A/N: Sorry this chapter is a little long, but there's a lot going on here. What's a wedding without jitters and behind the scenes craziness?

Chapter 7

Jon checked himself in the mirror for the hundredth time, fussing at the collar of his uniform. "I can't get this damned thing straight!"

Tony, his best friend since childhood, grabbed Jon by the shoulders, pulling him to stand straight as he worked on the collar. "Come on Jon, you act like you never wore a dress uniform before."

"Not for something as important as this." Jon looked down at his feet. "My shoes! Where are my shoes?"

"Still in the box. You wanted to wait until you walk before putting them on so you don't scuff the shine. God… was I this nervous on my wedding day?"

"Which one?" Jon laughed.

Tony chuckled. "Good point. I guess by the third marriage, you won't be as nervous… and just go for the civil service ceremony."

Jon shook his head as he fussed with the collar again. "Unlike you, I plan to do this only once in my life. Hmm… maybe it's bad luck to ask a guy that's been married 3 times to be my best man?"

"You wound me Archer. You've been my best man for all 3 of them. It's about time I got to play the role. Hey… what's up with that cute Asian girl? Is she single?"

Jon gave Tony a glare. "You leave Hoshi alone! She's half your age and you're married!"

"I was asking for my little brother! Besides, you're one to talk about someone half his age, Mr cradle robber."

"I'm not robbing the cradle, Trip is only…"

Tony smirked. "Fifteen years younger?"

Jon mockingly scowled. "Shut up. Why do you do this to me?"

"Because it made you laugh."

Jon patted at his pockets. "The ring! Where's the ring?"

Tony patted his breast pocket as he went to the table. "I got it right here, brother. I'll keep it safe until it's time." He tapped Jon on the arm, holding out a glass half filled with amber liquid. "Here, you need to calm your nerves."

Jon eyed the glass. "What is it?"

"Scotch. What else?"

Jon quickly turned and took a large step away. "No! Get that away from me."

Tony looked at him perplexed. "It's just one drink, help you relax."

Jon raised his voice. "I said no! I can't, I won't! Get it out of here! Get it away!"

Tony panicked when Jon started hyperventilating. "Ok, ok! I'll put it on the table. What's going on with you?"

"No! Out of the room! Out of my sight!"

There was a knock on the door. Tony opened it to find a young man on the other side. "I heard yelling. Everything ok, Captain?"

"Um, Trevor, right?" Tony asked.

"It's Travis. What's going on?"

"I don't know. I mean he's a little nervous about the wedding, but that's normal. All of a sudden he started to freak out. Here." Tony shoved the glass and bottle of scotch into Travis' hands. "I poured him a glass to calm his nerves and that's when he got all hysterical."

"Phlox! Travis, go get Phlox right now! Tell him I need him!" Jon yelled.

Travis nodded as he spun to rush towards the banquet hall to retrieve Phlox. Once he spotted the doctor, he rushed over, speaking to him discreetly. "Phlox, you got to go see the Captain right now."

Phlox got to his feet. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, he's hysterical. Something to do with scotch." Travis indicated the bottle and glass he was still holding.

"Oh dear. Did he drink any?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Nevermind. You go find the Admiral and tell him to stall." Phlox called over his shoulder as he rushed out.

There were murmurs among the crowd and Travis suddenly felt like he had a bright spotlight on him as he smiled nervously at the people looking at him. "I'm um… I'm sure everything's fine. Just wedding jitters. I think the Captain forgot his dress shoes." In a hushed tone, he called out to Hoshi. "Do something."

Hoshi looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Um… yeah… ok." She slowly stood. "Uh, this is a traditional Japanese wedding song that I'd like to share with all of you."

As Hoshi began to sing, Trip's parents went to Travis. Mrs Tucker looked worried. "What's wrong? Is it Trip? Maybe I should go talk to him."

Travis shook his head. "It's not your son ma'am, the Captain seems to be… well… he's not feeling so well. Just the nerves and I think his breakfast isn't sitting too well."

