Disclaimer : I still don't own Zoey101 .

Finding Lisa's dress had brightened Quinn's mood considerably as they moved on down another bridal boutique to peruse their selection. The shop was less upper class which made the soon to be bride much more comfortable as she studied a corset style dress with yards and yards of train . The corset appealed to her but the low cut of the bodice turned her away from it . She let out a deep sigh as she moved down to a row of satin gowns .

' Quinn,' Lola held up a sparkling gown with a grin ,' Try this on , it's that mermaid style you totally rocked at our junior prom . You looked totally hot in it '

Quinn stared at it with trepidation .' I don't know if I want mermaidy for my wedding dress , Lo '

Lola chuckled as she steered her towards a dressing room .' Well, you wont know for sure unless you try it on . It wont hurt for you to give it a try , Quinn '

' I suppose that is true ' agreed a reluctant Quinn ,' But then you need to start looking for maid of honor dresses . Now that we found Lisa's it'd be wonderful if we were able to get yours and Zoey's while we're here '

Lola gave her a friendly shove .' Yeah, yeah , we hear you '

' It's only the third shop and the first day we are actually looking at dresses ,' contributed Zoey , pulling out a orange sherbet colored mid length dress with tiny straps that criss crossed in the back and a pencil skirt ,' we don't have to find everything today, Quinn -oh this is cute '

She turned the dress towards her friends .' Isn't this super cute ? '

Lisa , feeling ashamed of her earlier behavior , stepped back to admire the cut of the dress that Zoey had found . The color would look amazing against the honey blonde while the style was somehow contemporary with a retro feel at the same time .

' It is cute ,' agreed Lisa , cheerfully ,' it's different too . '

' I'm going to go see if it fits ,' declared Zoey, holding onto it by the hanger ,' can you control yourself , Lisa , if I leave you and Nicole out here by yourselves together ? '

A quick glance showed them that Nicole was studying stiletto heels with intensity that she once used in studying for those straight A's though Zoey figured those shoes were way better than the grade at this point in their lives .

Lisa managed a thin smile .' I admit that I was rude and rash . I probably shouldn't have been nasty to her but I know when a woman is being predatory about my man , Zo '

Zoey let out a heavy sigh .' Well I think your wrong. Might I also remind you, Nicole didn't hit on Michael or any of the guys when she came down for my wedding .'

' Yes and she was as sweet as molasses too ,' Lisa folded her arms across her chest ,' Look Zo, I know what I know . You don't have to worry about me - I'll drop it because I don't want to take the shine off of Quinn's day anymore than I already have this morning '

' Thanks ' Zoey gave her hand an absent pat as she disappeared into a dressing room as Quinn stepped out a vision in the rhinestone studded ivory gown with a halter neckline and the swish of the mermaid skirt brushing her Mary Janes as she walked towards the three way mirror to examine herself . She tugged at the ties around her neck, pushed her curls off of her shoulders , and knew immediately this wasn't the one .

' You look lovely '

Quinn's hands went to her hips in a familiar pose .' Thanks , Lola , but this isn't for me . I don't need a reminder of prom , memorable night that it was , and I think my taste has changed enough that I don't need all the sparkle '

A pout formed across Lola's glossed lips .' You love sparkles '

Quinn relented .' I want lace, Lola '

' The woman wants lace , Lola ,' called out Lisa, putting aside her worries and jealousy to give some attention to her friends ,' I say we see if we can find some dresses that just scream Quinn Pensky '

Nicole , feeling left out, replaced the shoe as she rejoined them .' Quinn, you really do look incredible . What happened at prom ? '

Quinn, Lola, and Lisa all exchanged wary looks thinking back to that fateful night when Quinn and Logan had been more or less held captive in room 148 by a stalker obsessed with the scientist that also happened to believe he was the half brother of Logan .

It had been terrifying !

Bart Emerson was still locked up tight in prison , thank goodness , but other than it being the first time Quinn and Logan had confessed their love for one another , it wasn't something that she liked to look back on . It had been unnerving to say the least .

' Logan told me that he was in love with me for the first time ' expressed Quinn, softly .

If the wedding dress would have been turquoise green it would have been her old prom dress - you would think designers would be more creative , really .

Nicole made a face as if not quite believing them .' Hmm my junior prom I wore a pale pink strapless dress and I went with this cutie that was the running back on the football team . It was fun '

Lola fiddled with Quinn's hair for different effects . ' You could braid your hair '

' I thought about maybe having it half up, half down with a little braid in it '

' That'd be romantic looking '

Nicole pasted a bright smile on her face trying to connect with them .' So , Quinn, I see you've outgrown most of your weirdness and finding rashes attractive unless Logan has some you haven't mentioned .'

Judging by the quick flare of hurt flashing across the brides face, Nicole realized her attempt at lightening the mood had gone the wrong direction and now Lola was shooting her the stink eye . Great ! She didn't need Lola on her case now either .

