Context: The reception of Stuart and Leanne's wedding. Jamie and Cathy have been engaged for about six months now.

(Written by Gina)


Leaves Tend to Change in the Autumn (Halloween) - Part IV (Epilogue)

The glittering reception hall was filled with sounds of chinking glasses, pleasant chatter, and whatever other form of celebratory gestures Jamie had left out. He'd rather stray behind, grabbing a few drinks at the bar, trying his very hardest to get enough cracks at Stuart into conversation as possible – normal wedding behavior for him. He had been feeling nostalgic that morning, scrapping any idea of a traditional suit and throwing on his old purple and khaki paisley one instead – And it was these spontaneous changes in his mood and choice that sent Cathy scampering about more than anything.

She wanted to try her best to match whatever dress she wore with his suit and tie choice. She was relieved the night before when Jamie had assured her that he was 100% certain he was going to go with the regular black suit they had picked, as she had a very classy, elegant knee-length dress she had been meaning to wear.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"I am completely sure!" Jamie chuckled; Cathy's back was to him, and he pulled her closer to him by her arms.

"Are you sure?" Cathy pressed on, ignoring the kisses to her temple. "If you think I'm running around trying to match you twenty minutes before we're supposed to be there, then you're mistaken."

Jamie smiled with a small chuckle, rubbing up his fiancée's arms. "Catherine Brad – Davies, I am 100% –" he raised a finger. "600% sure that you will nothave to be scampering about right before Leanne and Stu's wedding."

Which, of course, ensured that he wasn't, and that she would.

But she made the silly mistake of actually trusting her fiancé's fashion decisions, and found herself, as she should've predicted, doing exactly as he promised she wouldn't. But it didn't take long, and they even had a few moments to spare beforehand, and Cathy thought the dress they ended up purchasing was much cuter. (She had to continue assuring Jamie that it was all fine with her, as he had been feeling quite guilty.)

As he took a sip from his glass he found himself skimming the guests to find his blonde headed wife-to-be, putting a hand in his pocket. She had just walked up to Leanne who had her arm linked with Stuart's, and she touched a hand politely to her shoulder, catching her attention. Leanne laughed in greeting, smiling widely as she started excitedly chatting with Cathy while trying to gulp down a drink at the same time. Cathy laughed every time Leanne interrupted herself, pivoting to Stuart to confirm something, and then back to continue speaking.

Jamie smiled when Cathy raised her eyebrows, her arms folded, trying her best to follow Leanne's stammering. And he almost let out a laugh when Leanne completely broke off from the conversation to chase down Denise, leaving Cathy bewildered before she doubled over with laughter. He watched her pat Stuart's arm, greeting him with a smile, before heading off towards his mother. She received from Joyce the same greeting she had gotten from her uncle Bob a while earlier – she'd voice a comment from out of the circle of conversation before she was pulled into a warm hug and dragged into the chatter.

Jamie smiled fondly. He tried, very unenthusiastically he'll admit, to avert his attention elsewhere – perhaps to his half-full glass as he vaguely remembered himself being quite thirsty. But he started to give up when Cathy tilted her head in confusion before breaking into giggles as she found the answer. And he gave in completely when he saw her twirling her ring around her finger. There was a foolish smile on his face that he was unaware about until a voice brought him back to his senses.

"You know, the whiskey's pretty good."

Jamie jumped as Bob's hand stretched behind him to reach for a glass of water he had apparently ordered. Jamie cleared his throat, scratching his neck. But as Bob watched him, taking a slow sip, he felt himself grow uncomfortable, adjusting his collar.

"Uh, yeah… I, well, I'm not much of a whiskey drinker." He chuckled short and awkwardly, lifting his glass to display it. Bob drank the rest of his, chuckling to himself with a small smile and placing the glass on the bar.

"Yeah, neither am I. Not anymore, anyway." He smiled warmly. "I guess the appeal has gone."

Jamie looked down at his own drink, noticing that it now only had one small sip in it, as he must've downed one long drink without realizing. He had an urge to nervously gulp the last of it and order about five more, but he digressed. He suddenly remembered Bob's comment again, and laughed uneasily, choosing to swirl the remnants of his drink around in his glass rather than face his former boss.

