A/N: This is the second to last chapter of this story, so it's almost over, although there is a sequel in the works as we speak. So leave me a little love in the form of a review, and hope you enjoy the chapter. :)
"You don't think we should be traditional?"
"Fuck tradition," Chris told her. "I had to spend over a month apart from you anyways, there's no way in hell I'm doing that for even one more night…until, you know, I have to go on the road or something, then I'll be forced to, but that's not what the point is right now. I don't believe in that superstition."
"That's very brave of you," she told him as she snuggled into his side.
"I'm a brave kind of guy."
"Oh really?" she teased.
"Hey, I stayed with you for six years and proposed to you a countless number of times and I never once left, I think that's pretty brave. I mean, the easy way out of that situation would've been to simply leave and find another girl, and it wouldn't have been hard, I'm a pretty damn good catch. But I stuck it out with you."
She laughed, "Well thank you for the concession. I'd hate for you to think I was the easy way out."
"You? Easy? That'll never happen," Chris told her, turning his head to kiss her forehead. "So are you nervous about tomorrow? I mean, you were the one holding out on this whole marriage thing, and tomorrow is the big day. Are you nervous for it?"
"Nope, it's like you said," she told him. "We've pretty much been married for the past six years, so this is just a walk in the park compared to that. It's just one day where we happen to get more dressed up and put rings on each other's fingers."
"You make it sound so blasé."
"In a way, it is. It doesn't really change anything other than laying claim to one another. I mean, yes, you get to call me your wife, which is what I'm suspecting you've been wanting all along. You just wanted to be able to tell people I was your wife so that guys wouldn't look at me like hungry wolves anymore."
"Yeah, you got me," he said, sounding bummed out. "I was sick and tired of having guys see no ring on your finger and just assume you were free to hit on. I mean, seriously, you were never on the market and--"
"Well, I was before I met you," she pointed out.
He narrowed his eyes, "That was a long time ago, and a lot has changed since then. We were two…crazy people, I think is the delicate way to put that. But we've settled down in our parental stages. I like to think that Finn has settled us down."
"Settled us down to what? Slightly less crazy?" she kidded.
"Maybe in your case," he joked back as he pulled her closer. "Have I ever properly thanked you for him?"
"No, but I picked up on it sometime over the past four-and-a-half years," she told him. "I'm just sorry I didn't recognize that you really wanted me, we could've had this day a lot sooner. We could've been married a lot sooner."
"It's not a big deal," Chris said. "Nobody can say that we jumped into this commitment. And who cares if we weren't married before? Those small-minded idiots your parents call friends? I've never been impressed with them to begin with. We did things in our own time, and at our own pace. If it wasn't meant to be before, so be it, it's meant to be now and we should just embrace that."
"I love when you get all deep," she said, leaning up to kiss him. "You are just so adorable when you get all angry like this."
Chris let her kiss him as she settled her body slightly on top of his. "Mmm, do you think we should be doing this the night before our wedding? Shouldn't we be waiting it out until tomorrow night?"
"The only way I'm stopping is if Finny comes in here right now and considering he's all nice and settled in his hockey bed, and there are no monsters to be heard of, and he's all exhausted from the rehearsal dinner and everyone coming to visit, I don't think I'm going to be interrupted."
"Oh, so that's what you think?"
"It's what I think," she confirmed as she moved over so she was now fully on top of him. "Besides, it's my last night as an unmarried woman, I've got to take advantage of sleeping with a hot guy while I can."
"Come here you," Chris growled as he kissed her deeper, letting her settle against his body. He didn't care about much this evening as he was getting married the next day. He was getting married the next day, it still didn't fully register in his head, but it was really happening. Tomorrow Stephanie was going to be his wife, and he couldn't be happier.
Their engagement had been short; a month and a half to plan a wedding, but it was enough time. Neither one of them had wanted to wait too long; they had been waiting long enough already. They didn't need any more time, they didn't need some phony-baloney wedding classes, or anything like that to make sure they were compatible and that marriage was for them, they were practically married as it was, they just needed to make it official.
