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Disclaimer: Right, so I don't own the characters, and whilst I come to grips with this, please read and review.

Kirsten held the invitation in her shaking hands. Jimmy's wedding invitation.

"Hey babe," Sandy came into the room and kissed the back of her neck. "What's that?"

"An invitation," she said softly. "Jimmy's wedding."

"Oh," Sandy nodded knowingly and took a seat next to her on the couch. He held out his hand and she took it, intertwining their fingers together. They had been inseparable in the two months that they had been dating. Her best friend Trish had complained that she never saw Kirsten by herself anymore.

"It's always you and Sandy," she had said. "Not that I don't like Sandy, because I do, I think he's perfect for you, but you know…I would like to get to see my best friend for some girl time." Kirsten had apologized and promised Trish that she would go out with just the girls soon.

"Okay," Trish relented. "I can only imagine what it's going to be like when you two get married. Then I'll never see you!" Kirsten had been shocked. Marriage? They had only been dating two months. Marriage was a bit premature. Of course, it was true that she loved him; she just hadn't said the words yet. And neither had he, although it had almost slipped when she had tried to be domestic one night. Kirsten had decided to try to sharpen her cooking skills, and had gotten a recipe for cookies from her mother. Unbeknownst to her and Sandy, who had volunteered to be the tester, she had accidentally put a tablespoon of salt into the mix instead a teaspoon. Sandy had taken one bite and had grimaced and tried to smile. He knew that Kirsten had tried so hard. It was when Kirsten took a bite of the cookie that she realized how terrible they tasted.

"Good God!" She cried spitting it into her napkin. "These are the devil's cookies!" Sandy had looked up in surprise. He was trying not to laugh to spare her feelings, but eventually they both looked at each other and just began to crack up. Sandy was laughing so hard that he had tears coming down his face.

"Oh Kirsten," he said. "I love…" Her head shot up in surprise, and his eyes widened with what he was about to say. "...salt, but not this much." He had tried to cover it, but both knew what he was going to say. But marriage. Marriage was still a distant thing. She wondered though if he was going to say anything at all about marriage or about their future, considering that, because of Jimmy's impending nuptials, marriage was a topic of conversation.

"When's the wedding?" He asked rubbing her back.

"Next week. Apparently they want to get it in before she begins to show," Kirsten said bitterly. Sandy ran a gentle hand down her back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be bitter. She can have him." She leaned back into Sandy's arms and they sat there silently for a minute. "Will you come with me?"

"Of course," he answered. She nodded and bit her lip.

"It's going to be strange, seeing him get married," she said. "Everyone expected us to get married. Everyone had figured it was just a matter of time. Everyone will be there…my parents!" She sat up quickly.

"What about them?" Sandy asked confused.

"They're going to be there. You'll get to meet them!" If Sandy had had any doubts about going to this wedding, they were just doubled. Meet her father? From what he had heard, Sandy wasn't so keen on the idea of meeting Caleb Nichol. But he loved Kirsten, and Kirsten, despite all that her father had done, loved her father. If he wanted to keep her in his life, meeting her father was inevitable.

"Great?" Sandy didn't mean for his voice to crack. Kirsten gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's going to be great. They're going to love you."

Right, Sandy thought. Famous last words.

Kirsten's hand was warm and reassuring in his when they walked up to her parents' door. The house was amazing; Sandy had let out a whistle when they pulled up. He had known that she had money, but he wasn't completely aware of how much money they had. Kirsten gave him a smile and he tried to mirror that smile.

"Mom? Dad?" Kirsten called as she opened the door.

"Kirsten?" A female voice came from the back of the house and a second later, an older version of Kirsten appeared. She swept Kirsten into a hug and brushed the hair out of Kirsten's face. "Darling, you look wonderful!" Kirsten just grinned broadly and turned to face Sandy.

"Mom, this is Sandy, Sandy this is my mother Kate," she introduced.

