Author's Note: again sorry for the wait everyone and i'm really sorry if you felt the previous chapter may have been just a filler, i was trying to make it so this chapter didn't come out too long, but it still came out a little lengthy, please review, i love hearing what you guys think!

Chapter 10

Amazing weather was something to be expected when living in southern California, today was no different. The sun was reflecting off the calm waters of the Pacific Ocean and the birds seemed to be serenading life itself. All in all it was what appeared to be a perfect day.

It was hard to breathe. But that was to be expected on one's wedding day. Sarah couldn't help but stare as she was being laced into her wedding gown. The white of the satin was stark against her slightly tanned skin. She drew a breath as Layla tightened the corset of her dress

"Sorry." Layla said with a smile.

"Is it normal to not be able to breathe?" Sarah asked with a gasp-like laugh as she struggled to draw air into her lungs.

"Beauty is pain." Layla replied as she pulled on the strings yet again, this time nearly pulling Sarah off balance; she had to grab the sides of the vanity table just to stay on her feet. She tried to ignore the feeling of confinement and looked into her reflection. Her hair had been pulled back and held in place by multiple clips, her bangs still hung side-swept along with wisps of golden hair. There was a single white orchid pinned into her hair in place of a veil. Layla had done her makeup before she they put on the dress and she did a fantastic job.

"Done." Layla said, clapping her hands together and feeling like it was a job well done. Sarah looked at herself in the full length mirror and nearly gasped. She looked amazing.

The pure white of the dress complimented the slight tan she had acquired in the early summer. The corset hugged her body in a way that gave her an hourglass figure, hugging her slim waist and gently flowing to her feet. The hem of the gown itself had azaleas embroidered in gently shimmering beads as well as the bodice of the dress; the flower in her hair complimented the dress as such. She never imagined how perfect the dress would be, not even at her last fitting. She couldn't wait for Kalos to see her as she made her way to become Mrs. Eido.

Tears began to form in her eyes as she suddenly realized that after years of being together, she and Kalos were finally going to be married.

"Don't cry!" Layla yelled. "You'll ruin your make up!" She laughed and pulled Layla into a hug. Layla's hair had been curled and pulled into an elegant up do. Her dress was a light shade of teal with a gentle strapless sweat heart neckline. There was a flower at the waist on one side with gentle folds of soft fabric falling from it. The hem fell just below her knees and one side was slightly longer than the other and there was a bit of a lacey material peeking out from under the skirt. The dress was coupled with a silver pair of strappy sandals. She looked great and was beaming at the thought of a long-time friend finally tying the knot.

"I can't help it!" The British bride laughed as she tried to wipe the tears without smudging her make up.

"Come on," Layla said, handing Sarah her bouquet. "Let's get you hitched."

Her mouth was dry, but that's what happens when you sit there munching on saltine crackers all morning. Sora's stomach had calmed down a bit over the past two days so she took the opportunity to put something in it while she could; she had barely eaten over the past week as the nausea was that bad. What kind of the flu did she have? She'd never heard of the flu lasting nearly three weeks. She was eating dry crackers in hopes that it wouldn't upset her stomach, besides; it wouldn't stain her bridesmaids dress.

Sora sat in one of the man parlors on the Hamilton estate as the girls waited for Sarah to be ready. May had gone to the restroom to touch up her makeup and Sora was watching Stella and Alexander. Alexander was sitting on the floor in his miniature tux while Stella spun around in the center of the room, watching her dress twirl out around her. Her dress was a lovely shade of ivory with a teal ribbon the same shade as Sora's dress tied around the waist. There was a teal flower attached to the ribbon and the dress fell in ruffles to her little feet. Her blonde hair was pulled up halfway and the rest fell in soft curls to the middle of her back, she had ivory pins holding her hair in place. Her sparkling blue eyes just lit up as she twirled.

Sora almost jumped out of her seat when Stella began to tip.

"Woah!" She cried out as she caught Stella, who just giggled like there was no tomorrow. "You need to be careful, you don't want to get a boo boo."

