Usually Jen appreciated the company of adults away from work. She was so consumed with being a mum in her personal time that she didn't often get a chance to have adult company other than Nick outside of the police station. But at this exact moment, she would have given anything for the excuse of motherhood to escape the crowd of women she was with.

Hope was being herself, pouting over all the things that weren't exactly how she wanted. Her mother, Eloise, was doing her best to placate the bride. Danielle, Matron of Honor and Hope's sister, was keeping out of the line of fire and running around to get all the last minute details organized for the wedding. The ceremony started at four and it was just gone one. Jen had been at Eloise's house since nine.

At first it was really nice. Eloise had cooked a big pancake breakfast for everyone. Jen had already eaten breakfast at home but she had a pancake anyway. Nick used his mother's recipe, so these were the same as the ones they got at home on a regular Saturday.

Kim, the eldest Buchanan sister and the last member of the bridal party, was keeping the mimosas flowing. She was also telling anyone who would listen—which was really just Jennifer—all about her new boyfriend in Sydney. Every explicit detail. Jen wanted to fling herself into the sun.

"You have no idea what it's like being with a man like that. Sexually, I've always preferred women. Men are fun and exciting, but only a woman really knows and understands a woman's body. But Chris is just…he's incredible," Kim gushed.

It took everything that Jen had to keep from telling Kim that her own brother was an absolute god in bed, but Jen thankfully had a better sense of decorum than her sister-in-law. Jen was an only child, but she was rather sure that no sister wants to hear about her brother's cock.

Each member of the bridal party was treated to a manicure and professional hair styling and makeup from the beauty team that Eloise had hired. Jen wasn't the most overly feminine of women, being a cop, but she did enjoy the pampering. And it let her escape from Kim for a while.

Danielle was getting her nails done as Jen had her hair styled and the two got to have a quiet moment together. Jen knew that Danielle was Nick's favorite of his sisters, though he loved them all, and Danielle was certainly Jen's favorite of her in-laws.

"Mum is spending an absolute fortune on this. Hope's always been a bit extravagant, and now Mum's just catering to it all," Danielle complained quietly.

"Well Duncan's paying for most of it, isn't he? He's always been quite flash," Jen replied, knowing of her friend's own flair for the extravagant himself.

"Yeah, but Mum is getting her mother of the bride fix, too. I mean, you and Nick got married without telling anyone and then handled your anniversary wedding thing on your own. And then Sam and I eloped in Tasmania last year. This is the first proper wedding Mum's gotten to be a part of," Danielle pointed out.

Jen nodded. "I guess that's true. I didn't want my mother anywhere near my wedding, the first one or the celebratory one. But Nick said I had to invite her."

Danielle gave a small laugh at that. "Yeah, he's like that. But you had Bernice, too."

"We didn't really become close till I was pregnant, and Nick and I were already married two years at that point. But yeah, at the big wedding, she was everything for me."

At that point, the manicurist moved Danielle along. She stood up and smiled conspiratorially at Jen. "I'm just glad Sam and I avoided all this."

Jen laughed but was then scolded by the hairdresser for moving around too much.

As the day wore on, Hope was in better and better spirits. She and Kim were getting a bit drunk, which was probably the cause of her good mood. Eloise and Danielle were extremely busy. And Jen wandered around, trying to help and not ruin her wet nails. She was beyond happy when Bernice finally arrived.

"Alright, one daughter has been delivered to her mummy. And I've been invited back to be with the boys, so I'll leave you all to it," Commander Waverly announced.

Ella came rushing in. "Gram!" she called out.

Eloise immediately stopped what she was doing and hurried over to see her granddaughter. "Hello there, sweetpea! Come help your Gram in the kitchen, and then we can get you all dolled up to match your mother."

Jen just stood by as her daughter completely ignored her and went off to the kitchen. "Well, I suppose that's a nice preview of her teenaged years," she grumbled.

Bernice had lingered for just a moment to say hello to Jennifer. "Oh you know how children are with their grandmothers. Eloise is probably going to fill her with sweets. How's everything going for you?"

"Kim and Hope are just this side of sloshed. Danielle is doing everything and thanking the lord that she never bothered with a proper wedding. And I'm just waiting for the time to pass so we can get going. My nails are wet and I'm under strict instruction to wait until they're dry before I do anything. And no one is allowed to put on their dresses until two-thirty when we go to the church to do all the photographs," Jen told her.

