Author's Note: Thank you for all the positive reviews. I'm psyched that
people like this idea of Jo/George. For the record, I did like Rick (Scott
Bryce was so cute!) on the show and I accepted their marriage, but I always
wanted to see Jo and George get together, so this was my chance to write
it. Anyway, here's the next chapter of I love you damn it---enjoy!
Disclaimer: Of course, I still don't own any rights to The Facts of Life or its' characters.
Chapter Three: I do, part one
Setting: December 20, 1987---seven months after the proposal. It's the morning of the big wedding.
Jo awoke with a smile on her face. Her dreams had been very good. Stretching luxuriously in bed, she whipped the covers away from her and alighted from the bed. She wrapped herself in her robe and headed downstairs.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she could hear the girls chatting in the living room. Tootie was the first to notice her. "The bride's finally awake," she announced, excitedly.
Blair frowned when she saw Jo. "You didn't wear the sleep mask, did you?" she accused. "I knew you wouldn't and now you have bags under your eyes."
Jo rolled her eyes. "Let me get some breakfast first, Blair, then you can worry about the bags under my eyes."
Jo led the girls into the kitchen where Mrs. G. was making a full breakfast with eggs, bacon and pancakes. "In honor of Jo's last day as a single woman," she said.
After breakfast, Jo allowed Blair to drag her upstairs so she could fuss over her hair and makeup. Natalie and Tootie trailed behind, not only to help, but also to witness the inevitable fight that would erupt between the two older girls, because as much as Jo and Blair were friends, they still got on each other's nerves.
*****
Meanwhile, George stood in his small kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. 'I'm going to have to find a decent place to live for me and Jo,' he thought to himself. The upstairs apartment over his dad's hardware store was okay for a bachelor but it was a bit cramped for two people.
His thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang. He picked it up on the second ring. "Hello."
"Are you ready for today?" Jo asked, with a smile.
George's face lit up when he heard Jo's voice. "Hey you," he greeted, "of course I'm ready. I've been waiting for this day for two years now."
Jo smiled. "Me too," she said, "I just wanted to hear you say that. Blair is driving me crazy right now. I needed to hear a sane voice."
"That's me, your port in a storm," George joked.
They talked for a few more minutes before George heard Blair order Jo off the phone. She had to work on the tangled mess she called hair. "Tell Blair not to go overboard. I love you the way you are," George insisted, before he hung up.
*****
"Are you ready?"
"Oh yeah, George won't know what hit him," Andy chuckled. He, Jeff (Tootie's boyfriend), Snake (Nat's boyfriend) and Chip (Blair's boyfriend) were stationed outside George's apartment ready to burst in.
"Okay, on three---one, two, three!" The door burst open and all four men spilled in the front room. George came out of his bedroom, wrapped in a towel, to investigate the noise.
"What's going on here?" he asked, surprised to see the guys.
"We're kidnapping you," Andy announced.
"What?" George demanded, "Do you know what day this is?"
"Don't worry," Snake assured him, "we'll have you back in time for the ceremony. I think." George raised his eyebrows. "I'm kidding. It's just for breakfast, I promise."
"Yeah, we know what would happen if we didn't get you back," Jeff concurred, "our girlfriends would kill us---that is, if Jo didn't kill us first."
George agreed to go to breakfast with the guys and went into his bedroom to get dressed. "Bring your tux," Chip told him, "we can go straight to the church from.."
Jeff poked him in the rib before he could say anymore. "Ow!" Chip complained, "I'm sorry, it was a slip."
"Straight to the church from where?" George wondered, walking out of his bedroom with his tux over his shoulder.
Snake jumped in. "He just meant that you can get ready at the church instead of here, man. No big deal."
George was skeptical. He knew the guys were up to something, but he decided to go along with them. He knew they didn't want him to miss his own wedding.
They piled into Chip's classic GTO. The radio was blaring as Chip drove onto the freeway. "Where are we going for breakfast, guys? Canada?" George asked, as Chip merged with the traffic.
The guys laughed. "Not that far, George," Chip assured him, "we're going to Manhattan."
*****
Mrs. G. walked into the bedroom to find Jo sitting at her desk writing. "What are you working on there, Jo?" she asked.
Jo looked up. "It's a letter to George. I don't know when I'm going to give it to him---or even if I give to him, but I just felt like I needed to write down everything that I'm feeling, you know?"
Mrs. G. smiled and nodded. "I know exactly what you mean, sweetheart."
"You know, Mrs. G., I never thought I'd be the "marrying" type. I never dreamed of my wedding when I was little. I was too busy playing ball outside, but," she paused, her face glowing, "when George and I started seeing each other, that all changed. I started dreaming about marrying him and spending the rest of my life as Mrs. George Burnett."
*****
It was 9:00 am when Chip arrived in Manhattan. "I know this great café that serves the best breakfasts in New York State," he enthused.
"I can't believe you brought me to New York City on my wedding day," George said, shaking his head.
"Don't worry, George, its only 9:00," Jeff reminded him, "the wedding doesn't start until 2. We have plenty of time."
"Famous last words," George muttered, as the guys laughed at his discomfort.
With George's tuxedo safely stashed in the trunk of the car, the foursome went inside the funky café and ordered breakfast.
