Chapter 7

Nancy blew out a frustrated sigh as she looked at her reflection in the three way mirror in the Bride's room of a small country church.

About a month after Neil had asked her to marry him, they had decided to take a scenic drive through the countryside around his house on one of their days off and just happened to pass it.

"Wow … just … wow … you look amazing!" Jodie Benton, Nancy's old friend from college said as she helped her with the zipper.

"I look like a fat cow." Nancy replied flatly as she put her hand over her ever growing stomach; she was nearing the middle of her second trimester and she was starting to show.

"Girl, come on, you're pregnant, you're not fat and you're not ugly. You're like … making a whole new human being in there, so give yourself a break!" Jodie replied.

"And just think … you're about to marry the father of your kid who really loves you … not many woman can say that nowadays." She added as she gave herself a once over in the mirror next to Nancy.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be, though! This …" Nancy said, frustrated as she gestured to her stomach "is not supposed to happen before that!" She said as she gestured toward the Nave.

"Yeah … well … it's a little late for that now, like mom always used to say, you gotta play out the hand you're dealt." Jodie replied as she looked at her watch, outside they could hear the organ player warming up.

"Come on, girl, its show time!" Jodie exclaimed as she took Nancy by the arm and led her out.

"Thanks for being my Maid of Honor." Nancy said.

"Are you kidding, I'd have been mortally offended if you hadn't asked me." Jodie said with a laugh.


"Come on, man, you look fine. If you don't hurry up, you're going to be late for your own damn wedding." Neil's younger brother, Bastian said as he pulled him away from the mirror.

"Oh god … I think I'm going to be sick." Neil said weakly as Bastian put an arm around his shoulders and led him out.

"Good, because I'd be worried if you weren't nervous." Bastian said with a laugh as they walked through the door into the Nave.

Bastian was saying something, Neil could hear the sound of his voice, but he wasn't paying attention anymore, the rest of the world fell away as soon as he caught sight of Nancy standing with Jodie at the altar.

"So, what do you think …" Bastian trailed off and a grin spread across his face as he realized that his brother hadn't heard a single damn thing he had just said about using his and Lisa's timeshare in Belize for their honeymoon.

"We'll talk about it later." Bastian said with a grin as they all took their places.

"You look …" Neil trailed off as his eyes slowly traveled down the length of Nancy's frame and back again, as if relishing every detail. "… Like an angel." He finished as his eyes met hers, she could see all the love and desire he held for her shining within them.

Warmth washed over Nancy as she smiled back at him, all the frustration and self-consciousness about her appearance melted away with his reaction as the priest took his place at the head of the ceremony and they began.


"Thanks for everything, Bastian." Neil said as he gave his brother a hearty hug.

"Don't mention it, now you two had better hurry up or you'll miss your plane." He said as he and Jodie ushered them into the limo.

"But our clothes …" Nancy began.

"Already in the trunk, now go!" Jodie said with a wink as she closed the door and they were off, They waved at the limo until they could no longer see it in the distance.

"Oh my god, Cancun! I can't believe it!" Nancy exclaimed excitedly.

"Are we sure it's okay for the baby, though? Didn't the experts say that it was bad to fly while pregnant?" Neil interjected.

Nancy blew out a good natured, albeit exasperated sigh.

"You've asked the doctor about it several times at my last appointment! The baby and I have been thoroughly checked out and everything is fine and going normally, and the doc has given me the green light to fly." Nancy replied with a laugh.

Neil fell into silence, but the troubled look on his face remained as he looked out the limo's window.

"Darling, you've got to relax, if you're this worry stricken now, how are you doing to do once the baby is here?" Nancy said as she put her hand on his arm.

"Probably be ten times worse." He replied with a sheepish grin as the limo pulled up to the terminal and the driver got out and opened their door for them.

"Don't spend energy worrying about it, enjoy it, this is supposed to be a happy time, remember? And this will kind of be like the last hurrah before the baby gets here, so let's make the most of it." She said as they walked to the baggage check.


Neil and Nancy looked around as they walked out of baggage claim with their luggage in tow, even the airport had a quaint, charming feel to it.

"I could get used to a place like this." Nancy said as a soft coastal breeze rustled through her long hair.

"Yeah, just think, back home we'd be bundling up this time of year." Neil said as they arrived at their hotel.

"Come on, let's get checked in." Nancy said

"You're just anxious to get out onto the beach." Neil said with a laugh.

"Aren't you?" She replied with a coy grin.

Neil's arms snaked around her waist, drawing her close.

"I'm just anxious to see you in that new swimsuit that I know you packed, but wouldn't let me see." he growled into her ear.

Nancy rolled her eyes as she playfully pushed him away.

"You're incorrigible, you know that? It's that kind of attitude that got us into this in the first place." she said with a laugh as she put her hand on her stomach.

"If I remember rightly, it wasn't just MY attitude that got us into this." Neil replied with a raised eyebrow as he gave their info to the man behind the registration desk. A television in the lounge was set to a news station, as it was in every hotel mostly for background noise.

"We appreciate you staying with us, Mr and Mrs Gordon." he said as he waved to one of the bell hops.

"Here are the cards to your room, Victor will take your luggage up, just follow him." he said with a pleasant smile.

"Thank you very much, Nancy are ..." Neil said as he turned to her, only to find her no where in site.

"Nancy?" Neil said as he found her standing in front of the television in the lounge.

"What is it?" He said as he noticed that her voice was stricken worry and fear.

Nancy said nothing, she merely put a finger to her lips as she continued to listen with rapt attention as the newscaster drone on in Spanish.

"Now, would you care to fill me in?" Neil said as the news program finally entered into a commercial break.

"He ... he was talking about a rash of unexplained deaths of kids and teenagers ... in their sleep." she said as she met Neil's gaze.


AN: Oh lord I am so very sorry for the lack of update here, I had a terrible TERRIBLE case of writer's block, along with being insanely busy.