Author's Note: So the coutdown continues...four more chapters to go after this one. *sigh* It's kinda depressing even me now. LOL I'd really love to get at least 10 reviews for the final chapters so if you love it or even if you hate it, please let me know. However, these were definitely some of my favorites to write and I can see them so clearly in my head that I hope you can too. :)
ENJOY!
~JP

True North
By Jaclyn Parker

"Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become."
~Unknown
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Carly just stared at Jack for a long moment before shaking her head, effectively causing his hand to slide off of her cheek.

"Excuse me?" She exclaimed, her eyes wide. "What did you just say to me?"

"I said that today is…" Jack started to repeat but Carly held up a hand and backed up a few steps, closing her eyes in the process.

"No, no…I heard what you said. And, okay, I admit that asking you what you had just said wasn't the most articulate thing I could have said at the moment but…" Carly rambled and then looked at him again, the look on her face clearly conveying her absolute confusion. "I don't…I don't understand what is going on here."

Her face then registered a moment of panic and she looked around him as if searching for something. "Where's Sage? Is she okay?"

"Sage is fine." Jack said calmly reaching out to take Carly's hands in his. She looked at him, a frown on her face. "We had to get you here somehow and while I admit, it probably wasn't the greatest way to do it, you did get here pretty quickly."

She shook her head and thought about that he was saying.

"So, there was no sleepover?" Carly asked and Jack gave her a guilty look.

"Well, sort of. Sage did sleep here at the Lakeview last night, but she stayed with Lily, Molly, Mattie, Faith, and Natalie." Jack ticked off each female he named with the fingers on his left hand and smiled, which dimmed when he saw that she was having none of it.

"Then who did I talk to claiming to be Jamie's mom?" Carly said, remembering the nice woman she had a decent conversation with on Thursday and Friday.

"Um, one of the housekeeping managers. Her name's Rachel. You'd like her!" Jack replied and Carly narrowed her eyes as she thought back to something he had just said.

"Wait, Molly? You said Sage was here with Molly? So that means…"

"Yeah, Molly was in on it too. A lot of people were actually."

"Like who, Jack?" Carly asked and he made a face, as he thought about the various people that had jumped in to help him out.

"Well, Margo for one."

"You're not…you're not on duty, are you?" Carly said slowly and Jack knew that, since she was usually much quicker on the uptake, she really was in a slight state of shock.

"No." Jack said shaking his head and grinning. "I can't marry you if I'm on duty during the ceremony."

'Ceremony' Carly mouthed after him and he decided to keep naming people to give her the time to adjust to what was going on while he talked.

"Um, Brad and Holden, have been running around setting up the conference room for the ceremony and the ballroom for the reception. Emma helped pick out the menu and the cake. Lily, obviously, cleared the Lakeview's event schedule and put us in last minute, plus gave us some nice rooms to get ready in. Molly and Mattie took care of the guest list and attire…well most of the attire. The kids were instrumental in making sure you were too busy to pay any attention to what we were doing, not to mention I think they have something planned with Lee but they won't even tell me what it is."

Carly's brain tried to absorb everything that Jack had just told her and she slipped her hands out of his, taking a giant step backwards lean against one of the four wooden post of the bed. Staring at him while he stood there looking smug, hopeful, and sheepish all at the same time, Carly didn't know whether to kiss him or kick him in the shins.

"Carly, I need you to listen to me for a minute okay? Just let me say this and then you can rant and rave and tell me how self-absorbed I am for doing this." Jack said and when Carly didn't say anything, only raised an eyebrow, he took that as a sign to continue. "I know you said that you couldn't marry me again when I asked you a few weeks ago and I think I know why."

"Seriously? You chose today to do this? You do remember that it's Halloween, right?" Carly interjected and Jack raised a hand.

"Honey, please? Five minutes without you talking is all I'm asking."

At his words, Carly shut her mouth again and even though her eyes flashed dangerously, her lips twitched in an effort not to smile.

