...That's Actually a Wedding

As the Harpers' camera joined those online in the wedding room, the first thing they all heard being Mr Harper telling his wife that she didn't need to worry about wearing a hat,much to their amusement, the cab carrying Dante, Lachlan and Mrs Rosenfeld had pulled up outside. Dante's eyes remained downcast, but Lachlan's did not, and he saw the words on the façade; he turned to his mother, and opened his mouth to speak, but she hushed him. She was also carrying Dante's bag now, something which had given him concern, and it was all that he could do not to just run there and then. Lachlan however linked his arm in his again, and he found himself being taken inside. Once in, he looked up at last, and saw his two foster fathers emerging from the nook. He shook Lachlan off, and ran towards them, thus missing the moment his boyfriend looked at his mom and mouthed the words, "Are they getting married?"

Dante stopped in front of the two men, and came straight out with it; "Did we win?"

Mrs Rosenfeld spoke before they could reply. "I will just take Lachlan along to the other room," she said, and the two of them were gone. Beats looked at Elliott, and he nodded at her; then he turned back to Dante and began to speak…

"We put up a good fight, and I could clearly see on the faces of some of the committee members that their viewpoint had changed; they could see just how absurd it was in this day and age that we were deemed fit enough to care for you when your own family is alive and unable to, but not capable of taking you into our family on a permanent basis when that family member dies. However, there were still several of them that held such deeply entrenched views that we could never hope to alter their perspective, and when such circumstances exist, a compromise has to be reached which will keep both sides of the divide happy. Their verdict therefore was that same sex couples should be allowed to adopt their foster children…"

"We won!" screamed Dante, interrupting Beats. "I really thought we hadn't…"

"Dante, Beats wasn't finished I'm afraid," said Elliott. "They are only going to allow married same sex couples to adopt…"

"And you guys…" began Dante, his euphoria gone and tears now welling up in his eyes. "They are going to take me away from you, aren't they…" he continued, before his voice broke and he started to sob. "I'm not going to that home. I will run away, right now. I have made plans; if you guys distract them, and get my bag back from Lachlan's mom…"

"We know that you have made plans. David noticed a missing set of keys days ago. It might have been okay for a day or two, but in the end, they would have worked it out," said Beats quietly. "I had made a plan too, to snatch you away and run off; Elliott had plans to stage a siege, but none of those things would result in anything other than trouble. So it is just as well that Grace had also made a plan. You see, she has a friend from school that is on the staff here, and she told her that the verdict we were given was the one they would most likely settle upon; it is just the kind of fudge that the city makes, one which leaves no-one as a winner. Her friend even predicted the wording, as if the verdict was already decided on before today, which I am sure it wasn't…" Beats stopped as Elliott coughed, and shook his head wryly. "In any case, Grace spotted the loophole. As long as you are still our foster son, and we are married when we make the application to adopt, then they are duty bound, by their own rules, to accept our application and approve it, regardless of whether we have been married 10 years, or 10 minutes…"

"Which is why we need to give you this," said Elliott, pulling out a red carnation.

Dante looked at him as if he was quite mad, until Beats said, "All of the important male guests at our wedding need to have a buttonhole…"

Dante's eyes widened then, and he stuttered, "Your wedding? You guys are getting married?"

"Yes, in five minutes time," replied Elliott.

"I don't understand; you guys have always said that you didn't want to get married; I don't understand…"

"We didn't see the point of paying out to get a bit of paper to say we loved each other, when we already knew that," said Elliott. "However, we need that little bit of paper now, as it will let you stay with us as our official son. I mean, we are assuming that you do want to stay with us…"

"Wait, so you are getting married for me? Guys, that's…" Dante broke down into sobs then, and the two men surged forward to take him in their arms.

