious. Being a model, she was used to having all eyes on her. That wasn't the problem. She had a hard enough time telling Schmidt how she felt, but now that she had to do it in front of all their friends and family. She didn't know how she was going to survive that.
Jess stood before her best friend, in genuine awe of the way she looked in her Wedding Dress. "You look gorgeous." She said bringing her hands up to her mouth with astonishment.
"You really think so?" She needed reassurance. Now more than ever.
Jess nodded her head vigorously. "Absolutely. Schmidt is going to lose him mind when he sees you." At the mention of his name, Cece inadvertently let a few tears escape. All day she had been an emotional mess. Like a ticking bomb, there was no telling when she was going to be set off.
Jess frowned. This was the fourth time that day that she had been directly responsible for bringing the bride to tears. "What's wrong? What did I say?"
Cece shook her head. "It's not you. I just can't believe I'm getting married today. I'm just…so damn happy." Jess laughed. Cece wasn't one for happy tears.
"Well, nobody is happier for you than me, but if I have to do your makeup one more time, I'm going to lose it."
She was right. Jess had done and redone her makeup several times. "You're right. I need to stop." Cece wiped her tears and the running the mascara from her cheeks. So much for the waterproof brand.
As Jess finished her eighth makeup retouch that morning, there was a knock on the door to the bridal suite. She had assumed it was the other bridesmaids, so she was surprised to find the groom on the other side when she opened the door.
"Schmidt." She said stunned to see him. Jess quickly closed the door just enough for him to only see an inch through. She didn't want him seeing the bride. "What are you doing here? You know the rule!"
"I know, but I need to talk to Cece." He said quietly.
"As the maid of honor, I can't allow that." Jess said with her chin held high. Ever since Cece had asked her to be her Maid of Honor, she had taken the position all too seriously.
Schmidt rolled his eyes. "C'mon Jess. Just two minutes…please." He sounded desperate.
Jess tried to be cooperative out of respect to her best friend. "Tell you what, why don't you tell me what you want to tell her and I can relay the message?"
"No, I'd like her to hear it from me." Schmidt was adamant about this.
Jess' eyes bugged out as her mind jumped to the worst case scenario. She pushed him out of the doorway and closed the door behind her, joining him in the hallway yelling at him in a harsh whisper so Cece wouldn't hear. "Oh my god, Schmidt. You're not calling it off are you? How could you do this to Cece? That is such a douche move. A million dollars in the jar…right now!"
Schmidt held his hands up in front of himself in defense. "Jess, calm down. I'm not calling anything off, are you crazy? I just want to talk to Cece one last time before we're officially married. I won't look, I promise, you can hide her if you want."
Jess took a deep breath considering his plea. "Okay, fine. Wait right here." She opened the door a crack, enough to let herself squeeze through, and closed it behind her.
"Is everything okay?" Cece asked curiously.
"Schmidt wants to talk to you."
"What about?"
Jess shook her head. "No idea. He just said he wanted to talk to you one last time before you were officially married."
"Well what do I do? He can't see me like this." Cece was a few seconds away from freaking out. A million things were running through her head. She was wondering what Schmidt would need to talk to her about less than an hour away from the start of their wedding.
"Here," Jess said quickly thinking of a solution "just hide behind that partition." She pointed over to the corner where there stood the room divider Cece had changed behind.
"Okay." Cece said. She pulled up her dress to allow her to move quicker without ruining it. With Jess' help, she hid behind the partition. Jess maneuvered it around her to ensure she was completely hidden from all angles. She made sure Cece was okay standing behind there before walking to the door to let Schmidt in.
"Okay, c'mon in. Stand right there so you can't see her. She's behind that partition over there. You have five minutes Schmidt."
"Thanks Jess." Schmidt said to her as she left the room, closing the door behind her. He turned to face the room divider and called out to his bride. "Cece?"
"Hey. Is everything okay?" She asked him. It felt weird for her talking him through a wall.
"Everything is fine. I just had something I had to get off my chest before we do this." By the sound of his voice, Cece could tell he was nervous.
"Are you getting cold feet?" She asked him, almost afraid to hear the answer.
Schmidt couldn't believe she had thought that was possible. "Of course not."
