DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII, et al, and not me. I own the character of Julianna.
The men at the station finished their shift and Johnny headed to Mike's house to pick up Julianna. They had a breakfast date and were both today, which was Julianna's birthday. They were also off the following day and there was nothing to keep him from spending every minute with the woman he loved. Plus he wanted to make sure that the birthday party the guys had been working on would go off without a hitch.
Mike arrived at his home a few minutes before Johnny. The paramedics had an early morning call and Mike was able to leave the station before John.
"Juju. You awake," Mike called as he came into the house.
"Yeah. I'm waiting for Johnny. He called and said he'd be a little late. He wanted to shower before he left the station," Julianna said.
"What's this about Johnny being a father," Mike said, giving her a glare she could only describe as his big brother look.
"Don't look at me that way," Julianna said, matching her brother's glare.
"Tell me," Mike said.
"Amy is pregnant. She says the father is Johnny. I don't think it's possible, but we have to be ready for every eventuality. We'll deal with it when the baby is born," she said.
"So just like that, you're accepting it," he said.
"Yeah. Johnny didn't cheat on me while we've been together. You know him well enough to know he'd never do something like that. Especially to me. Look, Mike, I know what you're trying to say, but you can stop worrying about us. Johnny and I are going to get married and nothing that happens right now is going to change those feelings, Mikey," she said.
She shared a look with Mike who nodded his head. They heard Johnny's knock on the door followed by his, "Morning."
"Hey, you," she said, taking his hand.
"You OK, Mike," Johnny asked.
"Yeah. Just talked things over with Juju. I'll see you guys later. I'm heading to Tracy's. She wants to talk wedding. You sure you don't want to trade places for the day, Juju," Mike asked.
"Not a chance. I'll talk to you later," she said.
"Oh, before I forget," Mike said, rushing up the stairs to his room and returning with a box for his sister.
"Happy birthday, Juju," he said.
Julianna opened the box and found a locket. She opened the golden heart and found a photo of Mike on one side and Johnny on the other.
"Mike, this is so sweet," she said, hugging her brother.
"You're welcome. I'll see you guys later," Mike said, heading out the door.
Mike left the two in the living room and Johnny produced a dozen red roses.
"Happy Birthday, Leelee," he said, kissing her.
"Oh, that's so sweet. Thank you," she said, putting the flowers in water right away. "And this is for you," he said, handing her a small rectangular box.
Julianna opened it and found a delicate gold bracelet that had her birthstone and Johnny's in the middle. "Johnny, this is wonderful," she said, kissing him.
Johnny and Julianna left her house and got into Johnny's car and headed for his ranch.
"Johnny, I've been thinking," she said.
"'bout what," he asked.
"The wedding," she said.
"What about it," he asked.
"When I talked with your aunt I realized how important your life on the reservation was when you were little. I thought, maybe, we could have a small ceremony there. Think that would work," she asked.
Johnny was quiet. He didn't say a word for the rest of the five minute drive and Julianna was scared she'd said something wrong.
Johnny opened the door to the car and came around to her side.
He took her hand and they went into the house.
"Do you not think it's a good idea? I didn't want to upset you," she said.
"Leelee, I think it's a great idea. I never suggested it because I figured you wanted the big wedding or something," he said.
"Since my parent's died, that never meant that much to me. I just want to get married. Of course, Mike has to be there," she said.
"When do you want to do it," he asked, knowing her birthday party was the following weekend and he had an idea.
"The sooner the better," she said. Julianna didn't want to admit it out loud, but the whole business with Amy in the last few hours had really upset her and she wanted nothing more than to get married and get on with her life. She knew Amy would be hanging over them until the baby was born, but Julianna was determined to build a life with Johnny, despite the outside obstacles.
"What are we waiting for? Let's get that license," Johnny said, dragging her back to the car.
"What about Mike," she asked.
"We'll get the license, call Mike and Roy and get married. I'm sure we can set something up. We can call my aunt," he said.
Julianna smiled and the two headed back to LA.
They arrived at the courthouse 30 minutes later and went to the licensing office.
"We would like to apply for a marriage license," Johnny said.
"Fill out these forms and bring them back. That will be $10 for the license," the clerk said.
They took the form and went to the desk that was provided for such a purpose.
Julianna filled in her portion of the form before handing the pen to Johnny to fill out his.
He pulled out the money and submitted the form to the clerk.
"Just give me a minute," she said.
She slipped to the back of the room.
Johnny looked at Julianna, his smile wide on his face
"What," she asked.
"I just never thought that I would ever be standing in this office with someone so perfect for me," he said.
"Well, I never thought I'd stand here, as much as I would have liked to, with such a great guy. Especially after such a short courtship. It's too crazy to believe," she said.
The clerk returned with the license and they signed the paper.
"Here you go. You can check with the schedule on the wall if you're interested in a justice of the peace. You can also check the schedule for the courthouse and a judge. Congratulations and good luck to you both," the clerk said.
Johnny and Julianna went and looked at the schedules.
"What do we do," she asked.
"Well the ceremony on the reservation would be mostly symbolic, for us. What do you say to us picking one of these dates, calling Roy and Mike, getting married and then throwing a big party. Then we can have the ceremony at the reservation before we go on a honeymoon. I think I can swing a week off and then we can go on a longer trip later. What do you think," he asked.
"I think you're crazy," she said.
Johnny kissed her and said, "Only for you, babe."
"Wait! Can we get a justice of the peace to come to the reservation? Is that allowed," she asked.
"I'm sure my aunt could take care of it. Let's see if we can get one for Saturday morning," he said.
They looked at the schedule and asked if they could reserve a justice of the peace for a wedding at the reservation just outside of LA. The clerk was very helpful and told them it wouldn't be a problem. They would have to pay $75 for the justice to come out to the reservation.
"That's fine," Johnny said.
Julianna filled out the paperwork and signed the form. Julianna pulled out her checkbook and wrote out the check.
"Hey, I was going to get that," he said.
"I want to. Besides it saves you the embarrassment of realizing you didn't have the money on hand and you NEVER carry your checkbook," he said.
The clerk handed them a receipt and the two walked out into the California sunshine.
When they were in the Rover it hit them. They were getting married Saturday.
"I've gotta tell Mike." "I've gotta tell Roy," they said together.
"I've gotta get a dress. Do you realize everything we have to do," she said.
"I have an idea. Why don't we pay a visit to Roy and Joanne and tell them. Maybe Joanne can go shopping with you when you buy your dress," he said.
"Roy's going to have you committed," she said as they headed off to Roy's house.
"Not unless Mike gets to me first," he said, laughing as they pulled up in front of Roy's house.