' Well, I think I am more quirky than weird ,' managed Quinn, coolly ,' I admit I was bedazzled by Mark in the oddest of ways back then but I was 13 , Nicole . As I've said before falling in love with Logan Reese just sort of snuck up on me and shook my heart '

She sighed, wistfully .' It certainly has nothing to do with silly rashes '

' I was just teasing '

' Sure you were , Nicole ,' added Zoey, stepping out in the sherbet colored dress with a little swirl ,' the girls have forgotten how awful you are at humor '

Nicole nodded, grateful to her old friend .' Things always go right over my noggin.'

' Well, Quinn, what do you think of this one ? I know it isn't as fluid as Lisa's dress but it has a b it of funky merged with like the retro of the skirt and I could add a little tuck at the waist '

Quinn studied the fashionista with a critical gaze as it was nothing at all like Lisa's dress but the criss cross straps were cute, the color popped on Zoey, and it too looked as if it were made strictly for her . It had to be a sign .

' You look amazing, Zo ,' admitted Quinn , tapping a finger against her lip ,' it isn't exactly what I was thinking for you but I'm not stuck on the one idea either . Heck, I might as well go with the various hues of orange and use my green as accents . '

Lola gave her a little nudge .' Is that Quinn speak for you like Zoey's dress or is a thumbs down?'

' Yes, I love the dress ,' answered Quinn , lifting up her skirt so she could climb down the step ,' it suits you, Zo. Do I dare ask how much it is ? '

Lisa lifted the tag on the side of Zoey's shoulder .' A bit more than mine, Quinn , it's one hundred thirty dollars with fifteen percent off '

Zoey winced even as she fingered the delicate fabric .' I can look at other dresses, Quinn, or you know what, I could just pay for it myself '

Lola rolled her eyes in exasperation .' Don't do it '

Quinn rounded on her, eyes annoyed behind her frames of her glasses .' Absolutely not ! I didn't let Lisa pay for her dress and I am not about to let you buy this one, Zoey Matthews ! You girls are doing me a huge favor being my maids of honor and I am paying for your dresses… end of it '

Lola held up her hands .' Not arguing with you, Quinn '

' Chase and I aren't dirt poor , Quinn, I can afford to help with this '

' You and Chase are newlyweds with a costly apartment in Paris ,' countered always logical Quinn,' and I can assure you that Logan isn't about to let the guys pay for their tuxedoes either . Do you really want to stand here and argue with me about this ? '

' Not really ,' Zoey conceded defeat, ' I'll go change '

' So will I ,' declared Quinn, nodding at her best friend ,' Lola, after you help me , find some dresses, try them on , please . It'd be luck if we found a dress for you here …too '

Lola took in the expanse of the shop and rows and rows of colorful dresses wondering if something sleek and shiny was awaiting her . Too bad Quinn was adamant on the no sparkly and going sort of boho vintage for them - she wanted to shine .

' Can we revisit strapless ? '

' Only if you're the one getting married ,' teased Quinn ,' come on, Lola, behave . I'm not making you girls wear a gown with a hoop skirt or anything , I just want it to be right for my vision '

' Vince wouldn't dare pop the question to me ! We have sort of a semi plan and neither of us are remotely there yet ,' stated Lola , placing a light hand on her chest before pre-panic kicked in for her ,' why would you bring that up, Quinn ? '

Lisa and Quinn laughed slightly . ' Focus , Lola '

' I can be focused ,' argued Lola as she followed her best friend in the back ,' my best friend is marrying a jerk who thinks the earth revolves around her ! '

Quinn elbowed her .' Lola, don't start on Logan, please '

' It's no fun if I don't razz the jerk , Quinn,' added Lola with a wide grin ,' so does my dress have to be in the orang-ish family ? Something abstract and wild could be cool or I could be the only one wearing green '

Quinn pinned her with a knowing look ,' Please , Lola, humor me '

Of course, Lola was only too happy to follow Quinn's visions for her big day .

Hollywood

Detective David Vega hated the miniute of paperwork which is why he was sorting and filing the contents of his latest case at a snails pace and on the weekend . It was his least favorite part of the job but it had to be done . He nursed his second cup of cold coffee as his cell phone pinged reminding him of yet another text from his daughter .

He really needed to encourage his youngest daughter to get a job or take away the credit card his wife had given Tori . He highly doubted she needed another pair of designer jeans and two hundred dollars was highway robbery .

What was wrong with a good , old pair of thirty dollar Levis ?

Annoyed , David ignored the message deciding the conversation could wait until he got home from work when his desk phone shrilled . He closed the file even as he answered the phone, ' Vega here '

On the other end of the telephone , the officer related the incident that occurred in a rushed tone to the detective , trying to remain professional yet knowing his lateness in calling in the incident would reflect badly on his career .

