They awoke the next morning curled up together in the center of the bed, a blanket wrapped around them, neither really sure where the blanket came from but assumed one or both of them had retrieved it in the middle of the night. She noticed the soreness between her legs and smiled as the memories of their play flooded back. She lifted her head and kissed him until he was awake and kissing her back, their naked bodied pressed together and slowly heating up again. He finally pulled back and sat up.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing, I think my batteries just need some time to recharge. That was pretty intense last night, things are a little sensitive this morning." He said.

"Yeah, I'm a little sore myself." She admitted.

"I'm sorry." He said and kissed the top of her head.

"Don't be. God it was incredible. Just think Jack, the next time we make love we'll be doing so as husband and wife." Kate said.

"Mmm……so are you making a date for sex with me later Kate?" He teased.

"I am, so get busy charging those batteries." Kate said.

"Some breakfast would go a long way in helping my cause. Want to go downstairs or order room service?" He asked.

"Let's go downstairs. It's going to be a long day if we stay cooped up in the room." She said.

"There's a lot to do today Kate, trust me, you won't have time to get bored." Jack told her.

"What is there to do besides get dressed later and be in the Chapel by six-thirty?" Kate asked.

"Did you really believe I'd let your wedding day be that uneventful Kate?" He asked.

"What does that mean Jack?" She asked.

"You'll see, but first let's take a shower and go have breakfast." He prodded and moved out of the bed.

She was dying to know what he had up his sleeve, but also knew he wouldn't tell her no matter how much she begged so she played along, allowing him to enjoy springing his surprises on her slowly. They showered together without incident, dressed and had breakfast in one of the restaurants downstairs. They walked through some of the shops downstairs and bought a souvenir for Conner before heading back up to their room.

They sat in the parlor area of the room dividing up pieces of the newspaper and quietly studying their respective sections.

"Can we go see a show before we leave?" She asked.

"Sure. What did you have in mind?" He asked.

"I've always wanted to see a Cirque De Soleil show. Have you ever seen one?" She asked.

"No, but we can do that. They usually have a couple of different ones to choose from and one of them is very adult-oriented I hear." He said in seductive tone and grinned at her.

"Let's go see that one and maybe a magician or Wayne Newton or something." She said making him laugh.

"I'm willing to do anything but sit through Wayne Newton." He told her.

"What about that roller coaster on top of that one hotel? Want to do that?" She asked.

"I'd love to, but I'm not going to allow my pregnant wife to do it so we'll have to come back after the baby is born and do it." He said.

"You won't allow? Are you going to start bossing me around now Jack?" She asked the bite in her tone making him realize he'd touched on a nerve.

"Do I boss you around now Kate?" He asked.

"No." She answered.

"So why would I change? I wouldn't allow my pregnant girlfriend to ride that thing either. It's not being bossy, it's being cautious." He defended himself.

"But if I were really determined to do it you wouldn't manhandle me to stop me?" She asked.

"No, I'd be really pissed off at you for endangering our baby and we'd have a really big fight about it, but if you were determined to do it I'd have to sit back and watch you do something stupid and hope for the best. What's going on Kate?" Jack asked.

"Nothing, I just won't be married to a man that thinks he can boss me around, a man that thinks he can make all the rules and expect everyone to follow them or else." Kate said.

Jack studied her for a minute and then leaned forward over the pile of newspaper and kissed her gently.

"Or a man that would try to have sex with his 16 year old step-daughter and expect his wife to take his side instead of her daughter's?" Jack asked.

"Especially a man like that." Kate said.

"I'm sorry some asshole did that to you and your mom took his side Kate. I promise, I have no desire to boss you around." He said.

"My real dad wasn't like that. He was awesome. I still miss him." Kate said her eyes filling with tears.

"Especially today I bet. He should be here to walk his little girl down the aisle." Jack said.

"When I was about five or six, I'd have a pretend wedding and he'd always play along, walk me down the hallway and hand me over to my imaginary groom and then we'd dance, sometimes I'd stand on his shoes and he'd waltz me around the living room and sometimes he'd just pick me up and dance with me in his arms. I guess you think that's kind of stupid huh?" She said and wiped the tears away that were escaping.

He reached out and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her while encouraging her to lay her head on his shoulder. He buried his face in her hair and squeezed her tightly, reassuringly.