"Well, when I left the boys, I heard Matt shouting for someone to get the shots and Nick scolding him for being an idiot around Cody. Duncan told me I was welcome to join them, and I think Nick could use the reinforcement."

Jen sighed. "Yeah, I suppose that's probably where you should be. It's just not fair," she pouted.

Bernice laughed. "None of that now. Just pay attention to the sloppy sisters and watch over Ella. That'll keep you plenty busy." For good measure, Bernice gave Jen a small hug and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you later at the ceremony, love."

While the bridal party was in chaos, the groomsmen were having a party of their own. Nick had cleaned the house after Bernice picked up the children and took his suit and everything over to Duncan's posh flat. A flat that he'd be selling after the honeymoon so that he and Hope could move into a proper house. She'd told him she wanted the white picket fence sort of life, and Dunny was happy to agree. At his age, he knew it was time to settle down. Besides, he'd never really been one for the party scene anyway. He was glad for Hope to give it up, too.

"How's the bridegroom? Cold feet? Your fiancée is quite a tough pill to swallow," Nick teased as he entered the flat.

Duncan was all smiles. "I only let you say stuff like that because she's your sister and I know you love her." He patted Nick on the back and ushered him inside. "But seriously, mate, I can't tell you how ready I am for today. I've been waiting three years for this."

"Three years?"

"I met Hope at your wedding. The five-year anniversary one. And it was like a lightning bolt, I swear. Like I didn't know there was a hole till she filled it."

Nick smiled. "I know the feeling." And he did. He'd felt the same way when he'd met Jennifer. Of course, they'd met when they were undercover with SIS and they'd had to do a job. Getting to pretend they were married was a bonus. But deep down, even though they were working and focused on the task at hand, he was immediately blown over by the perfect force of nature that was Jennifer Mapplethorpe. And apparently Duncan Freeman found that in Hope Buchanan.

"Anyway, I'm afraid I don't have much for us to do till three when we get the limo to the church. I wanted to play poker or something, but I don't fancy losing money on my wedding day. We've got some photos to do there before the ceremony, but till then, we can just watch the footie. When's Cody coming over?" Duncan asked.

Another thing to make Nick smile. Duncan and Hope had been sure to include the twins in the ceremony. Ella was the Flower Girl and Cody was the Ring Bearer. But Nick, as Best Man, was going to be in charge of the rings until the moment Cody had to take them down the aisle. They weren't going to trust a six-year-old with too much responsibility. But Duncan adored Cody and Ella both, though Cody was absolutely obsessed with his Uncle Dunny. Nick could not have been more pleased to have his two favorite guys get along so well. He told Duncan, "Bernice is bringing him over a little later. Jen had to go to my mum's house early, and we thought the day would go smoother without the kids underfoot too much."

"Alright, fair. Sam and Matt should be here soon, too," Dunny replied.

Sam, Danielle's husband, arrived nearly right when Duncan finished speaking. Nick had been appalled, at first, when Danielle called and told him she'd gone on holiday to Tasmania with her boyfriend and they decided to get married. Right there. Without telling anyone. Though, to be fair, he and Jen had gotten married in secret without telling anyone, too. But luckily, Danielle had extremely good taste and she'd married a really great guy. Sam Riker was a veterinarian in Melbourne and enjoyed sport and drink, and he was devoted to Danielle. Nick had gotten along with him instantly. And he'd even ingratiated himself with the family so much over the last year that Duncan had asked him to be a groomsman. The three couples—Nick and Jen, Sam and Danielle, Duncan and Hope—went out together about once a month when police work didn't keep them away and the children could stay with their grandmother or with Auntie Bernice.

"Where's the party?" Sam asked with a bright smile on his handsome face.

"We were gonna watch the footie till it's time to get dressed and go," Nick replied.

"Oh thank god!" Sam replied with a laugh. "We've got a whole day to get through, I thought I was gonna have to fake drinking to keep Duncan happy."

Bernice arrived with the children shortly thereafter. Ella gave her uncles hugs and greeted her father before she had to leave. Cody immediately hurled himself at Duncan, and the pair of them were off in their own little world.

That was when Matt arrived with a bottle of whiskey, calling for shot glasses. Nick could have killed him. Hopefully Bernice would come back and rescue him. She was the only person Matt Ryan was really afraid of, now that he'd been promoted to Superintendent of the Arson squad. She was the only one of their family friends who outranked him.

Nick looked around at all the men in his life and smiled. He loved them, but Christ, this was going to be a long day.