' We were in the process of moving two of the prisoners to the Correctional Facility down in Monterey , Sir, when they created a disturbance and escaped ,' he continued, wiping the sweat off of his brow,' the guard and I managed to recapture Gowen . No civilians were injured on the PCH but I am afraid while we were apprehending Gowen ,Bart Emerson got away . We have an APB out and our men are canvassing the area '

David cursed under his breath , thinking of the case of Bart Emerson some years back, the young man had been stalking and terrorizing young women at the boarding school, Pacific Coast Academy . Before it was all said and done the sick son of a bitch had raped and murdered then taken a young couple hostage on the night of the prom and only with some quick thinking had they knocked him out before David had arrested him .

This wasn't good, not at all .

' Canvas the area ,' informed David, his jaw set ,' Get someone out to PCA to talk with Dean Rivers about this and put a couple guards at the school . Keep it out of the press until I make a few calls ….we have to find Emerson . He's psychotic and dangerous '

As he hung up the telephone , David was already scrolling through his old notebook until he came upon the number he was looking for , already dreading making the call .

Malcolm Reese needed to know that his son had escaped from prison .

Damn, this was a hell of a way to start his workday .

**************************WB**********************************

Quinn had decided that she was over thinking finding her perfect wedding dress today so instead focused on finding the ultimate dress for Lola which made her feel much more relaxed . She had changed back into her regular clothes , they held onto Zoey's dress until it was time to pay, and she lingered in the shop as Lola prepared to model a half a dozen dresses in hope of finding the one .

Leave it to Lola to be the difficult one , of course, but that was one of the reasons that she loved her best friend . Things were never dull with Lola around .

Lisa sidled up beside her .' Hey , I'm sorry I've been such a bitch this morning '

Quinn raised a brow .' Did I miss something ? '

' Only me calling Nicole out in that first ritzy dress shop we went too ,' admitted Lisa , playing with the beaded bracelet on her wrist ,' I was mean and horrible so I apologize for that , Quinn . This isn't suppose to be about my irrational jealousy ..'

Quinn chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip .' I am sure you had your reasons , Lisa ,' says an understanding Quinn in muted tone ,' I didn't even know you had words with Nicole so it's alright . You feel that strongly that she is out to steal Michael, then I really think that you and Michael should sit down and talk about it .'

' I know but that might be easier said than actually done ' hedged Lisa, on a leery sigh .

Michael had laughed at the idea earlier when she had suggested his old chum was making goo goo eyes at him !

' Okay , don't hate me ,' announced Lola, making a dramatic entrance ,' don't you just love how sexy this dress is on me ? '

Lola came out looking gloriously hot in a bright orange satin gown with a high slit up one stately leg and a keyhole top along the bodice hinting at the cleavage as she struck a model pose flipping her long dark hair over her shoulder .

' Isn't this so Red Carpet ? '

' Oh Lola , no '

' Well, you most certainly look hot but not for a wedding '

' Oh pooh, you girls are no fun ,' pouted Lola , lifting up the skirt ,' I should look unique anyway since I am technically Quinn's first made of honor '

Zoey handed her a different dress .' Here , try this on instead and don't you dare mention the red carpet thing to Logan . He doesn't need you giving him ideas '

' Yes, please don't,' mused Quinn , more to herself ,' Logan has his own ideas without any help . I am afraid he would love the idea of our aisle runner being red even though it doesn't go along with our theme '

' I thought most men don't really care about all the wedding trappings ,' contributed Nicole , conversationally ,' I mean, Chase was awfully agreeable . Wasn't he , Zo ? '

' Chase was very agreeable on most everything I wanted ,' recalled Zoey, fondly ,' He didn't care one whit about flowers or table arrangements but he did put his foot down on the ice sculpture and in he end , the suits he and the guys wore .'

' Naturally Logan wants me to have my dream wedding but he's been quite vocal on contributing his own thoughts as well ,' muttered Quinn, smiling down on the diamond winking on her finger ,' I think some of it may be in part to all the previous weddings that Malcolm had prior to marrying Julia . Logan is different than his father .'

Malcolm and Logan were closer now and had been since the last couple years , they had more or less worked through their father /son issues , and Logan had also grown and matured changing the dynamics between them .

Not to mention the whole Bart Emerson situation had forced them to talk about important things beyond money and the spotlight . It had killed Logan to discover that his father had cheated on his mom with Bart's mother though the older man reassured Logan that Bart was not his son . He was psychotic and it had all been lies .

Quinn shuddered , slightly . ' I honestly think I am more frightened of seeing his guest list than I am anything else. I swear my sweetie knows everybody here '

' Just put your foot down, Quinn,' declared Zoey, ' that is what I would do .'

