With Antonio by his side, Jayden joined the Samurai and Kate in the living room, making it just in time for dessert. He hesitated for a moment, but a nudge from Antonio reminded him it was polite to offer his hand. Holding it out to Kate, he forced a smile, "Jayden."

"Kate. It's nice to meet you," Kate had a genuine smile as she looked Jayden right in the eyes, "Ji talks about you all the time."

"He does?" Jayden's smile was a little less forced as he turned to Ji. The older man nodded his head.

Though he hadn't gone to Jayden at all since this girlfriend issue came up, he wasn't blind. Jayden had been in a mood since the others had found out, and he was sure this discovery was hard for Jayden. Since he was a little boy, Ji had devoted all his time and energy to him. While he wouldn't call Kate his girlfriend yet, the possibility was there. He did like having her around and she was certainly attractive. Though he was getting older, he knew the Samurai were too. Eventually they were all going to settle down and move away from him as well as their own families, and they were going to start a life on their own.

Before meeting Kate, he had been worried about the day they defeated Xandred. He had been worried about what it would be like when they moved out and he was left alone in a big, empty house. Kate was great company, and someone he could see spending the rest of his life with, if things worked out, of course.

He was glad to see Jayden starting to come around. He gave Jayden a little smile.

"Of course I talk about you all the time," he said, "What else do I have to talk about?"

"I'm sure you could come up with something," Kate smirked and the reached out to the container she had brought, "I brought dessert…"

"Cookies?" Emily asked, trying to peek through the plastic. Kate always had cookies, and the times where she was asked to babysit Emily, she always gave her cookies. Especially when Serena got sick, Emily had a hard time always going to her sister when the kids at school bullied her. Though she tried to be strong for Serena, sometimes her bullies were just a little stronger. When that happened, Emily would knock on Kate's door. She always left the house feeling a little better (Kate wasn't as good at cheering her up as Serena) and a tin of fresh, homemade cookies. Thinking about it now, Emily was sure that was the reason she loved cookies so much. Baking them with Kate helped her forget about all the mean kids at school, and it was always fun making cookies.

"Peanut butter and chocolate chip," Kate passed the container around to each of the Samurai, before handing everything that was left over to Emily. Emily put the lid back on the container and hugged it to her chest. She would eat them later, when no one would ask her for more.

Just then, a loud scream echoed through the house. Terran was awake from his nap. It was perfect timing for Mike, who held up his hand, stopping Serena and James from getting up.

"Emily and I've got it, right?"

"He's not eating my cookies," Emily shook her head, "I don't love him that much."

"Sure you do," Mike chuckled, "C'mon, Em, you can watch me change his after-nap diaper."

Emily nodded her head. That was always an adventure for Mike, who hadn't quite mastered diaper changing yet. He could do it, but sometimes he ended up a little messier than the dirty diaper. Emily passed the container of cookies to Ji, the only person she trusted who wouldn't steal from her.

"Keep it safe," she told him and he gave her a promising nod.

As they left the room, Mia took that as her cue. Mike wanted to talk to Emily alone about the wedding, and he had asked her to share the news with the others. He wanted them to be able to help him with the last stages of the preparations. If all went well, he and Emily would be married by tomorrow.

Mia took a deep breathe, "Guys, there's something we need to talk about," the smile and the cookie fell from Serena's face. Mike and Emily had just gone out of earshot and Mia had something to talk about? Mia saw her fearful reaction and quickly shook her head, "No, no. Nothing like that."

"Careful, Mia," James rubbed Serena's back comfortingly, "You're going to give her a heart attack…"

"I might still," Mia bit her lip, "You know how Mike died, right?"

Everyone, even Kate, nodded. It seemed Ji had told her. Apparently they did talk a lot.

"Well, Mike's decided to take advantage of his life now. You know… and…" it would have been so much easier to say without Serena glaring her down. She gulped and then just spit it out, as merrily as she could, hoping that would provoke a positive reaction from Serena, "Mike wants to get married to Emily before we go home."

There was a dead silence. All eyes turned to Serena. Everyone was happy, but they internalized it, knowing it was very likely Serena would flip her lid. Though she supported Mike and Emily, she was always the first to remind them they were still young. And no matter how much time passed, no matter how long they were in love and engaged, Emily would always be Serena's baby sister. A wedding would always mean letting her go.

Serena launched her second cookie at Mia, "And it took you this long to tell me!" a bright smile lit up her face, "As maid of honour, do you have any idea how much I need to do before the wedding?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Mia shook her head, "Who says you're her maid of honour?"

"Sister, duh."

"Sister, by choice, duh," Mia smirked.

"You really want to start this now, Watanabe?" Serena crossed her arms over her chest.

"I would," Mia nodded, "but that would only mean disappointment for you. I guess I'll let you win this war," Mia reached into her pocket.

"You'll let me win?" Serena smirked, "Please, that's a cop-out. You know you're going to lose."

"I know I'm already going to have enough work to do at the wedding," Mia pulled out a paper from her pocket and passed it over to Serena to unfold, "Mike just wants a little ceremony for himself and Emily. I'm guessing that means there will be a second, bigger wedding after we defeat Xandred, with family and all. He doesn't care if this wedding isn't official, but I just thought…"

"You've been ordained as a minister?" Serena gasped, seeing the paper in her hands was a certificate.

"The internet is a wonderful thing," Mia smirked and grabbed the certificate back. Serena looked to her very strangely.

"You're going to marry my baby sister? Legally?"

"Did you ever plan on doing it?"

