It's time! who's ready to party with the family =v= It's been a minute since we had a completely fluffy chapter. Lets all kick back and relax with a slice of cake. I know little to nothing about weddings. If I got something wrong... no I didn't. there are so many conflicting resources ovq I think I had to google at least 20 different wedding ceremony scripts. If I did get something egregiously wrong, please let me know, and I'll try to fix it.

song suggestion: Still The One by Orleans
disclaimer: I own nothing All rights to Resident Evil belong to CapCom and I am not affiliated with them. Let's be honest, if this was CapCom backed, would there really be a happy fluffy wedding chapter? I don't think so.


The days of the calendar were crossed off one by one as September continued. Each one that pass moved them that much closer to the 22nd which was marked with two overlapping circles. It was the night before, the kids were asleep and almost everyone was home. One of the four managed to sneak out when no one was looking.

Emma peeked into the house from the garage to see if anyone saw here before quietly walking in and closing the door behind her. So far, the coast was clear. She smiled at this as she hurried up the stairs, over to the master bedroom, and into her closet to dig around. Doing so made a slight mess, but she eventually pulled out a neatly wrapped present that she'd been hiding. A small paper box that was tied shut with white string.

The box was reverently placed on the bed as Emma went back to clean up the mess she made retrieving it. Once that was all cleaned up, she picked up the box once more and made her way downstairs. Hm. He wasn't in the living room, so that meant he was probably in his study. With that, Emma cautiously made her way to the basement in case he was using the little gym they had set up.

Emma blessed her lucky star that wasn't the case and made her way over to the closed door. After opening it just enough, Emma peeked in so she could keep the small box out of view.

"Hey,"

Chris looked up from his computer. "Hey," He replied with a raised eyebrow as he saw only a floating head peering around the door. What did she do now?

"So we still wanted to get gifts for each other right?" Emma asked as if that wasn't something they discussed while planning.

"Right," He replied, though his concern caused the word to hold a slight draw.

"I was kinda thinking. We're going to be super busy tomorrow. Maybe we can just do that now?" The playful woman asked with a hopeful smile.

"So what you're saying is you're excited and don't want to wait," Chris states with a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Pretty much,"

Well, she was honest. "Alright," Chris agreed while shifting to close up what he was working on. "Give me a few minutes. Mine's not wrapped yet."

"Kay. Would it help if I wait upstairs?" She asked since she wasn't sure where he hid her gift.

"Yeah,"

"See you in a bit," Emma replied while very slowly retreating to see if she could catch a peek of it.

"Shoo," he insisted while motioning that she should hurry up and leave.

"I'm going, I'm going," She repeated through a chuckle and closed the door once she was out of the way. Back up the stairs she went, and while she was tempted to pace around, she took a seat on the couch to wait.

before long, footsteps could be heard on the basement stairs and Chris made his way over, now holding a crisp white card envelope. "It's been a minute since we did a gift exchange," He admited as he moves to take a seat.

"True," Usually it was just a small gift here or there because of a holiday. They rarely got to give each other a gift at the same time. "Well, here you go." Emma said as she offers the plain, unassuming box to Chris.

He rolled his eyes in amusement. She really was antsy about this. He put the card he was holding down on the coffee table in favor of accepting the offered box. "No card?" he asked since he figured he should read that first if there was one, and he just wasn't seeing it.

"It's in the box," Emma explained.

"Ah," Well fair enough. He opened the box and found a smaller box that held a remote control motorcycle and an envelope. He shook his head at that and took the envelope out first. Inside of it was a card that showed a scenic water color painting of a winding road.

I'm glad to have you by my side, for every mile on the road ahead of us. Happy anniversary.

"Happy anniversary?" Chris asked as he looked at Emma with a perplexed expression.

"I'm sorry, they don't make 'we're having a wedding 3 years after our marriage' cards." Emma replied through a laugh.

"Two years,"

"Two and a half. It rounds up," Emma nudged him. "The box was making some weird noise though. Can you make sure it's not broken?"

