Hey! I only used her name once but just so you know Vanessa is Lauren and Jayden's birth mother's name. Some of you may know that from my "Lauren's Christmas Spirit" fanfic. If you didn't, now you do :)
"You don't have your dress on yet?" Emily's mother, Brittany entered the hotel room, disappointed to see her daughter's dress still lying on the back of a chair. Emily decided to get ready at a hotel because it was the only place closest to the garden she was having her wedding. The bridesmaids were all running around with beauty supplies in hand, tripping over high heel shoes scattered on the ground. Brittany had never seen so much chaos since well, Mia's wedding. "The limo is arriving in about forty-five minutes girls. You need to hurry!"
"Lauren?" Catherine called her daughter-figure in the bathroom. "Can you tell Emily to stop brushing her teeth before she bleeds? She got her teeth whitened yesterday." The blue eyed woman turned around to see Brittany standing there awkwardly. "You must be Brittany. I'm Catherine, Ji's wife."
They shook hands and Catherine led her to the bathroom where Emily was trying to rinse the toothpaste out her mouth while Lauren wrestled to curl the loose ends in her hair.
"Emy?" Brittany pushed her way into the doorway of the small bathroom.
"Emily, quit moving!" Lauren told Emily. "You're getting the strands of hair I already curled in the water…OW!" Emily dashed to her mother's embraced, knocking the curling iron out of Lauren's hand, causing it to burn her. Lauren inspected the burn on her finger and sighed. "So this is why Cody was so pissed at me."
"MOM!" Emily squeezed her mother tightly. "I'm freaking out right now! Where's Mike's mom?"
"Breathe Emy." Brittany soothed her daughter. "You need to breathe. Hilary is with the flower girls getting them ready in the other room with Serena." She saw Mike's mother, Hilary, dressing Mike's twin cousins in their flower girl dresses with Serena before coming to check on Emily and the other bridesmaids. Brittany combed through Emily's hair with difficulty and looked at Lauren with a smirk. "I thought you would at least get Vanessa's graceful hands. I'll take care of her hair."
"Haha, you're so funny." Lauren rolled her eyes and passed Brittany the curling iron. The fire samurai walked out of the bathroom, giving Emily a moment with her mother. She got her makeup kit and made her way to Mia, who was fanning herself in a chair by the balcony. "How are you feeling?"
"Pregnant." Mia said. "I feel awful." She rubbed her stomach and spoke to her daughter; "Why can't you calm down today? Mommy doesn't feel well. Do you want Mommy to pass out at Auntie Emily's wedding?"
Lauren reached for Mia's shoes and helped her get them on. She gave Mia a sympathetic look. Mia tried to give Lauren a little smile in gratitude with helping her put on her shoes. Lauren could see how weak Mia was getting in her eyes every passing week in her pregnancy. "Emily and I have already started learning the healing symbol. Once she gets back from her honeymoon in Jamaica, we're going to practice again and again until it's perfect. We're going to help. You just have to hang in there."
"Thanks…you're going to use a healing symbol? Isn't that dangerous?"
"Yes, it's the only way." Mia frowned. "Don't give me that look Mia. There is no reason for you worry about Emily and I. We can take care of ourselves."
"Okay." Mia whispered. She didn't like the idea of her sisters putting their lives on hold or worst to save her own life but it doesn't seem that Emily and Lauren are going to argue with her any farther.
"You should take a little nap. We have about half an hour left until the limo arrives." Lauren left Mia to rest and walked over to the dresser next to Catherine so she could finish her makeup.
"Well, you look stunning." Catherine complimented, straightening Lauren's blue bridesmaid dress around her hips.
"Thanks Mom, but no one is going to look as great as Emily."
"You'll get your chance one day to be in a white dress. I'm sure you will." Catherine smiled brightly at the laughter she heard coming from the bathroom. "Soon enough, that will be us getting ready for your big day in such joy." When Catherine first started dating Ji, she never thought about having kids (or young adults that call her mom). She has already gotten to the age where she can't have any children. Her brothers had children older than Lauren that are married. They enjoyed giving away their daughters on their wedding day. Catherine always had a soft spot for the Shiba siblings. She could never imagine losing so much family in such little time at a young age. She hopes one day, Ji will have the honors of giving away Lauren and being by Jayden's side when they find that special someone.
"You're the best." Lauren kissed Catherine's cheek.
"La, la, la…" Emily came walking out the bathroom with her fingers in her ear and her mother following close by in a fit of laughter. "I don't want to hear anymore."
"It wasn't that bad Emy." Brittany said, grabbing Emily's dress off of the chair back. "Come on, time to put on the dress."
Mia opened her eye lids slightly. She didn't fall asleep yet. She's been listening to all the conversation going on in the room. One thing she would not miss is her little sister putting on her dress. Emily mentioned how beautiful she looked on her wedding day when her mom helped her with her dress. Right on cue, Serena and Hilary came in with the flower girls in their arms. They both looked tired.
"These girls are really part of the forest family." Serena ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "Phew, they refuse to sit and make me do their hair."
