I apologize for the long wait, things kept coming up.
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Four months later, Sam parked the rental car in front of a large two story farmhouse in Bradley Texas. There was a covered wraparound porch surrounding the house, flowerpots hung from it in several places. Different colored rose bushes were scattered around the house, and a large flower bed was on either side of the porch steps. A huge barn sat a few yards behind the house, and a corral was sitting beside the barn.
He turned to the passenger seat and smiled at Jess, who smiled back.
"It feels so good to be back here." She said.
The front door of the house opened and thirteen-year-old Kayla ran outside and down the porch steps. Sam and Jess got out of the car and the young teenager lunged herself into Jess's arms. After they hugged, Kayla ran to Sam and gave him a hug.
"Hey Squirt." Sam said, returning the hug.
"Mom! Dad!" Jess exclaimed, as the older couple emerged from the house. Jess ran up the porch steps and hugged her parents.
"Come on." Kayla said, grabbing Sam's hand and tugging. "We've got a huge surprise for you."
Sam allowed the young girl to lead him up the steps.
"Hello, Son." Ruth said, a huge smile on her face. "I am so happy for you two." She wrapped Sam in a tight hug, which he returned.
"Jessica is my little girl." Allen said, after Ruth released Sam. "A part of me hates to see her getting married, hates to see her growing up. But a Father could not be more proud of the man that his little girl choices then I am of you. Jess thinks very highly of you, and I am a pretty good judge of character."
"Thank you, Sir." Sam said, holding out his hand. "That means a lot to me."
Allen nodded, but ignored the outstretched hand. Instead, he drew the younger man into a brief hug.
"Come on inside." Ruth said. "You can grab your bags later; you two must be tired after your trip."
Sam followed them inside and his smile grew bigger. The inside of the house was as warm and welcoming as the outside. There were fresh flowers in vases on most of the tables, a huge piano sat against one of the walls in the living room, and family pictures lined the walls.
Sam spotted one of the pictures and he laughed. He could tell the little girl in the picture was Jess, even though she was only around five or six. She was wearing a fancy dress with lace and ribbons everywhere, and was splashing in the middle of a large mud puddle.
"Allen thought that was funny as well." Ruth said, glaring at her oldest daughter and husband. "I however did not."
Allen and Ruth sat in two recliners, Sam and Jess sat on the couch, and Kayla sat in an over stuffed lounge chair.
"Thank you for agreeing to have the wedding here." Ruth told Sam. "Jess grew up in Bradley, and it means a lot to us that she will be married here."
"We passed the church on our way here." Sam said. "It's beautiful, I'm glad we're getting married here."
"We were going to wait until you were married, but we can't wait another week before we tell you." Ruth said. "We've got a wedding present for you two."
"What is it?" Jess asked with excitement.
"This." Allen said, handing her a thick envelope.
Jess opened it and pulled out the contents, her and Sam were both speechless.
"I can't accept this." Sam said. "I mean, it's not that I don't appreciate it….."
"Nonsense." Ruth said. "It is all set. The morning after the wedding, you two will fly first class to Hawaii. That is where Allen and I spent our honeymoon."
"And my parents paid for the trip." Allen added. "It's kind of a family tradition. Now no arguments."
"Thank you." Jessica said, jumping up and hugging them both. "This is so cool."
"Thank you." Sam smiled. "If I would have known I'd get a free trip to Hawaii, I would've married her a year ago."
"If I get married in a week, can I go too?" Kayla asked her parents.
"If you get married in a week." Allen said. "The only place you will be going is to your room till you're twenty-one. And your husband, depending on his age, will either go to his own house or to the bottom of Lake Ebby."
"I think I'll wait a few years." The teen said.
"Ruth." Sam said, his voice serious. "I am more then happy to let you and Jess plan the wedding, I'm not too good at those kinds of things. But there is one tradition that I want honored."
"Of course Dear." Ruth said. "What is it?"
"It's kind of an odd tradition, but it's very important to me. It this custom, the groom gets to pick out the dresses for the bride's maids."
"No way Sasquatch." Kayla said, shaking her head. "I'm one of the bride's maids and you are not going to pick out my dress."
"Kayla." Allen said, his voice stern. "If that is a tradition that Sam wants to follow, then that is a tradition you will follow. It is Sam's wedding."
"I'm thinking about lime green." Sam said. "With dark orange laces and bows. Maybe a pair of bright yellow tights and lime green sandals."