Chris carefully picked up the remote control motorcycle box and gave it a gentle shake. Sure enough, he could hear something shifting around inside. Hearing that caused him to wince before looking it over. "It doesn't look broken," He admits while trying to see what fell off that was making that noise. "I can probably fix it." With that, he moved to open the box to find that the tamper seal had already been cut. weird. He opened the flap all the same and pulled at the cardboard insert to try and carefully get the bike out. as he did so, something fell into his lap.

"What the?" Chris stopped to pick up what fell and found a key in his hand. He stared at it for a few seconds before looking over at Emma who was trying not to laugh. "You. No." he quickly put the toy motorcycle down in favor of standing up, then quickly made his way over to the garage door with Emma close behind. He opened the door, quickly flicked on the garage lights and sure enough sitting neatly between his car and hers was an old motorcycle.

"How?" He had several questions, but that seemed to encompass most of them. "Is that a Harley?"

"I tried asking Claire about ideas. She mentioned that you both used to have bikes, but yours got totaled when Raccoon city got blown up." Emma explained as Chris walked over to get a better look at the bike. "So I might have gotten a bit lucky on an eBay listing. One of the neighbors let me hide it over at their place. Its cheap and old. I don't think it runs, since it came with a few parts."

"You mean I get to tinker with it?" He asked as he could feel his eyes light up that much more. This just got even better.

"Yes you get to tinker with it," She replied and just as quickly Chris made his way over to start digging out the somewhat limited tool box that he had. "The listing said it was a '93 Softail model if that helps."

He was going to need more tools. but first he needed to figure out what was wrong with it and-

"You know you still need to show up to the wedding tomorrow, right?" Emma pointed out as she shifts to lean in the doorway with a content and proud smile. She did good.

The question got him to stop. Right, maybe he shouldn't start that now. He put the tools back in favor of walking over to her and moved to hold her close, so he could give her a kiss which she happily returned.

"You like it?" She asked after.

"Yeah," He said, still grinning from ear to ear, before a realization set in that caused the smile to fade. "Now I wish I got you something nicer..."

"Now don't say that. I haven't even seen it yet," Emma pointed out and moves to step away enough to take his hand to lead him back into the house and away from the distracting new project.

Chris winced at that, "Well maybe." He said as he followed her back to the living room, so he could pick up the envelope he left behind and offer it to her.

Emma gingerly accepted the envelope and opened it to find a white card with a cute clipart picture of a Bride and Groom standing under the silver outline of a heart that was covered in glitter. She moved to open the card and the second she did, panic ensued as papers fluttered out and onto the ground. "whoops," She quickly moved to pick what appeared to be a folded piece of printer paper.

Once she had that in hand again, she looked back to the inside of the card to read it.

Love stories are beautiful, but I like ours the best.

"Aw," She happily cooed at the sentiment before unfolding the paper to find a purchase receipt where the price had been marked out with sharpie. She stared in stunned silence to find that it was a receipt for some place called Rim Skating. She'd have to look up where it was, but the page said it was a membership pass, good for 1 year. A handwritten note under it read, 'so long as you want it. I'll get you a new pass each year'.

"I figured you still have your ice skates, even if Rose has your roller skates now. It's a bit of a drive compared to the park, but it's open year round. So. Yeah," He explained while rubbing at the back of his neck waiting for a reaction. "I can watch the kids when I'm home, so you can get out for a bit."

"Really?" Emma asked as she looked up from the page to see if he was pulling her leg.

"Yep," He confirmed, "I hope it's okay. I went ahead and got a family pass in case it's easier for me to just go with and keep an eye on the kids there..." He wasn't going to skate. He was stuck on that resolve but, he would make some concession if it meant giving back the hobby she had to give up in favor of raising their kids.

Emma bounced on her heels for a moment from the excitement before she quickly pulled him into a kiss. While she'd always say it was worth giving up, and she meant it, The idea of having both was enough to make her heart sing.

