Over the coming months, Jesse and Sarah had painstakingly planned their wedding down to the last detail. Although it wouldn't be a large ceremony, they wanted to make it as intimate as possible. The hotel had been reopened and Jesse had kept his promise to Santana to stop bounty hunting. The hotel only a few rooms rentable at the moment, Jesse and Sarah doing the housekeeping, cooking, and other services by themselves. It took them a while, but they eventually save up enough to have the wedding they wanted on the hotel grounds. It was two days before the wedding and Jesse was about to burst with excitement and nerves.
He had asked Genji and Hanzo to be his groomsmen, and the brothers had offered to help set up the wedding area with him. It was two days before the wedding and Jesse had painstakingly made sure that the area around the lone tree in the field was cleaned up and ready. The last of the guests from the hotel had left earlier that morning, freeing up Jesse's schedule to do some more laborious work for the wedding.
"Lil' higher Genj!" Jesse stepped back, cocking his head to the side as Genji raised the string lights to a higher branch. "mmm…." Jesse looked down at his feet and stepped to the side to avoid knocking over a table that he had placed for a special ceremony they would have after the ring exchange. When he was sure that he wouldn't knock it over, he took three large steps back and glanced to each side of the old, large tree. "What'chu think Hanzo?" Jesse asked, glancing over to where Hanzo was placing hay bales in lines under a tent to keep them dry.
"I think they were even twenty minutes ago," Hanzo growled as he adjusted one of the bales to lay neatly beside the one next to it. "And I don't understand why you won't use normal seats."
"It adds that good ol' country flair Han!" Jesse complained, nodding to Genji and waving to tell him to go ahead and tie the lights to the branch. "Sides," He grinned as he jogged over to this truck, vaulting up into the bed of the truck to toss down the next bale so Hanzo could pack it to the tent. "Rosa said she likes it, wouldn't wanna deny her the weddin' she's been dreamin' about since she was a youngin'."
"I suppose," Hanzo grunted as he picked up the bale and moved away, dropping the subject. Jesse tossed the last of the bales of hay to the ground when the sound of a horn drew his attention. He looked up and waved as Ami and Sarah slowed to a stop in the beat-up jeep that they had bought after Jesse had proposed, it still had dried mud caked from the last time Jesse had taken her out riding.
"Howdy darlin'!" Jesse crooned as Sarah stepped out and covered her mouth with her hands. "Looks good don'it?" Jesse jumped over the side of the truck and dusted himself off as he walked closer to the jeep.
"Isn't it bad luck for you two to see one another this close before the wedding?" Ami asked with a chuckle as she climbed out of the driver's side.
"I thought that was just the dress thing?" Jesse froze and covered his eyes overdramatically and turned so his back was to Sarah who laughed, it wasn't until Jesse turned to peek through his fingers at her sniff that he realized she was crying. "Sarah?" He pulled her close and gave her a tight squeeze, "Darlin' is everything ok?"
"Yes, I'm sorry I just," She was laughing through more tears, and Jesse pulled back to watch her wipe the rest away before looking up at him with a wavering smile. "Really emotional. Seeing all the decorations and things…it doesn't feel like a pipe dream anymore." She returned Jesse's squeeze around his waist. "We really are getting married."
"Yes," Jesse laughed and kissed her forehead, catching the over-exaggerated eye roll and 'gag' face that Ami was giving the Shimada brothers under the tent. "Yes, we are. Got any cold feet?"
"I wasn't the one to disappear all those years, I think the question is: do you have cold feet?" She reached up and pinched the end of his nose, gently shaking his head before patting his cheek while he grinned happily scrunching up his face and chuckling when she let go. "We're going up to the house and then out to the store, is there anything you boys want or need?"
"Not that I can think of," Jesse shrugged and turned to the Shimada siblings, "You guys want anything from the store?"
"Headache medication," Hanzo began holding up fingers as he named off items. "Duct tape, some rope."
"Prepping for the bachelor party?" Ami laughed as Jesse mocked Hanzo with a mumble before planting a kiss on Sarah's cheek.
"Nope! No big party in mind," Jesse told Ami as Genji groaned, "Much to Genji's disappointment. Just some cards and some drinks tonight, nothin' to wild."
"That's what I like to hear," Sarah laughed and waved to Genji and Hanzo before tiptoeing and kissing Jesse's cheek. "Later hon."