Mr Tucker shook his head. "That man broke my boy's heart once. He does it again, I'll rip his head off and feed it to the gators. I'll be damned he leaves my boy standing at the altar. Where is he?"

Travis gulped. "It's nothing like that, I swear sir. He's just a little nervous and panicking, that's all. Everything will be fine once he calms down. I can attest to the fact that Captain Archer loves your son very much and wants nothing more right now than to make him his husband."

Mr Tucker started pacing. "Yeah? Does he get this nervous in a battle? Does he panic when aliens are threatening his ship? I doubt Starfleet would have much use for a Captain like that. I think he's considering bolting. Told you I shoulda brought my shotgun!"

Mrs Tucker turned to her husband with authority. "That's enough out of you, Charles! Do I need to remind you how nervous you were on our wedding day? Now you just hush up and sit down this instant."

Mr Tucker's mouth opened and closed a few times before he dropped his head. "Yes mother." He mumbled as he sat down.

Trip's brother, Patrick, nudged his father with an elbow. "When are you gonna learn not to poke the momma bear?"

Mr Tucker gave his eldest son a glare. "Boy, don't you start with me. You ain't too big for me to turn you over my knee."

Pat shook his head as he got to his feet, chuckling. "Oh man. If Jon's a wreck, I can only imagine Trip right now. I'm gonna go check on him."

§§§

Phlox didn't bother to knock as he entered the Captain's dressing room. "Captain? What's going on?"

Jon was sitting in a chair. He had calmed down some, but was still anxious. "I'm sorry. I-I just… I'm just so nervous. It's like every little thing is wrong today. I can't get my stupid collar straight, I don't know where my shoes are… in a box. They're in a box so they won't get scuffed. Did I leave the box at the hotel? Where's the ring? Everything has to be perfect. It's not perfect!"

Phlox placed his hands on Jon's shoulders. A move that seemed to grab Jon's attention, since he knew that Denobulans don't like to be touched.

"Now Captain. You're getting yourself worked up over nothing. You can't expect complete perfection. So what if your collar is a little crooked. Who cares if there's a scuff on your shoes. No one will notice if a flower or two has wilted."

Jon looked at Phlox, horrified. "The flowers are wilting? No! Trip loves lilies, it's his favorite. They can't wilt before the ceremony!"

Phlox shook his head. "They're not wilting. All I'm saying is that no one expects every little detail to be perfect. The only thing that people will remember about today is that you and the Commander, two people who are in love, will be devoting your lives to one another, and we are all lucky enough to witness it. You're panicking over nothing but minor, trivial things."

"What if I forget my vows? What if I slip and fall walking down the aisle?"

Phlox shook his head. "My first wife Janna, I was called into an emergency surgery before the ceremony. I was in such a rush to make the wedding on time, I forgot to change out of my work shoes that had blood on them. My second wife Feezal, when I started to give her the ceremonial tea cup to drink from, it slipped out of my hands and shattered. Very bad luck among Denobulans. And my third wife Delia, her first husband made me so nervous… well let's just say there was an unexpected and very loud bodily *ahem* flatulence."

Jon barked out a laugh. "You farted!"

"Yes, well. The point is that despite all of those things, when my wives look back on those days, all we remember is the care we each have for one another and how much we all still love each other. The rest of those things meant nothing in the grand scheme. Now, do you feel better?"

Jon shook his head. "Honestly, I've been fighting it all week. Now that the day is here, I don't think I can get through it without at least one, but I know it will lead to more. I don't know what to do to get through it."

"Ok. We know that stress and anxiety is a trigger point for you. Just breathe, keep saying your mantra."

Jon nodded and closed his eyes, breathing slowly. "Alcohol is not the solution. I am better and stronger without alcohol. Alcohol is the enemy that I can defeat and overcome. I am better and stronger, better and stronger."

"Good. Keep repeating that and breathe."

Tony's eyes got wide. "Oh shit Jon, are… are you in recovery or something? Oh my god, I didn't know. No wonder you spazzed out on me, I'm so sorry."

