I sneak in and see your friends

and her snotty little family all dressed in pastel

And she is yelling at a bridesmaid

somewhere back inside a room wearing a gown shaped like a pastry

-==========-========== o / o ==========-==========-

Hannah was panicking.

Currently, the blonde was on her way to Seeley's apartment, driving his car since he said it was totally okay for her to borrow it. She was grateful to say the least; at least she was able to get around without having to use public transportation, especially because of the wedding.

Hannah gripped the steering wheel as she thought about what she had left to do. She had about a billion things to go over: a cake to check, a dress to wear for the final measuring, guest lists to look over, decorations to perfect, and so much more. And there was only two weeks left till the wedding took place. And considering that she was the only one preparing the wedding (Seeley tried, he really did, but he got much too lost once they reached invitations), it didn't exactly help her lately snippy mood. All the decisions had to be made and confirmed by her, with Seeley just nodding along his head to agree with (and avoid) everything.

The reporter sighed once she pulled up into the basement garage, and she thought about how she was managing with planning the wedding all alone. Again, it wasn't like Seeley didn't try; he really did want to help! He just… couldn't. It overwhelmed him a little too much and Hannah understood. It was ironic to say the least: here she was, the woman who vowed not to get hitched and yet she was the only one planning her wedding. She couldn't exactly get her coworkers from Afghan to come over for a few months to help her plan the damn thing. Then again, it wasn't like they'd want to help her out; if they avoided her in Afghan because they envied her freedom, she could only imagine what they'd think about asking them to help her out with her wedding.

It generally sucked that Hannah didn't make many friends during her time in DC. Her fellow coworkers here were as boring as the assignments she was given and she never spent much time with them. And outside of work, Hannah didn't spend time with others because she had her hands full with Seeley and Temperance.

Oh God, Temperance.

Hannah groaned internally as she started up the elevator towards the apartment. She hadn't spoken to the anthropologist since their argument at the restaurant months ago. She told Seeley to avoid the caramel haired woman as much as possible too. It was a horrible thing to ask; she knew that and she beat herself up too many times to count about it. But there was no way she was letting her fiancée go. Seeley told her as soon as they met up one day that Temperance confessed her feelings for him, and something in Hannah snapped. She resolved that cutting Temperance Brennan as much as possible from their lives would ensure this engagement. If Temperance was serious about not being able to handle her and Seeley's relationship, Hannah suspected that the anthropologist would find some way to break them up. Granted, it was a childish assumption, but Hannah couldn't shake the feeling that her fiancée's coworker was actually capable of it. And there was no way that she was having the FBI agent taken from her that easily.

At least Seeley was able to comply. He didn't go down without a fight, of course. Seeley clearly said "it was wrong and it did not sit right with him" and he and Hannah had a huge, week-long fight about the concern. But Hannah was eventually able to convince him that it would be better this way. She said she'd send Temperance an invite once everything was ready and that they could have the anthropologist back in their lives once they were officially married. Seeley reluctantly agreed but… though she never told him… Hannah never sent the invite. She was so stressed as it was it actually slipped her mind. Not that she cared much once she realized (but she'd never admit it to Seeley). Not inviting Temperance, Hannah promised to herself, would be the last thing she would do to stop the anthropologist from breaking her and Seeley up. And after that, she'd apologize profusely and let the caramel haired woman back into hers and future-husband's lives.

Still, the act bothered her every now and then and… it just did not help her stress and anxiety towards the wedding.

And all that pressure didn't even include all the crap from work that was starting to pile up. Her sudden return only led to her having to catch up with everything that she missed around DC when she was gone. The fact that she never found the pieces she was assigned to very entertaining did not help her distaste towards her work.

Not to mention, her family was beginning to pour in from around the country. Her parents came in yesterday and were staying at some Hilton hotel downtown since Seeley's apartment couldn't hold them; this could be said for the rest of the family that she invited.

God, her family. They were the reason why she avoided weddings at all.

The Burley family was, simply put, a big, and equally wealthy, family. They all had some sort of wealth from at least one parent having some sort of successful, 6-figure-salary career. The money they had, and therefore the money they could get, was in proportions that most people would call indecent. But that didn't matter to the Burleys, no. They all flaunted their wealth, always in competition with one other relative about who went where, and who got what, and always who spent how much. They were also the type of family where each individual sibling (in Hannah's father's side, at least), had a family of their own, with sizes matching that of a professional sport teams. Hannah had 6 other siblings herself, her being smack in the middle of two older brothers, one older sister, two younger sisters, and one baby brother.

Once she was old enough, she never bothered keeping up with any of them; not her own immediate family and certainly not her other relatives. She was the black sheep of the family, why should she?

