It's been a while. Sorry about that. Work and life...I feel like a broken record.

Anyway, I figured it was high time we got to Shawn's wedding. He and Naomi have only been engaged since chapter 56 of Where You Least Expect It. Oops. At least no one can ever accuse me of rushing things, lol.

Thanks for your continued patience. It is always appreciated. :-)

"You succeeded, you know?"

"Huh?"

Angela chuckled when she felt him startle and ran her hand over his knee. "Are you falling asleep on me already?"

"No. I'm relaxing. My eyes being closed have nothing to do with it."

"Sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself, babe."

"Can you blame me? I've got you, the jets in this awesome tub, music, wine, and no crying kid to listen for. It's a miracle I'm not already asleep." Eric wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her neck. "Now what were you saying about me succeeding?"

"This really has been the perfect weekend. Thank you."

"Oh, believe me, it's been my pleasure."

She laughed. "I'm not talking about the sex…well, not just the sex. This definitely beats quickies in between naps."

"Amen."

"I know we talked about it a lot, but I didn't realize how much we needed this. I love Georgia and I wouldn't trade her for the world, but…"

"But what," he asked, when she didn't continue.

She shook her head. "I don't know."

"I think you do." He tightened his hold on her and hugged her to his chest. "It's okay to feel this way."

"Is it?"

"It's normal to enjoy time away from the baby. It's healthy."

"That's not what I was thinking."

"Then what were you thinking?"

"It's nice feeling like us again, you know? I've missed feeling this close to you."

"Yeah, it's been great. I believe you called it a perfect weekend just a minute ago."

"I did. And it has been. I've loved every minute of it."

"So what's the problem?"

Angela sat up and turned around so they were now facing each other. "The problem is I was just thinking about what our lives would be like if we weren't parents yet."

"Oh."

"I got pregnant so fast. We weren't together very long before. We were just getting the hang of being a couple before we had to start thinking like parents, like a family."

"I know."

"And everything has worked out and I love our life, but sometimes…I don't know, sometimes I wonder how it would've been if we would've had more time with just being us, Angela and Eric instead of Georgia's mama and daddy."

Eric leaned in close. "You want to know a secret?"

"What?"

"Sometimes I wonder the same things."

"You do?"

"Don't get me wrong, most of those thoughts come in the middle of the night when she's teething or just refusing to go sleep and running us half insane, but yeah, I think about it."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Why didn't you?"

"I was afraid you'd think I was a terrible mother."

"I didn't want you to think I was a bad dad."

"That's not possible. You're an amazing daddy."

"And Georgia has the best mom a kid could ask for."

"Then why do I feel like this sometimes?"

"Because we live with someone who throws food, screams and cries in our faces, has zero patience for anything, and pees, poops, and pukes on us- sometimes all three at once. If it was anyone else I wouldn't be friends with them."

"Don't forget the pinching and hitting. She's been into those recently, too. And that's on top of her lifetime campaign against sleep." She shook her head. "There are days I'd like her so much more if she just let me sleep for more than a few hours at a time.

"Me, too."

"It's weird. The love never stops. I always love her, but boy it's hard to like her sometimes. And just when I think I'm at the end of my rope she says, "Mama," or a gives me a big grin. Like she knows she's being an asshole diva and she needs to toss me a little sign that my sweet girl is still in there." She shook her head. "The craziest part of all this is even when I'm having these feelings I still miss her like crazy and can't stand being away from her. I have to fight the urge to call your parents every five minutes to make sure my baby is okay."

"Yeah, that is nuts."

"Thanks."

"You should tell me this stuff."

"Things have been so hectic lately and by the time we get to be alone together all we want to do is squeeze in a nap."

"Even if I'm a zombie I still want to hear you. Dump ice water on my head to wake me up and start talking."

"It's complicated."

"Because of Joyce?"

Angela wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his chest. "I don't want to be her."

"You're not. You're a great mom."

"Joyce was a great mom the first ten years of my life, too."

"So what, you're going to be paranoid about this until we make it to Georgia's eleventh birthday?"

"Maybe. I hope not, but that might be what happens."

"Your parents stopped communicating. They both said that's when things started to fall apart. We talk all the time about everything. At least I thought we did."

"I always mean to, but these aren't the easiest things to admit. What would you do if you came home from work and I handed Georgia off to you because I didn't like her at the moment and needed a break?"

