"Do weddings make you a little weepy?" Austin asked, plopping down in the chair next to Lindsay and pulling Sarah into her lap.

"Maybe a smidge sentimental," Lindsay replied, reaching over to fix the flower in Sarah's hair. "Remember when that was us?"

Austin chuckled and watched as Samantha helped Jess with her veil.

"Yeah, I do. Was that yesterday or a million years ago?"

"I'm not sure."

They chuckled together while Isa approached, holding up two white baskets.

"Sarah, you gonna do flowers too?"

"I shy," Sarah replied, her excuse for never doing anything that made her uncomfortable.

"Colt be there."

Sarah sighed and looked down at the flower basket then up at Austin.

"Mommy?"

"I know you're shy, but maybe you can just try it and if you get scared that's okay."

"Try," Sarah said softly, reaching out for the basket.

"You and me and Colt, okay?"

"'Kay."

"Look, this dress is spinny," Isa announced, twirling around and letting the skirt fan out.

"I see London, I see France, I see Isabeth's underpants."

"Mommy, that's not nice," Isa said indignantly, crossing her arms.

"Well maybe that'll learn ya not to spin around in that dress then."

"I told you to put shorts on her," Lindsay chuckled, lifting Ben off the floor where he had been playing on a blanket with Junior.

"I never listen to you."

"I've noticed."

They looked at each other and chuckled.

"Okay guys, am I gonna send him runnin' the other way?" Jess asked, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Never," Austin answered. "And if he does, I'll make sure to trip him on the way out."

"You'd do more than trip him, Messer," Samantha chuckled. "You'd probably split his lip again."

"That was an accident and even if it wasn't he deserved it."

"All he did was steal your shoe."

"Stop stickin' up for your brother, traitor."

Samantha giggled and shook her head as someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Colton Matthew Ross! I can come in there?"

Jess opened the door for him and he grinned up at her.

"Wow, you so pretty Jess!"

"Thanks, Colton. You look darn good yourself."

He grinned as Isa poked his shoulder.

"Hey, I pretty too?"

"Yep. And Sarah."

"Well look who's doling out the compliments. What about us dude? How do me and mama look?"

"You look good," he said with a nod. "And me?"

"You look dashing," Austin said, amused at the sight of a little boy in a tux.

"Yeah. Slicker than cow snot on a brass doorknob," Lindsay said. Colton grinned because he understood what that meant, but everyone else looked at her like she was crazy.

"It's about that time girls," Jess's mom said softly, adjusting her corsage and fighting back sentimental tears. "Are you ready sweetheart?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

It was a quite the formal ceremony, what with the traditions on both sides of the family. Sarah made it almost all the way down the aisle before she spotted Austin and slid into the pew next to her. Isa and Colton sat on the bottom steps of the stage, whispering and giggling, but quieting down after stern looks from their mothers. Jo and Stella were no better, leaning over Mac to whisper to each other, until he discreetly moved so they could sit next to each other. Austin kept her eyes on Danny's the entire time, making sure he knew she was thinking about the kilt that Flack had told him he was going to have to wear as best man. Hawkes had snuck in at that last possible second with Camille, who had become a permanent fixture in his life after Willow moved to Paris.

"Linds?" Austin whispered about halfway through.

"Yeah?"

"You thinkin' about cake?"

"Yeah."

"And Jordan Almonds?"

"Buttermints."

"Punch."

"Frosting."

"Fondant roses."

"Cream filling."

"We're gonna lapse into sugar comas before we even get to the cake."

"Festive."

"Shh," Adam said, putting his finger to his lips. They grinned and made the exact same faces in reply, causing an eyeroll.

Before too long the ceremony was over and everyone made their way into the other room for the reception. The kids had found a second wind somewhere and were entertaining themselves under the table, untying everyone's shoes. Ben and Junior were still out for the count, but managing to be good sports as they got passed around the table to be fawned over.

"Hey mama," Colton said, crawling out from under the table and pushing his curls off of his forehead.

"Hey what?"

"I can take my coat off please?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

He wiggled out of it and she held her hand out for it, but he expertly tied the arms of the jacket around his neck.

"I have a cape," he informed her quietly, his face serious.

"Okay. Don't lose it."

