Yay. New chapter is finally here... I've been slaving away over this one here. And as a special treat to all, it's extra long! This one's about 3,500 words whereas previous ones were in the area of 1,000-1,500.

And now the wedding you've all been waiting for...

White Dresses and Wedding Bells

The dress was… beautiful, simple, perfect, glorious, special, lovable, totally her… And to be brief, Jo completely and utterly loved it. It was hers to wear now and to treasure for the rest of her life. And she couldn't have asked for a more perfect dress.

She loved every stitch that sweet Daisy had sown as though she'd sown it herself.

And Jo found herself smiling again at the mirror as her eyes roamed up and down.

It started with a frilly, see-through lace collar and neckline that turned into the solid, shimmering white main part fairly high on her chest. Jo liked it to be modest in the chest area and cover her up well. It was sleeveless given the Georgia heat on this late August day, ending on her shoulders with more sheer lace. Tightening to her body just above the topmost bulge of her belly, it flared out again because of Yvonne. The "poof" of the bottom half wasn't really very wide, but it sat fairly straightly on down from the stomach to where it ended in a few more frills brushing against the floor. She didn't try and hide Yvonne's existence with the dress, but actually accentuated it a bit more.

And it was all white.

Jo knew she didn't really deserve to wear white, and that by all means she shouldn't be, but she couldn't bring herself to wear even an off-whitish beige gown.

"So, do you like it?"

Broken out of her reverie, Jo turned to Daisy, who was wearing her green bridesmaid dress, with a smile. "Yes, I love every bit of it. Thank you. I wish I could've done more to help with it, actually. Curse my inability to sew anything!"

"Oh, you're welcome," Daisy replied, returning the smile. "You'll pick up the sewing talent in time, honey. And you're sure there's not one bit of the dress you don't like? It can't be that perfect."

"But it is!" Jo insisted, turning back to the mirror. "But I can't help but think…"

Jo couldn't finish the sentence. She couldn't say to the woman who'd sewn the gown out of love and kindness that she didn't like the idea of the white now.

"What?" Daisy prompted anyway. "You can't help but think what?"

Frowning at her reflection, Jo rubbed a bit of the lace on her shoulders between her thumb and forefinger. "I can't help but think I don't deserve to wear white."

"Why not?" The frown on Daisy's face was more questioning than the thoughtful one on Jo's.

"Well, I'm not a virgin, and the whole world knows that. Otherwise I couldn't be toting Yvonne around. I don't deserve to wear the white because of that. And I feel… dirty because I'm doing it anyway."

Daisy took Jo's shoulders reassuringly. "Oh, that's not true. Don't feel dirty. You're just as clean as the rest of us. You can't help that you got pregnant because of it. And so you deserve to wear the white as much as any other girl, Jo Johnson."

Smiling at her soon-to-be "in-law," Jo smiled. "Thank you, Daisy."

"You're welcome."

The sweet silence that ensued spoke to Jo about a gentle almost sister-like relationship that could come to be in future years between herself and Daisy. She could be the calm sister Jo had always lacked in Lou…

"Hey! Can somebody help me here!"

Speak—or think—of the devil! Jo thought, whirling towards Lou.

"What the heck is it now?" she demanded.

"I can't reach the zipper!" Lou huffed in reply, demonstrating by stretching her arm around towards her back. It didn't even come close to reaching the zipper that was sitting midway up her back, halfway to its destination at the space in between her shoulder blades. "Somebody help!"

Rolling her eyes, Jo reached out and pulled the zipper up. "There you go, big baby. You're all zipped up."

Turning her head to glance at her back, Lou nodded, smiling. "Thank you." She turned back to survey herself in the mirror. "So, how do I look, girls?"

Jo took in the sight of Lou's dress and her sister's tight, almost forced smile.

The neck of the dress was definitely more revealing than that of Jo's gown, dipping down low in a V-like shape to accentuate the fact that the pregnancy had increased Lou's bust. Along the swooping neckline was a line of sequins that glittered when Lou moved. It was sleeveless like Jo's, but unlike hers, Lou's didn't flaunt one scrap of lace. And also unlike Jo's, it did try and hide the bulge of her stomach, flaring out above it and continuing its slant all the way to the floor. And that it did pretty darn well.

