At the end of our dance after the cheers from our friends have subsided and our long kiss has come to an end we continue to stand there. Sharon is leaning into me with her arms around my neck, my hands still cupping her face when she pulls back at little to smile at me. She looks adorable with her hair slightly mussed up, her lipstick a little smudged from kissing and her eyes sparkling with happiness.

"When we danced at Nicole's wedding I never in my wildest dreams imagined that we'd be dancing at our own wedding now."

"I know, sweetheart. Tell me this is not just a dream."

"This is better than any dream, Andy. This is reality!"

Reality. Reality is this beautiful woman in my arms, my wife. Reality is that in less than four months we will become the parents of a little girl and what hasn't already been turned upside-down in our lives up to now certainly will be then. I can't wait! I just want to take her home, wrap her in my arms and make plans for our future.

For now, I settle on accompanying her back to her place beside her mother who is waiting for her with a big smile.

/

I loved every moment of our wedding day so far, but one of my favourite must have been Sharon's little squeal of surprise when she saw the ring. I didn't even have time to put it on her finger before she kissed me and I heard a happy cheer from our daughters followed by the sound of hands meeting in mid air. Why not high-five your parents getting married? Father Joseph kept his calm throughout, but I have no doubt he thought us rather strange.

The greatest surprise of all was the presence of Sharon's parents. I have never before seen her with them and the bond they share clearly runs deep. Her father William Fitzpatrick is a tall man with a full head of white hair and the same intensely green eyes as Sharon. He is coming up on his ninety-second birthday this summer, but one wouldn't know from seeing him stand up to hug his daughter. Beside him his wife Caitlin looks even more petite than she already is.

It was Caitlin who had called me on my mobile just after we had announced the wedding. Since Ricky had been handling all the logistics on Sharon's side of the family, I had been a little surprised, and a little worried.

"May I call you Andy?" Caitlin asked at the beginning of our conversation.

"Of course, Mrs Fitzpatrick." No matter how old you'll get, I figured it was best to address your fiancée's parents by their full name until they specifically told you otherwise.

"I would prefer if you called me Caitlin, Andy. May I speak to you about your wedding?"

"Uh, yes, of course…Caitlin."

I had been a bit apprehensive. Why was she calling me? To lecture me on getting her daughter pregnant without being married? To tell me to wait with the wedding until our daughter was born? To leave her daughter alone? I suddenly felt insecure. Should I have asked her father before proposing to her? Surely not, at our age? Luckily, my worries had been unfounded and Caitlin had been calling for a very different reason.

"I believe you know that my husband Will has been rather poorly? The doctor has advised him not to travel, but he is nothing short of determined to attend the wedding. You do know my daughter and she certainly is strong-willed, but trust me when I say she is nothing compared to her father. He will do whatever it takes to see his girl get married. Andy, we've told Sharon we won't be able to come, because I do not want her to be disappointed when we have to cancel, but we are planning to at least come to church."

"I know it would mean the world to Sharon to have you both there." I understood her only too well. If Sharon had been allowed to fly, we would have gotten married near her parents' to save her father the trip.

"We would prefer to surprise rather than disappoint her, but I wanted you to be prepared."

We agreed that Rusty would pick them up from the airport and Ricky would go to church with them the next day while Emily would help Sharon get ready. It had worked out perfectly with all of the kids chipping in.

After the ceremony Sharon formally introduced me to her parents. I had known that Sharon's father had been a doctor in a family practice, but not that he had practiced as an OB/GYN as well. As he and Naomi were discussing Sharon's pregnancy in quite a bit of detail, I couldn't help but get the impression that Sharon hadn't told her parents just how close we had come to loosing our daughter. The more they were talking, the more thoughtful Sharon became. She didn't look unhappy, but she didn't look at ease either. When I touched her shoulder she turned to me and sighed.

"This is how Dad used to be. This is the old William Fitzpatrick, MD. It may be medicine from forty years ago, but it's all still there." She smirked, "I am being ordered to rest and take it slow."

