Thank you so much for your patience, you lovely, lovely people. I know it's been a while since I updated but I really wanted to get this one right. This chapter starts off really quick and covers a lot of time but it slows down there at the end, finishing with a bit of sweetness. The wedding is in the next chapter and I hope you're all as excited as I am! Chris and Danni have had such an epic journey, it's nice to be able to write about happy things and love and all that good stuff.

Anyway, as always, thank you to those who continue to read and welcome to those just not discovering the story. I thank you all for your kind reviews and the alerts that keep you coming back. Enjoy.

For the last two months of high school instead of worrying about our cap and gown like the rest of our senior class, Chris and I spent every waking moment arguing and fighting about what to do in regards to the baby. I have to say, it was a bizarre couple of weeks in the Harper household. My parents were completely at their wits end. They'd never seen Chris and I fight before because…well, because we never had. Eventually, however, we calmed and reached an agreement. We were going to get married in July and then Christopher would go off to Oregon State in September. The baby and I were going to stay with my parents until he finished college, converting Chris's room into a nursery. Sounds simple, right? Ironic that it took us nearly six weeks to reach this easy compromise.

"Happy graduation," Chris whispered as we stood among the crowd of Castle Rock High's graduating seniors. He straightened my gown and kissed the tip of my nose. "Don't trip." He walked off to join the C's while I hung back with the H's. My eyes trailed after him as he sauntered away and I felt a wave of pride rush over me. After the hell this town had put him through, he'd made it. He took everything they threw at him in stride and had grown into a wonderful man. Suddenly, Chris glanced back and caught my stare. He gave me a wink and took his seat. Silence fell on the back lawn of Castle Rock High as our principal began his annual farewell speech.

The days immediately following graduation passed in a blissful blur. Chris, Gordie, Angie, and I spent hours wading in the creek, sipping ice cream sundaes, and goofing off in our backyard. Unfortunately, as a slight bulge began to form on my stomach reality set in. Christopher's things were moved into my room and his furniture was put in a storage unit to be taken with him to his dorm on campus. With help from my parents, Chris and I were able to slowly start preparing for the baby.

A loud thwack resonated as the Chambers boy finished nailing the crib together. He stood back, hands on his hips, and tilted his head. Frowning, he huffed, "It doesn't look right. I'll do it ag-"

"No you won't!" I halted the stroke of the paint brush in my hand. "You're going to be late to work."

"Damn," he growled, tossing the hammer into my father's tool box as he checked his watch. He wiped his sweaty brow and fanned out his shirt that clung to his skin. I pointed at the door, "Go! Shower!"

He threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay," he murmured as he peeled off his shirt and trekked out of the room. With a tiny smirk on my lips, I returned to the paint bucket. Moments later a soft knock hit my ear. Gordo was standing in the doorway, an almost bashful look about him. "Hope I'm not interrupting."

"Not at all," I grinned. I motioned him forward. "Come on in. Grab a brush."

The gangly boy strolled in and snatched up a brush. Dipping it into the bucket, he paused. "Yellow?"

"We don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet. Plus, I like bananas," I shrugged. Gordie gave a devilish grin, "I know. Isn't that what got you in this mess?"

"Oh shut up! And don't even start," I quipped before he could open his mouth to say, 'I don't shut up…'. Gordon closed his mouth mockingly and continued to paint. "Not that I don't love your sparkling company, Gordo, but what'cha doin' here? Get bored at home? Tired of packing for school?"

"Actually…I wanted to talk to you. Why did you tell Vern you were pregnant? I mean, I still love the guy like we were best buds but he has a mouth on him, ya know? It'll be a week and everyone in Castle Rock will know."

"That was kind of the point," I confessed. "I'm not ashamed of this. I know we're young but, let's face it, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Besides, in a few months it'll be plainly obvious that I'm knocked up when my belly swells up like I swallowed a basketball. Look at it!" I lifted my shirt revealing the small mound. "It's already pretty big. Wanna touch it?"

"What?!"

"What? It feels weird. It's all tough and solid. It's not soft at all. It freaks me out but Chris thinks it's the coolest thing ever."

"Um, no, thank you. I don't…I'm not…I can't touch that. No, thanks." Gordie and I finished painting the final wall. I'd done the other three that morning so, satisfied, I dropped the brushes in the bucket and grinned. "Thank you for your help, Gordo."

"Are we painting the doors?"

"Nope. We're all done." We were gathering up the tarps when Christopher walked in, freshly showered and dressed. "Oh, hey, Lachance," he 'skinned it' with his friend. "What're you doing here?"

The gangly boy motioned the tarps. "Being a slave."

"The way of the world," Chris smirked. Leaning over, he kissed my cheek, "Bye, baby." He gave my stomach a loving rub. "And other baby."

"Bye. Be careful! Love you!" I hollered as he darted out the door. Seconds later, the familiar roar of my father's old truck sounded and he was off. When I looked back at Gordie his face was thoughtful. I inquired about his thoughts. He shrugged, "I was just thinking that kid of yours is going to be sincerely lucky."

His words sent my cheeks a flame. Fighting the blush, my gaze traveled to my belly. "Do you think we can do this?"

