Yay! We are finally here! Sorry it took me ages to get this chapter up, but real life kept interfering with my plans...:)
Okay, you better enjoy this chapter (which is the grand finale by the way) because I worked until the wee hours to write this. Although I did enjoy every minute of it. :D
Please don't forget to review and let me know what you think, especially if you've been reading since the beginning and not reviewed yet, as this is your last chance. Now, I'll shut up, and let you get on with reading. :)
Wedding Bells
Brennan stared at herself in the floor-length mirror, unable to believe her eyes.
"You look gorgeous, Sweetie!" Angela exclaimed from beside her.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." She gazed into the mirror, surveying her magnificent dress and long veil. "I can't believe I agreed to this."
Angela laughed. "Well, to be honest, I can't believe you're doing this either. But I know why you're doing it."
"For Booth," Brennan replied simply.
Angela nodded. "That's right. Love. That's why you agreed to a wedding, and the dress, and the church."
"Well, religion is important to Booth, and not to me, so it seemed logical to hold the ceremony in a church," Brennan remarked absentmindedly, adjusting her veil minutely.
"See, you made sacrifices for Booth. You never did that for any of your other boyfriends, Sweetie."
"Well, I was never engaged to any of my other boyfriends, Ange. I never even though about getting engaged before Booth."
There was a knock at the door, and Hodgins stuck his head through. "Hey, ten minutes to go." He took in Brennan's dress, and grinned. "Looking good, Dr. Brennan. Angela pick that dress out?"
"Not exactly… Do you think Booth will like it?" Brennan asked hesitantly.
"How could he not? You could turn up in a Hessian sack and he'd be ecstatic."
Angela and Brennan nodded, remembering the shopping day that had been held a month ago.
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
Flashback
"Ange, do we have to go to every bridal store in town?"
"Of course, Sweetie, how else will we find the perfect dress?"
Brennan sighed, resigned to her fate. Angela started listing all the things they needed to buy.
"Wedding dress, bridesmaid dress, rent tux, flowers, veil, shoes, jewellery…can you think of anything else, Bren?"
"Caterers for the reception?"
"Hmm, I'll ask Jack if he knows anyone…" she muttered.
They stopped at a store with a huge sign pronouncing the place as "Juliana's House of Bridal." They entered, and Brennan gasped at all the wedding dresses lining the walls. She had never seen so many.
A perky assistant approached them. "Hi! My name's Miranda. Can I help you with anything today?"
Angela smiled at her, while Brennan eyed her warily.
"We're after a wedding dress," Angela explained.
Miranda clapped her hands together. "And when is your wedding, ma'am?" She looked at Angela.
Angela laughed. "Oh, it's not mine, I'm already married. It's Bren's here."
"Lovely!" Miranda exclaimed. "If you just want to come over to one of our fitting rooms, and I'll help you get started."
They were guided to a plush room, separated from the main store by a red velvet curtain. Angela sat in one of the ornate wooden chairs, and Brennan stood beside her, not quite sure what to do.
"Now, what price range are you looking for? Cheap, but high quality? Top-of-the-range? In between?"
Angela glanced at Brennan. "Umm, I think we'll start off with the middle range, and see where we go from there."
"Lovely!"
An hour later, they exited the shop, struggling with a large dress bag each, as well as several bags filled with shoes and jewellery.
"See, I told you we could get it all at one store!" Brennan remarked.
"Sweetie, what if you see something you like better?"
"I won't. This dress is perfect. And it goes well with your bridesmaid dress."
Angela just shook her head in exasperation.
End flashback
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
Hodgins re-entered the church and made his way up the aisle to where Booth and Zack were standing with Booth's brother, Jared.
"Is she still there?" Booth asked anxiously as he reached them.
"Of course she's there, man. Angela's practically got her handcuffed to her wrist." He patted Booth's shoulder reassuringly. "She's not going to pull a Runaway Bride on you."
Booth smiled weakly. "I guess I just can't believe I got her here in the first place. I mean, a church! Let alone an actual wedding. I think I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop." He laughed. "But I'm being stupid. She's not going to run away. She's not."
"She's not." The other three agreed heartily.
They looked up as music started suddenly, signalling the arrival of the bride.
Booth grinned. "She hasn't," he whispered to himself as he took his position in front of the altar.
As the Wedding March from the Nutcracker Suite resonated through the church, Angela appeared at the end of the aisle and began to make her way down slowly.
Exactly four steps after her was Booth's sister Melissa, and following her was his youngest sister Holly. He beamed at the sight of them in the pale silver bridesmaid dresses.
However, he had his eyes glued to the end of the aisle, waiting for her to appear. Waiting.
After what seemed like a lifetime to Booth, she rounded the corner at the end of the aisle and began her slow walk that Angela had no doubt coached her on. But he was trying his hardest not to burst out laughing.
The dress was gorgeous. The bodice fitted her perfectly, accentuating her fantastic figure, and was decorated with diamantes along the neckline. The long skirt was full, and the dramatic taffeta material was gathered up at intervals, the light reflecting off the fabric.
But the most attention-grabbing feature about the dress was its deep magenta colour. Temperance Brennan, never one to follow traditions, had opted for a brightly coloured, non-white dress.
And Booth wanted to laugh. Because it was so like her. And as she got closer to him, he grinned harder. All he wanted to do was gather her up in his arms and kiss her. Hard. Just so she could see how pleased he was at her choice of garment.
She finally reached him, and he grasped her hands, squeezing tightly. She smiled at him and squeezed back.
As they turned to the priest, he leant close to her ear and whispered, "You look beautiful, Bones."
She grinned, a sparkle in her eyes that may or may not have been tears.
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBForty-five minutes later, they shared their first kiss as husband and wife. The cheer that went up as their lips met was deafening, and lead by Angela, who was weeping copiously.
They turned and almost floated down the aisle, arm in arm. Matching grins in place, Angela was pleased to note.
She smiled as she saw Brennan and Booth stop as they passed Parker, who was sitting in a pew with Rebecca. Angela was sure that Brennan would soon be ready for motherhood. She had done the huge wedding thing, hadn't she? And last year she had condemned weddings forever. There was definitely hope...
The newlyweds stepped out of the church into the bright sunshine, confetti raining on their heads, cheering echoing in their ears.
But all they could see was each other. And the future.
Okay, break out the champagne! I actually finished this story! wipes tears I want to thank my wonderful, loyal reviewers who came back every chapter to tell me that they loved the story. Special shout outs to Bellabun, angel6, and Dee (who gave me the most flattering review I've ever had). Of course there are many others, but those guys always had something helpful to say and boostered my confidence. Thanks, guys.
Oh, and yes, I invented two sisters for Booth. I ran out of females to be bridesmaids, and didn't want to put Cam in there, just because. Also, Brennan's dress was modelled off a design I found on the 'net: Maggie Sottero "Capri Marie". It is one gorgeous dress. Especially the magenta coloured one.
Rambled on enough now, you probably wish I'd shut up, but I just want to say that I have other stories in the works, hopefully up soon. And don't forget to review, please! Bye:D