"I'm sowwy, Sewena." The twin in Serena's arm apologized.
"Me too!" The other twin agreed.
"It's alright little ones." Serena told them.
"Good job girls." Hilary said. Her sister in law said the three years old girls did have a bad habit of disobeying especially when keeping quiet so they could get dressed. Hilary watched Emily twist her hips in her dress. "You've grown since the last time I've seen you."
"You're telling me." Brittany nodded. She fixed Emily's floral veil around her head. "My baby girl is growing up."
"You better strut your stuff." Mia snapped her finger with attitude. Emily flashed her hair down the hotel room's walkway, giggling. "Work it!" Mia and the other women giggled themselves but stopped when they heard knocking on the door.
"Hello? Are you ladies decent?" Everyone's eyes widened. William, Emily and Serena's father was at the door. "I can come back later."
"I'll go get it." Brittany spoke up. Emily exchanged glances with Lauren and then Mia.
"You're going to do great." Mia assured her. "My feet hurt from all those wedding rehearsals so this better be worth it."
Mike paced the garden. There were many on top of many samurais, samurai guardians, samurai mentors, and anyone that had anything to do with the samurais as well as people that got caught into the samurai life through marriage like his mother, Hilary attending the ceremony. It was always a big deal when a samurai got married. Kevin and Mia's wedding was just as big except they had their wedding at the beach. Ji and Catherine didn't make a huge fuss out of their wedding. Ji is just a samurai mentor. His wedding didn't need to be huge anyways. Mike's wedding on the other hand is huge, massive if you will. Almost like a smaller version of a royal wedding ceremony. What if he messes up his vow? What if he vomits on Emily's dress? He was so excited when he woke up, that he couldn't eat breakfast.
"Mike, you have to stop pacing like that before you dig a hole in the ground." Kevin told him. He's been watching him pace for a good fifteen minutes. He got a little irritated but reminded himself to keep calm especially since he's Mike's best man and he was just as nervous on his wedding day.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Mike snapped. Mike quickly noticed his mistake and apologized.
"Everything is going to be fine." Jayden said.
"Easy for you to say, you know half of the people here."
Jayden shook his head. Mike isn't listening to anybody and he was making himself quite clear. He looked around the garden. Everything seemed to be in order until he saw the parking lot. A polished, silver convertible drove in and Cody stepped out. He appeared to be in a rush, jogging over to Mike and the other men.
"I hope I'm not late." Cody fixed his tie. Mike invited him to the wedding and even made him a groomsman before he and Lauren split the night of Mia's baby shower. Since his absence at the Shiba house, no one really bothered contacting him. If he didn't show, it wouldn't matter but now that he's back (and just in time), they might as well make good use of him in the wedding.
"I see you took my advice." Antonio commented. "Lauren is going to freak but trust me, she'll take you back in a heartbeat. She will finally stop cursing at me every night about what a jackass you are."
"I'll take that as a good thing then." Cody chuckled. He took a good look at the people getting settled in their seats, gossiping about whatever was going on in their lives. He even saw Antonio's parents, who he met back at their restaurant. He could tell everyone there was a samurai or knew a samurai or knew a guy who knew a samurai. The samurai family has a very close bond. It's amazing how they've kept their samurai lives so secret that no one found out unless marriage was in the question. This made him feel out of place. "So…I'm not saying that I'm going to marry Lauren or anytime soon but if I was, this is what the ceremony would look like?"
"My parents asked the same thing." Antonio laughed at Cody's confused expression. "Yup, this is how it goes. You marry a samurai, you have to meet all of these people. At least, anyone Lauren knows."
"And most of these people are Power Rangers…?"
"Well, we prefer the term samurai now that the nighlok are gone but…Yes, everyone here is a member of the samurai family."
"Holy crap…" Cody glanced at Kevin, who was trying endlessly to get Mike to stop moving so he wouldn't drown his tuxedo in sweat before Emily comes down the aisle. "This is crazy."
"You haven't seen crazy yet." Jayden waved his hand at a little boy completely bored as his father talked to the people around him. When Jayden called him, he picked up a pillow with the wedding rings placed on it and raced over to him.
"I still have the rings!" He said.
"I know you do Cody. We trust you." Jayden ruffled the younger Cody's hair. "Cody meet the youngest samurai guardian, Cody. Cody this is a friend of Lauren's, Cody.
"What's up little man?" The eldest Cody asked him. "Are you excited for the wedding?"
"I just want it to start!" The (BullZord) guardian Cody replied. "I can't wait to get out of this tux."
Jayden and Antonio grinned at the two Cody's conversation. They were sure to keep each other company until the ceremony started. Antonio had to finish getting people seated and Jayden needed to help Kevin stop Mike from pacing so much. Hopefully all that's taking part in the wedding is on time especially Emily. Mike doesn't care if a flying monkey falls from the sky in the middle of the aisle. Emily has to make it.
I think I overused the word "samurai". Lol, I called this The Samurai Family for a reason. You are all invited to the wedding! Even though I haven't started typing the chapter yet and I don't know if it will be as long as this chapter… Anyways, please review! :D