Tear, tear. This is the last official chapter and all that's left is the ever-popular epilogue. It'll take place some months later back in the TO. And I recently received a comment about how this story is a lot of Spied and Nic and not a whole lot of Tommy and Jude, but to clear things up, I never promised a strict Jommy to anyone. Yes, I adore them as a couple and could never write Jude with anyone else, but since Spiederman is my favorite character, I gravitate towards him and since I created Nic and put so much into her, I like to write about them, that's all. Anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed throughout this story because truly, reviews are my anti-drug. Okay, that's a little melodramatic but you guys definitely rock. Hopefully you'll review this chapter and the epilogue. And, I'm taking ideas for a new story cause once this is done, I'm open to anything. Let me know.
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
"This is it," Nic breathed when she woke up on the morning of her wedding. "I'm getting married."
"Yeah, I've heard you say that before," Tommy teased from his place on her window seat. "Will this one last?'
She sat up and frowned. "You don't get to be a jerk to me on my wedding day, Tommy. But, to answer your question, absolutely."
"I figured," he nodded, sipping his coffee. "So, the ceremony starts at 5:00, meaning we have nine hours to get ready. Oh, Darius, Portia, and Georgia arrived this morning and are staying at the Sea Pines Hotel with everyone else. The only person not here at this point is Shay-Shay, but he likes making a grand entrance."
"Touché," she laughed. "Have you seen Spied yet today?"
"Nah," he replied. "He'll wake up around 2:00, take a shower, eat something, and meet us there."
"You don't think he'll get like, cold feet or anything, do you?" she asked nervously. "I mean, he will marry me, right?"
"Nic," he said softly. "You know he will. Marriage is a big deal to him, so having proposed after a couple of weeks, and then planning the wedding in another week, he's definitely serious about this."
"Just checking," she murmured. "So, how are things with Jude? I mean, we all see that things are progressing, but behind closed doors, does it stay that way?"
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, actually. Things are definitely back to the way they once were but I'm not taking any chances. That doesn't mean she holds all the cards, but I'm never gonna do anything to take advantage of her again."
Nic had stopped paying attention. Instead, she was staring at her wedding gown that was hanging over her closet. It had arrived Thursday night and it was exactly what she wanted. Richie had gone with the sweetheart neckline in a cream color, but on his own, he'd added cap sleeves in an elegant lace that she loved. It was still very form-fitting and it flowed out just at her ankles. She hadn't tried it on yet, because of superstition, but she couldn't wait to wear it.
"It's gorgeous," Jude mused, leaning against the door frame. "You'll look like a cover model in that dress, Nic."
"Duh," Nic smirked smugly. "Have you seen Spied today? Tommy was no help."
"He's up and eating breakfast at the other house," Jude reported. "Wally and Kyle are with him, so he can't do anything stupid that would hurt him, so he's under lock and key."
Nic eyed Jude. "You trust those two, his catalysts, to watch him?"
"Oddly enough, I would trust Kyle and Wally with my life," Jude admitted. "They come off as stupid and immature, but they're the three best friends I could ever ask for."
"Speaking of, could someone tell Christian I really don't want her to come today?" Nic asked lightly. "That little whore is working with OK! magazine to sell pictures from the wedding to benefit herself. The only magazine with rights to do that is People cause they're my favorite and I'm always on their Best Dressed lists."
Tommy stood up. "I'll go get rid of her cause I'm having a business lunch with Darius and Georgia about getting my job back." He kissed Nic's cheek, kissed Jude, and left the room.
"Well, if he's already coming back to Toronto, things must be getting pretty serious," Nic mused.
Jude shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But it's not like being a couple was something so unnatural for us. I mean, we built it up for two years before he left to help you and I went on a total of four dates in the last three years. I guess I was always holding out for your brother."
"Yeah, it's a Quincy thing," Nic laughed. "We're well worth waiting for."
"Oh, God," Jude murmured. "I see the ego is hereditary, too."
"You're jealous," Nic said in a sing-song voice. "Don't worry, once you marry him, it'll transfer to you. I just met a guy whose ego is already big enough."
Jude was quiet. "Do you think he and I will get married?"
"Let me answer your question with another question," Nic replied. "Do you want to get married to him?"
"Someday," Jude whispered. "I've thought about it, a lot more over the last few weeks, but I'm 20. Isn't that too young to be married?"
Nic turned to face Jude with an amused look on her face. "Jude, I was married at 19, and so was Tommy. Now, I know, I know, both of those marriages floundered, but we weren't in love with the people we were married to. You and Tommy? Now, that's love. If you get married young, that's just more time to be together."