It wasn't going to be an opulent affair, but it was definitely going to be upscale, her parents wouldn't have it any other way. It was going to be on an estate they had rented out for both the wedding and the reception. It wasn't going to be fancy, but fancy enough to garner attention from the rich, Connecticut upper-crust. Stephanie and Chris couldn't care less about that, it wasn't about impressing people; it was simply about the two of them and Finnegan. They were the only three that mattered, Finnegan most of all. It was probably the biggest day for him.
When Chris awoke the next morning, he found that Stephanie was not in bed, and when he sat up, it appeared that she wasn't in the room. He went back to lying down for a minute, taking in the day at hand. He heard a crunching noise and reached behind his head to find a now slightly crumpled up note under his head. He held it up in front of his face to read it.
Unlike some people who can just throw on a tux, I have a lot of work to do to get ready for today. Hope I didn't wear you out too much last night, I'd hate for you to be so exhausted today that you didn't show up for our wedding. But I know that I've worn you out in the past, remember the first time we slept together? I don't think I've ever seen you sleep as much as you did the next morning, and you told me you'd never had a match that had worked you quite so hard. Well, when I say I'm good, I'm good.
Anyways, I got up early this morning because I've got things to do before you shackle me to your ankle later today. So I guess I'll see you at the end of the aisle? Maybe, if you decide to show up. Word of warning though, if you do leave me at the altar, kiss Finny goodbye…just kidding. Speaking of Finny, he's your responsibility for the day and make sure that he eats something right before the wedding so he doesn't get hungry right in the middle of it, and a nap might be good, just in case. I don't know how long the reception is going to be tonight, but you know how he likes to be tucked in and I don't see how we're going to do that if we're at a reception, so to cut down on the crankiness, I think that a nap would be good. So let him take a nap this afternoon, and then maybe a yogurt to tide him over. You know what to do, but I'm just letting you know…I'm rambling right? I guess I am just a little nervous. Not to marry you, don't think you can hold this over my head as I sit here writing to you, but just that everything will go as planned…whatever, who gives a shit as long as I end up married to you in the end. If the ice sculptures melt, I don't really give a damn. Anyways, love you, and I'll see you later.
Stephanie soon-to-be Irvine, but who'll always be a McMahon
Chris laughed at her rambling note as he laid it back down on the bed and got up. It was time to start his day. He pulled on some boxers and headed downstairs. He heard voices in the kitchen and walked in to see his dad eating breakfast with Finnegan and he smiled and went straight for the coffee pot, pouring himself a steaming cup of coffee.
"Well good morning," Ted said. "Sleep well?"
"Sorry I'm up so late."
"Yes, Stephanie was up and out the door hours ago," Ted said, glancing at the clock. "And Finn here has been waiting for you to get up, haven't you, Finn?"
"We're getting married today, Daddy," Finn said matter-of-factly as he crunched on his toast. "We're going to marry Mommy."
"Yeah, we are," he said, walking over to the table and kissing his son's head before sitting down. "Are you excited to see me marry Mommy?"
"Mommy said I can have all the cake I want!" Finnegan exclaimed.
"Oh, so Mommy's master plan is to get you so hopped up on sugar that you keep Grandpa up all night, that's a great plan," Chris laughed, but Finnegan frowned a little bit. "What's up Finn?"
"Mommy said that I have to spend the night with Grandpa, why?"
"Why not?"
"Where are you and Mommy going?" he asked.
"Mommy and I are going to a hotel and then tomorrow we're going to Hawaii."
"I'm going too?" he asked with wide eyes.
"Do you really think we could go anywhere without you? Aren't you part of this family?" he asked.
"I am! I am!" he told him.
"Of course you're going with us to Hawaii," Chris said, "We just wouldn't have any fun without you."
Instead of a traditional honeymoon, Chris and Stephanie just decided to take a week off and go on a family vacation. They didn't need a honeymoon; they'd had one of those the entire first year they were together, that was just a year-long honeymoon of spontaneity and great sex. This time around, Stephanie really didn't want to leave Finnegan for a week, not because she didn't trust anyone to watch him, but because she couldn't bear to spend a week apart from him; it was just too long for her. So he was going to get shipped off to Hawaii with his parents. They could still have fun while he was asleep, but when he was awake, neither Stephanie nor Chris would rather be anywhere else but with their son.