Bob watched him for a second before chuckling shortly again, more to himself than before. Jamie hadn't been listening very intently, but he unclearly heard Bob order him another drink, and he quickly and gratefully shot back his final sip, accepting the new glass, before downing that in one gulp as well. He huffed a deep breath, placing both glasses back on the bar a little more harshly than he had tried to. Bob looked impressed for a moment, before laughing, which startled the young man next to him who jumped again. He clapped Jamie on the back.

"Take it easy there, son!" Bob grinned again, cheerily. "You act like I've got you by gun point!"

Jamie swallowed, folding his hands in front of him and nodding with a very forced grin. Bob clapped his back again, and he stumbled a little, before grinning more convincingly. He knew he deserved a few cracks in his direction, especially after his particular ones at Stuart that made Bob fold his arms in his direction. Bob didn't say anything else, but kept a hand on Jamie's shoulder taking a sip from a new glass of water. To be honest, he preferred it more when he was making cracks.

Fortunately for him, Cathy was almost directly in front of him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She usually did this when she was learning something new, so he assumed she must be talking to Stuart. In fact, she was joined with Denise and Rodney as well, who all seemed to be listening to some anecdote of sorts. He smiled, tilting his head a tiny bit. She had a little sauce, maybe from the pasta, on her lip, and he chuckled internally. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at someone with a wave. When she went to turn back, however, she saw Jamie watching her, and focused on him, meeting his eyes and grinning widely. He copied her smile and she waved at him. He was in bit of a daze and hadn't noticed at first, but after a small moment he whispered "Oh!" and waved back.

Cathy giggled, fixing her hair again. Jamie recognized it more as a cute, trying-not-to-laugh-to-hard-at-his-goofiness gesture. And sure enough, the familiar blush accompanied it, before she bit her bottom lip, forcing herself to turn back to the conversation. Jamie's smiled lingered on his lips, as he raised another glass to his mouth. But before he took a sip, he remembered that he hadn't ordered another drink, and surely not water. He turned to Bob, confused. The larger man waved a hand at him.

"Oh, don't worry about it." He coughed once. "I paid for it. You looked distracted, thought maybe you were drinking a bit too much."

Jamie gave a small smile in thanks, taking a tiny sip. Bob was watching him again, and he had a feeling he had caught him staring and was now making another judgment on him. Jamie tried again to distract himself, acting as comfortable as he could. Abruptly, however, Bob spoke.

"What's your opinion of Cathy?" he asked. Jamie looked at him, bewildered that he'd even ask him that question. Bob shook his head. "I know what you must be thinking. But be honest with me here, son." He wasn't facing Jamie, but just stared ahead of him. "This isn't some sort of trick question, I'm not looking for you to stumble over your words and forget what air is trying to give me some rehearsed monologue." He waved a hand in the air as he spoke. "Tell me what you think of my niece. Everything."

He might as well have added "unless it makes me want to punch you in the throat." since that's all Jamie could hear. He was still confused as to why Bob would even ask him about Cathy. Obviously if he was willing to commit himself to her for therest of his life then he must love her a lot. He's seen them, there's no way he still thought Jamie was just in it for sex or something.

Now, what occupied the time before Jamie's answer probably only fell into the range of about five seconds – not even – but it felt like an entire lifetime for him. Cathy was stood by herself, glancing around the reception hall. She kept fidgeting with her dress, her strap, but kept her attention on the hall and was biting her lip in focus. She must've given up on the dress and just dropped her hand, playing with her fingers. She seemed a bit off – lost in her own thoughts – and she started to lean a little against the wall. He was about to excuse himself to join her, but she suddenly reached her ring finger of her left hand.

Cathy froze for a second, and her hair fell in front of her eyes, blocking Jamie's view. He once again had the urge to just walk up to her and brush it away from her face, but he was rooted to his spot and just watched. She twisted her hair in her finger, placing it behind her ear and giving Jamie a better view of her. She was biting her lip again, but her eyes looked much different than how he could remember them ever looking. For a moment Jamie filed it in his head as a form of worry, which made his heart sink into his stomach and his mouth droop a little.

But then she looked as if she were thinking. What about, he hadn't the faintest. He couldn't tell if it seemed she was focusing on a question, or if she was just lost in thought. Maybe a bit of both. He wasn't sure how to feel about this. It made him happier, no doubt, but it didn't make him feel better. A small, insecure part of his mind was cursing, trying to pry into his skull that it was doubt in her expression, but the other part of him simply turned its back.

