Much like the rest of their lives, it comes from a combination of careful planning, random happenstance, and complete unadulterated luck.
It starts off one day when Neal comes home from the library with a stack of a book and a pensive look on his face.
"We're going to have to go to Vegas".
Emma cocks her head, one hand still concentrated on keeping Henry's lunch off his face.
"Do we suddenly have a massive surplus of money to lose?"
Neal tosses some papers onto the table beside her.
"It is the only place in this country that will issue a marriage license without a birth certificate from both people".
Emma swears.
"I guess we're road tripping again".
"I'll have to see how to get time off work".
"And it will still cost a lot of money, not nearly as much as a regular wedding would be".
"Guess it's time to make better use of the swear jar" Emma says, gesturing at the glass jar on the kitchen counter top, placed there by Neal when he'd realized Henry had started to repeat the colorful language Emma brought home from work.
Emma pulls the jar to her and dumps the change in her pocket into it.
There are a few wedding dresses that she has seen over the years in thrift shops. She always wonders how they got there, who objected, who ran, who died. Even though it seems ridiculous to her to spend so much money on a dress that you would only wear once, it does seem that if you actually should be getting married, than the dress should be something that suits you .
None of the dresses she finds suit Emma. They're all giant and fancy and make her feel like a child playing dress up. When she tries on one particularly flouncy one in a Goodwill, she catches sight of herself in the mirror and laughs. She looks like the dirty orphan from stories who sneaks into the palace and tries on the princess's clothes.
The dress she ends up buying is new, from a regular department store. It's just a sundress, white eyelet with thin straps. It's not exactly Emma's usual style, but she feels like herself in it.
When she complains to Neal, he laughs, insisting that she has the easy of it.
"At least wedding dresses are fancy because they're supposed to be. All the suit pants and shirts look the same to me, I can't figure out why some are so expensive".
"Welcome to the world of fashion, where stuff costs more because they know you'll be willing to pay more".
Neal finds their rings in the last place he would have thought, a yard sale.
When Emma works Saturdays, he takes Henry and pushes his stroller through the neighborhoods, hunting out household appliances and children's toys and books.
One that he goes to, the woman running it has a cardboard box of old jewellery.
He tosses through it, not expecting to find much, except maybe something he could resell, but one of the rings he pulls out strikes him.
It's a small ring, if it had been larger it would be obnoxious. The center is a small, dark red stone. The ring itself close to the stone is molded into leaves and petals, as though the stone is a rose.
"24 karat gold" a voice behind Neal states.
He turns, coming face to face with a middle aged woman in a floral blouse.
"The stone is a garnet, bit non traditional".
He's still a bit struck. "How come you're selling it at a garage sale."
She shrugs. "It was my aunt's. from the second of her, I think...five marriages? Jackass ran off with his secretary. No sentimental value to anyone here at all."
Neal waffles a little bit "I don't really know...
"Here" the woman says. She fishes around in the box, eventually pulling out a plain matching band.
"Bastard left his, so I have both parts of the set. You could take them both off my hands for $35".
Neal's eyes bug "Seriously?"
"There's really no market for second hand jewellery. At least selling it here it might go to someone who would give it to someone instead of it being smelted".
Neal turns it over in his head as he touches the little plastic bag she put the rings in on the way home. Part of him is still convinced that Emma is going to hate them. Her taste generally runs more towards the simple and modern than delicate and feminine.
To his luck, she does love it.
"God, I was afraid you were going to try to get one of those horrible fancy ones on TV...they're all so...tacky and ostentatious."
Emma plans carefully. She gathers all the info she can find from the library internet on Vegas wedding venues.
It takes some planning because so many are so...cheesy. And the one's that aren't all seem to expect you to have like, guests.
One night during dinner, she asks Neal, "Do you ever think about trying to find your family?"
He glances up from his drink. "Not really, I wouldn't even know where to start."
"I mean- there are people who make a living doing that- finding people. Deadbeat parents are their bread and butter. There was a girl from one of the families I was placed with whose mother was able to take her back after they tracked down her father and got him to pay..."
"Emma", final, if not harsh, "Even if they could find any of my family, I don't think it would matter. My father would only bring trouble upon us. Whoever he was before when he loved me, I believe is gone. And my mother...I doubt she ever wants to see me again."