"Okay, Auntie Sora." She smiled and sat down next to her little brother who beamed at her as he handed her a car. The young boy wore a black tuxedo with an ivory shirt and teal vest and tie, there was a small embroidered pattern on the vest and tie, just enough to give it a little dimension. The aqua made the two-year-old's eyes just pop, his blonde hair was a little disheveled but there wasn't really much that could be done about it. There were traces of gel in his blond curls to show that someone had at least attempted to style it but later realized that his hair was naturally curly and naturally wanted to stay curly.

Sora sat up and stretched, feeling her back pop in a few places. She looked at herself in the mirror over the fireplace. She wore the same dress as Layla but something didn't feel quite right. Don't get me wrong, she looked great, but the dress didn't seem to fit as well as it did at the fitting, she brushed aside the thought and turned as she heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"Damn." May said as she walked back into the room.

Sora shot her a glare, "There are children in the room!" She scolded, earning a giggle from Stella and Alexander.

"Sorry," May blushed a little in shame, "It's just that I get lost just about every freaking time I come here!"

"Something wrong with my house?" Layla asked, nobody had heard her come in. She had a smug look on her face as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Yeah, it's too damn big," May said simply; Sora glared at her yet again. "You should look into getting those maps like they have at the mall, you know, the ones that say 'You are here' and all that."

"I don't get lost." Stella called from where she was playing with her brother, who had now gotten up and ran to his mother.

"How's my little man?" She said sweetly as she picked him up and placed him on her hip.

"Good!" The two year old said as he kissed his mommy on the cheek.

"She's ready." Layla had turned her attention back to her fellow bridesmaids. "Let's go."

How did I get pulled into this? Leon groaned as he drove. He was fine with weddings, hell, he liked them as much as the next guy but only if he was attending, not part of the court; he wasn't one to be a chronic usher. He hadn't been in a wedding since he was the ring bearer at his Tante Marie's wedding when he was just a child, and that wedding ended in disaster; let's just say there was more cake in people's hair than in their stomachs, there was enough drinking to empty a giant's wine cellar, and no matter how much bleach they used, there was just no way that stain was coming out. Supposedly everybody had a great time nonetheless, but Leon was scarred for life.

That being said, his mood was anything but bright. The sun was started to get closer to the horizon, meaning the wedding was due to start shortly. He looked at the time.

"Damn." He muttered under his breath, he'd be there on time just by the skin of his teeth, assuming he doesn't get pulled over.

"Okay, chairs are set," Layla muttered as she did a last minute walkthrough, "Arch is decorated," she looked down, "Carpet, set, no wrinkles," she looked sideways, "Bows on the chairs, check," she turned at did a once around, "All set." She said, satisfied. The sun was sitting low on the horizon and the sky had just started to turn a beautiful shade of coral. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and there was a soft breeze playing through; a perfect day for an outdoor wedding.

Layla had personally oversaw the preparations that day, she commissioned the arch to be built, met with the florist herself, even helped tie the bows for the chairs. The arch itself was made of an ivory colored wood that twisted and braided around itself, there were pieces of teal lace and white azaleas woven into the wood; the breeze gently tugged at the silk.

The white chairs matched the arch and were set in rows facing the archway which was set in just the right place to capture the sunset. There were teal and ivory bows at the back of every chair. At the center of the rows of chairs, leading up to the archway was a teal carpet, set to cover the sand so the bride and her party would not trip or sink with their heels. The beach's white nearly white sand complimented the decorations. Layla just hoped that the breeze didn't disturb the white flower petals that were laid over the carpet much more than necessary. A beach wedding! How romantic! Was the reaction when Layla had told the others about the plans, she had to admit that this would be special.

The florist had done a great job, clearly earning the nice tip Layla had added to the bill. Though she was young she had certainly impressed, she even threw in a few extra corsages for the gents which Layla carried and needed to distribute. They had been kept in a cool place so as not to wither.

"You did great." Layla heard a voice come from behind. She saw Kalos Eido, the groom walking up to take his place at the archway as guests started to arrive. He wore a tuxedo much like her son's but in full size. The suit itself was black with an ivory shirt and teal tie and vest. Kalos had forsaken his usual sunglasses and even styled his hair so it wasn't spiked just for that day. He smiled widely, his white teeth contrasted his mocha skin, he was clearly pleased.

