A/N: back on track with the wedding but the drama is FAR from over! enjoy and please R&R

Chapter 8

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN FOUR HUNDRED GUESTS? I DON'T EVEN KNOW FOUR HUNDRED PEOPLE!" Mac shouted into the receiver. The wedding planner was calling, again, to confirm whatever about the wedding. Mac had told Jo she could have whatever she wanted but this was ridiculous. Their guest list had climbed from less than fifty to four hundred in less than two weeks.

Mac was wondering where all these people were coming from. His family plus Jo's plus their friends didn't even break seventy-five. Jo had assured him that she had friends from her home town and he wasn't counting extended family and friends. Mac sighed but let her invite them anyway. 'Whatever made her happy' had become his mantra recently.

The wedding planner was still rattling on the other end, something about flowers and centerpieces and color coordination. Mac wasn't really paying attention.

"Yeah, yeah that's great. I just want to know how the hell our guest list went from fifty to four hundred! Do you know how much this is costing me?" Price didn't necessarily matter to Mac but he didn't have much to defend his stand that they had too many guests.

The wedding planner continued about there not being a budget and he needed to talk to his fiancé. "You know what? I will!" Mac slammed the phone down and rubbed his temples.

This damn wedding is driving me up a fucking wall. Breathe Mac, this is all for Jo. Whatever makes her happy, whatever makes her happy, whatever makes her fucking happy… He needed to have a serious talk with Jo.

Mac was sure he could handle the wedding, but now he was starting to doubt himself. All the planning, picking a place, finding a tux, picking his best men, Jo's need to find the "perfect dress", flower arrangements and color schemes and etcetera. It seemed like it never stopped. He wasn't sure if a huge wedding for right for them…him, really.

"Hey, boss," Danny said as he entered Mac's office. "You good?"

"No," Mac said truthfully. "This wedding is driving me insane. Did you know Jo upped the guest list to four hundred? Four hundred, Danny! How the hell she knows this many damn people amazes me!"

Danny chuckled. "I don't see her as the social butterfly either."

"And this damn wedding planner is pissing me off. She keeps calling about color schemes and flowers and what to serve at the reception." Mac let out a heavy sigh. "It's ridiculous! I don't even want the wedding now!"

"Whoa, you're not thinking 'bout…"

"No, Danny, never; it's just this is too much. I swore I would do whatever made Jo happy…but I can't take much more of this. I don't even know if I'll be able to handle another wedding." Mac thought about Claire. He had tried so hard to suppress those thoughts, but they kept coming back.

"I know…" Danny sighed. He knew Mac was thinking about Claire again. "You love Jo, right?"

"You know I do. I would shout it to the mountaintops." Mac would do so much more to show Jo he loved her, even suffering through this wedding but he had to draw the line somewhere.

"Then stop stressing. You need to sit down and talk with her about this. About everything that's bothering you about the wedding, even Claire."

Mac narrowed his eyes. "You're trying to kill me aren't you? You know there are other ways, without making Ellie an orphan."

Danny laughed. "Come on, Mac. You know as well as I do that a relationship is based on trust and communication. Just talk to her." Danny found it ironic he was giving his boss advice about relationships.

At that moment Jo and Lindsay came busting through the door. "Mac, look!" Jo said excitedly, holding out a thick magazine.

He looked at the picture; it was a wedding dress, a very extravagant wedding dress, at that. "That's uh…um…" Mac thought it looked nice but all his emotions about a giant wedding were crowding his brain.

"It's gorgeous! This is definitely the one I want! I need to call Suzanna and let her know." Jo prepared to whip out her cell phone to call the wedding planner.

"Uh, Jo?" Mac tried to get her attention. "We need to talk."

Danny immediately grabbed Lindsay and rushed out the door.

"Uh, okay. What's up?" Jo watched Lindsay be swept out the door. She felt worry creep into her thoughts.

"Jo…this wedding…don't you think it's getting a little crazy?" Crazy wasn't the term Mac wanted to use but he figured he was pushing it as it was.

"What do you mean?" Jo sat down in front of Mac.

Mac sighed and let out just the first of his concerns. "Jo, we have over four hundred guests! I don't even know that many people! I liked it better when it was just our close friends and family."

"Oh…well we can't really tell them not to come. I already sent out the invitations."

Mac rubbed his temples again. "Okay, fine. Jo, I feel like this wedding is taking a life of its own. I mean it's huge! You've got like seven bridesmaids, and Suzanna is talking about booking some palace or whatever for the reception and you have an ice sculpture and doves Suzanna keeps calling about some center pieces or whatnot. Jo, this is too much." Mac paused dramatically, waiting for Jo's response; possibly something being thrown at him.