"That's a good way of looking at it," Jude agreed. "But not now. For right now, let's focus on your day."
"Sounds good to me," Nic laughed, going into the bathroom.
Spiederman stared at his reflection in the floor-length mirror in Jude's bedroom, a little shocked by what he saw. In his last wedding, he'd worn a hat and a tuxedo t-shirt. In this one, his hair was just washed and normal, but the only tuxedo he wore this time was by Hugo Boss.
"Ready?" Kyle asked as he and Wally walked into the room, both wearing khaki pants and different colored Oxford shirts. "Kwest just said we're leaving for the ceremony in ten minutes."
"Yes," Spiederman said assuredly. "I'm ready."
"This is it, man," Wally breathed. "Last like, hour as a single man."
"I was married before," Spiederman pointed out.
Wally scoffed. "Karma didn't count and you know it."
"True," Spiederman nodded. "I'm glad you guys are here for this."
"Dude," Kyle said. "We're your best friends. Where else would we be?"
Spiederman just smiled at them. "And I'm glad you understand why I have to let Tommy stand up there with me; I mean, she's letting Jude, and he's her brother."
"It's cool," Wally assured him. "We know you'd rather have us and that's all that matters."
Kwest stuck his head in the room. "Guys, let's go."
Kyle led them from the room and outside to the Jeep. "Are you worried this will mess up your hair?"
"Funny," Spiederman said, pushing him into the car. "Wait. Mom?"
Lindsey Spiederman grinned at her son as she walked down the driveway. "Hi, sweetie."
"I thought you were just going to meet us at the ceremony?" he asked.
"If it's okay, I'd like to drive you," she offered. "I wasn't at your first err, wedding and I want to give you some advice before this one."
Wally leaned in to whisper to Kyle. "I'm not sure her marriage advice will be so good if you know what I mean."
Lindsey looked at him. "I heard that, Wallace."
"Sorry, Lindsey," he mumbled shamefully. "Kyle and I will take the Jeep and you guys can ride together in your uhh, cab." He followed Kyle into the car and drove away.
"Mom, thanks for coming," Spiederman said to her once they were in the taxi she'd come in on. "It really means a lot to me that you can be in the same place as Dad without fighting for a night."
"Yes, well, we discussed it through e-mail and decided to remain civil because this is your day and we don't want to ruin it," she explained. "Now, this Nic, is she nice to you?"
"Usually," he laughed lightly. "But it's always in good fun; I can take what she dishes out and I send it right back. It's healthy."
Lindsey took his hand. "Sweetie, marriage is not easy. I know you were married once before, but I've stricken that from the record because that was poorly thought out from the get-go. You're only 20, so two marriage at this point in your life is a lot and if this one doesn't work out, well, that doesn't bode well for you."
"Mom," he interrupted, "this one is gonna work, I promise. She's been married before, too, and neither of us want two divorces before 25."
"I know," she said. "And I can't wait to meet her."
Nic sat in the backseat of the Range Rover with Jude, while Tommy drove to the Whirlaway Gardens, picking at her nails. Instead of having them done, which was always a bad idea, she'd just painted them her signature nail color- black- but was already biting it off.
"Nic, stop," Tommy warned her. "It's going to be fine. Everyone you want is here and everyone you don't want, including the rogue press, isn't. Christian was sent away, Noelle and James don't even know about it unless they read it in the tabloids, and Chris hasn't said a word; you're golden."
"Good," she breathed. "Are you sure I look okay? I'm meeting his parents today, as well."
Jude looked at her. Nic looked amazing in the dress, as predicted, and to compliment it, she'd softly curled her hair and pulled it back halfway with a slight bouffant. She'd decided against a veil, and only wore pearl earrings and a strand of her grandmother's vintage pearls around her neck. "You look unbelievably gorgeous," she finally told her. "He won't know what him."
Nic was still worrying herself to death when Tommy parked the car.
"Are you ready?" he asked her.
"As I'll ever be," she nodded.
Jude got out first, in her silver bridesmaid dress, and stood at the top of the aisle, smiling at those she knew. She was pleased to see that Jack and Lindsey Spiederman were on opposite sides and not making a scene, yet. As the string quartet Nic had hired started to play, she slowly began making her way down the aisle, excited to see her best friend finally marry the girl of his dreams.
"You look beautiful," Spiederman whispered when she'd reached the altar.
"Thanks," she whispered back as everyone turned their attention to the siblings at the back.