Cece ignored his response. "Because if you're having regrets about this Schmidt I would completely understand, you just need to tell me.-"
"Cece, the only regret I have is not marrying you a long time ago." They both went quiet for a moment. That was not what she had been expecting. He had planned this conversation to go differently, but now that he started, he figured he should get it all out there. "I have been in love with you since the second I laid eyes on you. And I don't want to marry you without first telling you how incredibly happy you make me." He paused for a moment, thinking about all the things he loved about her and smiled to himself. "I never told you this, but I love how enchanting your eyes are to me. No matter what is happening in my life, all I have to do is look into your gorgeous brown eyes, and all my problems that seem monumental just float away. Then you're all I think about. Being with you takes away all my insecurities and all my fears. Actually, the only fear that I have is that I can tell you 'I Love You' a thousand times every day for the rest of our lives and it still wouldn't be enough for you to know just how deep that love is. But I promise that I will do whatever it takes to prove it to you, because I never want be without you again."
Cece couldn't respond just yet. She was busy crying to herself, with her hand over her mouth so he wouldn't hear. "Dammit Schmidt." She said to him.
Schmidt wasn't expecting that to be her reaction. But he did love that she could always keep him guessing. "What?"
"You're just…so…" She was having trouble figuring out what to say. "Every time I think I couldn't possibly be any more in love with you than I already am…you do or say something that takes it to a whole new level. Plus you're making me cry which is ruining my makeup, so Jess is going to kill me." They both laughed.
"I'm sorry." Schmidt said between chuckles.
"No. Don't apologize. It's exactly why I love you. Since day one, you have always told me how you felt. Even when I was too guarded to admit my feelings to you, you were always so patient and understanding with me. That's how I know that when you tell me you love me, you mean it with everything you have in your heart and soul. So you never have to worry, because I know."
Schmidt stood there for a moment, just smiling to himself. With her having said that, his biggest fear had practically vanished from within him. "So," he said with his face beaming, "What do you say we go out there and get married?"
"I'd love to." She told him. "But I may need to take some of your anxiety pills to get through this thing." She was feeling the nerves creep back. Her palms started to sweat and her breathing grew shallow.
"You nervous?" He asked her. He was somewhat relieved to hear it. Learning of her flaws only strengthened what he felt for her.
"Yeah, I am." She told him. "You know me Schmidt, I can't always just say what I feel. And going out there, in front of everyone, being all vulnerable…I think I'm going to pass out."
"Hey. I promise you that everything is going to be fine. It may seem nerve-racking right now, but you're going to be great. Just relax." He knew what he was saying was no help.
"I don't know if I can." Her voice broke as she started crying again, but this time it was out of fear rather than enthusiasm.
"Hey, you know what?" Schmidt said, taking charge trying to put his future wife's mind at ease. "You said it earlier, I know you. Which means I know how strong you are. And I know that you can handle anything. So trust me when I tell you…you can do this. And when you're walking down that aisle, if you start to get nervous or scared with all those people watching you, then just look at me. Keep our eyes on me. I'm going to be right there for you. Because after today, I will always be right by your side, through everything. It's you and me against the world."
"I love you, you know that?" She asked him as the pit in her stomach subsided and her breathing evened out.
"Yeah I do." He told her. "Now I gotta go…supposed to meet this girl at the altar…gonna spend the rest of my life with her."
Cece smiled. "Me too. I'm marrying a douche today."
"Good luck with that." Schmidt turned to the door.
"You too." She said just before he left. Cece was feeling much better, and now she couldn't wait to get out there. As she came out from behind the partition, she looked into the mirror and instantly knew Jess was going to be pissed.
Cece sat quietly trying not to move as Jess finished up retouching her makeup for the umpteenth time. She barely even wanted to breathe for fear of angering her any more than she already had.
"Okay. The third times a charm." Jess said setting her brush down.
"Thank you so much Jess, and again I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting Schmidt to be so…damn romantic."
"It's fine. Just try not to cry again until you're up at the altar hearing his vows."
"I promise." Cece meant it. She didn't want to waste all her tears on small trivial moments. She wanted to save something for Schmidt when they exchanged their vows. They heard a knock on the door once again, and it opened a bit as Cece's brother poked his head in.
"Hey ladies. We all set?" Chan, short for Chandresh, was Cece's older brother, Schmidt's fourth groomsmen, and the person who was going to walk Cece down the aisle.
"Yes we are." Jess said with an exasperated tone. She couldn't wait for this day to be over.
