The Reason – Hoobastank

I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with every day
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
That's why I need you to hear

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you

The group left the newlyweds to have a few moments alone and swiftly entered the reception hall's double doors, and glided over to the head table to find their seats. Ruby nodded reassuringly to the worried faces of Bela's Aunt and Uncle, signaling to them that everything had been worked out.

The happy couple entered the hall a few minutes later, glowing with happiness, to the applause of their wedding guests. They took their seats at the head table and Michael took the microphone from the DJ.

"I just want to thank everything for coming here today. It really means a lot to Bela and I…I just wanted to especially thank our dear family and friends who have made this a special day for us. So enjoy yourselves, drink all my booze and eat all my food because I just got married and I've never been happier in my life!" The crowd laughed and applauded his little speech and Bela gave her new husband a big kiss when he sat back down next to her.

Soon, the reception was under full swing. Per Bela's instructions, the DJ played only the songs given to him on the 'wedding of the century' playlist that she allowed Michael and his brothers to compile. Surprisingly enough, that was the one thing that she actually allowed them to be in complete charge of and they took full advantage of her lenience, choosing exactly what Michael wanted to hear at his wedding and not so much what his bride wanted to hear. So instead of having their first dance to "Welcome to the Black Parade" like he threatened, they danced to "The Way You Look Tonight", much to everyone's surprise.

However, Michael did allow the DJ to play a few 'girlie' songs, as he put it, and the girls didn't hesitate to jump out onto the dance floor when "Single Ladies" by Beyonce started playing. He did, though, pull Bela off the floor and into his arms when she made an attempt to dance to that song with her bridesmaids.

When the song was over, Jo ran to find a bathroom. She rounded the corner and was almost to the bathroom when she heard the voice she had been dreading all day:

"Joanna Beth."

Ellen stood there in front of her, looking stricken, desperate, and sad.

"Jo." she said again, but this time, it came out in a hoarse whisper.

She exhaled loudly and it seemed like hours passed before she finally spoke.

"I don't want to talk to you, Mom."

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I know you don't. I wasn't sure whether or not I should come today…but John talked me into it."

Jo rolled her eyes. Leave it to John to try to fix everyone's problems when he hadn't figured out how to fix his own. "I'm not surprised."

She nodded, watching her carefully as if she was trying to decide whether or not she was going to run from her. "Look Jo, it's not my intention to ruin this day for you. That's not why I came. I just wanted to see you and talk to you, if you'll let me."

Jo sighed in frustration and fixed her eyes on a spot on the floor, not wanting to meet her eyes. "Mom…I'm sorry but…I don't have anything to say to you."

"I know that, but I just want you to know that you can come home whenever you want. You can call me whenever you need to if you ever need anything. I'm here. I know that you don't want to have anything to do with me and I understand that but I just wanted you to know that."

Ellen took a few steps closer to her, reached out a hand, but when she didn't take it, her hand quickly fell back to his side. Instead, she closed the distance between them and placed a light kiss on her forehead. She smiled sadly as she slowly backed away.

"I love you, Jo. I hope you'll remember that someday."

"It's hard to remember that when you ran off with your boyfriends instead of being my mother...and then to have you to try to treat me like a child when you'd return. I raised myself,"Jo spat bitterly.

Ellen looked disappointed and opened her mouth to speak but thought the better of it. She turned on her heel and walked back into the reception hall, brushing right past Dean, whose searching eyes rested on Jo worriedly.

Tears were flowing down her cheeks and she opened her mouth to speak but couldn't form the words. Instead, she turned and fled to the parking lot, not slowing down as Dean chased after her.

"Jo! Wait…come on, Jo!" He yelled after her.

When the cold air finally hit her bare arms, she realized quickly that running outside had been a bad idea. She rubbed her arms hurriedly and shivered. She heard Dean come up behind her and turned around to face him, furiously brushing the tears from her face.

"Dean, just leave me alone."

He pursed his lips tightly and shook his head. "I'm not leaving you alone out here. It's freezing. Why don't you come back inside?"

She shook her head furiously as another tear slipped down her cheek. "I'm not going back in there. It's not happening so just…go away…"

He sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair before shrugging off his jacket and slipping it carefully over her shoulders. He rubbed her arms and smiled reassuringly to her, even though he could see that his efforts to cheer her up weren't exactly working.

"Better?" He asked.

She nodded in spite of herself and started hopping from one foot to the other to try to keep warm.

He laughed lightly and shook his head. "Come on, you don't have to go back to the reception right away if you don't want to but can we at least go back into the lobby? I don't know about you but I'm freezing my ass off out here."

She bit back a smile and kept hopping from side to side. Of course, her feet in heels failed on her and she slipped mid-jump. Dean reached out and steadied her before she had a chance to land on the ground.

"I really can't take you anywhere, can I?" He asked.

That got a laugh and he rubbed her arms again to try to keep her warm.

"Why are you always around to save me?" she blurted and immediately wished she could take it back after his smile faded.

"I guess I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress." He offered quietly.

"So," she started hesitantly. "Why were you coming out of the ballroom?"

"Well, I saw Ellen follow you out into the hallway and I was worried…because I knew you would be upset…"

She nodded slowly. "Oh…"

"You know, I don't blame you for not wanting to go back inside. I didn't want to be near John either. So…what did she say?"

She bit her lip. "Just that she'll always be there for me and that she loves me and that she knows I'll remember that someday."

He blew out a breath and leaned back on his heels. "Wow."

"Yeah."

"So what did you say?"

She shrugged her shoulders and wrapped his jacket more tightly around herself. "I reminded her that she destroyed our relationship. What else could I say?"

He nodded. "Well you handled yourself better than I did the other day."

"Right but at least you stood up for yourself and said what you needed to say."

He nodded again and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, almost jumping with surprise when she leaned into him.

When she finally looked back up at him, he carefully wiped away the tears that had streaked her face.

"Please don't cry, Jo." He said hoarsely. "I hate it when you cry."

"I'm sorry…"

"You don't have anything to be sorry about," He said in a stronger voice, shaking off whatever softness he'd had before.

She nodded quickly. "I know…it's just so weird. My mother is a fruit cake."

"I know," he agreed.

She laughed and leaned back into his chest. "You know?"

"Oh wait that's not what I meant. I'm sorry. I meant it'll be ok."

"Do you think she even feels guilty?"

He nodded and gripped her a little tighter. "Yeah, I think she does, Jo. Ellen loves you. She had just lost your father. She was acting out. Didn't know what she was doing…not really"

"I know, I just…she just makes me so mad. I know she's my mother but I don't understand how she could do that…leave me to practically raise myself."

"I know, Jo, and I think she understands that because she's not pushing you to do anything you don't want to do. And I think…I think she's hurting just as much as you and is just waiting until you're ready."

She smiled sadly and looked up at him. "You know…I could probably say the same thing to you too."

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "You're right."

She laughed and shivered a little. "You know, I think we should probably get back inside. I'm starting to freeze my ass off now too and everyone's probably wondering where we went."

He nodded. "You're right…are you going to be alright?"

She smiled bravely and handed him back his jacket. "Yeah. Don't worry about me."

They started walking back into the reception hall, a safe distance between them. As he held the door open for her, she turned back to him with shining eyes.

"Thanks, Dean. You know, sometimes you can be a really nice guy when you're not busy being a complete asshole."

He threw his head back and laughed good-naturedly. He shook his head and gestured for her to enter, following closely behind her as they made their way back to the reception, their problems now out of sight, out of mind.