"Thanks, it was worth it to see you guys finally starting a new life together." Layla smiled sweetly. "Come here." She gestured for him to come closer. She carefully unwrapped one of the corsages and pinned it to the lapel of his jacket. "Perfect." She said quietly. "It's almost time to start; I'll send Yuri over in a minute."

"Okay," Kalos laughed to himself, "I hope I can count on you to make sure Sarah doesn't leave me hanging."

"Of course!" She laughed as she made her way to round up the troops.

It was less than 5 minutes before the wedding was scheduled to start and Leon was nowhere to be found. Sora felt a familiar tightness in her chest as she gently unwrapped the bloom that Layla had given her to hold. Layla was busy pinning corsages to Yuri and Alexander and making sure that Alexander remembered not to drop the pillow carrying the rings, and that he doesn't walk to fast. She was also making sure that Stella knew to drop some more flower petals every few steps and to watch her brother. Yuri had made his way to stand beside Kalos as the best man.

May had her arm linked through Ken's as they stood, waiting to start marching. She looked beautiful with her hair pulled into an elegant bun with a small silver clasp on one side; Ken could hardly keep his eyes off her. He also looked rather dashing in his tux with his ginger-blond hair slicked back and his blue eyes sparkling. May looked so happy, Sora couldn't help but smile. Her smile faded a bit when she remembered that she was still standing alone.

She turned away from the ocean back toward the city in time to see a familiar black sports car pull into a nearby parking lot. Her heart leapt when she saw a real life Adonis step out and begin jogging in her direction. Leon's silver-white hair flowed behind him as he ran to her. Sora had seen him in a tux before but it still hit her like a tidal wave.

Her eyes couldn't leave him, she kind of knew how Ken felt when he looked at May; he was like a magnet. He drew closer and closer and Sora knew he'd probably noticed her staring, but that could probably be attributed to the fact that he was late.

"I apologize." He said breathily as he came to a stop at her side. "There was more traffic than I thought."

"At least we didn't march yet." Ken said lightly as Layla pointed a death glare at Leon who either didn't notice or chose to ignore her.

Sora stepped up close to him. "Hold still." She said as she pulled out the corsage. "I don't want to stick you." She was close enough to feel his breath on her cheek. She could smell his spice and lavender scent as the blood rushed to her cheeks. She turned away as soon as she was finished, hoping he didn't notice the pink pallor to her cheeks. Sarah finally made her appearance and stepped in behind them.

"Wow." May sighed. "You look amazing!"

"If only I felt amazing." Sarah said lightly, Sora looked at her, if only to keep her eyes off Leon, whose arm she was now linked to.

"It's just pre-wedding jitters." Layla smiled. "You'll me fine."

"As long as I don't trip on the way to the alter," Sarah muttered, Sora stifled a laugh, it didn't work. Sarah joined in; seemingly it had a calming effect on her frazzled nerves. As they grew quiet, the wedding march began. Sora held up her small bouquet of azaleas and prayed she wouldn't get sick or fall; hopefully Leon would catch her.

The music was pulsing and the lights were flashing; it was almost as if the stage had been turned into a dance club. It was a brilliant idea to hold the reception there. The sound system was better than anything any DJ could bring in, the lights were already there and set, and there was a dance floor big enough to host a concert with standing room only. It seemed like everybody was having a great time. The ceremony went off without a hitch, the sunset as the backdrop led to a truly romantic and memorable moment as they said "I do," and pledged themselves to each other "as long as they both shall live."

The dancing had been going on for almost an hour. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, there was laughing, joking, and of course dancing. The way some were dancing it would be no surprise if half the sweat on the dancers wasn't even their own. All in all, it was a blast, even Leon was dancing, though it did take some coercing from certain people, mainly Annette, which caused a slight ache in Sora's chest. She nearly stopped dancing.

"What's wrong?" Andrew asked from near her. He had pulled her out onto the dance floor himself. He wore a simple black tux with a black shirt and white tie, his sandy blonde hair was slightly mussed but the gel in his hair showed that it was intentional. His hazel eyes shone, a sign that he was having a great time, thought there was a hint of concern.