"Good cause the rest of the bridesmaids are lining up at the door." He finally took the time to admire his baby sister in her wedding gown. "Oh my god. Cece you look beautiful. If only dad could see you now, he'd be so proud." Cece started to get emotional again thinking about her father. She was on the verge of tears but tried with everything she had to fight it.
"Hey!" Jess screamed to Chan. "No dad talk. I just redid her makeup."
"Sorry." Chan said terrified. Maid of Honor Jess scared him to no end.
"It's okay." Cece said. "I'm good."
"Alright. I'm going to go line up with the rest of the girls." Jess was on her way out. As she reached the door and opened it, she was shocked to find Cece's mother standing on the other side, with her arm raised ready to knock.
"Hi." Jess said awkwardly, turning to Cece. She knew what had gone down between her and her mother in the year before and didn't expect to see her there. Cece was surprised by the sudden appearance herself, but kept a hardened expression on her face.
"Can we talk?" Priya asked her daughter. Cece just stood there, not saying a word. Jess and Chan looked back and forth between the two women, hoping for some semblance of reconciliation, but could tell that was the furthest from Cece's mind. "Please, Cecilia." She begged.
"Fine." Cece was going to allow her to say what she came to say for the sake of her brother. He had been asking her to give their mother another chance for months. "I'll be out in a minute." She told her brother and best friend.
Jess couldn't believe it. She was the Maid of Honor, it was her duty to create a complete drama-free and happy day, and she would be damned if she let anyone, especially the mother of the bride, ruin that. "This is supposed to be a happy day DAMMIT!" Chan grabbed Jess and ushered her out of the bridal suite. He was eager to have his mother and sister patch things up.
They were alone. Cece wanted to preserve her callous demeanor. She didn't want to let her guard down. "What do you want?" she asked coldly.
"I just wanted to talk to you."
"Why? Is this some last ditch effort to convince me not to go through with this? No matter what you say…I'm going to marry him."
"I know. I came here to tell you…that I'm sorry."
Cece swore she misheard her. There was no way she had just apologized. "You're what?"
"I'm sorry." Priya repeated. "I never should have tried to dictate your life for you. You're the only one who can know what will make you happy. I should have just listened to you. Maybe if I had, we wouldn't be where we are today."
"And where is that?" Cece asked.
"Me standing here before my stunning daughter on her wedding day, begging her for her forgiveness."
"Why now?"
"Because I would never forgive myself if you got married without me there. Your brother has been telling me all about the wedding plans. I hate myself for not being a part of any of it."
"Well, you're the one who made that choice."
"I know. This entire time, I was just trying to do what was best for you. For a while I thought that that's exactly what I was doing. Then I realized, I turned into my mother. Since I was old enough to walk, she had planned out every step she wanted me to take. Everything I have ever done in my life, I did because she told me to. I hated her so much for it. I felt like my entire life was being wasted following a path that wasn't even mine. Then, I married your father. I thought I was going to grow into a miserable woman stuck in a marriage with a man I barely knew, that I didn't even love, but that's when it happened. I fell in love with him. We had your brother, then you…it was everything I never knew I wanted. I started thinking, maybe my mother knew all along what she was setting me up for. Her methods may have been unbearable, but in the end, I was incredibly grateful to her. I never meant to go about it with you the way she had with me. I guess somewhere down the road, I got caught up in trying to ensure a life for you that was greater than the one I was granted, but I got too overzealous trying to accomplish that. And it was you who paid the price. For that, I will never stop apologizing."
It was easy to see where Cece got her resilience. Priya was fighting back tears as hard as she could, but it didn't really get her anywhere. Both she and her daughter were defenseless against the reign of their own emotions. "I'm not the only one you need to apologize to. You were really cruel to Schmidt." Cece said softly.
"You're right." Priya eagerly agreed. "He didn't deserve that." She really did have every intention of righting her wrongs. "I had dinner with your brother about a month ago. He told me all about Schmidt. What he's like, how he is with you, what he does. From what I hear, he seems like a great guy. I hope I can get the chance to get to know him…if I haven't ruined my chances yet."
"Well, that's up to him….but I don't see why not. He's not exactly the type to hold a grudge. Not typically. And I would really like that." Her voice started to break as her inner walls got weaker. "If the two of you got to know each other. He really is a great man. And he treats me like a queen. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky."
Priya smiled. "Because nobody deserves it more than you do Cecilia. Given all that you've had to endure at my hand. I am so happy for you."
"Thanks mom." Cece said as she was now completely weeping.
"So…can we start over, and have a true mother daughter relationship?"
