Okay guys, I had a couple reviews saying that Cordelia felt a little out of character in the last chapter. I assure you, that was intended. Keep in mind that she's just regained all her memories from the five years she lived while Doyle was dead. Think about how wierded out you would be in the same situation. If you think about that, everything makes sense. I am sorry that this has taken so long, but I have been beyond busy lately.
And a special dedication. To Glenn Quinn; your last movie RSVP will play in my head, and on my DVD player for years to come. Your acting in it was truly great. Your acting was the only thing great. You're truly loved and missed. We will never forget you.
Cordelia Chase, soon to be Cordelia Doyle, woke on the day of her wedding in a panic. It was ten o'clock. She had eight hours to be ready to get married. She'd needed that long to get ready for Homecoming! There was no way she was going to be ready in eight hours.
"Fred!" Cordelia screeched, running for the shower. Fred ran in.
"What's wrong, Cordy? Are you just getting out of bed?"
"Yes. Oh, I knew I shouldn't have listened to that stupid myth about the groom not seeing the bride until the day of the wedding, and I overslept, and now I'm never going to be ready! Are the girls here yet?"
"They're coming at noon, remember? Then we're going to the hair salon, and then to the church. The make-up artist is meeting us there. You're okay, Cordy. We have plenty of time. Just calm down and go get a shower."
"I have to call Doyle first," Cordelia said, heading for the phone.
"No. You aren't allowed, remember? Besides, Angel and Charles took him out for the day. I think they knew one of you would try to break the rules. I think Wesley went with them also, but I can't be sure."
Cordelia made a comical face and looked down at her nails. "Do you remember when my parents are going to be here? And is Oz coming? I know it probably wasn't smart to invite him with the whole Willow/Oz saga, but he and I got along the best during high school, especially after Xander and Willow cheated on us."
"Your parents will be here at two, and yes, Oz is coming." Fred assured her, tossing Cordelia a muffin and pouring a glass of orange juice. "Now would you please calm down? You're making me nervous."
Cordelia sank into a chair at the table. "I'm sorry. It's just that a girl only gets married once, and I want to do everything right. Because if anything goes wrong today, then I think I'm going to just burst into tears in the middle of the ceremony. I need one day of normalcy. Of no demons and no vampires, other than Spike, of course, and no evil creatures trying to kill me or my friends and family."
"So freaking out over your hair is going to ensure that?"
"Fred, brides freak out over their hair. It's what they do the day of their wedding. That's perfectly normal. Now do me a favor, and call Angel's cell phone and have him tell Doyle that he's better not have one drink because I will kill him if he comes to our wedding drunk, and tell him that I love him. I am going to go make myself gorgeous." Cordelia said, standing and heading for the bathroom.
Fred reluctantly picked up the phone and dialed Angel's cell phone number. He answered on the fourth ring, sounding just as happy as he had been for nearly two years. "Angel Investigations, we help the helpless, how can we help you? This is Angel speaking."
"Hey Angel, this is Fred."
"Hey. What's goin' on? I'd figured you'd be helping Cordy get ready."
"She's in the shower, but she wouldn't let me out of calling. She says to tell Doyle that he'd better not get drunk, or even have one drink, because he won't live to see his wedding night if he does, and that she loves him."
Angel repeated the message to Doyle, who grinned. "Tell her not to worry and that I love her too."
"I heard him." Fred told Angel as he started to repeat what Doyle had said. "You don't have to tell me. But I'd better go. Buffy, Kate and Willow will be here soon. When is Faith getting here anyway?"
"She'll be there by eleven, so any time. She picked up the dresses already this morning, and dropped them off at the church. I'll see you tonight, and Gunn says he loves you."
"I love him too. Bye."
Fred put the phone back down on the cradle, and walked into the bathroom, where Cordelia was wrapping herself in a towel. She vigorously towel dried her hair, and reached for her clothes. "What did he say?"
"He'll be good and he loves you too. So don't worry about a thing."
Cordelia pulled on a pair of jeans and hugged Fred, getting her sufficiently wet. "What would I do without you, Fred?" she asked, and Fred patted her friend's back in confusion.
"I think this getting married stuff has gone to your head, Cordy. I didn't do anything."
Cordelia sniffled. "No, you really have done a lot, and I do appreciate you. I know I'm normally not the most emotional person, but thinking about what I could have missed out on if we wouldn't have gotten to know one another really makes me glad that you're here. Even though," Cordelia added, a hint of her usual sarcasm evident in her voice. "I am glad that you got over that silly little crush you had on Angel. Gunn is much better suited to you than Angel ever was."
"Hero worship." Fred explained, smiling brightly. Before anymore could be said, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it. It's probably Faith."
It was Faith. She was leaning against the doorframe when Fred opened the door. "Took ya long enough. So where's the bride?"