'*'*'*'*'

The excitement from their gifts for each other made an already difficult night's sleep that much more impossible. As such, two barely functioning, tired adults and two hyperactive children arrived at the wedding venue the next morning. The two walked up to the decent size hotel and into the lobby. With so many people traveling to be here for them, it seemed only right to make the last leg of the trip as easy as possible for them by hosting it in a place near the airport. So the hotel was selected. Everyone that wanted to could rent a room here or nearby. It came with the benefit of not having to worry about set up or take down too. Everything there would be rented from the hotel, set up by the hotel and monitored by the hotel staff. Basically, they took the path of least resistance. They handed the hotel eight grand and said, please just make it look nice and make sure everyone has food and drinks for five hours.

"There you two are," Chelsea happily greeted as she hurried over. "We're still waiting on a few local people, but the hotel wanted to have you guys check the venue quickly in case you need any changes."

"As long as it's not on fire it's probably fine," Chris replied.

"Eh well they want to hear that from you," Chelsea comments and makes a shooing motion. "So as the Matron of honor, I most humbly say, you two need to get to work. I'll take the kiddos, and your rings please," Chelsea took Piers from Emma before holding an open hand out for each of them to hand her their rings. "Emma you get to the Bridal suite. Chris, go talk to the workers at the venue and congratulate them for not setting the building on fire, so you can go get changed."

"Yes Ma'am," Chris replied and with that, both of the tired pair hurried further into the hotel to get ready.

Once she was sure that they were well on their way, Chelsea looked to Rose. "Ready for a busy day?"

Rose shrugged. "Kinda?"

"Same here. Lets go," Chelsea admitted as she led the way to the bridal party suite. "Okay. Get the kid's dressed, Ceremony, pictures during cocktail hour, Reception..." Chelsea's list paused for a moment as she continued leading the way. "God, I need a drink." She whispered. Thank heavens it was an open bar.

Rose followed Chelsea into a room to find a few other women were busy getting ready as they helped each other adjust hair, make up and the like.

"There's my niece and nephew, Hello!" One happily exclaimed before hurrying over to give Rose a hug and take Piers from Chelsea. "Aren't you just a cutey pie."

"Who are you?" Rose asks while trying to process this.

"We never go to meet. I'm your Aunt Elana. I'm Emma's sister," Elana happily replied. "It's so good to finally meet you."

"Oh," Weird. Mom never mentioned an Aunt Elana.

"Elana dear, you're far too loud," Emma's mother chided as she walked over. "Now let me see my grandbabies."

Seeing someone she recognized helped. "Hi grandma," Rose replied and waved as Emma's mother took Piers from Elana in a game of hot potato, toddler edition.

"Oh you're getting so heavy," Emma's mother said as she shifts to hold Pier's on her hip. "Hello Rose, it's good to see you. are you ready?"

"I just have to throw flowers like the other night right?" Rose asks in return. it seemed easy enough.

"Yep. There's a room over there that you can change in," The grandmother explained and gestured to a small changing room off to the side. "Chelsea, why don't you go and help Emma. I'll watch the kids."

"Thank you," Chelsea replies with a sense of relief, as that was one less thing to worry about in her attempts to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible for her friend.

Some time had passed since Chelsea left. Piers and Rose got changed and the little boy was happily enjoying the attention he was receiving thanks to his cute new suit. Eventually, the door opened and Emma walked in wearing a simple matte white, off the shoulder wedding dress that had a short train and a decorative lace veil.

The second the door opened and Emma walked in, Piers hurried over. "Mama!"

Emma smiled at this while trying not to laugh at the rather adorable child as he waved the pillow around as he ran over. At least the rings were tied to the pillo- "Where are the rings?" Emma asked as she picked up Piers to try and get a better look at the pillow. Sure enough. No rings.

Chelsea's face went pale. "I put them down on the pillow, they should be there." oh gosh, she for got to tie them down... "They have to be around here somewhere."

Just as quickly, everyone started looking around.

"What are we going to do? we need to get lined up in 10 minutes..."

