Wooo! Two updates in a week. Well, one story and an update. As always, forgive the typos and enjoy!


"Turn around, dear. Let us have a look!"

Mumbling sullenly under her breath, Stephanie lifted the large material of her dress and rotated so that she was now facing her mother. Linda's blue orbs lit up as she admired the intricate detail of the fine lace garment. It tailored her daughter to a tee. She clasped her hands together, resting her frail chin between them and swaying with excitement.

"Oh, Stephanie, this is definitely the one! It's perfect!"

Stephanie forced her most convincing smile towards her mother and best friend, who looked equally as pleased as Linda.

"I agree!" Linda and Courtney gushed.

Turning to face the mirror once more, Stephanie gazed at her reflection. The dress was off shoulder and the lace of the sleeves stopped just before her elbows. The v-neckline revealed ample cleavage, but not as far to draw too much attention. From there, the ivory material from her chest down to her waist was covered in intricate lacy designs. It clung to her hips and curves before flaring out to the ground. To put it simply- the dress was absolutely gorgeous- Simple, yet embodied elegance and beauty.

The past hour and a half had been spent trying on numerous dresses and bouncing in-between different bridle stores in hopes of finding the perfect dress. Albeit, Stephanie was the least eager out of the threeo- Linda and Courtney were bubbling with excitement. Both thrilled to be sharing this wonderful experience with Stephanie. Though it was lost on them on how the soon to be bide of Kurt Angle was feeling about this whole situation.

Quite honestly, Stephanie had no idea what to feel. She knew she that she was far from ready and that that this was a big step to take, but she loved Kurt and he loved her. And they were going to be happily married together. She just was apprehensive about getting married so soon.

They had only been officially dating for a year now, excluding the many attempts prior Kurt had made to seize her attention. But eventually she came along. And in a course of time she started to develop feelings for him. She felt happy, more than she had felt in a long time. That is what confused her. She was happy with Kurt, she loved him, he loved her- the next obvious step is marriage. But these thoughts failed to occur to her while he was down on one knee, professing his love to her in front of a crowded restaurant. All she knew was that she was not ready, no matter what the logical step was; Stephanie was not prepared to take the plunge, at least not yet. And a little part of her couldn't help but wonder why.

Stephanie pushed those thoughts aside. She was being delusional. She was getting married to the sweetest, handsomest, charming man in the world who loved her and treated her like gold. And she was standing here having second thoughts. Her mind was made up. A pleasant smile emerged on her face as she gazed back to her reflection in the large vanity mirror. Slightly raising her arms, swaying her hips from side to side, admiring the intricate details along her waist and hips through the mirror. Gently bringing her hands to the front and running them over her abdomen, she sighed almost blissfully.

She nodded before responding, "Yep, this is the one!"

Linda let out an excited shriek. It was the first time since her engagement to Kurt that she seen her daughter genuinely happy. Throughout the past few weeks and whenever they mentioned the wedding, something in Stephanie's demeanour shifted. Linda almost worried that she regretted saying yes. But she was quick to dismiss those thoughts for she was being utterly ridiculous! The love Kurt and Stephanie shared was one of a kind. Sure it took a long time for them to happen. God knows the heartbreak poor Stephanie went through in the past. She spent the better half of her life locking herself up and not allowing anyone to get close to her heart. That was before she met Kurt at least. Vince and Linda were so grateful to that man, because he took some of that anguish and heartbreak away from their daughter. Stephanie's life was back on track and Kurt showered her with his love and protection. That is why it kills her to see her daughter in such a state. She was doing so fine up until this point. Linda may have thought that she would cancel the wedding and go back to her original state of shutting everybody out. But any thought of that happening slowly diminished as the grin on Stephanie's face grew wider, her smile actually reaching her eyes this time. Be it the dress or just reality catching up to her, Stephanie looked sincerely exultant now, and she couldn't be more thankful for that fact. Linda only wanted what was best for her daughter, and knowing that she was in the hands of a loving and caring man made her heart swell with so many emotions.

Carefully turning to fully inspect the dress, Stephanie took time to admire the back view- The deep cut in the middle from the sleeves of her shoulders made a v-line on her back. Tiny white buttons trailed down the back of the dress and little lacy patterns drooped down.

"You look absolutely stunning, Steph." Her friend gushed, her auburn coloured hair nodded in approval as her green eyes shone with her excitement. Stephanie sure has come a long way since they first met at the dance academy. As she was her best friend, Courtney knew of the heartbreak she had suffered prior before moving to New York, but all that was taken away after Kurt arrived. She was so happy for her friend that she found true love. Now all that was left was for her to find a man as wonderful as Kurt is to Stephanie.

"Thanks, Court."

Stephanie smiled at her friend through the mirror and twirled to face them. She felt her stomach growl and was instantly overcome with hunger. "Alright, let's wrap this up and go get some lunch!"

She grinned as she turned to face the mirror once more. In a couple of months she will walk down the aisle in this dress. Initially, she dreaded the day, now however, she couldn't wait for that day to come sooner.


Stephanie entered her large apartment with her mother and her friend in tow. Flicking on the lights and shutting the door behind them, she briskly walked into the expansive kitchen and pulled out a bottle of wine from the cupboard and set it atop of counter.

"Who's thirsty?" She asked as the two walked into kitchen.

"I wouldn't mind one."

"Oh, one wouldn't hurt!"

