Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: This isn't a dream world. Jenna, and Allison's problem will be explained in the next few chapters.

Thanks to Ghostrider for reviewing 12 and 13 and badkidoh for reviewing 12.

"How can we plan a wedding in two weeks, Jack? It's not possible."

They stopped walking and he turned to her, hands in his pockets.

"It can be done, Jo. Trust me, it can be done." She narrowed her eyes as they continued walking.

"How do you know?"

"My first marriage was... actually an... elopement with two friends and a county judge. I'd like to do things right this time."

"Right as in the white dress and the tux and the invitations and the cake..." He nodded.

"Yes. All those and more." He said, taking her hand. She gave him a small smile, even as he pulled her towards one of the tables outside Cafe Diem. They sat down, conversing in low tones until Vin showed up with their regulars. Once he was gone, Jo said,

"So I have to go looking for a wedding dress." Jack chuckled at the look on her face.

"It's not like wearing a wedding dress on your wedding day is going to give you radiation poisoning, Jojo." She looked at him, curling her lip into a disgusted sneer.

"Must I?" He raised his eyebrows. "It's just.. Jack... you know I'm not a... a girl..." At his incredulous look, "You know what I mean. It took Zoe two hours to get me to agree to the dress, and then another hour and a half to get me into it when I went out with Zane that day, and that was almost... what, eight years ago?" He sipped his coffee, listening. "I don't do girly. I haven't since I wanted to dance when I was a kid, and I gave that up-"

"You had no choice, Jojo." Jack replied, taking her hand again. "You were a little girl who had to grow up way too fast. You can't be a dancer again, but maybe our wedding can give you a little of your childhood back. Think of it that way, love. Okay?" She nodded. He kissed her gently, pulling away when Allison walked past with Zane. "There is something seriously wrong with those two."

"Tell me about it." She sipped her coffee, avoiding eye contact with the two. "No. Zane's still the smart-assed, self-centered, holier-than-thou son of a bitch he's always been. It's Allison that's different. And what's really strange, is that the two seem to be working together. That's what scares me."

Once they finished lunch, the couple headed to pick up Jenna from school. As the girl climbed into the car, she asked,

"Can we go dress shopping now?"

"Dress shopping?" Jo asked, turning to look back at the girl.

"For the wedding." After a moment, she reached out and took the girl's hand.

"Not today, sweetie. But maybe in the next couple of days. All right?" The girl brightened, excited.

"Good. Because I can't wait to be the flower girl. Daddy, is Zoe going to come back and be the maid-of-honor? Where are we going to have the wedding? It should be at Town Square, that way everyone can attend. And the party will be at Cafe Diem and Mr. Vincent will make the cake." The two listened half-interestedly as the little girl prattled on. "Jo! You'll wear a dress with a heart top and a flowing skirt! And there will be strings in the back that lace like tennis shoes! And you'll carry red lilies and pansies."

Eventually, Jo turned around and asked, "Jea, h... how... why do you say that?" The little girl looked up at her innocently.

"Because it's all true."

"But none of it has happened yet. You can't just say something and expect it to be true-"

"Jojo." She turned back when Jack took her hand. "Humor her. She's a little girl who wants to involve herself in her parent's wedding."

Jo nodded, settling back against the seat for the rest of the drive. When they finally reached home and went to the door, Jenna rushed ahead, taking Jo's hand. Jack followed, smiling at Jenna's childish prattle.

"I can't believe they're getting married."

"You've been going on about this for the last two weeks, Allison, would you give it a rest?"

"How can you say that? Aren't you the least bit upset over the fact that Jo is marrying Jack? My Jack!" Allison cried, turning to Zane on the sofa. He sighed, taking a seat on the arm and sipping his coffee.

"Yes, I'm upset, but I'm not stewing about it. Not right now, anyway." He muttered. Allison glared at him.

"We need to figure out how to break them up." Allison said, picking up her cup of coffee. They'd returned home immediately after seeing Jo and Jack together at Cafe Diem, and spent a good two hours trying to figure out what was wrong with them.

Zane looked up at her. She smiled at him, and he could see her eyes spark in the light. It turned his stomach.

"And once we break them up, I'm going to take Jo out back and wring her skinny little neck like the chicken she is." After a moment, Zane set his cup on the table.

"Allison?" She didn't reply, just giggled excitedly. "Maybe you should lie down. You're starting to worry me."

That night, after putting Jenna to bed, Jo and Jack spent the night wrapped in the sheets, talking about plans for the wedding.

"I'll talk to Vincent tomorrow before work."

"And I called Zoe after dinner tonight, and she said that she'll hop the next flight down here and help you pick out your dress."

Jo laid her head on his chest and said sarcastically,

"Can't wait."