Hello all! You are all so supportive and amzing and thank you all for the reviews! I hope you like this!

Also thank you so much to my OUTSTANDING beta Hogwarts-Duo

The months to the wedding passed quickly and without a word from Joe. Elsie had been busy with work, planning the wedding, and who was to keep Ainsley for the week and a half that she and Charles were going away for their honeymoon. (He was planning everything and the destination was still a mystery to her.)

It had been decided that Isobel and Richard would keep her, and it was all very hush, hush. Elsie still couldn't shake the feeling that Joe was up to something. And that frightened her a bit. She had taken to not only locking her doors but also using the extra had expressed concern and had even slept in the guest room on several occasions. (Elsie didn't want to give Ainsley the wrong idea.)

She sat in a director's chair as the makeup artist painted her face. All she had specifically asked for was a red lipstick. The rest she had left up to the woman in charge. Her hair was to be done afterwards, and it would be reminiscent of the 20's.

She watched as the hairdresser patiently curled Ainsley's long red hair. She sighed as Isobel came through the door.

"Els, I still cannot believe that you are getting married today. If only you would have found Charles the first go around," Isobel pointed out.

"Izzy, if I would have married Charles the first go around, I would never have had Ainsley." Elsie pointed out.

Isobel smiled at Elsie and took a turn down memory lane. She remembered Elsie's excitement when she became pregnant with the lass. Els had called her and sobbed into the phone that she was finally pregnant. After years and years of nothing, suddenly it happened. Elsie had been cautious and had insisted that Isobel be in the delivery room with her, having been through this before. Ainsley had arrived at 12:01am on the tenth of July, and from the start she had been the sunshine in Elsie's life. She had also been the reason Elsie had been strong enough to leave Joe. She remembered when Elsie had knocked on the door and almost collapsed against Richard once Ainsley was out of her arms.

She shook her head and went over to sit in the makeup chair. She smiled at the woman and let her work her magic, as her hair was already done. She watched Ainsley talking to her mummy, and she smiled as Elsie lifted her up on her lap. Ainsley fell asleep with her head on Elsie's bosom and the photographer, Edith Crawley, had just stepped in and captured the precious moment.

"Hello Ms. Edith, how are you?" Elsie asked in a hushed tone.

"I'm fine. It's me who should be asking you that!" Edith laughed quietly.

"You forget I have done this before," Elsie laughed along.

Edith started doing her magic. Taking shots of the details...of Elsie with her makeup done, and hair half way pinned. Ainsley woke up after an hour, and she changed into her little dress. She smiled as Edith sat her down to take the portrait of her. She looked like a little doll, and had the biggest grin on her face. Edith took pictures of Isobel with Ainsley, and then she took pictures of Elsie getting ready. She had found a lovely corset with matching knickers and garter belt that she knew Charles would like. He loved old fashioned things and this would be no exception.

Isobel helped her into the dress and she fixed her earrings and put on her shoes. Then, Edith got pictures of her and Isobel, and finally, she took what seemed like a thousand shots of her and Ainsley together. The flowers arrived, and it was finally time to go down to the church.

When they arrived, Beryl took one look at Elsie and burst into tears. She hugged the woman carefully and laughed as Ainsley wormed her way into the cuddle. Elsie straightened up and nodded for the wedding music to start. Isobel walked gracefully down the aisle but Ainsley practically skipped down the aisle, only to run to Charles and lift her arms in a silent plea. He smiled and picked her up to wait for the bride's appearance. As the wedding march started everyone stood and when he caught sight of Elsie on Richard's arm, all the breath in his body left. He teared up and Ainsley wiggled out of his arms and went to stand by Isobel. Charles smile kept widening the closer Elsie got. Elsie sported a small happy smile as she passed all of their friends.

Richard kissed her hand and passed her off to Charles. The wedding started. After they recited their own vows, Charles motioned to Ainsley, who came over shyly to stand up in front of Elsie.