Emma lets the issue slide, even if she thinks it's insane that Neal wouldn't at least want closure from the family that at least at one point loved him.
They aim for October, when the heat in Las Vegas supposedly wears off a bit.
Emma's undecided about whether to bring Henry. On one hand, it would be good for him to be there when they finally tie the knot.
On the other hand, both of them passed through Vegas at some point. They both saw what it was like.
"I bolted after two days" Emma says grimly. "The hotels didn't feel any safer than the gutters for a teenager on her own".
"Met a guy I was in the group home with there a few months after I bolted. Zach Martin, his name was. He said he was a card counting expert, and he could teach me and we would both be millionaires. He had been in juvie for theft, I should have known better. Less than a week, Zach gets grabbed on the back of the neck by a security guard. Zach wasn't a small guy, but this guy towered over him, he was like a giant. I guess they didn't see me, or think I was involved, so I ran. Never saw him again".
The sheer luck that makes the decision for them comes in August, when Emma runs into Susan at the grocery store.
Emotion floods her, when she realizes its been over a year since she's seen her, and when they were living out of the car, it was mostly just to get her mail. It turns out that Susan won't be in the city much longer.
"My father just passed away, and my mother doesn't want to live by herself. She was a little bit upset when I had Noah, that's why I moved out in the first place, I guess it turns out grief heals a lot of wounds".
"What are you going to do when you move back?"
"Take back my old job and try to move up".
"Where's your old job?"
"Disney World".
"Seriously?"
"I worked in one of the restaurants there through the end of high school and what I did of college. It was pretty great."
"What happened?"
"I got pregnant. I moved in with the guy, his name was Jack. We were happy for a while. They I got pregnant with Juan, and I guess that was too much for him. He bolted and left me alone. I should have known better than to trust the guy who played the Queen of Hearts. My parents were still sore at me, so I moved here into a smaller, cheaper apartment, and got the job at the cleaners. Took any shift I could, we still wouldn't have been able to get by if my aunt hadn't loaned me a bit of cash to pay a private investigator to track Jack down and make him pay child support".
Emma's a bit surprised "PIs do that?"
Susan nods. "The one I hired said that's mostly what they do. Cheating spouses, runaway children and corporate espionage".
She pauses a bit, before more enthusiastically continuing,
"Enough about me, what about you? You kids finally tie the knot?"
"We're heading to Vegas to in a few months, it seemed easier that way. We're just undecided now on whether we should bring Henry or not."
"When were you going to go?"
Emma tells her they were planning on mid-late October.
"Pick the days, and let me take him for that time. I should be all settled in by October."
"Oh we couldn't..."
"Nonsense, you two were lifesavers for me, it's the least I can do to pay you back. My mom loves kids, and all the Halloween stuff will be up in the park. If you want to get him more comfortable with the idea, come over in a few weeks and help me pack up for the move".
Emma's still a bit unsure about the idea, and when she tells Neal about Susan's offer, he is too.
"I know it's probably not a good idea, but I still feel like he should be there with us".
The decision ends up being made for them when they help Susan load up the moving truck. The drive to Orlando is just under four hours. Hardly grueling, both Neal and Emma could drive double the time without breaking a sweat.
It makes Henry really upset though. He spends both legs of the trip cranky and fussy, unswayed by attempts at stories and car games.
When they get back into Tallahassee that night, Neal puts him to bed and Henry tells him "Don't wanna leave in the car".
When he comes back out, he tells Emma, "I think Henry remembers living in the car, I think that's why he doesn't like being in it very long".
"Damn" Emma says, reminding herself to donate to the swear jar, "I didn't think kids could remember that far back."
"What was your earliest memory?"
"Having to go to another family when I was three. I don't remember the first family once, just being told that they had real kids now".
"That's horrible" Neal really had adapted to the no-swearing better than Emma, "Mine is just helping my dad. He was a spinner, so I had to help him carry big loads of wool. It was soft, but always made me itchy".
"I guess if nothing else, Henry's memories at least involve us, even if it means he hates the car".
Emma tells herself that repeatedly in October when they drive him to Orlando.
Neal's spent the last week letting him talk to Susan and the boys on the phone and showing him exactly on the calender when they should be back.
Emma could only get a week off work, so they were planning to split the thirty hour drive into three ten hour days, and trade off driving halfway through.
They decided early on to just save money by sleeping in the car. At least at this point, if they get busted they can just drive on.