"Getting dressed. Beware, she's emotional. Not at all like the normal Cordelia."
Faith walked in and sat her things down on the couch. "What do you mean?"
"She hugged me. Cordy never hugs me. At least not willingly. So, lookout unless you want to be next on the 'hugged' list."
"I'll be careful. So, tell me about this guy. Doyle, is that his name?"
"Yeah. You should remember him. From what I heard, he was here when you came to LA the first time."
"I don't remember much about that time. I was pretty torn up about everything. And what I do remember doesn't exactly make me think that any of them should like me at all, let alone have me in their wedding."
Fred shrugged. "They're very forgiving." She said mildly. "As soon as the other bridesmaids get here, we'll head over to the hair salon. Cordelia's mother is meeting us there. Unfortunately."
"We don't like Cordelia's mother?"
"Well, it isn't that we don't like her, it's that we don't like her much more than we like Darla or Drusilla. She isn't all bad, but sometimes she can be a real…"
"Bitch?" Faith offered the word that Fred hadn't said, and the other girl nodded.
"That's it. Thanks."
"No prob." Faith said, heading toward the bathroom. Cordelia came out, her hair wrapped in a towel, but fully dressed and hugged Faith.
"Oh, I'm glad you could come." She said happily, letting the stunned Slayer go. Faith gingerly touched her hair.
"Yeah, me too." Faith said hesitantly, perching on the couch.
At two o'clock, Cordelia and her bridesmaids arrived at the church where the wedding was going to take place. They were taken to a small section of rooms, two with long rows of mirrors, and adjoining bathrooms, and one with a couple couches and a small fridge. Willow arranged all the make up items they had brought along for the make up artist, and Buffy hung up all the dresses so they wouldn't get wrinkled. Cordelia took a seat on the couch to do her nails.
"Nervous?" Kate asked, taking a seat across from Cordelia.
"No." Cordelia said, looking up. "I'm fine. I was terrified this morning, but now that thing's are in motion, and everything's on schedule, I'm great. Not a bit nervous."
"So, are you and Doyle writing your own vows, or are you doing it the traditional way?"
"We're writing our own. Mine've been written for weeks now. I think Doyle did his last weekend. He was working on something in bed each night after he thought I was asleep."
"It's great that you two can write your own like that. I don't think I'd ever be able to think of anything to say." Buffy commented, also sitting down. "I mean, how do you put love into words? I could never describe how I feel about Angel to anyone."
"It was harder than I thought it would be. It's nearly impossible to write how you feel about someone. Finally, I just used what I wrote in my journal right after I realized that I was in love with Doyle. I had to rewrite it a little, but it seemed to say everything just right."
"Are you ready to get married, Cordy?" Willow asked. "We all thought you'd be the last to say 'I do', not the first."
"And you all thought my husband would be rich and famous too. Doyle's just Doyle and that's enough for me. He isn't perfect, and I don't want him to be. If he were rich or famous, he wouldn't be the man I fell in love with. And I'm not rich or famous either, so it all evens out in the end. I love him for who he is, not what movie he's played in or what he has, and he loves me for the same reason. Because I'm me."
Buffy sighed. "Now that sounds like true love to me." She said, "Just like what I've got with Angel."
"When are you two going to get married?"
"When and if he ever asks me to marry him. I'm not in any hurry. Having him is quite enough."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Cordelia stood up and opened it, finding Oz on the other side. "Oz!" she said excitedly, tossing her arms around him. Oz was taken aback, but hugged her anyway. When she finally let him go, he held her at an arm's length.
"Being in love is good for you." He said after a brief pause, depositing a friendly kiss on her forehead.
"Come on in. Guys, Oz is here."
There was a general chorus of greeting, and Buffy got up to hug Oz. Even though she hadn't seen him in years, he'd been a good friend before he'd left. When Oz let go of Buffy, he did something completely unexpected. He grabbed Willow and kissed her soundly on the mouth. Dawn gasped in shock, but everyone else pointedly ignored the exchange. It was quite obvious that Oz was still in love with Willow and that he was determined to get her back. Seeing as she was unattached at the moment, with Tara having been dead for almost a year, Willow didn't seem to mind the idea in the slightest. Cordelia began rearranging the order of her bridesmaids to get Oz to accompany Willow.
At six, Cordelia's father came back to get her. The bridesmaids quickly lined up, and Cordelia took Mark's arm, her hand trembling slightly from nerves. The march began, and, starting with the Flower Girl, the bridal party began making it's way down the aisle. When the wedding march came on, Cordelia started her walk as well, eyes searching for, finding, and holding the gaze of Doyle. And then, she was taking his hand and they were turning toward the priest.
"Dearly beloved," he began.
Next chapter up soon!