"I hate airports. I hate planes. I hate anything that has the word air in it, except for oxygen because I need that to breathe." Jill sighed.

"At least your head isn't spinning." Rob groaned.

"Never get on a Guerin's bad side." Jill advised. "I should have told you to be careful."

"We're a close family." Casey interjected. "What's wrong with that?"

"You're like the mafia."

"Careful Valenti, or you'll wake up with a horse's head next to you."

Jill laughed. "Nah, that's just Alex!"

"Hey!" Alex said, slugging Jill in the side. "I am not a horse."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Ed."

"Mr. Ed?"

Casey laughed and joined in. "A horse is a horse,of course of course.."

Alex rolled his eyes. "I'm actually beginning to see why you two are best friends."

Rob groaned. "Oh no."

"What?" Jill exclaimed. "Oh and no are two words high on the list of words I don't want to hear when I'm about to board a plane."

"Our tickets are for the wrong flight."

"No way!"

"Oh goody." Alex groaned.

"So what do we do?"

"Simple, Case. Hand me your tickets. And we're right in time for the flight." Rob waved his hands over the tickets and changed them. "Let's go."

Jill groaned. "Can't we just access the granolith from here?"

"One more flight, and you won't ever have to fly again." Alex said, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"Yeah, I'll just have to be hurled through time and cause my own life impossible. We have no idea how fast that thing goes—it is FDA approved?"

"Obviously you don't use the same mantras that your Dad used to calm himself down."

She sighed. "I will not be calm until my feet are on solid ground."

The group filed onto the plane, Alex dragging Jill behind him. All four sat down, not looking forward to the journey that lay before them.

As the stewardess welcomed everyone aboard, Rob looked at his friends, his expression full of fear.

"I forgot my Dramamine!" he wailed, drowning out the announcement of the flight's destination.

***

She was so comfy. She had the most wonderful pillow, soft yet firm, and warm, very warm…complete with a soothing noise. But it didn't last for long. Suddenly she was being shaken…she was in an earthquake…

Her eyes grudgingly opened. "Alex…"

He sighed. "Trust me Jill, the last thing I would want to do is wake you up when you aren't wigging out for a change. But the sign just came on for us to return our seats to their normal, upright position."

"Bite me." She groaned. "If the plane crashes, we'll all be dead anyway."

Alex rolled his eyes. "The plane is not going to crash. It is going to land. Safely."

The captain's voice rang out over the intercom. "We are beginning our descent into beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada. The weather in Las Vegas is hot and sunny…"

"What in the…" Jill muttered. "This is all wrong. I'm not getting back on a plane again."

Casey turned to Rob with fire in her eyes. "Rob, the tickets were correct, weren't they?"

Rob avoided eye contact, instead looking at the free in-flight magazine the airline provided.

"Robert Maxwell Valenti! If you want me to continue to be my fiancé, you will tell me what in the world possessed you to change our tickets to take us to the Rat Pack capital of the world?"

"I thought we could all use to blow some steam."

"I'm not buying it, Valenti. I can blow plenty of steam relaxing in Jill's bathtub, letting Calgon take me away, or watching those madcap antics of the Sydney gang. Not embracing Elvis and singing "Viva Las Vegas"!"

Rob sighed. "Look it, I just didn't want to go on some stupid mission without having you as my wife!"

Casey's mouth dropped open. "You mean it?"

"Would I yell it out loud to an entire plane if I didn't mean it?" Rob said, noticing that the entire plane was looking at them.

A spontaneous burst of applause went through the cabin as Rob thoroughly kissed his bride to be.

***

"Bright light city, gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire.."

Jill groaned. "Casey, would you shut up!"

"You party pooper! It's my wedding day!"

"I thought you weren't going to embrace Elvis and sing "Viva Las Vegas." Alex said, leaning back into the plush leather seat of the limo.

"I don't care. Seize the day, for tomorrow isn't ours to keep!"

Jill groaned, and drank the sparkling water down. It was her best friends wedding day. She should be happy. But deep down inside, Jill wanted to be the bride, not the bridesmaid.

***

"It's beautiful!"

Alex turned towards Jill. "Oh, so now you're starting to get excited, huh?"

"I've never had a whole suite all to myself before. Don't you think it's amazing?"

"I've been here before. Not this exclusively, but I've been here, in this very suite before."

Jill's eyebrows lifted. "In the Presidential suite?"

"Yup." He shrugged.

Her hands went on her hips. "With who?"

"Your mother…"

"My MOTHER?"

"And your father, Michael, Maria, Tess, Liz, and Max."

She chuckled. "Yeah, right. Like eight teenagers would just take off and go to Vegas."

"We did."

She shook her head. "Inconceivable!"