"Take her back to Dr. Ramirez and demand a refund because she sent us home with the crybaby model." For a moment Eric was afraid his joke bombed big time, but then he could feel the laughter vibrating through her body. He kissed her temple. "We have to be able to tell each other this stuff."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'll try to be better at it."

"It's not just on you. I need to learn to listen better or pick up your cues when you're not talking."

"I'm not expecting you to be a mind reader."

"Good. I don't think it would go well if you did. And we should probably let each other know when we're not feeling too crazy about the other person so we don't build up resentment. I'm sure there are days where you like me more than others."

"Well…"

"Come on, let me have it."

"It's a petty little thing."

"I'm sure 99% of big issues in relationships started as petty nothings someone didn't think was worth talking about."

"Would it kill you to clean up the sink after you shave? I'm tired of going to wash my hands or brush my teeth and finding your stubble everywhere. The only place I like your stubble is on your face," she said, running a hand across his cheek.

"I can work on that. Will you do something for me?"

"What?"

"I have zero problems taking out the garbage, but when it gets really full could you at least tie up the bag and put it by the back door? It's not difficult to put a fresh bag in the can. I do it all the time. It's like you're playing garbage Jenga with how high it's stacked because you keep trying to cram stuff in there. It's a garbage can, not a bottomless pit."

"I'll try to be better about that." She was quiet for a minute before she spoke again. "So, what do you think we'd be doing right now if we weren't parents?"

"Well, we'd be sleeping a lot more, I know that."

"That's a given. But what else? Would we be living together? Engaged?"

"I think so."

"Me, too. I don't think we'd have a house yet. We probably would've gotten another apartment."

Eric traced random patterns on her back. "Is it weird if I said I think I would've proposed sooner if we didn't have Georgia?"

"Really?"

"Part of the reason I waited was because I didn't want you to think I was proposing because of the baby. I wanted you to know it was about us. No one else." He lifted her chin so she was looking at him. "You know I proposed because of us, right? Because of how much I love you?"

She leaned forward and kissed him. "Of course I do. I wouldn't have said yes if I thought you were doing it for any other reason. And just in case I don't say it enough, I love you, too. If I have to share this crazy, sleep-deprived life with anyone I'm glad it's you."

"Ditto."

/

/

"It's Monday and we're getting married this weekend. How insane is that?"

"Very."

"Is it bad to say that I can't wait for the wedding to get here?"

Shawn looked up and smiled when Naomi sat next to him on the couch. He put the volume down on the TV a few notches, but didn't turn it off. "No. I can't wait either."

"What if I said part of the reason I can't wait is because I'm so done with planning the damn thing? Is that bad?"

"I wouldn't put it in your vows, but I appreciate the honesty."

"Great, then would you look over how I've got everyone set up in the rooms and guest cottages?"

"Guest cottages? Wow, are we taking over the whole inn?"

"Pretty much."

He cast a look at the television before ultimately turning it off. Catching up with his shows would have to wait. "Let's see the list."

Naomi handed over her notebook. "I figured it makes the most sense to put Jack, Rachel, and all the kids with Jon, Kat, and their kids in the biggest house. Jon's kids are about the same age as Evan and Nina so they might enjoy playing together. Then I thought we should just put Cory and Topanga with…"

Shawn scanned the paper and tried to be interested. He really tried, but he didn't care where people slept. So long as they were at the wedding it didn't make a difference what they did in the meantime. Two names on the bottom of her list caught his eye. "What a minute."

"…and the couples should be happy in rooms in the main building so-"

"What the hell is this?"

"What?"

"Why are Greg and Shelly on here?"

"They're coming to the wedding. You knew that."

"I did not. What makes you think I want to get married with Jack's mom and his money throwing stepdad there?"

"I asked you months ago and you said fine."

"No, never. You never asked me."

"Yes, I did. I wouldn't invite them without running it by you."

"I think you got wedding brain and forgot. I'd never say they could come. Why would you or Jack even ask?"

"Jack and Rachel are both standing up in the wedding. So are Nina and Evan. Someone needs to occupy Milo and Calum when they're doing wedding stuff with us. It's better to have people they know and are comfortable with."

"Mr. and Mrs. Matthews."

"They're taking part in the San San Kudo with us and my parents during the ceremony. Remember?"

"Angela and Eric."

"They're going to be keeping Georgia entertained."

He wracked his brain and mentally went over the guest list. "Frankie? I've never met his wife but they have three kids and as far as I know none of them have juvie records."

"I can't-"

"I'll ask Virna. Despite everything she is good with kids."

