CHAPTER 23

"You heard me. Let's go to Vegas and elope tonight."

Daniel replayed the message for the thousandth time, this time to Johnny and his wife, Carmen. Amanda and Daniel were in full-panic mode at this point, and Johnny and Carmen swiftly joined them in their panicked state.

"I can't believe they're actually doing this!" Daniel exclaimed.

"No, they wouldn't do this! They have more sense than that, right?" Carmen asked.

"Yeah, they do!" Amanda said. "I mean sure they're both really pissed at us, one of them is about to be going back to a random warzone, they're about to move in together, they're at the age that they'd be thinking about starting a family, they think they don't have our support right now for a big wedding, and… okay, yeah they're definitely doing it." Amanda admitted. Daniel stormed out the room and Amanda quickly followed him into their home dojo. When they made it into the room, Daniel immediately sat in the corner of the room and put his head in his hands. Amanda sat down next to him and Daniel looked at her, a devastated expression on his face. Amanda's own expression mimicked that of her husband's, because she was just as upset.

"Are you okay?" Daniel asked her.

"I can't believe our little baby's getting married without us!" Amanda exclaimed.

"I was supposed to give her away." Daniel murmured. "I was supposed to walk her down the aisle and give her husband-to-be a death glare and whisper threats in his ear if he didn't take care of my daughter. 'Cause that's what dads do."

Daniel and Sam had always had an extremely special bond and the fact that Sam had run off to get married and he wouldn't be there was killing him.

"Hey, look, maybe we could stop them. We still have time. Vegas is like 4 hours away. There's no way they've arrived yet! We could catch them!" Amanda said. Daniel nodded and leapt to his feet.

"Damn right we can!" Daniel exclaimed. They ran back into the house, grabbed their wallet, purse, keys etc, and sprinted out the door, only to see Johnny revving the engine of his car and opening the window to talk to Daniel and Amanda.

"Hey, you guys coming or what?" Johnny called out the window. Daniel and Amanda nodded and dived into the car, and the four adults took off towards Vegas, hoping desperately to catch their kids before they got married…

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Miguel and Sam parked at a casino/hotel/wedding chapel in Vegas 3 hours later, and the two got out of the car and walked inside. Both were extremely excited, yet nervous. This was their wedding day! In less than 5 hours, they would officially be man and wife!

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Miguel asked for the thousandth time as they walked in. Sam looked at him and nodded.

"For the thousandth time, yes I am." Sam said, stopping walking and turning towards him, kissing him. She kissed him for several amazing moments before breaking apart and leaving Miguel speechless. "Now do you want to marry me or not?"

"I, um… I, um… let's do this!" Miguel exclaimed, still flummoxed and disoriented from the amazing kiss but conscious to know that what they were about to do would leave them with regrets, whether it be tomorrow, next month, next year, or even 5, 10 or 15 years from now.

As they walked towards the large 'Wedding Chapel' sign at the back of the hotel, Sam abruptly stopped.

"Are you okay?" Miguel asked as she stopped walking suddenly. Sam then grabbed his hand and pulled him into the casino gift shop.

"Oh, my God." She murmured, her mind finally starting to catch up to her body and realising what they were about to do. "I'm getting married today! This is huge! I… I'm not ready yet! I need my something old and all that crap! We don't have rings! We haven't booked a honeymoon! We haven't gotten a marriage license! We haven't gotten…"

"Okay, babe. Slow down." Miguel said, taking Sam's hands in his own and gently calming her down. Sam suffered from anxiety, so sometimes she spiraled out of control and needed someone to help pull her back to reality. "What do we have to do first?"

"Well, I need something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue." Sam replied. Miguel raised an eyebrow and looked around the shop. His eyes lit up when he saw something, and moments later, he snagged a light blue pin in the shape of a diamond and handed it to Sam.

"Here. Something new and blue." Miguel said. Sam smiled and took it and nodded.

"Cool. Now for something old and something borrowed." Sam said. Miguel swivelled his head either way and made sure there was no one watching, and then he slipped the pin into Sam's pocket.

