Disclaimer - I do not own anything even remotely related to The Mighty Ducks. I only wish I had thought of them first…Also I have no claims to Further Seems Forever or "On Legendary" which is an amazing song which demands you listen to it…or it will kick your ass!
Italics indicate character thought.
"How's it going back there, Guy?" Beau held her dress tightly against her chest and tried to look over her shoulder. She kept hearing sighs of frustration and it made her laugh as Guy stood up, his hands thrown in the air.
"I can't tie this stupid thing!" He stomped around to stand in front of her. "I'm honored to be your…whatever…Beau, but I was just not meant to deal with that bow. Where the hell is Rachel?"
Beau peered over her shoulder into the mirror and laughed again at the knotted mess. She eyed Guy with sympathy. "I sent her to take Bombay my ring."
He raised his hands into the air, exasperation tinting his voice. "You couldn't have sent me to do that?"
Leaning forward, Beau winked at him. "I knew this would be way more fun."
"Done!" Rachel pumped her fist in triumph and then hiked up her skirt and rushed around to stand before her friend. Raising a hand to her mouth she sucked in a deep breath. "Oh, Beau." Tears welled up in her eyes as Guy and Cole moved to stand beside her. Guy's eyes widened and Cole let out a low whistle.
Beau had yet to see the finished product and her friends were obscuring the mirror. Even though she could imagine how she looked, nerves finally started to take an annoying hold on her emotions. "I look okay, right?"
Guy was the first to find the words and moved a step forward, leaning in to kiss Beau gently on the cheek. "You look beyond belief."
Cole nodded. "Charlie is going to blow a fuse."
Rachel finally got her senses about her and carefully removed a hanger from a hook in the ceiling. "One last touch." Standing on her tip toes she reached up and carefully set the comb of Beau's veil into her hair. The rum colored gauze hung gently over her shoulders, cascading down her bare back, the gentle light in the room reflecting off of the small crystals spaced throughout the piece. "There." She kissed Beau's cheek. "Perfect."
Cole adjusted his tie and brushed his knuckles over it, not looking at Beau but trying to lighten the mood. "Yeah, I was worried I was going to be prettier than the bride but…" he trailed off as he looked up and met her gaze in the mirror. "God-almighty." He let his breath whistle out. "You've never been prettier, Mayland."
When Rachel stepped aside Beau finally saw herself in the mirror and knew absolutely for sure, that she had picked the right dress. It was strapless and accentuated her gently sloping shoulders. It was a simple a-line cut flowing just to the floor in a thick bell, the main color of ivory and the champagne trim accentuating her tan, making her look natural and literally glowing - or maybe that was the intense sparkle in her eyes. Beau had decided to wear her hair up in a loose pile of natural and unruly curls, a simple tiara pushing the whole picture to just this side of elegance.
The back of the dress started below her shoulder blades and was stunning with the corset that had been giving Guy so much trouble. It boasted a very small two foot train and Beau's favorite part – it all swished back and forth when she walked. Like Julia Roberts said…like a bell.
That was what Brian Mayland saw when he stepped into the church parlor - his daughter swishing back and forth, surrounded by her three best friends. Before she could even turn and see him his eyes were welling up with tears. Here we go, he thought before she caught his movement in the mirror and turned to face him, grinning. When she saw him wiping his eyes, her face fell.
"Daddy, you can't start that yet! We'll both be a mess before we make it down the isle!" She started to move towards him but he waved her off.
"I'm okay. Just took me by surprise there for a moment." He squeezed her nose twice. "Besides, you know the saying. I'm not losing a daughter. I'm gaining a son." He beamed. "A professional hockey player son who knows that tradition is not dead." He said it with pride and everyone in the room rolled their eyes.
Mr. Mayland was a man about tradition. He had to be the one that put the angel on the top of the tree at Christmas. They still dyed eggs every Easter, even though there were no children in the house. And he had been thrilled - beyond thrilled, to be exact - when Charlie had called him a week prior to the proposal to ask permission to ask Beau for her hand in marriage. Brian had been talking about it ever since, including a fifteen minute speech at the rehearsal dinner the night before.