"What are we going to do for the photos? those are important."

"Maybe they can just mime it during the ceremony and one of us can stay behind to look for the rings?"

Rose watched the panicking group for a moment before she started to look around too. As she did so, a thought came to mind. This would be easier if she could just use her powers and try to find anything made of metal... "Maybe they rolled into the hallway?" Rose loudly announced to try and get everyone's attention.

"Maybe I'll go check," Emma's mother offered while the others continued to search.

That didn't work as well as she hoped... she thought maybe she'd get a lemming reaction and everyone would leave. They didn't have a lot of time left though and Emma seemed pretty stressed, even if she was trying to keep calm. Rose glanced over to the light switches and with a quick click, they all flipped off.

"What happened to the lights?!"

"What else could go wrong,"

Just that quickly, Rose made a slight gripping motion to pull on anything made of metal to try and get it to move. Some of the furniture shifted as a result, but it was enough of a pull to get the much smaller pieces of metal to pull into her hand. Once she safely felt confident she had them in hand, she allowed the lights to flip back on so she could check. She found a few coins, a loose screw and two rings neatly sitting in the palm of her hand.

Rose waited a few seconds to try and make it look less suspicious. "I found um!" she announced while holding up the rings.

Chelsea and Emma looked at each other knowingly, while the others quickly moved to praise Rose. "Nice save," Chelsea adds as she walks over to accept the rings. "I'll double-knot it this time to make sure they stay put."

"Well while you do that, everyone else, let's get going. We don't want to keep everyone waiting," Emma's mother states and motioned for everyone to follow her to the door. "Rose you first. You'll be the first one out. Don't forget your basket." the retired wedding planner adds as the near fiasco got her into her old work habits of taking control, yet again.

Rose nodded and made her way out of the room and down the hall to wait where she did during the rehearsal. Curiosity got the better of her as she peeked inside to find about 40 or so chairs set up, all of which had people sitting in them. Chris was waiting at the end of the aisle with Jill behind him as his best man. That was about 40 more people than were sitting there yesterday... oh dear. Rose tried to swallow down her nerves as the others lined up behind her. There were some people she recognized, like hound wolf squad, Gary, Summer and her sister, and a few of the people who came to visit when Chris couldn't remember stuff. The lady who helped with her medicine was here too, but there were just as many people that she didn't recognize.

Emma's mother walked over to the other side of the double doors and peeked out as well to give a thumbs up that they were ready to start. "Okay Rose, you're up," she quietly instructed.

Rose nervously nods before walking out. She took a few steps before remembering that she needed to be throwing the petals. Once that realization set in, she quickly started to do so. Once she made it to the front of the room, Rose moved to stand and stare back at the crowd of people. Good gracious, was she going to have to stand here as long as last time and just have people stare at her?

She waited as Piers went next. It was a bit out of order, but they wanted the toddler to have a very clear target that they knew he'd go to first. Rose and Chris. The toddler hurried over to Chris with his fancy pillow. "Dada!" he happily cheered as he finally found his dad who had been missing, in his mind, for some time now.

The group of guests chuckled at this as Jill moved to pick up Piers and keep him out of the way for now.

The bridal party went after this. Claire & Emma's brother Eric, Bastion & Travis, made their way down the aisle followed by Elana & Jack.

Chelsea was next in line. Before she moved to head out, she gave Emma a quick hug. "You look great," she whispered before letting go, so she could walk the aisle and take her place at the front by Rose.

"Ready?" Emma's mother asked with a smile to her nervous daughter.

"Ready as I can be," Emma's father said, as Emma nodded since words failed her. Her mother leaned out again, signalling another thumbs up as the music shifted when the two walked out.

It felt weird being nervous about this, but she couldn't help but dread the idea of accidentally tripping or dropping her bouquet accidentally, or any other number of mistakes. Yet as expected, those fears were unfounded. She made it to the front without tripping. She handed off her bouquet to Chelsea without dropping it, and she was handed over to Chris by a teary eyed father, who took his seat after.

