There will be America/Israel, one sided USUK, and minor FRUK.

To say that the employees and employer in the office knew Alfred Jones was an understatement.

Sure, he was loud at times, or he was always telling a joke to lighten up a situation that desperately needed it, or even to brag about the fifteen point buck he shot last November, he was very private and and made a point to not talk about his life outside of the office at work.

Alice Kirkland had always had a crush on Alfred Jones.

From the first day he walked in that door, his smile had her falling in love almost immediately.

He was nice and could have learned better table manners, but she offered to sit with him at lunch since he was new. He was grateful and thanked her for her kindness. Since that day, they would always eat at the table by the vending machine.

Over the course of six years, Alfred had lost his boyish looks and grew into a man. He was twenty two when he first started and looked like a high schooler. Now, his body finally caught up with his age. He was no longer scrawny, not that he was before, and he had more muscle, though not as much as their boss. He had no idea of the longing that Alice has for him.

Seriously, they know each other for six years and the least he could do was ask her on a date.

However when Alice asked if he wanted to do something after work, he would always say no. That he was doing something else or too busy or too tired.

It wasn't until June 24th that Alice knew why.

Alfred Jones, the love of her life, was marrying someone else.

Alfred visited his friend and best man Matthew in HR to request time off for his honeymoon.

He know that he was going to have to tell everyone the reason that he was going to be gone for the month of October, and he was not looking forward to it.

And yet, he wanted to shout it to the rooftops that he was getting married. He wanted to stand on his desk and proclaim that he was getting married to the one woman that had him wrapped around her finger.

Alfred decided on giving his boss, an army drill Sargent by the name of Ludwig, a wedding invitation for the office tomorrow.

The next day, head held high and card in hand, Alfred entered the office.

Alfred could feel the gaze that Alice has on him as he entered Ludwig's office. He only entered that room if it was serious.

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Ludwig looked up at Alfred in mild curiosity as he placed a white card in front of him and left.

There were white bells and two doves in opposite corners. In the middle, Ludwig read

You are invited to witness the union between Alfred Friedrick Jones and Hadassah Mary Tel'Aviv.

Ludwig did not bother to read the rest of it because he could not get over the shock of Alfred marrying a woman other than Alice. He had always thought that Alfred would one day realize what a wonderful girl she was and marry her one the spot. Hell, his employees took bets on whether or not he would ask Alice or is she would ask him.

Alice was going to be crushed.

Ludwig walked out of his office and towards Alfred with the invitation.

"This is an invitation." He stated.

"I know."

Some people dropped what they were doing to listen in. Alice was one of them.

"It's a wedding invitation."

Some more heads looked up.

"I know." Alfred stared at his computer screen.

"This is your wedding invitation."

As Ludwig guessed, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Alfred. Even from twenty feet away, Ludwig could see tears forming in Alice's eyes.

"I know. Are you going to RSVP?" It was like Alfred didn't care about Alice.

"I don't know, when we you going to tell us that you had a girlfriend?"

Alfred turned to look at Ludwig now. "I didn't realize that I had to spill every little detail about my private life to the office. Would you like to know when our children are born too?"

Alice ran to the bathroom in tears. Francis followed her to see if she was alright.

"Do you even care about Alice?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"A damn important one!"

"She's a good friend. And so are you and Kiku and Athena and Feli and Francis and Julchen and everyone here. Including Ivan. If I thought differently, you would not have received an invite to our wedding."

So poor Alice was stuck it he friend zone for six years and all for nothing.

"If you are going to give me crap about my fiancée or my decision to keep my private life private, I will go home right now and help my lovely bride with our wedding that we are having at the end of September. Be there or not, it's your choice." And with that, Alfred got back to work.

Only Ivan gave him his congratulations.

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Alice was sobbing in a bathroom stall when Francis came in. Her heart felt like it was ripping in two and her world was collapsing. Though the often argued with Francis, she allowed him to hold her and whisper sweet things in her ear as she soaked his shirt with her tears. They stayed like that for a long time and Ludwig did not force them back to work.

The day of the wedding came. It was in a small church on September 26th, a Wednesday. And it rained the whole day.

Though, in some countries, rain on a wedding day was good luck. Not to Alice. She prayed that the rain would be a representation of the marriage that Alfred would have with the woman he chose over her.

She decided to start dating Francis as a way to get Alfred jealous and come running to her rescue. But all he said to Francis and her was that he wished them all the happiness in the world.

Francis wasn't too bad. He made to usual comment about her cooking abilities but other than that, he made sure to give Alice a rose when he walked past her desk everyday and would write a new love poem for every date he took her on. He held doors open for her and would always find something to complement her on. When he kissed her hand, he was always so respectful and if he wanted to kiss her on the cheek or the mouth, he always asked. They have yet to have kiss on the lips. One could see that he was the perfect boyfriend.

Alice could see the HR rep, Matthew Williams as the best man, talking to Alfred. She couldn't see what exactly they were talking about but Alfred looked like he was about to faint.

Alice left her seat beside Francis to talk to Alfred. As she got closer, she could hear what Alfred was saying. And it broke h heart again. But this time, for the girl she has yet to meet.

"What if she gets up here and decides that I am not worth it? You don't get it Mattie, I don't deserve her and she could leave at anytime. What if she runs away because she does not want to get married? What if I get sick? I think I am about to be sick. Oh my gosh, I'm going to throw up on my bride's wedding dress." He spoke a mile a minute.

"Alfred, may I tell you something?" Alice asked quietly.

The terrified groom nodded.

"I admit that I have had a crush on you for a while. Years in fact. But, you don't understand. You are terrified that your bride to be will leave you at the alter. She is scared that you will do the exact same thing. You are scared that she will wind someone better that you. And you know what? She is scared that maybe in the future, you will too. All these thoughts that are going through your head are also going through hers. You asked her to marry you and she said yes. I can tell you that if she said yes, that she will be your bride, your wife, your lover, and your companion, she loves you. More than I ever could. I hope that you realize that in the next two minutes. I wish you and your lucky bride good fortune."

As Alice returned to Francis, she felt as if a heavy load was lifted off of her. Francis took her hand in his and silently gave his support.

Alice had to grudgely admit that the bride was beautiful. The wedding dress was not big or fancy. It looked like humble, and that made the bride herself even more beautiful. As she walked past, Alice saw that she only had mascara, nothing else. Guess she was naturally pretty. Her brown eyes were soft and full of joy. Her dark brown curls looked real and they fell past her schulders. The veil was not that long and it looked like they tried to save on money.

The one thing that Alice was looking forward to hearing was the vows.

But Alfred said his vows in another language that sounded Middle Eastern. She could see from the look of surprise on her face that the bride was not expecting that. She also said her vows in the same language, causing Alfred to laugh at some parts.

When the Pastor asked if anyone objected to the marriage, she could feel the gaze of her coworkers expecting her to stand up and fight. But she didn't.

She watched at the man she loved married another.

She watched Alfred F. Jones slip through her fingers to be caught by Hadassah Tel'Aviv. Now Hadassah Jones.

She watch as Alfred kissed his bride.

She watched as Alfred carry her back down the isle.

She watched as his wife threw the buqet of flowers.

She watched as women and small girls try to get the flowers.

She didn't expect to catch them with Francis next to her thinking about how she would look in white. That would not happen for a while, yet Alice would make a lovely bride.

Would you like a sequel to this part?

Review please.