Jon smiled up at his old friend. "It's ok Tony, I know you didn't know. I should have told you a while back, but I guess I've been a little embarrassed about it."

Tony shook his head. "Brother, nothing to be embarrassed about. I started my recovery after my second wife. 10 years sober now. I can tell you this much, you'll always have these moments, but I promise, the fight will get easier. You have a good mantra, you are better and stronger than this, you're going to beat it, I know you will. Now, anytime you're going through a rough spot and need an extra ear to bend, I'm here for you, day or night. Just give me a call."

Jon smiled and gave a hard nod to his friend. He blew out a breath as he stood tall, yanking at the hem of his jacket as the Captain's authority took over. "Tony, get my shoes. Phlox, fix this damned collar. Tony, double check your pocket, make sure you have the ring. I've kept the man I love waiting long enough. It's time I go marry him."

Phlox and Tony smiled. "Yes Captain!" They exclaimed in unison as they rushed to carry out their orders.

§§§

Trip was a bundle of nerves as he checked himself in the mirror. "Ugh! I knew I shouldn't have waited until the last minute to get my hair trimmed. The ears are uneven, and what the hell was Bethany thinking with all these highlights? She knows I like it minimal, subtle. Ugh! And this damned uniform! Jon knows how much I hate this thing. I wanted to wear a suit, but nooo! He insisted we both wear our dress uniforms! The ring! Where's the ring? I lost the ring!"

"Calm down, Commander. I got the ring, remember?" Malcolm smirked.

Trip nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Best man holds the ring. Yeah. You sure you got it?"

Malcolm pulled the ring from his pocket to assure Trip that it wasn't lost.

"Ok. Vows, where's my PADD? My vows are written on there!"

Malcolm looked shocked. "You don't have it memorized? It's got to be here somewhere."

"I got it memorized… sort of. I just want to keep the PADD close by in case I forget something. I'm sure I brought it with me, help me look for it."

They both started looking through the clothing bag and around the room. Trip got down on his knees, crawling around to look under the couch. "Found it!"

When he got up from the floor, he noticed Malcolm's mouth hanging open. "What?" Trip asked as he looked down and noticed the dirt spots on the knees of his pants. Something obviously spilled on the floor and not cleaned very well. "Oh no! I can't go out there like this! What am I going to do?" Trip panicked as he frantically rubbed at the spots.

"Stop rubbing it, you're making it worse!" Malcolm scolded. "Take your pants off, I can fix this. I need club soda and a hair dryer."

Trip pulled the pants off then started to search the cabinets. "Club soda, club soda. I can't find any club soda and where the hell am I gonna get a hair dryer from?"

"Don't you have one in your bag?"

"No, I don't have one in my bag! Who the hell carries around a hair dryer?"

There was a light knock on the door and Patrick walked in. "Hey little brother. Why the hell ain't you dressed yet?"

Trip snatched the pants from Malcolm to show his brother. "I got something on my pants. Go get mom and tell her I need help. Hurry!"

"Ok, ok. No rush. I came to tell you that Jon's freaking out and your doctor is in there trying to calm him down. The Admiral said he'll give y'all another 30 minutes to get your shit together."

"Jon's freaking out? I should go talk to him."

Pat smirked. "Not in those silk boxers with hearts all over them. Besides, bad luck for the two of you to see each other before the wedding."

"Just go get mom!"

After Pat left to retrieve their mother, Malcolm chuckled at the boxers. "I'm assuming those were for later?"

"Shut up!" Trip snapped.

Pat rushed to his mother. "Trip had an accident with his pants, he needs help."

Mrs Tucker rolled her eyes. "I knew he wouldn't be prepared. Liz, go to the car and get my big bag, then bring it to your brother's room."

Liz started out to get the bag. "Yes momma. Geez. If it's this much hassle, I'm never getting married."

Mrs Tucker and Pat entered the room. "Ok, what did you do to your pants?" Mrs Tucker scolded.

