AN: The scenes just following this one are resisting, so I decided to split the post and publish this half now.

Mina managed not to giggle at the exaggerated way the two ended their rather prolonged kiss and watched them approach the family group with curiosity. The other man was marginally shorter than uncle Richard and much slimmer, but in some weird, inexplicable way they matched. Mina could have ascribed it to the military style of clothing they shared, but there was something more, something that made her think of...

Yep, just like Mom and Dad.

There was that feeling, that quiet suggestion that if uncle Richard reached out, the other man would catch his hand immediately.

"Fine, Chuck. This is me, saying hello to the family. Family, this is Evan. Evan, this is my family. Well, mostly it's Elizabeth's family, so William's, so, by a far-fetched extension... And I think I'm babbling, but, man, you are getting married!" he pulled Dad into a tight hug and thumped him on the shoulder.
"Definitely" Dad rolled his eyes and patted uncle Richard's back, before waving to his partner. "Hi, Evan. Good to see you again. I'm glad you could get some time off for this."

Mum smiled widely and reached out to shake Evan's hand.

"Ah, I couldn't miss such an important event" the man smiled back. "Richard seemed pretty intense about the whole thing."

Ooh, Welsh. That's interesting.

"Quite correctly" Dad was still smiling, but gathered Mom to himself. "Thirteen years of waiting is quite enough, so we're going to make it as memorable as possible."

Mom groaned.

"Just don't try to stress too much about the memorable part, or something will happen that we will be unable to forget, but for all the wrong reasons."

"Very well, Miss Bennet," Dad offered her his arm. "Inside then? Or are we waiting for anyone else?"

Mom looked around, but obviously couldn't see much over the heads of everyone.

"Let's go inside," she agreed. "Whoever else is going to come, they can join us there."

Mina watched as uncle Richard took over carrying of the harp box from aunt Georgiana and shot a glance at Rose.

"Do you have them?"

Her sister rolled her eyes and patted her side.

"Yeah, kept them in my pocket. Don't worry. They won't have to get married with, like, curtain rings. Or a ring with a skull."

####

Dad knocked on their door after all the little children had been put to bed and the three of them were quietly watching "The Corpse Bride" on the tablet.

"Rose? Can you step outside for a moment?"

Mina paused the movie and they watched with Jackie as Rose was handed a small box and nodded several times to Dad's quiet explanations. She then stepped to where her jacket was hanging and slipped the box into the pocket.

"Rings," she said succinctly, before throwing herself on the bed and joining them. "Go back a few seconds and let's watch this last scene again."

"But..."

"Dad told me not to take them out and not to play with them, no matter what. Just leave them alone."

"I just..."

Rose looked at her with reproach.

"Seriously?"

She shrugged, moved the marker half a minute back and started the movie again.

Still, she wished she could have had a look at the rings.

####

The corridor in front of the "chambers" was bland and empty, devoid of all decorations, but at least it was lined with chairs and benches. The only important feature was the multitude of doors on both sides. Mina sighed, checking her mobile.

There was already a small delay. Probably the previous pair had a lot of people or something.

Lucy - Miss Yang - appeared out of nowhere by aunt Georgiana's side, very smart in her black skirt and short jacket and was now being introduced to all the other aunts, who were eyeing her with curiosity. Uncle Richard and Evan were reading some announcement in one of the glass-covered displays. Aunt Georgiana tapped the cover of her harp lightly and said something to Miss Yang, smiling widely.

Mina leaned on Rose's shoulder and felt her sister's responding slump in her direction.

Mrs Reynolds arrived with Brian and most of the estate workers and their wives and there were several people who looked like Dad's employees from the company, too.

She looked down at the music sheet she was clutching in her hands and sighed.

Mom, aunt Georgiana and Miss Yang would be able to appreciate if she did good work. She hoped she would - three weeks of practising felt woefully short suddenly. Why did their parents have to get married on Mom's birthday? Why couldn't they have waited until Christmas?

She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut.

Barely the day before, aunt Georgiana had seemed to sure of them, so certain they were going to do well. Now, Mina felt shivers coming down her spine when she even thought about opening her mouth in front of everyone in the room. She had never had a problem singing on a competition or at school or anywhere. Why now?

Because now it's for Mom and Dad. If you mess it up, everyone is going to remember that forever and ever. And you and aunt Georgiana are going to be the only ones performing...

The chair on her other side squeaked when someone sat in it.

"Don't panic, kid. You will do fine."

She blinked her eyes open and looked suspiciously at uncle Richard.

