A/N: Enjoy!

JJ had tried on what felt like a million dresses. Miles and miles of white fabric and lace had whipped past her eyes, and she was starting to feel a little weary. She hadn't expected dress shopping to be so tiring, even if she acknowledged the fact that she was still in a moonboot, but it was helping that her mom, Aly, and Aly's mom, Lynn, had all managed to accompany her. Aly and Lynn had flown down for the week, and JJ was loving the company of having her best friend around. It had also given the often quiet old house a little more life, reminding them of what it had used to feel like.

"I'm getting really tired," JJ sighed, flopping down on the couch beside her mom. "Think we can continue another day?"

"Of course," Sandy said with a smile, reaching out and smoothing JJ's hair back from her face. Laughter interrupted them, pulling their attention to where Aly was trying on veils with Katie's help. Katie had eagerly flown up from Florida for a couple of days when JJ had mentioned dress shopping, and JJ was loving the energy she brought to helping plan everything that was involved with a wedding.

"I think you should go for this one when you get married Al," Katie said teasingly, holding out a ridiculously over-embellished lace veil. Aly giggled, taking it from her hands and perching it on her head. They both stared in the mirror for a second before bursting into hysterical laughter. "Oh my god, it looks like the monstrosity I wore when I married Jason," Katie cackled.

"Katie, you looked beautiful, what are you talking about?" Sandy chuckled from the couch.

"Sandy, if I had had my way, Jason and I would have gotten married in a bar and everyone would have worn jeans and flip flops. Our wedding was purely the product of my mother," Katie laughed as she turned around to face her mother-in-law. "Even though I love her dearly"

"Hey JJ," Lynn called from somewhere behind them. "Come and have a look at this"

With a dramatic sigh that was in no way directed at Lynn, JJ hauled herself off the couch as Sandy chuckled at her and began ambling towards the back of the store. There, she found Lynn standing there holding out another dress.

"I think you should try just one more before we go," she said with a knowing glint in her eye. "I think this one will suit you"

Smiling, JJ reached out and took the dress from Lynn's hand, running her fingers over the soft fabric of the skirt. Turning back towards the fitting area, she carried it towards the dressing room. "Aly!" she called as she approached, breaking Aly from her antics. "Come help me?"

"Ooh yes!" Aly exclaimed, handing the veil back to the shop assistant before hurrying over to JJ. Together with the fitter, the two girls disappeared back into the dressing room while Lynn took her seat beside Sandy again, Katie coming to wait nearby.

"It seems so crazy to me that JJ's getting married," Lynn said softly. "The first time I met her, she was just this tiny, shy, ridiculously polite little girl… I guess I still see her that way sometimes"

Sandy nodded in agreement. "Me too… I can't believe this day is so close. I'm already feeling the empty nest syndrome creeping up on me. But I'm so happy for them, because the two of them are just so happy together"

"We'll probably be back in this same spot in a few years with Aly," Lynn mused.

"Only if I make it to Tokyo and win more medals than JJ!" Aly called from the other side of the curtain. The waiting women laughed.

A few minutes later, Aly slipped out between the curtains, beaming from ear to ear. "You're going to love it," she said excitedly, before throwing the curtains open to reveal JJ.

Sandy audibly gasped as JJ stepped out before them, a shy smile gracing her face. The dress was absolutely stunning. Lace bodied with an open back, it clung to JJ's petite frame absolutely perfectly, before breaking away at her waist into a long flowing skirt which had the added effect of making her look taller than her less than five foot stature. The long sleeves were mostly made of sheer nude fabric, with lace appliqués delicately applied at the shoulders and wrists. They toned down the appearance of her muscled arms, giving her a much more delicate look.

"JJ…," Sandy breathed, rising from the sofa. "You look absolutely beautiful"

JJ smiled, turning to face the mirror as she took in her appearance. Her mom came to stand behind her, and she could immediately see the tears shining in her mom's eyes.

"It fits you so perfectly… it's almost like it was made especially for you," Sandy said softly.

"I love it," JJ said through a smile. "It's perfect"

"Imagine how Will's going to react when he sees you walking down the aisle in it," Aly said from the corner.

Her heart seeming to race away in her chest, JJ turned back to the mirror, unable to fight off the smile on her face. After nearly a minute's silence as she surveyed her appearance, she looked over at her mom.

"This is it… I'm getting this one"

Almost half an hour later, they had just finished checking out, the dress carefully boxed up to be taken away with them, when JJ's phone rang. When she turned it over to look at the screen, she frowned as she realised it was an unknown number. Excusing herself from the last trails of the conversation, she walked towards the front door of the store, answering the call as she did.

"Hello?"

"Hey, is that JJ?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"It's Matt"

"Oh, hey! What's going on?" JJ said brightly, relaxing as she realised it was the voice of one of Will's best mates. Will had left early that morning, heading out to Matt's uncle's farm near Saxonburg, where the two of them were guaranteed to cause nothing but havoc. While the two of them didn't get the chance to hang out as often anymore, when they did hang out, it was just pure 'boys being boys' type fun, and Will always came back with a story or two to tell.

"Jayje, I'm just calling to let you know that we're on our way back to Pittsburgh, we have to go to the hospital"

JJ paused, her heart skipping a beat. "What's wrong?"

