"Okay, great." Sam nodded to whoever was on the other end of the phone. "Thank you so much, bye."

She wrote something down before returning to the table, plopping down with a sigh. "I think I found a caterer. We have an appointment tomorrow to talk to them about a menu."

"Great." Chet nodded.

Sam shot him a look. "You could pretend to be enthusiastic."

Chet was baffled by Sam's attitude. It wasn't that long ago when she'd been the one putting off planning their wedding. He'd been content then to let things be until she felt ready to move forward. Now that she was, she'd become an unstoppable force of nature, talking of almost nothing else.

"I'm plenty enthusiastic." He argued. "Can't wait to see what they've got."

The tones went off, dispatching the squad, and Sam rose to follow Adam and Johnny out to the bay. As soon as they were gone, Mike shook his head. "Should have known this would happen once we let a woman in here."

Chet huffed and picked up a section of the newspaper. "It's not that I'm not excited about getting hitched. All this planning stuff is for the birds."

Cap laughed at that. "I remember when Joanne and her mother were planning our wedding. All I had to do was show up. I hardly had any part in it."

"It's all different now." Chet told him. "I'm supposed to be an equal participant or something. If I'd known what that meant, I never would have proposed to her."

"I'm going to tell her you said that." Mike replied with an amused expression.

"You'd better not." Chet shot back. "I'll never hear the end of it. I'm gonna have to transfer stations."

It wasn't long before he heard the squad back into the bay, followed by three voices. "I am so glad I'll never have to worry about getting married." Adam was first.

"Nah, married life is great." Johnny responded. "Getting there was the hard part."

"You're telling me." Sam huffed as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "It's catering and dresses and venues and…it's just so much."

Mike arched an eyebrow at Chet but didn't say anything, merely returned to his newspaper. Chet let out a short sigh and rose from the table. "You know, it seems like it's only women who care about all this stuff. If guys planned weddings, it'd be all different."

Sam immediately turned around and leaned against the counter. "If guys planned weddings…oh, who am I kidding? Weddings wouldn't exist. Men seem to think their participation ends with the proposal."

"I'm telling you, you guys just need to keep it simple." Johnny told them. "Just go to the courthouse and call it good."

Chet shook his head. "No can do, Johnny. The world might end if we don't have a church wedding."

Sam did manage a quiet laugh at that. "Right. A plague of locusts, lightning strikes, the whole thing."

Johnny pulled a mug from the dish drainer and set it on the counter while Sam filled it. He took the mug and eased himself into a chair at the table. "You know, the wedding's not even the important part. I mean, it's fun, don't get me wrong. But the marriage is the thing."

Adam looked baffled. "Didn't you just say that getting to the wedding was the hard part?"

Johnny huffed in exasperation. "Well, yeah. But it's not like marriage is easy either."

"Guess someone should ask Diane about that." Cap answered dryly.

Johnny rolled his eyes as the sound of laughter filled the day room. Soon enough the tones sounded again, sending the whole station out on a call. Chet was relieved. At least he wouldn't have to think about his wedding for a while.

# # #

After their call, Sam and Johnny dropped off their patient in a treatment room and returned to the base station. "I just don't understand. Chet was all gung-ho about this wedding, but every time I mention anything about it, it's like he just freezes. If he's changed his mind—"

"I'm sure he hasn't changed his mind." Johnny assured her. "He's just not as into all that stuff as you are. Probably just wants to let you handle it."

"I don't mind doing that, I guess." Sam replied. "But I want his opinion. It's his wedding, too, right?"

"Well, sure." Johnny answered casually. "Couldn't hurt to kick him in the pants a little."

Sam sighed as she filled out a supply form. "I shouldn't have to. Why does this have to be so hard?"

"It doesn't." Johnny responded. "D, tell her."

"Tell her what?" Diane gave Johnny a sideways look as she took the supply form from Sam. "He was perfectly content to saddle me with all the planning. We almost didn't get married at all."

Johnny looked as if he was about to protest before seeming to think better of it. "It all worked out in the end. Anyway, Chet'll come around. Don't worry about it."

Adam soon rounded the corner. "You guys ready to go?"

"Just grabbing some supplies." Sam told him, picking up the box.

She heard Diane and Johnny murmur behind her but paid it no mind. Hopefully she hadn't stirred up anything between them. She dismissed the thought and followed Adam out to the squad, restocking the drug box before climbing up in the squad between the two men.