"No… but…"

"Then there you go," Mia stuck out her tongue, "I called it."

"This wedding…" Kate started to ask. Ji put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"I have kept my eye on both Mike and Emily for a very long time now," he assured her. "I promise you, there is no one better, for either of them."

Kate just shook her head, "Emily's eighteen… She deserves to still be a kid…"

"Kate, it's fine," Serena smiled, "Mike's good for her. They'll grow up, and they'll grow old together. I have every faith in that."

Kate took a deep breath. She wanted what was best for Emily, but she knew she wasn't in a position to judge or call off the wedding. She was going to have to trust that Emily knew what she was in for. Kate had never been married herself, but she knew it took a lot of hard work, a lot of patience, compassion, flexibility, compromise, understanding, and love. Emily had that. Kate had always seen those qualities in Emily. She had no idea who Mike was.

"So, is Mike upstairs asking Emily now?" Antonio gestured to the stairs. Mia nodded her head.

"Hopefully he can pull out the romance with a stinky diaper in the room."

-Samurai-

Unsure of how the wedding talk would work out with the Samurai downstairs, Mike wanted to make sure he and Emily were upstairs for some time. He wanted Mia to talk with the others, knowing they would take the idea more seriously if it came from her mouth. But he had to talk to Emily himself. He needed to make sure this was what she really wanted.

After changing Terran's diaper – and disposing of it before it stunk up the room – they decided to play with the little boy. Since he had learned to walk, Terran's whole world was different. Every day, he loved to run around and explore. He loved seeing his toys, and looked to them like they were all brand new. It was amazing watching him, and there was always a laugh to be had.

Hearing his fiancée giggling as Terran explored the wonders of a suitcase, Mike knew he had made the right choice. He could picture it, years from now. Emily was great with Terran, and would be even better with her own kids. With their kids. He had no doubt. They would make a wonderful family.

"Blast off!" Mike cried, scooping Terran high into the air and then gently lowering him onto the bed. Terran loved to be shot up like a rocket. He loved to move around. Mike could see him causing a lot of trouble for Serena once he really got used to walking around, just like he had caused his own mother a lot of trouble.

Emily picked out some new clothes for Terran, certain Serena didn't want him wearing pyjamas all day. As she started to change him, Mike looked to her with a smile.

"You know, I've been thinking…"

"Uh oh."

"Nothing bad," Mike chuckled, "You remember, when we first got engaged and we were picking locations for the wedding."

"You said you wanted the beach," Emily nodded, "but we agreed on getting married here."

"Not agreed," Mike smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist while she tried to get a squirming Terran's arms through the sleeves of his shirt, "I always wanted to get married wherever you wanted to get married."

"In the sewage system?"

"Within reason."

Emily smiled, "I know there's a lot to be done but…"

"Not much," Mike shook his head. "I mean, I've had a look around, and the barn seems like the perfect place. The animals are outside during the day anyways, and with the stalls cleaned out, it's sanitary enough, even for Kevin."

"The barn is a nice place," Emily was grinning, "You remember the old barn just a little ways off our land, back when we were looking for my Stone, right?"

"Yeah."

"Serena and I played in there all the time. She would take me there for the day, after she was finished with chores and training and stuff. If we couldn't go there, we would mess around in our own barn. We had to be careful of the tools, but it was always fun. It would be really nice to have a wedding there. It's like… where I grew up."

Emily quickly turned around to look at Mike, "But it's your wedding too," she smiled at him, "You can have some stuff that you want…"

"Em, I've never really thought about my wedding. I just know I want you happy. I want to give you what you want."

"But that's not fair. It's our wedding. Our day…"

"Alright, you know the one thing I want. More than anything?"

"What?"

"You."

"Mike…"

"As my bride."

"Stop being romantic and just tell me something, anything you want for the wedding. You can have it."

"Tomorrow."

Emily's eyes widened, her jaw dropped, her muscles relaxed, were it not for the fact that he was already holding her, Mike would have had to take her into his arms so she wouldn't collapse.

"Em?"

"T-tomorrow?"

"Only if you want," Mike said, "Just a little ceremony. Mia promised to take care of everything, and we both know she'll get it done right. We can have a bigger, more official wedding after we defeat Xandred, but before the Nighlok come back, before we go home, I want to pledge my heart to you, and I hope you'll pledge yours to me."

Emily nodded her head, threw her arms around Mike and then she couldn't help herself. She started to tear up. She didn't deserve him. She really didn't deserve him. But she couldn't live without him.

"Yes," she whispered in his ear, "I want to marry you."

Mike smiled and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Before he took it too far though, remembering Terran was still in the room, with his innocent eyes watching, Mike pulled away. He grabbed the young boy and started for the door.

"Mike?" Emily asked, seeing him rushing off to leave.

"Groom can't see the bride before the wedding," he told her. "I'll get Mia, and hopefully Serena up here to take care of you. I'll go see if the others are on board."

"Why are you taking Terran?"

"Ring bearer," Mike smirked, "I'll make him all nice and fancy, I promise."

"Wait! If we have a ring bearer, who's the flower girl?"

"Uh…" Mike had a look around the room, spotted a tail sticking out from under the bed, and smirked. He rushed over, pulled Storm out and put her in Emily's arms.

"Flower girl," he gave Emily a kiss, "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Emily watched him leave and then held Storm up so they were at eye level with each other, "Well, I guess it's a good thing you and Mike learned to like each other, or this would have been a very awkward wed… wedding."

Wedding. The countdown to the best day of her life started now. She couldn't believe it.