Hannah was never comfortable with the amount of money her family had. Add to the fact that they all flaunted it certainly never sat well with her. And add to that fact that there were literally dozens of her relatives all doing the same thing did not help the situation at all. The reporter had countless memories of attending family matters where all she would do was sit in a corner, alone, because she felt so uncomfortable around her family. And then when she found her passion, which was – great shocker! – not in the 6-figure-salary industry, her family saw it fit that there was something… wrong, with her. Hannah didn't mind this, of course she didn't. She never liked much of her family as it was, so she didn't need their approval for anything. Once she graduated she cut as much ties from her family as possible and vowed to not speak to them unless complete necessary.

Of course, once in a while, the blonde relented and came to a few major family occasions. A few Christmases for one, and obviously every wedding where she was somehow part of the entourage. You see, Hannah wasn't completely bitter towards her family, and the fact that she did attend a few of those major family events meant that it was only fair that they'd also be invited to her wedding.

Hence, the reason why she avoided getting married. Well, there was also that "I'm-never-getting-married-because-I-am-a-free-spirit" bit that was also true, but her family made the decision for her early on.

Though, when Booth brought up the conversation of their guest list, Hannah couldn't exactly lie to her fiancée…

-x-x-x-

"Uh, Hannah?" Booth suddenly asked one day.

The reporter didn't look up from her laptop. She was in Booth's apartment's den and her fiancée was standing at the door of the room. Before she was interrupted, she was researching hard for a decent place to get a wedding dress. Honestly, her wedding was in two and a half months and she had yet to find a dress. Goodness.

"Mmm?" she replied, still typing away on Google, looking for a decent dress shop anywhere near DC.

"We still haven't – uh – discussed the guest list," he stated.

Hannah groaned internally; externally, she took a deep breath. She'd been trying to avoid that topic for quite a while now.

Trying to deflect that she was really dreading this conversation, Hannah turned and faced Seeley. "Well, in can't be that hard, can it?" she said with a sweet, fake smile. "Come here, we can start naming people and I can type them into my laptop."

The FBI agent nodded and took a seat next to her. "So, do you –"

"You can go first," Hannah quickly, but very subtly, said, turning back to her laptop screen. No way she was going to sort out who in her family to invite. Maybe she could just tell Seeley they didn't want to come or something…

"Hannah?" her fiancée called out then, snapping her from her thoughts.

The blonde faced her fiancée. "Yes?" she asked, trying to cover up the fact that she hadn't been paying attention for the past few minutes or so.

"Baby, you haven't typed in any of the names I've given you," Seeley lightly replied with a soft smile, nodding towards her laptop which still had her Google window opened.

Hannah turned back to her laptop and blinked. "O-oh," she said, immediately opening up a word document to begin typing names into. "I'm sorry," she apologized, before shaking her head. "You can go ahead and start firing names now."

"Hannah," Seeley said gently, tugging one of Hannah's hands away from her laptop's keyboard. The action forced the blonde to look at the agent, whose eyes Hannah definitely knew were in "speculation" mode (as she liked to call it). "What's going on?"

She smiled, but she could feel her that her grin was tight and completely fake. "Nothing," she said.

"Hannah, quit lying," her fiancée commanded flatly.

The blonde blinked and then gave in. "It's just that –" she began, but then left her mouth open because she couldn't finish what she started. She sighed and tried again. "You're inviting your family, right?"

Seeley nodded, but his face clearly gave away that he was clearly suspicious. "Yes. Why?"

Trying to joke her way out of this, Hannah brightly said, "So, that means that I don't have to invite my family, right?" She grinned brightly, trying to encourage the idea.

The agent looked at her disappointedly. "Hannah, you know how much this means to me. And you know how much it'd mean to me if I met your family." Hannah's smile disappeared, since it was clear that her family was coming either way to this damn wedding, whether she liked it or not apparently. "Baby, is there a reason why you don't want your family at our wedding?"

Hannah looked away from Booth, her head bowing slightly. "Kinda…" she finally muttered.

"Baby, I'm sure that –"

"No, Seeley, you don't understand," she huffed, turning back to her fiancée. "My family, were a huge clan. And we're filthy rich. And I really do mean filthy. I was never comfortable with them and I don't talk to them much, especially because we were so goddamn rich. They're the reason why I didn't want to marry because I have no choice but to include them at my wedding. And I don't want them there."

By the end of it, Hannah was looking at Seeley gravely. Her fiancée was openly gaping at her, surprised by her reason.

"Baby, I'm sorry," Seeley said simply.

"Why?" she replied, knitting her eyebrows together. "The fact that I don't like my family isn't your fault; you have no reason to apologize." She smiled at him.