"Ainsley, as I have fallen in love with your mother, I have come to love you, too. I promise to be the best father I can be to you. I promise to cuddle you when you need a cuddle, and tuck you in at night. I promise to be there for you always, and hopefully have father - daughter days, with ice cream and a movie. I will do my best to make you feel safe, secure, and loved for always. Ainsley, do I have your permission to become your papa and your mummy's husband?"

A smile blossomed on the little girls face as she threw her arms around Charles's neck and kissed his cheek. He laughed and looked up at Elsie who was pulling out a handkerchief to dab at her wet eyes. He stood with the little girl still in his arms and he nodded to the reverend to proceed. Ainsley wiggled free as they began to exchange the rings and as they were pronounced man and wife they kissed and he dipped her romantically.

-/-/-/-

They had been announced at the reception, and they had eaten. Now Isobel found herself tapping her glass for the attention of the crowd for her toast before the dances.

"I have known Elsie for quite a while now. The fact was, I thought she was a bit uppity when we first met and later found out she found me 'a rude cow.' We laugh about it now, and can enjoy making fun of each other for it. Elsie might be one of the strongest women I know. She can do anything she puts her mind to and has raised a wonderful little girl single handedly for 3 and a half years. So, when she came to me, two years ago, and asked my advice about falling in love, I knew things must be serious. Charles Carson is probably one of the most serious men that I have ever met. But when he came to me and asked for help to pick out a ring for Elsie, I spent five hours going into shop after shop looking for the perfect ring. I saw then that he was perfect for Elsie. He loved her, really loved her. I haven't seen a man look at a woman like that in quite a while. So here is to the bride and groom. I wish you every happiness, but, Charles, if you hurt her … there will not be a safe place for you to hide!"

Elsie and Charles stood to embrace her and then settled back to listen to Robert Crawley give his speech.

"I've known Charles for quite a bit, and I concur with Isobel, he is a serious fellow. But for all that, he is quite possibly the best person you could ever have an acquaintance with. He is probably one of the few people you can always depend on, from the cricket pitch to his lecture hall. He thought about proposing to Elsie for three months, not if he was going to do it, but how. He said she was the most marvelous person in the world, and if Charles Carson thinks Elsie is worth it, then she must really be something special. It turns out that the woman in question is just as special as our Charles said. They complement each other in the best of ways, and I can honestly say they will make the best family possible. To the bride and groom!"

They moved on to the dances and both had decided to pick a song. Charles's was the first to be played, then Elsie's. They had both kept the songs secret so when he lead her to the dance floor, she didn't expect If You Were the Only Girl in the World to start playing. She isn't sure why she was surprised. He does love history, and this was popular during the First World War. She remembered listening to it with him for some class

She stared up at him, and he kissed her forehead.

"Happy, Mrs. Carson?"

"Unbelievably, and unreservedly happy, Mr. Carson," she replied with a soft smile.

He smiled as he led her in a waltz appropriate for the song. People clapped as the song came to a close and her choice was about to start. One of his favorite classic movies had always been Casablanca, and she had loved it, too. They had watched it during their first 'night in'. So, she watched the look of surprise pass over his features and she grinned. The chords of As Time Goes By rang out and, he pulled her closer and whispered his love in her ear. Her smile increased tenfold. In that moment, they were the only two people in the world. She snuggled into his chest as they swayed across the dance floor.

As the song ended everyone clapped and the two shared a sweet kiss.

As the reception wound down Elsie found herself being shuffled into the changing room to change into her traveling outfit. (Charles had insisted on her having one, crazy man!)As she stood in the room, Isobel ushered Ainsley in and Elsie hugged her tightly. She told her how much she loved her and told her to be good for Auntie Iz. Ainsley giggled and made her promise to be good.

She and Charles left under a rain of birdseed and settled into the cab that was taking them to God only knew where. The only thing she knew was that she was completely happy sitting back and enjoying the ride.

Let me know what you think!
Much love,
Samantha=)