Disclaimer – Nothing, I own. – I've split this into three sections…wedding morning, wedding ceremony and wedding night. Boy was this a hard chapter to write.

The Wedding Morning

Elizabeth woke with an excited tingle humming through her body. She stretched her arms out into the cool air and then she simply couldn't contain the childish giggles that wracked her body. Her feet kicked energetically and she pumped her fists against the mattress in wild excitement.

"I take it you're awake in there?" Abigail called from her bedroom down the hall. Elizabeth had decided she wanted to spend the night before her wedding with her closest friends instead of on her own so they'd had a girl's night in the café; played cards, ate delicious sweets and even drank some of the wine they had ordered for the wedding. Viola and her mother had even managed to relax a little and enjoy the evening.

"I'm getting married today!" Elizabeth squealed and she heard both Abigail and Clara begin to laugh from their rooms. Before she could do anything else Abigail, wrapped in her dressing gown came padding into Elizabeths room. Elizabeth slid over in the bed and Elizabeth climbed in beside her. The two friends looked at each other and smiled.

"Are you nervous?" Abigail brushed a hand over Elizabeths stray curls in a very motherly fashion.

"Not even a little bit, should I be?" Elizabeth face filled with apprehension and Abigail smiled.

"No, but its normal if it comes at some point today," Elizabeth took that in and they were silent for a moment.

"I don't think I've ever thanked you properly," Abigails eyes widened at Elizabeths seriousness.

"Thanked me?" Abigail was puzzled and Elizabeth chuckled a bit to herself. Abigail did so much for everyone around her and she never thought she did anything special.

"You've become the best friend I could have ever asked for Abigail and I am so thankful that I have you in my life."

"Elizabeth…"

I won a prize moving to Hope Valley and finding you….and Jack." She blushed at the mention of her fiancé and Abigail smiled.

"Let's boil some water so you can have a nice bath," Abigail climbed out of the bed and Elizabeth followed. Abigail was just about at the door when she turned around, "I feel exactly the same way about you Elizabeth. I think we're kindred spirits put here to bring the best out of each other."

The two women shared a smile and then they got down to business, this was a big day.

…

Elizabeth slipped into the hot water and let a moan drift into the room. Her thoughts instantly went to Jack. Other than the briefest of encounters after he had ridden into town the previous day they hadn't spent any time together since their trip back to Hope Valley from Calgary. She missed him. They were in the same town and she still missed him, but soon that wouldn't be an issue. Soon they would be living together in the same house making a beautiful life together.

Elizabeth scrubbed at her body realizing that this might be the last time it would be just hers. It was an odd thought to think that her body wouldn't be her own after today. She knew that he would never take advantage of her but it would be different he'd have the right to touch her, to look upon her like no one else would. It was a powerful thought and an even more powerful feeling. And the thought that accompanied it, the thought that she would have the same liberties with his body…it made her shiver.

Elizabeth dipped her head below the soapy warm water and when she came up again she could here Julie's exuberant laughter mix with Rosemary's down stairs and knew that it was time to get out and get ready.

It was a blessing that Rosemary and Julie had struck up a friendship because they still had not found Tom. Charlotte had gone to his last known place of employment and the foreman had told him that they hadn't seen Tom in weeks. Though they all felt an uneasy nagging in their stomachs it wasn't unlike Tom to disappear for a while and so they all put their worries into hope that he would turn up shortly feeling guilty for missing his brothers' wedding.

Elizabeth spent the rest of the morning being pampered by her family and friends. They gushed over her helping with her hair and makeup and she couldn't help thinking that this had to be such a special part of a wedding day that really no one ever thought about. Having that time with the women closest to her was like having the breath blown straight back into her lungs. It lifted her from her center and prepared her for the next biggest steps of the day.

The Wedding Ceremony

Jack adjusted the buttons on his suit for the hundredth time that morning. He was standing at the head of the church beside Pastor Frank and amongst almost all of the most important people in his life. He was nervous.

Little Emily pressed her fingers into the piano keys and his chest puffed out in bravado and excitement as the church doors opened to Rosemarys beautiful face. Oh if that wasn't a trip into a land of what ifs he wasn't sure what was. Jack watched Rosemary clutching a simple bouquet and walking down the aisle towards him and he couldn't help the pictures that formed in his mind.

