The day before the Wedding
She was taken to a makeshift cell in the bottom of a dock, a place that was surely crawling with god knows what and handcuffed to a bedhead , she was pretty sure she would be killed in her in cell and tossed into the waters, cold and murky as they were. At this point she hoped for a quick death because this was getting out of hand. She was exhausted and every inch of her body ached, her heart most of all because she knew the moment that Jonathan and Phoebe were married, his love for her wouldn't be anything except a distant memory.
Along with that thought, came the fury that her babies were in danger with that woman, only added to her misery. That they would grow up thinking their mother tossed aside as if they didn't matter and that made her cry harder.
In her mind, she'd hoped Jonathan would discover Phoebe's plan and come rescue her, like he had so many times before, he'd ride up on horse and rescue her, they'd ride off into the sunset together to Willow Pond and start their lives over again.
But he loved Phoebe , she was young, rich and beautiful and had so much more to offer him than Jennifer ever could.
She put her face to the side and sobbed until there was nothing left.
Willow Pond
Getting married is supposed to be the most exciting day of one's life, two souls joining as one and starting on a Fantastic Journey but Jonathan was having severe doubts about the wedding, he wanted so much to marry Phoebe but something was holding him back from loving her completely. He was physically attracted to her, there was something about her personality that rubbed him the wrong way but it was something he was willing to overlook, Hoping she'd grow out of it, maybe becoming married would change her behavior especially toward the kids, who weren't warming up to her as much as he'd hoped and it was worrying him. Bailey and Emma simply walked out of the room at the mere mention of the wedding and Phoebe, Jack's face would drop because his mind was adamant that Mommy was coming back and it would hurt her to know what was happening, Aurora was furious and had taken to hitting golf balls across the yard, which Jonathan allowed until she cracked the garage window then she was dispatched to the gym in the basement to hit the punching bag, although the bag was bigger than her, Aurora was angry enough to still hit the bag hard. Chase wasn't sure what to do, his little mind was constantly racing and he wasn't quite sure what to expect when he walked into the house or any room whether or not there would be yelling, tears or a cold silence.
Home wasn't fun anymore.
They all needed a boost and Jonathan's hope was that the wedding would be it. While the kids slept, he crept into their rooms and watched them, he remembered his own wedding to Jennifer all those years ago and how he was so nervous standing at the alter, the butterflies circling his stomach.
He remembered being so jittery that Max had put his hand on Jonathan's shoulder to calm him down, , this was the moment he'd be waiting his entire life, although they had known each for less than a month, he was absolutely sure that was the best decision of his life. Nothing Before or after would matter as long as she was with him. His every desire was fulfilled with her, emotional physical and sexual.
This was the woman whom he'd eventually start a family with, he never envisioned five babies but he could see with one or two kids. He remembered teetering on his heels waiting for the big moment, she'd kept her wedding dress a secret but had ditched the rule on not seeing each other 24 hours before the wedding, She'd left Maggie and the rest of her friends back at the hotel and came to his apartment, the house still being set up at Willow Pond which Max was overseeing and stay so the apartment was totally theirs for the night.
He smiled when he remembered answering the door to find her standing in the hall wearing a trench coat and how skittish she looked, he'd asked her if it was raining and she nearly pushed him aside trying to get into the room.
When he'd asked her what was wrong, she blushed and dropped her trench coat, his heart nearly stopping, she was wearing nothing but a bustier and garter belt, with her beautiful red hair pulled back, she looked like an new picture of a pinup girl
When he hadn't said anything for a few minutes, she was worried that maybe he thought she was coming on too strong, she'd grabbed her coat and ran past him when he caught her arm, and kissed her hard and when he picked her up in his arms, whispering how much of a waste buying a white dress was when she was making a booty call, making her laugh and that night, although they had sex numerous times, something about this night made it even more wonderful. After passing out from exhaustion, he woke up to find her gone, a rose on her pillow and a note that said the next time they made love, it would be as husband and wife.
