Whew! Was finally able to finish this... Sorry for the delay, inspiration is running low.
After the ceremony, everyone made their way to the reception hall, just down the hall. Sam was in awe at the room. Carly and Maxie had the lights dimmed and other lights, like those you see on stages, lighting up orange circles on various places on the walls. The tables were covered with simple ivory table cloths. The center pieces consisted of exact replicas of her bouquet - white roses, orange lilies and black feathers - low as Jason had requested. The chairs had a black piece of tulle with an orange ribbon tied around the back of them. At each place setting was the usual plate and utensils along with a black or orange napkin and a small off-white card with a black outline and a pumpkin sitting in the corner and someone's name printed in the center, assigning the seats. The far end of the room was cleared for dancing, which she knew would be used by the guests more than her and Jason, since she knew he'd only agree to one dance, to make her happy. At the other end of the room, she could see a table set for two and knew that was where she and Jason would be sitting for their meal. Not far from that, there was a table with a pyramid full of gifts, which she simply rolled her eyes at. Not far from there was a cake, one she wasn't expecting. It had three tiers. Around the base and top of the bottom and top tier was one was an orange stripe, obvious against the white fondant. Right down the center of the same two was a black line, which she could vaguely make out as tire tracks. The middle tier was airbrushed black with yellow, fondant stars on it. On the very top was a figurine which looked vaguely like her and Jason on his motorcycle.
She smiled to herself as she curled into his side. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her head, his hand rubbing circles on her mid-back. She looked up and met his lips in a sweet, soft kiss. They just stood there contently - slowly making their way to their table - and watched as the guests went around the room, finding their seats. She turned a bit just to see Carly and Maxie coming towards them, huge smiles spread across their faces.
"Omigod! That was totally romantic" said Maxie before she even stopped walking. "I mean, Jason! I didn't even know you had it in you. Your vows were so sweet!" Sam had to hold back a chuckle and she could see Carly doing the same.
"Yeah. I've been your best friend for year's and I never imagined you getting all mushy at the altar" pointed out Carly.
"Come on, guys" said Sam. She looked up at Jason, the ear to ear smile still spread across her face. "I knew you had it in you" she told him before resting her head back against his chest. Maxie and Carly remained there, smiling.
After talking for a few minutes about the ceremony and reception space, Maxie went to join Spinelli at a nearby table and Carly escorted Sam and Jason to their table before going to sit in between Josslyn, who was seated in a high chair next to Michael, and Morgan, who was seated between his two parents. Sam smiled to herself, looking over the crowd of people who had joined them on the most important day of their lives. Her eyes even started watering at the thought. Jason leaned over and kissed her cheek, kissing away a lone tear that had fallen.
"Emotional day?" he asked softly. She nodded.
"The wedding. The baby. She's kicking. And everyone. And, ugh! Hormones" she finished with a chuckle, wiping a few more tears that had slipped her eyes.
"Besides that, how are you feeling?" he asked. She smiled.
"Like I've never been happier" she answered honestly.
"Good" he said. He leaned on to kiss her lips softly, but they were interrupted by a waiter standing in front of them and slipping their food onto the table. Sam had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at what was on Jason's plate.
"Look's like someone's going to have to enjoy their squid" she commented. He made a face, only making her laughter erupt from within her.
"Yeah. My beautiful wife will enjoy my squid" he said, smiling at the sheer joy spread across her face.
They were still all eating their Chinese food dinner when Spinelli got onto a stage that she hadn't even noticed was there until now. He tapped his wine glass twice, getting everyone's attention. Everyone knew what was coming: Spinelli's best man speech, which he had worked so very hard on. He cleared his throat and tapped his glass again, successfully quieting the whole room.
"Hello, all. Now would be the moment in the wedding for the best man and maid of honor to give their speech as a tribute for the bride and groom" he explained, as if the crowd hadn't figured it out. "Fair Samantha, Stone Cold, you both are the greatest companions the Jackal could've asked for. From the beginning, The Jackal knew that you two were destined to be together. Both Fair Samantha and Stone Cold have a love for adventure, a knack for all things dangerous and a pure, passionate, undying love for each other, and their nuptials and wee-one-to-be are proof of that. The Jackal believes that this is one marriage in the cursed city of Port Charles that'll last forever" he said. Everyone clapped and cheered, and Sam was crying, again. He smiled proudly as he walked off the small stage, meeting Maxie for a brief kiss. Then, Maxie climbed on stage.
"I can't believe you blew me off for a month for that" she said with a laugh, her comment obviously directed at Spinelli. "So, hey guys. Now, let's start with the obvious. Isn't Sam totally the most beautiful, perfect picture of a bride? I think she looks better than some of our models at Crimson" Everyone laughed and cheered in agreement. "And then Jason. Who knew he had that in him. I for one thought his vows were going to be super short and not so sweet but, hey! I was pleasantly surprised. Sam did tell me he was more romantic than he let on. I guess she was right" -Once again, the whole crowd burst out in laughter and Sam could hear a few 'I know right's from the crowd of guests. "But, I'll never forget the day Jason called me to help him plan his proposal. Or the day Sam asked me to help her pack up her house only to find out she was pregnant. Or the day I was asked to be the maid of honor. Or today, because they were all amazing moments for my bestie, and me. I think Carly and I helped plan a pretty awesome wedding" Everyone was laughing again, including Sam and even Jason. "And that took me only a couple hours to write" she said, once again directed at Spinelli, before getting off stage.