"Here. Something borrowed." Miguel murmured quietly. Sam's eyes widened.

"Miguel, that's stealing!" Sam whispered. Miguel shrugged.

"Eh. We'll give it back." He replied, weakly. Sam rolled her eyes and laughed, before pocketing the pin.

"Okay, now we just need something old." Sam stated. Miguel looked around the casino and saw a ton of old people playing at the slot machines. He chuckled.

"Well, I mean take your pick." Miguel remarked, pointing at the people. "You know, you could give them a piggyback ride up the aisle."

Sam giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm not going to do that!" She laughed in response. "Any other ideas?"

Miguel nodded and took out a thin silver necklace from around his neck. Sam looked at it and saw that there was a charm at the end of it. As she glanced at the charm, she raised an eyebrow at Miguel questioningly. The charm at the end of the necklace was a polished beer bottle cap. As Sam looked closer, she saw a date carved into it… 24.12.2028. Sam's eyes widened.

"Wait, was this from…"

"The night I met you." Miguel finished, confirming what Sam already knew. "Yeah, crazy to think it's only been a year and a half since we first met. So much has happened since."

"I can't believe you have this." Sam murmured in disbelief. "How do you have this?"

"Well I found it in my coat when I was packing for Afghanistan and I decided to make it into a lucky charm. It's kept me safe for the past year and a half while I was in combat so I just kept it. Consider this something old and something borrowed."

"Wow, thanks." Sam said, kissing Miguel and clasping the discreet necklace around her neck.

"So, do we need anything else?" Miguel asked. Sam smiled and shook her head.

"I don't think so." Sam replied. "Let's get married…"

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Sam and Miguel then headed into the wedding chapel, presented their ID papers to the person at the front desk, and they were sat down in a waiting room and told to fill out a bunch of documents. As they did so, the couple looked around the room. There were three other couples there: a pregnant couple, an extremely young couple, an extremely old couple, and them. To pass the time, Miguel and Sam decided to try and make up backstories for the couples there.

"Well, let's see…" Sam said, looking at the old couple on the other side of the room. "I feel like his child and their family were probably visiting for Christmas last year. He dropped them off at the airport exactly one year ago, where at the entrance, he met her, a former marine biologist."

"What? Why's she suddenly a marine biologist?" Miguel laughed, looking at the old lady sitting beside her significant other.

"Well, she's wearing a penguin shirt, genius." Sam stated. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"She could just really like penguins. I have a flower Hawaiin shirt at home; that doesn't make me a plant researcher."

"Whatever. Just go with it okay?!" Sam laughed. "So he was dropping his family off at the airport and he met her, who was also dropping her family off. They met, fell in love, and decided to get married on the exact day they met a year earlier."

"Aww… that's actually pretty sweet." Miguel remarked. Sam nodded and then turned her attention to the young couple in the corner of the room.

"Okay, what about them?" Sam asked, pointing to the teenage girl in a cheerleader outfit and the guy wearing a L.A Chargers hoodie. Miguel chuckled.

"Sam, I think that one's pretty self-explanatory." Miguel stated. "They're two high-schoolers. Hooked up at a party. And suddenly, they find out that she's pregnant. They tell their parents. Parents get PISSED. Say that the couple can't do it. To prove that they can do it on their own, they decide to elope."

"Interesting. Do you actually think it could be true? Like do you think she's actually pregnant?" Sam asked, curiously. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't know for sure but it sure seems like it. She can't be more than 5'5, and yet she's wearing size 12 shoes. She's been to the bathroom 3 times in the past half hour. She can't seem to sit comfortably. Either she's pregnant, or she has boat-like feet and a UTI." Miguel replied. Sam giggled. Finally, the door to the waiting room swung open and their names were called. They stood up and looked at each other, nervously. Sam squeezed Miguel's hand.

"You ready?" Miguel asked. Sam nodded.

"Yeah. I love you." She said.

"Love you too." He replied. "Let's do this…"

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"Dearly beloved…" The minister announced to the one random person sitting in the pews. "We are gathered here today to share with these two people their commitment to their journey together, wherever life's roads may take them."