"It's not stupid, it's sweet and I wish he could be here to dance with you tonight." Jack said.

"Yeah me too, but we won't be dancing tonight so I guess it really doesn't matter." Kate sighed.

Jack rubbed his hand over her back and smiled. They would be dancing tonight, she just didn't know it yet. They sat together for a few more minutes, their quiet, tender moment interrupted by a loud knocking on the door.

"Who's that?" Kate asked.

"That would be the beginning of your wedding day Kate." Jack said with a smile and moved her off his lap so he could get up.

Jack walked to the door, looked through the peep hole and opened the two doors to the suite. The concierge and one of the bell hops entered the room with what appeared to be some sort of clothing. They hung the neatly packaged items, dropped the boxes they were carrying and left the room. Jack grabbed the items that were hung and brought them over to the bed. He laid them on the bed and motioned for Kate to come join him. Kate approached the bed and saw immediately that the one of the items was a wedding gown. She put her hand over her mouth and stopped in her tracks.

"What? How?" She sputtered.

"This is the wedding capital of the world Kate and getting you the beautiful white wedding dress you deserve to wear with the help of a very hard working hotel concierge was a piece of cake. They actually rent them out here, but I went ahead and bought it so you could keep it. It's new, never been worn." Jack said.

"Jack, I can't believe you did this. What if after all your trouble it doesn't fit?" Kate asked becoming emotional.

"It'll fit. They used the dress you bought yesterday and your height to make sure it will fit perfectly. There are shoes and a veil and of course my favorite part." Jack said with a grin as he held up a silky blue garter belt.

Kate was speechless, completely moved by what had to be the most romantic thing she'd ever heard of, much less had the pleasure of having it done just for her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, letting go of the tears he caused by touching her heart so profoundly.

"Hey, you're supposed to be happy." He said.

"I am happy Jack, I'm happier than I've ever been in my life." She told him.

"Then why so many tears?" He asked.

She pulled back and looked into his beautiful, sentimental, soft brown eyes.

"They are happy tears. I love you so much Jack. I can't believe you did this. You are the man and the groom that all little girls grow up dreaming about. How'd I get so lucky?" She asked.

"I could ask the same question. I love you baby and doing this seemed like the most normal and natural thing in the world and just wait until you see me in my tux. You won't be able to resist me." He said and kissed her softly.

"I should try it on." Kate said.

"Okay, but I have to leave. It's bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony." Jack said.

"No, I don't want you to leave." Kate said.

"Actually Kate I have your whole day planned out so you won't be seeing much of me. You have an appointment downstairs for a full body massage and facial and when you are done there, we are going to have a late lunch and then you are coming back up here with one of the women from the salon. She's going to do the whole woman's wedding day thing for you. Nails, hair and make-up and then she will bring you down to the chapel to me." Jack told her.

"What are you going to do?" Kate asked.

"I'll go down to the barber shop and get a good shave and then I'll get showered and dressed and make sure everything is ready." Jack said.

"Make sure what is ready? Jack, how on earth did you manage to plan all of this without me knowing?" Kate asked.

"Kate, hotels like this one have very good concierges and before you start making a fuss about whatever money I may have spent, it's our wedding and I wanted to do this for us. I can't wait to see you in that dress." He said sweetly.

Kate and Jack went their separate ways for a couple of hours, met up for lunch and then said their goodbyes in the lobby, knowing the next time they saw one another they'd be getting ready to say "I Do". Kate allowed the friendly, bubbly woman from the hair styling salon lead her upstairs to be pampered and primped. When they were done, she helped Kate into the wedding gown, zipping the back for her and showing her where to place the garter so Jack would be able to remove it later in front of people even though Kate assured her there would be no guests or reception afterward.

The woman placed the veil on Kate's head and led her over to the full length mirror. She stood in front of the mirror not recognizing the person in the reflection for a moment.

"You are beautiful dear, he is going to be blown away when he sees you walking toward him." She told Kate.

"Thank you." Kate said and smiled.

There was a knock on the door. Kate looked at the clock beside the bed. It was 6:10 PM. Was Jack getting impatient and making sure she would be on time? She allowed the woman to open the door for her, hearing the sweet voice chime in immediately.

"You look so pretty mommy." Conner said.

