DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I own Julianna.
He pushed the papers away and leaned in for another kiss from his beautiful fiancee.
Julianna eagerly responded before pushing him back and asking, "Did you get the house," she asked.
Johnny smiled and reached into his pocket. He handed her a ring of keys to the house.
"Here are the keys. We are the proud owners of a house. I have a sinking suspicion that my furniture isn't going to be enough for that house," he said. A sudden look of horror crossed his face and Julianna became alarmed.
"Johnny, what's wrong," she asked.
"I just realized how much stuff we have to buy," he said.
"Oh, that. I have a feeling we'll do OK," Julianna said, kissing him. Julianna got off the bed and held out her hands. "You want to go downstairs now? We need to talk to mom and dad about the wedding and all that stuff," Julianna said.
They held hands and walked downstairs to the back deck where Mike was grilling hamburgers.
"Hey, Juju, Johnny," Mike said.
Johnny pulled out a chair for Julianna and sat down next to her. "You staying for dinner," Mike asked.
He looked at Julianna. "Am I," he asked.
"Of course," she said, leaning into him.
"You talked to mom and dad about the wedding," Mike asked.
"No. Figured we'd do that over dinner," Julianna said.
"Roy going to be your best man," Mike asked.
"If he says yes. I haven't talked to anyone about it, though," Johnny said.
Ben came out of the house with plates for the table. Julianna got up from the table and headed inside to help her mother.
"You and Johnny have a house," Helen asked as Julianna picked up the potato salad and pitcher of lemonade.
"Yeah. I'm guessing we'll start moving stuff into the house before Johnny's lease is up," Julianna said.
They exited the house and Mike sat the burgers on the table.
"You realize we're going to be eating burgers tomorrow at Roy's right," Johnny said.
"Yeah, but we never tire of hamburgers," Mike said.
Everyone fixed their plates and talk flowed easily around the table.
Julianna went inside to do the dishes and Johnny and Mike helped bring the dishes inside. Julianna's mother made coffee and the three Stoker's sat at the table while Johnny helped Julianna with the dishes.
"Well, when are we going to talk about this wedding," Helen asked.
"I think this is my cue to leave. Barb needs a ride to work and I'd like to see her before that. I told her I'd pick her up since her car is in the shop," Mike said. He leaned over and kissed his mom on the cheek and kissed the top of Julianna's head. "See ya, dad. Johnny," Mike said, heading out the door.
Julianna looked at Johnny. "Think he'll ever propose," she asked.
"He's your brother. What do you think," he asked her.
Julianna shrugged her shoulders.
"Now, have you two discussed a date for the wedding," Ben asked.
"I want to get married in the fall. It's such a pretty time of year," Julianna said.
"October," Johnny asked.
"Yeah. I know it's in six months, but we can do it," she said. "Can't we, dad," Julianna asked her father.
Helen and Ben smiled. "If you want it, baby girl, then we'll do what we can to make it happen. What do you think, Johnny," Ben asked.
"Whatever Julianna wants," he said, kissing her on the cheek.
"Well, how do you feel about getting married at the church you grew up in? It's such a lovely place," Helen said.
"I would love it. If Johnny doesn't mind a church wedding," Julianna said.
"That works for me," Johnny said.
"Well, you just have to figure out at day to get married so I can make sure the church is free," Helen said.
Ben got up and took the calendar off the wall and handed it to Julianna who was wiping her hands on the towel.
Johnny looked over her shoulder. "How about the 15th," he asked.
"Sounds as good a day as any to me," she said.
"I'll call him tomorrow and reserve the church," Helen said.
"Now, all we have to do is find dresses, flowers, catering and a thousand other little things," Julianna said.
"We're having the reception at the house. The yard is plenty big enough. Is that still what you want to do," Johnny asked.
"Yeah. Don't you like that idea, mom. We'll have the reception at the house Johnny just bought," Julianna said.
"Hey, it's OUR house," he emphasized and Julianna smiled. She couldn't believe she was making such grand plans for her life after everything that had happened.
"That sounds perfectly lovely. Now, we need to figure out the flowers and such," she said.
"Helen, I think we should head off to bed. I'm sure Julianna and Johnny want to talk about those things before you bombard them with questions. Besides, we'll see you in a few days," Ben asked.
"Are you not going to the DeSoto's for the barbecue," Julianna asked.
"No, we're going to go to San Diego to see your aunt. We'll spend at least a week," Ben said.
"Oh! Well, I'm working 11 to 11 Sunday and 11 to 7 Monday, so I guess I'll be here alone while Mike and Johnny are working," Julianna said.
"Well, good night you two. We'll see you later," Helen said, kissing her daughter and hugging Johnny. Ben hugged his daughter and shook hands with Johnny.