"I got something on the knees. I don't know what it is, but it ain't regular dirt. It won't come off." He handed his pants to his mother to inspect.

"Hey, um… what were you doing on your knees?" Pat eyed Trip and Malcolm.

The vein on the side of Trip's neck popped out. "Are you fucking kidding me? I'm gonna whip your ass saying something like that!"

Trip started towards Pat as Malcolm held him back and Mrs Tucker got between her sons. "Boys! We're not going to have this today! Both of you knock it off before I go get your father!"

Liz came in with the bag, seeing her brothers about to fight and mother yelling. "Can I go get daddy? I'll get him real fast." She grinned in childish excitement that her brothers were about to be punished.

Trip pointed at his little sister. "Leave daddy out of this, you little tattle tell!"

Mrs Tucker huffed. "I swear! Every time we have a get together, the three of you revert back to 5 year olds!" She smacked Pat upside the head. "Apologize to your brother for insinuating such a thing, you know him better than that. He would never cheat on someone, especially on his wedding day!"

"Yeah!" Trip blurted out.

Mrs Tucker smack Trip in the head. "Stop being childish."

"Sorry Trip, I was just joking. Sorry."

Trip looked down. "Yeah me too."

Mrs Tucker nodded. "Now shake on it."

The brothers groaned. "Come on mom, we said we're sorry. Isn't that enough?" Trip whined.

"No. Now shake."

The boys reluctantly shook hands, then started laughing. "You're an asshole, Pat."

"And you know you can't whip me, twirp. So how did you get your pants dirty anyways? Always did have to be the messy one."

Trip shrugged. "Dropped my PADD under the couch. So mom, can you get whatever that is out?"

Mrs Tucker had been picking at the spots. "I think it's cake and ice cream. This entire rug is filthy. Honestly, you'd think Starfleet would get the carpets cleaned once in a while. Lizzie, there's a toothbrush, a small bottle of laundry soap and a hair dryer in the bag, dig them out for me."

The men looked at the carpet. Clean enough as far as they could tell, as they each shrugged at one another.

As Liz got the items from the bag, she smirked at Trip. "Nice undies."

"Leave it alone, kid." Trip grumbled.

Liz laughed as their mother disappeared into the bathroom with the pants. "Ok, but seriously. What's going on with the hair? I told you to let me do it."

Trip huffed. "You'd cut me half bald and give me pink hair if you thought it would be a good joke!"

"No I wouldn't! At least let me fix that crappy trim job around your ears. Seriously. Who did your hair?"

"Bethany."

Liz's jaw dropped. "Cousin Bethany? You know she's a dog groomer… right."

Malcolm busted out laughing. "You let a dog groomer cut your hair, mate? Next you'll be asking Chef to work on your engines!"

Trip shot Malcolm a look before turning to his sister. "You promise not to screw it up."

"I promise. Now sit down in the chair. Pat, grab a towel from the bathroom." Liz said as she got a pair of scissors and a comb from the bag.

Once she was finished, Trip checked himself in the mirror, impressed. "Not bad sis, not bad at all. Thanks."

"Yeah, sorry I can't do anything about the highlights. It really is too bright of a blonde for you. On the upside, it'll grow out in about 6 weeks."

Trip smiled when his mother handed his cleaned and dry pants back to him. "Thanks… all of you. I'd be a complete mess right now if it wasn't for you guys."

Pat gave Trip a light punch on the arm. "That's what family does. Alright little brother, you ready for show time?"

Trip finished tucking his shirt into his pants and straightened his uniform. "Well… let's go get me hitched!"

As they all filed out, Mrs Tucker stopped Trip. Cupping his face, she smiled at him. "You look so handsome today. You know I've always been proud of my children, but nothing makes me more proud than seeing you happy and being with someone you love so much. And I know that Jon loves you just as much, if not more. I'm so glad that the two of you were able to get yourselves back on track again."

Trip gave his mom a soft smile. "I'm glad too. I don't ever plan on letting that man out of my life again." He gave her a tight hug and kiss on the cheek.