And then her mouth moved. The side of her lips turned up a little before falling again. She looked up sharply, glancing around her, before smiling a little and then looking back at her hand. And after a small moment, her entire expression changed entirely, and she was smiling wider, beaming even. She hopped a little on her heel, giggling, before realizing that she was surrounded by people, and then calming herself down and covering her excited laughter and grin with her intertwined fingers.

Part of him, the logical part, knew that in reality all he had done during this time was blink and grin. But he could've sworn with his entire heart that whatreallyhappened was much different. He had clasped his hands together, spinning on his heel, jumping and grinning even goofier than Cathy had. And he was absolutely convinced, positive, that her dress had changed color and that he had put on the tux from earlier. And he was next to her. They were close to each other.

The thought made his smile widen, and he nearly jumped, playing it off by rolling back on his heels once. He was brought back, back to his surroundings, back to present day. He glanced down at his shoe, putting a hand in his pocket, and then directed his attention back to Bob, who luckily hadn't been looking at him.

Maybe Bob's question wasn't about how much he loved her. Maybe it was more about how he knew he did. Now that he thought about it, it was a valid question, considering his difficulty understanding his own thoughts half the time. Bob was helping him, doing him a favor. He owed him, and stored another file away in his mind to repay him in any way he could.

Bob finished off his water then, and when he turned to put the glass on the table, he looked up and saw Jamie watching him with a shy grin. He motioned for him to go on with a half-smile. "Well?"

Jamie smirked and chuckled, placing his own glass on the table, though he didn't let go of it. He just sort of played with it, circling part of the rim with his thumb.

"To be honest, boss." He began in a nonchalant tone. He had some sort of a cross between a smirk and a smile stuck to his face. "*She irritates the hell out of me."

Bob's smile fell from his mouth, and for a moment he just stood in shock. Jamie tilted his head a little, though he didn't look at Bob, who had now turned fully towards him.

"And she never lets me tease her," he continued, "and she's difficult to be with."

Bob folded his arms and glared un-approvingly at the young man, who tried his hardest not to look back at him, despite how nervous he was beginning to feel again. Jamie chuckled a little to himself, looking down at his water and turning the small tumbler in his fingers.

"That's why I wouldn't trade my time with her for anything.*"

Jamie stared down at his glass for another second. His mouth widened to a full smile for half a moment, before resuming its casual smirk as he looked back at Bob. He took a small sip from the glass before placing it on the bar again.

"Excuse me." He half-grinned politely in exit, walking off. Bob watched him leave, completely surprised at first, and unable to do more than just sputter for a small second. But he regained his composure rather quickly, and glanced at Jamie who had gone to find Cathy against the wall.

Annie had placed her hands on his arm and shoulder, startling him. He smiled at her, kissing her forehead, and she grinned in response.

"What's wrong?" she whispered, sweetly. "You upset?"

"No, not at all." Bob grunted, half smiling. He then tilted his head to the side a little and watched the back of Jamie's khaki suit shift its way in and out of the crowd before it finally reached a wall on the other side of the hall. He looked down at his hand, before looking back up in time to catch Cathy laughing and clutching Jamie's side, who watched her with a wide grin before pulling her by her wrists with him. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Impressed, actually."


Cathy couldn't stop giggling the entire time as Jamie raised his eyebrows at her with a smirk, and though he was barely even holding her wrists, dragged her with him. She shook her head every so often at him, and he looked over his shoulder to make sure he was bringing them to the right spot. He had made sure to get them right in the middle of the floor, though not in a spot where they'd be particularly noticeable.

The song has just changed. It was a song Jamie actually recognized – it was a realdance song – funky and just a little bit… psychedelic. He smirked, licking his lips and raising an eyebrow at her. Cathy just laughed harder, and shrugged her shoulders a little. "What?" she asked, giggling again.

"Now, and I'm sure you know," he intertwined their fingers. "I'm not much of a dancer."

Cathy nodded at this, and Jamie pouted a little at her, but shook it off. She smiled up at him and bit her tongue to keep herself from giggling more.

"But I say –" he twirled her, and she spun a little on the heel of her shoe, before he pulled her flush against him. She squeaked a little and stumbled a tiny bit into his arms. She laughed next, placing a hand on his shoulder. He grinned.

