The Pregnancy Ship

Chapter 35: Our Own Happily Ever After Story! Part 2

This is an A/U story

An hour later they arrived at their destination. After parking in the garage and after waking Sharon who had drifted into a nap five minutes after they started their trip, Andy got garment bags out and suitcases from the back of the escalade then led her to a bedroom that faced street side. They both freshened up a bit in an adjacent bathroom and got redressed. Sharon put on a lovely peachy crème colored dress made of a light cotton material with a lace overlay that ended at her knees in a scallop pattern. The skirt continued in satin peachy crème pleats, which ended midcalf. She wore crème colored sandals with a cha cha heel. Andy had chosen a dress for her that was close to her original wedding dress without the handkerchief hem. The one she had worn when she was pregnant with the twins was way too big now. This one was more her current size which was a three. She had lost all her baby weight in her stomach, but her hips were a tad bit wider and her chest was still heavy since she was still nursing.

Andy wore a crème colored summer weight suit with an ecru shirt and a peach and crème tie. He wore coral colored suspenders and his shoes were two toned leather, tan and cream. He looked very dapper as he stood behind her in front of the mirror. Sharon turned away from the mirror to look at him. "Andy! You look so handsome and this dress that you picked out for me is perfect. It's beautiful and so comfortable too! I...um...I take it we'll be renewing our vows today? That's the surprise?"

"Part of it, yes my love. It's what we planned right? Renewing our vows on the beach and afterwards the babies will be christened, just like we planned."

Overcome by her feelings for the man standing before her, she pressed her lips together to try and suppress the happy tears that were threatening to fall. "Oh Andy, you planned all this yourself? For me?"

He nodded and smiled, "Yes. Every time we started to plan it together, something came up. So I decided to do this for your birthday. I remembered you said we should combine the two events to save time because it was hard getting everybody together for it."

"I've said this before and I'll say it again. What did I ever do to deserve you? Now tell me, about this house who does it belong to?" Sharon asked taking in all the little details. It was fairly large, she could tell from the layout. High ceilings and lots of windows, painted the colors of sand and sea. She could tell Andy's woodworking skills by the built-in cabinets and the Adirondack chairs on the deck. She made a mental note to herself to go on an extended tour after the festivities.

"Us, " Andy said simply.

Remembering their conversation at the hotel she asked. "Us? How?...

Did you buy it? Without discussing it with me?" she asked with a slight Darth Raydor tone to her voice.

"Yes. Well...no, not exactly. Look, this is how it went. Years ago, I had a friend from AA, Dave. We spent a great deal of time together trying to stay sober. He got this idea to buy this place and fix it up to rent out. It was really rundown and dilapidated when he bought it in a foreclosure auction. He asked me to go in it with him but in those days I didn't have two nickels to rub together between payments to Valerie for the kids plus alimony, rent and food. So, he said I could earn my half by helping to renovate it. Fixing things or puttering or tinkering what have you, is something I've always enjoyed doing. Woodworking too became something I did to help me keep busy to keep from drinking. I put all those to work on this place, and Dave liked painting the walls and the plumbing. He painted some beautiful murals in the other bedrooms. Anytime we felt the need for a drink we would come here and work on the place. In the beginning that was a lot. Then about oh…about seven years ago Dave got sick and before he died he signed over the deed to me, but after he passed I didn't come here for a while. He…um he was my friend and it made me sad to be here without him. Then you and I started spending time together. I realized how much you love the beach and would love this place, so I came here to look it over. It still needed a lot of work and at that time I still didn't have a lot of money to play with or time to work on it. Then my mother died and left me her house and then Provenza and my ship came in and I um...I hired someone to help finish the renovations for this weekend," he finished quickly and shrugged. "This is what you meant by not hesitating to spend the same amount of money it cost to rent a suite at the Montage for one night. To give us a legacy for our family."

"This is the legacy?" She asked and Andy nodded. "You were right. This is a wonderful legacy and it's one we can all enjoy now and for a long time to come. I'm sorry about Darth Raydor coming out. It's a knee jerk reaction. He who should not be named would come up with ideas to spend money but he forgot whose money he was spending and losing. Thank you, Andy for everything! Mere words can't express how I feel right now."

"You are welcome. Uh, what time is it?"

She looked at her watch then answered, "almost 7:00pm. Why?"

"We had better go to our party before they send the cavalry out for us. Um, could I have your rings? I want you to see me putting them on you this time." Andy said as he smiled at her with that lopsided grin she loved so much. Sharon took them off and handed them to him and he put the rings in his pocket. He in turn took his off and handed it to her. She put his ring on her index finger.

Andy said leading her out the back door to the path that led to the back yard. As they cleared the side of the house they saw a huge canopy with lots of white chairs underneath it, all filled by the way.

