Ken and Joy decided to wait until Della was further along in her recovery to set a date. It drove the woman crazy. She was bored and wanted to start helping her daughter plan. It would give Della something to do. Joy wasn't in a hurry to start planning which also drove Della crazy. Once Della was making her way around with a cane, Joy started planning. It was a month into the engagement. "Do you have any idea about what you want?" Della asked her daughter.

"Not really," Joy answered. "You and daddy went to city hall, right?"

"Yes, we did."

"Why?"

"At the time we thought we were just getting married so that I could adopt you."

"Would you have done things differently if you'd known that you were both in love?"

"I don't know. We may have done it somewhere else with a few friends, but nothing big. Does Ken want a big wedding?"

"He says he wants what I want," Joy said and rolled her eyes.

Della chuckled, "did you tell him that you want to know what he wants?"

"Yes, he repeated himself. I almost punched him."

"Do you have any idea how many guests you'll be inviting?"

"Mom, I just.." Joy started feeling overwhelmed. "Why can't this be simple?"

"It can be. If you want it to be simple, we can make it simple."

"Our parents, Paul and Margaret, and any friends he wants to invite."

Della knew her daughter didn't have any friends. The girl was shy in that area of her life. "If it's under ten, we could have the wedding and reception here."

"Yeah, I like that," Joy said.

"Now we just need a date and time."

Joy sighed, "we should just elope."

"I'll ask you and just answer with the first thing that pops into your head. Season?"

"Spring"

"Month?"

"May"

"Day?"

"Saturday"

"Time of day?"

"Evening"

"Inside or outside?"

"Outside"

"See, that wasn't so hard."

"What if Ken doesn't want that?"

"Sweetheart, after everything it took for us to get that, I'll make sure he wants it."

"Meaning you'll tell him he has no choice."

"Of course," Della said.

With that information, Joy was able to pick a date and time. Ken was fine with it all. He knew Joy was stressed out about the wedding and didn't want to make it worse. Everything she chose, she ran by him before finalizing it. While he appreciated the gesture, he felt she didn't have to do that. He truly meant it when he said that he wanted whatever she wanted. One thing Joy didn't run by him was the dress. In fact, she hadn't mentioned going dress shopping which concerned Della as time went by. She had finally convinced her daughter to go dress shopping. Joy found her dress and now, all they had to do was wait for the day.

When Joy and Ken's wedding day rolled around, Della helped her daughter get ready while Margaret sat with them. Paul and Perry were with Ken. Della could get around pretty well unaided. Her back gave her trouble on occasion. Margaret left to give Della and Joy a moment alone. "I have something for you," Della said. Joy walked over to the couch her mother was sitting on. Della handed her a little velvet box. "My great grandmother brought this with her when she immigrated here. She gave it to my grandmother on her wedding day. My grandmother gave it to my mother on her wedding day, and my mother gave it to me on mine. Now, I'm giving it to you."

Joy opened the box to find an antique diamond pendant. "It's beautiful," she said. Della helped her put it on and then Joy went over to look in the mirror. "I love it. Thank you," she said.

"Are you ready?" Della asked.

"I don't know," Joy said.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm scared," she said. "I love Ken more than anything, but..."

"But what?"

"Getting married means leaving home."

"Sweetheart, you've already left home."

"This is different. It won't be as easy for me to come back."

"Why would you need to come back?"

"It's just," Joy took a deep breath, "you and daddy are getting older. What if something happens to one or both of you? I don't want to miss out on time with you."

"Joy, come here," Della patted the spot next to her. Joy sat and Della took her hands. "I love that you care so much about us. That you want to be with us, but you need to do what every child does. You need to leave the nest and have your own life. Your father and I have had a few rough years, but we're doing fine now. My back is much better and your father is healthier than he's been in a long time. Besides, we all work at the same office."

Joy threw her arms around her mother, "I love you, mommy."

"I love you too, baby."

Perry walked into the room, "am I interrupting?"

"No," Della said as the two pulled away from one another and wiped their eyes. "Let me help Joy fix her makeup and then we'll be ready."