"I think we can handle that." With that, they both embraced for a long overdue hug and Priya joined in on her daughter's sobs. When she was all cried out, Cece wiped away the tears from her face and saw that some of her makeup was running. "Dammit! Jess is going to kill me."
"Here. I got it." Priya offered, sitting her daughter down in front of the vanity mirror and reapplying her daughter's makeup. As she sat there, looking up at her mother, both having cheerful smiles plastered on their faces, Cece finally felt ready and eager to walk down that aisle. After years of strain, she and her mother were finally in a good place in their relationship, and it couldn't have come at a better time.
Schmidt stood up at the altar, ready for the ceremony to get underway. In just a few minutes, the music would start and his bride would emerge. He had dreamt of this day four over five years, but none of his wonderful daydreams could come close to comparing to the real thing.
He turned towards his groomsmen to give them a last once over, and noticed them all staring up the aisle. Looking over to see what had captivated their attention, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. From across the room, he saw his future mother-in-law close the church doors behind her and make her way towards the altar. Schmidt couldn't help himself from staring. Never in a million years did he think this would happen.
Priyanka Parekh walked down the aisle. She looked up to her daughter's fiancé, caught his eye and, to Schmidt's surprise, smiled to him sincerely before sitting down next to Jess' mom in the front row. Schmidt turned to Nick, Coach and Winston as they all shared a look of befuddlement at what had just transpired.
Cece's arm was gripped tightly through her brother's. Through the double doors of the church's grand hall entrance, she heard the pianist begin to play the song she was to walk the aisle to. Jess and the rest of her bridesmaids were lined up in front of her around the corner so that when the doors opened she wouldn't be seen yet. She used what little time she had left before the doors were set to open, to prevent a panic attack. As she took slow and deep breathes, her hands fidgeted. Chan looked over to her and smiled at his baby sister. "Take it easy sis. This is your day…and it's going to be perfect." He whispered in her ear, and then softly kissed her forehead.
"It means a lot to me that you're walking me down the aisle."
Suddenly, the doors opened. Jess, Sadie, May and Melissa all looked back at the bride, giving her a beaming smile, then walked one by one down the aisle to the altar as they had rehearsed the day before.
It was now her turn. Chan gave her hand a reassuring squeeze one last time, then escorted her, gracefully down the aisle. As many times as she had toured the church and planned out the entire ceremony, it never dawned on her until now, just how long the walk was to the altar.
Cece was once again starting to feel nervous with all the attention and people staring at her. She remembered what Schmidt had told her. 'If you start to get nervous or scared with all those people watching you, then just look at me. Keep our eyes on me. I'm going to be right there for you.'
With each step that got her closer to her dream, she saw Schmidt more clearly. From even that distance, she could see his radiant smile and the sparkle in his eyes from the tears that were forming. Cece smiled, not out of joy, but in thinking back to a remark made by Jess while they were drunk at her bachelorette party a few weeks back. She had told Cece that when she walks down that aisle and she looked up at Schmidt, if he didn't have tears in his eyes the minute he saw her in that wedding dress, then she needed to turn around and walk the hell out of that church. 'Because you my friend…are going to look cripplingly stunning.'
At long last, she had reached her destination. The music had stopped and Schmidt had descended the steps to meet her.
"And who gives this woman to this man?" asked the Priest. Chan looked in the eyes of his beautiful baby sister.
"I do." He said before kissing her gently on the forehead. He turned to Schmidt and shook his hand firmly, silently letting him know that he had his blessing. As Schmidt held out his arm for his bride to take, Chan took his place behind the rest of the groomsmen, and the couple climbed the steps to their future.
The ceremony was lovely, elegant and sweet. As the two exchanged their vows, every occupant was moved to tears. Especially those that knew them and their history. They announced their promises to cherish one another, they pledged their love and assured each other that through any turmoil's they should face, they would confront them head-on, together. Neither one of them had ever been as happy as they were in this moment. Cece had said it before, she wanted something that lasted, and she wanted it with him. Now, she would definitely have it. And Schmidt knew he would never find anyone better than Cece, and he wasn't wrong.
Again, I hope you guys liked it. A lot of people keep asking me to write more Schmece stories and I'm more than happy to. I'm working on a few more stories, so be on the lookout for those. It may take a while, but bear with me, they're coming. Thank you guys so much for reading and thanks for the reviews, it keeps me going. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! Schmece forever!