"Let's show Leeds how it's done." He whispered, smirking, before he started to glide them to the music. Cathy was a bit unsure at first, but got into it rather quickly, getting used to the faster pace. She had no idea what he was talking about – he seemed to be very good at this sort of thing. She spun a few more time throughout the dance, and she prepared herself for each one, as she didn't want to get dizzy. Other than a few dips, most of the dancing matched very well with the song – funky. But she loved it, and just as she was getting rather into it, he stopped them. They ended pressed against each other, and Cathy started panting, not realizing how tired she actually was after all that. It felt exhilarating.

A few people pat them on the back with smiles, and a few even asked Jamie how he learned the foot work. He seemed a bit embarrassed to admit that he sometimes danced by himself after a particularly good day, and by the time he returned to Cathy his face was bright red. He huffed once, placing his hands on his hips, and the two of them watched each other with smiles for a while before breaking out into giggles together. Cathy hugged Jamie around the waist, and after a small pause, a new song came on. It was much softer and slower than the one they had just danced to, and Cathy's smile widened.

"Now this I can do." She laughed.

The couple spent the next two songs swaying gently and embracing each other. Cathy kept her cheek on Jamie's shoulder, facing his neck so that every time he kissed her head she could kiss his jaw. He would grin every time, sometimes even chuckle to himself, which made her giggle to. Every so often, Jamie would whisper something sweet tiredly into her ear, and she tightened her hold on him, doing the same. She was beginning to get a bit sleepy herself, and after the third song ended, the two decided to turn in early, as Jamie had booked a room in the hotel.

"I just have to grab my coat." She told him. "Meet you up there?"

Jamie pouted again, but complied, kissing her twice and holding her tightly until she had to beg in a fit of giggles to be released.

"The faster you let go, the faster I'll be able to meet you upstairs." She laughed, flicking his nose. Jamie chuckled, kissing hers, and mumbling. "Okay then."

She watched him head out of the hall with his hands in his pockets, and she turned away with a small smile. She stopped after a moment, completely forgetting where she had left her jacket. She put her fingers on her temples, trying hard to remember exactly what she had done that night, but all she could remember was spinning and twirling and lots and lots of laughing.

Bob must've spotted her, since he slowly made his way over to her, clutching a small coat. Cathy hugged him gratefully. "Have a good night?" she asked.

Her uncle smiled, hugging her back with one arm. "Of course, of course." He chuckled. "You know how much I love parties."

Cathy giggled, and just as she was about to say her goodbyes and head for upstairs, she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, uncle Bob?"

"Yes?"

"What did you and Jamie talk about?"

Bob chuckled a little more, and Cathy frowned in confusion. He shook his head and dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand. "Just what any two men would talk about over a drink, is all."

Cathy still looked a bit confused, but Bob dismissed that as well, changing the subject a little. "He really loves you, you know." He smiled. "I swear all he did wasstare at you, it was as if he was following you around the room."

Cathy could tell from his tone that he was being a bit theatrical a veryteasing. But she blushed anyway, smiling down at her feet. She curled her toes in her shoes, grinning at them with the urge to dance with Jamie again.

"That's just how he is." She started softly. "The thing is….I've noticed…" she paused for a moment.

"When Jamie starts to accept the fact that he does truly care about you, he won't gather the courage right then and there to just say it, you know?" she was whispering a little, and continued to smile at her feet. "But he'll follow your every movement, concern for you when you show sign of trouble,stretch his arms if you even so much as start to tumble.

"His eyes will follow you out of any room, catch any feature of you, and he'll watch your lips move and he'll hear your voice speak, and he'll smile at every word whether he really hears it or not." She giggled, now staring up at the ceiling. She bit her lip, looking down at her finger, and then at her uncle. She chuckled a little, shaking her head.

"Jamie is… He'll notice. And when you start to notice that too, that's when you'll know that he loves you, and… you love him the same." She shrugged on the last part, and scratched lightly somewhere on her cheek. She looked a bit embarrassed by her little speech, but Bob gave her a half smile that she returned.

"You know, you have much more of a… way with words than he does."