All in all, it made Lou look like a princess.

And Jo said as much to her sister. "But it does dip a little low, Lou."

Smiling slyly, Lou traced a finger along the neckline. "Oh, come on. Don't you know the guys like it that way?"

"Yes, I know they like it that way, but that doesn't mean you have to be that way."

"I say why not 'centuate and flaunt the positive while it's there?" Lou argued. "I'll go back down a cup size in a couple of months, just as soon as I lose all of the extra belly-fat. So now's my only chance to show off the fact that I actually have a bust."

Rolling her eyes, Jo gave up the argument.

Today was her wedding day, and she wouldn't waste her last few moments as a bachlorette arguing with Lou when she should be thinking about the road of life ahead. Because after this step here, there wasn't going to be any going back for her.

-+-+-+-

There weren't many people sitting in the pews of the little Baptist church, waiting for the wedding to begin. It wasn't a big affair at all, with probably only twenty people in attendance.

Somehow, Luke had always thought that his wedding would be bigger.

But with Jo, small and private was to be expected. And then with her and Lou's pregnancies, small was also desirable.

Other things weren't like he pictured them either.

The only flowers sitting around the church were the normal arrangements sitting in the tall, stained-glass window's sills. There was no real special decoration about the place, but as the whole wedding had been planned so quickly, there'd been no time…

Before her problematic return, Luke had never expected that Bobbie-Jo Johnson was to be his bride.

Before, Luke had never really planned to have a double-wedding with his cousin Bo.

But Bo was fidgeting nervously beside him, obviously apprehensive about the ceremony. Luke himself wasn't without his worries, but it was worse for Bo, who had adamantly and avidly proclaimed that his bride wasn't his love and never would be.

At least Jo and me can tolerate each other, Luke thought, subconsciously smoothing his tie. Even if she won't admit love, she will, given time. She's just being Jo and holding it under consideration.

Or so you hope.

Sighing, Luke wished the whole thing would go ahead and start. The more time that they waited around back here, the more worried he became. Things would just get worse too, and if they didn't start soon, Luke would probably go back on thinking he loved Jo in the first place.

"Boys, are you ready?" Uncle Jesse asked walking over from the steps of the preacher's platform to where Bo and Luke stood waiting around the side.

Luke's reply was quick and anxious. "Yes, sir."

Expectantly, Uncle Jesse's gaze then turned to Bo, who first gulped loudly, then nodded.

"Yes, sir," he said quietly.

Obviously ignoring Bo's apprehension, Uncle Jesse nodded too. "Then we'll get it started now." He signaled to the woman sitting ready at the organ across the church.

Oh, Jo… Luke thought as the music started to play. I can't wait to see what you look like… Beautiful, I'm guessing. Like the angel you are… True to tradition, he hadn't gotten to see the dress by itself, or on Jo. Daisy had guarded the thing with her life, even stowing it away in some secret place at night.

The organ began to play and with a sigh, the grooms took their place at the front of the church, waiting for their brides to walk down the aisle.

-+-+-+-

Lou was nervous. More nervous than she'd planned on being, more nervous than she wanted to be, more nervous than she had any right to be.

She stood ready in the back of the church, as the sole bridesmaid, Daisy, had already found her way down the aisle to wait in the front with rings in hand. Lou was cut off from her groom and the people waiting to watch by a pair of wide wooden doors. She could hear the music playing on the other side as she stood stiffly with her small bouquet clutched in anxious hands and her sister equally gripping a similar arrangement of flowers beside her.

They could hear the music sweeping onward in its classic melody, and the pastor's words echoing through the small church. "Please rise."

"This is it…" Lou muttered quietly to Jo, her breath catching in her chest in anxious anticipation…

And the doors in front of the two sisters swung wide open.

Through the white tint of her veil, Lou's eyes took in all that stood before her.

Stretching along in front of her was her intended path, the long aisle of the Hazzard Baptist Church with its pale blue carpet and matching pews flanking the walkway on either side. Lou noticed with only mild interest that only the two front-most pews were occupied with people dressed in their finest clothes, bathed in colored light from the high, stained glass windows standing at regular intervals along the walls.

She could've sworn people gasped at the sight of her—or maybe the sight of her and Jo—but she wasn't exactly in a position to know.

