Eight months later…
Tori couldn't was walking around her hotel suite, Trina, Cat, Claire and Jenny watching her with amusement. "Calm down Tori! You're going to run a hole through the floor if you keep going!" Trina laughed. They had jus t come from Toris bachelorette party and were in the process of trying to calm Tori down. Whereas Jade had managed to take the proposal and the wedding planning in her stride, Tori had been getting more and more wound up. All the tension had reached a head now that it was the night before. "Why are you so uptight?" Cat asked, "I'd be a lot happier if I was getting married tomorrow." Tori kept pacing, not looking at Cat as she answered. "Yeah, I am excited, but it's the nervous throw-uppy kind of excitement."
"Relax Tor; I was like these on my wedding night too, remember?" Trina cut in, "half of me couldn't wait to get married to Chelsea and the other half wanted to jump out the window and run screaming to Peru. Don't worry, it'll pass." Tori stopped and glared at Trina, "before or after I throw up?" Tori asked irately. Trina shrugged. "I dunno. In my case it was after." she answered honestly. Tori stared at Trina then started to make her way to the mini bar. "I need a drink." Jenny stepped between her and the mini bar, "no!" she said firmly, "the last thing you need is to have a hangover on your wedding day, it happened to a friend of mine once-it was horrible." Tori grumbled and flopped face first onto the bed. "The worst part is that I feel exhausted and I can't sleep." Trina sat down on the bed and started stroking her hair. "Hey, I want you to try something. Maybe it'll help you sleep."
"I'll try anything at this point." She groaned, turning onto her side. Trina kept stroking Tori, lowering her voice so it was almost a whisper. "Now close your eyes and breathe deeply-in, out, in, out."
"Are you trying to hypnotize me?" Tori asked as she closed her eyes.
"No now do it." Trina said firmly. Once Tori complied and was a little calmer. Trina continued talking. "Now I want you to imagine your ideal life with Jade. Forget about the wedding, the weddings long past. Just imagine a perfect day in your perfect life." Tori lay there and kept breathing as she thought of what Trina had asked for. She didn't have to think long. "I'm sitting in a fancy high rise office-I don't perform that much anymore, maybe an anniversary concert or benefit once in a while." She said calmly, the image clear in her mind. "Then the door opens and Jade comes in. she's carrying our youngest daughter, Jade junior-JJ- in her arms, and our oldest Cassidy-still only a little girl-is standing next to her. I jump up and go to them. I lift up Cassidy off the floor and give her a hug. I kiss JJ on the cheek and then Jade next. We're going to the premier of a movie Jade wrote. The kids are so excited about seeing their mom's movie and so am I. We leave the office and I think to myself things couldn't possibly get betterbut then I look at my beautiful family and I know, this isn't even the tip of the iceberg- I still have a whole lifetime with these people to look forward to." The image was so beautiful that tears started streaming from Toris eyes. "Thanks Trina," she whispered, "I feel a lot better."
Jade by contrast, was feeling completely ecstatic and not at all nervous. Chelsea had planned Jades bachelorette party and had taken Jade and the boys to a strip club-much to the pleasure of all involved. They all went back to the hotel and spent a little more time with jade before going to their rooms. "Hey Chels," Jade laughed, "Remind me to have you plan my birthday party! You know how to show a girl a good time!" she said excitedly as she threw herself onto the bed. Beck looked at the pale woman with a combination of amusement and wonder. "Man Jade, how are you so cool? On my wedding night I was one bad shock away from having a heart attack and here you are so…" he paused, trying to find the right word. "Cool?" Chelsea suggested.
"Yeah." Beck agreed. Jade grinned at him, seeing an opening for some very satisfying mocking. "Guess I'm just more of a man than you are aren't I?" she teased. Beck rolled his eyes, suddenly remembering the teasing she had given him when they were dating in high school. "Jade I'm being serious here. Come on Chels you're married you've gotta know what I'm talking about." He said slightly pleadingly. Chelsea grinned at jade, "well. While I fully accept that you are more of a man than Beck, I have to admit that it is weird how calm you are." She said. Jade took a deep breath to calm herself down before she spoke. "Well it's easy for me. Tori is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, and I have a little trick to calm myself down whenever I get nervous." Chelsea cocked an eyebrow at the grinning woman on the bed. "Oh yeah? Do tell." Jade closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Whenever I start to feel a little…overwhelmed, I close my eyes and imagine an ideal day in my ideal life."
"Really?" Robby interjected, "and what would that be?"
"Toris started working in the office, not really in the concert scene anymore. I've written a new movie script and the premier's today." She said, her voice almost a sigh, "I go to pick up Tori and I have our two girls with me. I open the door and her eyes light up as she sees us. She kisses us and as we leave the office, I think that there's no way my life could get better, but then I look at my beautiful family and I realize-this isn't even the tip of the iceberg, I have a whole lifetime with these people to look forward to."