"We were out snow biking, and we hit a patch of black ice. I've screwed up my shoulder, but Will lost control and went over the handlebars, he's hit his head pretty hard and we think he's got a concussion"

Closing her eyes as she let out a sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Is he awake? Alert?"

"Yeah, he's conscious, he seems a little out of it, but honestly, half of it could be the accent"

JJ had to grin.

"He's really dizzy and feels pretty nauseous which to me sounds like a concussion. We need to get my shoulder checked anyway, so we're going to take him to the hospital and maybe get his head scanned"

"Probably not the worst idea," JJ said softly. "Who's driving you?"

"My uncle, we're just getting sorted to leave now. I was going to get Will to call you but he said looking at his phone made him feel like he was going to puke, so I thought it would just be easier if I did it"

"Ok. Can you text me when you get there and let me know which hospital you're at? I'll come and meet you there," JJ replied.

"Sure thing. I think we're going to go to Allegheny General, but I'll confirm with you when we get there"

"Ok, thanks Matt"

Hanging up the call, she looked up finding the others walking towards her. Her mom looked worried, and JJ was sure she was mirroring the expression on her own face.

"Everything ok?" Sandy asked as they got closer.

"Yeah… Will had an accident up at the farm with Matt. The two of them hit black ice and came off the bikes. Will's hit his head, they think he has a concussion, so they're bringing him down to the ER to get him checked out. He's conscious, so I think he's ok, but better to get it checked out to be sure," JJ relayed softly.

"Those two are menaces, honestly," Sandy chuckled. "Do you need me to drop you off?"

JJ shook her head. "Matt's going to message me when they get there, so I'll come home with you and drive over when they get there"

"Is this a regular occurrence?" Aly asked, a hint of amusement written on her face.

JJ couldn't help but grin. "Unfortunately, yes. Matt is the friend Will goes to when he wants to get up to boy mischief, and Matt is the worst influence because he just goes along with it. One time, they went camping with Matt's dad, I think it was before Will and I started dating, and somehow they managed to set fire to a tent and singe off one of Matt's eyebrows"

The women laughed as JJ shook her head, a hopeless grin still on her face.

"God, I hope I never have boys," Katie laughed. "Not if they're anything like these two"

"Come on. Let's get you home so you can go and see what state your crash test dummy is in," Sandy chuckled. "You know, it would be nice if next year we could go a whole year without anyone visiting a hospital?"

"Look, don't hold your breath," JJ said sarcastically as Lynn pulled the door open and they began to make their way outside. Sandy grinned, shaking her head as she slung an arm around her daughter's shoulders.

"You lot will be the death of me"

A little over an hour later, JJ was making her way down an awfully sterile hallway, following in the footsteps of a kind nurse who had offered to show her to Will's curtain. While she knew Will wasn't seriously hurt, just being in a hospital made her nervous. She'd never liked hospitals, but ever since her dad had gotten sick, she could hardly stand being near one, let alone inside.

"Just in here love," the nurse said, her warm British accent washing over JJ like a soft wave as she stopped and pulled back the curtain. "Press the button if he needs anything, but the doctor should be back in relatively soon"

"Thank you," JJ said softly, slowly making her way into the partition. As her eyes landed on Will, she felt a weight settle in her stomach. He certainly didn't look too good. Grazes littered the top right side of his face, accented by the purple bruising behind them. He'd clearly come down fairly hard onto his head, probably harder than either he or Matt had realised at the time.

Slowly closing the distance towards the bed, she stepped around the chair and carefully dropped herself into it. The noise, even as quiet as it was, was enough to alert him to someone's presence in the room.

"Hey you," she said softly, leaning on the edge of the bed as he started to come to. Lifting a hand, she brought it gently to the top of his head, tousling the dark brown waves there. "You're not supposed to be sleeping"

"I'm tired," Will mumbled, cracking his eyes open just wide enough to see JJ. "They keep pokin' me"

"Yeah, because they have to keep you conscious babe," JJ said with a smile. "Don't you remember having to keep me awake all night after I smacked my head at Classics?"

"Yeah, but you didn't break your fall with your face," Will murmured, his eyes drifting closed again. JJ reached out, cupping his cheek and turning his face towards her.

"How do you feel, other than tired?" she asked gently, wanting to keep him stimulated and oriented.

"My head feels like someone dropped a truck on it," Will replied, forcing his eyes open only to squint in the bright artificial light beating down on him. "The light hurts my eyes"

"Um, ok… hang on," JJ said, lifting her head and scanning the row of switches behind him. Spying the one she was looking for, she hit the switch, turning off the lights above him and simply leaving on the guide lights that nurses used when patients were sleeping. "Is that better?"

"Yeah… thanks," Will said softly, cracking a smile. "What did you do today?"

Resting her forearms on the bed, she propped her chin up on her hand, breaking into a loving smile as she looked down at Will. "I bought a dress"

"What kind of dress?"

Chuckling, she brought her other hand back to his hair, gently massaging the top of his head with her fingers. "My wedding dress"

Even in his hazy state, she visibly saw his eyes light up, a positively dopy smile crossing his face. "You did?"

"Yeah," she said, a small giggle escaping. "I think you're going to love it"

"Jayje… you could walk down the aisle in a paper bag and I'd still think you're beautiful"

Laughing softly at his comment, she leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "I didn't realise how excited I was to marry you until I saw myself in the mirror. May can't come soon enough"

Will chuckled, lifting a hand to push her hair out of her eyes. "I'm right there with you babe"