My friend was silent for a moment. Smiling sadly, he murmured, "Yes, Danni, I do."

That afternoon while Christopher was at work my mother and I began driving around hunting for a spot to have the wedding. Hours into it, my hopes were all but dead and gone. My mother kept insisting. "One more hour, Danielle. Just one and I promise we'll go home." Of course, I whined obnoxiously and demanded to go home. Just as her resolve was cracking we stumbled upon a small Methodist church on the southern end of Chamberlain. The one-story church was white with a towering steeple. Its stained glass windows were beautiful, each one depicting a different angel. The chapel was small and intimate with just enough space for our friends and family. It was perfect.

Unfortunately, right as I was heading to the church's office to book it my mother took firm hold of my wrist. "Danielle, honey, I don't know if this is the right place for you and Christopher. Let's keep looking."

"Momma," I cried. Was she joking? "This is the best place we've seen all day! What's the problem?"

"Danielle," she stressed. Her voice dropped to a whisper, "Sweetheart, this is an African American church."

"Momma, please. This isn't the forties. They won't mind," I stubbornly rolled my eyes. But they did. They minded very much so and we were told immediately that I was not allowed to be wed in their church.

"Isn't there something me can do?" insisted my mother as I slipped into the chapel. The vaulted ceiling towered above the even rows of pews. The alter was very modest and sat in front of a rafter for the church choir. A beautiful stained glass window depicting the cross hung high in the center above the alter. I walked down the aisle, sliding into one of the wooden pews. Blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but sitting there alone I began to cry. It wasn't much, just a little stream of silent tears, however it was enough to cause a stir and suddenly there was an old black man at my side. He slid into the pew next to me, his wrinkled eyes narrowing. "What seems to be the problem, young lady?"

"Oh, it's nothing," I furiously wiped my tears suddenly feeling very silly. "Nothing at all. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you."

"You didn't bother me," he shook his head. "Now, come on, tell me what's troubling you."

"Well…my fiancé and I are expecting and we'd really like to get married as soon as possible before…well, before the baby starts to show too much. Only we can't find the right church." I began to ramble. "Then, my mother and I found this place and it's just beautiful and the perfect size but we've been told we can't use it. And I know it's our own fault. We shouldn't have gotten pregnant before the wedding. If we hadn't, it wouldn't be so important that we find a chapel quickly. But it's nothing to get so emotional over…I overreacted."

The man was quiet for a moment, nodding his comprehension. Then, he asked, "Who told you this church was unavailable to you?"

"The woman in the office."

"Hmm. And did she say why?"

I blushed. Was he seriously going to make me say it? "Because we're white, sir."

"It seems," he stood. "That you have been misinformed. This church welcomes all of God's children. Now, I haven't taken a look at the calendar in a while but I'm sure we can find a date soon enough for you to be wed."

"But, sir, she sai-"

"Elise is a new hire," he murmured. "Maybe she was misinformed, too."

"Do you mind me asking who you are, sir?"

The man grinned and stuck out his hand. "I apologize, miss. My name is Howard Pate, I'm the pastor of this church."

"Oh," I squeaked, my hand slipping into his own. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Danielle Harper."

"Likewise, Miss Harper." The pastor guided me back to the office where he was swift to point out the secretary's mistake and within mere minutes a date was chosen and the church reserved. While my mother wasn't overjoyed at the thought of Chris and I being married by a black pastor, I had instantly warmed up to the old man and thought I might faint from happiness. We had a church; we were really going to get married.

The next few weeks flew by in a tizzy of flowers and dress samples and invitations. Before anyone knew it, it was the night before my wedding. I paced up and down the length of my living room, my mother, Aunt Cassidy, and Angie's eyes following my every step. "We're stupid. We're so stupid. We can't get married. We should have eloped. Everyone in the family is going to know that I'm pregnant. The whole town knows. What's to stop on of them from saying something? Hell, why are we even bothering to hide it? How am I going to hide it when a baby shows up in five months?! I can't! You can't hide a baby! They're loud!"

I spun on my mother wagging an accusatory finger. "I cannot believe you encouraged this! We're babies ourselves, mother. I can't legally drink much less get married and raise

a child!"

"I encouraged nothing, Danielle," my mother said, her tone a little too composed. "You and Christopher made that baby all on your own-"

"Oh, I know that, mother," I hissed, but she ignored the snide remark and continued, "But you have lost your ever loving mind if you think for one second I'm going to let you have that baby out of wedlock."

"But everyone will be there," I whined. "They'll know."

"Know what? That you love Christopher. That he loves you. That the two of you want to spend the rest of your lives together? Honey, everyone already knows that. They just want to be there to help you celebrate your love. To support you. That's all," my mother cooed, standing and pulling me into her arms. She stroked my hair and sighed. "You need to rest. You've been on your feet all day."

"I can't rest," I mumbled. "My mind's going ninety miles a minute and I think I'm going to throw up." Instantly, my mother backed away. My eyes narrowed, "I wasn't being literal."

"How am I supposed to know that? You've had awful morning sickness for the past week and a half."