"Take care darlin', I love you." Jesse leaned down and pressed a quick peck to Sarah's cheek before giving her a quick hug, feeling his heart swell with her 'I love you too' in reply. No matter how many times he heard it, it still felt like it was the first time. "You gals goin' back to the house once yur done shoppin?"
"Yeah, since you boys are staying here, I thought Ami and I could hang out at the house." Sarah told him as she walked back to the Jeep.
"Don't go getting buck wild now." Jesse laughed and then pointed to Ami with a serious look. "I mean it, Ami!"
"Bite me, cowboy!" Ami snickered before throwing up one hand in a wave and getting back into the driver's seat. At the sound of the Jeep roaring back into life, Jesse turned back to the tent and surveyed the area. He clapped his hands as Genji stomped on one of the stakes to the tent to make sure it was sunk securely in the ground.
"Alrighty boys, I think we're done for today!"
"You want to wait to set the dance floor?" Genji asked as the three men walked toward the truck. Jesse nodded.
"Yeah, I trust that it won't rain or nothin, but I don't wanna have to come out here and sweep it every day for dust that the wind might knock up, you know?" He opened up the driver's side and slid in as Hanzo took the passenger seat. Genji jumped into the truck's bed and pecked on the glass for Hanzo to slide the little window open. "I can't thank you enough boys," Jesse told them after he had started the truck and slowly got it into motion, not wanting to ruin the grass or make a mud patch. "Really. Ever since I stopped bounty huntin' the whole worlds been kinda upside down. Sorta don't know what to do with myself."
"Isn't the hotel work enough?" Hanzo grunted, looking out the window.
"Well I mean, yeah, but…" Jesse tried to find the words to describe how he felt about his lifestyle now. He wouldn't really call himself bored, the hotel work kept him hopping before sun up and sometimes well into the night. But there were times when things got still that he found himself getting itchy. He'd pace the house looking for a project to do, something to fix, something to keep his hands busy that didn't involve cleaning Peacekeeper for the third time in the month.
"It's still sort of weird?" Genji asked through the window as they neared the hotel's parking lot.
"Yeah, it's like…well, Hanzo say you gave up archery and decided to…" Jesse waved one of his hands as he spoke, "I dunno. Take up gardening and be a florist. You'd…"
"Are you trying to say you miss the bounty hunting?" Hanzo asked with a raised brow, smacking Jesse's hand, "Both hands on the wheel McCree."
"Yeah I guess so," Jesse shrugged as he replaced his hands at ten and two, "Without the danger, it's like there's something…I dunno missin'."
"Getting through a days work should be enough danger for you McCree." Hanzo chuckled, earning a few laughs from Genji through the window. "It sounds like you need a hobby, something to keep you busy."
"Yeah," Jesse drew the word out, sighing as he pulled into the reserved parking spot in the hotel's parking lot. "Maybe your right. Maybe I should take up like whittling… Maybe get some animals or something."
The Shimada siblings glanced at one another before they burst into hysteric laughter, startling Jesse as he glanced at the both of them before looking back to the field ahead. It wasn't too big of a deal to hear Genji laugh but to see Hanzo busting his gut with laughter, wiping out a tear from the corner of his eye was odd indeed. Despite his demands of 'What? What's so funny damn it?' the brothers refused to answer other than more laughter. It continued until they had all exited the truck and started for the main office, once they had fallen completely silent and when Jesse turned to ask them a question they burst back into laughter, Genji leaning on Hanzo for support as his brother covered his mouth with one of his hands and laughed into it.
"I'm sorry Jesse," Genji apologized when the cowboy's brow furrowed, and his ears began to turn pink in irritation. "I just keep trying to imagine you being a farmer and all the things that could—"
"You mean will," Hanzo corrected with a snort, moving his hand to his eyes as his shoulders shook with more laughter.
"Go wrong." Genji finished as Jesse scoffed and put his hands on his hips.
"Ya'll act like I ain't ever been on a farm before!" Jesse barked as they all took their seats around the square table Jesse had placed in the office for their card games.