"That sounds very lovely." Allen agreed.
"Moooooom!" Kayla exclaimed.
"Sorry, Honey." Ruth said. "But I'm with Sam and your Dad on this." Then she smiled and added. "I have heard of this tradition, but there is more to it then just that. In this tradition, the sister of the bride gets to pick out the Groom's suite."
"On second thought." Sam quickly changed his mind. "I'm not a very traditional type of person anyway."
"Hey, I have a very good sense of style." Kayla smiled.
"I know you do." Sam agreed. "But you also have a very mean sense of humor."
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The next morning, Sam woke up at around six and carefully climbed out of bed without waking up Jess. He quickly showered, then went downstairs, being quite so he wouldn't wake anyone up. He made it to the living room and smelt fresh coffee, so he walked into the kitchen. Allen was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee.
"Morning, Sam." The older man greeted. "You're up early."
"Morning." Sam replied, as he poured a cup of coffee and sat down. "I was about to tell you the same thing."
"I always wake up this early." Allen said. "So does Ruth, she's outside collecting eggs."
"So Jess and Kayla are the sleepy heads." Sam smiled.
"I'm glad you woke before Jess, we need to talk." Allen said, his voice serious.
"About what, Sir?"
"I want to show you something." Allen pulled a worn wallet from the back pocket of his coveralls and took a picture from it. "I know Jess is a woman now, I know she's independent and strong. But to me, she will always be my little girl." He handed the younger man the photo.
Sam took the picture and smiled at it. Allen was standing with a four-year-old Jess on his shoulders. The young girl was laughing, and had her arms spread out like she was flying.
"I've seen this picture before." Sam said, handing it back to Allen. "Jess has it in one of her picture albums. She loves this picture."
"Ruth told her to hold on so she wouldn't fall." Allen said. "And Jess told her that her Daddy would never let her fall." He smiled and added. "She knew I would always keep her safe, always chase the monsters from the closet, always patch up her scrapes and kiss her bruises."
"She may be an adult now." Sam said. "But she still needs her Dad."
Allen nodded and replaced the photo.
The back door leading into the kitchen opened, and Ruth walked in carrying a basket filled with eggs.
"Good morning Dear." She greeted Sam.
"Morning, Ma'am."
"Such a polite boy." Ruth smiled. She sat the eggs on the table, then she sat down. "Jessica, Kayla, and I are going into town this morning to pick out dresses and talk to Pastor William, he'll be the one performing the wedding. Allen and I went to school with him, he is a wonderful man."
"Jess told me about him." Sam said. Then he smirked and added. "She told me about him spray painting the principal's car in the seventh grade. Pink with purple hearts."
"He was a wild one." Ruth laughed. "But that was before he became a man of the cloth. He hasn't spray painted anything in several years. Jess said that, besides your friends from collage, you have two or three people coming for the wedding."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"I'm assuming one is Dean, such a nice boy. Who are the others?"
"Bobby is the other definite." Sam said. "He's an old family friend, I've known him since I was around two." Sam looked down at the table before adding. "I invited Dad, but I don't know if he'll show."
"Weather he does or not, it will be a perfect wedding." Ruth said, reaching out and placing a hand on Sam's arm. "That I promise you."
She stood up and said, "I am going to start breakfast, Sam would you be a dear and wake up the girls?"
"Yes Ma'am." Sam said, standing up and heading upstairs. Jess was awake and sitting on the bed when Sam entered the bedroom.
"Morning, Babe." Jess said, standing up and kissing her fiancé.
"Morning, Jess." Sam said, eagerly returning the kiss.
They brook apart and Sam said. "Ruth sent me to wake you up." Then he smiled and grabbed two large pillows from the bed. "And she wants me to wake up Kayla."
Jess gave him a confused look, then followed him from the bedroom and into Kayla's room. The young teen was sound asleep, wrapped up in a sheet. Sam grabbed an extra pillow from her bed and then threw all three pillows on the floor beside the bed. Then he walked to the other side of the bed, grabbed the mattress, and lifted one side of it.
The slumbering teen rolled out of bed and onto the pillows with a startled yelp and a thud. She tried standing up, but was still wrapped in the sheet and fell to the floor again. She managed to untangle herself from the sheet and stood up and glared at the two laughing adults.
"That was just plain wrong." She said, still glaring.
"Time to raise and shine, shorty." Sam laughed.