' Oh my God , isn't this kick butt ? ' Lola twirled out in the lightest dress the barely there peach color made of delicate lace with a simple silk bodice with thin spaghetti straps that slid into a handkerchief hem of lace ,' if you don't love this on me, Quinn, I am so going to kill you ! '

Quinn let out a small cry of delight upon seeing how beautiful Lola looked and the style was just right . Simple , lacy, and kind of funky to counter the fluidity and vintagey that made up Lisa and Zoey's dresses . She wasn't a weepy woman but the scientist felt the pin prick of tears beginning to well up in her eyes .

' You look amazing ,' Quinn rushed to hug Lola tight ,' This is so your dress and I don't care if I have to put it on my charge card because it is your maid of honor dress '

Zoey blew on her nails then high fived Lisa .' Didn't I say it was perfect '

' Leave it to the designer ,' joked Lisa , good naturally ,' maybe you should tell Zoey what kind of gown you envision for your wedding, Quinn, and let her draw it .'

' That couldn't hurt ' decided Quinn , chewing anxiously on her bottom lip ,' why don't we go get some lunch and talk about it while you all help me figure out how I can tell Julia that I didn't find a thing at that snooty shop she sent me too '

*************************************WB********************************

It had been sheer dumb luck that allowed Bart to escape the mayhem into the crowd of passerby in the middle of the busy intersection , he'd been diligently working himself free of the handcuffs until he finally freed himself of them , bloodying his wrists in the process, but it was a small price to pay . He'd wandered through alleys and the small shops on the corner and it had been easy enough to steal a faded pair of jeans and a flannel shirt , another convenience store he had nabbed a pair of scissors and some hair color enabling him to change his appearance . If he kept his head own and traveled by the way of the beach, he would eventually wind his way to the lovely town that was Santa Barbara . There were enough lazy surfers hitting the waves that it would be like taking candy from a baby to help himself to their belongings and some cash .

He didn't have a full plan yet but staying low to the ground , keep away from the cops was his first goal , but that stupid cop assigned to him and Gowen had been more concerned about keeping tabs on the two bit thug than on him which meant Bart had a decent lead on getting away from them .

As Bart formulated a plan , he knew one thing , it was summer which meant that his brother would be back from college and more than likely with his lovely Quinn and it was high time he saw his brother again .

As well as sweet Quinn who owed him dearly and would pay for her misdeeds.

Bart dragged a hand through his shorn blonde hair with a chortle as he kept on walking , he stole a glance across the road as he whistled the haunting notes of a familiar song called Ladykiller evoking past memories of his days at PCA.

With a rose in his hand

And a heart full of lies

Gonna shatter your heart

Tear your world apart .

A family reunion is what he needed and wouldn't Logan just be surprised ?

**************************************WB****************************

The women swept back into the Reese house arms laden with packages and garment bags from a successful shopping day , they chattered a mile a minute debating on open toed high heels or simple comfy ballet flats as ever patient was only to eager to take care of their purchases for them and putting them again . Mrs. Julia has decreed that the extra guest bedroom on the second floor would be ideal as a bridal suite as it were to be .

The men had moved upstairs and were involved in watching recordings of the football games that Vince had played in and were happily reconnecting about their past squirmishes together playing for PCA . Michael was too busy with his classes on production and technical aspects behind a camera and wasn't good enough for his college team while Chase had never been a jock in the first place unless you counted his prowess on the tennis court then he was a champ . These days between his classes on writing , literature , working on the small newspaper and his job as a waiter, sports seemed like a thing of the past to this married fellow so it was nice to hang and watch on screen Vince kick some butt on the field .

Logan , former jock in every sense of the word, cheered the loudest at the tackle going on on the screen , slapping his best buds hand . God, he missed football and surfing .

Film school didn't leave him much time for participating in sports and he did miss it .

' We'll have to get a game up, dudes ,' declared Logan ,' me and Vince against Michael and Chase - we'll kick your sorry ass '

' Oh no you wont, Reese , I still got more muscle than you have in your scrawny butt '

' Well, isn't this familiar ,' Quinn slid onto Logan's lap, brushing her lips over his in a long kiss ,' Logan, please try not to bruise a bone or bloody your nose for our wedding '

Logan drew her closer .' Quinn, you wound me ! Vince and I can beat these wusses any day in some touch football '

Quinn laughed ,' Be that as it may please don't kick each others butts too badly , I would like you all too look as handsome as ever for our wedding pictures '

This caused an uproar of manly man protests from the rest of the men as their women joined them on the sofas with Zoey cuddling up next to Chase as Lisa wrapped herself around Michael while Lola hugged Vince's neck from behind as they all joined in a ritual that spoke of togetherness and of family that they clearly were .

They shared something together and with sudden clarity , Nicole suddenly realized that she didn't belong with them anymore .

She wasn't a part of their little group .