Hello everyone!

Spring break was great (no one has guessed where I went!), and I started this chapter a little bit during the week. First, I need to clarify something:

I'm sure a lot of you are wondering why I stopped doing the review responses. Well, long story short, I found out it's against the site rules because it's "review baiting", if that makes sense. So I'm not going to do explicit review responses anymore, but if I need to mention something in the author's notes related to a review then I will! Otherwise, I'll just PM you if we need to talk or something.


-Saturday, October 6, 10:46 am / The Evergreen Inn Bed & Breakfast-

Katrina: 17 months old
Casey: 1 year & 2 weeks old

Rose: 10 weeks along

Rosalynn Lalonde watched as her daughter continued to get ready in front of the boudoir. "I never thought I would see this happen," she quietly said to herself.

Roxy gently smiled and nodded in agreement. "I didn't, either." She put in her earrings before turning around, then looked up at her mother with a sigh.

"Twenty years, Mom," she firmly said. "Twenty years. How could you go twenty years without telling me that you and Papa were alive?"

The older woman sighed and got up from the chair she was sitting in to embrace her daughter. "Roxy, I'm terribly sorry—"

"But twenty years, Mom!" Roxy cried. "I thought my life was over when I got the call that you and Papa had died in that stupid fake car crash! I named my only child after you, and you decided to fake your own death without at least telling me?!"

Rosalynn sighed again, afraid of how Roxy would react. "It was extremely painful for your father and I to do that, Roxy. We didn't want to just leave you and Rose, but we had to. We waited the longest we could before disappearing, and I'm truly, extremely sorry you've had to suffer all these years."

"You haven't even told me why you and Papa even left in the first fucking—"

"Roxanne, calm down." Rosalynn took a pause to stop and collect herself before continuing. "Papa and I were being...targeted. It was something related to Skaianet, but I can't tell you all the details."

"Mom, I work for Skaia—"

"I know that, honey, just listen to me! Anyway, a mob called the Midnight Crew were targeting us because we know some...confidential information. Papa and I knew they were after us, and not you and Rose, because we never told you the information. They weren't going to stop until we were dead. So, we faked our own deaths just so you would be safe. We spent twenty years travelling the world, waiting until it was safe, until we finally got word that the Midnight Crew was in jail. And as soon as we heard about that, we began searching for you and Rose, and finally found out you were living here because we found your engagement announcement in the newspaper…"

Roxy didn't know what to say. It sounded like something out of a Nancy Drew book. "I had to raise Rose all by myself," she quietly said, her voice hinting at both shock and frustration.

"But you did an exceptional job, Roxy. When you first told us you were pregnant, I'll be honest, I was more upset with the fact that you were still immature when it happened than that you were actually pregnant. But now I see that you've completely turned your life around, and that both you and Rose have grown up to be very sophisticated ladies." Rosalynn paused. "Speaking of Rose, where is she?"

"Oh, Rose?" Roxy finally decided to turn back around and resume getting ready. "She has her first ultrasound this morning. She's going to head over here as soon as she can." She plugged in the curling iron and began to brush her hair. "I can't believe I have to miss it, though!"

"I...see." Rosalynn was clearly uncomfortable, but tried her best to keep calm. "How exactly did you react when you discovered Rose was a...lesbian?"

Roxy scoffed. "It didn't bother me at all," she told her mother with a laugh. "I mean, we're not exactly a 'model family', and besides, Kanaya is the sweetest thing!"

"Kanaya…" Rosalynn paused to think for a minute. "Is Kanaya a...man?" she cautiously asked, reminding herself that two females cannot make a baby.

"Of course not!" laughed Roxy, slightly irritated by the question. "Both she and Rose wanted a baby, so they looked for a sperm donor with genes as close to Kanaya's as possible. And—surprise!—it happened on the first try."

"Sorry we're late!" Rose exclaimed as she opened the door to the bride's room. She and Kanaya stepped inside and closed the door behind them.

"How was the ultrasound?" asked the middle-aged Lalonde, who picked up the curling iron and began to curl her hair.

"It was fine," Kanaya replied.

Rose nodded. "Everything was great; the baby's fine. I go back in a month." She paused. "We brought back some pictures for you to see."

"Oh!" exclaimed Roxy, perking up. "You'll have to show me soon—not right now, though. I'm running late. Speaking of late…" She turned back around. "...where are John and Vriska?"

"They had to make a pit stop for Casey," Kanaya told her mother-in-law. "Last I checked, they were twenty minutes away."

"Alright. I'm sure they'll be here soon."