"Nothing!" She smiled and continued to dance, then the music started to fade. She turned back to Leon as he danced with Annette. She wore a short silver cocktail dress with crossing straps and her signature stilettos, her hair was held in place by a couple of shiny chopsticks. Andrew took note of this.

"Good evening everybody!" Kalos's voice rose over the noise of the crowd. "Thank you for coming to share this special day with Sarah and I, I hope you're all having a great time!" He called as crowd agreed. Then the DJ took over.

"Alright! All the single ladies to the dance floor! It's time for the lovely bride to toss the bouquet!" At this, Sora was quickly swept onto the dance floor along with a wave of unmarried women.

"Sora!" A familiar voice called as a hand fell on her shoulder. She turned to see a platinum bombshell in a short silver dress and four-inch stilettos.

"Annette!" Sora said, the ache was back again.

"Oh, I hope to catch ze flowers!" She jumped excitedly, she seemed like a little kid suddenly and it elicited a giggle from Sora.

"Good luck!" Sora laughed, "These women are like a pack of rabid wolves!" Annette also laughed at this. That's when the screaming started; the bouquet was in the air and up for grabs. Sora quickly backed away, trying to get away from the disaster zone, pulling Annette with her in a fit of giggles. In the end, Rosetta got the bouquet and Andrew caught the garter, they danced and Sora couldn't help but notice how close her cheeks were to the color of her red hair.

The dollar dance was entertaining as well. As it turns out, Sarah had 3 older brothers: Percy (the oldest), a tall and thin brunette with green eyes, Robbie (the middle), a playful dirty blonde with a muscular build and brown eyes to match Sarah's, and George (the younger-older brother), a slightly shorter red head with hazel eyes. They all seemed to be in competition with each other to see who could be the last to dance with her and get a prize, like when George tried to cut in as Percy was dancing and Percy just kept pulling her out of his reach and twirling around the floor, laughing the entire time.

The best part of the games by far though, was the box. There was a crate placed upside down in the center of the floor, the point of this game was that family members who were older than the bride but still unmarried had to dance on top of the crate to earn money for the happy couple. Two of Sarah's brothers had to dance and so did a few of Sarah's cousins. There was one dancer that took the crowd completely by surprise.

Sora could hear people asking how he was related to Sarah as he stepped up onto the crate, but that effect wore off rather quickly as soon as he started to move. The first thing he did was unbutton his jacket, a seemingly innocent gesture; he tossed it aside and started to dance. The next move had all the ladies screaming and laughing, next came the tie, which was slowly loosened and discarded. When he reached for the top button of his shirt Sora had finally grasped what was happening. Andrew was stripping on the crate!

The funniest part was that he was neither older than nor related to Sarah! He was just having a grand ol' time being himself, and as himself he was quite the showman. "WHOOO!" Sora called over the audience, earning a wink from Andrew who was now down to just his pants.

He raised the most money out of all of the family, even got a few invitations to dance from some of the single women in the crowd. A slow song began to play, the gentle cords flowing through the air like a soft breeze.

"I love this song." Sora said to herself.

"I love this song." He heard her say as he approached. He recognized the melody, it happened to be a song he was rather fond of himself. He smiled slightly; he'd wanted to do this all night.

"Would you care to dance?" Leon asked softly.

Sora jumped, she hadn't been expecting him. She turned quickly and Leon's breath caught in his throat. He'd been near her earlier but didn't really get the chance to have a good look at her. Sora looked radiant in the teal dress, her purple hair was beginning to fall loose from the clips, and her cheeks were flushed from the dancing and heat of the room.

"Sure." She said with a smile. He offered his arm and led her to the center of the floor. He placed one hand at her waist and took one of hers in the other. She placed her remaining hand at his shoulder. They were nearly chest to chest; Sora began to feel a little self-conscious. They swayed in a comfortable silence for a few moments as Leon just stared at Sora who carefully looked to one side so she wouldn't get lost in his stormy violet-gray eyes. She saw Andrew twirl nearby with Annette in his arms; he saw who she was with and winked; Sora's cheeks darkened about three shades.