"No, I know you have been." Genji chuckled as he removed his mask, his scarred cheeks wet with tears from laughing so hard, he wiped them away as Jesse and Hanzo took their own seats. "But I also remember you getting chased by a bull, screaming at the donkey,"
"The bastard tried to bite me! In the FACE!" Jesse protested as Hanzo groaned and shook his head, a few hard chuckles escaping him as the conversation continued.
"And you kept falling off that horse." Genji finished as Jesse grabbed the deck of cards and began shuffling them.
"I didn't keep fallin' off, it wasn't properly broken. It was bucking me off. I swear I think Gabe and Jack did that shit on purpose." Jesse grumbled at the memory as he began spreading the deck out on the table. "Game's fubar boys."
"Jesse," Hanzo's voice had taken a hard turn and it made the cowboy pause, looking up at his friend as the archer crossed his arms. "Perhaps it was just me, but did Sarah seem ill to you?"
"Ill?" Jesse's hands lowered as he thought back to how Sarah had looked before she had left. "She looked a bit tired, she's been running herself ragged tryin' to get everything ready. We both have, she ain't been sleeping well either, I think she's got a touch of nerves about the wedding."
"You look tired too," Genji noted as Jesse finished spreading the cards around in a pile, motioning for Genji to begin the game because he was the youngest. Jesse shrugged and got to his feet, wandering over to a cabinet where he kept his liquor and glasses.
"Yeah, I guess, had to be up at the crack of dawn to get the guests out at checkout time and the breakfast on the buffet before that." Jesse yawned and stretched before grabbing a few random bottles and walked back to the table. "Gonna feel nice to just relax for a bit." When he sat down at the table he handed each brother a glass and offered them different bottles until they each had a drink in hand and had begun to play.
"So who is invited to the wedding?" Hanzo asked as he tossed down his card and picked up his drink taking the number of sips that the card called for.
"Well, the Overwatch crew ah course, those who can make it or care to come." Jesse picked up a card and tossed it down, "Question master." Jesse grinned as Genji groaned with a smile. "Who do you think will show just Genj?"
"Who do you want to show up?" Genji raised a brow, not wanting to lose so early in the game within a game.
"Is anyone out on any missions?"
"Why don't you call them up and ask, or are you trying to avoid getting in contact with them?"
"This could go on for hours." Hanzo groaned as Genji reached for his card, holding it face down until Jesse's turn was over with.
"What time is Hanzo? Can you tell me?" Jesse smirked at him as Genji poured some more liquor into his glass.
"I'm not falling for that trick cowboy," Hanzo told him flatly, then cursed as Jesse and Genji laughed at his mistake.
~Two days later~
Jesse looked at himself in the mirror. He was dressed in the dark brown vest and white button up shirt that he had picked out for himself and was trying to make his facial hair behave by combing it this way and that until it appeared the way he wanted it to. He smiled, hoping that Sarah would like the way he looked. The thought of seeing her walk down the aisle to meet him at the makeshift alter he had made by hand made his stomach squirm with butterflies. In one of the other rooms of the hotel, she was getting ready with Ami and her girls.
Jesse put away his comb and glanced down at his dark jeans before picking up his hat and placing it on his head. One last look at himself in the mirror before he winked and walked out into the hotel room where Hanzo was helping Genji with his tie. Tosh and Poe were sitting on the bed, Tosh whistled and Poe gave a slow, happy grin when Jesse turned and held out his arms.
"You clean up nice Uncle Jesse!" Tosh laughed as he got to his feet, "Want me to go see how Aunt Sarah is doing?"
"Yeah, go see if they're about ready to get this show on the road." Jesse clapped his hands together and grinned. "I don't wanna rush her but I got a butt-load of butterflies in my gut." This made the others laugh as Tosh made his way for the door, but it opened before he could get to it. Clover was standing in the doorway, dressed in a pastel pink dress and cowboy boots.
"We have a problem," she said to the room as her eyes found Jesse. The men in the room looked up and froze long enough for her to start repeating herself when they unloaded all their questions at once, speaking at the same time.
"What's going on?"
"Is everything okay?"
"What's wrong?"
"Is Rosa alright?" Jesse rushed to the door, making Clover stammer and look over her shoulder to the main building of the hotel, Jesse put his hands on her shoulders and gently moved her to the side before leaving the room in a hurry, taking the steps two at a time until he landed on the ground and sprinted for the building.
