Happy Days

Emily rode back to Rock Springs as quickly as she could. She wanted to catch the preacher before it was of a time that one should't call on the clergy. She made it with a few minutes to spare. She walked up to the door and knocked. Pastor Wilkins wife answered the door. "Well hello Emily. I didn't expect to see you. I thought someone else was handling your wedding.

"No. Mrs. Wilkins, is your husband home?" Emily asked. Her excitement was fairly bubbling out of her. She knew that of any of the pastors in the area that he would be the most likely to catch that excitement and not try to talk her out of eloping with Ethan.

"Yes he is. Please come in." Mrs. Wilkins said. Then she turned and called out, "Isiah, you have a visitor."

A few moments later, Pastor Isiah Wilkins appeared, his white haired form slumped slightly with age. "Who is it Grace?" he asked, squinting as he walked into the room.

"Emily Munch, sir." Emily supplied before Mrs. Wilkins could reply.

"Emily Munch? Little Emily Munch?" the pastor asked.

"Yes sir, except I'm not so little anymore sir." Emily asked.

"Well what can I do for you my dear?" the whizened little man asked, taking Emily's hand and leading her to a chair.

Emily went with him and took the seat that she was offered. "Well, my fiance and I would like to get married."

"Get married? I thought I heard that you were being married by another pastor in May." Wilkins asked. "Why the rush?"

"We don't want to wait any longer and our parents, well they're expecting us to wait until May and be all proper. Oh Pastor Wilkins, Ethan and I are so much in love, and well we just want to start our lives together."

Isiah patted Emily's hand and said, "Alright. How soon would the two of you like to get married?"

Emily breathed a sigh of relief. "As soon as possible. Say in the next few days."

"Well, I can work you in on Saturday. That will work won't it Grace?" the pastor asked, turning towards his plump little wife.

The woman had been fluttering around behind them the whole time and quickly said, "Yes dear, that will be fine. Will I be serving as your witness?"

"Yes please." Emily said.

"You come at two o'clock on Saturday and I'll marry you." the pastor said.

Emily left shortly after that and had a hard time keeping her excitement under control when she arrived there a short time later. Her parents couldn't know what was going on, they would be furious as would Ethan's if they found out before hand. They would also stop them if they learned of their plans before they were executed.

The next day Emily rode out to Ethan's ranch as quickly as she could. Her mother gave her an odd look that morning she had rushed out so quickly. When she reached the ranch she jumped off her horse and turned the mare into the barn then she ran into the house. She found Ethan again hanging plaster board up. She threw her arms around him and said, "Saturday, Ethan! Saturday, we can get married Saturday."

Ethan was so suprised to see her and hear her that he dropped the piece of plaster board that he was about to hang on the wall. "Emily!" he said in surprise as he turned around.

"Saturday, we can get married on Saturday." she repeated again.

Ethan threw his arms around her and said, "Really? We can really get married on Saturday?"

"Yes." Emily said, pushing himself back so that she could look at his face. "We can really get married on Saturday barring neither of our parents find out what we're planning."

Ethan moved in close to her then, so that they were nose to nose. "Well then someone needs to learn how to keep secrets."

Emily laughed at that, she was so happy about their turn of events. "I can keep this one secret, besides, today is Wednesday so I only have to keep it to myself for a few days."

"Well what are you going to do with that beautiful wedding dress then?" Ethan asked. He knew that she had been working on one for quite some time now and he didn't want all of her work and money to go to waste. he also knew that she had the whole thing planned out in her mind, he just liked watching her come up with answers, fast and on her feet.

Emily wrinkled her nose while she came up with an answer for Ethan, "I'll tell mother that I am bringing it out for Olivia to see and then I'll just bring it here."

"Ok, so how are we supposed to get you into it and to the pastor's living room then?" Ethan challenged her again.

"I'll tell mother that you want my help fixing up the house and I'll come out here and get ready and we'll go into town and get married." Emily replied a smile on her face.

Ethan laughed then, she had an answer for everything. Life was definately going to be interesting and challenging with Emily Munch, soon to be Stabler.

"So what are you working on?" Emily asked him then.

Ethan was the wrinkle his nose then, "What does it look like, darlin'?"

"It looks like your making a mess to me." Emily said. "Would you like me to fix you some lunch?"

"Sure. Say Em, I've been meaning to ask you, have you seen Slim around town with your Pa lately?"

"No but I've been been busy. Why?" Emily asked, walking back into the kitchen.

"He hasn't been around here for the past few days, thats all." Ethan said, starting over with a new piece of plaster board.