"Shawn-"

"What? I'm sure they must have some kind of baby-sitting services for things like this."

"You want to leave your baby nephews with a stranger?"

"If it means Greg and Shelly won't be there…"

Naomi got up from the couch and moved to stand in front of him. "You had your chance to say they couldn't come when I asked you if they could come."

"You never asked me."

"Yes, I did!"

"No, you-you know what, I can't deal with this right now." He got up and pushed past her, grabbing his keys and jacket along the way.

"Where are you going?" He didn't answer, just opened the door. "Shawn?"

"I need to get out of here."

/

/

"Hi, dad," Angela said. "It's not too early, is it? I forgot about the time difference."

"It's never too early to hear from you, sweetheart."

"So, you're saying I woke you up?"

"No, I was already awake. I just finished choking down some breakfast so I could take my medications."

"How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," he admitted. Honesty was very important in the continued mending of their relationship. "Then again I've been a hell of a lot worse, too, so I guess I can't complain."

She heard him yawn into the phone. Though she's sure he tried to mask it. "I won't keep you long. I just wanted to tell you something, two things actually."

"What is it?"

"Eric and I set a date for the wedding."

Alvin could hear the smile in his daughter's voice. "When is it?"

"December 23rd: our second anniversary."

"Boy, you don't like to spread out the anniversaries, huh? Milk it a little for extra presents?"

"I figure this way, even when we're old and gray, we'll never forget the date. Plus we want to keep the wedding small, only family and close friends. Having it around a major holiday is one way to guarantee that," she joked before turning more serious. "And we…we don't want to wait too long. We want to make sure everyone important to us is able to be there."

"My cancer," he asked.

"I can't imagine getting married without you walking me down the aisle."

"You still want all that? Even after everything I've done and the secrets I've-"

"I'm done living in the past. I wasn't the type of girl who had a dream wedding floating in her head, but that's one thing I've always wanted. You're my dad. I want that moment with you."

He choked back the lump in his throat. "Then it will be my honor to escort you down the aisle."

Hearing him emotional made her eyes tear up. "Thank you, daddy."

"You're welcome."

"You'll tell Aunt Trish?"

"I will."

"Thanks."

"And about Joyce-"

"I won't say anything to her unless you want me to. It's your day. I won't ruin it for you."

"Okay. Good. Thank you."

"You said there were two things?"

"What?"

"There were two things you wanted to tell me, correct?"

"Oh, right, sorry. I know it's short notice, but if you're feeling up to it I'd love for you to fly in for Father's Day in a few weeks. Eric and I were planning to have a barbecue. If you're not well enough to fly we could always go out there and-"

"I have my next doctor's appointment later this week. I will ask him what he thinks and let you know."

She heard him yawn again. "I'll you go and take your nap."

"I can't believe I need naps," he grumbled. "I shouldn't be on the same sleep schedule as my granddaughter."

"Oh, you have a granddaughter who sleeps? Be sure to introduce her to Georgia sometime because she could use the pointers."

"It will get easier, I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"I'll talk to you later, sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you, too, dad. Bye." Angela set the phone aside and went over to the door of the balcony. What had been a beautiful weekend turned into a gloomy, rainy Monday. She flinched when a pair of arms wrapped around her.

"Sorry," Eric said, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I thought you heard me. I just got off the phone with Morgan. They bailed on camping a little early because of the rain and should be here in about an hour."

She nodded. "Good. I miss Georgia."

"Me, too."

"I told my dad we set a wedding date. I know we agreed not to tell people until after Shawn and Naomi's wedding so we don't steal the attention, but it's not like he'll be there to tell anyone."

"That's fine. However you want to handle this is fine with me." When Angela relaxed against him he tightened his hold on her. "Are you okay?"

"I know he's stable, but every time I get off the phone with my dad I'm worried it is the last time and I'll never hear his voice again."

"Hey, your dad's gonna be-"

"Don't say he's going to be fine. We both know that's a lie. His cancer is not going away."

"Yeah, maybe that's true but I do know he's one tough bastard who's lived way beyond what doctors predicted. They gave him a year and that was almost five years ago. He's kicked the ass of their expectations."

She laughed in spite of her mood. "I know and I'm so happy to still have him here."

"But?"

"How much longer can he keep beating the odds? He's on borrowed time."

Eric rested his chin on her shoulder and studied her reflection in the window. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just don't let go."

"Never."

/

"Mama!"