Guy looked at his watch before sticking his head out the door and pulling it back in. "Ready to get this show on the road?"
Charlie had thought he would be nervous, and sure enough, with two hundred and fifteen people staring at him, he was. But as "Cannon in D" began playing he felt something calm inside of him. He couldn't help but laugh, seeing people squint down at the programs and the list of attendants. There were eight in total, and only one female.
It is, he thought, one heck of a motley crew.
He looked over his shoulder at the friends he had chosen to stand up with him. They all looked pretty smooth in their black suits with dark charcoal vests and traditional ties. Beau had put her foot down at the idea of a bow tie and Charlie knew he had no idea how to tie one so that had been just fine with him.
At the bottom of the stairs Jesse kept tugging at his cuff links. He was convinced that his shirt sleeves were too short, although everyone else seemed to think that they looked just fine. When he felt Charlie staring at him he grinned sheepishly and clasped his hands together as they had been told to do. 'Sorry,' he mouthed.
One step up Fulton stood stoically, clearly nervous about messing anything up. Charlie had told him earlier that it wasn't too tough to just stand still. "But don't lock your knees, buddy," he had told him. "Locking your knees can make you pass out."
Charlie wasn't sure, but it looked like Fulton was a little hunched. He would fall over from the exhaustion of concentrating on not locking his knees. Great.
Adam was…Adam. The weird thing about him was that he kept grinning into pews. Adam Banks wasn't really one to grin. Charlie followed his gaze, fairly sure of what he would find, and sure enough there was Kimball. She was beautiful in her emerald green dress and Charlie found it easy to understand how his friend had fallen so hard and so fast. He laughed a little remembering how Beau had cornered the poor woman the previous night at the rehearsal and grilled her with questions. All under the pretense of just getting to know her, of course. Beau had loved her. Lucky for Adam!
Turning to look just over his shoulder, Charlie was calmed to look down into the face of Gordon Bombay. He couldn't think of a more perfect best man. Someone he both loved and respected. As if reading his thoughts, Bombay smiled at him and laid a quick hand on his shoulder. "Congratulations, Charlie."
Charlie felt a lump form in his throat. There were not four people anywhere in the world who he would be more proud to have stand up with him. It meant the world that they were all going to be there when he made Beau his wife. My wife. Oh man.
Beau took one last look at her attendants before they walked out the door and down the isle to precede her. Guy and Cole stood side by side, Cole fixing his hair for the one hundredth time. She reached out, stilling his hand. "You look fabulous, Procida. Quit primping."
And he did look fabulous. They did. They wore the same suits that Charlie and the groomsmen wore, but they wore deep red vests and ties to match Rachel's dress. They look so grown-up, she thought. We're all so grown up.
Stifling a tiny sob she reached out and grabbed both of their hands. "I love you guys. I'm so glad you're with me today. With us," she amended.
Leaning in at the same time they kissed her on either cheek, Guy saying nothing for fear of being overcome with emotion. Cole, of course, was fine. "Don't trip on that big old dress coming down the isle, Beau. I'd be so embarrassed for you."
"I'm sure you would." With that Beau stepped to the side of the large double doors as they were flung open and Guy gave Cole a shove, sending him down the isle.
As Guy waited for his moment to begin, he grinned over at Beau. He took a stop beyond the threshold and out of her vision and she thought back to her grandmother and the reaction when she had announced that two of her 'bridesmaids' would be men. There had been a great deal of anger, that was for sure. But Beau hadn't cared. Guy and Cole were two of her closest friends and she hadn't planned on getting married without them there.
Shaking her head and bringing herself back to reality, she looked at Rachel who was smiling wistfully at her. She was beautiful in the long and understated red strapless dress, but Rachel didn't typically do wistful. "Can you believe that in six months our places are going to be reversed, Rach?"