Kate turned completely and saw Conner standing just inside the room with Christian and Margo. He was dressed in a suit and looked like a small, sweet, adorable version of Jack with longer hair. The woman excused herself immediately and left Kate with her visitors.

Conner approached Kate and she kneeled down and hugged him, fighting the tears that seemed to want to come all day long.

"You look so handsome Conner and I'm so happy that you are here." Kate said and stood back up gently dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.

Christian and Margo looked her over, both taken aback by how beautiful she was, her green eyes sparkling and revealing just how happy she was.

"You are lovely dear." Margo said.

"Thank you." Kate said.

"Jack is going to be amazed when he sees you." Margo said.

"You've seen him? Is he okay? I mean, is he ready to do this?" Kate asked.

"Daddy is happy. You make him so happy." Conner told her making her smile.

"Conner is right. Jack is fine. He asked me to bring these to you." Margo said and handed Kate a jewelry box.

She opened the box and found pearl earrings inside. They were beautiful and expensive and just one more thoughtful thing he'd done to overwhelm her.

"He shouldn't have." Kate said softly.

"He had to so you'd have earrings to match his mother's pearl necklace." Margo said and put the pearls around Kate's neck.

"I don't, I mean I can't." Kate stuttered.

"Don't worry sweetheart, I know they are old and probably not your style, but see tradition says you have to wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Jack and I decided my pearls would cover the old and borrowed." Margo told her.

Kate put the earrings in and smiled at the three of them.

"Well, I guess we should get downstairs." Kate said.

Christian approached Kate and took hold of her left hand. He brought it up and kissed the top of it gently.

"My god you are beautiful dear." Christian said.

Kate smiled at him, not sure what he wanted. Did he want to make up with her, accept her as being good enough for his son?

"Dr. Shephard, I know I'm not the woman you wanted Jack to end up with, but if it means anything I promise to always love him and I know that loving him means accepting and understanding how committed he is to his work. I'll never force him to make a choice because I know that he can't be truly happy with just one or the other." Kate said.

"I told Jack once that he needed to marry a woman like his mother, someone that understood the drive and commitment it takes to be a successful doctor. It's a good thing he blew me off when I suggested you weren't that woman. Oh, and you can call me Christian or even dad, but I think Dr. Shephard is a bit too formal since you're going to be my daughter-in-law in about 15 minutes." Christian told her.

"Thank you Dr. um Christian. You're very important to Jack so it's important that you and I get along." Kate said.

"You're so much brighter and more perceptive than I ever gave you credit for and I apologize for judging you. It was wrong and if you think you could stand it I would be honored if you would let me walk you down the aisle." Christian offered making Kate lose the battle against her tears.

Kate pulled herself together and allowed Jack's parents to lead her to the chapel. She was becoming a pile of emotional mush, everything Jack had done to make this day special making her wish she could just wrap her arms around him and hold him until he understood how much it all meant to her. She had no idea that more surprises were in store for her.

Christian's offer to walk her down the aisle was touching and sweet and she happily accepted. Margo took Conner into the Chapel. The woman from the beauty salon approached Kate and Christian with a beautiful bridal bouquet made up of small red and white roses. It was beautiful and the lace in the bouquet matched the lace on her dress, the colors of the small, delicate roses matching the baby's breath and red the stylist had weaved tastefully through Kate's hair. Jack had thought of everything.

The music began playing and the chapel doors opened. Kate wrapped her arm in Christian's and he began walking her into the chapel, the chapel that was adorned with red and white roses, the chapel that had people sitting in the pews waiting to watch the ceremony. Kate glanced to each side as they walked down the aisle, recognizing the guests as friends of Jack's and friends of hers from the restaurant and the members of her cancer family. She couldn't believe that he'd managed to convince all these people to drop everything and come to Vegas.

Jack saw her as soon as they entered the doorway and his mouth went dry, every bit of liquid in his body determined to form in his eyes. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his life, more beautiful than he could've imagined and seeing his father walking her toward him and looking like it was something he wanted to do, enjoyed doing, perfected the scene. His emotions got the better of him as she got closer and he saw her face, her green sparkling eyes and her hair pulled back, up and away from her face, allowing all of her facial features to shine through.

They stood together holding hands and listening to the standard words from the clergyman standing between them. Neither managed to get through the vows without becoming emotional and when it was time to kiss the bride, he covered her mouth with his, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply and passionately, the group of people in the pews standing and applauding. They ended the kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight, holding him like she'd been wanting to, crying soft gentle tears and whispering over and over how much she loved him.