But he was getting anxious standing at the aisle, the ceremony was supposed to start nearly a half hour before and his bride had yet to arrive, he wondered if she had changed her mind when Maggie came racing down the aisle, waving to their mutual friends and nearly knocking Max over to get to Jonathan's ear
She whispered that Jennifer was being obsessive and wouldn't leave the bridal suite until she was sure her dress was absolutely perfect, Jonathan had sighed, rolled his eyes and told Maggie to tell his bride to get her ass in gear.
She laughed and walked back down aisle. After waiting another 15 minutes and Max repeatedly asking if Jennifer was really coming, she came down the aisle, wearing a beautiful strapless white gown, her face clouded by a long white veil, her hair curled and pinned back, the veil extended down the row of buttons down her back, it was a movie star dress.
When she finally reached the end of the aisle on her father's arm, Jonathan kissed her cheek and whispered they needed to work on her time management, she whispered back until he understood what it was like to be strapped into a corset, he could shut up.
The minister overhearing their conversation, said that from the way they spoke to each other, it was if they had been married for years.
Jonathan shook himself out of his daydream and realized that he needed to put thoughts of her away, it was time to concentrate on his new life with Phoebe. His emotions this time were uncertain , he wasn't as excited as he had been with Jennifer. But he was positive that would change when they got to the church.
Back at the Docks
Jennifer was exhausted, from everything and her body ached, her arms pinned above her head had gone numb from being in one position and she was sure if she yanked her arms down again, she'd ripped her shoulder blade out of the socket. She had cried so hard at one point, she had made herself sick and she couldn't even turn her body to throw up on the floor, when Michael came into check on her, he knew she was embarrassed about the vomit covering her body that he simply cleaned her up without a word and changed her clothes, she was so drained she didn't even care that he had to strip her down to everything including her underwear , she simply let him, she knew he'd never take advantage of her, he couldn't even look her in the eye.
After that he let the handcuffs a little looser, not enough that she could escape but enough so that if she did throw up again, she could turn her head to the side and vomit on the floor.
Every moment she felt like giving up and just hope for death, five little faces popped into her mind, her babies who needed their mommy more than anything and for them, she would fight to the bitter end to get back to them.
She leaned against the head board a little too hard and heard a pop noise beneath her skull, it sounded as if the headboard had come part underneath her head, she sat up a little straighter and using her back she pushed against the frame until it came apart allowing her handcuffed arms to fall forward on her chest giving her arms some relief.
She was still stuck behind makeshift prison bars but at least she could get up and move around, which was hard because her legs felt like jelly and when she moved forward, she nearly fell face first into the bars.
She took a deep breath and righted herself up again, and when she looked at the bars in a desperate attempt to figure out how to get past the high bars, she noticed there was a gap at the top, big enough for someone to slide through if they were 6 feet tall.
She stared at the top of the bars, thinking when she realized that she could make it if she jumped, it wouldn't be easy with her hands cuffed but it was a shot at escaping and maybe her only chance.
She climbed onto the cot, positioned her hands in front of her and spoke out loud to herself, "If I ever get my kids back, I swear I'll never scream at them for jumping on the bed ever," and bounced a couple times before take a leap forward and grabbing onto the bars, she managed to hold onto the bars while hoisting herself up on top of them, she smiled in glee and swung her leg around to jump down, she landed on both her feet and was facing the front of the bars when she heard a gun cock behind her
"Nice Try, Mrs. Hart" Simon, one of Phoebe's henchmen said
"Oh Come on, This isn't human, have a heart," She pleaded
"Sorry, Back to your cell,"
She made a move to hit him with the basis of her elbow in his nose when he simply picked her up, handcuffed her back to the bed frame and cold-cocked her with the back of his gun on the top of her head when she kicked at him.
Willow Pond Saturday Morning Wedding Day
Aurora and Bailey were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast, waiting for Daddy to come down and give them instructions, Aurora wasn't a part of the wedding but Bailey was and They knew that Daddy would be down soon for his behavior lecture, the usual no pushing, shoving, hands to yourself and no picking at body parts until after the wedding pictures were done. They were still plenty miserable about the wedding but now it the point of no return and they were at a loss for what to do now, their worse fear that Mommy wasn't coming back ever was coming true. And that'd they be stuck with Phoebe for the rest of their lives. No Amount of Complaining to Daddy was going to make a bit of difference.