"Yes, I know what today is. I believe that this date, a few years ago, was the beginning of our new life together. Even though the years after that provided some major ups and downs, that late October day always struck me as the wedding day for us. It was the day that I was finally able to really call you Mrs. Jack Snyder for the first time."

Jack shook his head as he tried to explain the way he was feeling inside. It was proving harder than he thought, but at Carly's hand tentatively coming to rest on his arm, he looked up to see that he had her full attention and it gave him the strength to go on.

"I don't know, Carly. I'd be lying if I said that part of me wasn't doing this because I am scared of losing you again or losing our family. I don't think I've ever been more frightened in my life than that day I heard the doctor tell me that you were in a place that I couldn't get to you."

Jack felt his chest begin to tighten and his voice caught, tears burning his eyes as he forced himself to remember that empty feeling in his soul.

"Your body was here, Carly, but…what makes you, inherently you, wasn't. And I knew then, in that instant that if I was ever going to survive, not just live but really and truly survive, then I had to be where you were. When you woke up I swore that I would never let a day go by again without telling you how cherished you are and how much of my soul's happiness is wrapped up in you. And that means that I will do that here in Oakdale, out in L.A., or on the moon, Carly. I go where you go."

Carly's face went slack in surprise at his words and he nodded, giving her a hesitant smile.

"Yeah, you heard me. I talked to the kids and while Parker understandably wants to finish high school here, J.J. and Sage said that if you want to go to L.A., we'll go too. I think we finally got it through our thick heads all that you have had to give up for us to remain here in Oakdale, baby, and it's our turn to let you have your dreams. We all agreed that our dream is to just be a family and that it doesn't matter where we are in the country to do that."

"Oh Jack," Carly murmured and Jack held up a hand.

"Hey, my five minutes aren't up yet." He said and she chuckled despite her tumultuous emotions.

"Carly, there's something else you need to know." Jack sighed and took her hands again and rubbed his thumbs over the backs of them soothingly. "If, after all of this, you still don't want to marry me, then it's okay."

Carly frowned and gave him a dubious look, which earned a chuckle from him.

"No, I'm serious." Jack said and smiled at her. "If you decide that you still need more time or that you are really happy with the way things are now, I will respect that. We will just take tonight and have one hell of a party with our family and friends. I just want you to know that, no matter what you decide, it won't change the way I feel about you. Ever."

At Carly's dumbstruck silence, Jack nodded his head towards the gift box on the bed.

"Um, I think now would be a good time to open your present." He said, releasing her hands and, almost as if on automatic pilot, Carly turned to do just that.

There was nothing on the card other than her name and while part of her wanted to just tear into the white box, her hands were shaking too badly to do anything but go slowly. Finally managing to get the ribbon off, she lifted the lid and gently unfolded the pale pink tissue paper covering it's contents.

A gasp escaped her mouth and Carly found herself blindly groping for the edge of the bed to sit down on before her legs gave out on her. With trembling fingers she reached out to touch the delicate cream colored lace and silk material that made up the gorgeous offering in front of her.

Lying in the box, the light reflecting off of the Swarovski crystals painting her face with tiny rainbows of color, was her wedding gown from the Starry Night Collection; the one she had never gathered up the courage to create.

"Jack…how…?" Was all she was able to get out before her voice completely shut down on her. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the dress; it was exactly how she had pictured it would look.

"I conspired with Molly to get your measurements from when you took them for her wedding plans. Then I sent a copy of your sketch to Monique and she put her best seamstresses on it immediately, especially when I told her why I needed it and when. It finally got over-nighted on Wednesday." Jack said and when Carly' eyes finally met his, the look of total wonder and adoration in them made his heart beat faster.

"Monique also designed and sent some bridal party dresses, and even though you didn't create them, I really think you'll like them. Molly said they go perfectly and since she's the maid of honor…um, by the way, they already split up the bridal party assignments so you don't have to worry about that either." Jack said, beginning to ramble as Carly was still just looking at him with wide, tear filled, blue eyes and not saying a word.