He pulled her away from his shoulder and tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. He kissed her softly and smiled.

"There's a reception to get through yet babe, are you going to be okay?" He asked smiling and letting go of a light chuckle, amazed at how beautiful she was and that she was his.

They held hands and turned to face their guests. Jack held his arms out and Conner eagerly ran to him. He scooped him up, hugged him and held him on his hip in-between he and Kate. Kate wrapped her arm around her two favorite men and the photographer started demanding they look at him so he could capture it on film. Having had enough of the blinding flash, they began walking down the aisle together, encouraging all their guests to follow them.

"Come this way. You didn't think I'd drag all of you out here and not provide all the food and booze you can consume did you?" Jack told them as he led his family out of the chapel.

Jack led them into a large room that had a large buffet on one side and an open bar on the other. There were tables and chairs and a dance floor. A DJ sat in the corner, the music already playing. He and Kate stood back and watched their guests start to enjoy the party.

"Jack, how did you manage to pull all of this off?" Kate asked.

"I had a lot of help from my parents and from the staff in this hotel. The biggest obstacle was finding rooms for all of our friends to crash in tonight." Jack said.

"Couples spend months planning weddings and driving one another crazy with the stress that goes along with that and you put an entire wedding and reception together in two days. Jack that's amazing, you're amazing." Kate said and kissed him.

"It's Vegas Kate. Everything you want and need is at your fingertips. I wanted you to have a day to remember, for both of us to remember." Jack said.

The couple mingled among the guests for awhile going from table to table and talking. They finally made themselves a couple of plates of food and sat at a table with Jack's parents and Conner.

"Are you coming home now Daddy?" Conner asked.

"No, not yet bud, we're going to have a honeymoon first." Jack told him.

"What's a honeymoon?" Conner asked.

Jack looked at Kate and then at his parents who were all waiting eagerly for him to answer the child's question.

"A honeymoon is when two married people spend some time alone getting to know each other." Jack answered.

"But you already know each other." Conner protested.

"Yes, but we still need some private time just for us and then we'll be home." Jack told him.

"Okay, but since you aren't going home with us tomorrow can I sleep in your room tonight?" Conner asked making all of the adults hide the smiles and laughs that were dying to come out.

"I think you should stay us tonight Conner." Margo said.

"Please daddy, I haven't seen you in so long." Conner pleaded.

"Conner, I don't……" Jack started but didn't get to finish before Kate jumped in.

"He could sleep on the couch in the parlor area Jack." Kate said.

"Kate, it's our wedding night." Jack said an incredulous expression covering his face.

"So what's wrong with letting our son share our wedding night with us?" She argued.

"Are you serious?" He asked almost laughing.

She leaned in and kissed him, moving her mouth close to his ear.

"He sleeps through earthquakes Jack, you said so yourself." She whispered.

"This is ridiculous and since I'm the oldest person at this table and therefore in charge I'm putting my foot down. Conner, it's their wedding night and children do not participate in wedding nights. You're staying with your grandmother and me and we're going to order that movie you wanted to watch and we aren't going to talk about this anymore." Christian ordered getting Jack off the hook without having to be the bad guy.

"Okay." Conner sighed.

"We'll do something together when I get home, just you and me bud. Okay?" Jack offered.

"No, mom too." Conner said.

"Okay, mom too." Jack agreed.

They finished their meal and mingled some more until the DJ announced that it was time for the bride and groom to dance.

"So, is the little girl you told me about ready to dance to with her groom?" Jack asked and held his hand out.

"She's all grown up now, but yeah, she's ready to spend the rest of her life dancing with you." Kate said as she took his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. The lights went down, the only light being the lights shining down on them as they held one another and moved slowly to the old Climax Blues Band song "I Love You".

When I was younger man I hadn't a care
Foolin' around, hitting the town, growing my hair
You came along and stole my heart when you entered my life
Ooh babe you got what it takes so I made you my wife

Since then I never looked back
It's almost like living a dream
I love you

"Jack, you have no idea how much all this has meant to me. You are the sweetest, most charming, most romantic and most playful man I've ever known." Kate said as she let her head rest on his shoulder and continued to listen to the song he'd selected for them to dance to.