Rachel seemed to come out of dream and a huge grin split her face. "It's crazy." Reaching out a hand she made a quick adjustment to the front hem of Beau's dress and then hefted her huge peony bouquet and stepped through the door.
The oak doors slipped shut behind her and Brian turned to his daughter. "I think that's our cue, darlin'."
As one song faded out, the music changed over to the soft strains of the theme from "Legends of the Fall." It was a beautiful and dramatic piece for strings. As the momentum built, the huge doors at the back of the church swung open and everything in Charlie's world stopped.
He was vaguely aware of the several hundred people moving to stand for the bride and he knew that Mr. Mayland was walking his daughter down the isle, but in that moment Beau's handprint was firmly on his heart.
She was a vision and from the very second she could see him her eyes locked on his and she was smiling at him brilliantly. It seemed like an eternity before she and her father finally reached the steps at the front of the cathedral. At a pat on the back from Bombay, he walked down to meet them. When he got close, he could see that Brian was crying and he stuck out his hand to the man. Brian grasped his palm in a crushing grip as the minister asked solemnly, "Who gives this woman in marriage?"
Mr. Mayland dug deep and steadied his voice. "Her mother and I do." And then he yanked Charlie to him and hugged him fiercely. "We love you, son. Treat her well."
Charlie hugged him back, touched. "Will do, sir." And then he was back focused on Beau. She was beaming at him and when he took her hand he couldn't help but think how well they fit together. He leaned in close. "Ready?"
She grinned and winked and it thrilled him beyond beliefe that she was his. "Have been since Entomology."
They turned and walked slowly up to the top of the stairs, Beau careful not to trip on her dress. She would probably be more embarrassed than Cole if she tripped, she surmised, and took extra care on the higher top step.
Smiling at the minister, they turned to the left towards Beau's attendants and for the first time during the ceremony several guest noticed that Rachel, whom many thought was the maid of honor, was standing down one step, equal with Adam.
Across from where Gordon Bombay stood sat an easel with a large picture on it. It was Parker as he had been just weeks before he died and it was how Beau remembered him best. He was grinning wickedly, his dark glasses the perfect extension of his character, and his eyes hinting at whatever sharp-tongued thing he had been getting ready to say. Sitting before the picture was a candle. Beau had always known that her brother would be the one to ultimately stand beside her when she married the man she loved. She was not about to let a little thing like his lack of physical presence change that. She knew he was in the room. She could feel his affection all around her.
Holding Charlie's hand tightly she leaned forward, kissing the picture and then lighting the candle. She heard a sniff from behind her and knew better than to look at her mother. She was determined to make it through the day tear free.
Finally, she and Charlie made their way to the front of the alter, hands still entwined. The minister smiled at them and raised his hands.
"We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Charlie Conway and Beau Mayland. You have been asked here to share in their love and bear witness to their vows. Rejoice, for their love is like none I have ever been so blessed as to observe!"
After only twenty minutes they were forever linked by the bond of marriage. Charlie held Beau close as he kissed her, laying a palm on her cheek. After only brief contact – church contact, thank you very much – they pulled apart, but Beau let her forehead rest against his, as she was prone to do. "I love you, Charlie."
He grinned, happier than he could ever remember being. "I love you too."
The turned to face their friends and family and he continued to hold her hand tightly. The minister raised his arms in the benediction and smiled broadly. "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder." Laying a hand on both Beau and Charlie's shoulders he raised his voice joyously. "I am so very pleased to announce to you, for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Conway!"
Applause erupted throughout the church and Beau looked over her shoulder at Rachel, Guy, and Cole beaming before descending the steps with Charlie – her husband. The thought had her pulling him close for another kiss.
First dances are a funny thing. The song has to be perfect. Beau, being the music buff that she was, had insisted that the song not only be perfect, but unique. Charlie had agreed.
As they made their way onto the dance floor, hand in hand, the opening strains of Further Seems Forever's "On Legendary" slipped through the speakers. Charlie gave Beau a little nudge with his hip and she took a few steps away from him before spinning in a circle, Charlie holding her hand above her head. When she finished with the turn, he yanked her against him, reveling in the way their bodies matched so well.