"Well I don't know." Emily said.

They went back to working in silence until something else dawned on Ethan. "Emily, darlin', uhm, we have another problem."

"What's that?" Emily asked.

"How are we going to get your things out here. I mean I can see you explaining why your taking off with your wedding dress and all but what about the rest of your things?"

"Well, I guess we'll just have to go and get them after we're married."

"Oh." was Ethan's only response. He wasn't sure he wanted to face that firing squad. he knew how nasty mad mama's could be and he was sure that he and Emily would have the maddest mama's in five states when they found out that they had went off and gotten married without telling them about it first. It made him groan inwardly but there was no backing out now. Emily was set to get married on Saturday and he wouldn't disapoint her, especially be chickening out becasue he was scared of his ma and her's.

On Friday Emily showed up at Ethan's place in the afternoon with her wedding dress in tow. Ethan had finished the bedroom and was now working on the upstairs. He hoped that he could get it all finished, get married and then keep his brothers and sister for a whole week while his parents were gone. What a way to start married life! When Emily dropped off her dress she didn't stick around long, she just hung it up out of sight, kissed him and left again but not before reminding him that the next day was their wedding day.

She didn't look nervous even, Ethan thought to himself after she left. He however, was nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. He was getting married, he was starting his life with the girl he loved, he had a whole life of sweet lovin' to look forward too. He didn't have any reason to be nervous, he said to himself. Buck up, man he thought to himself, tomorrow is going to be the best day of your natural life.

Emily was nervous. She didn't know if it was more about the wedding and the wedding night or if it was nerves related to the fact that after they married and had that wedding night, they would have to face her mother and Ethan's mother and their fathers. She wasn't as scared of her father and Elliot as she was of her own mother and Olivia. She knew that both of them would be furious about them sneaking off and doing this but Emily accepted that it was just going to be a fact of life.

But despite her nerves she was excited too. She was ready for tomorrow too, she had been waiting for the day since she was a little girl. She remembered pretending that she was a bride, playing with an old lace curtain and using it as a veil. She remembered the day that she and Ethan had pretended to get married at the ripe old age of six years old. Oliver had been their preacher and after marrying them, he had told Ethan that he could kiss his bride. Emily remember well Ethan's reaction to that statement. He had stuck his tounge out at her and ran away laughing with Oliver. He had told her that day that he and Oliver had vowed to never get married for real and to never kiss girls. She wondered if he remembered that. Maybe she would remind him of it, maybe.

The next morning Emily dawdled around the house until ten o'clock and then she told her mother that she was going out to Ethan's.

"Oh. What are you two working on out there anyway?" Casey asked.

"We're finishing the inside of the house, mama. Ethan has been very busy hanging that plaster board stuff up and I've been hanging paper and painting to make it look nicer."

"Oh, well then you'll have a nice little house to move into in May won't you?" Casey told her daughter.

Emily smiled and thought, I'll have a nice little house to move into tonight. "I'll see you later Mama."

"Alright dear." Casey said.

Emily saddled her sorrel mare and rode as fast as she could out to Ethan's. When she arrived there she quickly changed into her wedding dress and then wrapped herself up in several layers of wool coat so that Ethan wouldn't see it before they arrived at Pastor Wilkins place.

Ethan was pacing the floor waiting for Emily. He had the buggy all hitched up and read to go, and now all he had to do was wait. When he saw her coming down the stairs wrapped in the long wool coat, he felt like the bottom had fallen out of his stomach.

An hour later they were standing in front of Pastor Isiah Wilkins in his living room. His wife Grace was serving as their witness from a chair. The pastor went through all the motions of the traditional wedding ceremony and when he came to the end he said, "You may kiss the bride."

Ethan felt a feeling that he could only describe as giddy run through him as he placed his hands on Emily's cheeks and tipped her face up towards his. When their lips met he knew that he was glad that he and Emily had come and did this today.

Emily was flying on cloud nine an as she felt Ethan's lips press against her's. Then her knees felt weak and she grabbed Ethan's waist. She was sure they would have went on an on if the pastor hadn't cleared his throat and interupted them.

They pulled apart and smiled at each other. Now the only question remained, should they go off to home and enjoy a night of passion and forget that they were going to have to deal with angry parents or if they should go and deal with the angry parents and then sneak off and enjoy their passion. They would make that decison after dinner.

Haha, I know you smut mongers were waiting for a bunch of well, you know, but I couldn't help myself. Be good little kiddies now and R&R and I'll try my hardest to get some smutty stuff written.