You came along from far away and found me here
I was playin' around, feeling down, hittin' the beer
You picked me up from off the floor and gave me a smile
You said you're much too young, your life ain't begun, let's walk for awhile

And as my head was spinnin' 'round
I gazed into your eyes
And thought I want you

"You made me want to live again Kate, made me want to feel things again. Anything I do, it just comes naturally because you're all I think about. It's not work or an effort Kate, it's just love." He told her.

She lifted her head and looked at him. She closed her mouth over his and they kissed and moved to the music, listening to the words, realizing how perfectly they fit their relationship, how the words could be coming from her or him either one and be speaking honestly about how they both felt.

Thank you babe for being a friend
And shinin' your light in my life
'cause I need you

As my head was comin' round
I gazed into your eyes
And thought I want you

Thanks again for being my friend
And straightenin' out my life
'cause I need you

Since then I never looked back
It's almost like livin' a dream
I got you

If ever a man had it all
It would have to be me
I love you

After their dance they continued on with the wedding rituals. They cut the cake and fed a bite to each other, her shoving it into his face and him deciding that using his finger to paint a stripe of frosting down her nose was all he could stand to do the beautiful face that was smiling back at him. She lifted her dress, placed her leg up on a chair and let him slowly slide the blue garter off her leg and then shoot it like a rubber band into the group of men. That it ended up in Conner's hands seemed appropriate and humorous to everyone but Conner who wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do with the lacey, girly looking thing and handed it to his grandpa. Kate gathered the women and tossed the bouquet over her shoulder and laughed as they clawed and scratched for it.

With the rituals out of the way the newlyweds disappeared up to their room to change into more comfortable clothes, tempted to stay in the room and consummate the marriage, but deciding better of it and rejoining the party in the clothes Kate thought they had bought to get married in. The reception went on for hours with people wandering out into the casino for awhile and then coming back to mingle or to drink or to snack. By 2 AM, most of the guests had staggered up to the rooms Jack had reserved for them. Conner had pushed several chairs together and turned them into a bed sometime around midnight. When the last guest said his goodnights Jack retrieved his son and he and Kate rode the elevator with his parents to their floor.

"I'll take him Jack." Christian offered.

"Are you sure? I can tuck him in." Jack said.

"He'll never know the difference." Christian said.

Jack kissed Conner's forehead and handed him to his father. Kate leaned in and kissed the child on the cheek. She then hugged Jack's mother and then his father.

"Thank you both for everything." Kate said.

"It was our pleasure." Margo said.

"Yes, of course." Christian said and shuffled his feet, showing emotion and being touchy feely not something he was comfortable with.

Jack leaned over and kissed his mother on the cheek and gave her a hug. He then patted his father on the shoulder, took a deep breath and hugged him, squashing Conner in-between them.

"Thanks for everything dad, I couldn't have pulled this off without your help and it really means a lot to me." Jack said.

"I'm your father Jack." Christian replied and Jack looked at him.

For the first time in his life Jack got it, he finally understood what those words meant, that it was his father's way of telling him that he loves him, that everything he does good or bad is out of love because he is his father. He smiled at his dad and patted his shoulder again.

"And I'm your son." Jack replied, both men knowing that was going to be the closest either one of them ever came to actually telling the other 'I love you', but it was enough.

Jack and Kate finally entered their suite around 2:30 AM. Kate hadn't been able to drink more than the champagne they used to toast and Jack had no desire to get drunk in front of his pregnant wife and six year old son so he was sober, tired, but sober. They both quietly stripped out of their clothes and met in the center of the bed. He turned onto his side and gently ran his fingers over her collar bone and neck.

"I love you Mrs. Shephard." Jack said.

"Show me." She said as rolled onto her side and kissed him.

They consummated their marriage gently, lovingly and sweetly. Slowly making love to one another, while staying as close and wrapped together as was possible. When they were done they lay in each others arms and talked about how they wanted to spend their lives together, both deciding that a new house could wait as long as it needed to in order for them to find or build exactly what they wanted. They decided Conner should stay in private school and they talked about names for their baby. Jack was set on one name and one name only and Kate just laughed at how determined he was that she was carrying a little girl. They drifted off to sleep amused and happy as Jack kissed Kate's stomach and quietly whispered, "Good night Gracie."