They stop back at the apartment, so that Emma can clean the bathroom.
"If we're coming back from vacation, the last thing I want is to have to do chores when we get here".
They pack all of their stuff carefully, and flip for the car. Emma gets it first.
The first night, they park by the side of a road in Louisiana. It's at the edge of a swamp, and there are dozens of fireflies out when they park at dusk.
Emma's stuck her head out the window.
"Wow. I guess it's easier to appreciate how beautiful some places are when you don't have to risk sleeping outside".
"You've slept in a swamp?"
"No!...have you?"
"...Once. It wasn't fun".
It takes them the better part of a whole day to drive through Texas. Neal complains the whole way. Insists that the dry, flat climate is unnatural.
"I miss the forest, Henry should be able to learn to climb a tree".
"Tallahassee has trees" Emma insists.
"Not real trees". Neal replies.
The second night, they park in New Mexico, and make a discovery. It turns out the area around Albequerque gets really, really cold at night.
Emma shivers, tugging the blanket tighter over herself.
"I almost forgot what cold was. Wouldn't believe I didn't even get out of Maine until I was old enough to run away".
Neal's lips are almost blue.
"I miss the snow in winter, but not the cold. Maybe we should have splurged and gotten a motel tonight".
"No," Emma says, pressing herself closer to him. "This isn't half as bad as that night in Washington".
"Oh god, that one where we ran out of gas and had to walk to town?"
"Yeah, that sucked beyond belief".
It's that perspective, that really makes this little road trip different from their lives before. Knowing that they could stop to sleep if they wanted to. Emma being able to stick her feet out the window without fearing attracting the wrong kind of attention. Taking an hour to explore (what on earth is a Stuckey's?) without it being to case the joint.
They make it into the city in late afternoon, early enough to get a quick dinner, stop by the county clerk's office for their paperwork, then check into their hotel.
It's just like Emma remembers- bright, loud and full of drunks.
From his chair by the window in the burger place, Neal looks around, disgusted.
"I can't believe this is supposed to be the marriage capital of the world".
"I can" Emma replies "Alcohol, cheap sex, irresponsibility. The promise of no consequences. Stupid people who don't realize what they're doing".
Still, the hotel room is pretty nice. It's hardly high end, but is has a nice bed and a big TV.
Once they settle in, Emma calls Susan's mother to talk to Henry.
"He seems really excited about Disney World" Emma remarks.
"It's good this happened then, I can't imagine we would have been able to take him ourselves".
They order ice cream sundaes and eat them while watching a movie in bed.
"Sure you want don't want to go out? Spend your last night as a single man out on the town?"
Neals snorts, "With no friends? Besides, my single man years were pretty awful. On the other hand..."
He pulls a six pack of beer and a bottle of champagne from a paper bag near their suitcase.
"Pick one, we'll save one. One for pre nuptial revelry, one for post nuptial celebration".
"Beer now, champagne's too classy for revelry".
And so they split the six pack and spend their last night unmarried watching some terrible B movies on a network that Emma's never heard of.
The next day is beautiful outside. Warm and clear, and not humid in the slightest. It's a Tuesday. It's a Tuesday, and Emma's actually feeling good. The free breakfast might be doing a lot, but most of her feels like she just might be happy.
The chapel the hotel runs is on the roof. On one hand, it has a sunlit view of the Vegas skyline. On the other side, gray concrete.
They picked the cheapest package- one photo, a small bouquet, recorded music. None of that matters to Emma. An off-duty desk agent agrees to be their witness before she leaves for the day.
Emma bounces a bit putting on her dress, not wanting to spill anything on it. Her shoes are just cheap sandals. She can't deal with up-dos, so she just braids her hair as neatly as possible. Her earrings are her favorites; white clips that she'd lifted as a teenager.
They end up having to break tradition a bit because Neal can't figure out his cuff links, and wants to know if he can skip wearing the suit jacket.
"No way, without the jacket you look like a young mob boss".
The empty chairs are sort of sad. This clearly isn't a drive through venue- its one that expects a few guest. But whatever.
Emma's bouquet is a few small yellow rosebuds and ivy. She can hold it in one hand, and feels herself crushing it in unexpected nerves as she makes her way to the altar (or whatever it is).
The officiant looks like just another hotel employee; early twenties, spiked hair, wearing a bow tie.