Nic took a deep breath, linked her arm through her brothers, and started walking. She immediately noticed Spiederman's dad, because he looked just like him. And she assumed the man seated next to his was his uncle Dave because he looked just like the two of them, as well. On the other side, there was only one woman she didn't recognize who was crying, so she smiled at her, guessing it was her soon-to-be mother-in-law. Finally, her gaze locked on Spiederman and she couldn't help but get teary-eyed. He looked so good in his Huge Boss tuxedo and yet, with his slightly untidy hair, she knew he was comfortable.
"Who here gives this girl away?" the minister asked.
Just as Tommy went to say he did, two other voices in the back spoke up, "We do."
Nic looked over her shoulder to see her parents walking up, dressed to impress. "Oh, man," she groaned. "Who told them?"
"Don't look at me," Tommy replied. "I didn't say a word."
Nic slowly turned to Kwest, who was the only other person there who knew the St. Bart's phone number. "I'll kill you," she mouthed.
"Hello, dear," Noelle said coolly. "You look stunning."
"Thanks," Nic said tersely. "Can I get married now and we'll talk after this?"
James took his wife's hand and led her to seats next to Lindsey.
"Because this isn't a traditional ceremony, Nic and Spiederman have written their own vows," the minister announced. "Nic, would you like to go first?"
"Yes," she agreed softly, looking at the man she was marrying. "I met you at a very inappropriate time. You were separated from your wife, I was already divorced once, and we were young. In the beginning, I only spoke to you for selfish reasons because Montreal had always been my territory but Tommy had come in and invaded and I wanted him out so we teamed up to get him and Jude back together so he could return to Toronto. That's how we came up with this Hilton Head trip and my life hasn't been the same since. I graduated from McGill University, which is the true Harvard of the north, and you graduated from high school. I can speak three languages fluently and you stumble with English sometimes. But, even with all of our differences, I love you for your quirks. I love that you're more comfortable with watching cartoons than the news and that you'd rather read comic books than Charles Dickens. I love that you forget to put the toilet seat down but always apologize for it and I love that you don't hold that Tommy is my brother against me." Everyone laughed at this. "Most of all, I love that you accept me for who I am and that you love me for the things that make me me and not because I'm wealthy or well-known. And for all of that, I thank you." She took the platinum band she'd gotten him from Jude and slid it on his finger.
Spiederman cleared his throat and pulled an index card from his pocket, causing everyone to chuckle. "Like she said, she went to McGill and I got through high school, so I forget things easier. Anyways, after my first failed attempt at a marriage, which was bad from the beginning, I never thought I'd try it again. Or, if I did, not until I was at least like, 35. But, then I met you. You're stubborn and outspoken and you drive a Lexus, but I love you. I'm immature and slightly psychotic and I drive a '57 Firebird, but you love me. And for me, that's enough. Most people will say that 'love isn't enough,' but since I didn't have that the first time around, I wouldn't know. For you and me, it's enough, and I'm sure of it. If you jump, I jump. If you listen to Britney Spears, I, begrudgingly, listen to Britney Spears. For the rest of our lives, whatever you do, I do. I love you, Nic Quincy, and that's not gonna change, no matter how many times Tommy threatens me for it." He pulled the wedding band he'd gotten to match her engagement ring from his pocket and slipped it on.
"By the powers vested in me by the state of South Carolina, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Spiederman," the minister proclaimed. "You may kiss your bride."
Spiederman whooped loudly before pulling her towards for their big public display.
"Now, if everyone will oblige, the happy couple would like you to join them at their two beach houses for a night of food, dancing, and debauchery," the minister added.
"We'll happily be providing the last part!" Kyle yelled as he and Wally hurried to the Jeep. "Last ones there are locked out."
"Then I'll be sure to be last," Shay sneered, stepping up to Nic and Spiederman. "Congratulations, Nic. Try and make this one last, will ya?"
"Funny guy," she smirked, kissing his cheek. "Thanks for coming, Shay-Shay."
He rolled his eyes. "Still with the nickname? Move on." He shook Spiederman's hand. "You've got a lot to handle, but from what I've heard, so does she. Good luck." And with that, he said good-bye to Darius and was whisked away to a limo that was taking him straight to the airport for a flight to Las Vegas.
"Mom, Dad," Spiederman said to his parents once everyone had convened on the Quincy compound, "this is Nic. Nic, these are my parents, Lindsey and Jack."
"It's so nice to meet you finally," Nic smiled, shaking their hands. "He talks about the two of you all the time."
Lindsey hugged her. "Welcome to the family, dear. It's so nice to have a daughter-in-law who actually seems happy to meet us. Karma never really put forth an effort."