Suddenly the back door banged out and Phoebe came rushing with her wedding planner, "JONATHAN!, Where is your father,"
"Ran Away from Home," Aurora said casually while Bailey choked on her milk
"That's not funny we have less than 10 hours until our wedding and I need to speak with him," Phoebe said through gritted teeth
Aurora shrugged and went back to her rice krispies
"Brats," Phoebe stormed out of the kitchen nearly knocking over Jack in her way, who was carrying a juice box in his hand "Watch it! This dress cost more than your little life!"
"Whoops," Jack just kept on walking, she didn't bother him anymore as long as he had his brother and sisters he was a happy camper and settled himself in his booster chair
"What are we going to do? There is no way this wedding is going to happen!" Aurora slammed her spoon down
"Well what can we do?" Bailey asked wiping the milk off her face when Phoebe came back in
"Your Father is nowhere to be found, Damn it," Just then her cell phone rang and after checking the caller ID, She ran into the laundry room
"Something's up, Let's go" Bailey said pulling Jack out of his chair and with Aurora behind her crept into the laundry room, it was large enough and dark enough that they could hide without being seen, Aurora hid in a laundry basket while Bailey and Jack hid behind the washing machine
"What do you mean she tried to escape?! How?! Damn, alright I'll be right there, Stupid Bitch!" Phoebe nearly screamed, Just then Jack sneezed from the dust and Bailey covered his mouth with her hand, freezing and hoping that Phoebe hadn't heard that
"Whose there?" Phoebe called, this house was too old and spooky, she couldn't wait to get her hands on this place and tear it down.
There was no answer
She stormed out of the Laundry room, screaming Jonathan and the kids came out of their hiding places
"I think I know where Mommy is," Aurora said smiling
"What? How do you figure that?" Bailey asked, she was the realist of the course
"I just do, Jackie, Go Get Emma, we're getting Mommy back and stopping this wedding,"
"You realize if your completely wrong, we're being shipped off to a board school right?" Bailey smirked at her baby sister, she may have been five but she was far from stupid
Jack was already gone, When Aurora gave orders, he always complied, she was like a tiny dictator and he didn't want to listen to her wrath.
It seemed like an eternity before Jack came back with Emma, who was carrying a glass of milk in one hand and a book in another
"We are on a mission and you stop for milk?" Aurora nearly shrieked
"What mission, all Jack said was that you wanted me to come down here, I didn't think it was a big deal," Emma rolled her brown eyes
"We think we –"
"There is no We Aurora, this is all you," Bailey interrupted
"Fine, I think I know where Mommy is but we're going to need to do some, what's the word I'm looking for"
"Snooping, Nancy Drew" Bailey said
"Reconnaissance" Emma said
"Anyway, we need to stall Daddy and find out where Phoebe's going because whoever was on that phone knows something,"
"What phone call?" Emma asked
"I'll tell you later, How are we going to find out where She's going?"
"Follow her," Bailey suggested
"I think Daddy will know if all five of us go missing,"
"He won't notice too much if one of us goes missing though," Aurora smiled
"But which one,"
Just then Chase came in from the playroom, he'd looked everywhere for them and went into the kitchen when he'd heard their voices in the laundry room,
"What are you guys doing in here?" He asked innocently
Aurora's smile grew bigger
"No way Aurora, it's too risky," Emma protested
"It'll be totally safe,"
"What are you talking about?" Chase asked nervously
"Come outside and We'll tell you all about it," Aurora took his hand and led him to Phoebe's convertible
"Aurora, I don't know about this," Bailey said trailing behind them
"It'll be great," She said, not even believing her own words, she wasn't sure she could pull whatever she was thinking and she never wanted to hurt her brother.
Jack had been silent through this whole thing because he knew if he opened his mouth, they'd be using him as a guinea pig instead of Chase.