-11:37 am-

"John, I want you to listen to me," Mr. Egbert sternly told his son as he put a black tie around his own neck.

The brunet looked up from his phone and at his dad. "Yeah?"

"Well…" The older man sighed before continuing. "I just want to apologize. I know I've spent a lot of time with Roxy this past year...almost too much time. And…I'm really sorry I let this hurt our relationship. I know that I've ignored you and Vriska and Casey…sweet, sweet Casey. But please, John, I ask that you accept Roxy as part of our family. I know she's not your mother, and no one can replace your mother, but I do love her. So please…can you do that?"

John rolled his eyes with a smile. "Of course, Dad! I don't mind Roxy at all; besides, Rose is my friend!"

Mr. Egbert smiled. "And she'll be your stepsister within an hour."

"Oh, don't remind me," John nervously laughed. He quickly checked his phone before looking back up at his dad. "Well, I think you're getting married in twenty minutes, so you should probably finish getting ready!"


-11:59 am-

Mr. Lalonde looked down at his daughter with a smile, getting a bit teary-eyed. "You are beautiful, Roxy," he told his daughter as the two linked arms, preparing themselves for the trip down the aisle.

Roxy blushed and let her eyes wander over to her bouquet of pink flowers. "I'm forty-five years old," she said with a laugh, "it's about time I get this over with."

"It's not a matter of getting things over with, Roxanne; it's a matter of you being happy."

"I am happy, Papa!" Roxy told her father. "Joseph's a wonderful man; he works very hard, he owns a nice house, and he's opening a bakery this February, just in time for Valentine's Day! I don't know anyone I'd rather be with."

"He does seem like a wonderful man, even though I've known him for only a week," Mr. Lalonde laughed.

Roxy smiled and glanced at the clock in the hallway, which now read 12:00. "It's time," she quietly said to herself.

Mr. Lalonde brushed some hair out of his daughter's face. "Are you ready?" he asked her.

The blonde slowly looked up at her dad before tears began to erupt from her eyes. "I'm getting married, Papa," she choked out.

The older man pulled her into a hug and began running his fingers through her hair. "I know, Roxy, I know," he soothed, savoring a moment he'd spent twenty years looking forward to.

Roxy sniffed again and pulled out of the hug. "Je t'aime," Mr. Lalonde whispered to his daughter as he took her arm again. "You will do great."

Roxy smiled and tried her best to keep the happy tears inside. "Je t'aime aussi, Papa."

"I, Roxanne Cosette, take you, Joseph Matthew, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, to love and to cherish, and to be faithful to you alone as long as we both shall live." Roxy smiled at her soon-to-be husband, tearing up as she did so.

Joseph smiled in return and the two looked back up at the minister.

"May I have the rings, please?" asked the minister, looking over at John. John quickly handed the rings to the minister before stepping back into his place, not trying to call attention to himself.

"Joseph, place the ring on Roxanne's finger and repeat after me: 'With this ring, I thee wed'."

"With this ring, I thee wed." Mr. Egbert placed the ring on his almost-wife's finger, who smiled in return.

The minister turned to Roxy. "Roxanne, place the ring on Joseph's finger and repeat after me: 'With this ring, I thee wed'."

"With this ring, I thee wed…!" Roxy slid the ring onto Joseph's finger and smiled ecstatically, waiting for the minister to say the sacred words.

The minister could obviously sense Roxy's excitement, because he smiled at her before smiling at the wedding attendees. "It is with my pleasure that I now pronounce you husband and wife," he announced. "You may now kiss the bride!"


-12:52 pm-

"Why did he invite us to the wedding?" John's Aunt Joanna grumbled to her husband Daniel. "He very well knows he's not a part of the family anymore!"

"Joanna, hush," Daniel scolded. "He was a part of the family for nearly ten years, and he was single for over fifteen; you should at least be happy for him."

The guests quieted down and looked up at the front of the backyard, where it was obvious Mr. Egbert and Roxy had finished taking photos. Nearly everyone began clapping or respectfully cheering, happy for the newly wedded couple.

Mr. Egbert announced to the guests that they could all begin to help themselves to the lunch buffet, if they hadn't already. He also made it clear that he and Roxy were going to go around and talk to everyone, so it wasn't necessary to congratulate them right then.

After about twenty minutes or so of eating, Joseph and Roxy got up to cut the cake. Mr. Egbert had made it himself, of course, and it was probably his favorite project yet, since it was up to him and his new wife to decide exactly what it would look like.