He could suddenly see their life so clearly. They would have married and had children, but they never would have left New York and Rosemary would still be hell bent on being the famous actress she had believed she'd been meant to be. She would have quickly grown to resent him. Spending more and more time at the theatre or out with her colleagues he would have raised their children on his own or with the help of a nanny. Eventually she would disappear and he wouldn't bother to look for her.

It was a bleak picture, but it was also comforting. That life would have left Rosemary sad and hard and unavoidable lonely. He took in her rosy cheeks and the hint of a bump under her dress; this was the life Rosemary deserved. He took in her face again and saw her eyes locked on Lee's. This was the life Rosemary was meant to have and it was the life he was meant to have.

Rosemary took her place at the front of the room and Jack eyes met Julie's. She was smiling widely from ear to ear, clearly thrilled for her sister but Jack could see the sadness hidden below. Whether she truly loved his brother or she truly loved the idea of him – his departure was painful for her and that was as easy to see as the unbridled joy on Abigail right behind her.

Jack watched Abigail toss a wink at Pastor Frank and he couldn't help wondering if they might be attending another wedding sooner rather than later. Abigail was beaming in the pale blue dress Elizabeth had selected for her maids and matrons. If he didn't know that she had really and truly already lived a life full of joy and heartache, if he didn't already know that she had suffered loss like few before her, he never would have been able to guess it. She looked like a young woman with her entire life ahead of her; a young woman in love and giddy with excitement for a dear friend. It lifted him higher and they shared a touching smile as she joined the previous two ladies across from Bill, Lee and himself.

The music changed and Frank asked everyone to rise for the bride. The doors opened and the most curious think happened. His entire body relaxed. Elizabeth was a silhouette in the doorway, the sparkling white of the outdoors giving the illusion she was glowing, maybe she was glowing.

He saw her standing there, her arm tucked into her fathers and it was like the entire world stopped turning. He couldn't hear the music; he couldn't hear the winter birds outdoors or the soft whispers of the guests as they took in the beauty that was Elizabeth Thatcher.

He watched her take step after step towards him, watched her smile at their guests, watched her father lift her veil and kiss her perfect cheek. He vaguely remembered repeating Franks words as he accepted her from her father. And then he watched her life those breathtaking eyes and meet his gaze. It was the most powerful moment of his life, standing before their family and friends and looking into the eyes of the woman that was to be his wife. Her eyes welled and without hesitating he brushed a thumb gently under her to stop the tear from falling.

He didn't hear a single thing that Frank said. Dutifully he repeated what was needed to be said but none of it registered. Until it was time to speak his vows.

Jack cleared his throat and then smiled.

"Elizabeth," he breathed her name like a promise and she smiled back at him. "I vow to love and cherish you; to protect you from harm and sadness as best I can and comfort you with compassion and sympathy when I can't. I promise to remain faithful and loyal no matter what comes our way and to seek guidance and help whenever we need it. You are everything to me and I promise to spend the rest of my life proving these vows to you." He slipped the gold wedding band onto her finger and for the first time since she'd walked into this room he could hear again.

His heart was pounding slow and steady in his chest and it skipped a beat when she opened her lips and whispered his name.

"Jack; you compassionate, brave, talented man; I promise to spend the rest of my life proving to you and to all of our friends and family that I will never stop trying to be better, that I will never stop working on us, never stop loving you – even when you're being ridiculous." Jack chuckled as the familiar words hit his ears. He couldn't in all honestly remember exactly what he'd said during the proposal but the he certainly remembered the sentiment.

So many people, himself included, believed she was too good for him. Here she was in front of everyone claiming that she wasn't.

"I know that there will be difficult times, without them how could really enjoy the good time? But I promise to not let those difficult ones take us down. I'm going to fight every day for this, for us, because it's the most important thing in the world to me. You are the most important person in my world and I will do everything I can to be the wife that you deserve." Jack clutched her fingers tightly after she slid his wedding band onto his finger. This was it. A few more words from Pastor Frank and they were married.

"I now pronounce you man and wife; you may kiss your bride Jack." Frank winked, the entire town had seen them share a kiss here or there they all knew it wasn't a first for them but in a way it felt different for Jack.

He slipped his hand behind her neck and cradled her head, delicate curls had fallen loose from the knot they'd been tied into and they tickled his wrist.

"I love you," he smiled as he slid his lips over hers. The crowd erupted in congratulations and then hooted a bit louder when Jack dipped her back his arm tight around her waist as he deepened the kiss.

The Wedding Night

"Jack stop!" Elizabeth chuckled as Jack stumbled up the steps to their front door.