They walked out to the driveway where Phoebe had parked and stood behind it
"What's your plan," Emma asked
Aurora just smiled
"Oh God," Bailey moaned
"What? What?" Chase jumped up and down
"Simple, we'll put him in the trunk , he'll listen or jump out of the car, find Mommy and this whole thing will be over, easy peasy," Aurora shrugged
"Okay how are you going to prevent him from suffocating to death?" Emma asked
"Em, pull the stick out of your butt and just let the master deal with this," Aurora rolled her blue eyes, "The trunk has a safety latch, so that if someone ever gets kidnapped, they hit the latch and the door flies open,"
"What if he gets stranded," Bailey asked holding Emma back from charging at their youngest sister, Bailey knew if Emma was angry enough, she'd wipe the pavement with the five year old and now wasn't the time, they needed to stick together
"Ummm," Aurora hadn't thought that far ahead
"Here, use this," Jack piped up holding an i-phone
"Where did you get this?" Bailey asked
"Front seat of the car, It's Phoebe's," Jack had walked to the passenger's side while his sisters were talking and found it, it help that their father's future wife was a dimwit who left her car unlocked, "I also found a button to open the trunk without keys,"
"I'm not going in there, forget it," Chase had been thinking about it and there was no way in hell he was doing that, let his sisters do it because he knew if their father caught them, none of them would see the light of day until High School
"Come on Chasey, please" Aurora played on his love, He was her triplet and She knew how to work him like a violin, "It's for Mommy, "
"Fine," He took a deep breath, "but if this doesn't work, I'm ratting you out,"
"Deal," Aurora popped open the trunk, while Bailey and Emma lifted Chase into the car, Jack was look out because he was too little to help them.
They had just gotten him settled when Jack came running back "Scatter, Evil Witch is coming!"
Aurora closed the trunk and the four of them scattered to the four corners of the yard, Phoebe was too wrapped up in her Blackberry, for some reason she had a phone for every day of the week, She climbed into the car and peeled off leaving a trail of dust behind her.
The kids emerged from their hiding spots and huddled together
"How long do you think it'll be before they find him," Emma asked
"a Week's allowance, under two hours, if he gets away with it, Aurora, you're doing our chores for the next month, " Bailey said
"He'll get it done," Aurora hoped so
"We better get in and get cleaned up before Daddy notices," Emma said taking Jack by the hand and going into the house.
"Now What?" Bailey asked
"On To Phase II," Aurora said already planning in her mind.
Somewhere around Willow Pond
Jonathan wasn't aware of his children's antics, he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts and had gone for a walk by the pond at the edge of the property, he wanted to reassure himself that this was the right decision, His heart just wasn't sure what do with the wedding so close, he so much wanted to marry Phoebe but he wanted Jennifer's blessing, to know that she had moved on as well, he was so hurt he hadn't heard from her about anything especially their five children, maybe she wasn't the person he thought she was.
It was now or never, he could leave his past behind him and start a new family with Phoebe and never give his former wife another thought or he could stop this wedding and find out why Jennifer had left him so abruptly and with only an e-mail to end a decade long marriage, his rage no longer there, just a dull ache.
Time to Move Forward, Phoebe would be his wife and his children would have what they had desired since they were born, a mother.
He walked to the house with determination and clarity.
At the docks
Jennifer had come to after the blow to her head, she wondered how many more of them could she stand before permanent damage set in or she'd actually die, at this point she hoped for death because she was tired of waiting and the beatings, her every inch ached and she was sure her face would never look the same again, the black eyes and broken bones she was sure she had would distort her once beautiful face.
It was the sound of heels clacking that made her sit up taller, no time for weakness when it came to this bitch
Phoebe's form appeared before her, her face caked heavily in makeup and her hair pulled back in a bun, she was wearing black jeans and a tank top over a black jacket, around her neck a diamond pendant Jennifer recognized as hers that Jonathan had given her one anniversary.
"So, you thought you could pull a Houdini on my wedding day? Oh Honey, you really need to work on your timing."