She was right. Neither Captain Raydor nor Mrs Flynn had any say here. Sharon was once again the child who had to promise her father to look after herself and his granddaughter. William leaned forward to press a kiss on his daughter's forehead laying his shaking hand on her stomach and Sharon covered it with her own gently moving it a little to the side. Father and daughter looked at each other fondly for a moment and then William's face lit up and his features became soft as he felt the movements of his granddaughter.

"Half a lifetime ago I used to sit like this with your mother and you were the one who kicked me."

"And I remember half a lifetime ago when we sat like that and Emily was the one doing the kicking. Do you remember, Dad?"

"Like it was yesterday, my girl. Like it was yesterday."

"She could be your great-granddaughter, Dad."

"And you could be my granddaughter, Lizzie. What difference does it make? We have always taken every child as a blessing from God, in our youth as in our older years."

Sharon hugged him and I had tears in my eyes. That simple acceptance. The love that was contained in that statement. I realised that this was exactly what Sharon had done: taken our child as a blessing, as a special gift. That's why her parents had never once said a single word about us expecting a child at our age.

It hadn't stopped William from giving me the third degree though, "So, young man, what are your intentions towards my daughter?"

"Will, our daughter is a grown woman. I'm sure she and Andy have discussed this," Caitlin interrupted putting a calming hand on his arm in a very familiar gesture.

"Well, young man, at least you had the decency to make an honest woman out of my Sharon," her father continued, still looking at me intensely.

"Sir, Ma'am, I promise you that I will forever love and cherish your daughter, that I will protect her and be by her side whatever may come." I took Sharon's hands in mine and raised it to my lips. "I love you, Sharon."

"Dad, Andy proposed to me the moment I was divorced," Sharon quickly came to my defence and held my hand tightly. In an ideal world we would have gotten married first and then started a family. To an extent I could understand her father. My mother had been scandalised just to hear she would be a grandmother once again. She had told me in no uncertain terms that her mother would surely be turning in her grave – and she hadn't even known Sharon was still married to Jack at the time.

"I think we can trust him, Will. Look at how happy he is making our girl," Caitlin said with a wink indicating Sharon who was kissing my hands and then rested her cheek against them with a content smile, eyes closed. She really did look blissful at that moment. Her father looked at her and then nodded slowly.

William left the reception a little later, but not before pulling me aside for a quiet chat amongst the two of us. He really is a remarkably tall man and even slightly bent as he stood now he was towering over me.

"Andrew Flynn. I am glad I got to meet you and see for myself that you are sincere. I don't have much time left on this earth, but at least now I can go in the knowledge that my Sharon is being loved the way she should be. Thank you for loving my daughter, Andrew."

I could feel the tears well up in my eyes and I had to swallow hard before I could answer, "Thank you for trusting me, William. I love Sharon and I promise you, I will always be there for her and for her children and grandchildren."

He pulled me into a fierce hug that still spoke of the strength that had once been there.

/

While I didn't get to spend the entire afternoon with Sharon I kept looking for her throughout to make sure everything was okay. After all, a wedding reception was not exactly the bedrest she was supposed to be on.

She was sitting down most of the time, laughing and talking with her mother and all our kids. It seemed she instinctively knew how to approach Jona, how to make him feel welcome without being overbearing. She hugged Nicole and let her feel the kicks of her little sister and when my two grandsons climbed up next to them, they also got put their hands on her stomach and giggled. She ruffled Rusty's hair and he rolled his eyes a little, but didn't pull away. Both Ricky and Emily got their share of hugs and kisses and happy looks. They were all one big happy family.

/

Not long after our dance I walk over to my wife and wrap my arms around her sitting frame, bringing my lips to her ear,

"I'm ready to take my bride home."

"Then take me home, my dear husband."

What a smile! She extends her hand and when I take hold of it to gently help her get up, it happens. The joy on her face quickly turns into a mask of pain as she clutches her stomach with her free arm, a moan escaping her mouth. I can feel her lean heavily into me, muffling the groans of pain in my shoulder.