"Wow," Finnegan said. "Marrying is fun!"
"That's what I've been trying to tell Mommy for years," Chris joked around. "So are you ready to get ready for the wedding later?"
"Uh huh."
"Good, I wouldn't want you to not be ready because it's not going to wait for you, Finnegan Irvine," he said, pretending to be stern. "Thanks for watching him tonight, Dad."
"It's the least I can do, my son is getting married, it's not everyday that happens," Ted told him. "And it's about damn time the two of you got married, I think everyone is going to be on their best behavior today. It took the both of you six damn years to get here. I've thought of Stephanie as my daughter for the past several years and I'm finally glad I can call her that."
"I just wish Mom could've been here," Chris said wistfully.
"She will be, don't worry…now let's get going cause we all have a wedding to get to."
Later that day, Stephanie was pacing back and forth in the room she had been allocated to wait in before the wedding. It was a lovely room, decorated in furniture from the 1930's, but it wasn't all that comforting at the moment. She didn't want anything to go wrong, that's all she wanted; she didn't want anything to go wrong. She looked at herself in the mirror for the fiftieth time it seemed. Yup, not a hair out of place.
She heard a rustling sound and saw a note slipped under the door. She went over and picked it up, recognizing the writing immediately. She laughed at what he was doing, but she went and sat on the bed anyways, carefully of course, she didn't want to wrinkle her dress in any way. She looked down at the note.
Since today seems to be a day of giving notes like we're in high school, here's my contribution. I made sure that Finn took a nap and had a snack before we got here. He's really excited to go to Hawaii, I think we're going to have to get married every year to appease him. I'm not sure he gets that this is a one-time thing…or at least let's hope it's a one time thing because I'm not giving you up, and if you want to get away from me, well, you'll have to pry your ankle from my cold, dead hands…aren't I the romantic?
Anyways, I'll see you at the end of the aisle like you said. I'll be the one that's in the tux, please don't mistake me for Rocky, I don't want to cause an incident. In case you've forgotten, I'm the blond guy. I'd say I look like the little kid who is chomping at the bit to come see you, but we both know he barely looks like my son. If you have a last minute paternity confession to make, now would be the time. See you in a little bit, Steph, don't change your mind between now and then…just don't think really hard about who you're marrying.
Chris born as an Irvine and will never be a McMahon (thank God!)
Stephanie laughed as she reread the note one more time. She loved that crazy man. She was so stupid to think that he was ever just with her because of Finnegan. If she had just opened her eyes numerous times, she would've seen the truth a lot sooner. But then, in a way, she was glad they had waited. She was glad they hadn't rushed into marriage after Finnegan was born. Waiting until now had given them that settled feeling, a feeling that made this day a lot easier.
"Ms. McMahon we're starting in twenty minutes."
"Okay, thanks, I'll be down in a second."
Stephanie checked her makeup and her hair one more time, smoothing out the skirt of her dress as she left her room. She walked down the hallway and down to the waiting area right outside where she needed to walk. There was another part of the house where Chris was waiting, but she hadn't seen him yet. Trish, her college friend, Theresa, and her mother were waiting for her there. From behind her mother, she saw a little spot of black and then saw Finnegan come out from around her mother.
She knelt down as he ran over to her. "Wow, look at you, stylin' and profilin', Finny."
"Mommy, you look pretty," Finnegan said in awe of how his mommy looked.
"Well your opinion is pretty much the only one I trust, so thank you," she said, kissing his cheek. "Are you ready?" Finnegan nodded enthusiastically. "Great, is everyone else ready?"
They all nodded and she stood up as Finnegan stayed by her side, a little daunted by all the excitement going on around him. He didn't really understand all the hub-bub that went into this whole wedding business. All he knew was that they were getting dressed up and his Mommy and Daddy were getting married, whatever that really meant. He was getting cake! All the cake he wanted!
"You look beautiful, sweetie," Linda said, coming over to her. "I just want you to know that I'm very happy that you're getting married, and not because of Finn, but because you want to. I know that I've been a little critical of how you've decided to live your life before now, regarding marriage and getting pregnant and having Finn…but…"
"I got it, Mom," Stephanie said. "And you haven't been critical in the slightest. You've been great, now go take a seat so that we can get this whole thing going."