"Won't be much longer now, huh?" Adam started.

"Until what?" Sam asked.

"Until you're certified." Adam replied.

"Oh, that. Yeah." Sam nodded. "Suppose wedding planning is kind of taking precedence right now."

"Well, you've already passed the written portion." Johnny told her. "Just need your field work now. Once you've got those hours in, you're good to go."

"Yeah, then you can kick Johnny off the squad and take over." Adam jumped in.

Johnny shot him a glare. "Who said I was leaving?"

"You did." Adam pointed out before turning to Sam. "Don't mind him. He's getting old and forgetful."

Sam started to laugh until she caught Johnny's facial expression. "I'm sure they'll just assign me to another station."

Johnny shrugged as he backed the squad into the bay. "Seems kinda dumb to do that. Would hate to split you and Chet up."

"Please." Adam snorted derisively. "We'd all be happier if they did. Then we'd only have to hear one side of this wedding shit."

Johnny huffed before turning to Sam. "Don't mind him. Not a romantic bone in his body."

"I'm plenty romantic." Adam argued as he opened the squad door and climbed down. "Ask anyone."

"I'll be sure to ask your friend Carlos next time I see him." Johnny called out. When there was no response, he shook his head before turning his attention to Sam. "Listen, I kinda need you to keep this in the squad, okay?"

"Sure." Sam agreed.

Johnny took a deep breath and exhaled. "I've gotten certified as an instructor. I've been trying to hold off until you're certified and ready to take my spot before I go. I really thought I'd be able to come back to this after surgery, but…I don't think I'm gonna be able to hold out here much longer. Adam was right about me getting old."

"You're not old." Sam told him.

Johnny smiled a little at that. "Tell that to this old body."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know what? I'll bet that's what's got Chet all tied in knots about the wedding."

Sam was baffled. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's a little long in the tooth, you know?" Johnny explained. "I mean hell, he's older than me, even."

Sam couldn't help laughing a little at that. "I don't know. It didn't seem like our age difference mattered that much before."

"Sure." Johnny nodded. "But that was before things got serious between you two. Now you're getting married, you're probably at least thinking about having kids. That's probably scary to an old man like Chet."

Sam smacked him on the shoulder. "I'm going to tell him you called him old."

Johnny's face lit up in a full smile. "Probably a good thing I'm leaving, then."

Sam sobered at that. "I'll be sorry to see you go."

"Yeah, can't say I'm happy about it myself." Johnny replied in a resigned tone. "But hey, better to do it now while I still have some say in it. And I'm kinda looking forward to bringing in the next generation."

"You're going to be great at it." Sam told him. "You've been a big help to me."

Johnny acknowledged that with a nod. "You've been a hell of a student. And you're gonna be a hell of a paramedic."

Sam heard a pair of voices out in the bay. Chet and Adam were giving each other a hard time again, as usual.

Johnny shook his head. "Not gonna miss that. You've got your work cut out for you."

"I can handle it." Sam answered confidently.

If only she felt as confident as she sounded.

# # #

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Adam demanded, following close behind Chet.

"Nothing, Christ." Chet shot back as he opened his locker.

Adam huffed, stopping and folding his arms over his chest. "Listen, I get not wanting to get married. But you wanted this more than Sam did, remember? Now all of a sudden you're freaking out?"

Chet sighed and closed his locker, sitting down on the bench. Clearly Adam had decided to stick his nose in, and Chet wasn't going to easily escape. "I don't know. The more I think about it, the more I'm not sure I want to."

"Cold feet." Adam joined him, straddling the bench. "Got it."

"It's not cold feet." Chet argued.

"Then what the hell is the problem?" Adam asked.

Chet fell silent for a long moment. "I'm too old for her."

"Oh, for Christ's sake." Adam sounded thoroughly exasperated.

"It's true!" Chet insisted.

"You knew that when you first started hitting on her." Adam pointed out. "Sure as hell didn't stop you then."

"Well, maybe I shouldn't have." Chet countered. "It's not like I planned on falling in love with her."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Okay, so call it off if you're so goddamn worried about it."

"I can't do that." Chet told him. "Things are…moving. Just about everything's in place."

Adam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You want to know what I think?"

"No, but you're gonna to tell me anyway."

Now it was Adam's turn to fall silent for a moment before responding. "You're scared."