They stood there for a few seconds, and then Beats quipped, "It is mainly for you, but it is for us as well; after all, we get some nice tax breaks and stuff…" Dante chuckled at that, and Beats carried on, "Right, so we have three minutes. There is a seat at the front waiting for you, according to Flint, right next to Dani and Lachlan. Once we have the ceremony, we go straight to the adoption office and hand in our request, and that will be it. You will be going nowhere; you will be stuck with us and all the other crazies in the West Village…"

"I can't wait!" said a still tearful Dante. He took one hand of each of them, and they began to walk side by side, their boy in the middle. He parted only from them at the door to the room the ceremony would be taking place in, where Flint and Josh flanked the door, waiting to take up their duties. Flint was the one that threaded the carnation through the buttonhole on his school blazer, and then with a smile, opened the door for him to head in. Sure enough, there was a seat for him at the front, and he took it, looking over at Lachlan, who it appeared had also been crying, and was sporting a red carnation in his own buttonhole. They took each other's hand, and waited for the event to start…

It was not the most conventional of weddings by anyone's standards. The only real flowers in the room were the seven buttonholes that Josh had managed to obtain at such short notice, and Lachlan only had one as the seventh was intended as a spare. The celebrant was a city official that neither of the grooms had met before, not someone that they had discussed things with for weeks in advance. There would be no grand reception afterwards, although Michelle was at that moment preparing a buffet at the Spotlight Diner, and had a red velvet cake baking to deputise for a wedding one. The people there to celebrate with them where clad in different kinds of attire; some were weekday smart, some where casual, and in the case of Colin, Edward and Dani, in their working uniform. The only set of parents that would have attended were still in Ohio, due to the lack of notice, and only able to witness the moment thanks to Skype. Of the angels, Finn was absent, in the middle of a collection with another scheduled when the word came from Blaine as to what was happening. Worst of all, there was no music, such a factor in all their lives, and completely absent…

And yet it was also one of the most joyful weddings that any of them had ever attended. They all knew why they were marrying; it was so that the young man who had entered their lives after Beats had seen a poster by chance and decided to take the plunge with Elliott at his side could now stay with them, where he was happy and content. As the two grooms walked down the aisle of the room to the desk, their best men behind them, smiles filled the room, and were joined by those on screen, watching intently from close by and thousands of miles away…

The celebrant had not been smiling at first when the guests began to arrive, but gradually the atmosphere in the room got to her. Then there had been the teenage boy that had walked into the room just before the grooms themselves; she noticed at once that he had been crying, and that concerned her; then as the two men she was about to join together came in, his smile suddenly lit up his whole face, even as a few tears continued to roll down his cheeks and that of the young man next to him. There were others in the room that were crying too, but theirs were clearly tears of joy. It was obvious that this wedding was a major event in the lives of so many people, and yet judging by their attire, some of the guests had been notified at the last minute, and then there was the whole group on the computer screen…

She glanced down at the names on her paperwork, wondering who was Nathaniel and who was Elliott - and then she realised where she had seen those names before. These were the two young men that had taken the city to task over the adoption rules; she like everyone else had heard the verdict. They had won, but still lost. She had listened in silence as one particularly vindictive colleague had announced that it served them right that they still lost out; that now that poor boy could be protected from their nefarious influence and raised by a good heterosexual couple. That poor boy was obviously the young man that had entered last, and this marriage was their two fingers to those in authority that had denied them adoption rights because they were merely a co-habiting couple. She guessed that if they knew, some on the committee would want her to refuse to conduct the ceremony on a technicality, making sure that they would not be able to marry before the city 'saved' the boy…

However, she despised that kind of person. In her opinion, a child needed to be loved, and to have someone to love. He clearly had that here, and if she could help him stay in that loving family unit, then she would without hesitation. It was then she recalled something else that she had heard that morning, something that the two grooms might not be aware of. As a result of a combination of sickness, and the forthcoming holiday, the adoption services public desk would be closing at 2pm sharp. She would have to be far quicker than usual…

As the two grooms came to stand before her, she smiled, then said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of these two fine young men, who I believe have just had a bit of disappointing news from a committee of old recidivists… Am I right?"

