Sorry again for the delay--I wanted to get this chapter right, and...well, I'm a horrible slacker! Sorry, sorry, sorry! And thanks everyone for the lovely reviews, both positive and negative--feedback of any kind is always enormously appreciated! I will try really hard to update quicker from now on.


When we walk into a crowded room, it's like we're all alone.

Everybody tries to kidnap your attention, you just smile and steal the show.

You come to me and take my hand, and we start dancing slow.

You put your lips up to my ear, and whisper, way down low...

The first time I saw you, it felt like coming home.

If I never told you, I just want you to know...

You had me from hello.

And when you're laying down beside me, I feel your heartbeat to remind me...

From the first time I saw you, it felt like coming home...

If I never told you, I just want you to know...

You had me from hello.

From hello.


In a small town, truly exciting things don't happen all that often. People rolled through off the highway, but they never stayed for long. There were birthdays and anniversaries, and the occasional good news from friends and family out of town, but not much else. So when something truly monumental happened, people always took the opportunity to celebrate.

Gabriel and Elle had been a breath of fresh air in their own particular small town. They were young and in love, and they brought the community together like lost children in need of parents. They fit in, something that didn't often happen when strangers intruded in on a tight-knit group. And so, when Gabriel and Elle announced their engagement, the town exploded with frenzied excitement.

The first thing that was decided was that Elle needed a dress. She insisted, several times, that she didn't need anything fancy, didn't even need a dress, that she was perfectly fine in jeans and a t-shirt, but Doris would have none of it.

"You can't have a wedding, a good wedding, without a dress, Elle, darling," she said definitively. She gave Elle a stern look, but Elle was feeling far too stubborn to back down.

"Doris, you know we can't afford a real wedding dress."

"True. But I may have a solution for that."

She did. Out of a trunk in her attic Doris produced an aged box tied in ribbon. She opened the box and pulled out its contents with a smile.

Elle gasped. "Doris, oh my God…"

"I wore it when Jim and I got married," Doris explained. "It'll be a little big for you, but I can make some alterations."

Elle reached out to brush her fingers against the delicate lace bodice. "It's…gorgeous!"

Doris smiled. "You'll look stunning in it, sweetie," she said. "You're beautiful anyways, but…well, every girl deserves to look extra special on her wedding day."

She held the dress up against Elle, observing the fit. Elle bit her lip, feeling a surge of emotion.

"Doris…"

She smiled gratefully.

"You've been so good to us," she said, shaking her head. "How can Gabriel and I ever repay you for everything you've done?"

Doris waved a dismissive hand. "Don't be silly, honey," she said. "You and Gabriel are like family, and families shouldn't ever hold debts against each other. Now…" She looked over the wedding dress again. "Why don't you try this on, and I'll get started with the alterations."

Before Elle followed Doris' advice she threw her arms around the older woman in a quick hug.

As Doris worked on pinning up the slack in the dress, Elle admired herself in the full length mirror in Doris' bedroom. She had never given much thought to weddings or wedding dresses before, but all of a sudden, looking at herself in the beautiful white lace and satin, she was overcome with excitement.

Doris clucked. "Stop fidgeting, Elle," she said sternly. "I don't want to stick you with one of these pins by accident."

"Sorry, Doris," Elle apologized. "I just…"

"I know, I know," Doris said, winking. "You've just got the pre-wedding jitters. Don't you worry, honey, Saturday will be here soon enough. Be thankful you decided to get married right away—imagine if you had decided to wait months, or even a year!"

Elle laughed. "You're right. But there really wasn't any reason to put it off…I mean, once we decided to do it, Gabriel and I just figured…why wait?"

After Doris finished pinning up the dress Elle slipped back into her own clothes and left to meet Gabriel for a few minutes while he was on a break at the hardware store.

"You look happy," he remarked, as she jogged up.

She realized she was beaming. "Oh, I just…Doris is going to let me wear her wedding dress," she said.

"Ah," Gabriel said knowingly. "You've been trying on wedding dresses. That explains it."

She shoved him playfully. "Jerk," she teased.

He grinned. "Lots of ribbons and frills?"

"No! It's very…pretty, okay?"

He kissed her nose. "I'm sure it is."

Elle smiled and reached up, plucking Gabriel's glasses from his face and setting them on the bridge of her nose. He had started wearing them again not long after they had run off together. When Elle had inquired why he stopped in the first place he had explained, with a shrug, that he hadn't thought they were very menacing. Elle had had to agree.

Gabriel chuckled. "You look very studious," he observed. "Can I have them back, please?"

"Why?" Elle asked, backing away out of his reach. "Blind as a bat?"

"Oh, I can see well enough," he grinned, reaching out a hand. Elle felt a gentle tug at her shoulders and jumped.

"Gabriel!" she laughed, surprised. "You shouldn't do that out here! Someone might see!"

"My glasses, please?"

She handed them over reluctantly.

"Thank you, dear," he said, his voice dry. He slipped the glasses back on.

"I've was thinking about something earlier," he said.

"What's that?"

"Were you planning on taking my name?"

Elle cocked her head to one side. "Huh," she said. "I hadn't thought about it before," she admitted. "But I don't have any special attraction to my name…yeah, sure, why not?"

He grinned wickedly. Elle frowned.

"What?" she demanded, thumping his chest. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," he said innocently. "Just…what would that make your name?"

Elle was confused.

"Well…Gray. Elle Gray." Her eyes widened.

"Oh my God!" she cried. "Elle Gray? Elle Gray? It sounds like tea!"