Jo narrowed her eyebrows and stood up from the chair. Mac could tell she was angry. "Well, fine then." Jo didn't even know what to say, though just those words said plenty for Mac.

"Jo, wait, before you get pissed." Mac knew it was already too late. Jo was far from 'bridezilla' but he knew she was extremely sensitive about the wedding.

"Ha! Too late! Mac, I thought you said I could get whatever I wanted. You said whatever I did would make you happy."

"I did, it's just…Jo, this is too much! We don't need all this!"

"I want all of this! I want a big wedding to show everyone how much I love you!"

"Jo, you can say that without all of this stuff. It's just material things. We don't need all of it and it's costing me a fortune." Mac hadn't meant to play that card but he was already losing Jo.

"Well obviously that's all you care about."

"No, that's not-"

"Just forget it, Mac!" Jo stormed out the room and slammed the door behind her. Mac almost thought the glass would crack and fall out.

They were all empty words but there was just enough truth behind everything to set them both off.

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.

Jo and Mac drove home separately that night. Jo was still fuming from their argument at work and she couldn't even stand to sit next to Mac. She tried to compose herself on the ride home, knowing Ellie would be there and she didn't want her to see them fighting.

Mac arrived first at the condo. He sat in his car, waiting for Jo to pull up behind him. He finally saw her car roll up to the side of the street. They hopped out their cars at the same time."Jo!" He called as he began striding toward her.

Jo saw him and immediately darted for the house door. She whipped out her keys in record time and stormed into the house. Mac raced after her, almost getting his hand cut off in the door as she tried to slam it behind her.

"Jo, come on, we need to talk."

"I don't want to talk to you." She said curtly, tossing her bag on the kitchen table and retreating to the bedroom. Mac swiftly followed after her.

"I know, but we need to." Mac couldn't count the times he'd said that. Before he felt they really didn't need to talk about her past but it was good for her to let it out; now they needed to or the wedding would be off permanently.

Jo stopped at the door of the bedroom. "No." She closed the door almost catching Mac's fingers again. He stood outside, tapping his foot impatiently. When Jo came out she was in her blue flannel pajamas. Mac already knew how pissed she was now. He hated those pajamas, because the only time she wore them was when she wasn't in the mood for sex. At this point he thought that was his only way to relax her.

"Jo," Mac began, before she brushed past him into the kitchen.

"NO." Jo yelled at him again. She turned to the cabinet, looking for any junk food she could find. Of course, Mac being health conscious put it on the top shelf, where she couldn't reach.

"Jo, listen to me." He grabbed her arm and she whipped around to face him. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "I'm sorry…" Mac said. "I just feel like this is getting out of hand. I didn't mean to hurt you but I have feelings too and just like I listen to you, you have to listen to me." Jo's expression softened. She kept her arms crossed, but stopped glaring at Mac. "You know price isn't a problem and I do want to make you happy, but…I can't handle this. I want to show everyone how much I love you as much as you do but I don't think a giant wedding is the way to do it."

Jo nodded her head. "I know…"

"We can still do a big wedding if you want, though." Mac was never great at bargaining.

Jo shook her head. "No, I don't want to now."

"Why not?" Mac didn't really care, he was more happy he wasn't about to embarrass himself in front of four hundred people.

"I just…" Jo shook her head. "Never mind, it's nothing." She got ready to turn but Mac gently held her arm.

"No, tell me."

"I just thought, that if the wedding was really big you would know how much I loved you and you…you wouldn't…turn out like Russ…" Jo spoke so quickly on the last part, Mac almost didn't hear her.

"Jo…we talked about this…"

"I know, I know! I just…me and Russ didn't really have a wedding. We got married right out of high school in Vegas. It was so stupid and I just thought that the bigger the wedding the more you would know how much I love you and the less chance we'd have of this ending because…I don't want this to end."

Mac nodded his head. "Jo, I love you no matter what. The size of our wedding has nothing to do with that. It's the size of my heart that really matters." He kissed her on the forehead.

"Well I see that now…" Jo smirked.

"Jo, I have something else to tell you." Mac knew he had to be honest with Jo, no matter what. He hoped she would let him finish before she started jumping to conclusions; which was a rare occasion.

"What…" They had just made up and now he wanted to drag her back down again. Jo bit her bottom lip.

"For a minute, not even that, I swear it was just a thought!"

"Mac, hurry up and spit it out." Jo was beginning to feel the suspense.

"I didn't want to get married."

"What?"

"Now, Jo, listen before you go off." Mac moved to block her from escaping. "You know I've been married before and I just-"

"You know I was married before too! You think I don't want that to happen again?" Jo was starting to feel her blood boiling.

"Jo, shut up and listen!" Mac grabbed her hands in his and kept her from running…and smacking him. "I didn't want to lose you! I thought if we got married, you would end up like Claire. I didn't want that to happen to you. I wouldn't be able to live if I lost you."