"It's just that…" he trailed off, looking into the distance for a moment. When he turned back to meet her eyes, the agent said, "If you don't want to invite your family, that's okay. It would make me a little disappointed on my part, I'll admit, but I'll get over it. I mean, if you're happier without them then –"

Hannah was so touched. Seeley really was too good. He just admitted that he wanted to meet her family but, if it made her happy not to see them, he was willing to avoid them with her. He didn't want to pressure her into anything she didn't want. The blonde felt horrible then, feeling completely selfish. All this time, she had been looking out for herself, avoiding her family because it made her feel uncomfortable. And now she was denying Seeley a chance of meeting his fiancée's family, and she knew how much that meant to him.

The blonde leaned over and kissed her fiancée, cutting him off from whatever he was saying.

"You're much too kind," she whispered. Keeping him close, she continued, "If it makes you happy to meet them, then you'll meet them. I'm happy as long as I'm with you Seeley, so if meeting my family is a really big deal for you, and it'll make you happy, I'll invite 'em over." She smiled kindly at him then, and the grin that broke across his face made her smile wider.

Seeley took her into a hug. "Hannah, thank you! Thank you, baby!" he exclaimed, kissing the side of her head.

When they finally broke apart, Hannah sighed. "Well, let's get started," she said, turning back to her laptop. "Okay, let's begin with my immediate family: I'm one of 7 siblings, so me excluded, there's 6 people right there…"

To say the least, Hannah could tell the FBI agent was overwhelmed with the amount of people they ended up inviting by the end of their discussion. Their budget ended up growing to proportions they couldn't afford because of the amount of people they had to accommodate. But luckily, Hannah was able to call her parents that night. And when she mentioned that the entire family was invited to her wedding, they announced that they were more than happy to take care of the couple's money worries.

-x-x-x-

Hannah stepped into the apartment and found Seeley standing right at the door, ready to leave.

"Baby, where you going?" she asked. The blonde had barely stepped into their apartment and her fiancée was already halfway out the door.

"You're cousin Eli just called. Said he was at the airport and needed a ride to your parents' hotel," he said quickly. He smiled apologetically and shrugged.

"Oh," Hannah said disappointed.

"I'm sorry, baby," Seeley said immediately. "We can call him and tell him to grab a taxi –"

The reporter just shook her head. "No, no. It's fine. Go pick him up," she replied.

Seeley stepped back into the apartment and kissed her briefly. Once on the nose and then once on the lips.

"I love you," he said once he reached the doorway.

She smiled back at him. "You too, babe," she responded, and with that Seeley was out the door and Hannah was left alone in the apartment.

The blonde sighed. Well, there goes that backrub I was looking forward to coming home to…

-x-x-x-x-x-

Booth's wedding was just 3 days away.

And Bones wasn't even invited.

The anthropologist was honestly offended by this. She truly felt that the disturbance between her, Booth and Hannah really wasn't that bad. They had one argument each, that's all! Her feelings aside, they should have been able to solve the problem like calm adults.

But they didn't.

The past few months, Hannah didn't call back Temperance once and Booth did all he could to avoid Bones unless absolutely necessary.

(The latter depressed Brennan more than she wanted to admit.)

(And because the latter did happen, Bones wasn't once able to talk to Booth about her lack of invitation. Temperance sighed.)

And during those awful months, the fact that Hannah and Booth were getting married just unsettled Bones more and more. She realized how strong the feelings she suppressed were. She realized how much she had actually fallen for Booth. Which was just ridiculous because Temperance knew that she didn't physically fall for Booth. No! That was ludicrous.

But with the way she felt whenever he was actually around her now felt just like she had. Every time Bones felt her coworker's presence, she actually felt weak at the knees. Like she was actually going to collapse merely because he was standing so close to her. Like she needed his arms around her to hold her up. To keep her steady.

And it was even more ridiculous when Brennan realized that the prospect of his arms wrapped tightly around her was something she desperately wanted. She wanted to hold him, too, though. She wanted to hold him and hopefully tell him how much he actually meant to her. And whatever she couldn't tell him verbally, she wanted to show, through kisses and touches and dates that she finally wanted to take up with him.

But she knew that she missed all her chances to do just that.

However, if another chance, any chance, presented itself, Temperance knew that she would just clutch her heart and take it.

One chance, that's all she needed…

Then an idea hit her.

In 3 days, she'd get that one, final chance.

And right then and there, right in her living room apartment, Brennan resolved not to let it pass by her.

Bones immediately walked over to her bedroom – though with the speed she had, she may as well have been running – and went straight to her closet. Now that Temperance thought about it, it would have helped if she knew what the colour scheme was for the wedding so she wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb within the throng of people who were attending. She needed to blend into the crowd while she waited out her chance. But she also needed to look presentable once her chance came. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if she came in completely under-dressed? When a once in a lifetime chance comes by, even Brennan knew that it would help if you actually looked like you were ready to take it.

And, right then as she looked through her closet for the perfect attire, Bones knew she was definitely ready to take it. It terrified her, yes, but she was willing to take it.