"I'm serious. Georgiana was telling me last week how well you were doing, practising with her. I..." he looked away. "I wanted to know how you were doing, but didn't want to bother you. I know I messed up and I want to make up for it, if I can. So I asked her to... to just tell me if you were OK and she said you were spending all your time preparing for this. And, you know, if she says you'll do fine, you will."

She licked her suddenly dry lips and cracked a small smile.

"Thanks."

"I..." he leaned closer, lowering his voice in a slightly conspiratorial manner "...I used to sing, at school. Well, I still can sing, but don't have that many occasions to do it. We don't have a band or anything like that on the base," he chewed his lip for a moment. "I have to admit, sometimes I miss it."

"What..." Mina felt her voice catch. "What kind of stuff did you sing?"

He snorted and grinned widely.

"Musicals. I mean it, pick anything that a tenor could sing, I've tried it."

"But you haven't had much time to like, practise properly, recently?"

"Well, not much. Maybe, if I could rearrange my schedule, find a voice coach, but... Would take me weeks and weeks to get up to speed."

Mina sat up and leaned on the wall with a small smile, watching him watch her.

"So... would you be willing to admit..." she felt a sudden, overwhelming rush of boldness "...that - at least when it comes to singing! - anything you can to, I can do better?"

Rose turned to them, but Mina never took her eyes off uncle Richard, watching him expectantly.

"What?"

"I can do anything better than you," she declared, crossing her arms in front of her.

"No, you can't," he responded finally, lips twitching into a smile.

"Yes, I can," she smiled widely.

"No, you can't," he stressed.

"Yes, I can!"

"Mina..."

"No, you can't," there was a shade of laughter in his voice and it cracked on the last word as he tried to finally sing it.

She giggled, unable to hold her countenance anymore.

"What the hell..."

"I will wash your mouth with soap, miss Rose," uncle Richard pointed a finger at her sister. "Now, I think we can continue this at a later date, Mina, when I'm better prepared for a little sing-off. Here," he handed her a water bottle. "You may need it. I need to get back to Evan before your aunts smother him."

He rose with a smirk, leaving the sisters staring at him quietly.

"What was that?" Rose hissed at her.

"Not sure, but I am going to follow up on this," Mina opened the water bottle and took a swig. "But he does have a nice voice, to be sure."

"But this..."

"A song. 'Anything you can do'. I will show you at home."

"Ah," Rose calmed down. "It sounded... weird."

"He said he used to sing show tunes, so..." Mina shrugged. "I couldn't think about anything else that would fit."

"Warn me next time, I thought you were picking up an argument with him!"

#

The previous wedding party had finally left and one attendant asked for their parents and the witnesses to step into the office, while another invited the guests inside. Aunt Jane and uncle Charles, as the official witnesses, left their kids in aunt Kitty's care and entered the small room while everyone else flooded the main chamber. Uncle Richard carried the harp and the music sheet stand to the front of the room, letting aunt Georgiana set it up to her comfort. Mina stood next to her, checking for the very last time if they had the songs in the same order and consulting about the moments where they were supposed to be ready.

Everyone else filled in the room and suddenly there were so many people, it felt as if the whole town had come. She took a panicked breath and looked around, searching for familiar faces.

Uncle Richard was greeting an older couple who had arrived with barely a minute to spare, and a few others - including a man eerily similar to her godfather - were nodding at each other in welcome.

Slowly, slowly, with the help of the usher, uncle Richard and - to Mina's slight surprise - Evan, people got seated - aunt Kitty and uncle Ted ordering all the children into two rows of chairs, Mrs Reynolds being escorted by Brian to the row just behind them and finally everyone freeing the aisle for the main actors of the event to walk through. Aunt Mary placed herself by the first row, just beside the harp and uncle Richard was finally ended up standing opposite her, looking at the back of the room expectantly.

"Jane and Charles asked for the privilege of being the ones to herd Lizzy and Will inside. Jane wants to be the one to close the door, to make sure they don't try to run at the last second," aunt Mary shared in an undertone. "We are the ones to catch them if they try for the windows."

Rose stood by uncle Richard, so pale that Mina could have probably counted all the freckles on her twin's nose - if she wasn't feeling a bit faint herself.

Not even looking down, uncle Richard pulled Rose closer and hugged her shoulders, saying something Mina couldn't hear, but what made Rose relax visibly.

"He really is sorry," aunt Georgiana said suddenly. "He knows he messed up, so..."