"Karma was a tramp," Spiederman interrupted. "Forget her."
Jack laughed. "Nic, treat him right, okay? I'd be lying if I said we did when he was a boy."
"I will," Nic promised. She spotted her parents. "It's now or never if you want to meet the Quincy's."
He sighed, squeezed her hand, and allowed her to lead him to them.
"Noelle, James," she spoke up, "this is Spiederman. Spied, these are my parents."
"Hello," James greeted him sternly, offering a limp hand. "Are you good to our daughter?"
"Yes, sir," Spiederman confirmed, not letting the man's condescending tone get to him. "And vice-versa, don't worry."
"We don't," Noelle said. "We raised her right."
Nic couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Ha! Don't pretend you were there so much when I was little. If you'd have raised me, I'd be scared to see what I would've become. Luckily, we had Honey, Pops, and Tallie around all the time do make sure we turned out to be good people because your idea of 'good' and my and Tommy's idea of 'good' are two very different ideas."
"Nicole, we did not come here for you to speak to us this way," James snapped.
"I didn't want you here in the first place!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "Why do you think I told Noelle we were doing this last weekend? To throw you off! No offense, but you're horrible parents! The fact that people like you can even procreate is an indictment against the entire idea!"
Spiederman's eyes widened at this. He knew Nic didn't like her parents, at all, but this was astounding to be witnessing.
"Nic," Tommy said, making his way through the small crowd towards her. "Just walk away." He grabbed her arm and pulled her outside.
"Maybe, uhh, maybe you should go?" Spiederman suggested to the Quincy's. "I think Kwest had good intentions by bringing you here, but it was clearly a bad idea."
Noelle glared at him, turned on her heels and stormed away, allowing James to follow.
"Are you okay?" Tommy wondered once he'd calmed his sister down. "That was pretty heated in there."
"Yeah, well, I hate them," she said simply. "I know people say, 'oh, you can't hate your parents,' but that's bullshit because I absolutely, 100 hate Noelle and James."
"Yeah, I got that," he breathed, sitting down next to her on the patio furniture. "Nic, forget about them. You're right, they're horrible parents, but don't let them ruin your wedding night. There's a guy in there who loves you enough for himself, our parents, and everyone else here, and I'm sure he's waiting to make sure you're all right."
She nodded and stood up. "You're right. Okay, thanks, Tommy." She kissed his cheek and walked back into the house to find her husband.
"Hey," Spiederman said softly when she found him in the living room, vaguely listening to a conversation about going back to work between Georgia, EJ, Wally, and Kyle. "You cool?"
"Always," she smiled. "Sorry about all of that back there. It was wrong to do it at our reception but I was so angry at them. I guess it's 22 years of resentment all built up."
He wrapped his arms around her waist. "It's fine, trust me. I always thought I got the raw end of the deal because my parents got divorced when I was young, but I never doubted that they loved me. Who knew the rich girl with the married parents would have a much screwier home life than I did?"
"Me," she answered jokingly. "I lived that life."
"Umm, if I could get everyone's attention?" Tommy called out, talking into a microphone that had been set up near the small DJ booth. "I'd like to make a toast to my sister and her new husband, who I know will be much better than the first. You're not exactly what I would call 'my favorite couple,' but Vin, you make my sister happy, so I like you enough for that. But now that you're family, I have every right to tear into you at any point in time, whether here or back in Toronto." He raised his champagne glass. "To Nic and Spiederman."
"To Nic and Spiederman," everyone else murmured, sipping from their own flutes.
"Hey, what's your wedding song?" Jude wondered. "You guys never said."
Nic looked at Spiederman and smiled. "He actually suggested it, which really surprised me, cause it's pretty lame and cheesy, but I went along with it because it's nice that he remembered that it's from my true favorite movie now."
The lights dimmed and everyone cleared the floor, which was actually the living room of the SME house, as the DJ put on the song 'It Takes Two,' from the movie Hairspray, which Nic had made everyone watch at least once since they'd gotten to Hilton Head.
"Oh."
"My."
"God."
Jude, Wally, and Kyle couldn't help but laugh as the newlyweds began to slow dance to the musical's song.
"It's so stupid and yet, so them," Kyle decided. "She likes a movie and as her little yes-man, he picks a song from it to be their wedding song."
Wally scoffed. "Her yes-man. I'm sure that kills Georgia, cause he never listens to her and she's his boss."
"Then Nic should just work for G-Major," Kyle shrugged. "As Georgia's like, wingwoman."
