Four Weeks Later

Santana

She held a garment bag with her bridesmaid dress in one hand and a had a box containing her dressy heels in the other, sunglasses perched on her nose, as she waited on the front porch of the Morales residence. Artie was driving home from the used car dealership at that very moment, ready to debut his newest baby, now complete with the hand controls that allowed him to drive it. He'd thus far only driven Ike's van, during the very same week of his official graduation from driving school, which was last week.

It was officially down to their last weekend in Columbus, the wedding weekend. Friday had been a blur of last minute details with Jessa. Friday evening had been a night out with Jessa's bridesmaids, her sister and two of the women who taught with Jessa at the high school. Nothing too crazy for Jessa, though, who at 16 weeks, looked a bit further along than that.

"Artie, you mean you didn't get a Hummer?" she leaned over to check out the small, blue Nissan Versa he was driving. "I like it," she assured him, slipping into the passenger seat and hanging her garment bag in the back. "Blue. Matches your eyes Motherfu-."

Artie had deliberately made the car lurch backwards and then threw on the brakes. "Just messing with you," he assured her, as she slapped his arm, admonishingly. "Alright, I just got a text from Ike. He needs us to hurry. We have to be there and be dressed for the pictures in an hour and a half. Why are we doing pictures so early?"

"You have a few things to learn about weddings," said Santana, who thankfully had already curled her hair and just had to touch up her makeup while he drove. "Please, no funny business, or else I'll stab myself in the eye with this." She held out her mascara wand, making her point.

They arrived at the venue in 20 minutes and parted ways to get ready. Santana knew that Ike and Jessa had strategically planned it so that they wouldn't see each other before the ceremony, ensuring that none of the photos of both of them together would be taken ahead of time. She hurried to the bride's room and found Jessa struggling with her curling wand, looking like she wasn't able to manage the simple task of curling her hair today.

"My hair won't hold," she complained. "I knew getting married outside in August was risky." She looked like she might start crying, and they couldn't have her messing up her make up and her hair. Santana to the rescue. She grabbed a can of hairspray and the curling wand and went to work, all the while assuring Jessa that it was a beautiful afternoon for an outdoor wedding. By the time the photographer came to get her, she was looking perfect.

"Wow," said Artie, as they met out in the garden to take pictures with the rest of the wedding party. Santana knew she looked pretty hot in the dark purple dress strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline, a rather sexy choice for the bridesmaid dresses. As she leaned over to help him with his boutineer, a camera flashed nearby, and Artie and Santana realized they'd been the subjects of a candid.

The bridesmaids were finishing up with their shots, when Isaac stepped out, the ReWalk whirring softly to announce his arrival. "This is just for a few pictures, not the ceremony," he said. Being the smart ass that he was, her brother Carlos rolled out behind him in the wheelchair. There were a few joke pictures taken next, before they all stood in a line, Isaac in the center. Santana had never been able to fully appreciate that Isaac was tall, taller than both her brothers. Beside her, Artie seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"He's lucky he got hurt after he was already tall," Artie said, so quietly that she almost didn't hear him. "I was supposed to be tall, too."

Santana fixed him with a funny expression. "Artie, I've seen your parents and your sister, none of them are tall, where do you get that?"

Artie grinned, looking up at her. "Busted," he said. "C'mon, can't you just let me have that one? That was the part where you were supposed to say, 'Artie, I don't care how tall you are, you're still the most handsome and amazing guy I know.'"

Santana paused. "Well, but, I do know a lot of people..." Swat! Artie was trying to smack her arm, but ended up hitting her hip instead. They both dissolved into fresh laughter.

Consequently, he had a real smile on his face and maybe he would look more natural in the pictures. Santana giggled as she heard Artie tell Isaac that, geez, it would be nice of him to sit down so I'm not the only one. She enjoyed his sense of humor, however self-deprecating it may be. Artie had taught her a lot that summer, including how to relax a little and not take herself so seriously either.

Next, the bridesmaids had a few shots with the groom before it was time for him to go, so that Jessa could take her turn. As they watched him go, Artie commented, "I told him to keep the ReWalk," he said. "I'm gonna use it when I visit, but I decided Ike might need to keep it. Although I made him promise not to overdo it again."

"Oh, Artie," Santana breathed, looking down at him in amazement. "That's awesome of you."

"I just did it to win brownie points with you," said Artie, always the jokester. Charmed as usual by his wit, Santana leaned over for a little kiss, although Artie held on a few beats longer than usual. As their lips parted, another flash went off. They were going to have some of the best candid shots of the whole wedding.

Artie

As the sun went down, guests assembled in the chairs. As promised, Jessa had invited the group of guys who'd helped with the move, including their dates. From where he and the groomsmen were waiting to assemble by the priest, Artie peered out and spied Puck and Quinn, Finn and Rachel, Sam and Brittany, Mike and Tina, Kurt and Blaine, and Matt cozied up to a very content Mercedes. They'd taken spots near the back, on either side, since the couple had one of those "Pick a Seat, Not a Side" signs, to ensure their guests would fill both sides.

"It's time," said Isaac, as he led the group of groomsmen, which included Artie, Carlos, Marcos, and a guy he worked with at the high school, to take their places. Artie, the best man, was seated right next to Isaac.