"I'm fine Elizabeth, I promise." He laughed back at her. He'd had several glasses of champagne that evening, nerves maybe she wasn't sure why because Jack really wasn't much of a drinker, and now he was stumbling up the snow covered steps stubbornly refusing to put her down.

"I have to carry you over the threshold, its tradition." He explained.

"You're going to drop me and then what kind of a tradition will it be," she sighed desperately trying to keep the smile from her voice. It was really quite infuriating how cute he managed to be all of the time.

"Don't move around so much and maybe I won't drop you," he huffed as he fumbled with the lock on the front door.

They practically fell through the door and Jack nearly did drop her when their eyes met the glow of the fire someone had lit for them. Their gifts had been delivered and were sitting in the corner but it was the chocolate covered strawberries and the bottle of champagne on a copper tray in front of the fire that had their attention.

"Who on earth managed to get us strawberries in January?" Elizabeths mouth watered at the deliciously romantic treat someone had left for them.

"Probably whoever lit the fire and brought the gifts over. We have incredible friends Elizabeth Thatcher." Jacks hands had found his hips and he was smiling ear to ear.

"It's Elizabeth Thornton now," She grinned and she watched his face change from delighted surprise to hunger as he remembered that finally they were married.

Jack didn't wait another second before he pulled Elizabeth into his arms. Their kiss was magnetic, they couldn't stop. Slowly he backed her towards the stairs, his hands never leaving her body his lips never leaving her mouth.

Elizabeth was tingling all over, her brain a fuzzy mess as they stumbled their way up the staircase. This was it. They didn't have to stop anymore.

They reached the top of the stairs and she pushed him into the closed door of their bedroom her hands moved slowly up his vest undoing buttons and taking time to feel the man below; once undone she moved them up to his shoulders and pushed both the vest and the jacket off his body.

Jacks hands slid down the delicate lace on the sleeves of her dress and he stilled her frantic hands. They were moving fast, too fast – he wanted to remember this night for the rest of their lives.

He slowed his kisses and moved his lips down her neck stopping there to catch his breath before opening the door to their bedroom.

The furniture had arrived and everything had been arranged, the room had a warm glow from a lamp in the corner as they both entered.

Jack took her hand and led her to a full length mirror in another corner of the room. He placed her in front of the mirror and then resumed his kisses on the side and back of her neck.

"All night I've been staring at this neck, desperate for a taste." Elizabeth swallowed at the headiness of his voice.

"This dress, dear God it's nearly impossible to take my eyes off of you." His hands dipped down the front of her dress and stopped just before her breasts she arched a little into him and finished their course skimming over her and down to her tiny waist. "But as much as I love it on, I'm desperate for it to come off. May I?" He stills behind her waiting for an answer but her mouth is dry and all she can do is give him a nod. His fingers go to work on the small pearl buttons and it feels like forever before the gown slides to the floor.

Jack has to step back and catch his breath when he sees the very corset and stays that he'd pointed out nearly a month back. He can't help but lick his lips as Elizabeth turns shyly from the mirror to face him.

"I'm nervous," she says suddenly and just like that the lust evaporates and all he wants to do is make her comfortable. He pops open the buttons on his own shirt and then unbuckles the belt on his pants. In less than a minute he's in his underclothes. He closes the gap between them and falls to his knees.

Elizabeth is nervous; her heart is racing as he falls to the ground before her. His arms wrap around her waist and he places the most tender of kisses on the bare skin below her corset. "You'll grow our child in there, a little person the perfect mix of you and me." She smiles at the thought and runs a hand through his hair.

"This is the most natural thing in the world Elizabeth, you have nothing to fear from me, I will be soft and gentle, I promise." He kisses her stomach again and she closes her eyes to savor the feel of his lips pressed up against her skin.

"I'm nervous too," he whispers.

He is soft and gentle and he does take his time with her. They spend the next hour wrapped in each other's arms exploring and sharing a love so deep neither of them could have guessed at it. And though it does hurt for a moment, it's so inconsequential to the grandness of what they're doing that she doesn't even really let the pain register.

They spend the rest of the night wrapped up in each other separating only for minutes when Jack runs downstairs to collect those strawberries and that bottle of champagne.

It's the most magical night of either of their lives.

A/N – You guys are seriously amazing. This might be the first story I've ever written to go over 100 reviews and I can't thank you all enough. It isn't over though, I still have some plans for our favourite couple – and unfortunately maybe some rough patches ahead as well. Hope you all enjoyed and that it lived up to your expectations!