Beats resisted the temptation to laugh, and replied, "Yes, ma'am, you are correct."

"In that case I should perhaps point out that the adoption services public desk is closing earlier than usual today - in 29 minutes to be precise, so I guess you would just like me to cut to the chase?" she continued.

Elliott and Beats looked at each other, the news another blow, and then turned back and said in unison, "Yes, let's do this…" The fact they spoke in unison and in a gung-ho manner raised a laugh from their guest, albeit briefly.

"Right, so do either of you, or anyone else here know any reason why you can't get married? No? Good. Now, Nathaniel," she said, before pausing. Beats raised his hand, and she smiled. "Sorry, usually we would have taken a few minutes to establish all of this, but this is an emergency situation. Nathaniel Harper, do you take Elliott Gilbert to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honour and protect him, etc, etc, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," said Beats without hesitation.

"And do you, Elliott Gilbert, take Nathaniel Harper to be your husband? Do you promise everything that he just did, for as long as you both shall live?"

Someone in the room had started to giggle, but Elliott ignored it, and replied "I certainly do!"

"Right, so rings, do we have the rings?" said the celebrant impatiently, and both Flint and Josh nodded, before handing them to her. She smiled, and then went on. "So as your best men are both married from the rings on their finger, I am assuming you both know the words that come now, so when you are ready…"

There was another burst of laughter at that, this time from more places. Again the grooms ignored it. Elliott took the ring that Flint had bought for his soon to be husband, and slipping it on his finger, he said, "Beats… Sorry, Nathaniel, with this ring, I thee wed."

Beats looked down at the ring that was being slipped on his finger; it was perfect in his eyes, a wide platinum band set with a small single diamond. He glanced behind him at Flint, and nodded, and almost laughed as his best man breathed out a sigh of relief that he had made the right choice, and still knew his friend's taste. Now though he had something more important to do. Taking the other ring, he slipped it on Elliott's finger, saying, "Starchild… Sorry, Elliott, with this ring I thee wed…"

This time there was laughter all round the room at the deliberate name slip; Elliott's face lit up as he saw the ring that Kurt had chosen, and the angel in question was relieved that he too still had knowledge of his friend's tastes.

"Okay, so we have had the vows, we have had the rings, so all that is really left is for me to say Nathaniel 'Beats' Harper, and Elliott 'Starchild' Gilbert, I declare that having made your vows before these witnesses, you are now husbands, by the power vested in me by the City of New York. You may kiss, because they are all waiting for it, but don't be too long, as we still have a register to sign, a certificate to hand over and adoption request to hand in…"

"She's right," said Elliott to Beats, "but we can't disappoint the audience…" He pulled Beats into a deep kiss, which had the room applauding, apart from Dante, who had gone a bright shade of red…

Then it was on to fill out the register, most of which was already completed in advance; Rabbi Hirsch volunteered to supervise that whilst the celebrant herself filled in the certificate. She turned to the grooms, and said, "That had to have been the most unconventional wedding I have ever been witness to; I understand that you might wish to renew your vows in the future, in which case I would be happy to officiate at the ceremony for you, even in Ohio." At that moment, although neither of them said anything, they knew that they would be having her at their ceremony at Dalton in the summer. "Furthermore, Mrs Hummel-Warbler asked me to be the witness on your adoption application. I agreed happily, and now all that is required is your signatures."

"And this certificate," said the celebrant, hurrying over and handing it to them, the ink still wet. "Don't just stand there; go and get your boy adopted!"

The subsequent exit of the two grooms, accompanied by their best men, their lawyer, their foster son and his boyfriend, happened so fast that no-one really noticed. It was only when Rabbi Hirsch followed them that there was any attention paid by the people that had assembled there at such short notice. It was left to Scott and Dani to tell them all where they had disappeared to, and then to announce that there would be a small buffet at the Spotlight Diner to celebrate the event afterwards, if people were able to join them. That task done, they too headed off to catch up with the first group, eager to be there when the moment came…

"I have got to get back," said Edward sadly. "This is shaping up to be a really busy afternoon at the free dental clinic.. Will someone pass on my good wishes to the grooms?"