"She's maid of honor while Lily and Mattie are bridesmaids. Sage is a junior bridesmaid, whatever that is, and the boys are going to be ushers. Holden's my best man, but Lee and Brad are going to be groomsman. And of course that's only if you agree to marry me, which I can understand if you say no, because it was kinda presumptuous to do all this without you and…"

"Yes."

He was still babbling on and for a minute she didn't think he had heard her, until Jack stopped mid-sentence and just stared into her face in shock.

"Did you…did you…just say yes?" He asked hesitantly and with the tears in her eyes finally spilling over, Carly nodded at him.

"Yes," Carly said, her voice catching in her throat as she gave a wide smile. "Jack Snyder, I would love to marry you."

Jack didn't waste a moment before he leapt to his feet and lifted her off her own, spinning her slightly in a dizzying circle. They were both laughing and crying at the same and when he placed her back down, he immediately found her lips, pressing his own to them in a happy kiss.

Carly wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close to her, as she kissed him back just as passionately. Reluctantly, Jack pulled away and stared at her.

"What…what made you change your mind?"

"Oh, Jack, no man would go through all of this if he didn't really want to get married. I remember the panic in your eyes when we started planning our first wedding here. You would have rather chewed barbed wire but you did it because you loved me. And I know…I know you love me now too."

"I never stopped. Never! No matter what I said or did, Carly." Jack said passionately and pressed his forehead to hers. "You are my heartbeat and always will be."

"And you are mine, G-man." Carly whispered, before kissing him gently. He kissed her back but then leaned back so that he could reach into his jacket pocket.

"I've been holding on to this for some time now." Jack said and properly got down on one knee. Holding it up he opened the ring box to display a nice sized diamond in a white gold setting with two smaller diamonds embedded in the band on either side. Without another word, Carly held out her left hand and Jack silently slipped the ring on her finger.

Carly's hand gripped his and gently tugged him to his feet, pulling him closer until she could bury her head into his chest. He held her close to his heart for a long minute but finally knew that he had to release her; they had some business to attend to.

"Well, now that the logistics are done, there are some people who are pretty anxious to see how it went."

Carly laughed and reached out to take the tissue that he was handing her, as he headed for the suite door. Carly half followed him and stood in the middle of the living room area as he opened the door.

Sure enough a small parade of people was huddled outside, including Lily with her two girls, Molly, Mattie, Emma, and, of course, Jack and Carly's children, minus Emmy. They all wore the same anxious and hopeful expression on their faces as they shifted restlessly. He motioned for them to enter and they did so silently, all eyes darting from Jack to Carly and back again.

Finally it was Parker who couldn't take it anymore and let out a huge huff of air.

"Well?" He asked and when Jack looked to Carly, everyone's stares followed. Carly just smiled and nodded, letting out a laugh when Sage literally jumped for joy.

"Yes!"

As Sage flung herself at her mother, both Parker and J.J. hugged Jack before enveloping Carly in their own bear hugs. The rest of them followed suit and soon the room was filled with loud and ecstatic voices.

"Okay," Jack said raising his voice above the happy dim and looked pointedly at his sons. "We have some last minute details to attend to and then get dressed ourselves, so we're gonna go now and leave you guys to get ready."

Parker and J.J. nodded, giving Carly one last hug each and exchanging a happy grin with Sage before heading out the door. Jack paused in the doorway and looked back to lock eyes with Carly.

"I'll see you in a couple hours." Jack said, looking at Carly and she sent him an air kiss, as the feeling of a hundred butterflies swirled around in her stomach.

As soon as the door closed behind them, the women turned to Carly and began chattering away. Carly finally just burst out laughing at all their inquiries as to what Jack said and did to get her to say yes. Pulling Sage to her in another hug, she looked at the rest of them and just smiled.

"He was just simply…Jack. How could I say no to that?"

Her uncomplicated answer had them all smiling too and exchanging their own misty eyed glances with each other.

"Um, where's Emmy?" Carly said, toying with Sage's hair as she looked at Molly, who was the last person she had seen with her infant daughter.