Angela practically ran down the driveway and retrieved her squirming daughter from her Aunt Morgan's arms. "There's my girl!" The way Georgia's eyes lit up when she saw her was almost enough to make her cry. "Oh, mama missed you so much. Did you have a good time with grandma, grandpa, Aunt Morgan, and Uncle Josh?"

"She cried a lot," Josh complained from the back seat.

"It was not a lot." Amy corrected her youngest. "The first day or day and a half she was a dream."

"And the other day and a half," Eric asked.

"She was a little fussy. But I think that was mostly because we kept taking things away from her. I mean, how dare we not let her eat worms," she said with a laugh. "And she wanted in on the fun when we made s'mores and roasted hot dogs, but babies and fire…never a good combination."

"Yeah, helping grandpa hold the stick just wasn't satisfying," Alan chimed in. He removed the baby's bag from the back of the van and handed it to his son.

"Aw, would grandpa not let you play with fire?" He held his hands out to the baby. She smiled at him, but clung to her mother. Eric tried not to take it personally. "Mean grandpa."

"But she had fun. I think we have a future fisher on our hands. She was hyper focused sometimes helping me with that."

"Yeah, because she got to be close to the worms," Morgan teased.

"How did she sleep?"

"The first night- great- I think she exhausted herself with the new scenery. She only woke up once. The other two nights…well, it was a little more up and down. But we survived." Amy remembered the early camping trips with her kids. "It wasn't anywhere near as bad as it could've been."

"I tried to help her get ready for her first birthday." She rubbed Georgia's back. "Yeah, Auntie Morgan tried to prepare you."

"What are you talking about, weasel?"

"There are tons of dandelions out there. I tried to teach her to blow on the flower to scatter the seeds everywhere. This way she could blow out her first candle."

"Did it work?"

She shook her head. "She can spit for distance now though."

"Oh, what a proud day," Angela said with a laugh. "I can't wait to write that down in the baby book. Thanks, Morgan."

"You're welcome."

/

"Okay, I sprayed down her clothes to get rid of the grass stains. I'll toss them in the washer in a little bit. It looked like she was out there playing tackle football with all the-" Eric stopped in the doorway of their room and admired the sight before him. "Looks like someone missed her awesome mom."

Angela ran a finger along her daughter's hairline and watched as the little eyelids began to droop. Georgia would be wearing her milk coma face before long. "I feel guilty."

"For what?"

"Yesterday, saying I didn't-that I don't-" She lowered her voice. "-that I don't always like her. Do you think she knows?"

"Are you looking at her? The only thing she knows and cares about is that she loves you and you love her. That's what matters. Don't feel bad for feeling honest, human emotions."

"I just wonder what it means that whenever we're separated for longer than a few hours the first thing she wants is to nurse." She glanced up at her fiancé. "And please, no boob jokes."

"You're always saying how close and bonded to her you feel." He dragged the foot rest closer and took a seat. "I'm sure it's the same for her. You're Georgia's safe place."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Maybe if we're lucky one day she'll realize that her dad is pretty cool, too."

Though he was joking, Angela could hear a little hurt in there. "You are still the keeper of her first smile and biggest belly laughs."

"Just so long as I'm not always the comic relief."

"Never."

He chuckled as he watched the baby's head loll to the side. "And there's the milk coma face. Our little drunk."

"How charming."

"I thought so."

/

/

It had been more than a year since he was here. He didn't visit on the last anniversary of Chet's passing. It had been too soon after his conversation with Virna. His anger was too fresh. "How the hell has it been so many years you've been gone, dad? Are you having fun in the afterlife? Is there an afterlife? Did you finally meet Elvis? Scalp tickets and screw over all the unsuspecting saints and angels for a Jimmy Hendrix concert?" He laughed at that. Chet would be the one who'd try to work an angle in the afterlife. "Then again you were always more of a Grateful Dead fan, snuck me in for my first concert when I was six. Virna was visiting Aunt Charmaine and you couldn't find a sitter. Say hi to Jerry Garcia for me."

Shawn plopped down in the muddy grass and stared at the gray slab that was his father's headstone. "I'm getting married this weekend, you know? At least I am if Nomi hasn't decided being with me is too much work. I hope she does. I know I can be a jerk sometimes, but I hope she hasn't changed her mind. See, we got into a fight and I stormed out, drove two hours, and here I am. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? We had an argument and I ran." He scoffed and shook his head. "Typical Hunter."