Chris gently took Emma's hands in his as he smiled at her. It seemed silly at the time that she was so intent on hiding her dress from him, but at this point he understood. There was something breathtaking in that moment, seeing her walk out and towards him that left him lost for words.

"Welcome everyone. What a beautiful day for a wedding," the officiant said with a peaceful smile. "We're here to celebrate not something new, but what is, what has been and what will be. To share our love and support of a union that has withstood the weather and test of life for some time and give it strength to continue on into the future."

The hired officiant did rather well and continued to speak for a bit longer before looking at Chris. "The couple will now present their vows."

"I uh." come on, words don't fail him now. He cleared his throat as he pushed past his flustered thoughts. "I'm not the most romantic person." He quietly admitted as the microphone allowed him to be heard. "But even then, I know well enough that I love you. Because of you, I dare to dream again." He said as his voice slowly grew more confident. "So this is my promise of love to you; to spend a thousand dreams with you and to chase off the nightmares. That if we met for the first time, a hundred times, I'd always choose you to be by my side, to face what may come and build a future together."

A misty eyed Emma nods in return to try and buy herself a few extra seconds. "I love you. You give me strength to do things I never thought I could." Emma paused again to try and prevent a few tears from escaping and ruining her make up. "So this is my promise of love to you, that through the good times and bad. The crazy and the peaceful, and the down right insane moments that time throws at us, I'll be by your side. To be your partner in life and love, where anything is possible when we work as a team."

The officiant new their cue and spoke up. "Chris do you, of your own free will, take Emma, as your lawful, wedded wife, to love, protect, and defend—as long as you both shall live?"

"I do"

"Emma do you, of your own free will, take Chris, as your lawful, wedded husband, to love, protect, and defend—as long as you both shall live?" The officiant asked while looking at Emma, despite knowing the answer well enough.

"I do"

"Should anyone present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace" The room grew deathly silent as if no one dared to breathe in case it was seen as an objection. "There are none." The officiant smiled at both of them as his attention turned back to Chris. "Do you have the rings?"

Chris nods and moves to get the rings from Pier's which was not an easy task as the increasingly grumpy child kept trying to pull the pillow away. It was rather mean of dad to take his pillow when he didn't offer to share it.

The group stifled chuckles and laughs, but Chris was eventually able to get the rings and make his way back.

"Well. Luckily, that doesn't count as an objection," The officiant jokes and again the group, bride and groom included, stifle a few snickers.

"You may now exchange rings." the officiant stated and waiting for them to do so. "It is with pleasure that I conclude the ceremony of marriage and affirm the union of these two as Husband and Wife. You may now kiss the Bride."

The couple happily did so, and excited cheers filled the room.

'*'*'*'*'

Just as Chelsea listed before, After the ceremony came a rather convenient cocktail hour to allow the wedding party to get their photos taken. It took that full hour too, but by the time they were done they were happy to know that food was waiting for them. Almost. While the food was present and ready to be served to the guests, there were a few more speeches to be given. Which meant that they had to wait since everyone would be watching the large rectangle table they were supposed to sit at.

Each member of the party was introduced by a hired DJ as they walked in. The Dj state their name and role before they took their seats. Eventually, everyone was seated and left to wait as the plates of food taunted them.

"The guests are welcome to start eating. During this time, we'll first hear from the sister of the Groom." the DJ announced as Claire got up to head over to a microphone that had been set up by the wedding party's table.

"Hi, For those that don't know me, I'm Chris's younger sister Claire," She said though she realized that most people here probably knew who she was. "I'll be stepping in for mom and dad today. It seems only fair since Chris did the same for me for so long. I originally had a completely different speech prepared until I got a text around 9pm last night," Claire admits as Chris's face went pale.

Oh gosh, she's going off script. End him now, Chris thought while maintaining his best attempt at a calm expression.