"Jack hired a pair of babysitters for her, Robby, and Ethan for the night." Molly said, even as Emma was already ushering everyone towards the bedroom in full matriarch mode. "Do you remember Lauren and Allie from the NICU?"

Carly nodded with a smile. Of course she remembered them; they had been an essential part of the team that helped Emmy get well.

"Well, it seems that both girls offered babysitting services if ever needed and you know, Jack. Who better to take care of his precious daughter than a couple of registered pediatric nurses?" Molly said, rolling her eyes but grinning all the same.

"And before you ask, they have plenty of bottles and diapers. They are in a room here at the Lakeview, so if you really get the urge, you can check on her at anytime…after the ceremony." Lily added and Carly smiled at how well they all knew her.

"Molly brought that do-hickey thing with her too, Mommy." Sage said, making a face and Carly immediately knew she was referring to the breast pump machine.

"Thank you for announcing that to the entire room, Sage." Molly said, grimacing even though Carly covered up a laugh with her hand. "It's just so you can take care of business before you get into that dress, Cuz. Gotta make sure you'll be comfortable at your own wedding!"

"Oh my God, speaking of getting dressed! We've only got three hours here ladies!" Lily said, looking at the clock.

As soon as her words left her mouth, the room became controlled chaos. The bridal party gowns were removed from where they were hidden in the suite closet and Faith was sent to get the hair and makeup consultants from the spa that they had on standby.

Carly was the first to get her makeup done and as she sat letting the woman do her work, she was regaled by the different stories of how, exactly, Jack had roped them all into joining his elaborate scheme.

"We might as well go over the traditional bridal checklist now." Mattie said, watching as Carly sat in a chair by the dining room table, getting the last touch of her makeup finished before moving on to get her hair done. "Something new?"

"Mommy's dress is brand new and so are her shoes!" Sage pointed out, motioning to the pair of thin strappy cream colored heels lying by the sofa. She was hovering around where Molly was getting the last touches of her hair pinned up in a bunch of curls, trying to decide if she wanted the same hair-do.

Mattie pointed a finger at Sage and then made an invisible check mark in the air.

"Check! Something blue?"

"The garter that Monique sent is a very pale silvery blue. Does that count?" Lily asked, holding the delicate piece of lace up in the air. Unlike most garters this one was incredibly classy looking…well, as classy as a garter could get, anyway.

"I say yes." Faith piped up and they all looked at Carly, who shrugged her agreement. Today, blue was blue.

"Great!" Mattie continued, making another check mark in the air, and looked around. "Something old?"

There was silence and Mattie frowned.

"Uh, okay, how about something borrowed?"

Silence again and all the women exchanged looks before a throat being cleared caught their attention.

"I think I can take care of both of those at once." Emma said and walked over to a bag that no one noticed had been sitting by the door. Returning to Carly's side, she handed her a rather large jewelry box, its blue velvety surface worn down in several places. Carly opened it carefully and then, with wide eyes, looked back up at Emma in awe.

"These were my grandmother's earrings and necklace that were fashioned just for her by a jeweler in Chicago in 1909. They brought my mom good luck on her wedding day and when I wore them on my wedding day, they worked for me too." Emma said reaching out to lift the thin diamond necklace out of the box while Carly's fingers trailed over the small, delicate antique diamond drop earrings that still lay inside. As she clasped the necklace around Carly's neck, Emma paused and placed her hands on the younger woman's shoulders.

"The strength and love of many women are infused in this jewelry and I know they will bless you and Jack today."

Carly didn't have any words, only mouthed 'thank you' before being enveloped tightly in Emma's warm embrace.

A moment later, Emma pulled away, wiping at her eyes and fussing that she was going to go check on how Meg was doing with guiding the florists around. In reality they knew that she needed to leave before the strong Snyder matriarch completely lost her cool.