"Yes, yes. I will give him a chance" Mina rolled her eyes. "But maybe we can not talk about it right now?" she inhaled with some difficulty, feeling her chest constrict as stage fright gripped her tightly.

She didn't even notice the official-looking lady who magically took a place in the middle of the front of the room, just between uncle Richard and aunt Mary, until she was standing there, but suddenly the talks quieted and everyone turned to look back.

The door opened and their parents finally walked in, hand in hand. Mom in her dark red dress and elaborate plaited updo and Dad in his black suit with all the little details in the colour of Mom's dress, both looking as if they were ready to jump at any smallest sound but, at the same time, smiling like loons at each other.

She looked at aunt Georgiana, who nodded and reached towards the strings.

They had had an extensive discussion about the version they were going to go with - first considering the option of just singing the text from the movie, skipping Timon's parlando, but then deciding that the lyrics didn't really fit the situation, they finally went with sir Elton John's solo version, simplifying it a bit.

Mom looked at them with wide eyes as aunt Georgiana went through the intro, but everyone present started turning towards them when Mina joined her.

There's a calm surrender to the rush of day

When the heat of the rolling world can be turned away

An enchanted moment and it sees me through

It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you

Mom and Dad were now standing by the chairs prepared for them and Mina took a breath to begin the chorus and felt she didn't have enough air. Aunt Georgiana calmly played through the section again, waiting for Mina to join her.

She had to calm down. She had to. Her eyes searched for Rose, but her twin was turned to their parents. She looked up, past aunt Mary and caught uncle Richard's eye. He nodded slowly, to the rhythm.

And breathed with her, setting a pattern.

And again, nodding at her.

Now.

She inhaled again. Waited for a the right moment in the melody to arrive.

And sang.

Her voice almost wavered for a moment, but she kept it steady until the end of the fourth line, taking just enough air in just the right moments, following uncle Richard's directions.

Oh.

She looked away, lightheaded, but saw his small smile.

The Registrar - the official-looking lady - was explaining why they were there - as if they didn't know! - and saying they were allowed to sing and play music as arranged - who arranged it? - take photos and film the event, only making sure nobody came between her and the Bride and Groom, and, possibly, not use too much flash and none in her direction. The tall man so similar to uncle Richard already had a very big, sleek-looking camera out and was taking the photos of the guests and everything he could, and on the other side of the room, Evan was doing the same.

"Very well. Let's proceed then," the lady looked at Mom and Dad and then at the people in the room. "To satisfy the requirements of law, please state your full names for the record. Elizabeth?"

Mom grinned at Dad and enunciated carefully.

"Elizabeth Rosalinde Bennet."

"Thank you. William?"

"William Francis Adam Darcy."

"Very well, thank you. You can sit now."

Aunt Georgiana nodded and touched the strings again, going through what they converted into the introduction to the next song - making the whole part sang in the movie by "the father" instrumental. Mina anyway sang it for herself, in her thoughts, to keep in rhythm and to come in perfectly with the chorus.

Look, look, look to the rainbow

Follow it over through hill and stream

Look, look, look to the rainbow

Follow the fellow who follows the dream

Mom was trying not to smile too much, but failing miserably.

The next part was what they had changed to fit the whole situation better.

So she bundled her heart

And she roamed the world free

To the east with the lark

To the west with the sea

And she searched all the Earth

And she scanned all the skies

But she found it at last

In her own true love's eyes

Aunt Georgiana joined her for the second chorus and then again, the last lines were only played, not sung.

The registrar waited for the music to cease and asked Mom and Dad to stand up. "I am required now to ask if any person present knows of any lawful impediment to this marriage. If so, they should declare it now."

After a brief - thankfully - moment of silence, she smiled and continued. There was something being said about the union of two people, friendship and honour, in a rather complicated language that Mina had simply tuned out, to better observe her parents, still holding their hands and smiling at each other from time to time.

And, across from her, uncle Richard, who, instead of paying attention to the proceedings, was watching Evan.

Ah-ha.

"I do solemnly declare..."

"I do solemnly declare," repeated Dad in his deep voice "that I know not of any lawful impediment why I, William Francis Adam Darcy, may not be joined in matrimony to Elizabeth Rosalinde Bennet."

Mom's clear, bright voice rose over the general murmur of the world outside the walls as she repeated her own declaration, her eyes never leaving Dad's face.

"Thank you. The next part is where you two exchange what is called 'Contracting Words'. Please, repeat after me now..."

Dad took a longer breath and they turned to face each other, as if there was nobody else but them in that room.