"I will need to head back to work too," added Colin. "We were short of staff already with the holidays, and the only way I was able to be here was to take this as my lunch break." With those words, he and his husband headed out the door to go back to work, everyone fully understanding why they needed to go.

"Well, I think that I can finish off my work just as easily at home," remarked Ethan, as he turned to Drew. "Now, as Evie is already here, if you don't need to get back to work yourself…"

"I have no intention of doing so; we will definitely be heading to the Spotlight, particularly as there is bound to be a cake…" answered Drew as Evie grinned.

"We will be joining you too," said Artie. Kitty looked at him for a moment, as if she was going to make a cutting remark, but then she thought the better of it. "I guess there isn't anything that can't wait for me to do either, and given that we were told this was a Code Red situation, we packed the baby bag for armageddon. So, yes, we will be there." Mike and Tina nodded in agreement…

David turned to Mercedes, and said, "I guess that I could spare an hour, but then I will have to head back. There is something that I do need to finish up tonight, and they allow me to work late if I have taken emergency time out…"

There was a general movement then, and it was only at the last minute that David realised that Grace's laptop was still on. He hurried over, to see that most of the cameras had gone dark; Jeff was still on, alone, and he smiled at his old friend. "See that they get a good party for this; we will need to get together to put our heads together to plan a suitable second wedding for them. Just wait until Nicky and I are back, please…" David laughed, and then Jeff too signed off, leaving David to close down the computer and place it carefully in his own briefcase…

Meanwhile, in a hallway of a building not far away, the peace of a quiet Wednesday afternoon before the holiday was shattered by the sound of running feet and a chorus of happy voices. At the reception desk for adoption applications, the clerk was getting ready to close down the public desk in 6 minutes exactly, not that she was watching the clock at all, when the noise began, and then the door to the office was flung open. In walked four young men, two of them holding hands; two teenage boys, also holding hands, and two women, one older than the other by quite a few years, and if she was not mistaken, also a rabbi. Fortunately she did not see the three angels that had come with them, or she would have been really mad. She was about to tell them all that they had quite obviously strayed into the wrong office when the younger woman walked forward, stood right in front of her desk, and smiled.

"Good afternoon, my name is Grace Hummel-Warbler, and I am here to lodge an application for adoption on behalf of my clients, who are currently fostering the child in question. I believe that the form is in order, and all that is required now is the signatures of my clients, myself as their lawyer, and also that of a respected member of the community who is prepared to vouch for their fitness to adopt. Do you happen to know Rabbi Hirsch of the Village Temple?"

The clerk sighed, and decided that she was not having her peace disturbed now. "I am sorry to have to tell you, that due to staff shortages and the holiday…"

Grace held up her hand, then walked right over to the desk and placed her hands palm down upon it, before leaning in. "Actually, I don't believe that you are sorry, given that I have been reliably informed, by a senior employee in the council, that your office hours today were until 2pm precisely. Given that it is now only 1.56pm, by the clock on your wall over there, you are still open, and spare me any talk of there only being four minutes, as you will still be here until 4pm to do administration. So here is the form, and trust me when I say that none of us will be leaving this office until you have checked through it, witnessed all the signatures, and then entered the details into the system. Trust me, I have done my research, and I know how it works…"

The clerk smiled then, a smug one, and said, "Well, if you have done so much research you will also know that two foster fathers cannot adopt…"

"Until approximately 11.58am today, when the city adoption committee agreed that same sex couples would be permitted the same adoption rights as others. The ruling was written into law, effective immediately. I have a copy of the ruling here, if you need to check it…"

"I am aware of that, and I am also aware that your clients do not fit the criteria, as they are a co-habiting couple, and as such, all you are doing is wasting my time…" replied the clerk, her smug smile growing bigger.