Stephanie poured each a glass of red wine before a faint knocking on her door drew her attention. Wondering who it could be, Stephanie placed her glass on the table and walked out of the kitchen to the front door. She swung it open and a smile adorned her face as her fiancé stood before her- his hands behind his back and he wore a cute but sly smile as he eyed her up and down.

"Hello, beautiful." He smiled as he leaned in to kiss her on the lips.

Stephanie smirked as he pulled back, his hands still tied behind him. "Hello, yourself," She stated lightly, cocking her head to one side to try and see what he was hiding.

"And what's that you're hiding from me?" Her question boarded on playful curiosity as Kurt decided to play along.

"What? Me? Hiding something… from you? Don't be ridiculous, Stephanie!" His eyes twinkled playfully back at her. Stephanie's eyebrow arched in suspicion as she folded her hands across her chest and her hip moved to lean against the door frame.

"Don't give me that, Angle. Give it to me!" Her hand extended out to him as Kurt sighed and rolled his eyes teasingly.

"Okay, okay, since you asked nicely," a hint of sarcasm in his voice. From behind his back, he pulled out a large bouquet of flowers. The various mixtures of lilies, daises and daffodils drew a warm smile from Stephanie's face.

"Aw, are these for me?"

Kurt's eyes travelled towards the two figures perched behind Stephanie and grinned. "Of course not," he playfully pushed passed Stephanie and entered the apartment. "These are for my mother-in-law to be!" He joked as his arms wrapped around Linda.

The two women laughed heartedly, Stephanie however, wore a fake scowl. Kurt turned to his fiancé; viewing the look of mock discontent as he approached her with the bouquet still in hand. "I'm just kidding." Handing her the flowers, Stephanie's mouth threatened in a smile. "These are for you, my darling."

Her fingers lightly fiddled with the bouquet as he put it in her hands. "Thank you" She smiled sweetly before leaning in to peck him on the cheek.

"I better put these in water." She walked in through the kitchen and fished around for a jug to hold her flowers. Entering the kitchen and closing the door behind him, Kurt made his way to island in the middle of the room and sat on one of the stools. Moments later Stephanie appeared from the floor with a jug in one hand. Kurt sent her a smile and she returned the gesture. She began to make small talk as she filled the jug with water.

"So, how has your day been so far?"

Kurt sighed and folded his hands on the dark marble. "Pretty uneventful, actually." His light blue eyes shifted to her and he handed her the bouquet as she approached him. "How did the dress hunting go?" He asked curiously.

Stephanie carefully bunched the flowers together and rearranged them once in the jug to her liking. "Really well. I found the perfect dress! I can't wait for you to see it." She beamed back at him as he stood up from the stool and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her slender waist and pressing a soft kiss to her hair.

"Say no more, I want it to be a surprise."

Stephanie nodded in agreement. "Of course. You're not allowed to see it until the day of the wedding."

Kurt sighed and rested his chin against her shoulder. "That's actually what I came here to talk about…"

Stephanie's forehead crinkled in confusion and she slowly detached herself from his arms, turning to face him. "Why, what's wrong?"

"I was thinking… perhaps… we could maybe bump back the wedding to somewhere in August…"

"August?" She queried with shock.

At first she thought that she may have heard wrong. But when she asked him a second time, Kurt nodded, not missing a beat. "Yeah. Look, I know it's a little too soon but-"

"Too soon?" Stephanie looked at him with disbelief.

"Kurt, that's like a month and a half away!" What was he thinking? They weren't in such a hurry.

Kurt wasn't sure why she was so distressed about the situation. They were bound to be married anyway, why did it matter that it was so soon?

"Steph, I know, ok? Just… My mom, she's on borrowed time, you know? The doc says that she has at the least two months to live at most."

Kurt's blue orbs finally made contact with Stephanie's and she at once felt guilty at the saddened look beneath them. Kurt's mother had been diagnosed with Leukaemia for about two years now. She recently just stopped her chemotherapy, and much to Kurt's dismay, she doesn't have very long, each breath could be her last. And Stephanie knew that. It was one of the many factors on why she agreed to marry Kurt in the first place.

"Her last wish is to see me married before…" He trailed off, unable to finish the words that got lodged in his throat. He still hadn't come to terms about his mother's conditions. Kurt was close to both his parents and his mother was his life. The day he found out about her terminal illness was the day his world got torn in half. After she was gone, all he would have left is Stephanie.

She felt her heart start to soften and without a processed thought, she found herself nodding. "Okay." She barely whispered. She soon felt her insides clutch as the situation just dawned on her. What was she doing? She wasn't ready. Well- she was before- but that was in a different time and space where she thought she would be getting married later within the year, maybe even early next year. A date wasn't conformed yet but she was confident she would be well and truly ready by then. And now? He wants to get married in one and a half months' time?

"Really, you mean it?" Kurt's smile was enough to light up a whole neighbourhood.

Stephanie gulped hard and forced a convincing smile. She felt as though she was reliving the night of her proposal. "Yes." Her reply was nothing short of a squeak and could barely be heard. But Kurt heard it and was at once thrilled and relived.

"Thank you, Steph." He brushed his thumb along her jawline before pulling her into a tight embrace. Stephanie felt a migraine coming on as he all but squeezed her tighter. She felt guilt course through her veins, because she was in this for all the wrong reasons. Kurt deserved better. Even though her decision was making him happy, she couldn't help but feel guttered by the fact that she did not love him as much as he did her. They were about to be wed in less than two months- a lot sooner than she had once hoped. All of a sudden that confidence she had in the bridal store disappeared. She couldn't do this. She never should have said yes back in that restaurant those months ago. It was too late now. What choice did she have?