They looked around and both of them were filled with love to see their friends standing around the dance floor. Charlie clasped her right hand in his left and then bent his elbow so that their hands were joined over his heart. They danced like that, at first silent and listening to the words of the song:
Now that we're one now
Softly whispers saving grace 6:19 as I awake
And stronger than last year
My eyes closed,
Stars can see me
Stars will meet me on the ground
On the ground
Summer is gone and winter is never too far now
When my poor arms (my arms are aching) outstretched so long that my bones are
now breaking
But there you come with a smile that sends any man to his knees
And I feel I've begun now that we're one now
You graciously add to
I graciously add you to my heart
To my heart
Binds of emotion winding their way around his heart, Charlie pulled her tighter against him and dropped his forehead down to meet hers. "I'm glad we're one now, Mayland."
A shocked look on her face, Beau jerked her head back and stared up at him. Not surprisingly, she never lost the motion of the dance. She was amazing. "You can't call me that anymore, you know."
He reached up with a free hand, tucking a curling tendril behind her ear. "Right as always." He bent forward, kissing her nose, and then her cheek, and then her bare shoulder. Finally he moved his mouth next to her ear. "I'm glad we're one now, Conway."
He heard her suck in a little breath and pulled back to look at her. She had stopped completely in the center of the large dance floor, her big brown eyes huge and staring up at him. "Say it again."
He gave her a mock serious look. "I'm glad we're one now?"
Rearing back she hit him, hard. From the crowd, both Connie and Julie launched into applause, Fulton and Devin threw in cat calls, and Aggie Mayland only shook her head, wondering if poor Charlie knew what he had gotten himself into.
Beau glared, but her eyes still twinkled. "You know what I meant. Say it again." She held up her fist in a threat. "Don't make me take you down in front of all of these people…on our wedding day." It was a moment, Rachel knew as she looked on, that could only be so perfect and so special during Beau and Charlie's first dance.
Charlie was truly serious now. He wrapped a hand around her fist, prying her fingers open until he could thread his between them. He raised their joined hands to his mouth and kissed the place where they overlapped gently. "I love you, Conway."
As the last notes of the song drifted across the room, Beau launched herself into Charlie's arms, planting a kiss on him as her heart thundered through her chest and against his. Around the room their guests clapped and surrounded them as they started on a whole new part of their lives together.
A/N: And thus things come to an end in this chapter of Beau and Charlie's lives. Don't worry, the sequel is already planned and I am thinking about starting it next week. So please keep an eye out and read and review. I would write even if you didn't, but I think it turns out so much better with your help. That being said, this was my first ever fic and you guys made it totally worth writing. Thank you for all of the undue praise. Talk bout giving a girl a confidence boost. Hope to see you soon when Charlie and Beau have some more unexpected little (and not so little) surprises! (hint hint!)
JoanK: Thanks. Glad 'I've done it!' Sadly though, you'll have to wait for the thing with Adam and more Rachel and Fulton for the sequel.
Roxxy1984: I'm always so flattered when someone starts reading and reviewing this late in the story. It means a lot to know that you were hooked enough to read straight through. Thank you so much. You know, I started writing this story for the same reasons…to reminisce about hanging out with my friends and drooling over Josh Jackson. Sigh.
antiIrony: Gosh, that first chapter…and the sexy bra!...was a while ago, huh? I think I'm sad it's ending too. Never fear, I've already got my ideas for how the sequel will start. Thanks for sticking with me!
AdoptedThug: Yup, every girl's dream. Thanks for the compliments.
Paula: Thank you as always.
Cc: Hope you found the tissues and that this found you before you had to give up the computer connection. Thank you for being such a faithful reviewing and reader!
Katie: Wow. I don't know what else to say. You've left me speechless. Thank you.
Johnny: Sorry to disappoint you on the best man. I have been missing Bombay, you know? I'm so glad you enjoyed though.
TamPhuoc: I adore you for reading it. Thank you!