-==========-========== o / o ==========-==========-

This is surely not how you thought it would be

I lose myself in a day dream while I stand and say

-==========-========== o / o ==========-==========-

Simply said, this was nothing compared to what Seeley Booth had pictured his wedding to be.

What he pictured was a simple outdoor wedding with a small crowd consisting of close family and friends. They'd pitch a giant tent next to the aisle and the reception would take place there. It was going to be beautiful and short and simple.

Instead, here on his wedding day, he was somehow caught in a HUMONGOUS wedding that took place indoors in a gigantic hotel, where in one hall he and Hannah were getting married and in another they were having their reception.

When Hannah explained to him her family was "huge and filthy rich", he had honestly underestimated her. He thought his own family was huge; his mom had three other siblings and they had many children of their own. But Hannah's family? They could have created several, professional sports teams. And now, as they all gathered together in the gigantic hotel, her family easily filled the building, their chatter filling every inch of possible thinking space.

Which really bothered Booth because he really needed some space to think.

He walked down the hall, stopping way too many times to count to greet or chat briskly to Hannah's relatives. As he strolled down, he took in the decorations, which were, well, definitely fancy. Okay, it was much too intricate for the FBI agent's liking. He really should have thought twice when he allowed Hannah to take over decorations. He just said "it wouldn't matter what the decorations were because nothing would compare to how she looked that day" and left his fiancée to it. Seeley didn't realize that, with her parents' wealth, Hannah was going to go all out and choose the fanciest possible decorations. It wasn't that Booth thought it was ugly, God no. With the amount of money they (i.e.: her parents) were spending, they were definitely getting what they were giving. They just… didn't fit in with Booth's idea of his wedding: beautiful of course, but also simple enough that they were only barely noticeable because the even more beautiful bride should have overshadowed them. Actually, the décor was quite the opposite of that; it was so fancy and gorgeous and intricate that they were the only thing you noticed. Booth had already received dozens of compliments on them that he had a disturbing, fleeting thought that people would be more impressed by that than by the act of him marrying Hannah.

Seeley shrugged: 1) because he needed to get out of one of Hannah's uncle's grip; and 2) because he needed to shake off these troubling thoughts. What the hell, who cares about the decorations anyway, right? Right.

Booth eventually found a washroom, which was, thank goodness, empty, and he immediately locked himself in a stall. The agent put the toilet seat down, placed dozens of tissues over it and sat on the cover, praying to God that his suit wouldn't get ruined. He placed his elbows on his knees and buried his face into his hands. He took a deep breath.

Hannah was worth all this craziness, right? All the ridiculous decorations and her equally overwhelming family and the startling amount of money put into the wedding?

Of course, right, she was worth it.

She had to be.

Are you sure she is? a small corner of his brain questioned. Is she really worth all this hassle?

Of course she is! Booth thought immediately, smacking his head as he did so. He was just having cold feet – that was it. This would pass soon. He just needed to have faith in him and Hannah. Him and Hannah…

Booth tried picturing a future with her, having little blonde kids running around the house they'd inevitably own together. He tried picturing her familiar grey eyes behind the thin, wiry eyeglass frames she'd eventually own once they were seniors.

But it was strange because the kids he imagined didn't have blonde hair – in fact, they had caramel hair. And the eyes he pictured behind the glasses weren't grey, but a pale, dreamy blue. And the images didn't stop there. He pictured small gatherings for birthdays and soccer games where a familiar voice carried over everyone else's, pushing her opinions over all other sounds. He pictured evenings where he ended up cooking because she ended up staying at work too long, putting every once of effort she had to give into yet another case.

He pictured… Bones.

And he didn't want to stop picturing his life with her.

Oh God, what was he going to do?

WUTWUT? IS SEELEY HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS? O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O O.o o.O

Anyways, soooooo, I just want to apologize for the horrible lack of updates. I am now officially saying that there are no guarantees to when I'll update, other than at least once or twice a month/every few weeks. I'm incredibly sorry, but that's the best I've got now. Perhaps it'll get as the summer passes on, since I'm pretty sure I'll have less sudden interruptions – but, again, no guarantees. I'm just eternally grateful that you guys are actually sticking around for this, SO THANK YOU FROM THE END OF OUR GALAXY AND BACK :''''D

But yeah, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you'll stick around till the end of this fic! As always, please continue to review :D

x o x o bjaarcy

PS Does the length of this chapter make up for my lack of ability to update regularly? :3 Because, fun fact: this is the longest chapter to date!

PPS I really do hope you enjoyed this chapter! I was able to include why Hannah didn't want to get hitched, a bit of wedding planning (like some of you wanted! See, I didn't forget ;D), but have also moved on to the actual wedding. Coming up next is more of the wedding; it probably won't be as long as this chapter, but it's going to focus solely on the wedding and it's gonna go on for a few chapters, so stick around :3