A/N: This is unbeta'd, all mistakes are mine. The song is not mine, it belongs to Chuck Wicks. I wouldn't have chosen it normally but it was given to me as a prompt and I had to work with it. I hope it turned out alright. There will be more chapters (hopefully better ones). I'm taking all your suggestions into consideration :D
Enjoy!

Rick let Johanna run off to find her Grandpa Jim and then went to see his other daughter. He found the room designated for the bride, but before he could pluck up the courage to knock, he caught a glimpse of red and hot pink satin down the hallway.

"Mother!" he called out and the flurry of colors came to a halt. His mother sashayed towards him and as she came closer, he could make out the animal print details of her fancy dress and the rubies that accentuated her neck and ears.

"You are breathtakingly stunning, mother!" he told her with a wink and she raised her elegant eyebrows at him in acceptance. Her gaze slid down his black tux, approved of the silver cufflinks and lingered on the green pocket square.

"If it weren't for that sad look on your face, you'd clean up nicely, son. Is something wrong, Richard?" He was never good at hiding things from her.

He sighed for what he was sure wouldn't be the last time today.

"This is even worse than when she moved out."

Martha's body shifted as she prepared herself for the worried whining that would surely follow. He didn't disappoint.

"I mean, now I'm never going to see her again! She's grown and I know that but it's so hard and without her things are different and what if they decide to move to Hawaii or Nigeria or who knows where they could end up and then they'll have kids and won't tell me and I'll never know that I have grandchildren somewhere in this world and…"

"Rick! Would you please stop it!" she interrupted him when he stopped making sense even to her. "Can't you just for one day be happy that your daughter is living her dream, marrying the man she loves? This is supposed to be the best day of her life! Please, you can whine all you want tomorrow when it's all over and they're on their way to their honeymoon. Just don't make this harder for her than I'm sure it already is."

He pouted. "You think so?"

"Of course, honey" Martha said and patted his chest. "She loves you, Richard. She's not kicking you out of her life. She's just getting married."

"But doesn't that…"

"No, Rick!" she interrupted him once more and he guiltily shut his mouth.
"In fact, this will pretty much change nothing at all! They have already been living together for a long time, almost four years now. The marriage is basically just a legal confirmation of what has already been established since college" she finished. Rick's forehead was still creased, but she knew that he at least tried to believe her.

"Go in and talk to her" she said softly and nudged his shoulder.

"Thank you" he whispered, but she simply smiled at him, turned around and disappeared in the direction she had come from, a youthful sway to her hips.

Rick took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in" Alexis' voice sounded through the thick wooden door.

She was standing in front of a full length mirror, nervously putting the last touches to her already perfect hair.

"Hey Pumpkin" Rick greeted softly and quietly closed the door behind him.

"Hey" his daughter answered and threw him a small smile in the mirror.

"Are you alone?" Rick asked and walked closer, careful not to step on the long sash of the beautiful white dress that hugged her curves and then fanned out at her hips.

"I kicked Grams out because she was driving me crazy. Paige and Kate are getting ready in the next room" his daughter answered without turning around, her brows furrowed in concentration as she struggled with a pin. The wedding dress left her shoulders mostly bare and he touched a warm hand to her skin. She stopped what she was doing and finally turned around to him, eyes wide with excitement and nervousness.

"You look like a princess" he whispered and she threw her arms around him, not caring if it ruffled her outfit.

...

Playing Cinderella

She was riding her first bike

Bouncing on the bed

And looking for a pillow fight

...

Running through the sprinkler

With a big popsicle grin

Dancing with her dad

Looking up at him

...

"I love you, dad" she whispered into his pressed shirt and he hugged her closer.

"I love you, too." He sighed. "But I guess I'm not the only man in your life anymore."

She slightly pulled away and looked up at him. "You'll always be the most important, dad. I loved you first."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I remember the first time you told me that. You were two and a half and had cheese in your hair and I'm pretty sure you just said it to stop me from getting mad, but in that moment you made me the happiest man alive."

"Oh, dad" Alexis sighed, her eyes sparkling with emotions. "That's sweet." She ran her hand through the greying hair at his temple. "I'm not two anymore."

"I know, sweetie, and it kills me to think of the times when we had popcorn fights that lasted so long that we had to rewind the entire movie…" She laughed at that. "…and know that those times are over" he finished and swallowed thickly.
Their mouths were smiling but their eyes were serious.

"I'm going to miss the sound of your screechy violin when you're out of practice; I'm going to miss cutting chewing gum out of your hair and even cleaning the mess in the kitchen after a flour war that nobody could ever win. I know you've been gone for a while now, but somehow getting married makes it all…more real"

Alexis hugged him more tightly.

"Dad, just because I'm getting married doesn't mean I'll change. Maybe I won't get gum in my hair anymore, but I'll still play laser tag with you."

His eyes lit up a little. "Really?"

She nodded. "Besides, you've got Jo to keep you entertained when I'm not there."

They both visibly relaxed. Then Alexis chuckled. "And Kate can kick some serious laser tag butt!"

Rick grinned and this time it reached his eyes as well. "Don't tell her I said this, but I think you're right."