The woman from the spa knew what she was doing and soon, Carly's hair was styled perfectly in an elegant forties-style figure eight twist that lay at the base of her neck with a swoop of bang laying to the left side of her face. Even though Carly initially protested that she was too old to wear a headpiece, all of her arguments had flown out the window the moment the stylist had placed the slender band of sparkling Swarovski crystals atop her head. The intricate design looked almost like a tiny vine of diamonds weaving itself around the headband. The most amazing part was that, somehow, Emma's jewelry magically looked as if it was made specifically to go with her dress and hairstyle.

As Carly helped Sage decide how she wanted to wear her hair, she noticed Molly and Lily whispering off to the side.

"Okay, what are you two planning now?" Carly asked and both women swung their eyes to look Carly with mock innocent faces.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Molly said, blinking at her while trying desperately to hide a smile. Carly looked to Lily who turned to Molly but before either one could profess their innocence again, a knock sounded on the door to the suite.

"Mom?" Parker's voice sounded and Lily smiled in relief.

"Saved by the teenager." She said and hurried to the door to go let him in.

Carly gave Molly and Lily a look but turned her attention back to Sage as the girl giddily showed off how her long hair was being magically transformed into corkscrew curls.

"I swear, Sage. You look more and more like your mom everyday. I guess good looks run in the family."

Carly slowly straightened up at the voice and turned just as slowly to stare at the person standing just inside the doorway to the suite.

"Gwen?" She whispered, not trusting her voice to speak any louder than that.

Her youngest sister stood there grinning back at her, dressed in a knee length black sequined cocktail dress with her blonde locks laying in long natural waves that looked so similar to Carly's own natural hair.

"Hey Sis! Heard rumor that you were getting married so I figured I'd stop by."

Gwen barely got the sentence out before she found herself being wrapped in Carly's tight hold. She struggled to try and speak again but the thickness of joyous tears in her throat prevented her and in the end Gwen just hugged Carly back without a word.

Parker's job, to divert any suspicion by walking Gwen to the door and knocking, was officially done and after waving a quick hello to Mattie, he promptly disappeared again to go finish getting ready too.

"Oh, God, I missed you so much!" Carly finally managed to get out, sniffling as she pulled back to place both hands on either side of Gwen's face.

"I missed you too!" Gwen said and then trying to stop the flow of tears before her big sister completely ruined her makeup she grinned. "Hey, no more crying okay? Can't go around looking like a raccoon on your wedding day!"

"Yeah, don't ruin Sophia's hard work!" Molly said, swapping a smile with the makeup artist who was already getting out the same products she used on Carly before in order to repair the damage.

Carly laughed before whirling around to face her cousin and by the possessive arm around Gwen's waist, it was obvious she wasn't going to let go for a few more minutes at least.

"Well then, don't spring surprises like this on me after I get my makeup done!" Carly exclaimed and they all laughed. Carly squeezed Gwen quickly and gave a small frown. "Hey, where's that beautiful niece of mine?"

"Are you kidding?" Gwen rolled her eyes. "The second Barbara got wind that we were in town, she offered to take Hallie for the night over at Fairwinds. Since she's going to take care of Eliza for Paul and Meg tonight too, I figured why not. Hallie's pretty easy going and she knows Barbara from her visits."

"Oh," Carly said with more than a twinge of disappointment in her voice that Gwen immediately picked up on.

"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to visit with her and spoil her rotten soon, just like I intend to do to my nieces and nephews. Will and I managed to convince our professors to let us end classes early and so when we come for Thanksgiving we're going to stay through until the new semester starts in January." Gwen said and Carly's smile reappeared instantly.

"Oh Gwen, that's fantastic!" Carly said and hugged her again.

"Okay, okay! Enough of this!" Gwen said laughing and gently wiggled out of Carly's embrace. "I wanna see these dresses that I've heard so much about!"

As the rest of the bridal party took turns getting ready, Carly showed off her gown and the other dresses. Exactly as Jack had described, they matched the idea Carly had been going for completely when she designed the Starry Night wedding gown.

