"The Wedding" – part 26

Summary and additional notes in part 1.

Author's Note: Thanks the reviews, alerts, and faves! Here's another chapter filled with Fadam goodness!

Music Credit: "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi, nor any music!

26-

Adam grinned at his girlfriend as the song came to a close. That last dance was so much fun. Everyone was relaxed and enjoying the night. The sun had finally set and the area looked beautiful with the decorative lighting. The white lights that hung from the canopy reminded him of Christmas lights.

Fiona met his eyes and smiled.

"I'm not sure what can top that," she said in jest. Adam softly laughed.

"I bet they're going to…" He paused so he could hear the song that just started. Upon recognizing it, he sent Fiona a knowing look. "Play a slow song," he finished.

People quickly began to pair off as the piano intro to 'If I Ain't Got You' by Alicia Keys played. It was one of Fiona's favorite songs. It described how she felt about Adam so well. She had pictured dancing to this song at their wedding countless times.

Adam stepped toward her and brought his hands to her waist. Fiona wrapped her hands around his neck as they swayed to the music.

"This is perfect," she smiled. She looked deeply into his eyes. In this moment she was truly content, and could see that he felt the same way.

Some people live for the fortune
Some people live just for the fame
Some people live for the power
Some people live just to play the game

Some people think that the physical things define what's within
And I have been there before, and that life's a bore
So full of the superficial

Adam looked lovingly at his girlfriend as they continued to dance. He couldn't be happier to have her in his arms. This song meant a lot to him too. Fiona was everything to him. She was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He loved her with all his heart.

He leaned in closer to her and began to softly sing. "Some people want it all but I don't want nothing at all, if it ain't you baby. If I ain't got you baby."

Fiona lightly chuckled.

"Hey, it's true!" he laughed.

"I know," she grinned. "I find it amusing that you harmonize so well with Alicia Keys," she teased.

Adam shrugged. "It's a gift," he quipped. "Wait, is this your way of telling me I'm ruining the song?" he inquired. He looked at her with an amused expression.

She giggled and shook her head. "No, seriously. You're much better at it than I am."

They both laughed. Adam decided to suddenly spin them around, causing Fiona to laugh even more.

"Thanks for the fair warning," she said when they were back on solid footing. She tried to convey mock annoyance, but the effect was lost in translation because she was still smiling.

Adam grinned and fought the urge to caress her cheek as he stared into her eyes again. "I love you, Fiona," he told her.

Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain't got you

Fiona felt her eyes began to tear up. The conviction in his voice moved her deeply. Combined with this day, which had gone better than she could have imagined, and the beautiful lyrics of this song, her emotions spilled over. Six weeks ago she had nearly lost him forever, yet here they were together and happy. It was truly astounding. Words could not express how thankful she was to not only have him in her life, but to know they were moving forward and that their future together was so bright.

Adam was momentarily confused. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting. He quickly removed a hand from her waist and gently wiped her tears away. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked quietly. He did his best to keep his tone upbeat, but he was concerned. Tears on the dance floor didn't seem good.

Fiona softly laughed. "I'm good. Great, actually!" she assured him. He looked back at her unconvinced. He seemed to have a sixth sense for whenever she was leaving something out. "I love you too. I'm just really happy to be here with you."

Adam gave her a small smile. The meaning behind her words hadn't been lost on him. "Me too, Fi. And I'm not going anywhere," he told her, addressing her unspoken thoughts. "I mean it. There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

-oOo-

Clare glanced over at her friends concerned. She wasn't close enough to hear what they were talking about, but she surmised Fiona had been crying since she saw Adam wiping tears away.

Eli threw her a worried look. He was tempted to go over there and ask them if everything was alright but that would probably draw attention.

"They're smiling," Clare whispered as she and Eli continued to sway to the music.

Eli furrowed his brows and turned to see for himself. Sure enough, Adam and Fiona were smiling at each other. "Happy tears?" he questioned.

Clare nodded. She could tell the difference between crying when upset and crying when joyful. This seemed to be the latter.

Eli shook his head in confusion. He would never understand girls. Clare caught on to his look.

"This is her wedding song," she revealed.

"Fiona already picked out a song for their wedding?" he laughed. Clare sent him a stern look. As he listened to the lyrics, he had to admit this was a pretty decent choice. "Sorry."

Clare sighed. "Could you show a little compassion? I think she's entitled to show a little emotion from time to time. She loves him and the last four months haven't been easy."

Eli clinched his jaw. "I know that, alright? I just… I was just trying to provide some levity." He looked away.

Despite herself, Clare cracked a small smile at his choice of words. She took a deep breath as she considered her words. "I know you didn't mean any harm," she said softly. Eli smiled at her, happy to receive her vote of confidence. "You were just being you, sarcasm and all."

Perhaps that was the crux of their problem. Despite how much she cared about him, and how much she enjoyed being around him, at the end of the day their personalities were just too different to make a relationship between them work. It saddened Clare to think this, because Eli was a great guy. He hadn't done anything wrong this time around. He just made an offhand comment, but it reminded her that they would always been struggling to make the other into what they needed.

"I'm glad that you get me," Eli smirked. He noticed her expression briefly falter before she turned to him with a smile.

"It's a gift," she deadpanned.

Eli chuckled. He was fresh out of quips so he simply held her as they continued to dance.

If I ain't got you with me baby
Nothing in this whole wide world don't mean a thing
If I ain't got you with me baby

As the song drew to a close Fiona felt a little self-conscious. She was kicking herself for her earlier display of waterworks. She looked up at Adam and found him looking at her with open affection. She instantly smiled.

"This one goes on the list," he whispered as he looked into her eyes.

She threw him a quizzical look. It took her a couple of seconds to realize what he was referring to. "I hate to break it you, but this one has been on the wedding song list for months," she teased.

Adam softly laughed. "Good to know," he said as another slow song started playing. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"A real walk," he clarified.

They both laughed.

She reached for his hand. "I'd like that."

Adam grinned at her and led them off the dance floor.

.

tbc

A/N: Oy. It's not looking good for eClare... I do think Clare is being rather mature in acknowledging the reasons they broke up haven't been resolved.

On an awesome note, it's really cool to cross songs I wanted to use and scenes I wanted to write off the list as this fic continues. I can't believe this is chapter 26!

Reviews = Totally Cool :D

Updated 3/20/11:

Thanks for all the inquiries about this story! It's currently on hold for a bit.

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Updated 7/3/11:

So... This is rather amazing. At least I think it is, lol. I'm totally excited and am still in a daze a little. I just wrote the final chapter of "The Wedding"!

I know, this fic has been on hold for over three months! I'm happy about it, because that means I'm going to update this real soon! Just need to proofread and all that jazz. There are three additional chapters. They're all lengthy and there's a variety of characters in them - as well as some great Fadam moments! I think it wraps up the story pretty well. So, yay! This fic is finally complete! It will be updated this week!

- Cheers!