A/N – Obligatory "These characters aren't mine" note. Thanks to everyone who has read my chapters for me and given me feedback! To all my readers, thanks so much for all of the reviews! I love reading them and look forward to more!
April and Jackson stood in the Seattle Airport awaiting the arrival of her mother and her three sisters. Karen, Libby, Kimmie, and Alice were coming into town to help April with wedding plans. The most important of which, was to help pick out the dress.
As soon as April saw them she ran towards them. The gaggle of women squealed as the three younger women saw her ring for the first time and hugged.
"Oh April, it's gorgeous!" Libby exclaimed, "It makes mine look like a piece of lint." She held up her left hand displaying her engagement and wedding rings.
"He's pretty gorgeous, too," Kimmie added, jokingly and dramatically fanning herself.
"Watch it, Kimmie," April teased, "don't forget about that boyfriend of yours."
"Does he have any hot friends?" Alice, the lone single woman in the group, asked to some laughs, "Hey, I can ask."
"Let's get you all to your hotel so we can get to the planning," April directed, "I really need your opinions."
The five women followed Jackson out to the parking lot.
It had been almost 6 months since they got engaged and April and Jackson had nailed down the big things like date, locations, menus, and the wedding party. April's dress was the last major decision to make and it needed to be made soon.
Jackson was relieved that he and Alex were going to hang out that weekend, sparing of him being dragged into the wedding planning. He really didn't care. He knew what April had wanted and all of it sounded great to him, so that was the extent of his opinion on the matter.
All checked in at the hotel, the five women were scattered around April's kitchen table. Bridal magazines were open and sprawled all over the table.
"April, look at this one!" Kimmie said holding a magazine open to a picture of a poufy, white dress, all covered in beading with a matching tiara.
"Kimmie! Do you know me at all? That is so not me," April responded emphatically before pointing to a much simpler dress with lace in another magazine. "This is a lot more me."
"You know, April, that dress is a lot like mine was," Karen mentioned, proudly.
"Oh, I know mom!" April responded, flipping through the binder she was keeping all of her wedding stuff in until she came to the page where she had a picture from her parents wedding, showing off the dress Karen wore. "I really loved your dress and I hoping I can find something just as pretty."
"I'm sure you will, April," Libby assured her, "but it would probably be easier if we just went to a store. You'll never really know which dress is the right dress until you try it on." The ladies all nodded in agreement as they cleaned up the mess of magazines.
As the four women walked through the boutique, each pulled out dresses they liked best. Most of them were not what April would pick for herself, but she didn't mind trying them on to make her sisters and mother happy.
The first one was a big, poufy, sparkly, white dress, complete with matching tiara.
"You look just like Cinderella!" Alice exclaimed.
"It's beautiful but, you were right, April, this really isn't you," Kimmie chuckled.
The next few hours were a blur of taffeta, tulle, veils, tiaras, laughs, winces, and a few tears. April was at the end of her rope, when she pulled on a simple, v-neck, cream colored lace gown. This was the type of dress April had in mind but she didn't have a real specific vision until she put this one on.
As she stepped out of the dressing room, the look on her mother's face was exactly what she was hoping for. All four women gasped as she walked toward the mirror.
"April! This is the dress!" Libby exclaimed, getting a little teary eyed.
"It's perfect," Alice agreed.
"This is so you!" Kimmie added making it unanimous.
"Mom, what do you think?" April asked.
Karen could barely get the words out as her eyes got misty. "You look beautiful, April," she managed to get out. She stood up and walked over to her second daughter as she stood on the pedestal. Karen took the clasp of the simple silver locket that was around her neck, removed it from her own neck, and placed it around April's neck as April instinctually held up her red waves.
"Mom?" April asked curiously as tears formed in her eyes.
"This," Karen began, "was given to me on my wedding day by my mother and I would like you to have it. I have kept a picture of your father in it. Because of how close you and your dad are, I thought you should have it and you can add a picture of Jackson to the empty side. That way the two most important men in your life both have place in your heart. Maybe it can be your something old."
As though she was a little girl again, she threw her arms around her mother's neck and the tears flowed. "Thanks Mom," she whispered to her mother.
April took the small heart in her hand and opened it to see the small photo of her father. She smiled through the tears as she closed it and held it in her hands
Her sisters joined April and her mother in a group hug, eliciting some laughter and breaking up the mother and daughter moment.
"So are you nervous yet?" Alex asked Jackson as they sat at Joe's bar grabbing dinner and a few drinks.
"Surprisingly, No," Jackson answered, "I thought the worst part would be asking her fathers' permission, but he was so nice. If that is any indication, the rest should be a breeze."
"How was it picking up all of the Kepner women at the airport? Are they all as neurotic as April?" Alex continued.
"There was a lot of squealing," Jackson chuckled, "but knowing and being with April, I'm more than used to it."
"That is true," Alex nodded, "You put up with her nuttiness. Her family should be nothing."
"Hey!" Jackson groaned before laughing again.
"So are any of them single?" Alex asked to Jackson's surprise. His relationship with Jo had gone south and he was little desperate. All Jackson could do was chuckle and shake his head.
Jackson sat up in bed watching SportsCenter as April got ready for bed.
"You should have seen some of the dresses my sisters had me try on. I've never seen so much tulle and glitter in my life!" April recounted the day to her fiancé, who wasn't listening particularly closely.
"That's nice, babe," he responded still fairly focused on the screen.
April laughed as she walked into the bedroom from the bathroom, noticing Jackson was zoning out again in front of the TV.
"I was thinking," April began as she climbed on the bed, "it would be nice if we waited until our wedding night to have sex again. It would make it extra special."
Jackson turned his attention to her immediately. "You can't be serious," he responded, shocked, "Six months?"
"I would really like to wait, Jackson," April insisted.
"Oh really," Jackson answered as he moved toward her and began kissing her neck. He knew it was her weakness, but that didn't mean he wouldn't use it against her from time to time.
April let her eyes roll back into her head a little and began to moan. "I guess…we can start waiting…tomorrow night," she replied, between gasps, giving into him, as usual.
"Mmhmm," Jackson mumbled, his mouth firmly on hers.