"Let's just hope it stays itself during the ceremony," Aunt Cassidy murmured. I plopped down beside her on the couch with a sigh, my hand curving over the small rising bump in my stomach. "Do you think they know?"

"Honey," Aunt Cassidy shook her head. "I don't think anyone cares. We all knew you two would end up with a family of your own anyhow. What does it matter if it's sooner or later?"

"I just…" My lips quivered. "I don't want to feel like a whore."

"Danielle!" My mother gasped. "Sweetheart, you are not a whore. You've only ever loved one man and are now promising yourself to him forever. What on Earth is whorish about that?"

Giggling at the fact that my mother just said 'whorish', I tossed my head back into the couch cushions. "I don't know! Ugh, I'm just so tired…I'm tired of worrying, I'm tired of wondering what everyone will think…hell, I'm just plain tired. This whole affair has worn me out."

"You've got to stop caring so much, Danni," Angie told me. "You're going to give yourself gray hair and all this stress can't be good for the baby."

I sat up, hands cradling my stomach. "What do you mean? What's not good for the baby?"

"Nothing, sweetie. That's not what she's saying. You just need to know that this is perfectly normal. Everyone experiences cold feet," soothed Aunt Cassidy. Cold feet. Was that my problem? Was Christopher getting cold feet? Of course he wasn't. Christopher was always steady and firm. He was solid, the only foundation I had in my recently shaky world. All of a sudden, I longed to see him. It was so stupid, making us spend the night apart. Wasn't that the whole point? To be together forever now?

I feigned a yawn and stood. "I think you're right. I'm just exhausted and it's cold feet and it's totally normal and stuff. I just need a good night's sleep. Right?"

They all nodded, each offering to help me to bed. I declined their offers; I wasn't quite to the 'waddling' stage of pregnancy yet. Thank God. How embarrassing would it be to waddle down the aisle tomorrow? I climbed the stairs and shut my bedroom door, twisting the lock. I paused with my hand on the door knob. Had I ever locked my door before? Scampering over to the window, I lifted the pane and slid one leg out, then the other. "Oh, shit," I murmured, my grip on the window sill slipping. Shimmying down the tree outside my window was harder than I remembered and I was trying to be extra careful as to not fall and hurt the baby. In retrospect, it was a very foolish thing to do, especially the night before my wedding.

The trek across Castle Rock was cold and I scolded myself for not bringing a sweater. When I reached the Lachance home, I scrounged around his mother's garden and found a few plant setters. I chucked the hard pieces of stone at Gordie's window for half an hour to no avail. "Damn it, wake up," I hissed to the night air. Just as I was giving up, Gordie's Ford pulled up behind the house. I squinted from the headlights.

"Danni?" Chris called. "Baby, what're you doing? Why aren't you at home? It's freezing out here."

I shrugged, "I wanted to see you."

"You know, Danni, you're kinda making this whole 'separate night' thing kinda pointless," Gordon snickered. I frowned, stepping into Chris's arms, "Yeah, well, it was stupid anyway."

"Does your mother know you're here?"

I shook my head, "Nope. I climbed down the oak tree."

"You did what?" chuckled Gordie, his best friend chiding, "Danni, that's too dangerous."

"What? We used to do it all the time when we were kids!"

"You weren't pregnant when we were kids."

I paused. "Yeah, okay, but still…they were driving me nuts. Talking about cold feet and…and just being stupid."

Chris took hold of my chin, gently nudging my face upward until our eyes met. "Were you worried I was going to get cold feet?"

"No," I said, my voice a whisper. "I was worried I was going to get cold feet. Chris, I'm so nervous. There are going to be so many people and I'm going to trip. I'm going to fall on my face. Or worse, I'm going to go into labor. I'm going to have the baby right there in front of God and everyone and the-"

"Baby, stop," Chris grinned. "Don't do this to yourself. Tomorrow is going to be fine. It's going to be beautiful and special and we're going to get married. You're not going to trip or go into labor-"

"You know, cause that's physically impossible on account of you're only four months pregnant," muttered Gordie.

"Shut up, Lachance," I snapped, burying my face in Christopher's chest. "See? This is why I needed to see you. You always know what to say. Everyone else is stupid."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing you're not marrying everyone else," chortled Gordie. I turned to glare at him and he flinched. "Okay, okay, I'm done. I'm going inside." He tossed Christopher the keys to his car. "Take her home. I'll see ya in a little while."

"Thanks, man," Chris called at his retreating best friend. I peered up at him, "Where were you?"

"We were at the baseball field mostly, but we stopped by the tree house. The place is a wreck."

My nose wrinkled. "I bet. Do you think they'll come?"

I didn't have to expend, Chris knew I was referring to Vern and Teddy. His brow furrowed in thought. He seemed to mull the question over in his mind, eventually nodding. "If they aren't took drunk or high to forget the date, yeah. They'll be there."

"Christopher…"

"Hmm?"

I bit my lip, my hands curling around the back of his neck. "We're getting married tomorrow."

The wonderful boy grinned at me. "We are," he nodded, lowering his mouth firmly to mine. "We're getting married and you're going to be my wife…forever."

I nipped at his bottom lip. "Hmm, forever."