"She wants Jack's mom and stupid stepdad to be there. She claims she asked me months ago and I said it was okay. But why would I say yes to that? Then again," he mused, "Nomi wouldn't lie about that. She wouldn't invite them behind my back. So…did I say yes and block it out? But she's right, someone's got to keep the boys occupied. Oh, you're a grandfather now. Not from me, but Jack and Rachel. They adopted four kids, went from zero to four in less than a year. I know I couldn't do that. I'm not strong enough. You've got three grandsons and a granddaughter and boy, would I kill to see you with Nina." The very thought of watching Chet be charmed by her was enough to make him smile. "You wouldn't stand a chance against her, no one does. That girl is a force of nature. You would've loved her."

He unconsciously worked at pulling the weeds that were growing in front of the granite. "I hate that you won't be at my wedding. I really hate it. But at the same time I'm glad I won't have to play the will he/won't he show up game. I played that too many times as a kid. You missed my high school graduation, dad." Shawn was now pulling up blades of grass. "You promised you'd be there. I looked everywhere in that crowd for you. I don't know why I was surprised when you didn't show." He now had chunks of mud and grass clenched in his fists. "I hated you a lot that day. Hell, I hate you a lot now sometimes. But I also love you a lot. It's a confusing mess.

"I'm talking to Virna again. Not sure if you knew that. We…talked about everything." He wiped off his hands and dug into his pocket, pulling out an old family picture. It was one of the few he had. It was taken during the months Chet was a janitor at the high school and, at the time, it seemed like things were finally looking up for the Hunters. Shawn found it hard to recognize the smiling faces. "You put her through hell, you know? She practically killed herself working multiple jobs just so we could have a little something." He shoved the picture back into his pocket. "I know you didn't make her leave. I've learned by now no one makes a person leave. They decide that for themselves, for better or worse. But you definitely didn't give her any reason to want to stick around. Eventually even I wasn't enough.

"I wish you would've let her adopt me like she wanted. Then at least maybe I would've had a shot at something normal. I don't know why you couldn't do that one thing for us. Virna was a good mom. When I was little I knew we didn't have all the stuff my friends had, but I didn't think we were poor or missing out. She made sure I didn't know any better until I got older and harder to fool.

"Virna knows she screwed up and she's sorry. I can tell she means it when she apologizes. I want to see where this goes. I have a chance with her that you and I will never have: forgiveness and a future." He stared at the ground. "She's coming to the wedding, bringing her boyfriend, too. He's got a name like your favorite sandwich- Reuben. I know you would've had fun teasing him with that. Don't worry. I got in a few jokes for you." Shawn said with a snicker. "He treats her really well. Reuben's a nice guy…a good guy. She's finally happy."

He took a deep breath before he pushed himself up to his feet. "I don't know why I showed up and dumped all this on you. I guess…I don't know…this is as close to any father/son pre-wedding talk as we're going to get. And I needed someone to yell at and you're easy. You can't yell back anymore." He was quiet for a minute, as if he was waiting for a response. "Yeah, so…I'm going to go. I have to fix things and make sure Nomi still wants to marry me."

"She does."

Shawn jumped at the sound of another voice and spun around, his hand on his chest. "God, Nomi, are you trying to kill me?! Don't sneak up on someone in a cemetery." He took a minute to catch his breath. "How did you know I'd be here?"

"I tracked you."

"You…what?"

She held up her hand. "I'm not stalking you. Remember when you went upstate last week and you wanted me to watch you on my phone so I could tell you where to go if you got lost?" He'd had a photography job about two hours north of her parents' house and wasn't familiar with the area at all. "We must've forgotten to turn off the trackers."

"How did you get here? We only have one vehicle right now. Please tell me Cory doesn't know. I can't deal with a Matthews' intervention right now."

"I borrowed Valerie's car. She owed me a favor for covering her shift last week."

"Oh."

"You can't do this, you know? If we have an argument you can't just storm off and leave me to worry."

"I needed some air."

"New York has air. I mean, sure, maybe it's not the freshest, but you don't have to drive to Pennsylvania for air."

"I know. I'm sorry. I screwed up."

Naomi crossed her arms and looked him in the eye. "Keep talking."

"I didn't realize how much it bothered me that my dad won't be there until you told me Greg and Shelly were coming."

"I asked you before and you said-"

"Stop. I don't want to have this fight again. It doesn't matter if you asked or not and-"

"I did."

"Nomi…"

"Sorry. Continue."