"I've got the fake I.D. to prove it…" He held out a small piece of plastic.

"Tom Collins?"

"I grabbed it before we left home."

"You knew about this?"

"I had no idea! You just never know when a fake ID will come in handy."

"Alex, you're way past the age of needing one of these."

"Yeah, but I only look 18."

"Well, nobody's going to believe that age, anyway." Jill ran her hand over the ID. "See, now that's believable."

"Thank you." Alex said, kissing her lips.

A knock sounded on the door.

"Jill, Jill, Jill, Jill, Jill!" Casey squealed. "The Honeymoon suite is wonderful!"

"I wouldn't know." She replied drolly. "Shouldn't you wait until after you are married to go in there?"

"We just dropped off the bags! We have a tight schedule, Jilly. Rob's gonna plan the wedding while we go dress shopping. And maybe.." Casey said with a gleam in her eye, "We'll have time for this."

Alex grabbed the flier out of her hand. "Absolutely not."

Casey's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"They want singing strippers, Casey. And we have to leave this era early tomorrow. Not time for a job."

"How do you know this?"

"Your Mom tried out. I played the piano for her."

Jill lead a dazed Casey to the door. "My Mom tried out to be a STRIPPER?"

***

Jill gazed at herself in the mirror. The dress was gorgeous, and she felt like a princess in it. The long, flowing skirt had delicate beadwork and embroidery. The top had a plunging neckline, showing off her stature, and the scarlet red color truly did look good on her. This was the dress—the dress she'd wear as her best friend's maid of honor.

"Jill?" Casey's voice sounded a little shaky, missing it's usual veneer of confidence. "I'm ready."

Jill turned around and saw Casey walk out the dressing room door, a vision in white. Tears clouded in her eyes. "You look beautiful."

"You really think so?" Casey asked, joining Jill in front of the mirror. "It doesn't make me look fat or anything?"

"It makes you look.." Jill said, smoothing an errant lock of Casey's brown hair. "It makes you look like a princess."

***

"Here Comes the Bride" played on the Electric piano.

Through the veil, Casey could see Jill, standing off to the side, looking like a fashion model, in her glamorous red dress. Did Jill realize how much she looked like her mother?

Alex was tall, tall and strong, smiling in a tuxedo. It was still strange to think that he was actually the same age as her parents…

And then she saw Rob. Rob. Her heart beat faster. Rob. Her Rob.

All the years that she'd spent dreaming of her perfect guy, all the Saturday nights she stayed home while Jill was out on dates, all the crushes she'd had on celebrity guys had all lead up to this moment.

Casey looked into Rob's eyes, the same eyes that drew her to him, right after crashing that silly shopping cart into his butt- and walked down the aisle.

Rob was her happiness. Rob was her destiny.

Her voice did not shake as she recited her vows in front of the Elvis officiator.

***

He couldn't find Jill. He was worried. Where could she be? After the reception, she had ran off. He tried the room, but she wasn't there.

Alex strolled through the gambling casino, listening to the soft "noodle-oo's" of the slot machines.

"Hit Me."

Alex's heart soared at the sound of the familiar voice.

Jill Valenti was sitting at the Blackjack gaming table, surrounded by a pile of chips. He watched awestruck, as the dealer added even more chips to her stack.

"You take after your father."

Jill jumped. "Alex!"

"I was worried."

"I just needed to be by myself, ok?"

"Give me a few." He took a small stack of chips.

"Statistics. Bet it all and win large- that's the way to go." Alex explained. "Hit me."

Jill chuckled. "No, that's the way to get him to take all your money away! You really took that one in the pants."

"You are really too much like your father."

"That isn't exactly the best way to flatter a girl, Alex."

"Come with me." He grabbed her hand and lead her away from the tables.

"My money…"

"Oh, let it go to charity."


***

Jill sighed as she twirled in Alex's arms. "I have to be, like the biggest freak on the planet."

Alex shook his head. "You're not a freak."

"It's my best friend's wedding day! I should be happy, jumping off the wall, doing somersaults, she would be for me, but I…"

He let her cry into his shoulder. "It's ok, Izzy. I mean Jill...I'm sorry, that was stupid of me. I'm here with you, Jill."

"I don't want to be alone." She sniffed.

He put his hands on both sides of her face, bringing her eyes level with his. "Jill, I want you to know something."

"What?" She said, holding back a sniff.

"You found me in at a time when I was miserable. You were the first human contact that I'd had in like twenty five years! And every moment, every smile, every kiss is imbedded in my memory. You have made me the happiest man in the world."

"Really?" She said, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Really. And you don't know what red dresses do to me."

They danced for awhile more, each savoring the feel of the other's arms. Neither Jill or Alex wanted to let go.