"She's ok!" Clover called out, there were more words but Jesse couldn't hear her over the sound of gravel under his boots and the wind battling against his heart for the sound in his ears. When he burst through the main doors of the hotel's lobby he saw Maple and Jubie standing beside the doors to the bathroom. They almost looked scared as they blocked the entrance to the women's bathroom with their bodies.
"Uncle Jesse you can't!" Jubie told him as he ran up close, "She's in her dress and everything, she's fine—she just needs a few minutes!"
Maple nodded, "She just got a bit overwhelmed when she got dressed and got to crying, she thought she might get sick—mom's in there with her taking care of her—she told us to keep you out cause it's bad luck!"
Jesse swallowed hard, he could hear what sounded like vomiting and a groan coming from inside the bathroom. He looked down at the girls with a hard glare but neither young lady was giving in an inch. The bell in the doorway rang as Tosh, Poe, and Clover ran in one after the other.
"We gotta keep Uncle Jesse out!" Jubie shouted as Clover found them by the bathroom. "Come here and make sure he doesn't get in—we're gonna go see if mama needs help."
Tosh and Poe put their hands on Jesse's shoulders and asked him what he had been told as the girls went into the bathroom. Jesse could hear scattered words as the door swung open and a glimpse of Ami in her maid of honor dress by a stall.
Scared.
Vomiting.
Sick.
Jesse's mind was in overdrive. Was this just a stomach bug? Could not getting enough sleep make you throw up? Maybe it was an ear infection? Or was it just plain nerves? Was she scared about the wedding? About marrying him? Did she want to call the whole thing off? Was it too soon? Just like his thoughts, Jesse began pacing the hotel's lobby, swallowing hard as his thoughts turned darker.
What felt like half an hour for Jesse finally passed before Ami appeared in the doorway, holding her hand to her head, pushing back her dyed blue locks as she sighed heavily. When she opened her eyes, she almost looked afraid, Jesse had walked into her line of sight.
"Cowboy, calm down." Ami held up her hands as he came closer, his mouth clamped tightly shut. "I know that look on your face, I've seen it before." She pointed a finger at him as he stopped a foot away from her. "She's fine. She's got a touch of nausea and she got worked up because she was afraid it was going to ruin the ceremony. She started throwing up but she's recovered, she's cleaning herself up and the girls are fixing her hair and makeup."
"You best not lie to me Ami," Jesse warned her, squaring his shoulders as he searched her dark eyes for any hints of secrets.
"I'm not lying to you, Jesse. She got a little woozy, and it got her worked up to the point she got sick. She feels absolutely silly about it now and wants you to go ahead and get everyone ready. Have the guests showed up yet?"
"Genji and Hanzo are seating people now," Jesse told her curtly, not breaking his stare. "Is she sick? Do we need to take her to the docs?"
"Maybe tomorrow, after everything is done and over with. For now, just give her a little space to get ready and don't bug her about it. You drill her with endless questions and freak out about her and she's going to get worked up again and we don't want her throwing up at the altar, now do we?" Jesse waited in silence, he could hear the voices of the girls and laughter coming through the door, making him look around Ami to the door. "See? She's already laughing about it, now go." Ami gently pushed on Jesse's arm toward the door. "I'll get her to you as soon as she's ready." Jesse looked down at her, his anger and fear slowly calming as the laughter got louder and some music started to play. He gave her an apologetic look which she returned with a half-hearted smirk and waved him toward the door before slipping into the bathroom herself.
Jesse shuffled his feet as he stood by the altar, he still had some worries about Sarah despite the several minutes that had passed since he had left the main lobby of the hotel. The few guests who had been able to attend had been seated on the bales of hay, with quilts draped across the tops to soften the rough straw. He glanced around at a few of the faces and smiled, giving a nod in return to those who made eye contact with him. He felt a nudge.
Looking over his shoulder Genji was standing dressed similar to Jesse with his mask removed and his green hair lightly styled, the ninja winked at him and leaned in close so he could be heard over the country music playing from the speaker system to fill the silence as they waited for the horse and carriage that they had rented to bring Sarah, Ami and the girls.
"Nervous?"
"A bit." Jesse turned to reply, "Rosa got a bit sick, I'm hopin' she's not coming down sick—I've got a special trip planned for our honeymoon."