"I'm going, I'm going," Linda said with a laugh.
"Okay people, we are ready to go," one of the wedding planner's assistants said as she walked back to where they were standing.
"Finny, baby, where's your pillow with the rings?" Stephanie asked. Finnegan pointed to a table with a pillow sitting atop it. "Why don't you go get it, okay? And stand over there for instructions."
Finnegan nodded and went over to the table, grabbing the pillow and holding it in his hands obediently, like he had practiced last night. Of course, now he could see all the people that were watching his mommy's friend and Trish walk down the aisle and it looked a little overwhelming. There were a lot of people there, and sometimes Finnegan got shy around people he didn't know and a lot of them looked like people he didn't know.
"Okay little boy, come on, let's go," some strange lady he had never seen before said. He shook his head and she repeated, hissing nastily, "You need to go, you're going to hold everything up, little boy, and we're on a tight schedule."
"Hey, excuse me, did you just snap at him?" Stephanie said, coming over. Finnegan, who was now scared of this really mean lady, hid in his mother's skirts, clinging to her leg. He knew what his mother was going to do now. Stephanie was tough and Finnegan knew that she could get really mean if she so desired.
"He needs to go, he's next," she said.
"This is my son, and you can't talk to him like that, I'll decide when he goes out," Stephanie said, her eyes ablaze. "You are dismissed and learn how to talk around kids. If he looks terrified, you don't send him out there, Jesus."
The lady walked off, hoping that Stephanie didn't tell her boss, but Stephanie was busy kneeling in front of Finnegan. His lips were pursed as he clutched his little pillow. "Hey there Finny, what's wrong?"
"There's lot of people, Mommy," he explained to her. "I don't want to go out there. I want to stay with you…please?"
"Sweetie, your job is to be the ring bearer, that means you get to go all by yourself and walk out there and show off, don't you want to show off?"
"No." Stephanie laughed silently at that. Maybe Finnegan had been switched at birth because both she and Chris loved to show off. In fact, you could describe them as show-offs. But even the most outgoing person could be shy at times. And Finnegan was only four and he wasn't exactly used to the spotlight.
Out at the end of the aisle, Chris was licking his lips. Finnegan was supposed to be coming out and then Stephanie. Trish had already walked down the aisle and now they were just waiting as everyone had their eyes on the doors at the other end of the aisle. Chris wrung his hands a little bit, wondering what was going on. Surely Stephanie and Finnegan hadn't made a run for it. He hummed a little to himself as Rocky leaned over.
"She's coming."
"She's Stephanie, it's in her to be late," Shane added.
"What? Do I look nervous?" Chris asked.
"A little," Rocky told him.
"Shut up, she's showing up," Chris told them. He just hoped it was soon. People were starting to murmur.
"So you don't want to go out there at all?" Stephanie asked her little boy.
"I want to stay with you, Mommy, I don't want to walk by myself," he told her.
"Well, you know what?" she asked.
"Huh?"
"Usually the bride walks by herself or with her daddy walking her down the aisle, but, I don't really like bending to convention, so you can walk with me, how does that sound?" she asked. Finnegan nodded, a smile coming over his face. "Okay, great."
"Are you going to hold the pillow, Mommy?" he asked.
"Do you think that you could hold it?" she asked.
"Okay," he said happily, glad that he would have his mommy by his side so he wouldn't have to look at all those people staring at him. "Are you going to hold anything, Mommy?"
She looked at her bouquet sitting on the ground. She picked it up and tossed it on the table. "Just your hand, baby, just your hand."
Suddenly, or at least finally, the doors opened across from Chris, and he expected Finnegan to come out with his pillow. What he wasn't expecting was to see Finnegan walking out with his pillow in one hand, and Stephanie in the other. The wedding march started and everyone stood as they watched Stephanie be accompanied down the aisle by her son. Chris was a little surprised, but figured that Finnegan didn't want to walk alone. Stephanie reached him and she smiled.
"He get scared?" Chris asked.
"Yeah," she said. "Hey."