Leon couldn't take his eyes away from Sora, he could feel the heat from her body through his shirt, he had abandoned the coat over an hour ago. For some reason this just felt right. Now was his chance.

After a few more moments elapsed, Leon broke the silence. "Give it back." He whispered softly.

Sora turned her face up and met his eyes; she furrowed her brows in confusion. "Give what back?" She asked almost inaudibly.

"My breath." He whispered in her ear. His eyes glinted in a way that made her heart flutter; his eyes were a stormy violet, his gaze was so intense that she couldn't look away. She didn't remember ever being looked at like that before (at least not that she'd ever noticed) for some reason, she could feel her face heating up as her cheeks turned 5 different shades of pink.

She nearly stopped breathing. This was bliss; she could imagine no place where she'd rather be at that moment, or any moment for that matter. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she was sure Leon could feel it, or at least hear it in his close proximity. She needed to break the silence before it broke her.

"I'm surprised you're not dancing with Annette." She said, just trying to break the silence.

"Why is that?" He asked, stepping back slightly so he could see her face.

"Well, you seem to be spending an awful lot of time with her lately." Damn, she sounded insecure, but why? It's not like they were dating.

"She has been my friend since we were children; we have not seen each other in years." Leon sounded slightly defensive.

"Going for walks, lunch dates, always leaving together after practice, parties…" she trailed off, suddenly she started to get a hot feeling inside her chest. "I hardly see you except for practice." Now she sounded jealous.

"Why does it matter?" He asked. "You have often been together with the American lately." Now he sounded jealous, though Sora only heard the tenseness and slight rise in volume. She knew he was talking about Andrew. "Besides, the walk was your idea." He meant the first day.

"Don't turn this around on me." She sounded angry now. She stepped a little farther back from Leon, suddenly the bliss was gone and she was genuinely frustrated. "Andrew has just been helping me out lately."

"He has been driving you home." Leon stated the fact.

"And you have been driving Annette." She said, trying to redirect the conversation away from herself, her anger and jealousy (though she wouldn't admit it) trying to get the better of her.

"I saw you leave the engagement party with him, you two looked rather close…" He unwittingly let some venom leak into his words.

"He was taking me home!" Sora's voice had risen; she had attracted the attention of some dancing close to them. "I wasn't feeling good, and he was just-" she stopped abruptly and looked at him, frustration clear in her features. "You know what," she said, "I don't have to explain myself to you!" She nearly shouted as she pulled her hand from his and turned away, storming off the dance floor leaving an obviously shocked Leon behind.

Why had she just blown up at him like that? He had done nothing to make her mad, Sora was now thoroughly confused. Suddenly a wave of vertigo hit, along with it came nausea worse than she'd felt yet.

"Oh no." She said to herself as she staggered to the nearest restroom. Her stomach heaved and she nearly didn't make it to the toilet as she emptied the contents of her nearly empty stomach. Her skin felt clammy and there were tears in her eyes. She felt her stomach twist again and heaved again, though there was nothing to come out.

"Sora?" She heard a friendly voice call a few minutes later. She coughed again and this time the tears began to flow.

"Sora are you okay?" May asked as she opened the door to the stall. She must have looked like Hell because a look of sympathy crossed May's face.

"I'm fine." Sora said as her stomach twisted painfully again, eliciting a whimper.

"You're not fine." She stated. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Nothing." Sora said honestly, she had even passed on the champagne during the toast.

"Come on." May said, helping Sora to her feet. She put an arm around her waist and began leading her to the sink. "Rinse out your mouth, I'm taking you home." And this time, Sora didn't argue.

Practice two days later was tense. Sora and Leon wouldn't look at each other directly and barely spoke a word when it wasn't completely necessary. She seemed to avoid him like the plague. Sora had no idea what had come over her the night before. She had sounded like a jealous girlfriend, though she knew she wasn't. Annette was his girlfriend, and he deserved it, playing with her feelings like that.

They were in the middle of the routine when Sora started to feel dizzy again. She was seeing two or three of everything and completely missed Leon's hand by a mile. She almost bit her tongue trying not to scream as she fell. Thank God they used safety nets during rehearsals.