"Now I'm not sure how aware Chris is of this, but Emma talks to me pretty often. So, you can imagine my surprise when I got that text at 9 at night. In which, I found out that their wedding gifts to each other, were ways to get away from the other." Claire stated which earned a good amount of laughter from the guests while Chris pinched the bridge of his nose. "I guess that's how you know you found a good one because even if you invite them to leave for a little. You know they'll come back." She states with a slight grin, knowing well enough that she likely caused her brother some panic. Luckily, she ran the new speak by Emma. This was good enough payback for the cryptic christmas letters from a few years ago. "So here's to the years to come. Where, come what may, you always have a home to come back to. Cheers."

"Cheers!" the small gathering of people replied while raising their glasses.

Claire moved to take her seat and as she did so Emma's father approached the microphone. As he did so he put his glass down on the table and pulled out a few note cards from his pockets.

"I'm afraid, I'm not very good at public speaking" He quietly admits before clearing his throat from a nervous tickle. "So I hope it's alright if I read from my notes," With that he held his notes more properly to read from them. "Good afternoon everyone, And thank you, for travelling to be here. Especially those who had to travel here by plane," He read before flipping to another card. "As I tried to prepare for this day, I found myself wondering if there was anything I could have done to be ready for this, and I thought back to the first time I held my little Emmy. All the memories of raising her and her siblings." Again he switched cards. "While thinking of this, I realized that the time I spent raising a family was the time I truly spent preparing for the day when she'd go off on her own. And now she's grown up and started a family." with that, he took a moment to look over at his daughter. "I couldn't be more proud." He smiled through watery eyes before going back to meticulously focusing on the paper he clung to as a lifeline.

"To Chris, I'd like to offer this advice from one father to another." He read and flipped the card. "There are days where you are going to be tired and exhausted beyond all comprehension. Days where the heat and flames of work make you wish for the day to end. To simply go home and go to sleep to do the same thing the next day." again he switched cards. "As tempting as this can be at times. The extra hour of sleep, Is rarely worth the trade for an extra hour to make memories with your family. In the end, the hours of work and sleep will be forgotten, but the memories will stick with them for a lifetime." The nervous man moved to put the cards away, so he could pick up the glass he left on the corner of the wedding table. "Having said that, I'd like to make a toast. To the couple and the memories yet to be. Cheers."

"Cheers!" the party called in return as Emma's father took a healthy drink from his glass to calm his nerves before moving to sit back down.

By the time he was in his seat, Jill made her way up to the microphone and true to her word, she wore a suit. "That was lovely," She complimented first. "It's an honor to get to speak. For those who don't know me, My Name Is Jill and I have known Chris for about 25 years now. If not longer." She explained with a slight smile. "And While I have unfortunately not gotten the chance to know Emma as well. In a way, I already know everything I need to because knowing Chris as long as I have, I can safely say I've never seen him happier." Jill said and gently gestured to the smiling couple. "There was once a time when he 'didn't know what to write about' in a letter about his life. Yet in the last few years I've received letters, photos and emails of stories he previously never would have thought to tell." She paused a second to hold up her glass. "So I'd like to raise a toast, to their happiness. May they always find a reason to smile and a story to tell. Cheers."

"Cheers!" the party called once more and everyone took a drink.

As Jill sat down, Chelsea took her place. "Guess that leaves me for last. No pressure right?" Chelsea asks, and the group chuckles in response. "It seems Jill and I are in opposite positions. While I haven't had as much time to know Chris. I've know Emma for quite some time. We've seen the various phases of each other's lives and supported each other through them. I can happily say she's like a sister to me. Especially considering she'll frequently let me crash any family gathering," Chelsea explained with a playful tone. "But I quickly learned that was simply because that's who she was. It didn't matter how long she knows someone, if a warm smile and open heart is needed, she's more than happy to give it freely." With that she looked at Chris. "And I'm happy she found someone who's willing to offer the same warmth and love to her. So to the couple, I'd like to offer a toast. That your hearts will always be open and full. Cheers."

"Cheers!" the party gave the final call and drank once more.

Chris was halfway through standing up when he noticed a group of four hurry up to the mic before him.