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A few days later, Bobby and Dean were staying at the Moore house. They had said that they were going to stay at a motel, but Ruth and Allen wouldn't hear of it. The older couple basically ordered them to stay there. But the two men didn't mind at all, they liked Jess's family.
It was two days before the wedding, and they were at the Church rehearsing the wedding. Allen had just walked Jess down the aisle.
"During the wedding, Jess will be wearing a veil." The pastor said. "I ask who gives her to be wed, and you say that Ruth and you do….."
"And then you say there is a no returns policy." Kayla piped in. Unfortunately for the young teen, she was standing right beside her Mom, who reached over and gave her a firm swat to her butt.
"As I was saying." The pastor said, trying to keep a straight face. "Then you lift the veil, give her a kiss, then take her hand and place it into Sam's hand. Then you stand over there. Sam and Jess, you wrote your own vows, so when I tell you too, you will recite them. Then I say a few words, and then you two kiss. Then you turn and walk back down the aisle as husband and wife as Emily sings and Jeff plays the piano."
"Sounds simple enough." Sam said.
Jess turned towards Emily and Jeff, who were siblings. Emily was fourteen and Jeff was twelve. "You two have the music all set?"
"Yes." Emily said. "Would you like a preview?"
"Sure." Jess said.
Emily nodded, then tried to hid a grin when she looked at Kayla.
Jeff sat at piano and started playing a soft tune, but then he started banging out a rock song. Emily started singing in a deep gravely voice. "Another one bites the dust. Another one bites the dust. Another one, and another one, and another one bites the dust."
"I love this song." Dean said.
"You two do that at my wedding and I will have your birth certificates revoked." Jess said in a stern voice, but she couldn't keep from grinning.
"Don't worry, Jess." Emily said. "I would never do that at a real wedding, wedding are so cool."
"I won't either." Jeff promised. "Remember, our parents will be there. And as nuts as Mom is about weddings, I guarantee to be on my best behavior."
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Sam stood nervously looking into a large mirror, as he straightened his tie.
"Relax Dude." Dean said.
"I can't." Sam sighed. "I am going to be married in less then twenty minutes."
The two brothers, along with Bobby and Allen, were in a room at the Church. All three men were wearing suits and ties.
Sam once again messed with the knot on his tie. He was nervous, but very excited and happy. But he was also saddened, he had not heard from his Dad. He and John didn't see eye to eye and fought every time they talked, but Sam loved him. And he really wanted his Dad to be there.
"I remember that felling." Bobby said, eying the younger man with a sad smile. "When Karen and I got married, I was a nervous wreak."
"Same here." Allen said. "But all of the nervousness is well worth it."
"Yeah." Bobby agreed. "Very well worth it."
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John walked into the cheerfully decorated Church, his confidence dwindling. He knew Sam invited him, but he wasn't sure if that was because he actually wanted him there. Or if it was just because he was his Father. He fiddled with his tie knot, as he walked.
"Hello Sir." A young voice said. John turned to see a young teenage girl with long blond hair, wearing a frilly soft pink dress. "Friends of the bride, groom, or both?"
"Groom." John said. "I'm Sam's Father."
"Cool." She smiled, extending her hand. "I'm the Bride's sister, names Kayla."
"John." John said, shaking her hand.
"Come on, I'll show you where he is."
"Thank you, Kayla."
She led him down a corridor and stopped at one of the closed doors. Then she knocked on the door.
"Yeah?" Dean's voice called out.
"It's Kayla." She said.
"No girl's allowed." Dean replied.
"I've got pie."
The door immediately opened.
"I lied." She smirked.
"Dad." Dean smiled, stepping aside and letting the older Winchester into the room.
"Dad." Sam said, with a combination of surprise and joy. "I'm glad you're here."
"So am I, Son." John said.
"Let's give them a little privacy." Bobby said. Him, Allen, and Dean walked out into the corridor.
"Aren't you supposed to be in the other dressing room with your Mom and Jess?" Allen asked his daughter.
"Please don't make me go back there." She said, with pleading eyes. "Mom is normally so composed and calm, but she's freaking out over the smallest things. And Jess is just plain nuts."
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"You clean up pretty good, Sam." John said.
"You do too."
John pulled his youngest son into a tight embrace, which Sam returned. After a few moments, they pulled apart.
"Thank you for coming." Sam said. "It means a lot to me."
"The last time we were together, we had a hell of a fight." John said.
"Yes Sir."
"But I was wrong." John said.