Both John and Rose began to film the moment with their phones, as each parent had requested it be done. Joseph and Roxy shared the knife and made the first cut into the cake, then plopped the slice of white cake on a plate. Roxy was the first to grab a fork, and then Joseph; the two fed each other a bite of the cake rather cleanly (unlike Karkat and Terezi, that's for sure).

Casey escaped her mother's grip and ran towards Joseph at nearly full-speed. "Gapa!" she squealed as she ran up to the man. "Me cake!"

Joseph chuckled and bent down to pick his granddaughter up. "Sure, you can have cake," he told her with a smile, booping her on the nose before setting her back down.

After Vriska came over to apologize for not keeping Casey in check and Mr. Egbert and Roxy telling her "it's fine!" over and over, they finally began to cut the slices for all the guests.

"Joanna, do you want me to get you a slice?" Daniel asked his wife, beginning to get up from the table the two were seated at.

Joanna shook her head with disgust. "No. It reminds me too much of Maggie."

Daniel rolled his eyes and left the table. "Suit yourself."

Meanwhile, Rose and Kanaya were having a decently serious conversation over at the table they were sitting at. "No, Kanaya, I mean it, I feel like I'm about to throw up!"

"Rose, keep your voice down," advised Kanaya, "you don't want to draw attention to yourself!"

"But Kanaya, I'm serious!"

Joanna watched the couple with an expression of loathing on her face. "I hate lesbians," she mumbled. "They always act like attention whores."

Daniel coughed from behind his wife. "You do realize those lesbians you were talking about are Joseph's stepdaughter and her wife," he said matter-of-factly.

"Do you think I care?" Joanna spat. "I'm only here because you dragged me over here! Besides, do you think I want to be a part of this twisted family?!"

Daniel let out a huge sigh of frustration and grabbed the roll of silverware off the table. "That's it," he told Joanna. "I hope you have money, because you're taking a cab. And the first thing when I get home, I'm calling a lawyer."

"What?" Joanna looked up at Daniel confusedly, trying her best to play innocent. "What are you talking about?"

"Joanna, don't play stupid with me. We're getting a divorce."

"But—"

Daniel dragged the woman out to the side of the house for a bit more privacy. "I'm sick and tired of your judgemental bullshit. Why on earth are you like this?! Your parents and your brothers act nothing like you; Maggie didn't, either!"

"Daniel, just listen to me—"

"No, Joanna, I won't!" Daniel sighed again. "It's a good thing Sam and Ryan are in college. We only have to deal with the custody of one child now." He paused, before taking off his wedding ring and giving it to Joanna. "Maybe science is right. "Maybe nothing can be created or destroyed. Maybe our love just went to Joseph and Roxy."


"Thanks so much for coming!" Roxy gave one of her coworkers a hug before moving on to the next table.

"I'm surprised at how many people came," Joseph said to his wife. "I thought I saw Joanna earlier—you know, Maggie's sister? The one who hates everyone and everything?"

Roxy giggled. "She doesn't seem very pleasant, from what I've met of her."

The couple began to move on to the next table, but Roxy stopped.

"Roxy?" asked Mr. Egbert, tugging on her arm. "What is it?"

Roxy continued to stare. "Is that…?" she wondered aloud, then began to take her husband with her to where she had been staring.

"Excuse me," she cautiously said, tapping a certain someone on the shoulder, "are you—" He turned around. "—oh my god."

Dave's Bro was just as surprised as Roxy was. "Well this is...awkward…"

"Roxy, who's this?" Joseph asked her, more confused than concerned.

Roxy nervously laughed. "This," she began, "is Rose's...father."

"What?!" Rose screeched from across the yard. She shoved her plate into Kanaya's hands and ran over to her mother the best she could (a) in heels and (b) being pregnant. "My dad?!"

"Yes…" Roxy coughed. "Um...this is awkward…"

"You think this is awkward? One of my best friends is my niece." Dave scoffed and looked over at Jade, who was clearly disturbed by the whole thing.

After a few extremely awkward minutes of casual chatting and catching up with each other, Roxy and Bro said their goodbyes, and Roxy and Joseph resumed going around from table to table. "I'm sorry this had to be so...awkward," she apologized, blushing and avoiding eye contact. "I had no idea that Rose and John's friend...I'm sorry…"

"Roxy, you obviously had no idea; there's no need to be sorry! It was just a mere coincidence, that's all." He pulled her in for a hug before looking her in the eye. "Just brush it aside; everything will be fine. Just remember: we have a flight to Savannah that leaves at six…!"


Thanks to Torrasque666, godlessAdversary, DarthMaine, katella only, funny-tragic-mess, Arc of Carona, 2outherngemiinii, and Raven-Mirica-and-Seloda for reviewing!