Gabriel threw back his head and laughed. "Mrs. Elle Gray!"

She buried her face in his chest. "Oh, man!" she whined. "Gabriel, your last name sucks!"

"I'm sorry," he said, patting her back comfortably. "It's not on purpose."

Elle scowled. "Maybe I shouldn't marry you after all," she grumbled darkly.

Gabriel wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her up against him tightly. "You don't really mean that, do you?"

Elle looked up and saw that he was smiling. She slumped against him and sighed.

"No, I don't," she admitted. "I love you too much to care about my name sounding dumb."

"Well thanks, that's very nice of you."

"Even if it does sound really dumb," she muttered. Gabriel laughed and kissed her.

The next three days that passed before the morning of their wedding were the slowest days that either of them had experienced in their entire lives. Elle found that the customers she served at the diner were completely insufferable, and Gabriel was bored out of his mind sweeping up and restocking the hardware store. But at last it was Friday night, and the entire town gathered to celebrate at Doris' Diner. Thankfully it was a slow night, and they had no passers-by from the highway to disrupt the festivities in and around the restaurant. In the midst of the party Doris took Gabriel by the sleeve and pulled him aside.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing," she asked. Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

"I'm fine," he said. "Shouldn't I be?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes grooms get a little jittery. No cold feet?"

He laughed. "Cold feet? Not a chance! Believe me, there is nothing in the world that could keep me from marrying Elle tomorrow. I've wanted to marry her from the very first moment I laid eyes on her—though to be honest it took me a little while to realize it."

Doris smiled. "Good," she said. "Just wanted to make sure. You know that I adore the two of you—couldn't' be happier to have you living here with Jim and me. But to be honest, Gabriel…honey, I'm glad you kids are finally making it official, because it's my house where the two of you have been living in sin." She winked and then strolled away, humming, leaving Gabriel in amused silence.

Saturday morning dawned. The only building that opened in the entire town was the church. The doors were thrown open and the building was filled with flowers and bright candles. The town gathered eagerly. It had been a long time since anyone had been married in that church. Most people, when they grew up and tied the knot with someone, did so elsewhere, closer to the rest of civilization.

Jim stood next to Gabriel at the altar, which amused him to no end, as some thought the original role of the best man was to defend the groom in a fight, should one arise. Jim was a strong man, to be sure, but Gabriel had trouble imagining him being anything but a hindrance should trouble arise. Still, it was nice that Jim had offered to stand up with him.

He was wearing an old tuxedo that Jim had lent him, one that actually fit him fairly well. It was a little short in the sleeves and the legs, but that was because Gabriel was taller than Jim. It didn't really matter, though, because no one was looking at him.

She appeared at the end of the aisle, a vision in white. Every eye in the church turned towards her. Gabriel felt his heart skip a beat. He had always thought that Elle was beautiful, but at this particular moment she looked even more breath-taking than he had ever imagined possible. He didn't know if it was the simple yet elegant wedding dress, or the way that the morning light shone on her golden hair, or the radiant smile that lit up her face, but there was something about her as she walked down the aisle that made Gabriel feel more in love with her than he ever had before. She stepped up next to him at the altar, her bright blue eyes twinkling with excitement.

As the priest (who was also, interestingly enough, the owner of the pharmacy) began to lead them through the ceremony, Gabriel found it hard to keep his eyes off of Elle. She glanced over at him several times before pressing her lips together to suppress a laugh.

"What?" she whispered.

Gabriel smiled. "Nothing," he whispered back. "Sorry." He tried to keep his eyes facing forward.

Then it was time for their vows. Elle had wondered aloud at one point, a few days back, if they might write their own vows.

"That would be interesting," Gabriel had said. "I wonder what Jim and Doris would think…'I promise to stand by your side when we do battle with evil, to heal you with my blood when you're injured, and to never try to cut your head open, no matter how bad the hunger gets.'"

Elle had made a face. "Oh, fine," she had said. "You're probably right. Stupid."

As the priest led them through their vows Gabriel could tell by the expression on Elle's face that she was thinking about the same conversation, and imagining what the reactions of their audience would be like. Elle shared a conspiratorial wink with him, and Gabriel grinned.

As he made his vows to Elle, slipping the cheap ring they had somehow managed to afford onto her finger, he reflected on the words. They had already experienced most of the extremes the lines mentioned. They had done the worse several times over, and things were certainly better now…they had definitely gone from richer to poorer…and they had knocked out sickness and health in the course of a single afternoon. But it was the final words that brought a smile to his face—"'til death do us part." Well, he had already died, and they hadn't parted yet!

He listened as Elle repeated the same words back to him, sounding like poetry when spoken in her musical voice. She slipped a ring matching her own onto his finger and his skin tingled against the cool metal.

Then the priest told Gabriel to kiss her.

Gabriel stepped forward, his eyes locked with Elle's, and slipped his arm around her waist. As she wrapped her arms around his neck he leaned down and did exactly as he was told.

He kissed his wife.

Over the past several months Gabriel had kissed Elle countless times, and every single one had been special—but this kiss was different. He didn't even notice that everyone in the church was on their feet, clapping ecstatically. All he cared about was holding her, kissing her, trying to convince himself that his moment was real.

Their lips parted and Elle stood up on her tip-toes to whisper in his ear.

"That's it," she murmured. "We're married. I am not Mrs. Elle Gray."

"Mrs. Tea," he whispered in return.

She laughed happily. Then they grabbed each other's hands and, holding on tight, they took their first steps as husband and wife, walking down the aisle and out into the bright morning sun.