Karen yawned as she stretched her arms above her head, her silk bathrobe falling loosely into place around her body. She grimaced at the pain in her elbows as they bent back down next to her body, the daily annoyance of her arthritis making itself a more dominant present in recent weeks. Her feathery slippers whooshed against the hardwood floor as she walked, slower now than in earlier years, to the bedroom down the hall from hers.

She knocked lightly on the door, the force of her fist pushing it open a few inches.

"Jack?" she asked softly, peaking her head in. Jack's sleeping form grunted, turned over. Karen treaded lightly over to the opposite of the bed, pulled up the covers, and slipped underneath them.

"Morning, Poodle," she whispered into his ear, wrapping one arm around his body and huddling up close to his back. He felt frail in her arms. Jack yawned and she felt him extend an arm to the bedside table, pulling his glasses off of it and settling the frames onto his care-worn face.

"Morning, Kare," he responded, turning over to look at her. He mimicked her posture by pressing the palm of his hand onto her lower back and pulling her close to him.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked sweetly, closing her eyes as she laid her head on his chest. The scent of bacon and syrup was wafting up from downstairs.

"Mmhmm," he responded, kissing her forehead. She sighed, snuggled in further to his arms.

"We should get up, today's a big day," Karen said, after a minute. She craned her neck to look up at him. When he smiled down back at her, his dimples making an appearance amidst the fine lines around his mouth, she kissed his lips.

"Karen!" he whined, his objection coming as he pulled his face away from hers. "Morning breath!" Disentangling himself from her arms, he raised himself to a seated position on the edge of the bed, fishing for his slippers with his feet. "At least let me brush my teeth."

"Sorry," she laughed, rolling out of the bed. As she watched him slowly stand from the bed before shaking out his limbs and returning to his sprightly way of moving, she walked back to the doorway, leaned against its frame. "Go get cleaned up then come get some breakfast," she instructed.

Jack turned towards her, nodded as he tied his bathrobe.

"What time are we supposed to be at the church?" he asked.

"Ten-thirty," she replied. "We're supposed to meet Will and Vince in the parking lot to help them carry in the flowers."

"Ok," he nodded, opening his large closet and pulling out a dark blue garment bag. Karen turned slowly and exited the room, leaving Jack alone as he fingered the tuxedo inside the bag. "Hope this still fits…" he mumbled, zipping the bag back up and leaving it hanging next to the bed to go take a shower.

An hour later, Jack settled in to his chair at the head of the dining room table, unfolding his napkin and placing it on his lap as Rosario placed a plate full of food in front of him.

"Thanks, Rosie," he told her, giving her a smile. As she left the room, Karen entered, looking so ravishing that Jack caught his breath.

"Well, well," he grinned at her, taking in her red, silk dress and the chandelier diamonds around her neck, "you sure do clean up nice."

Karen blushed, shaking her head. It was true that of the four of them, she had aged the best, despite being the oldest. Of course her trips to the plastic surgeon aided in this, but it was also undeniable that she just had good genes. The dress she was wearing was, in all honesty, probably about fifteen years too young-looking for her to be wearing, but she pulled it off. Her breasts were still perky, her skin, for the most part, still smooth and taut. Whatever age was doing to her body, Karen felt the effects inwardly more than anyone could see them outwardly.

"Stop it," she teased, running a hand through her hair. "You look fabulous too, Poodle!"

Jack mimed fluffing his hair before turning back to the food in front of him. As Karen sat next to him, she couldn't help but notice that his color seemed a little off. Maybe it was just the lighting in the dim dining room, she thought.

They made small talk as they ate, and before they knew it, Rosie was telling them that the limo was out front to take them to Ben and Laila's wedding.

"Jack, come here," Karen requested before they headed downstairs. He stood and leaned down in front of her as she tied his bowtie. He rolled his eyes as he waited patiently for her to take over, her maternal instincts always in full swing when it came to taking care of him.

"There," she announced, securing the knot of the tie tightly. She smiled up at him.

"Thanks, Mom," he said sarcastically. She slapped his arm playfully, not showing him the pain on her face as she turned her back to him. She knew he was only joking, of course, but the truth was she did feel the need to take care of Jack. She had never had children of her own, despite how badly she had wanted them, and she could tell that as he got older, things got more difficult for him. She cared so much about him that she just wanted to do whatever she could to make his life as easy as possible.

As they stepped into the elevator to go down to the limo, Jack stepped behind Karen and placed his hands on her shoulders, massaging them gently.

"You shouldn't worry about me so much," he told her.

"I know, Jackie," she sighed. She didn't know how to put into words what she was feeling. They had been living together for so long, their bond was special. They might as well had been married, minus sex. Even that wasn't out of the question - Karen and Jack often forayed into the sexual realm for physical pleasure, and sometimes just for fun. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Jack was gay, they probably would've been married by now.

Karen's silence did not go unnoticed by Jack, who was fully aware that Karen loved him in a way he could never love her, so he broke the tension.

"I love ya, Karebear," he told her, leaning down to kiss her cheek from behind. The elevator doors dinged open, and the pair strode towards the waiting limousine, hand in hand.