"So this is the Sandy that I've heard so much about," Kate said. Sandy stuck out his hand, but Kate leaned in and gave him a hug instead. "She talks about you all the time." Kirsten blushed and Sandy laughed.

"All good I hope," he replied.

"Of course," Kate said winking at him.

"Kirsten! You're home!" Ten-year-old Hailey came bounding down the massive staircase and hurled herself into her older sister's arms.

"Hey kiddo!" Kirsten said giving her a hug back. "Hailey, this is Sandy. Sandy, this is my little sister Hailey." Hailey smiled shyly at him and then turned back to her sister.

"I got a new bed, want to see? And we painted the room purple now, instead of pink. I just thought that pink was too little kid. Don't you think?"

"Purple was a great choice kiddo," Kirsten assured her.

"Hailey, Kirsten just got here, lay off a little okay? Daddy's out back, why don't you go say hello to him?" Kate prompted. Kirsten nodded, and Sandy swallowed hard.

"Don't worry," Kirsten whispered to Sandy as they made their way through the massive house. "He's going to love you." But Sandy knew that was an unrealistic hope. He was pretty sure that he was just going to be another aspect of Kirsten's life that Caleb disapproved of.

"Who wouldn't?" Sandy joked, reverting, as he always did, to humor. It was his shield. So that she wouldn't know how nervous he really was.

"Daddy!" Kirsten called out when the pair reached the patio.

"Kiki!" Caleb turned around with a grin and came over to hug his daughter. Despite her choice of college and all the subsequent decisions that followed, all of which he disapproved of, he still loved his daughter. He adored her, his perfect child. It was because of this adoration that his expectations were so high, and so hard for her to reach. It was because of these expectations that made him disapprove even more of her actions, because up until college she had done everything asked of her with hardly any reservations or difficulties.

"Dad," Kirsten said pulling away. "I want you to meet someone. This is Sandy Cohen." She grinned at Sandy pulling him closer to her father. "Sandy, this is my father, Caleb Nichol."

"Nice to meet you sir," Sandy said politely sticking out his hand to shake. Unlike his wife, Caleb didn't give him a hug or even return the gesture. Instead, he looked Sandy up and down and replied in a snide manner,
"Sandy. That's a girl's name." Kirsten's grin fell and she felt as if she was going to start to cry at any second. But Sandy just laughed, and it was then that Kirsten knew that if he proposed she would say yes, ignoring completely the fact that they had only known each other a few months.

"It's short for Sanford," Sandy explained. "And you're telling me. Try growing up in the Bronx with a name like Sandy. I was just asking to be pummeled." Caleb didn't mirror Sandy's grin.

"The Bronx?"

"Yes sir." The grip that he had on Kirsten's hand let her know that he was trying very hard to please her father. Something that just made her love him even more.

"Cohen. That's a Jewish name isn't it?" Caleb said.

"Yes sir." Sandy knew exactly what he was thinking. How did his perfect, wealthy daughter from Newport wind up with a Jewish kid from the Bronx? How had this happened? But it didn't matter to Sandy what her father thought. He loved her, and that was all that mattered. And he was pretty sure that she felt the same way about him.

"Dad, Sandy's in law school," Kirsten was trying desperately to salvage this. He hated Sandy, she could see it, and she knew that Sandy could see it too. And she had wanted them to like each other so badly.

"Oh? Just what the world needs more of," Caleb said snidely.

"Dad!" Kirsten said. She felt hot tears in her eyes and Sandy noticed them right away; he squeezed her hand to let her know that it was okay. She sighed and closed her eyes. Luckily, Kate and Hailey came out of the house providing a much needed interruption. Kirsten smiled gratefully in her mother's direction.

"Kirsten, honey, did Daddy tell you that the Coopers are coming to dinner?" Her heart skipped a beat. She wasn't ready to deal with Jimmy and his blushing bride yet. She had thought that she had another two days until she came face to face with Jimmy for the first time since he had unceremoniously dumped her for another girl.