"Oh no," Genji blinked and pulled back at the news, catching Hanzo's attention. The elder Shimada tapped his brother on his shoulder, making him lean back to hear what he was being asked. Jesse turned back to face in the proper direction when he caught sight of the carriage that was coming down the hill. Jesse motioned to Pep, who had asked to help, to pause the music. She scrambled with the remote before pausing it and setting it up for the next song as the carriage pulled to a stop.
It was a simple, small covered carriage painted green with large tan wheels pulled by two dark brown Percheron stallions. The door opened from the inside and Jubie was the first to step down, adjusting her pastel dress and holding a small bouquet of wildflowers that had been picked from the field earlier that day. She smiled shyly to her boots as she walked down the aisle, her dark cheeks flushing with a blush as more people turned to look at her. Then came Maple, who had a bit more confidence and met Jesse's glance with an excited toothy grin. Jesse felt his heartstrings pull when he saw Clover, still looking like Sarah had when they were younger, she gave Jesse a small timid wave as she neared the altar and went to stand with her sisters.
When Ami climbed out from the carriage, Pep started up the song that Jesse had picked out for Sarah to walk down the aisle to. He thought the lyrics fit, and they had timed it so the whole song wouldn't play but just enough to show how much it fit their lives. When Ami stepped to the side, holding two bouquets she grinned to Jesse and then winked at Genji who Jesse could hear laugh behind him as a flash of white fabric caught Jesse's breath in his throat.
Hey pretty girl, won't you look my way?
Love's in the air tonight
You can bet you make this old boys day
Hey pretty girl, won't you look my way?
She had only a little trouble getting out of the carriage, making sure that her dress didn't snag or get wrapped up around her boots. The dress she had chosen made Jesse's heart flutter and he had to remind himself that she was supposed to walk to him, not the other way around. The dress hung off her shoulders, and fell with grace to gently kiss the ground by her brown cowboy boots, Jesse couldn't make out the finer details but he could tell that the dress was covered in intricate lace and flattered her form.
Hey pretty girl, can I have this dance?
And the next one after that
Gonna make your mind there's a real good chance
Hey pretty girl, can I have this dance?
Then she looked up from the ground and found Jesse by the altar and he felt like his chest could crack with excitement and nerves. Ami handed her the larger of the two bouquets and they linked arms before walking down the aisle at an easy pace, the guests getting to their feet and Jesse thought he imagined it but he thought he saw more than one wet eye as they passed.
Hey pretty girl, it feels so right
Just like it's meant to be
All wrapped up in my arms so tight
Hey pretty girl, it feels so right
When they reached the end of the aisle, they paused and Jesse had to fight himself to not reach out and try to hug Sarah and kiss her then and there. Her brown hair was finely styled in a way that Jesse could only thank Jubie for, it framed Sarah's face softly and gave her an elegant look.
Life's a lonely, winding ride
Better have the right one by your side
And happiness don't drag its feet
And time moves faster than you think
Pep stopped the music with the remote and sat down as the officiant stepped forward and clear his throat, looking a tad caught off guard to see Ami standing with her arm linked around Sarah's. The women glanced at each other and gave soft chuckles before the officiant looked to Jesse for confirmation and Jesse waved him to continue as normal.
"May I ask the parents of the Bride and Groom to please rise?" The man asked, glancing around to the guests, but no one rose.
"Uh," Jesse leaned forward and gave him an apologetic smile, "Our parents are dead. All of 'em. Sorry."
"Oh, oh dear." The officiant blanched and coughed into his fist, "I'm so terribly sorry. Uh, who gives this blessing for the marriage?" He asked the crowd to which Ami and her children responded with enthusiasm. 'We do!' And much to Jesse's surprise he heard Hanzo and Genji say the same from behind him, he turned and fought back tears and a quivering lip as Genji clapped him on the shoulder and Hanzo gave a genuine smile. "Alright then," The officiant smiled as Ami held out Sarah's hand for Jesse to take but she didn't let go immediately.
"Take care of her outlaw, and make it work." Ami told him with a small smile, Jesse returned the smile and nodded.
"I will."
Ami let go of Sarah's hand and went to stand to the side as Sarah moved to stand across from Jesse in front of the officiant. Her green eyes were pink, and Jesse remembered her sick spell in the bathroom, although her makeup had been reapplied to perfection, he could see she looked a little pale and tired around her eyes. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as the officiant started up the ceremony.
