"Are you alright?" Hannah demanded as soon as the front door closed. She turned and began checking her girlfriend for any obvious sign of injuries, finally cupping Jo's face gently and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

"I'm fine." Jo muttered, gently pushing the other woman away. She shook her head in frustration. "Hannah… you didn't need to jump in like that. I don't need you to defend me."

"I was worried about you! He threw a fucking vase at you!"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Don't be overdramatic. He didn't throw it at me; he threw it at the wall."

"He still threw it." Hannah pointed out. "How was I supposed to know he wasn't aiming for you?"

"He was angry. I don't blame him. He wanted answers that I couldn't give him honestly."

Pacing across the hardwood floor, Hannah wrapped one arm around her middle and raised the other to her face, chewing on her thumbnail thoughtfully. Jo moved to gather up the larger pieces of broken vase, piling them neatly on the table it had originally sat on. Neither spoke for a few moments, each mulling things over in their heads.

"What did he mean I wasn't what he expected?" Hannah asked at last, pausing her pacing and turning to where her fiancée was still crouching on the ground.

Jo shrugged. "I don't know."

"What did he say?"

"He said that his mother told him to find me; that he used an internet company to track me down."

"What kind of company? Where did they get your details? Is it legit?"

With a sigh, the brunette straightened up and shrugged. "I don't know, babe. He didn't really say that much. He wanted to know why I gave him up, so I explained. But then he got angry that I couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear and threw the vase."

"What did he want to hear?" Hannah demanded, frowning and starting to chew the skin around the nail on her index finger. Jo knocked the digit from her mouth with a small frown.

"I think he wanted me to say I was wrong; that I shouldn't have given him away. I think he wanted me to regret my decision." She sighed. "But I can't. I would do the same again. I couldn't have looked after him. It would have been the worst possible thing I could have done." When she looked up and met Hannah's gaze, her eyes were full of fear. "Is that wrong? Am I… am I a terrible person?"

Hannah eliminated the space between them at once, desperate to soothe the terrified uncertainty in her girlfriend's face. "No, babe, no." She promised, kissing Jo's cheek. "You're not. You made the right choice for both of you. If things had been different… if I'd have been in your situation… I might have made the same choice."

Jo shook her head. "You're stronger than me."

A low chuckle escaped the red-head. "No, I'm not. I was stupid and defiant. They told me I couldn't cope and I refused to accept it. I struggled. If I'd thought about it, really thought about it, then I would have made the same decision as you. Ellie would have been far better off with proper parents. But I was selfish and stupid and I refused to let anyone tell me what I should and shouldn't do."

"Even with everything in your life, you kept Ellie and you raised her to be the beautiful, intelligent, sensible woman she is now. I can understand why Ben is so angry that I didn't try."

"Jo…"

"No, Hannah. He's right; I could have tried. But I didn't and that's done. Now all I can do is try and be here if he decides he wants to get to know me."

With a frown the younger woman watched as her girlfriend finished picking up the debris littered over the floor. She didn't want to keep arguing the same points over and over again, but she couldn't help disagreeing with Jo. They were different people in different situations. Jo had done what she thought was right at the time. She had acted in her child's best interests and Hannah didn't think anyone had the right to question that.

"Babe, I think–"

"Hannah… I don't want to talk about it anymore." Jo told her calmly. "Not at the moment, anyway. This isn't the time. After the wedding we'll discuss it and what we're going to do. We need to sit down and explain everything to the kids, but not now." She turned and saw the look of disbelief etched on her fiancée's face. "Please, baby."

Letting out a long sigh, Hannah nodded and held out her hand. "OK. But we need to talk about this properly, Jo. You know that, right?"

Jo nodded and allowed herself to be led from the room.

x-x

"I, Freya Billie McKay, take you, Alexander Alun Draper, to be my husband. To have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law. In the presence of God I make this vow."

"Heavenly Father, by your blessing let these rings be, to Alexander and Freya, a symbol of unending love and faithfulness, to remind them of the vow and covenant which they have made this day through Jesus Christ our Lord."

"Amen." The congregation chanted as one.

Jo nudged Hannah gently with her shoulder, squeezing her fiancée's hand and smiling at her. The red-head sniffed, frowning at Jo as she tried her best to hide the tears that were clouding her vision as she watched her younger sister holding out her hand so that Alex could slide the white gold wedding ring onto her finger.

"Freya, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage." Alex said seriously, smiling at his bride. "With my body I honour you. All that I am I give to you and all that I have I share with you, within the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

As the blonde repeated his words, sliding a matching ring onto his finger, the congregation seemed to hold their breath. Hannah bit down hard on her lip, trying hard not to let the tears fall from her eyes. She gripped Jo's hand tightly, almost cutting off the blood supply.

Reverend Williams beamed between the young couple. "In the presence of God and before this congregation, Alexander and Freya have given their consent and made their marriage vows to each other. They have declared their marriage by the joining of hands and by the giving and receiving of rings. I therefore proclaim that they are husband and wife." He smiled again. "You may now kiss the bride."

As some of the congregation, mainly Freya and Alex's friends, started whooping and cheering, something that caused the bride's grandparents to mutter irritably, Jo leant towards Hannah. Her lips brushed against her girlfriend's ear as she whispered into it.

"The next wedding we go to will be ours, baby." She murmured. The heat of her breath against Hannah's sensitive skin caused the younger woman to shiver involuntarily. "I can't wait to see you all dressed up and waiting for me."

"Oh god…" Hannah muttered, shifting almost unnoticeably in the pew. "How much longer until we can leave? D'you think they'll notice if we sneak off for a bit?"

"Yeah, mum, I think they probably will." Ellie said, turning round and fixing the couple with an amused smirk. "Honestly… talk about one-track mind." Then she shook her head at Jo. "And you can stop encouraging her, mum."

Jo held up her hands in a show of innocence. "Hey! Don't blame me!"

They were forced to end their conversation abruptly as the vicar called them to join together in prayer. As the organ started up, signalling the beginning of the final hymn, Alex and Freya headed off to sign the marriage register. Hannah grinned at Jo, linking their fingers as they stood to sing.

The service was followed by a blur of photographs and congratulations in front of the picturesque church. Sharon fussed around her eldest daughter, tidying Hannah's hair and straightening her dress until the younger woman slapped her hands away in annoyance. Jo smirked, wrapping an arm around Hannah's waist and pressing a kiss to her cheek, before pulling her closer and smiling as she tried to balance Fin on her hip and comply with the photographers orders.

"Jo…" Hannah murmured, pressing kisses to the underside of her fiancée's jaw as soon as Sharon had plucked her youngest grandchild from his mother's arms and swept away to show him off. "Let's go and find somewhere quiet… I need you… right now…"

"Babe… I don't think we've got time to–"

Moving her hands from Jo's waist to cup her ass, Hannah smirked. "No one will even notice."

Arching an eyebrow, the brunette chuckled. "What has got into you? Not that I'm complaining, but…"

"This whole marriage thing is a real turn on, babe." The younger woman said simply, nibbling on Jo's earlobe. "The thought of you in a wedding dress… out of a wedding dress… fuck…"

"Hannah…" Jo warned gently, disentangling herself from her fiancée's arms and smiling softly. "Time and place, baby."

Rolling her eyes, Hannah started pulling Jo along by their joined hands. "Eurgh… you're so sensible."

"One of us has to be." Jo reasoned, willingly letting herself be led through the crowds milling around outside the church, waiting to head to the large hotel where the reception was being held.