Cathy laughed at this, tucking some hair behind her ear and blushing down at her finger again. "Yeah, I know." She grinned back at her uncle and pat his arm, before hugging him and whispering her goodbye. She smiled at him again, and Bob smiled back as she backed herself towards the exit, pulling on her coat as she went. She shrugged, her hands behind her back.

"Hey, he's good on his feet though, init he?" she called. She continued to smile for a bit, before pivoting on her heel in a full twirl, setting off for the exit.


Cathy found her way to Jamie's room, and luckily had walked in just as he had gotten his sweatpants on.

"Gee, what took you? Enjoy the movie?" he mocked. She stuck her tongue out at him, and he grinned, unbuttoning the rest of his shirt. Cathy lingered for a moment, trying not to stare, but also trying discreetly to do just that. Before he pulled it off completely, he dropped his hands with a small sigh, and smiled back at her.

"Enjoying the show?"

"Oh! I – uh – I'll just." She spotted her overnight bag by one of the beds and yanked it towards her. "I'll just change now." She said quietly, rushing off towards the bathroom with an embarrassed blush. Jamie laughed, shaking his head.

"You're adorable, ya know that?" he called after her, yanking off his shirt. He heard her giggle from behind the door.

"You too."

After he was dressed, he lay down on the first bed, hands behind his head. He still felt tired, though he didn't exactly feel like sleeping. Did that make sense? Yeah, he was sure it did.

Cathy came out in a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. He grinned at her, before patting the spot next to him. He raised an eyebrow at her flirtatiously, smirking. She raised an eyebrow herself, though probably not in the way he had. She did curl up at his side, her hands on his chest, and closed her eyes a little. She could still feel him watching her, and she opened one eye to see him staring down at her mouth. She gave him a quick kiss to satisfy him, and he smiled tiredly.

"And how are you doing this evening, James?" she asked, poking his stomach playfully, as she could plainly see that he was more in the mood to talk until he wore himself and passed out.

He chuckled, shifting so both his arms were now around her, pulling Cathy closer to his chest. He pecked her on the cheek, brushing some hair from her face. And as his thumb grazed her cheek bone, he saw it tint pink, making him grin. She looked away with a smile, somewhere over his shoulder just to distract herself and get her blush under control, and then back at him, staring directly at his eyes. His face refused to remove his smile, and he stared lovingly down at his fiancée.

How was he doing? He was happy, he definitely knew that as much, but he could sense just the tiniest feeling of nervousness kindling in his stomach. In fact, it had been there for as long as he could remember, but for some reason seeing Cathy curled at his side, gazing at him with half-lidded eyes, made both his heart flutter and his stomach jerk. He had no idea whether it would go away eventually, or perhaps stay with him until October, until the next time they would once more dance in front of a group of people they loved.

"I'm doing perfect." He stroked her cheek again. "Just perfect." And he wasn't certain of who leaned in first, but he did know that her lips tasted like mints and a little bit of fruit, and that her hand was on the side of his face, slowly making its way to his neck and pulling him closer.

The nervousness did remain in his gut, though it wasn't as noticeable when she was snuggled against him or making a face at him when he teased her. He couldn't decide if it's strongest, most noticeable feeling was inside that jewelry store – a time that felt like it was a million years in the past – or when he was waiting on the park bench a small while later.

But it was definitely gone the moment he saw her walk down the aisle that October, struggling to see her through the light tears that brimmed his eyes. It was gone when she took his hands with the largest smile he could ever remember seeing, when she said "I do." And when she kissed him in front of their families and held onto him long enough to wipe her eyes and get a nice look at his own tears of happiness before anyone else got the chance. Yes, that was the day the nerves left. He was sure of it.

Of course, they returned for a cameo about four months later in his kitchen – and then once again nine months after in the small hospital room. But, really, the feeling was gone in that moment, and was filled with the only things that could take up the remaining space. Peace. Bliss. Happiness. But of course, right now he didn't know about any of that yet. (Spoilers!)

They separated, grinning. He kissed her cheek again, resting his head above hers as she nuzzled under his chin. He closed his eyes for a moment, sighing in contentment. He could feel the small smile still on his lips, though he was almost sure it wasn't actually there. Oh, yes, indeed. Fall, in his most honest opinion, had to be the greatest of the four seasons. It was perfect. Perfect for a wedding.

He whispered more to himself than to anyone else. "Life's sweet."