The bridesmaid dresses were floor length, A-line fashion done in a pale gold and a faux corset looking bodice, that gave the appearance of being a separate piece from the bottom of the dress but really wasn't. At the waist-line there was a thin, deep cream, colored ribbon that came together at the small of the back where the concealed zipper ended. The ribbon then trailed down the back of the dress to end up stopping at the bottom of a small train. They had a strapless neckline and the bodice contained the same small star-like patterned bursts of Swarovski crystal that decorated the lace overlay of Carly's dress. Sage's junior bridesmaid's gown was almost identical except that it had half-inch spaghetti straps and instead of being floor length, it fell gently to just hit her shins.

Sooner than anyone realized it was five-thirty, the bridal party was all dressed and the only thing left to do was get Carly into her own dress.

Even though Carly had just used the "do-hickey" as Sage had called it earlier, the round swell of Carly's breasts peeked over the top of her strapless gown as Lily buttoned it up. Carly stared into the mirror nervously while Molly, Mattie, and Sage fussed around her, smoothing the foot long train around her feet. Molly stood and catching sight of Carly's apprehensive face she rested a hand on the bride's bare shoulder.

"You look beautiful, Cuz." She said and pointed out that all it did was emphasize how small Carly's waist was even only a few months after giving birth. Molly shook her head again and sighed. "So not fair."

This statement did the trick and Carly let out a laugh, all her anxiety slipping away for the moment. It was doubly abated when Sage promptly proclaimed her mom to look like a princess and the entire room agreed wholeheartedly.

"Carly?"

She turned to see Natalie holding out her bouquet with a shy smile.

"Thank you, Sweetie." Carly said, offering her a wide smile.

Natalie Snyder was often much quieter than her siblings or cousins, but Carly had a soft spot for the young girl who was like a sister to Sage. Natalie grinned back before bouncing off to help Faith distribute the rest of the bouquets.

They were all made up of cream and pale pink colored roses with sprigs of what looked to be thin gold branches interspaced here and there. The stems were wrapped up tightly with thick gold ribbon so that they fit comfortably in the carrier's hands. The only difference in Carly's bouquet, other than the larger size, was that adhered to the thin gold branches, every so often, were crystals that winked in the light.

"Okay, we're going to head down and tell the guys we're ready to start." Lily said and after a round of quick hugs, Carly was left up in the room with nothing but her thoughts.

Carly dropped her nose to the flowers, inhaling their delicate scent, and sighing when she felt the butterflies from earlier return suddenly. She closed her eyes and lifting her head, tipped it back so that her upturned face was pointed at the sky.

"I just wanted…" Carly started to whisper and then sighed, before muttering the only words that summed up what she was feeling in that moment. "Thank you."

At a knock on the door, Carly's eyes shot open and the brief, irrational thought of whether or not God had actually sent down a "you're welcome" crossed her mind. The sound of key card being swiped and the sight of her younger son's head poking in the door, caused her to smile and let out the breath she had been holding.

"Well, hello." She said and J.J. stepped into the room, followed immediately by Parker. She took in their well cut, new, black suits with cream rose boutonnièresand grinned wider. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Well...we…wow, Mom, you look…wow." J.J. said, his eyes blinking at the sight of his mom before him. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn that she was actually glowing from the inside out.

Carly laughed softly and even though Parker agreed with the statement J.J. had just made, he knew that they had come up for a reason.

"We came here to get you." Parker said, nudging his brother. He then stepped forward and shuffled awkwardly with his hands in his pants pockets. "We…we want to walk you down the aisle, if that's cool with you."

Carly's eyes misted over and she pressed a hand to her mouth. "Oh!"

"Oh God, no tears! No tears!" Parker said, slightly panicking. Carly let out a watery laugh and then nodded.

"I would love it if my two boys walked me down the aisle."

"Great!" J.J. said, grinning. "So, should we get this show on the road?"

Parker glared at his younger brother and rolled his eyes. "What I think J.J. meant to say is, are you ready, Mom?"

"Oh yes," Carly breathed looping arms with her sons and beaming down at them as they simultaneously led her out of the room. "I am, most definitely, ready."