"No worry mama. Isa, they's dancin' out here," he said, peeking his head back under the table. "You comin'?"

"Yeah. Come on, Sarah."

The girls crawled out from under the table, their once perfectly white dresses now with smudges of dirt and dust on them.

"Grumma," Isa sighed, patting Stella's hand. "My flower fall out."

Stella smiled and clipped the flower back into her hair.

"Better?"

"Yes. Thank you. I gonna dance. You too?"

"No sweetie, you go ahead."

Isa smiled and grabbed Colton and Sarah's hands and the three of them dashed out into the middle of the dance floor.

"Seems like they're pretty inseparable," Camille noted with a smile.

"They scream bloody murder when they have to leave each other," Austin replied. "It's amusing until you can't talk sense into them anymore."

"Then it's really irritating," Lindsay added. "Colton will cry for a whole day if I tell him he can't see the girls. It's quite pathetic."

"He's a ladies man," Adam defended. "Like his dad."

"You?" Lindsay and Austin asked incredulously in unison.

"What?"

They snickered and looked at each other, shaking their heads.

"Speaking of people who need to be kept apart."

"You keep us apart and it's gonna backfire on you."

"Oh yeah, there was that one time."

"The time that shall not be named."

"Or ever spoken of again," Austin added, her nose wrinkling in memory of their big fight.

"Amen, never happened. Better topic now please."

"Better topic like how much gel did Flack put in his hair today?"

"Perfect topic. I am guessing about ten times the dime sized amount they recommend."

"The dollar sized amount then?"

"Linds, get out of my head."

"Sorry."

"Hey, it's bad luck to pick on the groom on his wedding day," Danny said, sticking up for his friend.

"We'll pick on you then. Your hair all did and your face all shaved. You look like you're twelve."

"Shut up, Montana."

She grinned and deflected the cashew he chucked at her.

"And you act like you're four."

"We need to do something about this," Austin chuckled taking away the peanut that Danny was preparing to launch at Lindsay's head.

"I should think about separating them," Mac said.

"Hey, you can't do that. We're the dynamic duo!"

"Yeah, if it weren't for us, you wouldn't solve nothin'!"

"It's true Mac. You know it."

"They make a very convincing argument Mac," Jo chuckled. "But um… I don't know if the case solve rate makes up for the childish bickering."

"Me neither. Stell? What would you do?"

"I'd flip a coin and sack one of 'em."

"You take my partner away, I'll go on strike. Don't you think I won't."

"Lindsay I don't think you've ever been more serious about anything in your life."

"I'm just thinking about all the time it would take to train a new one."

"Thanks a lot, Montana. And what makes you think I would lose the toss and get sacked?"

"You're Danny," she explained as if that made sense. He grimaced.

"How much cake did you kids weasel out of people?" Lindsay asked as the kids ran around the kitchen, their nice wedding clothes exchanged for pajamas.

"More cake?" Isa asked, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Not even close."

"But… I your girl, Indy."

"That face is so not going to work on me."

Isa sighed in defeat and went back to playing while Stella chuckled.

"Pretty sure I know where she learned that face."

"What, this one?" Austin asked, making the same face Isa had.

"Precisely."

The wedding reception had run a little later than everyone had anticipated, and by the time it was over, everyone was in desperate need of dinner. There had already been a Ross/Messer family dinner planned and it really wasn't that much effort to include everyone else in it. The guys had managed to find something to watch on TV that satisfied all their curiosities and had been nearly silent for the better part of an hour while the girls got dinner ready.

"Hey does anyone else ever get the urge to call someone right after their wedding and ask them what they're doing?" Austin asked, pouring milk into the potatoes.

"It's the voicemail that's been sitting on my phone for years that I can't bring myself to listen to. I'm scared," Lindsay replied with a shake of her head.

"It's not bad. It's just me and Stell singing to you. We might have been slightly drunk."

"Might?" Stella asked. "Slightly?"

"Okay, we were completely shnockered."

"That's interesting because as I remember there was no alcohol at my wedding."

"Well see after you guys left early, ahem, there were several flasks shared by all."

"Thank you for shielding me from that."

"Your family cannot hold their liquor."

"I know!"

Jo chuckled and shook her head. She still sometimes felt like she was too far outside this family to ever fit in, but other times she felt like she had been with them for years and years.