"Now we're probably going to get in trouble for hi-jacking the mic but, Chris here is the leader of our team at work. We'd be remiss to not say a few words to our beloved captain on this beautiful day," Lobo said as Chris remained standing and ready to hurry over. "It would be a bit long-winded for all of us to speak, though. So we figured what better way for us to talk together then to do so, in song." The playful man explained with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Chris sat down and patiently endured the four person a cappella rendition of Your Song, by Elton John. While he held his face as he waited for the four-minute-long song it to end, Emma smiled and clapped along as the more of the guests clapped to keep the beat of the song as well.

applause was heard as the song came to an end. "Thank you, you're too kind. We'll be here all night," Lobo says as he put the mic back on the stand. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" the small gathering called once more, more than happy to drink so long as their glass was full.

Chris stood up and walked over to the mic this time. "Don't drink too much. You're all doing laps tomorrow," Hearing this caused another roar of laughter from the guests. "Thank you everyone for being here. Like my Father-in-law said, there were several... actually. Most of you had to fly to be here and celebrate with us. I think I can speak for us both when I say we appreciate it, and we're happy to see you all. So, I'd like to propose a toast to all of you for your support. Our story would not be the same without you. Cheers."

"Cheers!" everyone said, as this time the final drink actually was the last one. As far as toasted drinks when. Throughout the dinner, there would be an occasional chime of guests ringing their glasses and the couple would pause their meal to kiss as tradition mandated.

A fair amount of time was given for the party to eat. Once that time had passed, Chris and Emma got up, leaving Pier's with Rose so they could walk out and signal to the DJ that it was time to move on.

"Ladies, Gentleman and esteemed guests of the wedding. It's time for us to start opening up the dance floor." the DJ announced. "We'll start off with the couple's first dance."

"Ready?" Emma asks while trying to stealthily make sure her bustle was set up securely. Phew okay it was.

"As ready as 5 lessons can make me," Chris replied with a nervous chuckle as he offered her his hand.

To the surprise of the guests, a rather happy up plucky guitar started to play instead of the usual slower medley expected for such an occasion. As the music played, the two quickly moved to keep up with the beat thanks to a skip in their step.

We've been together since way back when, Sometimes I never want to see you again

Emma laughed a bit at the lyric as she moved to walk away from Chris and as part of the Choreography he moved to catch her waist and pull her back.

But I want you to know, after all these years. You're still the one, I want whisperin' in my ear.

The two could hear the guests around them clapping along to the music as the managed to keep up even as the pace increased, and the chorus kicked in.

You're still the one!

The group of singers on the track harmonized as Chris gave Emma a twirl.

I want to talk to in bed

The lead singer finished the sentence as the two went back to their more energetic and playful first dance.

We're still having fun, and you're still the one

The song proclaimed and announce the sentiment that they agreed with. While it wasn't a typical song or dance, the two had agreed that they didn't want a song that sounded like a death march and felt like it would last a century. So, it didn't take long to agree on the jazzier song that confirm their own thoughts. That nothing truly changed. This was a party to celebrate a fact that was set in stone and not a new declaration of discovery. They loved each other, and that was just as true today as it was years ago.

While they did miss a step here or there, no one truly noticed as they enjoyed the sillier antics of the song and simply took any missteps as a part of the dance.

Slower music was used after this as the rest of the tradition mandated dances were preformed. Emma danced with her father and Chris shared a dance with Claire before Emma's mother and father had their turn.

"before we open up the dance floor to everyone, we have a few quick things to take care of. We'll start off with the cutting of the cake." the DJ states before directing the attention of the group to a table that had been set up for the cake. A few cards and boxes were placed around the cake. While the invitations said that gifts were not needed, it didn't keep a few guests from leaving behind a present or two. Even without a place to put them.

Camera flashes announced the capture of the moment as Chris and Emma cut a slice of cake for each other. The guests laughed and cheered as the slices were ultimately smashed into the other's face as they couldn't resist the tempting call of a playful prank.