Perry couldn't stop staring at his daughter. Della got her all fixed up and left. "I can't believe how grown up you are," Perry said. "It seems like yesterday you were asking me for waffles and to turn on cartoons. Now, you're all grown up and on your way to being someone's wife. You just look so beautiful."

"Thank you, daddy. Remember, I'll always be your little girl."

"I hate this part. I don't want to give you away."

"Try to think of it as you guiding me to the next road in my life."

Walking his daughter down the small aisle and giving her away, was the hardest thing Perry had ever had to do. It was worth it to see how happy and in love she was.

It had been six months since the wedding. During that time, Paul and Margaret eloped. They did call the others who quickly flew to Vegas to watch. One day, Joy and Ken walked into the Mason home, "mom, dad, where are you?"

"The kitchen," Della yelled.

The young couple walked into the kitchen where Della and Perry were preparing dinner. "You two are early," Perry said.

"We thought we'd come early and help," Joy said.

"Plus, we have something to tell you," Ken said as he wrapped an arm around his wife.

Just as Joy was getting ready to tell them, Paul and Margaret walked in. "We have the best news," Paul said with a big smile.

"Joy and Ken were about to tell us something," Della said.

"Oh, sorry," Paul said.

"That's okay," Ken said. "It can wait. Go ahead, Paul."

Paul and Margaret smiled at one another before looking at the family. "We're having a baby."

Everyone was thrilled, especially Joy. "Oh, what were you two going to tell us?" Perry asked Ken and Joy.
"You know, it's not that important. We have to celebrate this news," Joy said. Margaret had always wondered what it would have been like to be a mother. She'd been in Joy's life for quite a while, but she wasn't really her mother. She was a friend. Margaret had given birth to Joy, but Della raised her. Now, Margaret was having a dream come true.

Over the next week, Ken and Joy would try multiple times a day, every day, to tell their parents something. Each time, they were interrupted. Joy had been sick and throwing up a lot while Ken had been worrying quite a bit about her. One day, Joy nearly fainted at the office. Perry and Della had noticed the couple's strange behaviors. They were concerned but knew that the couple would say something if it was serious. Joy had also been having mood swings. She was crying and yelling a lot more. That Friday, Perry, Della, Joy, and Ken were in Perry's office. Perry sat at his desk with Della standing by him while Ken and Joy stood in front of the desk. "Alright, you two," Della said. "Why have you been acting so strangely?"

The couple looked at each other and smiled before looking at the older couple. "We're having a baby," Joy said.

"Really?" Della asked. When her daughter nodded her head, the woman rushed to hug her and Ken. Perry stood to congratulate them as well.

Joy continued to work throughout her pregnancy. Margaret did as well. Joy didn't find being pregnant at the same time as her biological mother to be weird. She saw Margaret as more of a friend. Paul became the in-house investigator again and Joy did get her license. However, Paul was the one doing the investigative work. Joy helped out at the office. Margaret and Paul went on to welcome twins. A boy named Johnathan Paul Drake and a girl named Elizabeth Margaret Drake. The twins were born five weeks early but went home the day that Joy went into labor. After the baby was born, everyone was taken back to Joy's room. Ken was seated on the bed next to his wife who was holding their newborn daughter. The couple smiled at everyone before handing the baby to Della. "She's so beautiful," Della said as her eyes started to water. "Did you two decide on a name?" The couple had been telling their family that they were having trouble coming up with a name for their baby.

"Yeah," Joy said. "Actually, we've always had one. Her name is Della Margaret Malansky. After the woman who gave me life and the woman who gave me a life."

"Joy, you didn't have to do that," Margaret said. "You should have just named her after your mother."

Della looked at the former nun, "she did. Joy's right to name her after you. Without you, I don't think I would have ever been a mother. Now, I'm a grandmother."

It had been decided that Margaret and Paul would be the baby's aunt and uncle. That didn't change. Della and Perry doted on their granddaughter. In fact, the little girl had Perry considering retirement. He found something else he'd rather be than a lawyer...a grandfather. Della and Perry also became surrogate grandparents to Paul and Margaret's children. It wasn't your typical family, but it was a loving one. The family that started out with just Della, Perry, and Joy was now bigger than ever. It would continue to grow, just like their love for one another.