She did know for sure that standing at the end of the aisle, facing her in patience, Bo's eyes got extremely wide and his eyebrows disappeared under wisps of his blonde curls.

And that made Lou smile as she started down the aisle.

To her left, Jo was still obviously worried, but she kept up with each one of Lou's slow steps with rehearsed grace and ease.

Lou felt like she was floating, and determination and reflex was the only thing that kept her feet moving. Each step was unconscious and just about as involuntary as each breath that now came in and out shakily.

Memories flashed before her eyes as if she were on the brink of death, like people always described when retelling of their brushes with that shadowy abyss.

The first thing she saw was her mother's long departed face… Not the mother she'd known in the last few years before her death, not the one who always came home drunk, raving and ranting. No, the loving mother she'd known as a young, young child. The one who's memory was as precious as gold.

If only her mother could've been here…

But she's not, Lou reminded herself. And neither is Bo's. No mothers.

The next thing she pictured was her father… Not the father hardened and disturbed by the death of his wife, not the father who shouted and yelled all the time and left Lou and Jo to their selves as young as six. No, not the broken man he was now. The man he'd been before the whole slew of problems with her mother, the one who'd held her in his arms and told her fairy tales.

If only he could've been here today to give her away…

But he wasn't, and despite the fact that Norman Johnson was her father, Lou would not want the man in his current state here by any means.

She remembered her dreams as a young girl of her wedding day. Hopelessly optimistic and definitely mushy enough to be a fairy tale in its own right, her fantasy wedding had been… too good to ever really come to pass. She'd pictured her true love waiting for her at the aisle's end as she waltzed down in a remarkable, shimmering gown trailing a train as long as could be with her father at her side to give her away. And Jo's smiling face as the Maid of Honor… and her mother's precious smile from the front pew…

But it was never going to be that way, and Lou had long since given up that dream.

And next, Lou thought about Xavier nestled down in her gut. It was for him that she was going through with this—not for herself, not for Bo Duke. Not for any Duke, except the one who wasn't yet born.

She wondered what her son would look like—who he'd grow up to be.

Whoever he was going to be, Xavier Duke would have fantastic parents. Lou was not about to let herself be the kind of mother her own had been in those last years. She wasn't about to let Bo be the kind of father her own was—never. Not if she could help it. She would die making sure Xavier was loved—by herself and by Bo.

Bo.

Shaking away memories, Lou looked up to the face of her groom.

It was tight with anxiety, but also patient and expectant, waiting for her to finally reach the stage as the organ played.

She'd fallen in love with that face nine months ago, its crazy, walk-on-the-wild side grin, crystal clear blue eyes and Bo's easy nature. She'd fallen out of love with him shortly after, and vowed to herself she wouldn't love him again for the pain he'd caused.

But now, her promise threatened to break itself just by looking at him.

Lou hadn't really noticed, but she and Jo had reached the end of the aisle and Bo and Luke had both stepped aside to let the girls up beside them. Bo's hands took Lou's veil and flipped it back from her face and over the top of her head, unmasking her face.

Then something snapped into place and she pulled herself from her thoughts. She did as she was supposed to, taking one of Bo's hands and walking up the two stairs to stand on the platform. When they'd taken the stairs, both swung to face each other with Luke and Jo mimicking the same moves behind them.

This left Bo and Lou facing, with Jo's back to her sister's while she faced Luke and vice versa. And the preacher off to Lou's right while the stairs and watching audience were now to her left.

"You may be seated. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today," the pastor intoned stiffly, "to witness…"

Lou wasn't even listening.

She was staring into Bo's clear, bright blue eyes with her own crisp gray ones and trying to keep herself from swooning. It felt to her like one of those cheesy romance movies, except she knew on some level this was for real and she couldn't let herself be taken in.

There was no love to be found in those eyes, she warned herself. She wouldn't fall, because she didn't love him.

His hands gripped hers tightly, and she felt their calluses with her smooth fingertips. She felt the strength in his grip, the tight muscles in his palms…

Lou, stop it! she shouted at herself inside. Stop, stop, stop! You don't love him. He doesn't love you. You're marrying him for your son's sake, so stop fantasizing! You gave up other fantasies long ago, so give up the one that says you'll marry your prince!