"Ladies and Gentlemen were are gathered today to celebrate the love between Jesse and Sarah, as they have decided to become one in name and spirit. Sarah and Jesse spoke to another officiant who unfortunately couldn't be here today, but he left me with two very important sheets of paper." He dug into his pocket and pulled out two pieces of folded paper, "Sarah and Jesse were asked to write down what was something that they loved most about each other and their hopes for the future." He opened the papers before holding them both up. "Would you each like to each read aloud what you wrote, or let the other read silently for yourselves?"
"I want you to hear this." Jesse told her with a shy glance. He looked down at the paper and noticed that his flesh hand was shaking a bit as he read out loud. "Rosa, you know the kind of love that you have no explanation for? A lot'ah people can list the reasons why they fell in love with someone. They can pinpoint the time they fell in love, a single moment." He looked up at her and grinned, hoping she remembered, "I can't really pinpoint just one moment, or one thing I love most about you.
Before you laughed at my horrible joke, my night was goin' awful. But one look at you and things got better and the more you were around, the more I came to feel like I'd known you all my life and realize I was already in love with you." He looked back down at the paper, seeing tears in her green eyes almost made him want to stop and hug her but if he did—then she would break down and cry more and it'd be a bit before they both calmed down enough to continue. "I didn't realize just how head over heels I was until others pointed it out, even as a youngin' I knew you were one of the most important people in my life and I didn't want to let you go.
We got a love that pays no mind to time. Minutes, hours, years or seconds, it's all useless to us. When you're around time stops and it's like it's always been this way. And I never want it to end."
Jesse folded the paper and put it in his pants pocket, feeling his heart pound in his chest as Sarah covered her mouth and tried hard not to sob. Jesse reached out and put his hands on her bare shoulders and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead gently as she tried to compose herself. When Jesse tried to wipe away her tears and smacked his chest lightly with one hand.
"I said the same thing in my paper!" She laughed, making Jesse snort before everyone else too began to laugh. "But I do have something else to tell you." She looked over her shoulder to Ami and the girls who all enthusiastically nodded before she turned to Jesse and held up her bouquet for him to see. "Can you see anything?"
Jesse blinked, he had only given the flower arrangement a passing glance to know that the flowers were live and had been picked from the field, but as he looked he couldn't see anything to obvious that would stick out to him. He took the flowers from her and began turning them around in his hands when something curled caught his attention. Near the center of the flowers was a curled white piece of paper. Jesse pulled it out and found it tied with a piece of burlap string in a tiny bow. He handed the flowers back to Sarah and glanced as Genji and Hanzo leaned forward to see what it was, he laughed a little—wondering if it was some sort of joke or prank Sarah and Ami had put together. Half hoping it wasn't a naughty picture of her with the Shimada brothers looking so closely over his shoulders as he pulled off the string, Jesse paused.
"Is this something they can see?" Jesse asked with a raised brow, which earned a silent nod from Sarah and a nervous bite of her bottom lip. "Is it a joke?" Jesse asked as he pulled the paper through the string until the end and kept it rolled in his hand. "Am I gonna be embarrassed?"
"Just open it Thief." Sarah sighed and shook her head, glancing around to the guests before locking eyes with him. "Go on!" she pushed the paper toward him and began fidgeting nervously with her hands.
Jesse shifted his feet and chuckled nervously as he unrolled the paper, not looking directly at it until it was pulled tight between his hands. When he was sure it was open, he heard two things, a shocked gasp from his left—Genji—and some sort of Japanese he was sure was either a curse word or a sign of shock from his right—Hanzo. Jesse looked down to see the paper was actually holding the surprise inside, taped to the paper were two photos. One photo was in black with white static that made the outline of a tiny blob that resembled an infant. Jesse felt his knees go weak as his eyes found the second photo, a hand holding up three different pregnancy tests that read 'pregnant 6+'
The date on the ultrasound photo read a week before the wedding.
Jesse's mouth felt dry and his vision began to tunnel on him as he looked up to see Sarah watching him carefully, she said something, but Jesse didn't register it. Instead he staggered and nearly fell, having to be caught and steadied by the Shimada brothers until they were sure he wasn't going to collapse to the floor.
