Forgot to mention - this will be seven chapters and an epilogue in total. The core of it is all written, but I'm adding in a few more scenes as I go.

The small wedding party gathered in the back of the courtroom as the wedding before theirs finished up. The two newlywed brides held hands as they headed out the doors, their family following behind them cheering them on.

"Hirano and Tjinder?" the clerk called.

"Yes," Baljeet said.

"Come on down," the clerk said. "You're the next contestants on, 'Let's Make A Wedding'."

Laughing, they formed up in front of the judge. Buford stood to Baljeet's side; Ginger's older sister Stacy was on the far side of Ginger. Both sets of parents stood slightly behind their children, looking a bit overwhelmed at how quickly things had progressed.

The judge, an older Mexican-Chinese woman, stepped up. "Hi, I'm Judge Mary Yu, and yes that is my real name. I just need to go over the preliminaries. George, you checked IDs and all that?"

The clerk said, "Yep. All set."

"Okay, everybody ready to go? Rings set?"

Stacy and Buford nodded.

"Bride and groom ready?"

Ginger and Baljeet nodded. His hand stole over and gripped hers - she wasn't sure if it was to reassure her, or him.

The judge continued. "Okay. We are gathered today to marry this lovely couple, Baljeet Tjinder and Ginger Hirano. I am satisfied that the legal requirements for the wedding according to the laws of the Tri-State Area have been met. I must now confirm that they both come to this marriage of their own free will and choice.

"Baljeet Tjinder: do you come to this union of your own free will, and choose to take Ginger Hirano to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

His voice cracking just slightly, Baljeet said, "I do."

"Ginger Hirano: do you come to this union of your own free will, and choose to take Baljeet Tjinder to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Ginger took a deep breath, and said, "I do."

As the newlyweds headed out of the courtroom, Stacy pulled her sister aside. "Ginger, I really need to thank you for this."

Ginger gave her a confused look.

"No matter how screwed-up my personal life is, anything I do from now on will pale compared to my little sister marrying her ex-boyfriend so he can stay in this country with his gay lover."

Baljeet easily carried Ginger over the threshold of her - now their - apartment. "You've been working out," she said as he set her down. Their parents had taken the wedding party out to a celebratory dinner before sending the newlyweds off to their honeymoon at home.

"Buford has convinced me to go to the gym with him," he replied.

"It shows. A little muscle looks good on you."

"Thank you. You are looking quite lovely yourself, Mrs. Hirano-Tjinder."

"That's quite a mouthful, isn't it?" Ginger smiled at him. "But I think I like it."

He held her close, and said, "I am glad. Since we are officially stuck with each other now."

She laughed. "We are." She reached up and stroked his short black hair. "So what should we do about that?"

He leaned down to kiss her, and she relaxed into him, pressing herself against him as he held her tightly. As the kiss ended, she looked him in the eyes and said, "That's a good start."

"It may be a bit early to go to sleep, but perhaps I could interest you in going to bed?"

"Have I ever told you how much I appreciate a man with a plan?"

"Repeatedly. Last time I saw your list of reasons you love me, it was number three."

Baljeet leaned back against the headboard of the bed, awaiting his wife - his wife. That was a staggering pair of words. He had long hoped he could reconcile with Ginger eventually, but had never imagined that in the short space of a week he could go from nothing to married to her. Now he was in her - their - bedroom, lounging on their king-size bed wearing nothing but a pair of black silk pajama pants.

He was anxious about how things would go once Buford moved in in a week, but that was something to worry about later. Right now, he had to spend the next week demonstrating to his wife - his wife! - that he truly loved her for more than just her citizenship.

The bedroom door opened, and Ginger came in wearing a short green silk robe that clung to her and showed off her legs, toned from running. She climbed onto the bed and knelt straddling his thighs. He reached up to run his fingers through her short hair.

"My beautiful bride," he said, his voice full of wonder.

She twisted her head and kissed his wrist. "Yours," she said. "My husband. That is so weird." She smiled at him. "And so hot."

He slid his hands down to rest them on her hips. "So is this my wedding present?" he asked with a grin.

"Mmhmm. Are you ready to unwrap it?"

"I am." He reached for the knot in the robe's sash, and untied it with a quick tug. His hands slid inside the robe, opening it to reveal nothing but soft skin. He pulled her closer, their bare chests touching as they kissed. She was now straddling his erection, which was only separated from her by the thin silk of his pajamas. She rubbed herself against it, making him gasp.

"That must be my present, then," Ginger said in a throaty voice.

Ginger woke up slowly, briefly confused by the warmth on her leg. Her eyes opened to find Baljeet asleep, lying on his back, with one hand resting on her hip as she lay on her side facing him.

She'd never had a chance to spend the night with him before; while he hadn't been willing to hide what they were doing from their parents, overnight visits had been more than their families were willing to allow, and she'd broken things off before they'd gone off to the University of Danville and had their own apartments. She suspected that was going to be the best part of the new arrangement; instead of worrying about when they had to be done, they could enjoy each other until they were both satisfied, and then drift off to sleep together.

Every other night, at least. Still more often than we could manage before.

Nice as lying in bed with him was, though, she had some short-term urges to deal with. She slid out from under his hand and headed to the bathroom to deal with them, then went looking for her running clothes.

She was just lacing up her shoes when he awoke. "I was just going out for my morning run." she said.

He smiled and said, "If you're willing to wait for me to get dressed and do my morning stretches, I would be delighted to join you."

"Sure thing."

He tracked down his workout clothes and they did some warm-up stretches together before heading out for a running loop around the neighborhood. About ten minutes in, he had to slow to a walk for a bit, apologizing to her for slowing her down. "I have been working more on strength than endurance," he said, breathing heavily.

"Daily running will help," she said with a smile. "When you're ready."

They ran and walked around the loop, taking longer than she was used to. As they arrived back at the apartment, she asked, "So, what do you think first? Breakfast, or shower?"

"That depends," Baljeet answered. "Would I have company for the shower?"

"That can certainly be arranged," she answered with a smile.

Breakfast would have to wait a bit.

The judge is based on the real Judge Mary Yu (yes, really), who performed the first gay weddings in Seattle. (There's a lovely video out there covering them, with the song 'Marry You' from Glee providing background music for part of it. Search Vimeo for "twelve nine twelve", or the link is in my profile.) It is my hope that the Honorable Judge Yu doesn't mind being borrowed for this ceremony.