Going to the Chapel and We're Gonna get Married…

House paced back and forth, tugging nervously at his tie. What if she didn't show up? What if she'd finally come to her senses and run off with Damien Wilde? It's what he would do. That guy was loaded.

"Would you stand still?" Wilson had been trying to pin a corsage on his friend for the past five minutes, but it was hard to pin a moving target.

"What time is it?" House grabbed Wilson's wrist and stared uncomprehendingly at his watch.

"About five minutes after the last time you asked." Wilson rubbed his arm when House released him. That was going to leave a mark, surely. "Why don't you practice your vows or something?" Anything to get him to stop pacing.

"I didn't write any." House paced a little more frantically.

"What do you mean you didn't write any?"

"I'm gonna wing it." House stopped pacing, smiled at Wilson, then resumed pacing at a much quicker pace. Winging it had sounded like such a good idea when he thought of it.

"You told me you'd written them weeks ago." Wilson's voice cracked slightly. It did that when House drove him to the brink.

"I lied." House shrugged at Wilson's naive trust.

"HOUSE!"

"WILSON!" House wobbled his head in imitation of his friend. He would have made that vein on his neck bulge like Wilson's did sometimes, but he just couldn't pull it off.

"Just…stay here. I'll go see if they've arrived yet." Wilson had to get away from him before he nailed House's feet to the floor. Watching the long legged man pace was maddening. Especially because of the limp and the relentless pounding of the cane against the stepping stones.

Cuddy looked into the mirror again. She couldn't believe it was her looking back. All those extra fittings had really paid off because the dress fit her like a glove. She looked stunning.

"You look fine, come on." Lo had touched up the bride's make up, had fixed the bride's hair, again and had even double checked the bride's stockings for runs. But if the bride didn't move her perfect little ass away from that mirror, Lo was going to kick the bride's ass good and hard.

Cuddy took a deep breath. "I have no idea what I'm going to say when I get up there."

"What do you mean?" Lo was gripping Cuddy's arm firmly and pulling her out the door.

"House told me to forget writing vows and just say whatever I'm feeling." It was a sweet thought, but now she was terrified she'd mess it all up.

"Lisa, you're getting married. You're going to feel like throwing up." Lo wasn't a big wedding person. Marriage in general seemed rather pointless to her. But if it's what her friend wanted, she'd be as supportive as her sarcasm allowed.

"Maybe I'll say that." Cuddy was pouting. This was going to be a disaster.

Lo rolled her eyes. "Greg would probably like it if you did."

Cuddy laughed. "Probably." She took one last peek at herself in the mirror.

"Oh, get over yourself." Lo slammed the door, disconnecting Cuddy from her beloved mirror. "You're not all that."

"Yes I am." Cuddy wrinkled her nose at her friend. She knew she looked gorgeous and Lo wasn't going to convince her otherwise.

"Fine, you are, but you're about to be Mrs. Gregory House and I'm going to have all the hot bachelors to myself, so I still win." Lo stuck her tongue out.

"Get in the car." Cuddy shoved Lo into the waiting limo. She always won.

House was tapping his cane against a stone wall when Wilson returned.

"She's not here yet."

"She's not coming." House had been trying to prepare himself for this moment. This was all just too good to actually happen to him.

"They're probably just stuck in traffic."

"OMG!" House was channeling his inner 'tween. "That's the worst excuse ever."

"Yeah, but it happens."

A third gentleman came over, interrupting their stimulating debate. He was dressed in a suit identical to Wilson's, but he made it work. "You really want me to wear this thing?" Damien looked at House and Wilson then felt a little better about his appearance.

"Cuddy's idea," was House's simple answer.

"You are one lucky bastard." Damien clapped House on the shoulder familiarly. Normally House would have bitten a man's head off for doing that, but damned if he didn't actually like this guy.

"So she isn't running off with you then?"

"Alas, she seems stuck on you. Silly girl." Damien laughed.

"There's no accounting for taste," Wilson threw in, feeling a bit third wheelish.

"I'd gladly fight you for her," Damien continued. "But you look like you'd fight dirty."

"I would." House smiled.

Cuddy stared out the limo window. The world seemed to be passing at a snails pace.

"There's still time to change your mind," Lo offered helpfully before getting hit in the arm.

"I'm not changing my mind."

Lo grinned. "You really do love him don't you?"

Cuddy looked at her like she'd just said this was a stick up. "Where have you been the past year?"

"Hoping it was a phase?"

"It's not a phase."

House peeked around the hedges. The lawn chairs, laid out in perfectly straight rows were beginning to fill up. Damien and Daniel were seating the guests. Cuddy had stressed out about whether to keep Daniel in the bridal party, but he had been her friend long before he became her brother in law, and she wanted her friend there for her, so he stayed, much to Lydia's dismay. Cuddy had worked it all out by having Daniel walk his daughter down the aisle, while Lydia would be paired with poor, unsuspecting Damien. Now he had no one to walk with. House offered him the ring bearer position, but Damien turned it down. He was not going to walk down the aisle carrying a fluffy satin pillow. Not even for Lisa Cuddy.