"Hey Jo?"

"Hey Colton?"

"See this horse?" he asked, holding up a plastic toy.

"Yes I do."

"What kind is it?"

"I don't know."

"His name is Jeffrey."

"Jeffrey, really?" she asked biting back a laugh.

"Yeah. His brother's named Kevin."

"That's interesting."

"That's what mama says."

Lindsay shrugged. She was pretty used to Colton's antics, no matter how far out there they were. He came up with things sometimes that had no basis on anything and she had spent a long time trying to figure things out before. Better to just accept it and let it go.

"I've been sent on a mission to inquire about the projected time table for dinner," Mac said as he came into the room. "I want you to know that it wasn't my idea to ask, but I did draw the short stick."

"So you're saying don't shoot the messenger?"

"Yeah."

"Give us like two more minutes."

"Will do."

He turned and left the room, giving Jo's shoulder a squeeze as he passed. She smiled and no one seemed to notice except for Stella who shot her an amused glance complete with raised eyebrows.

"Shut up, Bonasera."

"I'm too busy giggling."

"Thanks for the support."

"What did we just miss?" Austin asked suspiciously, pulling plates down from the cupboard.

"Nothing dear," Stella answered with a grin. "Nothing at all."

"We always miss everything," she groaned, wrinkling her nose.

"I blame you," Lindsay said.

"Me? Why me?"

"Cuz you're standing right there."

"Linds, I'm disowning you."

"Again?"

"Just for a few minutes," she assured, setting the plates around the table and wondering how everyone was going to fit.

"I'm okay with that. Hey Adam?"

"What?"

"Would you c'mere?"

"No!"

"Dude."

"I'm comin'," he said with a sigh. "What?"

"Would you get the kids card table out of the closet?"

"You couldn't do that?"

"You better be teasin' mister or I'm gonna make you sit with those kids."

"It's in the closet you say?"

"Good boy."

He gave her a look and went to retrieve the table.

"Fifi, summon the gentlemen for dinner," Lindsay said with a wave of her hand.

"Food!" Austin shouted into the other room.

"Very nice."

"Hey Montana, that meatloaf recipe, can you give that to Austin? Because when she makes it… it totally doesn't turn out that way."

"At least I try."

"Yes, but your trying always leads to us ordering out."

"Maybe if you didn't run me out of the kitchen then I would learn."

"I do that so we don't become homeless."

"Danny be nice. She made the potatoes."

"Yeah!"

"Okay, okay. I'm being nice."

"Never insult a woman's cooking," Jo advised. "She may use it to end you."

"Some guys just can't hold their arsenic," the women chorused, chuckling.

"I'm afraid," Adam admitted, looking over at Lindsay warily. She grinned and shrugged.

"No!" Sarah screeched, standing up from the kids table and running over to Danny. He picked her up and she held on tight, glaring at Isa and Colton.

"What's the matter?"

"Not baby," she said, burying her face in his chest.

"Who's not a baby?"

"Sarah!" she said, exasperated.

"You gotta be the baby!" Isa said, her hands on her hips. "I the mommy, Colt the daddy, you the baby."

"No!"

"Sarah Claire Messah, you the baby, we say so, right Colt?"

Both girls turned and looked at him and he looked down at his plate.

"I just eatin' right now," he said, carefully trying to avoid the situation.

"Isa, why don't you go back and finish your dinner and leave your sister alone?"

"But…"

"No buts."

She stuck her bottom lip out as far as it would go, almost until it hurt, but he kept the same stern look on his face until she gave up and went back to the table.

"Are boys this difficult to raise?"

"Depends. Colton can throw a pretty good tantrum if he wants to. Although I think he learned that from Isa, so I should probably just take myself out of the judging process."

"Yeah, just wait until they're teenagers," Jo snickered. "You'll all be in for it."

"Don't mention the T word," Austin said, taking Sarah from Danny. "It freaks me out."

"You? I'm the one that has to get my shotgun out," Danny exclaimed.

She snickered.

"I am pretty sure that all the men around this table would be willing to get their shotguns out and join you."

"Our poor children. Their social lives are gonna suck."

"So did mine and look how I turned out!" Mac said with a half grin.

"We've got to get these kids out of the house," Austin deadpanned.

"Pronto."