"I'm not scared." Chet scoffed. "What the hell do I have to be scared of? If anyone should be scared, it's her. She's the one saddling herself with an old man."

"And yet she's not the one bothered by it." Adam replied. "It's almost as if it doesn't matter to her."

"It should matter." Chet told him quietly. "I mean, if we have kids…what if I'm not around for them? I don't want to stick Sam with raising them alone. And I damn sure don't want her to have to take care of me when I can't take care of myself anymore. She deserves better."

"You know who you should tell all of this to?" Adam responded.

"Sam." Chet acknowledged. "Yeah, I know. I just—I don't know, man. I don't wanna spill my guts to her. She'll probably laugh at me or something. Think I'm weak."

Chet heard the squad doors slam closed, turning toward the sound. He could hear Sam and Johnny talking. He wondered if Sam had said anything to Johnny out there in the squad. It seemed like they'd been out there an awfully long time.

Almost as long as he and Adam had been out here in the locker room. Damn.

He was startled when Adam clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll bet my next paycheck that she won't think that at all. Now, go talk to that woman. I need to know if I'm wasting my time planning your bachelor party."

Chet couldn't help laughing at that. "Thanks."

Adam smiled in response. "Hey, what's a best man for?"

"Kicking my ass around the block, apparently." Chet replied, rising from the bench to catch up with Sam. He caught her just before she made it to the day room. "Hey, can we talk?"

Sam's brows wrinkled for a moment. "Sure."

Chet guided her toward the dorm, sitting down on his bunk. Sam joined him. "Look, if you've changed your mind about getting married, it's okay. I understand."

"I haven't changed my mind." Chet assured her, taking her hands in his, his thumb running over her engagement ring. "But I haven't been very…forthcoming, I guess."

He took a deep breath and exhaled before continuing. "You know, I didn't give a damn about our age difference when we first met. I just thought you were cute. Even after I got to know you, and I fell in love with you, it didn't matter. But now that we're planning this thing—well, now that you're planning this thing…it's just kind of hit me, I guess."

Sam looked puzzled. "But why now?"

Chet shrugged. "It just made me think about the future. How maybe we'd have kids, and how maybe I wouldn't be around for them. How I wouldn't be around for you. How you're gonna to have to take care of me. And I don't want to put that on you."

Sam's expression changed to one Chet was all too familiar with, the one that told him he was clearly nuts. "Chet. Honey. You're in your forties, not your eighties. And you don't know. You could outlive me, and you'll be the one stuck with our theoretical kids."

The tones went off again, and Sam let out a sigh before squeezing his hands. "You're stuck with me. Deal with it. And we're meeting with the caterer tomorrow."

Chet smiled, something in him warming at that. He quickly squeezed back as they started toward the engine and the squad. "Good, because I have some ideas you're going to love."

"Chet, get in the engine." Cap told him in an exasperated tone.

"Yes, Cap." Chet climbed up, and the engine pulled out behind the squad. The one that carried his fiancée. Soon, she'd be his wife.

Suddenly, Chet couldn't wait.

# # #

Chet stood at the altar, his heart pounding. The shot he'd downed just before the procession was doing little to settle him down. He felt as if he was going to pass out.

Adam laid a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine." Chet told him under his breath. He glanced down the line. Johnny, Mike, and Marco all stood next to Adam. Johnny nodded and gave him a thumbs-up sign.

Well, at least if he passed out, he had a couple of paramedics to help him out.

The processional music started, and the doors to the sanctuary opened, revealing Sam on her father's arm. The sight of her nearly took Chet's breath away.

"Wow." Was all he could say.

Her father smiled and nodded, patting Sam's arm as he left her at the altar with Chet, and she took his hands in hers. "Hi."

"Hey." Chet managed to answer. "You look amazing."

The rest of the ceremony went by in a rush, and before he knew it, the priest declared them husband and wife, and the recessional music started. They started back down the aisle arm in arm, exiting the sanctuary.

Once out in the lobby, Chet let out a long sigh and pulled Sam in close. Sam hugged him tightly in response. "How are you doing now, old man?"

"Old man?" Chet responded by blowing a raspberry against her neck. "Wait until we get to that hotel in Vegas. I'll show you an old man."

Sam let out a shout of laughter before tilting her chin up to kiss him on the lips. "I can't wait."

"Me neither, babe." He told her. "Me neither."