"No," she said slowly. "He didn't." Kirsten went rigid and her smile became tight and forced.

"Oh, well, Jane and Dave are coming and so are Jimmy and Julie, that's his fiancée's name," Kate added. She saw how Sandy whispered something into her daughter's ear and saw how immediately Kirsten relaxed. She knew that her husband didn't approve, and she knew that it didn't matter. This Sandy Cohen was good for her little girl. He was a breath of fresh air in this stuffy town. While she had never disliked Jimmy Cooper, she was always had a feeling that Kirsten was with him because that was what was expected of her. When Kirsten defied her father by choosing Berkeley, Kate had never been prouder. She felt for her daughter when Jimmy got that girl knocked up, but she had to admit that she felt that it was the best thing that could have happened. She didn't want Kirsten to marry Jimmy and end up just like Jane Cooper and the other Newpsies. Kirsten had always been strong and intelligent, and had never really been like the other Newport princesses.

"I knew you wouldn't mind Kiki," Caleb said placing a hand on Kirsten's shoulders.

"Of course not," Kirsten said quietly. Her father hated her boyfriend and had insulted him several times, and her ex-boyfriend and his new fiancée would be at dinner. Could the night get any better?

The doorbell rang and Kate pulled it open and smiled at their guests.

"Come on in," she said. "Kirsten and her new boyfriend Sandy are here." Julie felt Jimmy stiffen at the mention of Kirsten's new boyfriend, and tried to ignore the pang of jealousy. She had heard all about Kirsten from both Jimmy and his parents. How wonderful Kirsten was. How intelligent Kirsten was. How Kirsten got into Harvard, Yale, and Brown before choosing to stay on the west coast to go to Berkeley. How independent she was, deciding to travel around the country the summer before. How she was going to eventually work for her father, and inherit his company. Julie would nod politely and suffer through the Jimmy and Kirsten stories. The three would laugh about how Jimmy and Kirsten met; he had been playing basketball in the gym after school (at their uber preppy and exclusive high school where Kirsten was the queen, Julie remembered bitterly) and knocked down all the streamers that her and her decorating committee had put up for the upcoming dance. She had stomped over with her hands on her hips and immediately began to berate them, insisting that they help her put all the decorations back up and wouldn't let the boys leave until everything was returned to its proper place.

"That girl had spunk," Dave Cooper would laugh. "Still does, from what I hear from Caleb."

Julie was not looking forward to meeting Kirsten anymore than Kirsten was looking forward to meeting Julie. Julie wasn't stupid; she knew that Jimmy was only marrying her because it was the "noble" thing to do. She heard the way that Jimmy talked about Kirsten. She was his first love, and she had taken permanent residence on a pedestal that Julie, no matter how hard she tried, could not knock her off of. They walked out onto the patio and Julie noticed the blonde girl right away. It was where her eyes went to first. She had seen pictures of her, but she wanted to see her in person. She was sitting next to a young man with dark hair and they were laughing about something when the Coopers and Julie stepped outside.

"Kirsten!" Jane Cooper held out her arms and Kirsten smiled and gave Jane a hug. "You look wonderful. How is school?"

"Oh it's great," Kirsten said. She was avoiding Jimmy's eyes at all costs.

"And who is this handsome young man?" Jane asked.

"This is Sandy Cohen, my boyfriend," Kirsten said finally meeting Jimmy's eyes.

"Nice to meet you," Sandy said shaking Jane's hand.

"Come here," Dave said to Kirsten pulling the young girl in for a hug. He had been highly disappointed when his son had confessed that he had gotten a girl pregnant, and it wasn't Kirsten. Julie was nothing like Kirsten. Even in looks they contrasted sharply. Julie had red hair and fiery eyes, whereas Kirsten was more classically beautiful. With her blonde hair and her blue eyes, Kirsten was elegant and delicate. Both girls were very beautiful, but Dave preferred Kirsten's quiet beauty to Julie's.

