"Let Forever Mean Forever" by Blue October

I was nervous but I wasn't quite sure why. Murphy and I have been together for so long now that getting married shouldn't even be a reason to be nervous. But I am nervous about it. I tugged nervously at the veil on my head. Wearing a wedding dress seemed silly. Obviously the traditional meanings for the white dress and the veil are out the window. Mom had insisted, however.

"You look about ready to jump out a window," Eunice said, pulling me into a hug.

"I think it's the spectacle of all of it. It's nerve wracking," I admitted with a slight laugh. "I was picturing something a bit different."

"A little smaller?"

"A lot smaller."

"Well, the ceremony should be fairly quick. And then the reception should be easier."

"I hope so. That's going to be a little weird, though." The reception is also a bit of a going away party. The dig is finally moving on to another spot about an hour away from our house. It was going to be weird not being able to see them every day through the field. But it also gave me an excuse to make a career change that I've wanted to make for a while. Technical papers and publishing finds rather than just digging things out and cleaning them. So I'll still be working with Adrienne and her crew, just not for them as much.

"Yeah, it's gonna be weird saying goodbye to them."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, I think I'm going to stick around with Connor. He mentioned moving us in with Noah to help out around there and keep the farm running."

"That's a big step," I grinned. "I didn't think you had it in you, Bloom." Eunice laughed, wrinkling her nose as she did so.

"Don't gloat very much, McCarthy, it doesn't suit you."

"Of course it does, I live with Murphy. I get to gloat all the time."

"Mom," Kelly rolled her eyes as she walked into the room. "We're all out here waiting and you're just picking on poor Da when he can't defend himself. At least do it while he's around so we all can enjoy it." She pulled me in for a hug. "You look beautiful."

"So do you," I kissed her forehead. She held my hands.

"You ready?"

"I am."

"Good, I'll go get Uncle Tyler."

"She's grown up so much," Eunice murmured as Kelly walked away. I tried not to cry thinking about it. She and Declan will be adults soon. I hope that they find their way in the world. I hope it's easier for them than it was for us.

"You okay, Cec?" Tyler asked, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about Kelly and Declan being adults in a few years."

He laughed and kissed the side of my head. "You're oddly emotional today."

"Shut up, I'm allowed on some days," I laughed and dabbed my eyes with my palms.

"I'll go tell 'em ya'll are ready," Eunice grinned before leaving the room. I wiggled my engagement ring on my right hand nervously.

"You're hating this."

"I'm hating this. Why did they want such a big thing?"

"Murphy's hating it, too. He said the same thing to Connor."

"We're always on the same page now."

"You were only a few pages off before."

I gave him a face. "Tyler, we were a whole trilogy away from each other before."

"Eh, you got there in the end, didn't you?"

"Yeah, we did. Thank god."

We heard some music start playing. "Well, that's our cue. You ready?"

"Ready enough," I nodded as we linked arms. Tyler walked me over to the doors that led into the main part of the Church. Mom was there waiting. She linked her other arm with mine so that they could both walk me down the aisle.

"You look so beautiful," Mom said, wiping a tear away. And then the wedding march began and we began walking down the aisle. It was agonizingly slow and I felt like I was going to trip on the dress at any second. Murphy was also distractingly handsome, which did not help me focus on not tripping. Tyler, however, was sturdy enough to keep me from falling all over myself. They managed to get me to the front of the church to give me away to Murphy without letting me fall flat on my face. That was a feat in and of itself, I guess.

Murphy also looked nervous but a bit less so when he took my hands in his. It also helped me be less nervous. Being up on stage in front of people singing is one thing but this feels entirely different. It's like I'm on display in a fish tank. Murphy seemed to be able to tell because he squeezed my hands and smiled nervously. It made me feel better.

After the ceremony, I was finally able to change out of the wedding dress. Murphy had already changed out of his suit and ended up having to help me out of my dress. "How the hell did ye even get into this thing?"

I laughed, trying to hold still as he unlaced the corset. "Kelly liked it the best. She has a better fashion sense than I do."

"She has a better fashion sense than all of us," Murphy agreed. Finally I got out of the dress and into some comfortable clothes. "Ye ready?"

"I'm starving."

"Ye're always starving."

When we got to the reception at the dig site, people were already in the middle of partying. They were drinking and mingling. The camp looked pretty empty. All of the equipment and office tents had been moved to the new site already. And, after the weekend, all of the personal tents will be gone, too. Along with all of the people. That made me a little sad, but I was happy to have one more night with them all.

"Congratulations!" Adrienne yelled, bringing half of a bottle of champagne over with her. "Sorry, we didn't wait, but you guys have been pretty much married since forever so-"

"It's fine," I laughed, stealing the bottle and drinking some. I immediately made a face. "Why the fuck is there tequila in here?"

"I was too lazy to get a glass and I was already using the bottle," she shrugged. "But there are glasses. And whiskey and a bunch of other things. I dunno, Smecker was in charge. There's a lot."

"Smecker is a lot," Murphy chuckled under his breath.

"I heard that," Smecker put his arms around our shoulders. "But I will let it go as my wedding gift to you. And whatever Tyler has picked out that I signed my name on. Now, let's get you two fed and properly drunk. It's a party, afterall."

And then I don't really remember much after that. Murphy and I did drink and eat a lot. And we woke up in our bed the next morning with all of the kids accounted for. Klaus and Romeo were asleep in the living room on the couch together, oblivious to the world. For once, Murphy and I were the first two awake. Usually we're the last two awake on the weekend.

Murphy started making us some coffee while I made some toast. We sat at the table eating and drinking coffee in silence. It was nice. And quiet. We don't get very much time to ourselves with all of the kids and the constant chaos that just seems to be how life works. Not that I would trade our current lives for anything. But it would be nice to get some more time alone together. Maybe we can take a trip abroad in a year or two. I guess we can do anything at this point. The only thing that matters is that we're together. For better or worse.