They headed up the stairs to the guest room.
Julianna and Johnny watched them go upstairs. "Well, your laundry should be done. Do you want to get it out of the dryer and I'll go pack my bag for the next few days," Julianna said.
"Sure," Johnny said, heading into the laundry room.
Julianna went upstairs and packed her bag for Johnny's. She made sure to put her work clothes in the bag. She wanted to be able to leave from Johnny's apartment and head to work.
She took the two bags downstairs and found Johnny folding his clothes and putting them in the laundry bag.
"Ready," he asked, stuffing the last shirt into the bag.
"Yeah," she said. She wrote a note to Mike and stuck it to the fridge. She headed out of the house and got into her car.
She followed Johnny to his apartment and parked in the visitor's spot in the parking lot. Johnny took Julianna's bags from her car and carried them up to his apartment.
Johnny unlocked the door and Julianna entered the apartment first. Johnny shut the door behind them and put the bags into his bedroom.
Julianna went into the kitchen. "Johnny, we need to go shopping. Can you head to that market down the street," she asked.
"Sure. It's fairly early," Johnny said, coming out of the bedroom.
Julianna scrawled a list on the pad by the phone and handed it to Johnny. "I want to take a shower, so I'll wait for you to come back," Julianna said.
"OK. I'll be right back," Johnny said, kissing Julianna.
She locked the door behind him and went into the bathroom. She turned on the shower and stood under the hot water for a bit before washing her hair.
She stepped out of the shower and had wrapped herself in Johnny's robe. She was gathering her pajamas out of her bag when Johnny came back from the market.
"Hey, babe. Wow, that looks better on you than me," Johnny said, coming to her side.
"Thanks. Did you get everything on the list," she asked.
"I did. Want something to drink," he asked.
"Yeah. I'll have a pop. I'll be there in a minute," she said.
Johnny kissed her and headed out to the kitchen.
Julianna changed into her pajamas and came out of the bedroom, pulling her hair into a ponytail.
She joined Johnny on the couch and they watched a little television before Julianna fell asleep in Johnny's arms.
She awoke several hours later and found Johnny was snoozing on the couch with her. "Johnny," she whispered.
He opened his eyes and looked at Julianna. "You OK, Jules," he asked.
"I was going to head to bed. You coming," she asked.
Wordlessly, Johnny got off the sofa and headed toward the bedroom. They both crawled under the covers and
were fast asleep.
Julianna awoke the next morning, Johnny snoring softly beside her. She slipped out of the bed and quickly changed into her jogging clothes. She had been dying to get back to running and, luckily, Johnny's apartment complex was big enough for her to do several laps around the place. She thought she'd grab coffee and doughnuts on her way back upstairs.
She jogged down the stairs, made a few laps before heading to the little bakery at the top of the block. She purchased two coffees and several donuts and headed back to Johnny's apartment.
She unlocked the door and slipped quietly into the apartment. She put the coffee and bag on the table and went back to the bedroom.
She slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She had just slipped under the warm spray when she felt the shower door open and Johnny joining her into the shower.
"Good morning," he said, kissing her neck.
Julianna turned around, kissing him. "Morning. Went for a jog this morning and brought back breakfast," she said.
"I have something else in mind for this morning," he said, his eyes twinkling.
"You are full of mischief this morning, Johnny," Julianna said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Yes, I am," he said, silencing her with a kiss.
They shared a steamy shower before stepping out and getting ready for their day.
They sat down at the table and had their coffee and donuts. Johnny read the paper while Julianna went back into the bathroom to fix her hair.
She changed into a pair of jeans and a plaid tunic top. She pulled her hair into a french braid. She put on some lip gloss, but didn't put on any additional makeup. She sat on the bed and tied her espadrille sandals before heading out into the living room. Johnny had changed into his jeans and button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up while Julianna had been fixing her hair. He was pulling on his boots when she came out of the bedroom.
"Wow, Jules! You look great," he said, standing up and giving her a kiss.
"It's just a casual barbecue outfit, Johnny, but thanks," she said, grabbing her purse from the coffee table.
"I know, but you do look great," he said.
"So do you. Have I ever told you how much I love seeing you in jeans," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Maybe," he said, kissing her again before turning around to grab his wallet.
Julianna smacked him on the butt and Johnny turned around. "What was that for," he asked.
"That's why I love seeing you in jeans. Probably for the same reason you like seeing me in jeans and low cut tops," she said.
"You're going to pay for that one, doctor," he said.
"Yeah, yeah. We should go," she said, dodging Johnny's arms as he reached out to grab her. Julianna knew what he wanted to do, tickle her in retaliation.
Julianna ran out the door, laughing at Johnny's antics.