"Hey."
"Hi Daddy," Finnegan whispered.
"Hey Finn," Chris whispered back as everyone sat down. Finnegan clung to Stephanie's skirt, but she didn't care, it was his wedding too and he could stand with her if he wanted. He was being quiet and not bothering anyone.
"Hello everyone," reverend said in front of them. "We're here today to celebrate a wonderful union that I've been told has been six years in the making between Chris and Stephanie, and their little boy, Finnegan. It's always a wonderful occasion when a family seals themselves as one. If anyone thinks that these two shouldn't be married, speak now or forever hold your piece."
When nobody spoke, he continued, "Well, Chris and Stephanie have elected to say their own vows, so Chris if you'd like to start?"
"Sure," he said. "I proposed to Stephanie like fifty times over the years, and when she finally said yes, I thought about just getting married the next day, why waste the time, but this is a whole lot nicer. Everything I could possibly say to Stephanie I've said, everything I could've said about Stephanie, I've already said. Steph, you're…the past six years have made me who I am, a better man than I ever could've hoped to be, and you've given me a son who I love, what more could I ask for? I've got it all, thanks to you. I love you."
"Stephanie?" the reverend continued.
"I've been stupid for a while, but I finally came to my senses," she laughed, causing Chris to laugh. "These past six years have been the best of times, and the worst of times. When I found out I was pregnant, I was scared out of my mind to tell you. I thought it would ruin everything, but it made everything somehow better. You've made me better, just like you said I do to you, but you know, it's probably Finny that makes us so great. We're totally flawed without him."
"That's the truth," Chris answered.
The reverend smiled, "I've also been informed that Finnegan would like to say some things."
Stephanie took the microphone that was on the stand in front of them and knelt down next to Finnegan. "Did you want to say anything, Finny?"
Finnegan wrapped one of his arms around his mommy's neck, looking into the microphone, said, "Mommy said I could have all the cake I want! And we're going to Hawaii tomorrow, and I got a new coloring book from Uncle Shane and mommy told me that my friend Richard could come and play when we get back from Hawaii and he has a big box of crayons, it's bigger than mine, and I colored the piggy blue because Sarah was using the pink because pigs are pink, but she wouldn't share."
Stephanie held in her laugh, "Do you want to say anything about Mommy and Daddy?"
"We watched Monsters Inc. last night!" Finnegan said excitedly. "And the monsters weren't scary in that movie, so monsters aren't scary, but Daddy still looked for them in my room, but they weren't there cause they hide. And I had pizza for dinner, it was real yummy, and Mommy said that Paul was a monst--"
"Okay, yeah, that's all for now, Finny," Stephanie said, kissing his cheek. "You can make a toast later okay?"
"Okay, Mommy, I love you," he said, hugging her.
"I love you too," she told him, hugging him back.
"I hope you guys have about two hours to spare later because I think that's how long his speech is going to be," Chris joked as Finnegan frowned up at him. "I'm sorry Finn, come here." Finnegan came over and hugged his daddy too. Finnegan stayed with Chris for now, leaning his head against his leg as he started to get a little sleepy, despite having taken a nap.
Chris and Stephanie exchanged rings, but in the end, that didn't really matter. Rings were just a symbol of something greater, something that had been around for years now. They didn't need the ceremony, or the rings, or the words, they already had everything they needed to have. As they walked back down the aisle, they weren't even holding hands. Finnegan was between them, beaming as brightly as his parents were, and that was what sealed them together, that little boy. The rings were nice and all, but the little boy, he was what mattered, and Chris realized that proposing wasn't everything, and Stephanie realized that a planned future was a little overrated.
If they had planned the future, there would be no Finnegan, and if there were no multiple proposals, Chris wouldn't feel this perfection as he swung Finnegan up into his arms as they got in the limo. Finnegan sat between his parents as they kissed over his head, and then after that, they kissed Finnegan's cheeks, making him scrunch his face up and stick his tongue out at the double assault. They had already been together for the long haul before this. It didn't change anything, not at all, they were a family before this, and they were a family after this. It mattered very little in the long run. Oh…except for one thing…
Stephanie was finally an Irvine.