He goes through the usual spiel, Emma's face still frozen.
"And if there's anything either of you wish to say, now would be the time."
Neal surprises her, by reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out a fold up piece of paper".
"Emma, as you know, I spent most of my life wandering. When other people didn't leave me, I left. I never had a home, and I never thought I would. I never thought I deserved any of it. But then I met you. And not only did I find someone who I wanted to spend my whole life with, to make my home, but she made it feel like something I deserved. You, and Henry, are the only home I will ever need. Thank you, so much Emma, for loving me enough to make me think I could love myself".
Emma's opens her mouth a bit, but no sound comes out. Her cheeks are hot with tears. She sniffs once, wipes her face with the hand not holding her bouquet, and replies.
"I've spent almost my whole life alone, or close enough. No one ever wanted me, and I wasn't wanted anywhere. I often felt like no one would care if even existed at all, and if they didn't, why should I? Thank you, for loving me, and for making me feel like I matter."
Neal's eyes ever have a hint of shimmer, when the officiant (whose eyes are a little wide, like he didn't quite expect this) announces,
"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride".
Emma doesn't give him the opening.
They had picked the cheapest ceremony so they could splurge a little and have dinner in the hotel restaurant afterwards.
It's not fancy enough that the menu reads like a list of random ingredients, but its far more than either of them has spent on a single meal in ages.
When Emma finishes up the last bite of their dessert (a seasonal pumpkin cheesecake that she would never have ordered were this not a special occasion), she comments.
"I still haven't decided if I'm going to change my name yet or not".
"I thought that was an artifact from the days when marriages were for business transactions?".
Emma's smile quirks the corner of her lips. He does listen to her rant.
"Its just- Swan isn't even really MY name. I don't know my family's name. The Swan family didn't keep me. If it meant something to me, it would be easier".
"If it affects anything, Cassidy isn't my name either remember. It could be something new, something for the both of us."
"True," Emma pauses, "I'll probably put it off, since it requires so much paperwork. Getting my driver's license was a pain in the ass enough."
"Yeah, you are kind of a terrible driver".
She pokes him with her fork.
"All of my documents had to be court ordered. I had no birth certificate, no SSN at birth, they had to be assigned".
Neal reaches across the table to take her hand. The cool weight of their rings solidifying the moment.
"Just two ghosts, no idea where we came from, no idea where we're going". Neal muses.
"Legitimized only by each other".
Later that night, after a few hours of (indulgent and extremely thorough) sex, Emma is splayed on the hotel bed on her stomach, and Neal is drawing on her back with a felt pen. She's comfortable, extremely. Also content, sated, sleepy, happy. All those good adjectives.
Once he's completely covered the planes on her shoulders, Neal reaches and grabs onto her wrist, and says,
"You should come into the shop someday, let me fix this as your wedding present. Make it less..."
"Amateur? Juvenile? Like tipsy mistake made by a teenager?"
Laughter again, "I could try to work into something bigger".
Emma pushes her face into her pillow.
"If you want that to be my wedding present, I guess I should show you what I got you".
Neither of them had discussed wedding present, separately deciding they were one of those strange additions that didn't mean anything. But Emma had had an idea and been sitting on this looking for an opening for a surprise.
She reaches into her bag and pulls out a bundle of papers held together with a rubber band.
"These are brochures and class schedules for every community center in Tallahasee, and the community outreach classes at the college. I called each one, and you only need positive ID to register for classes. They have everything from watercolors and figure drawing to 3D design classes."
Emma lets out a squeak when Neal bear hugs her and she flops back onto the bed.
"Is that a 'thank you, awesome present' reaction?"
"Very awesome indeed". He says.
It's a few weeks later. Everyone's returned home, Neal and Emma content and ready for a return to routine, and Henry, bouncing and excited, talking about how he met Tigger and Stitch.
Emma had been organizing some stuff she found in a box, when something slipped out.
When she leans over to pick it up, it catches her eye.
Neal is walking past her towards the kitchen and asks, "What did you find?"
It's the yellow legal pad.
"Oh god, I haven't thought of that in ages".
It's true, they haven't had as many milestones to collect. And Neal has moved onto to drawing on any other surface he could find. Maybe their dreams had to be deferred into the real world.
"Put our marriage license in there, it's as good a folder as any".
Emma does, wraps a rubber band around the whole bundle, and puts it back in the box.