Each and every guest stood up and yelled, "Surprise!" Then they sat back down.

Sharon stood with her mouth opened in awe. She looked around and tried to take in the details. There were her entire team, and spouses or significant others, her and Andy's children, and their spouses or significant others. Her sister Mary and her sister Judy stood side by side in the very back of the room. They waved and blew kisses. She waved back and blew a kiss back. She was so happy to see them and wished her parents and her sister Jan had made it, but Jan's health was failing making her unable to travel. Her parents were still on their cruise. Suddenly Andrea, Emily and Patrice were by her side. They were all in dresses of different shades of peach that complimented her dress without the lace. Sharon looked back at Andy confused. "I thought we were just renewing our vows not having a full blown wedding?" She asked as Emily handed her a bouquet of wildflowers, that had a cheat sheet that had her vows from the other wedding stuck on it.

Andy looked at her sheepishly," that's what I thought too, but I guess my helpers decided to elaborate a bit," then he shrugged his shoulders.

Patrice spoke up, "Honey, when you got married before you were blind and pregnant with twins so was I... um the…pregnant part at least. So was Andrea and she was in a wheelchair because she was supposed to be on bed rest. Poor Emily was in a wheelchair because of her broken ankle. We thought you'd want to experience your wedding without the blind part, without the pregnant part and sans the broken ankle part and we did too. Do you mind?"

"Uhh no...um... not at all!" Sharon said still a little dazed.

"Well then let's get into position. Our offspring are not going to nap all afternoon, so time's a wasting," Andrea said taking charge. Andy had already slipped away to join Provenza, Rusty, Ricky and Gus up front. The girls positioned themselves with Emily and Patrice up front of the procession, and then Andrea followed by Sharon.

Sharon's father, who had been waiting out of sight suddenly, appeared to walk her down the aisle. Like Andy, he wore a summer weight suit with a cream colored shirt and a coral colored bow tie and two toned brown and crème shoes. "Daddy!" she said with a catch in her voice. "I thought you and Mama were still on your cruise!"

"Nope, just got back a couple of days ago. Been scrambling to help get ready for this very special day. I missed your first wedding due to stubbornness on both our parts and in your civil wedding to Andy the plans had already been made for you to go down the aisle with Rusty and Ricky. You needed them more than me at the time, you being pregnant and blind and all." He looked down at his feet remembering watching his daughter hugely pregnant with twins walking down the aisle with the blank stare of a person newly blind. When he looked back up at her, she was standing there nodding at him with a smile and her eyes were swimming with tears. Sean handed her a handkerchief. "Now, don't you go crying or you'll have me blubbering," he cleared his throat which had gotten gravelly with emotion. "Anyway, my dear daughter, you have a really good guy in Andy who loves you with every fiber of his being. Your mother and I approve wholeheartedly. By the way and I know you love him the same way. This time around I couldn't miss the chance to walk you down the aisle and give you away to that very good man." At that he kissed her on the cheek and gave her his arm and they waited for the wedding march to begin.

As they stood waiting, Sharon asked, "Where's Mama and the twins?"

Knowing Sharon needed to know her babies were safe, Sean patted her arm and said, "the twins are in the tent over there, see? They're taking a little nap. Your mother was hiding so she wouldn't spoil my little surprise of walking you down the aisle. She snuck back in to sit up front. I believe Paul and Mikhail are in the tent watching all the babies." Sharon nodded, satisfied.

Buzz was in charge of the music, and he began the wedding march as soon as he saw everybody was ready. As they began their steps down the aisle the priest began his wedding litany. "We are gathered here today to renew the vows of this man, Andrew Dennis Flynn and this woman, Sharon Eileen O'Dwyer Raydor Flynn. So they may be seen as married in the eyes of God. Who gives this woman to this man?"

"Her mother and I do, also her children do as well," Sean said placing Sharon's hand in Andy's and sitting down beside his wife.

The priest led them through the usual questions and their I do's then the priest asked, "Do you have something to say to each other?" Sharon and Andy nodded, "go ahead," said the priest.