As the music started, the bridesmaids filed in one by one. Santana came right before the maid of honor, Jessa's younger sister. She gave Artie a wink as she took her place on the other side. Then the congregation stood up, save for Isaac and Artie, but Artie knew his friend was glad that no one was looking his way. All eyes were on Jessa, as she made her way towards him, except Artie did have to stop and steal a glance at Isaac. He had to appreciate the completely overjoyed look on the groom's face, at the sight of his bride. As Jessa passed her bouquet to her sister, the baby bump was on full display. Isaac kissed her belly briefly, before joining hands to say their vows.

Towards the end of the ceremony, Santana joined Artie on the other side of of the stage, as the two sang At Last as a duet. He caught a glimpse of Mercedes, eyes closed as she moved to the music, one hand in the air and one over her heart, giving them props for their flawless harmonies. Artie threw in some extra runs for her.

The ceremony concluded with a hot and steamy kiss from Jessa and Ike. This was a pretty far cry from the Catholic Church wedding that Jessa had once mentioned her mother would have preferred, but the atmosphere suited the couple. As they headed down the aisle together, the wedding party followed them into a barn, which was already set up for the reception. They headed straight through the barn and out on the other side, however, to take more pictures while the guests got situated. The ReWalk was brought out for some of them, although Artie could tell that the best shots were going to be the ones of Jessa sitting on Isaac's lap while he was in the chair. And probably another favorite would be one of a Jessa standing in front of Isaac, who was eye level with the bump, carressing and kissing it tenderly, while Jessa looked down at him, a dreamy expression on her face.

After several more minutes of this, the wedding party headed back into the barn to kick off the reception. Isaac and Jessa started off with a dance, while Santana whispered to Artie that the bridesmaids and groomsmen typically joined in after the first song, and so it would be up to them to get the party going. When the first song ended, Isaac looked pleased to see Artie and Santana head out on the floor first. Artie caught his eye and knew his friend probably remembered the very long rant he'd once written in an e-mail, right before prom, listing all the reasons he'd be too embarrassed to "dance" in front of the student body.

After a few songs, Mike and Tina approached Santana and Artie. "Mind if we cut in?" asked Tina. Santana shrugged and gave Artie a quick peck on the cheek, as though staking her claim to him, before hopping out of Artie's lap and joining Mike. Tina approached him shyly, looking beautiful in a dark blue dress. She gingerly took a seat on Artie's lap, tugging her hemline down and crossing her legs. Artie gave his wheels a push in opposite directions, spinning them around once.

"I heard that you and Santana are dating," she said, quietly. "I just want you to know, I think that's great. I was worried, at first, but I've noticed how she looks at you, Artie. And she'd be crazy not to be interested in you. I always hated that people didn't see you for who you really are. Didn't look past the chair to really get to know you. I'm glad she did and, even though I still miss what we had, I just... I just want to say how happy I am for you both."

"Th-thanks," Artie stammered. And then, because it was kind of weird to just keep talking about Santana with Tina while she sat on his lap, he brought up a new topic instead. "Um, I got my first car today," he said. "Drove it to the wedding."

"That's great, Artie!" she exclaimed. "I'd love to take a ride with you sometime. I'd say tomorrow, but I couldn't convince Mike to spend the night at Matt's tonight, so we're driving back after the reception. He has to get ready for the last camp session of the summer, then he'll be home again, and then I guess it's about time for school." She made a face.

"And glee club," he added, to which she brightened considerably. "Kurt told me Blaine Warbler might transfer to McKinley next year. Which further decreases the likelihood that any of us will get solos..."

Tina frowned. "Oh, I dunno, if Mr. Shue could have heard you and Santana sing At Last, maybe he would have changed his mind about sticking you in the background all the time."

The song ended and Tina hopped up, a wistful expression crossing her face briefly as she looked over her shoulder one last time at Artie before rejoining Mike.

Artie realized it was time for speeches. He was up, right after Jessa's sister finished sharing her heatfelt memories of all their experiences growing up together and her well wishes for the couple. As she finished, he made his way to the front of the room, heart-pounding as he rehearsed what he'd planned to say.

As he accepted the mic, he took a small piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded his notes, clearing his throat and giving a shy smile to the crowd. "Uh, hi," he began. "My name is Artie Abrams. I was really honored when Ike asked me to be his best man. I met Isaac when I was eight years old. You see, I'd, um, just been in an accident that... that changed my life. Thankfully, my school counselor knew Ike's mom, knew that Isaac had just been through something similar about a year before me, and suggested that he write me a letter. I'm sure she thought that he'd write me a few times, make me feel like there was someone who understood the things I was going through, but uh..." his voice broke at this point. His eyes landed on Isaac, who by now was fighting back tears as well.

"But uh," Artie drew a shaky breath and kept going, resolved to do his part as the best man, even if public speaking wasn't his thing. "Ike wrote me letters for years. He was sixteen but he didn't mind spending his time helping a little kid. He encouraged me in a way that no one else could. He never stopped being there for me. He taught me to be brave, to do hard things, to never say never. So it really was an honor to be here for him, today, and to watch him marry the love of his life. Jessa, I just met you this summer, but I can see how perfect you and Ike are together. I'm really excited to meet your children this winter and to keep watching, from a distance, as Isaac does everything that hopefully lies ahead for me, in my life. Seeing Isaac get a job, and get married, and make babies, makes it so clear to me that being in this chair was never going to be the thing that stopped me from doing that, too. And so..." Artie raised a glass, copying what he'd seen in movies. "To Ike and Jessa, a perfect example of what love should be."