"Well, the roads from here to San Diego. It's not like we're moving anywhere anytime soon." Miguel remarked. Sam turned to him.

"Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute. Uh, what if in a couple of years, I get a better job offer somewhere else? Like New York? I mean, then we'd have to move." Sam replied. Miguel's eyes widened and then turned to the minister.

"Excuse us one second." Miguel said, before pulling Sam over to the pews and sitting down next to her. "What do you mean New York? What're you talking about?"

"Well, it's just hypothetical. It could be anywhere. Chicago, Houston, anywhere." Sam stated. "I just meant wherever life's journey takes me we go together."

"What's the matter with California?" Miguel asked. "I mean our jobs are here, our families are here…"

Suddenly, the minister walked over to them.

"Not to pressure you guys, but you only have 5 minutes before the next couple comes in." The man stated. Miguel and Sam, who were in the middle of a disagreement, stood up.

"Look, let's talk about it on the honeymoon, okay?" Miguel suggested. Sam nodded and the two ran back to the front of the chapel.

"Look, let's cut right to the chase because we don't have much time." The minister quickly stated. "Do you, Miguel Diaz, take Samantha Larusso to be your lawfully wedded wife for better or for worse etcetera, etcetera, till death do you part, say 'I do.'"

"I…" Miguel hesitated. He couldn't get something off his mind. "I… Sam, how can we move? My job can literally only station me in two places in the country… San Diego and Virginia Beach."

"Yeah, but like you said you were going to quit when we decided to start a family, didn't you?" Sam said. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, but that's still a while away, right?" Miguel remarked. It was Sam's turn to be floored in shock. She quickly pulled Miguel away from the front of the chapel and towards the pews.

"So sorry about this!" Sam called to the annoyed minister as they sat back down at the pews. She then turned to Miguel.

"Look, Sam, I love you and I do want to start a family with you at some point. But I have a lot to accomplish in my career before I have children."

"Yeah, I get that but we don't have that much time. Women can't just wait till we're forty and then have kids. I'm 27, and to have 4 kids in 8 years…"

"Woah, woah, woah, hold the phone!" Miguel exclaimed. His face went pale. "Please tell me I'm hearing things and I didn't just hear you say 4 kids!"

"Two minute warning! Move it people!" They heard the minister shout, but this time Miguel and Sam completely ignored him.

"Why? How many kids do you want?" Sam asked.

"Like 1! Or maybe 2! Definitely not 4! Do you have any idea how much diapers cost?!"

"Yes, but you're so good with kids. You're going to make such a great father!"

"Yes, when I'm ready." Miguel said.

"Don't I have anything to say about this?" Sam snapped. Miguel sighed.

"Sam, I think that we both have a lot to say about this." Miguel murmured. "And I don't know…"

"If getting married is a good idea." Sam finished. Miguel nodded and Sam let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, me too. Miguel, I love you, and I do want to stay with you, but we have such different opinions on so much that I feel like we need to sort out before we even consider getting married. Do you feel the same?"

Miguel nodded.

"I do." Miguel replied, before chuckling. "Hey, I got to say 'I do' today!"

Sam laughed and intertwined her fingers in his, before walking out the chapel, still unmarried.

"You ready to face our parents?" Miguel suddenly asked as the two walked back into the hotel and casino. Sam looked at him, confused.

"Huh?" She asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you know how we accidentally sent them that voicemail? Chances are they're going to be at the casino any minute now to stop us." Miguel remarked.

"You think? Nah, they trust us more than that, right?" Sam asked. Miguel's eyes scanned the hotel lobby and locked onto four people who had just rushed in. He sighed as he recognised them.

"Wanna bet?" Miguel grumbled. Sam saw them and groaned.

"Of course they're here." Sam murmured. Miguel draped his arm around Sam's shoulders.

"You know, Sam? I have a feeling that this is going to be our best year yet…"

So, in the next chapter, there's a time jump of 6 months. It's just going to be this way because there is a lot of drama and action upcoming in the next few chapters…