"Are you alright?" Cathy yelled from her spot in the director's chair. She had actually gotten up and ran over to Sora who was now trying to climb out of the net.

"I'm fine." Sora was annoyed; everybody kept asking 'Are you okay?' 'Are you okay?' She was fine! Why couldn't they just leave her alone? She stood up on solid ground and tried not to sway too much, willing her vision to go back to normal. She could hear Leon coming up behind her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, obviously concerned, reaching to touch her arm.

"I'm fine!" She snapped, swatting away his hand. Now people were staring, irritating her more. Leon was left in shock again.

"Hey everyone!" May yelled as she entered pushing a covered cart. "I brought lunch!" She pulled the cloth away to reveal all sorts of delicious looking food. May was an excellent good and she specialized in Chinese since it was in her blood. Everyone gathered around and Sora was swept along. She loved Chinese food and normally would beg May to cook for her, but something wasn't quite right. Was it the smell? It smelled off.

When Sora got closer and smelled the food again her stomach twisted violently. She was going to be sick. She started shoving people out of the way with one hand over her mouth. She made to the trashcan and promptly threw up into it. She wiped her mouth and slowly straightened up. All eyes were on her.

"You're clearly not fine." Cathy said firmly as she walked up to her. She placed a hand on her forehead. "You have a fever, your all clammy, your pale and throwing up. Sora you need to go see a doctor, I've noticed you've been acting strangely for almost a month now."

"But rehearsals." Sora began but was silenced by Cathy.

"May can take your spot for now, I'm not taking no for an answer," she said sharply. Using her voice of authority she said "Now you march to your dressing room, get dressed, and go see the doctor."

"But-"

"We'll be fine." Rosetta said. "Your health is important too."

"Yeah, I'll cover for you." May said, "Now get out of here before we catch whatever you've got." And Cathy pushed her out.

The exam room was cool which felt good considering Sora was now having a hot flash from Hell. She had been waiting for about 15 minutes since all the preliminary things were done, like her height and weight and that stupid peeing in a cup thing that always seemed to happen when you didn't have to go. She also had to have her throat swabbed.

She sat on the exam bed, the sterile paper crinkling every time she so much as breathed. She occupied her time by reading a poster on the wall highlighting the advantages of getting your flu shot.

"Hey Sora." Doctor Kate said as she walked in.

"Hello, Dr. Kate." Sora replied meekly.

"So how are we today?" Dr. Kate asked. "I'm told you're a little under the weather."

"I guess." Sora replied, her stomach was roiling.

"What's wrong?" Dr. Kate pulled out a clipboard.

"Well, I've been stiff lately," Sora began, "I haven't been sleeping well, I can't eat, I've been throwing up the past few days, I have a fever, which probably explains the hot flashes and sudden goose bumps, and I've been getting dizzy a lot lately."

"You might have the flu…" Dr. Kate looked down at her notes. She looked back at Sora. "How long has this been going on?"

"About three weeks." Sora said, trying to remember when it started. Dr. Kate's expression changed.

"Sora," she began, almost as if she wasn't sure how to ask. "Do you think you might be…" She trailed off.

"What?" Sora had no idea what she was trying to get at.

"Never mind," Dr. Kate said, "I'm going to check on your lab results, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay." Sora said, still a little confused as Dr. Kate left the room.

The next few minutes seemed like hours, but that happens when you're stuck waiting with nothing to do but look at medical posters and little diagrams of joints that you can't really identify and probably couldn't even pronounce. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Sora said. Dr. Kate stepped back in, a wide smile on her face. "What's up Doc?" Sora said.

"Nothing bad actually." Dr. Kate said, Sora assumed that that meant she just had some kind of passing bug or something.

"So what's the verdict?" She asked, wondering why the Doctor was smiling so much.

"I want to be the first person to congratulate you." She beamed.

"For what?" Sora was confused yet again; she hadn't won any competitions lately or anything of the sort. Maybe the doctor had seen the new show. Nothing could have prepared her for the words that came out of Dr. Kate's mouth.

"You're pregnant!"

This is how I imagine Alexander to look:

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Link to the bridesmaids' dress (in teal):

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Link for Flower girl dress (teal ribbon):

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