Everyone went back to eating, and soon everyone was done. Sa, was planning on keeping her promise to Molly - the one about getting all the mushy traditions out of the way early on so she could go trick or treating - so Carly made quick work of announcing dessert. Sam caught a quick glimpse of Molly smiling as she and Jason cut a slice of cake, his hand over hers. Carly removed the slice and placed it on a plate. Sam smiled, keeping her eyes locked with his, as she pinched off a little piece. He did the same. She was going to be nice, knowing Jason probably didn't want cake all over his face in front of all the guests. Was. That was until he smashed the piece he had against her nose. She screeched happily before doing the same to him. It kinda reminded her of the time, years before, that he had walked in on her with a mask on her face so she smeared it all over his. That memory was further enforced when he kissed her through her giggles. A few awes were heard from the guests. He smiled and took the plate of cake Carly handed her. Soon after, another plate was handed to Jason and they walked back to their table. Sam ate her piece quickly, so quickly Jason had only taken two bites. His next forkful was given to her.
"For the baby" he whispered. She smiled happily and accepted pretty much the rest of his slice of cake. For the baby, of course.
After dessert, everyone sat around and talked. A few people came to talk to the newlyweds, including her sisters, Jason's parents, Maxie, Carly and her family, among others. They knew they had to move on with the wedding if they wanted the traditions Molly was expecting to be done with by seven - it was already six, but they only had the first dance to do. Left alone with Jason, Sam watched as Molly and Morgan interacted happily, Kristina and Michael acted like the average teenage sibling duo, Carly and Maxie gushed over Josslyn's dress - well, that's what it looked like they were doing - and Alexis coming towards her. Crap! Alexis was coming towards her. She squeezed Jason's hand. He pulled her closer to him, draping his arm over her back, holding her close, supporting her.
"Sam..." said Alexis, once she reached the couple.
"Mom" said Sam, not wanting to even say that.
"You know-" Alexis tried to begin.
"I don't want to hear it" said Sam seriously.
"Please, Sam" said Alexis, wanting to get her daughter to understand.
"No, mom. This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life and I'm not going to let you ruin it" said Sam, standing her ground despite being huddled against Jason, trying to hide.
"Fine" said Alexis before storming off.
Sam watched, horrified, as her mother stomped off and to the DJ. She was expecting something bad to come up across the speakers, but, instead, the song she and Jason had chosen for their first dance started playing.
Do I need to be invisible to just survive
Or am I foolishly wasting my time
Try so hard to quiet my expensive dreams
Before they take me out, leave me wondering
He took her hand and asked her to dance. She shrugged off her questions about her mom's motives and let him lead her to the clearing dance floor.
Baby, it's just you and me, we got a thing they can't shake
He rested his hands on her hips and her's circled his neck. Pulling her as close as possible with her baby bump between them.
Maybe, it's a little hard sometimes to take
He leaned over and kissed her forehead softly, his left hand moving from her waist to her baby bump. She smiled up at him.
But I'll tell you something, it's a life worth living
She managed to rest her head on his shoulder despite her swollen stomach.
Just so you know, I wouldn't give it up, no
His thumb started rubbing her stomach through the thin material of her dress. She sighed contently and nuzzled further into his chest.
Is it all a market war in this economy
Filling up headlines with our fantasy
System fails hard & and we fall apart sometimes
But then you pull me back with your quiet smile
They continued to sway together, pretty much on the spot, as the last words and notes of the song. Then, they continued as another song started playing, but that song stopped abruptly and the sound of someone tapping against a mic was heard. Sam pulled away slowly and turned towards the stage. She was horrified by what she saw. Her mom was standing there.
"Hello, everyone" said Alexis, getting everyone who wasn't already looking at her's attention. "I didn't actually plan this, but I made a big mistake today. I hurt my daughter by showing up late to her wedding. Sam, I know it was wrong. I know that it upset you that I question Jason so much that I was hesitant to show up, but trust me, that's not it at all. Sam, I was late because I wanted to come up here and give a speech about how sorry I was that it took me this long to realize how happy he made you and that I was wrong to do everything I did before. But, I didn't actually know how to say it and I didn't realize how long I had been brainstorming until I was running late. Sam, Jason, I wanted to give you my approval, not make you think the opposite" she explained. Sam was crying, happy, feeling guilty, overwhelmed and hormonal. She was going to go up and meet Alexis on stage when her mother said one last sentence. Pointing to the back of the room, she asked: "Carly, what's that?"
Everyone turned to where Alexis was pointing and instantly saw what she was talking about. There, on the back wall, was a painting. One that everyone knew wasn't usually there. It had a dark background with an odd pattern, one resembling jungle vines. Over it, was painted two black witch hats in one corner and candy corn in the other. Across the middle, written horizontally, were some Asian letters.
"Trick or Treat" said Spinelli from somewhere in the room of mumbling people, confusing everyone. "That's what it says. Trick or Treat" he explained to the questioning crowd. At those words, Sam let out a gasp.
"I knew this was calling for trouble" she said, horrified. "Guys, where are Molly and Morgan?" Carly and Alexis gasped, realizing what she meant.
"They went to do some touch-ups" answered Maxie.
"Where?" demanded Carly.
"Down the hall" answered Maxie. Instantly, both Carly and Maxie were out of the room. Carly was the first to return, out of breath.
"They're not there!"
I know, I know. Worst wedding reception story/chapter ever... Cliffhanger
