WARNING: SEASON 3 SPOILERS!
Title: All My Life
Rating: So far, PG-13. I'll let you know if it changes.
Chapter Title: I Finally Found You
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Tony and Michelle
Summary: As Tony and Michelle prepare to get married, Tony thinks back on their relationship, and how lucky he was to have found his wife. Tony's POV.
AN: This disregards Michelle's childhood as described in Someone To Turn To. This is a completely separate story. Please don't confuse the two. Thanks.
The words still rang through my ears. I never thought I would get up the courage to ask her, but in my heart, I knew it was the best question I would ever ask.
"Michelle, will you marry me?"
Now here I was, six months later, standing at the altar. Jack stood next to me, his hand on my shoulder. "Here they come..." he whispered.
I remembered the day I found the ring. I had been looking for weeks. I wanted Michelle to have her own stone, and I had two small sapphires that belonged to my mother that I wanted on the ring as well. I lost my breath when I saw it. It was a white gold band with a heart shaped diamond on it. It was perfect.
Michelle's niece Alyssa was the flower girl. She walked down the aisle, throwing daisies behind her. She smiled and waved at me. "Tony!" she yelled.
"Tony!" Michelle gasped. I was fumbling for words, so I had pulled out the ring.
"Sweetheart," I began, hands shaking. "You know that you already have my heart, and I never thought I could fall in love again." She looked up at me. "You saved me." I whispered. She cried, and I held her. "You make me happier than I had ever thought was possible." I pulled back and kissed her on the forehead. "And I want to spend the rest of my life making you feel the way I do right now. Michelle, will you..."
The bridesmaids were next. Michelle had picked dark blue for her bridesmaids to match the ring. The dresses were beautiful. Her best friend Karen was her Maid of Honor, and she too smiled at me when she got to her seat. I held my breath, and looked to the back of the church, watching the opening doors.
Michelle held the ring and gaped at it, speechless. She read the inscription, and choked on her words. "Tony, I... I don't... I don't know what to say."
"Well," I suggested, "Yes would be the operative word."
"Yes," she consented, giggling. "Yes, yes, yes, yes!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around me as I picked her up and spun her around.
Michelle came through the doors and it made my heart skip a beat. Her dress was strapless, with a flowing skirt and small train. She looked magnificent. "Breathe man!" Jack exclaimed. I let out the breath I'd been holding, but I couldn't take my eyes off my love as she walked towards me. Her other best friend Jon was giving her away, because her father had died a few years ago, and her brother would have nothing to do with the wedding. She carried a bouquet of yellow roses-her favorite- with a bow that matched the bridesmaids around them. I had never seen that smile on her face before, and it made me fall in love with her even more.
Inside the band, I had inscribed in small letters the words 'You have my heart. Here's the key.'
"Did you come up with that?" she asked as I gently slipped the ring on her finger.
"Yeah," I whispered, glancing at her eyes and back to her hand.
"It's beautiful." She replied after a pause.
"The sapphires were my mot-" I began, but she cut me off.
"Not the ring, although it is gorgeous. I meant the inscription." She looked down at the ring, and continued. "I know how hard it was for you to understand that I loved you unconditionally, but..."
"But?"
"You never really let me in."
I closed my eyes and nodded.
I smiled at Michelle. She continued smiling back. I heard the pastor speaking, but all I could pay attention to was her. I had never seen her look so happy, and I could have stood there forever staring at her.
Jon sat down, and Michelle walked up next to me. I held her hand, and the service began.