When they parted Kirsten came face to face with Jimmy.

"Hi Jimmy," she said softly.

"Hey Kirsten," he replied. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she told him honestly. "I'm really good." She turned around and smiled at Sandy who gave her a reassuring smile back.

"This is Julie," Jimmy introduced. "Jules, this is Kirsten." Julie plastered a fake smile on her face and shook Kirsten's hand.

"I've heard so much about you!" She exclaimed. Kirsten raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Funny, she thought, I didn't hear about you until it was too late. Sandy placed a calming hand on the small of her back and she was never more grateful to him than she was right then.

"Oh," was all that Kirsten came up with as a suitable reply.

"Don't worry, all good," Julie assured her.

"Come on kids, let's sit down and eat," Kate said breaking up the four and leading them to the dining room table. Julie and Sandy had something in common in the fact that all this money was overwhelming to them. He looked around the Nichol house with a mixture of awe and jealousy. Jealous that his entire New York apartment could have fit in the dining room alone.

"So this is where you grew up," he whispered to Kirsten as they sat down. "Not too shabby." She grinned at him.

"Is that Sandy-speak for nice house?"

"It is indeed," he replied. He caught Jimmy staring at Kirsten, and Jimmy quickly looked away and started to pay attention to his bride. Caleb and Dave were talking business as Kate and Jane discussed the upcoming St. Patrick's Day party that the Newpsies were going to host. Sandy wasn't the only one who was catching Jimmy's long stares in Kirsten's direction, Julie had certainly noticed. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since they had walked out onto the back patio. Kirsten, however, was oblivious to anything Jimmy was doing.

"So," Julie spoke up. "Sandy. What are you going to school for?" Anything, anything at all to take the attention away from Kirsten.

"Law," Kirsten broke in. She smiled proudly at her boyfriend. "He's going to be a lawyer. He already has an internship at the PD's office this summer." Jimmy didn't like seeing Kirsten playing the role of proud girlfriend, at least to someone else. He reminded himself that he had done this. This was his doing. He had slept with Julie while Kirsten was away, and he was now forced into doing the noble thing. Kirsten had moved on, and what else had he expected from her? Was he really that naïve to think that she would just sit around pining away for him while he got married and had a baby?

"That's nice," Julie said cutting her food into tiny pieces like she had seen her future mother-in-law do. She now saw that Kirsten did it as well. "Jimmy's going to go into financing, like his father." That was unexpected. Jimmy had always insisted that he would never be like his father. He would not follow in his father's footsteps, and had promised Kirsten that they would never live a life like their parents lived. Apparently, with the new baby on the way, rebelling against their parents and upbringing was just not possible.

Kirsten realized that Jimmy was sacrificing what he had always wanted for Julie and the new baby. He was paying heartily for his actions. Sandy's hand found hers and he gave her a smile. She would have to thank Jimmy eventually for cheating on her and saving her from marrying him and making the biggest mistake of her life.

"I didn't like the dress," her mother announced when they returned from the wedding reception. Caleb rolled his eyes, and left the kitchen leaving his wife and daughter to discuss the superficial aspects of the evening.

"Too puffy," Kirsten agreed taking off her shoes and rubbing her sore feet.

"Definitely too puffy," Sandy said grinning at the two women. Both laughed and Kate smiled at Sandy.

"I guess you're like my husband," she said, and Sandy raised an eyebrow at a loss to find how he could be like her husband in any way. "He hates all this girl talk."

"On the contraire," Sandy said. "I enjoy discussing the color themes and the fashion choices." Kirsten laughed and Kate shook her head, leaning over to whisper in her daughter's ear.

"This one's a keeper I think." Kirsten turned to her mother and gave her a wide smile.

"Definitely," she replied. And she crossed to Sandy and wrapped her arms around him. Yes, he was definitely a keeper.

Okay, please review again and tell me what you thought. The next chapter will probably be of them meeting Sandy's mother and siblings. So review and let me know what you thought!