"I call upon these persons here present to witness that I, William, do take thee Elizabeth, to be my lawful wedded wife."

Mina knew she was not supposed to cry, because crying would mean she would not be able to sing, but there were tears prickling corners of her eyes and, as she tried to stifle the inelegant desire to clear her suddenly tight throat, she saw Rose doing exactly the same thing.

####

Mina and aunt Georgiana were perfect. Rose stood in her place, watching them play and sing, uncle Richard's warm hand on her shoulder anchoring her in the here and now.

Mom looked like an autumn fairy queen, all in that deep red and with something sparkling on her neck - the heels added two inches, which wasn't inconsequential in Mom's case - and the hairdo was absolutely fantastic.

And Dad was looking at her as if he hadn't seen anything more interesting in his life.

Well, he probably hadn't, actually.

A cold hand of terror closed around her brain when the official lady asked if anyone would have some reason to protest against that marriage.

Why? Why do they even ask this stuff?!

Because Rose was quite sure that any second aunt Catherine would jump out of some corner, screaming about Anne and her being the only possible Mrs Darcy, or Anne would somehow manage to... to just mess this all up.

Argh!

Rose straightened her shoulders and listened attentively to the registrar, who was now talking about how marriage was a permanent and serious institution - as if, lady, dream on... but Rose really hoped it would be true in their case. And then there were the declarations and the contracting words and Mom was finally saying "I call upon these persons here present to witness that I, Elizabeth, do take thee, William, to be my lawful wedded husband," and Rose felt she could finally breathe in relief. Because it was done!

And then there was a little hush and she felt uncle Richard squeezing her shoulder.

"The rings, kid," he whispered and, in panic, Rose reached into her pocket and drew out the box she had been fingering for most of the last hour.

She nodded at aunt Georgiana, who started on "I do, I do" - Mina would not singing this one, they finally decided - and then flipped the box open to hand it to Dad.

Or no.

The box didn't open.

She breathed slowly and tried again.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Mina cringing a bit, but aunt Georgiana was steadily playing and probably nobody noticed.

Not yet.

Hopefully.

Argh.

"This side," uncle Richard turned the box over in her hands and patted her shoulder again.

And the bloody stupid thing opened, of course.

She saw her sister's shoulders sag as tension left her suddenly.

Rose felt a bit lightheaded suddenly as she handed the box - two rings inside, all as expected - to Dad.

He squeezed her hand briefly and smiled, rolling his eyes, just a bit.

All was fine. It was going to be OK.

"Elizabeth," Dad sounded serious, despite his smile. "Please take this ring as a sign of my love, my respect and my undying trust in you. I promise to always be there for you, to listen and to remember. You have my heart and you are my future."

He picked the smaller of the rings...

Together with the rolls of material that filled the box.

The ring was stuck in the velvet-covered stuffing of the box.

Aunt Georgiana was steadily playing the same section of the song for the fourth time.

The door opened and closed, the sound barely audible.

Someone coughed.

"William?" the registrar was looking at Dad with a small smile.

"I'm afraid..." Dad ground his teeth. "This thing is stuck."

Mom made a choked little sound.

"Both of them, in fact," and Dad turned the box insert upside down. Indeed, both rings were still merrily gleaming on the red velvet. "I..."

Aunt Jane reached between them and snatched the rings away.

"Give this here, Will Darcy."

"Janey!"

As soon as Rose saw the pink handle in aunt Jane's hand, she knew what it was. A quick look at her sister's face confirmed she was not the only one.

Aunt Georgiana was playing "I do, I do" steadily, probably for the eight time now.

The guests were starting to whisper.

Aunt Jane stabbed the box insert with the blade of her multitool and did something.

And the ring gave in. And sprang up in a high, glittering arc.

Evading everyone's grasping hands, it bounced off the floor with a merry *plink* *plink* *plink* and rolled under the last row of chairs, out of sight.

####

Notes: "Look to the rainbow" begins with:

On the day she was born, said her father, said he
"I've an elegant legacy waiting for ye
Tis the song for your lips and a rhyme for your heart
To sing it whenever the world falls apart"

Which would not fit at all.

Then the verse is sung in first person and Mina is singing the text changed to third person.

And, of course, "Can you feel the love tonight" has two versions, one from the movie (with Timon's speaking parts) and the single one.

####

Note #2: Evan is one of the Welsh forms of John; and in Welsh the pet name for John is Ianto. A special reference for fans of Doctor Who ;)