"He'll never love you!" Jennifer screamed
"And He'll never love you, I believe this is what they call an impasse," Phoebe smiled, "Boys, "
Michael and Simon stepped forward from the shadows, guns drawn
"Kill her," Phoebe ordered
"Wait, Uh why don't we wait until after your wedding then you won't have to worry about another escape attempt," Michael said, He was uneasy about the actually killing, he was more of a knuckbreaker than a murderer
Phoebe narrowed her eyes "Your right, that way I could enjoy it especially when you dump her body into the gator filled water. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a wedding to prepare for," with Phoebe left followed by her two henchmen
Jennifer's eyes filled with tears, this is it, Jonathan's love for her was officially over , he'd never sweep her in his arms again, whisper how much he loved her, twirled her around the living room to Glen Miller. What they had would never be and he'd make new memories with his new wife.
"Mommy?" a little voice called
Jennifer was sure she was hearing things especially with her eyes closed so tight
"Mommy?" the little voice called again
She opened her eyes and saw her own child in front of her, the little brown haired blue eyed boy she'd missed giving birth to, was standing in front of her, wearing a smile, the coy smile of his Daddy
"Chase! What are you doing here?" her eyes widening
"I'm here to rescue you!" He jumped up and down
"That's very sweet Darling but I don't think you can help Mommy out of this one," Her heart swelled, he'd only known her for a brief time but he was willing to help out when she needed it the most.
"Even with these?" He held up a set of keys
"You little Minx!, Where did you get them?" She was surprised but not really, he was his father's son after all
"It pays to be small," He struggled to reach the lock on the bars but he was so small, his fingertips barely grazed the top where the inside of the lock was , She was still handcuffed to the bed so she wasn't able to get the keys through the bars, her elation deflated once again.
"Hmm," He stood back and observed the bars when he noticed the gap at the top of the bars "I can climb over and give you the keys"
"Baby, it's too high and you might get hurt, It's a wonderful thought though," She could see the determination in his eyes and knew no matter what she said, he'd try his damnest to help her.
He tossed the keys through the bars, which landed just beyond her cot and shimmied up the bars, she watched him carefully as if she could help but he didn't need it, he'd been on enough monkey bars and Emma had taught him the secret to holding on to a climbing wall, curl your toes around the bars in your sneakers and they prevent you from slipping, he scooted as if he were a monkey and soon he was at the top but once he reached the open area where the bars separated from the walls, he became nervous
"I'm scared,"
"I'm right here and I promise I won't let you get hurt," She knew that her words would give him confidence, she didn't want him to make the possible six foot drop but if it meant her survival then she'd have to risk, "Ready, 1 2 3!"
He jumped with ease and stood up proudly "I did it Mommy!"
"You did so good Baby!" She praised him and He suddenly moved as if they knew they were on a time constraint, he quickly located the lock for the handcuffs and set her aching arms free, as soon as he did, she sat up and kissed his face
"Oh Mom," He wiggled away from her
"Sorry Baby," She would kiss his face a million times if he would let her and she planned to as soon as they were out of here and at a safe distance, She went to the bars and after Chase handed her the keys, she tried every key on the ring until she reached the last key and it worked, the clicking noise was loud but not loud enough to draw attention
She set foot outside her cell for the first time in months and had her first real taste of freedom , it would be fleeting because she knew they'd be in deep trouble if they got caught, she took Chase's hand but not before grabbing a piece of the headboard as a weapon, she wasn't sure if she'd actually use it but just in case.
They'd barely made it out of the cell When Simon came back
"HEY! How did you get out?!" He seemed genuinely stunned to see her out of her cell, she didn't respond instead swung the headboard piece and connected with the side of his head
"Don't ever let me catch you doing that to anyone!" She warned her son, who was standing with his eyes wide open, "Let's go," She picked him up and after taking the car keys out of Simon's pocket
They raced to Simon's car, Jennifer hoping against hope she wasn't too late
The Church
Aurora, Bailey Emma and Jack were nervous, they'd hadn't heard from Chase about whether or not he'd found their mother and the wedding was getting closer and closer, When Daddy had come downstairs to make sure they were all dressed and noticed Chase was missing, he'd interrogated them and somehow they all came up with the story that he'd gone off with Phoebe to do last minute wedding thing and that they'd meet them at the Church except when Jonathan arrived expecting to see his son, he was concerned and went to his bride
He knocked on the Bridal Suite Door
"Come in," Phoebe's sister Georgia answered, Phoebe was getting into her gown and hidden so he wasn't technically breaking tradition
"Is Chase in Here?" Jonathan asked
"Who?" Georgia hadn't yet mastered the names of the kids, there were so many it was difficult to keep track.