"You're…" Jesse looked to Sarah when the brothers let go of him, feeling like the entire earth's spin had been set to high and was in the process of speeding up. "You're pregnant?"
"Yes." Sarah's voice was strained. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you right off, I wanted to be sure and make sure there was no mistake and that everything was okay before I told you. I didn't want you to worry over this too much." She reached out for his hand, "So I took a few tests to make sure and when they all came back positive, I went to the doctor and had the ultrasound done."
"I'm…gonna be a daddy." Jesse mumbled to himself, then again, a little more loudly, "I'm gonna be a daddy," then a thought occurred to him, but his voice was still soft as a whisper. "You're gonna be a mommy!" He tilted his head back and gave a yell that startled more than a few guests before grabbing Sarah and spinning her around, when he was done, he looked to the guests who were watching with mild concern when he yelled. "We're havin' a baby!"
The guests whooped and yelled, clapping as congratulations were shouted among shrieks of happiness. Jesse let Sarah go so she could hug Ami and each of the kids in turn as Jesse turned to Hanzo and Genji. Hanzo slapped Jesse on the shoulder and gave him a proud smile while Genji practically jumped up and down in place like an excited child.
"Ya'll know you're gonna be Uncles to my youngin' right? You're gonna come see 'em?" Jesse asked as he put a hand on each mans shoulder.
"Of course!" Genji told him, putting a hand on Jesse's shoulder, "Congratulations Jesse!"
"Indeed." Hanzo nodded when they looked at him, "Does she know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"
"Oh!" Jesse realized that he hadn't bothered to ask, and a million questions and concerns began popping up in his mind like birds taking flight. A cough brought his attention to reality though as the officiant stood awkwardly nearby. "Right! Sorry!" Jesse laughed and clapped his hands, turning back to the guests. "Sorry 'bout that folks—I know it's all real excitin' and all but let's not forget—" He held out his hand to Genji who produced a ring from his pocket before Jesse grabbed Sarah by the waist and pulled her close to him. "We're gettin' hitched here!"
Ami stepped closer and handed Sarah her ring, and with only mild shaking the two put the bands in the proper place before Jesse planted a deep, long, passionate kiss on Sarah's lips.
At the reception, they skipped a lot of the formalities. No one introduced them as Mr. and Mrs. They didn't have a walk into the crowd. After the dinner was finished and the food cleared away, people had began to mill about the patio and sway to the music. Tosh stood on the fountain's wall and whistled as loud as he could manage and then told everyone it was time for the couples first dance.
Sarah had picked out this song, it was just an instrumental song country in style and soft. When Jesse looked perplexed she laughed and told him it was because she knew he wanted to talk, and any lyrics would have just made it tough to hear—so she had opted for something pretty but wordless so they could talk without getting distracted or drowned out.
As they swayed, pressed together Jesse felt a sense of ease that he hadn't felt in a long time settle around him. He smiled and felt Sarah adjust herself against him so she fit under his chin comfortably.
"So, any word on if it's a boy or a girl?" Jesse asked, feeling his heart skip and stutter.
"They think it's a girl," she told him from under his chin, "But we won't know for a few more weeks, I've got an appointment next week—you're going to come with me right? It's another ultrasound."
"Of course I am!" Jesse laughed, "But shouldn't we start thinkin' of some names just in case?"
"Do you have any in mind Thief?"
"How about…Waylon if it's a boy and….Jolene if it's a girl?"
"No!" Sarah laughed, "Swing and a miss cowboy."
"Alright, how about Beau if it's a boy and Caroline if it's a girl?" Jesse laughed, picking out name at random as they came to him.
"Strike two, one more and it's my turn." Sarah joked as Jesse turned them around and changed the speed of their dance just a little. Jesse fell silent, giving it some proper thought, "Thinking that hard are you? This should be good." Sarah teased as she pulled back to look up at him with a happy smile.
"What about…" Jesse felt a pang in his heart as a name came to mind. "What about…Belle…for a girl?"
"Belle?" Sarah stopped swaying and Jesse held her close, staring off into space with his eyes at floor level. "That's pretty. What would be a good middle name?"
"What if Belle was her middle name?" Jesse blinked himself back to reality, "We could call her Rosa-Belle. Belle for short."
"Rosa-Belle McCree." Sarah murmured, nodding slowly before grinning up at him. "I love it!"