"My dad's not going to be at my wedding. I don't even have the tiniest thread of hope to cling to like I did as a kid. No matter how many times he let me down I still hoped the next time would be different and he'd be there. Now there's never going to be any different and that hurts." He fought back the tears he felt building.

Naomi walked over and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry."

"I'm still mad at him. It feels like he's letting me down all over again. Which is stupid, because he's…well…" He gestured to the grave. "I want to believe he wouldn't miss my wedding if he were still around, but I can't say for sure."

"What if we brought a little bit of the wedding to Chet?"

"Huh?" Naomi picked up a bag she'd apparently left by a tree. She took out a few of the paper cranes that had been strung together. "What's that?"

"Thanks to you we have some extra cranes." Next she pulled out a flower. "I swung by Frankie's flower shop and asked if he could make an extra boutonniere."

Shawn watched, speechless as she tied off the cranes, turning them into something similar to a necklace or lei. She slid it onto Chet's headstone. Then she took the flower and placed it on top of the granite. "It would kill him that the flower is pink," he said, smiling through his tears.

"It's not pink. Peach."

He pulled Nomi close and held her tight, his eyes never leaving the flower. "Right. Peach."

/

/

"Shawnie, what are you doing? Didn't you hear me ringing your bell? You didn't answer my calls or texts. I was worried something was wrong." Cory found his best friend in his bedroom, his suitcase open and clothes everywhere. "You're not packed yet? Come on!"

"Suit? Check. Good shoes? Check."

"Are you even listening to me? We have to go."

"Just a minute. I have to look for one thing."

"Really? You're choosing today to lose something? Shawn!" Cory was confused when he doubled over with laughter. "Um…what am I missing?"

"Nothing and neither am I."

"What?"

Shawn walked around to the other side of the bed and picked up another suitcase, packed and ready to go. "I figured every other major event of our lives has involved one of your freak outs. Why not get it out of the way now?"

"You're packed?"

"I have been for two days. Ow!" He held his arm. "Don't hit me or I'll sic Nomi on you."

"Don't scare me like that. I thought you were doing your normal procrastinating."

He shook his head. "Not this time, Cor."

"Good, because Evan and Turner's kid…what's his name again?"

"Joachim."

"Right, Joachim, they're really looking forward to your bachelor party tonight."

"Hmm, a party seven year olds are excited about. Sounds scandalous. Do me a favor, get Naomi's present out. It's in an envelope behind the mirror."

"What did you get her," he asked as he retrieved the gift. "I thought I told you that either pearls or diamonds are traditional."

"It's a check."

He frowned. "You're paying her to marry you?"

"No, dummy. I called around and got some prices for FIT. Nomi always wanted to go to design school, but didn't have the money. Her parents would only pay for school if she went into the medical field. She's logical and knew there would always be a demand for nurses. She's an amazing nurse, but I know part of her wonders what if." He took the envelope from Cory and tucked it into his jacket pocket. "I saved up enough for an entire semester. I'm not sure if she'd prefer fashion or interior design, so I'll let her pick that."

"Oh, wow, you're giving Naomi her dream come true."

"Well she's given me mine so it's only fair I return the favor." He scrunched up his face. "Please tell me I didn't just say something that sappy."

"Sorry, you totally did!"

"That means it's all downhill from here, right?"

"Nope, it only gets better. Trust me." Cory threw an arm around his shoulders. "So how are you feeling? Are you nervous?"

"I'm good, a little nauseous, but good."

"Great. So, there's not going to be any Shawn Hunter disappearing acts this weekend?"

Shawn wanted to be offended by the question, but it wasn't asked without precedence. "Nope. I got that out of my system earlier in the week."

"Okay, good you- wait a minute. What? What happened?"

"It's fine. Nomi talked me down."

"Wow, I guess you really are getting married, huh? Talking you down used to be my job."

"You and Nomi can share the responsibility," he teased. "We should get going so we don't hit traffic." He headed for the door, but Cory didn't follow. "You coming?"

"Yeah, I just…" He shook his head. "Wow."

"What?"

"You're getting married."

"I know."

"You. Married." He threw his arms around him. "I can't believe we finally got you here."

He laughed quietly and returned the hug. "You're not going to interrupt the ceremony and cry like I did to you and Topanga, right?"

"I make no promises." Cory pulled away and clapped his hands together. "Come on, Shawnie, let's get you married."

"Ready to give me away?"

"No, I'm not."