"My son, Chase, Phoebe, is he with you?" He called to his future bride
"Why would you think he'd be with me?" She answered snottily
"Well the Kids said he was with you,"
"No I haven't seen him, you'd better get out of here, we're going to start soon,"
"I can't get married without making sure all the kids are there," Jonathan protested
"He's probably hiding somewhere around here, and come out when it's time for the reception," She dismissed him, "Ask the other four again,"
"Maybe," he shrugged he knew his kids would never lie to him and he was becoming uneasy
He left her in the bridal suite and went to where the Grooms suite where the kids were hanging out
"Alright, Spill it, where is he?" Jonathan asked
"Where's Who Daddy?" Emma asked innocently
"Don't play games with me, Little Girl, I need to know where Chase is," He demanded to know
"Daddy, honestly we don't know where he is," Bailey answered and Jonathan stalked out of the groom's suite
"On to Phase Two," Aurora said smirking evilly
"I'll get the bride, You Stall the Groom," Bailey said as they broke apart
"How am I supposed to Stall Him?" Emma asked
"You saw the Graduate, Use it," Aurora said looking around for witnesses
"If Mommy knew what we were up to, she'd skin us alive," Jack said going with Bailey
Bailey and Jack ran to the back of the church where they immediately bumped into Bailey's real father, Charley
"Hey, what's the rush, kids?" He bent down to kiss his daughter on the head
"Dad wanted us to make sure you did the errand you were supposed to," Bailey knew that lying was wrong but this was no time for morals.
"What errand?" Charley would have remembered if Jonathan had asked him to do something then again he'd been so swamped lately, he could have written it down and totally forgotten about it
"Daddy wanted you to make sure that the Caterers were going to the house and not the hall, because the hall was doubled booked I guess," Bailey smiled sweetly
"Oh Right," Charley took out his cell phone and called the caters, "Hi I'm calling on behalf of the Cates Hart Wedding," He wondered outside and finished up his conversation with the caterers.
"How is that stalling the wedding," Jack asked
"You'll see," Bailey smiled
While Bailey and Jack were busy with Charley and the manipulation of the caterers, Aurora and Emma were planning on sabotaging the bride
Emma knocked on the bridal suite door
"WHAT?!" Phoebe yelled
"Umm, Daddy sent us in give you a present," Emma said
"That wonderful man, leave it on the table and get out," Phoebe said behind a curtain
"Sure," Emma said opening the door while Aurora crept in behind her, they looked around for something they could sabotage when Aurora spotted Phoebe's veil on the couch
"Aurora, no that's going too far," Emma whispered
"No, it's not," Aurora spotted a pair of manicure scissors on the vanity table and grabbed both, running out the door with Emma behind her, slamming the door behind her
"It's time for the piece de resistance," Georgia announced a few moments later, "The veil, Phoebe where did you leave it?"
"I left it on the couch,"
"It's not there," Georgia searched high and low
"Oh my god those brats!" Phoebe ran out of the bridal suite wearing half her dress, the corset part of her dress still needing to be laced up, "JONATHAN," She screamed
"What?" Jonathan, who was standing in the church greeting some early guests, heard her scream and came running, "What's the matter?"
"Those brats of yours have stolen my veil!" She shrieked
"I sincerely doubt that, They've been in the Groom Suite the entire time," He tried to calm her down but her face was red and she was making a scene
"Then why were they dropping off the gift you left me in the suite,"
"What Gift?"
"See? They lie and you let them get away with, Boy I tell you when I get my hands on those brats, they'll never sit down again,"
"You Touch One Hand on my kids Heads and You'll never walk straight again," a voice said from behind, She'd broken numerous speeding violations to get here and she was going to be damned if she would go away empty handed
"Jennifer, where did you.." Jonathan was speechless, he looked at the bruises on her arms and dirty face, the rumpled clothing and messy hair and knew she hadn't just run off on him, she'd been taken.