That was enough for Beats; he walked up to the desk purposefully, with Elliott at his side, a look on his face showing that he meant business. Grace moved aside, trying not to smile too much. "Ma'am, you were quite correct in that when the ruling was delivered, we were not a married couple, but our lawyer anticipated the way the land would lie. We are married, as of 12 minutes ago. Here is the certificate, and as you can see, it was witnessed by the good rabbi too…"

Elliott now took Beats' hand in his own, showing their new wedding rings, side by side. "So, as it is still 1.59pm, would you be so kind as to start reviewing our application now, before you can use the flimsy excuse that you were closed, because we have several witnesses to the fact that you delayed and prevaricated; Mr Harper-Gilbert and I will be only too happy to instruct our lawyer here to sue for damages as caused by you…" Elliott smiled so sweetly that Beats nearly laughed, and then it hit him…where had Harper-Gilbert come from?

Meanwhile the clerk, with a scowl on her face, began to check the form. As she did, Beats turned to his new husband, and whispered, "Harper-Gilbert eh? I like it, it does sound good…"

"It's all in order," the clerk growled. "I just need those signatures, and a copy of your marriage certificate."

As all those that were required to took a moment to sign, Grace helped herself to the copier, and made one of the wedding certificate, which she handed to the clerk with a smile, watching as she shoved it into the file. "So I take it that having met all of the necessary criteria, there will be no objections raised from the department, and that approval will be forthcoming without delay or issue?"

"Given that they are his foster parents, yes. Of course, all of the publicity will be a help."

"I am sure that it will be, given how negative it was before… Now, if I could just watch as you file it for processing today," said Grace. The clerk got up, and placed it in a tray, which one of her backroom colleagues had just come out to collect. "Thank you so much for all of your help. I am afraid that it is 2.02pm, but there will be no issue I am sure…" Grace smiled again, and she thought she saw a smirk on the other woman's face; the thumbs up a moment later confirmed that she was indeed on their side, and would personally ensure that the paperwork was registered before close of business that day. "Happy holidays!" she added, then walked over to Dante. "I guess congratulations are in order; I think that we can safely say that you are their son…"

"Do you mean that? I am really?" stuttered Dante…

"Having researched it, no foster family that has applied to adopt an orphaned child in their care has ever had their application turned down, and that is going way back to records from the 1950s. Any such decision to reject now would be completely unprecedented, and would lead to so much controversy for the city government at just the wrong time. I am afraid that you are, for better or worse, stuck with them now," said Grace.

"Hey, less of the stuck!" said Elliott sharply, as Beats wagged his finger at Grace.

Grace laughed, then said, "I don't think that Dante has any problem with that notion."

"I don't; I still can't believe that it is all actually true is all. You guys are married, and I am your son, more or less. Just a couple of hours ago my whole life was on the verge of collapse, but now… Anyway, I would like to change my name, if that is alright; I want to be Dante Harper-Gilbert."

Beats felt his eyes suddenly get moist, and looking over he could see that Elliott was actually in tears already, so he said, "I think that it could be possible, once it is all legal. If that is really what you want, consider it done." Beats walked over to where Dante was standing, and held his arms open; in a moment they were filled with the young man that would soon be his son, and then his new husband was there too, hugging them both. It was those two words, son and husband, that made happy tears flow from Beats' eyes. He had them both now, and for all of his talk about never wanting to marry or have children, those words just somehow got him in the heart… Across the room, Wes found himself blinking back tears too. All of his boys were married now, except for Mitch, and of course, his Thaddie. That fact made him sad, but of course, all those that saw him cry thought they were happy tears...

It was just after 2.45pm when the door to the Spotlight Diner opened and with Grace in front, the newlyweds and their soon to be son walked in. As soon as people saw them, the applause began, and they both blushed at it, then even more so when they saw the makeshift banner that had been hung up above the stage. It was clear that their names had been stuck over the top of someone else's, but that was okay. It was after all still less than 3 hours since they had even decided to get married, and that all of this had been achieved was a miracle.