Damien was escorting Mr. and Mrs. House to the front row. "Where's Greg?" John asked with his usual military authority.

"He's behind those hedges, burning a whole in the grass." Damien held Blythe's arm as she sat down.

"He's not smoking is he?" Blythe had caught her son smoking when he was fourteen years old. When she told her husband, he forced the boy to smoke an entire pack, down to the nubs in one sitting. After that, House couldn't even stand the smell of cigarettes. Cigars, however, were another matter.

"No ma'am. He's pacing." Damien smiled. He found it endlessly amusing that House, the man Cuddy had called a force of nature, was so nervous about the prospect of marrying her.

"Idiot." John got up from his seat. "I'll go talk to him."

Blythe grabbed his arm. "Be nice John. He's bound to be nervous."

"Typical." John walked away shaking his head. No son of his was going to be nervous unless an enemy soldier was holding an M-16 against his temple and yelling something he couldn't understand.

The limo pulled into the driveway of Skylands Manor. It was every bit as beautiful as Cuddy remembered. They were escorted to a waiting room where Cuddy was immediately drawn to the 360 degree mirror in the corner.

"Aren't you sick of looking at yourself yet?" Lo started spreading out makeup and hair products onto the large marble vanity.

"I think I should wear my hair down." Cuddy sighed.

"It looks perfect. Leave it alone." Lo groaned.

"House likes it down." Cuddy was fussing with the little tendrils falling down the back of her neck.

"Oh, well, if HOUSE wants it down, then that's what he'll get."

"Don't be so bitter." Cuddy turned and smiled charmingly. She knew she was driving her friend crazy, but she wanted everything to be perfect.

"You could have told me this before I hired the most exclusive hair dresser in Jersey to come put it up for you." Lo wasn't bitter; just frustrated. She imagined wringing her friend's pretty little neck and felt immediately better.

"Are you done killing me in your mind?" Cuddy knew Lo very well. She knew when she pushed Lo to the limit.

"Almost." Lo held up a hand, imagined the last gasps of breath escaping Cuddy's lips, then put her hand down. "There, you're dead. Now let's make you perfect."

"Have I thanked you yet today?" Cuddy felt all misty.

"No, not today." Last time had been about 3am, but since Lo hadn't yet kicked the guy out of her bed, she still considered that the night before.

"Thank you." Cuddy pulled her friend into a hug.

"don't!" Lo pushed her back. "If you wrinkle that dress, who do you think you're going to make iron it out for you?" She felt like Cinderella.

"You'd do it." Cuddy twinkled.

"Shut up and turn around." Lo began pulling all the bobby pins out of Cuddy's hair.

"Greg." John's stern voice caused Wilson and House to jump.

"What are you doing here?" House grumbled.

"You're my son, and you're getting married. Where else would I be?" John was inspecting his son as he spoke. "You couldn't shave?"

"This is my signature look." House had thought about it, but Cuddy liked his stubble. She told him it made him look rugged and sexy.

"Well, it's too late now." John sighed. He never would understand his son. "Do you have the rings?"

"Rings?" House looked puzzled. He loved pulling his father's chain.

"I have them here." Wilson hit his breast pocket.

"Good. Best not to let him have them until it's time." John knew Wilson was the responsible one in that relationship. For a while he thought his son might be…that he and Wilson were…well, he'd never met this supposed Stacy person, and wondered if she might be what the kids called a Beard, but it didn't matter now. His son was getting married. It was the only normal thing he'd ever done.

"Right, wouldn't want to trust little Greg with something as big and important as a pair of rings." House snotted.

"You sure you're ready for this son?" John didn't want House to screw this up.

"It's a little late to worry about that."

"It's never too late son…" John shook his head. "Don't doom this before it even begins."

"Doom what?" House turned and mouthed to Wilson. Wilson shrugged.

John had been wrestling with what to say to his son for a while now. The whole flight here he'd been trying to think of words of advice. "Lisa's a good girl. Make sure you treat her right."

"I will," House said hesitantly. He'd never gotten a pep talk from his father, and it was making him very uncomfortable.

"And, on your wedding night…"

"NO!" That was one thing he did NOT want his father to discuss with him.

John sighed heavily. "Just treat her right Greg." He turned to leave.

Wilson looked at House. "That went well."

"Yeah. I didn't say half the shit I could have."

Jakob Cuddy walked into the waiting room. "Are you ready Princess?" He had his head turned, just in case she was in the middle of doing anything.

"You can look Mr. Cuddy." Lo excused herself. She had a feeling they could use a private father/daughter moment.

"Oh my goodness." Jakob stopped in his tracks. "You look beautiful." He was already tearing up.

"Don't cry. You're going to make me cry, and then Lo will have to fix my makeup again. And you do not want to upset Lo right now."

"I don't ever want to upset Lo." She had always scared him just a little.

Cuddy laughed.

"You're absolutely…stunning." Jakob couldn't take his eyes off her. "I am so unbelievably happy right now."

"That makes two of us Daddy." Cuddy gave him a hug. Damn the wrinkles. She loved her father more than anything and she was going to hug him if she wanted to. "Now let's go. I'm getting married." Her smile lit up the room.