She blamed it all on the atmosphere. It was a wedding, and was supposed to be romantic. She'd just gotten caught up in the feel and mistook it for actual feelings.

And she blamed it all on the pregnancy hormones. They'd made her a crazy romantic among other things, and she really couldn't trust anything she was feeling, given the fact the hormones were probably encouraging it.

Love that had to be sparked was not love at all.

So to keep her mind away from that, she concentrated on the preacher's flat voice and the words he was saying. By now he'd gotten past the opening statements all the way down to Jo and Luke's vows—somewhat shortened because it had to be repeated for the second couple. And she concentrated like her life depended on it.

-+-+-+-

Oh, Lord, help me!

Jo was getting more and more anxious as the time went on and the preacher got closer and closer to the vows… And then the few special phrases that would forever change Jo's life were started…

"Do you, Luke Duke, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" the preacher asked.

Unconsciously, Jo tightened her grip on her groom's hands and stared into his eyes as she waited for the words to come from his mouth. His stare was solemn and loving, telling her that he would be loving and true until death.

"I do."

Two simple words, but they meant the world to the speaker and the receiver. The two most magical words in the world. So simple, yet so important...

Jo found it hard to keep her mind on the pastor's words as he continued onward with her vow. "Bobbie Josephine Johnson, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

For a moment, the words stuck in her throat as an odd rush of feelings assaulted her. Panic, peace, love, worry, joy, sorrow… She was stepping onto a road from which there was no turning back: marriage.

Her eyes dropped instantly away from Luke's gaze and she shut them tightly against all of the feelings swelling within her. She could feel the turmoil shifting in her gut and the butterflies of anticipation.

But she had to go through with this in spite of all of that.

And so summoning up courage, she opened her eyes to meet Luke's gaze again, trying desperately to find refuge from this turmoil. She was strong, and she would do this right.

"I…" In that instant, staring into Luke's eyes, she realized just how much she cared for him, and how much he was part of her courage. How much she loved him. And a single tear rolled down from her eye and across her cheek as she finished, "… do."

Her heart was relieved of its worries in that moment, and inwardly she breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Nodding and smiling, the preacher moved onward to the other couple, leaving Jo's line of vision unless she craned her neck. And she wasn't going to dare take her stare away from Luke now… some strange sense of longing welled up and wouldn't let her go.

"Do you, Beaureguard Duke, take this woman…" the pastor continued to drone from behind Jo.

See, you can do it, Jo, she told herself, smiling lightly at Luke. You can do it.

It was then that she became aware of the fact that while her heart had stilled and left its turmoil behind, her stomach was still twisting painfully. And realization struck her like a cold, harsh wave.

It wasn't her stomach that was twisting…

"Oh, God, no," she bit out quietly, hand going to the bulge of her belly.

As the pain grew harsher with its spreading grip, her long fingers curled like animal claws against the smooth white fabric of her dress. With the agony, the muscles in her legs started to bunch and Jo was forced to crouch to accommodate them… leaving her previous posture and catching attention.

Immediately, the pastor stopped reading Bo's vow right in the middle of it, turning a wary glance Jo's way. With the preacher's obvious shift, all other attention in the little church turned to the groaning pregnant woman.

Luke was the first to ask, clutching Jo's hand tightly even as she began to slowly double over around the pain. "Jo? What is it?"

A strangled gasp was the first thing to escape her lips in reply, no matter how she strained to keep it in. "Oh, Luke, I think Yvonne's on her way…" Another groan escaped her mouth through gritted teeth. "Get me to the hospital!"

Luke's eyes went wide and he floundered for words, yet was completely unable to find any.

TBC ASAP!

Well now, some of you may or may not have been expecting that, but oh, well. Hope I threw enough of you for a loop, and got you all with this marvelous cliffhanger!

Oh, yes, and I almost forgot to mention... I'm making a sequel. Well, more than one sequel. I'm turning this into a series thanks to the crazy ideas of my sister, and you can all read the other four "books" in the "Road of Life" series shortly. After I'm done with this story (which will be after one more chapter or two, I'm afraid) I have to take a short break to work on a couple other projects, but then will be back with the second book of the series. Promise me you'll all read!