Michelle was the first of course to offer her congratulations, hugging them both in turn, and then doing the same with Dante, who blushed just a little at all the attention. More people came after that, all wishing them well, until at last it was Dani's turn to stand before them. "I would never have seen this coming in a million years, but I am so happy for both of you that you have ended up here. Dante is a very lucky young man that he has two fathers that will get hitched for his benefit."

"Let's be honest, we were virtually married already," replied Elliott. "We just needed that bit of paper that we always though was so inconsequential to do what we had to do…"

"If they hadn't decided to try and thwart us by putting in that awful marriage clause, then we would just have gone on as we were," continued Beats, "but honestly, now that we are married, I actually have to admit that it just feels so right. I like being Mr Harper-Gilbert…"

"I will second that, even if I did kind of spring it upon you without any discussion. It is just that it sounds better that way."

"It certainly does, husband of mine," replied Beats coyly; that made Dani giggle and shake her head.

"Okay, so I am kind of hogging you when you should be mingling," she said. "There is a buffet, and we even have a cake…"

Elliott looked up at Michelle, who just smiled, and pointed at the food laid out on the counter. "I have to say that I am a little hungry," he confessed, "and I see that our son is already there, and you know what teenage boys are like at buffets…"

"Oh yes," said Beats. "I have vivid memories of Warbler parties. Add in the fact that our future son-in-law is with him, and there will soon be nothing left."

Elliott turned to look at Beats then. "Our son-in-law? You think…?"

"Oh yeah, Lachlan is the one. After all, and we must never tell his mother this, he was going with Dante if he had run. There is nothing that says I love you more than being prepared to give up your comfortable life for an uncertain future, just to be with the man you love…"

The gathering did not last for hours as the wedding receptions of their friends had done, and that was understandable; people had to get back to work, or had to catch a bus, train or plane to the place that they would be spending Thanksgiving. Skylar had to head out to the airport to meet his parents, and Julia's, from their separate flights from Ohio; they were of course coming for the event that he had planned for the following day at the Spotlight. He had decided in the end that he did not want a massive production number; he would be content with just his closest allies, his three former Warbler roommates to sing back up for him as he sung on the stage, before he would propose to his still blissfully unaware girlfriend. Julia still thought that she was having lunch at the house in the West Village…

Of course, the events at City Hall had made it into the media as soon as the decision was announced. Somehow of course word then began to spread that the two young men that had tendered the petition in the first place had actually married just minutes afterwards so that they could keep their foster son… The reporter from NY1 was the first to arrive at the Spotlight, and as Mr Scotto was a regular customer, they decided to grant him an interview, and the exclusive for TV. When the reporters from the NBC, CNN and Fox affiliates arrived, they got no further than a statement from Grace. She also told the journalists from the Times and Post that their editors would need to get an official take on the events from Roderick…

It came as quite a shock to that young man when he was told this, given that he was on a bus to Ohio at the time she called him, but he worked hard on his tablet, and before the bus arrived home in Lima, he had been able to write up a wonderful article about the background and the day's events as Grace had told them to him. When his article was picked up by both of the newspapers, he was overjoyed, particularly with the comment from the Times editor, who said it was one of the best articles he had read in recent years….

The most surprising bit of news that day came in a phone call just before 5pm, as Beats, Elliott and Dante were strolling home. It was Mrs Harper, who informed her son that she had called his sister to tell her that he had married. Her response had been to say that the whole thing was ludicrous, that he should have waited for his family and had the wedding in Ohio, and that doing it for some latino was a terrible idea, and the marriage would fail. Beats had drawn in breath, glad he had not put the call on to speakerphone. "You will be glad to know that I gave her a piece of my mind, then told her not to bother coming round for dinner tomorrow, as we would not be home. I hope that it is okay, but we are currently just joining the I-76E en route to you in New York. I have brought the turkey with me, and a pumpkin pie I had already made…" Beats was stunned, but couldn't refuse…