***** (To be continued---will George make it in time for his wedding? Find out in the next installment of "I love you damn it!")
Disclaimer: Of course, I still don't own any rights to The Facts of Life or its' characters.
Chapter Three: I do, part one
Setting: December 20, 1987---seven months after the proposal. It's the morning of the big wedding.
Jo awoke with a smile on her face. Her dreams had been very good. Stretching luxuriously in bed, she whipped the covers away from her and alighted from the bed. She wrapped herself in her robe and headed downstairs.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she could hear the girls chatting in the living room. Tootie was the first to notice her. "The bride's finally awake," she announced, excitedly.
Blair frowned when she saw Jo. "You didn't wear the sleep mask, did you?" she accused. "I knew you wouldn't and now you have bags under your eyes."
Jo rolled her eyes. "Let me get some breakfast first, Blair, then you can worry about the bags under my eyes."
Jo led the girls into the kitchen where Mrs. G. was making a full breakfast with eggs, bacon and pancakes. "In honor of Jo's last day as a single woman," she said.
After breakfast, Jo allowed Blair to drag her upstairs so she could fuss over her hair and makeup. Natalie and Tootie trailed behind, not only to help, but also to witness the inevitable fight that would erupt between the two older girls, because as much as Jo and Blair were friends, they still got on each other's nerves.
*****
Meanwhile, George stood in his small kitchen drinking a cup of coffee. 'I'm going to have to find a decent place to live for me and Jo,' he thought to himself. The upstairs apartment over his dad's hardware store was okay for a bachelor but it was a bit cramped for two people.
His thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang. He picked it up on the second ring. "Hello."
"Are you ready for today?" Jo asked, with a smile.
George's face lit up when he heard Jo's voice. "Hey you," he greeted, "of course I'm ready. I've been waiting for this day for two years now."
Jo smiled. "Me too," she said, "I just wanted to hear you say that. Blair is driving me crazy right now. I needed to hear a sane voice."
"That's me, your port in a storm," George joked.
They talked for a few more minutes before George heard Blair order Jo off the phone. She had to work on the tangled mess she called hair. "Tell Blair not to go overboard. I love you the way you are," George insisted, before he hung up.
*****
"Are you ready?"
"Oh yeah, George won't know what hit him," Andy chuckled. He, Jeff (Tootie's boyfriend), Snake (Nat's boyfriend) and Chip (Blair's boyfriend) were stationed outside George's apartment ready to burst in.
"Okay, on three---one, two, three!" The door burst open and all four men spilled in the front room. George came out of his bedroom, wrapped in a towel, to investigate the noise.
"What's going on here?" he asked, surprised to see the guys.
"We're kidnapping you," Andy announced.
"What?" George demanded, "Do you know what day this is?"
"Don't worry," Snake assured him, "we'll have you back in time for the ceremony. I think." George raised his eyebrows. "I'm kidding. It's just for breakfast, I promise."
"Yeah, we know what would happen if we didn't get you back," Jeff concurred, "our girlfriends would kill us---that is, if Jo didn't kill us first."
George agreed to go to breakfast with the guys and went into his bedroom to get dressed. "Bring your tux," Chip told him, "we can go straight to the church from.."
Jeff poked him in the rib before he could say anymore. "Ow!" Chip complained, "I'm sorry, it was a slip."
"Straight to the church from where?" George wondered, walking out of his bedroom with his tux over his shoulder.
Snake jumped in. "He just meant that you can get ready at the church instead of here, man. No big deal."
George was skeptical. He knew the guys were up to something, but he decided to go along with them. He knew they didn't want him to miss his own wedding.
They piled into Chip's classic GTO. The radio was blaring as Chip drove onto the freeway. "Where are we going for breakfast, guys? Canada?" George asked, as Chip merged with the traffic.
The guys laughed. "Not that far, George," Chip assured him, "we're going to Manhattan."
*****
Mrs. G. walked into the bedroom to find Jo sitting at her desk writing. "What are you working on there, Jo?" she asked.
Jo looked up. "It's a letter to George. I don't know when I'm going to give it to him---or even if I give to him, but I just felt like I needed to write down everything that I'm feeling, you know?"
Mrs. G. smiled and nodded. "I know exactly what you mean, sweetheart."
"You know, Mrs. G., I never thought I'd be the "marrying" type. I never dreamed of my wedding when I was little. I was too busy playing ball outside, but," she paused, her face glowing, "when George and I started seeing each other, that all changed. I started dreaming about marrying him and spending the rest of my life as Mrs. George Burnett."
*****
It was 9:00 am when Chip arrived in Manhattan. "I know this great café that serves the best breakfasts in New York State," he enthused.
"I can't believe you brought me to New York City on my wedding day," George said, shaking his head.
"Don't worry, George, its only 9:00," Jeff reminded him, "the wedding doesn't start until 2. We have plenty of time."
"Famous last words," George muttered, as the guys laughed at his discomfort.
With George's tuxedo safely stashed in the trunk of the car, the foursome went inside the funky café and ordered breakfast.
***** (To be continued---will George make it in time for his wedding? Find out in the next installment of "I love you damn it!")