"It's a long story, Jonathan, suffice it to say your bride has a lot of explaining to do," Jennifer said
"Who are you going to believe, Jonathan, the woman who has stood by you all these months and is carrying your child or some bitter ex-wife who decided to ruin the happiest day of your life," Phoebe said smirking
Jonathan couldn't speak, his mind was racing, She was back and his heart felt whole again
"Daddy, the Minister wants to speak to you," Aurora said running up to Jonathan behind her the rest of the kids,
"Do you mind, we're speaking here," Phoebe snapped at Aurora, "It's time someone teach you some manners," She went to slap Aurora who coward behind her father when Jennifer grabbed her wrist
"I warned you," And popped Phoebe in the eye, "Well, I doubt that'll make the cover of modern bride,"
Jonathan's head was spinning, both at the sight of his ex-wife and the fact that his soon to be bride had threatened to harm one of his kids, "This wedding is off,"
"But the baby.." Phoebe whimpered as she struggled to stand up, as she did, Jack stepped on what was left of her dress causing it to rip at the seams, revealing a pregnancy pillow
"You lied to me, You've lied to me about everything, I'll never trust you again," Jonathan said "If you don't leave now, I swear I'll throw you in Jail for kidnapping, child abuse and other things,"
"It's not over, not in the slightest, one day I'll get you ALL!" Phoebe screamed storming off
"Well, I suppose I should tell everyone that the wedding is off," Jonathan said walking away
"It doesn't have to be, you know," Jennifer said
"But the divorce papers," Jonathan narrowed his forehead
"I never agreed to a divorce," She nodded, "She probably forged my signature, piece of…"
"Mommy!" Chase admonished
"Sorry, well We have two choices, we can go our separate ways and figure out how to raise this wild bunch apart or …" Jennifer trailed off
"We can put this crazy family back together," Jonathan finished her sentence, it felt like old times again,
"It's up to you," Jennifer smiled
"Oh for God Sakes, Mom! Dad!" All the kids said in unison
Jennifer laughed as Jonathan took her hand, "Jennifer Grace Hart, will you marry me again,"
"I've been waiting for so long to hear those words, of course," She smiled "But uh I don't want her ring, I'd rather have my old one back,"
"Somewhere behind the walls at Willow Pond," Jonathan said blushing, he'd thrown it behind the dresser after she'd disappeared
"No, Daddy here it is," Bailey piped up, she reached into her dress pocket and pulled out the worn wedding ring in scripted "My Hart, Your Hart Our Hart,"
Jonathan laughed and palmed the ring "Well, we have a ring, a minister and a church full of people, let's do it"
"Now? I look awful, your pyscho girlfriend put me through the wringer literally," Jennifer looked down at her body caked in dirt, mud and god knows what else, she felt like she wanted to go home and scrub for a month
"Your Gorgeous," He pulled her forward and kissed her, all those old familiar feelings come back as if they'd never left, how could he think she'd leave him? He must have been out of his head
"Keep Kissing me like that and we can absolutely forget the past few months," She whispered
"Ahem, are we having a wedding or not?" the Minister asked
"Yes. of course, I'd like you to marry me to this woman, Jennifer Edwards please," Jonathan said taking Jennifer's hand and led her down the aisle to the front of the church
Behind them, Five Children let out whoops of Joy and excitement that they'd actually pulled off getting their parents back together.
"Who's a Genius? I am…" Aurora bragged
"Who risked their live in the back of that trunk, I did.." Chase interjected
"It was a Group Effort," Emma the peacekeeper said
Jonathan turned back and smiled, knowing what they had done and that they'd have to be dealt with later on, he would punish them but not as bad as they would imagine. He couldn't
They had given him back his heart.
As the Minister Pronounced them Man and Wife again, Jennifer paused to look around her, at the five tiny identical faces and wondered how she ever got to be so lucky.
She'd finally have it all and just a little bit more.
"Are you ready to return home, Mrs. Hart?"
"Music to my ears Mr. Hart ," She smiled, "But before we go home, there's something I need to tell you," She pulled him forward and whispered in his ear,
When his face lit up, she knew that whatever was going to happen, they would figure it out together.