"Sir?" Sam asked in confusion. His Dad never admitted to being wrong, even when he was really wrong.
"You are an adult, I can not dictate your life anymore."
"Maybe not." Sam said. "But I could still use some Fatherly advise from time to time. You are always welcomed at my home. It's not much now, just a small one bedroom apartment. But there will always be plenty of room for you to visit."
"I'd like that, son."
"So would I."
The door opened and Bobby, Dean, and Allen walked back in.
"It's about to start." Dean said. "Dad, Ruth wants you to walk down the aisle with her."
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Dean and Kayla stood, elbows intertwined, at the end of the Church aisle. They were waiting for their cue.
"You look very beautiful, Kayla." Dean said.
"Thanks." The young girl blushed slightly. "You don't look that bad yourself."
"Here we go." Dean said, as the music started. It was a soft love song that Dean thought was boring. But he had to admit, young Emily did have a pretty voice. And Jeff was good on the piano.
They walked slowly down the aisle, heading to the pulpit where Pastor William Franks was standing. When they made it to the halfway mark, the next couple started down the aisle. Heather Deeds was a lifetime friend of Jess's, having met in kindergarten. Her companion was Bobby, who enjoyed walking beside the pretty twenty-three-year-old.
Next in line were John and Ruth, who walked down the aisle with their elbows intertwined. "You and Jess did an amazing job." John whispered. "The place looks wonderful."
"Thank you." Ruth smiled. "I love wedding, especially my daughters. And especially when she is marrying such a wonderful boy. Sam is a good man."
"I know." John said, pride present in his voice. He agreed, his youngest son was a good man. Even if he still saw him as a kid at times, he guessed that was just part of being a Father.
Once all three couples were standing before the pulpit, the music stopped and Emily started singing another song. The flower girl and ring bearer started down the aisle. They were four-year-old twins, Nancy and Evan Deeds. They were Heather's children.
When they reached the Pulpit, Allen and Jess began their walk. Everyone stood as they walked down the aisle.
Dean glanced at his little brother and grinned, the kid looked pale and was still nervous.
Allen and Jess stopped and everyone sat back down, except those standing at the pulpit.
"We are gathered here today to join in union Samuel Winchester and Jessica Moore." Pastor William said. "Who is here to give this woman to this man?"
"Her Mother and I are." Allen said, as he gently lifted the white veil from his oldest daughter's face and kissed her cheek. Then he took one of her hands and placed it into Sam's. Jess was a little surprised to see tears in her Dad's eyes.
"Marriage is lifelong commitment and should not be taken into lightly." The Pastor said. "Is there anyone present who objects to this union, if so please speak now or forever hold your peace."
No one spoke up.
"Samuel and Jessica have written their own vows, and will not recite them."
Sam and Jess turned to each other and held hands.
"Jess." Sam said. "I never really thought I could love anyone as much as I love you. I know I don't have much to offer right now, except my undying love and loyalty. I'm not promising to be the world's perfect husband, I know I have some faults. And I know I'm bound to mess up from time to time. But I do promise this. I will always love and cherish you. I will never abandon you or give you any reason to mistrust me. I want to grow old with you by my side."
"Sam, I have always dreamed of finding a man like you." Jess said, as her eyes watered. "I have more love in my heart for you then I ever thought possible. I know the road may be bumpy in patches, but I also know that there will be way more smooth patches. I know that whatever is thrown our way, we can overcome it. As long as we tackle it as a team. I want to be as good of a wife to you as my Mom is to Dad, and I promise to try to succeed in that. But I know I will blow it from time to time, my temper is a little more volatile then Mom's. But no matter what happens, I promise to always love you. And to always be your partner in this marriage and in life."
"The rings please." The Pastor said.
Evan stepped up to the couple and held his pillow out proudly. Sam smiled at him, then knelt and unpinned one of the rings. They had them pinned on the pillow so the young boy couldn't loose them.
Sam slipped the ring onto Jess's finger and said. "With this ring, I thee wed."
Jess then knelt and unpinned the other ring. She stood up and slipped it onto Sam's finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."
"What God brought together." Pastor William said. "Let no man put asunder. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Sam and Jess leaned forward and kissed passionately, as the crowd cheered.
"I am proud to present Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Winchester." The Pastor said.
Sam and Jess turned and walked back up the aisle, while the gathered audience threw rose petals at them.
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THE END
I plan on writing more about Sam and Jess's life and their future family. Please let me know if you would be interested in reading them.