Jo glared at him for only a second before relaxing again. "I wouldn't be able to live without you either. Mac, you know not every marriage is the same."

"Shouldn't I be telling you that?"

"Shut up," She smiled but Mac knew she was serious. "I'm not Claire. You're not Russ."

"You're not Claire, I'm not Russ." Mac repeated for both their comforts.

"We have something new and fantastic and wonderful. Our marriage will be different; it'll better for the both of us. I promise."

"You'll never have another doubt in your mind again as long as you're with me. We'll be the most deliriously happy couple ever. I promise."

Mac and Jo laughed at each other as their foreheads touched. They looked up to kiss each other and they both swore they felt fireworks explode throughout their bodies.

"Excuse me!" Ellie coughed loudly from the breakfast bar. Mac and Jo broke apart to find Ellie with her arms crossed over her chest and foot tapping impatiently. "Could you stop sucking face long enough to feed your starving child?"

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The Wedding

"You almost ready, hon?" Lindsay asked as she entered Jo's bedroom.

"It's a little late if I'm not, don't ya think?" Jo stood, elegantly in her long flowing dress. It wasn't the one from the magazine, though just as gorgeous.

"You look beautiful."

"Mommy, you look perfect." Ellie said holding her flower basket.

"Thanks you two." Jo let out a soft sigh. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's do this."

To say the wedding was untraditional would be an understatement. There were thirteen guests in total; Don, Hawkes, Sid, Adam, Danny, Lindsay, Lucy, Jo's parents, Jo's sister Arianna, Mac's mother, Ellie, and Tyler; fourteen if you counted the priest.

Mac and Jo had finally decided on simply getting married in their backyard. It was romantic and simple and pleased everyone, especially Mac when he found out four hundred pairs of eyes wouldn't be staring at him.

Jo decided to walk down the aisle by herself, no bridesmaids (though Lindsay sure acted like one), no men of honor. They were about to take out the flower girl as well but when Ellie practically threw a tantrum over it they decided she could. Ellie even talked them into letting Lucy be the ring bearer.

So Ellie held Lucy's hand as they slowly strode down the aisle, Ellie dropping red and yellow tulip petals as she went. Everyone had thought this strange until Jo explained that the red meant their declaration of love for each other, yellow meaning how hopelessly in love they were, and the red and yellow leaving a blazing fire of passion between her and Mac. It was quite symbolic.

They finally reached the alter where Mac awaited them in his black tuxedo. Danny swore he never saw a bigger smile upon Mac's face before that day. Mac stood perfectly still as he awaited his bride though he was so nervous he couldn't help fidgeting with his tie every now and then.

Jo fought the urge to run into Mac's arms the second she saw him. He was so handsome, like a knight. He almost looked like he had stepped out of a fairy tale. Jo still couldn't believe it was happening. She kept waiting to wake up and realize it was all a dream; that she was still married to Russ and he was about to kill her and Mac wasn't there to save her; but it wasn't a dream. It was reality. It was her dreams come true.

Mac stared down the aisle, astonished at the remarkable beauty of Jo. She was a goddess, a queen walking from her throne, a painting escaping her frame. Mac wasn't sure if he was drooling or not. He was so mesmerized he couldn't even think straight. He couldn't believe it was true, it was real; it was his dreams come true.

Jo finally reached Mac, and he held her hands in his. They stared into each other's eyes, feeling like the only two people in the universe at the moment.

They held a conversation with each other just through their eyes as the priest spoke.

This feels like a dream, Mac.

If it is, I don't ever want to wake up.

Me neither.

I love you, Jo Danville.

I love you, Mac Taylor.

"Do you, Josephine Marie Danville, take this man, McKenna Boyd Taylor the second, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish, forsaking all others, until death do you part?"

"I do." Jo giggled. She squeezed Mac's hands.

"Do you, McKenna Boyd Taylor the second, take this woman, Josephine Marie Danville, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor, and cherish, forsaking all others, until death do you part?"

"I do." Mac stood even straighter, his shape illuminated by the sun behind him.

Mac and Jo placed the rings on their fingers. "With this ring I do thee wed." They said simultaneously.

"By the power invested in me and the state of New York, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Mac dipped Jo and kissed her passionately while their guests clapped.

"I give you, Mr. and Mrs. McKenna Boyd Taylor." The priest announced over the clapping.

Everyone was still clapping when Mac finally released Jo and they stood to catch their breath. As they walked down the aisle, Jo whispered in Mac's ear. "I love you, McKenna Taylor."

"I love you too, Josephine Taylor."

A/N: :') don't you just love happy endings? just kidding! this is definitely NOT the end! chapter 9 is coming soon! please R&R