"She already has one," Jude pointed out, "in the form of EJ Li."
Wally made a face. "EJ's our stylist/publicist/Portia's boss. She can't make us do anything music-wise."
"Would you want to stand up to EJ?" Jude mused. When Wally didn't answer, she smirked. "I didn't think so."
"This has been the best day of my life," Spiederman told Nic as they continued their dance long after the song had ended and switched to something else. "Better than when our solo album went platinum and we were on the cover of Rolling Stone combined."
"Wow," she breathed. "That makes me feel incredibly important then."
He kissed her softly. "You are incredibly important."
"I want that," Tommy said to Sadie as they stood to the side of the room. "What they found in a few weeks, people spend a lifetime looking for; I seem to be one of them."
"You found it," Sadie pointed out, nodding at her sister who was still with Wally and Kyle. "You just need to wait for it to happen now."
"I don't want to wait forever," he admitted. "I love Jude, I really and truly do, but I can't hold out while she decides if she wants to let me back in again. I've grown up a lot, Sadie, and I'm not ever going to hurt her again, but she's having a hard time seeing that."
Sadie sighed. "You're right. She's my little sister, so I'm always on her side, but even I've seen that you've grown out of your 'running away' thing and are completely ready to commit. I guess she's just scared. You've got to do something to prove it, once and for all, that you're here to stay."
"I'm not an expert on the big, romantic gestures," he said. "I mean, our parents practically had an arranged marriage, so my dad never told me stories about courting my mom. Everything I know about love and relationships, I've read in books, seen through other people, or saw in movies."
"To be honest, that surprises me," Sadie laughed. "You were such a charmer."
He smirked. "I'll be sure to tell Chaz his techniques work the next time I see him."
Jude watched across the room as her sister talked to Tommy and she knew that they were talking about her. She even knew they were probably talking about the fact that he was ready for marriage and Jude wasn't; he'd been hinting at it all week and Jude wasn't completely dense.
"Just do it," Kyle whispered into her ear. "Marry him; all the cool kids are doing it."
"You would consider Spied and Nic as the 'cool kids?'" she joked. "Why, cause they're always in magazines and on TV?"
He chuckled. "All I'm saying is that he's changed. Tommy, I mean. He's not the unpredictable, mysterious guy we used to know. He's completely in love with you and if you continue to keep him at arm's length, whether you're in a relationship or not, it's eventually going to push him away, I'm afraid."
"Who died and made you so deep?" she teased, nudging him playfully.
"The drummer is always deep," he pointed out. "You just have to dig."
The night ended with a bang, as Darius, who was completely drunk, ended up making out with Georgia on the back deck, giving everyone who worked at G-Major perfect blackmail that would probably come in handy someday. By 1:30, everyone had left and only those who had come on the original trip remained, staring out at the water.
"Who'd have thought, on our first day here, that Spied would fall in love and get married, Kwest would propose, Jude and Tommy would work everything out, and we'd all end up alive to tell the tale?" Kyle asked to no one in particular. "Crazy, huh?"
"Definite good times," Jude agreed, leaning into Tommy who had wrapped his arms around her. "We should come back next summer."
"Yeah!" Sadie cried. "Unless we can't get away from work."
"Trust me, we'll get away," Tommy assured them. "Especially with my promotion."
"Promotion?" Jude repeated, pulling back to look up at him. "What promotion?"
He cleared his throat. "Well, Darius is sending Georgia to the New York studio and Toronto's going to need a president, and you're looking at him."
"Man, that's awesome," Kwest said, offering a hand to shake.
"Will you still produce me?" Jude asked quietly.
He looked down at her. "You and only you. Well, and the Spiederman boys, but only when they're doing your backing tracks. When they fly solo, they're with Kwest." He glanced over at Sadie. "And I'm going to need a V.P. and after five years, I think you've earned it, Sadie."
"Shut up!" she squealed. "Seriously, you want me as your vice president? I accept!"
"Congratulations, both of you," Nic smiled, tightening her grip around her husband. "So, I think we should probably get to bed because we leave for Fiji in the morning and we're just gonna take my car to the garage and then take a cab to the airport. Our flight is at 7:15 and we're leaving here at 5:30, so we won't wake you." She made her way around to hug and kiss everyone's cheek, hugging her brother extra. "We'll just meet you all back in Toronto."
"Ahh, back in Toronto," Spiederman sighed. "Home sweet home."
"Your 'home sweet home' is about to get a lot sweeter," Nic chimed in as everyone went between the two houses. "Because Nic Spiederman is moving to town."