Sharon had tried to read her vows but the happy tears in her eyes wouldn't allow it. "I'd like to go first, " Sharon said. At hearing her team snickering, she ducked her head and smirked. Andy smiled and nodded. "Andy, we've said these vows before and I'd like to say them again but my eyes are filled with happy tears and I can't see to read them, so I'm going to say something else that's on my heart instead. When I was little I read all the stories that little girls read and I wanted, like every little girl to have a happily ever after story of my own but you know my past and you know that my first time around was not a happily ever after story." She shook her head and shrugged. "I got two beautiful children out of it, which made it impossible to regret entirely, but it made me think that happily ever after was just a fairytale. So, I grew up and concentrated on my career I raised my children alone and I thought that was it. That was my life and I was content, but when I wasn't looking, you came into my life. You became my friend, my confidant and then we became… something more and suddenly we were going to be parents together. Rather late in life parents, but…"

She smiled ironically, blushed and tilted her head back and forth a second indicating both amusement and amazement at having fallen into these circumstances. "Anyway, before I knew it you became my happily ever after story and Andy our story is so much better than I could have ever imagined! So far, though in the relatively short time we've been together, we've been through more than a lot of couples our age or really any age. Blood clots, unexpected pregnancy, twins, temporary blindness, just to name a few. You've been by my side through it all and I'm sure we'll have more drama and trauma to come, but you've shown me that we'll weather them all together, no matter what. That Andrew Dennis Flynn means more to me than anything. I love you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my dreams come true."

Since Sharon had decided to not use their original vows, Andy decided to speak from the heart and answer her heartfelt words. "You've made my dreams come true too, Sharon. You are my happily ever after too. It hasn't always been this way, though has it? When you were in FID you called me to the carpet many times, for my drinking. You convinced me to go to rehab. You laid it on the line, my drinking had to go or I would lose my job. At first I thought I hated you. Honestly we yelled at each other a lot, but after you transferred to Major Crimes, well I realized I didn't hate you, I wanted to kiss you!" There was a snicker from the audience. Sharon ducked her head and giggled, Andy chuckled.

"Seriously, though Sharon, I attribute in some ways, my sobriety to you. You told it like was, you didn't sugar coat things, when you called me to the carpet for my drinking so many years ago, and you challenged me to be a better man. You made me realize I had it in me to change. You went to my daughter's wedding as a buffer, and now I have a wonderful relationship with Nicole and Nathan is coming around too. Now so many years later we stand here and we are each other's happily ever after story. Like you said, being each other's happily ever after doesn't mean that there won't be challenges, trauma and drama in our future, but we'll face it all together. I love you, Sharon. I thank you for making my dreams come true and even fulfilling dreams I didn't know I had, another chance at being a good father. With you by my side, I know I can be."

He then took her rings from his pocket and put them on her ring finger. "Sharon, these rings are a symbol of my never-ending love and devotion to you. When I see these rings I will be reminded of the bond we created and renewed this day in the eyes of God, our friends and family and for your own eyes that were once blind but now they see. Thank God!"

Sharon smiled tremulously at Andy and put his ring on his finger. "Andy, this ring is a symbol of my never-ending love and devotion for you. When I see these rings, I will be reminded of the bond we created and renewed this day in the eyes of God, family and friends and my own eyes that were once blind but now, thank God they see."

The priest said, "I now pronounce you, Sharon and Andrew married to each other in the eyes of God. Andy, you may kiss your bride." He took Sharon in his arms and kissed her thoroughly. She kissed him back and they became so lost in each other they forgot they had an audience, until the crowd started to snicker. They pulled apart, flushed with happiness and a little embarrassment for getting carried away by their kiss.

The Priest announced, "I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Flynn." Sharon and Andy went back up the aisle, to the cheers and whoops of their family and team and were handed their baby girls, by Nicole and Dean. "Now if you'll bring the children that need to be baptized up here we can take care of that too."

Sharon and Andy brought their twins Natalie and Madison, they were joined by Julio who stood beside them at the small alter. The twins were dressed in their beautiful white cotton and lace baptismal gowns with little bonnets. Louie and Patrice brought Mikey and Kayla. Mikey wore a tiny little white tux with a little hat. He had told Patrice, "No son of his was going to wear a dress."

Kayla wore a pretty white cotton and lace baptismal gown like Natalie and Madison's.

The priest blessed them, asked for their given names and then poured a small amount of water on the babies heads, saying their names and charging their parents and Godparents with raising them to be godly children. As the water poured over their heads all four babies looked startled, but didn't scream or cry. They all followed Kayla's lead and giggled. Everybody smiled at her delight. In spite of her very rough beginning Kayla was a laid back easygoing baby. She had learned early how to laugh and her laugh was infectious, as was Mikey's. Sharon and Andy smiled relieved there wouldn't be four screaming infants to contend with.

Sharon, Andy, Patrice, Louie and Julio turned to face the audience. The priest then said, "May I present Natalie Grace Eileen Flynn, Madison Ciara Eileen Flynn, Mickayla Lauren Provenza and Michael Louie Provenza. May you live in peace and the joy of the Lord." Everyone clapped and whistled as the two families went back up the aisle to be joined with their families and team.

Please feel free to let me know what you think of this chapter or any of the other previous chapters as well.

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