"While we wait for the cake to be served. We'd like anyone who'd like to participate in the bouquet toss to join us on the dance floor please." the DJ announced as a few women stood up, more so out of obligation to the tradition, and made their way over to the dance floor.

The time it took for everyone to gather gave Emma time to clean the bits of frosting off her face. Overall, the gathering included the dates of Night Howl, Lobo, Canine and Gary. Barry's three daughter, Polly Moira and Natalia. Rebecca, Sheva, Elana, Jill and Claire joined the growing group as well as Umber Eye's daughter, who was probably too young. It was hard for the guy to stop her from hurrying over when she saw Rose, Summer, Marie, and Annie join the crowd.

"Alright, Is everyone ready?" the DJ asks as Emma stood at the front of the group and turned around, so her back was facing them. "On the count of three. Three, two, one."

The bouquet was thrown and bounce around through a few hands before ending up in Jill's hand, much to her surprise. She had to fight off the instinct to quickly toss it to someone else, and instead held up the bundle of flowers like the trophy it was supposed to be.

"Congratulations to the Woman of Honor for catching the bouquet!" the DJ announced as applause was heard in the venue once more.

As the gathering wound down and cake was served, the members of the wedding party moved to join their dates and families for cake, rather than sit on ceremony. This gave Chris and Emma the rather convenient opening to hop from table to table, to speak with each of the guests, starting with the table that Jill wandered over to where her date was sitting with Barry and his family.

"Well if it isn't the man of the hour," Said a person Chris was unfamiliar with. "I finally get to meet you after hearing so much about you from Jill. The name's Carlos." He says in greeting while offering a hand to Chris.

"Carlos. I've heard of you as well," Chris admits in return. "Jill mentioned you got her out of Raccoon city before the place got turned into a crater." With that He looked over to Jill and gestures to the flowers she caught. "Should we be expecting a happy announcement soon?"

"Chris," Jill chided as her face turned beet red.

"I donno. Maybe. This does seem kinda fun," Carlos replied with a confident smile as Jill remained flustered and flushed. "And I think I heard something about you wearing a dress so."

"Nope," Chris replied unwilling to entertain the idea for even a second. "Not a chance."

"Eh worth a try," Carlos Shrugged before looking at Jill. "What do you say Super Cop? Think it could happen?"

"We're not talking about that at my best friend's wedding. That's rude," Jill said as she placed the bundle of flowers gently onto the table in favor of picking up a fork to eat cake.

The answer caused him to grin as he put an arm over the back of her chair. "That's not a no, so I'll take it."

Jill scooped up a bite of cake and put that in her date's mouth. "Please stop talking," She could only take so much.

Seeing this caused Barry to laugh. "Ah my troublesome troops never changed. Still picking fights and hotheaded as ever."

"It's good to see you again Barry," Emma said hoping to give the tired veteran a more normal conversation.

"Good to see you too. You look lovely. Congrats to you both," Barry offers in return. "If that knucklehead starts acting up, just give me a call, and I'll kick him into shape."

"Geeh thanks," Chris said with an unamused frown, though he didn't seem to take the threat too seriously.

"I doubt that will be necessary, but I'll keep that in mind," Emma replied with a hint of amusement before the two wandered off to the next table.

The night continued on like this where the two would hurry around to talk to as many of their guests as possible while occasionally being pulled away for a dance by one of them Mrs. Russo was the first to pull Chris away for a dance and Emma had to take turns dancing with each of the Kings who were happy to see her again.

The venue was full of music, laughter, and talking as hearts and stomachs were full. In this moment, the world was at peace for the small group and everyone was happy.


This was surprisingly fun to write even if it was about as stressful as actually planning a wedding since I had to write multiple speeches =v=' it reminded me of being in college again and having to write essays at the final hour hoping the professor wouldn't realize I never read the book. Though google seems to be judging me hard. It's not sure if I'm pregnant, getting married or if I'm about to kill someone and it is ready for each option apparently cause i'm getting a lot of ads for lawyers. Thanks google.