The Room, Unslept In Chapter 22, a who's the boss? fanfic

The Room, Unslept in

A/N: Time for Chapter 22! Wedding Day time. I have some long Author Notes at the end of this chapter. I didn't want to give anything away, so I put them at the end.

PS: I haven't forgotten about the CD music wedding gift.

PSS – I don't own any of the characters from Who's the Boss? I also don't own the song(s) I use in this story. I also don't own the dialogue I sometimes use in the chapters. I've tried to pick songs that remind me of Tony & Angela and their relationship. If you'd like to hear them, check out YouTube – you can find just about everything there.

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Chapter 22: Only with the Right Person, I

July 3, 1993

Angela woke up in their bed alone, but she wasn't unhappy this morning. She was excited. So incredibly excited. After so many years of wishing and waiting for it, she was marrying the love of her life, who also happened to be her best friend, that night. She was shockingly also 14 weeks pregnant with their baby. If there was anything she wasn't expecting to do, it was getting married and being pregnant while doing it this late in life. The surprise baby… She was deliriously happy thinking about it all. She wasn't without apprehension, though. She still harbored fears of failing at another marriage, and she still didn't have any amniocentesis results telling them their baby was okay. These thoughts of uncertainty made her heart skip a beat.

She peeked outside and saw that it was bright and sunny with big white puffy clouds in the sky. She hoped it wasn't going to be too humid later that afternoon and evening. Humidity while being pregnant wasn't a good combination. New England was notorious for being humid in July.

She got up to go to the bathroom and then returned to her bed. As she sat up against the pillows she laid her head back, her blond hair cascading over her shoulders letting thoughts of her wedding day all settle in. "This is our special day, Baby," she looked down and patted her mid-section. "I hope you're ready. I know I am. I've been ready for a long time," Angela said out loud enjoying the quiet in her room. "Well, maybe not married for a long time, but definitely ready for a permanent relationship with your Dad," Angela corrected, still anxious about getting married again. But she needed to put those fears out of her mind. This was Tony, her Tony, the Tony who came home from his dream job to be with her.

She thought about the talk she and Tony had the night before and was relieved that so much had finally come out and was discussed like adults – free from judgment and free from keeping anything to themselves any more that needed to be discussed and not avoided. It wasn't an easy conversation, but one that needed to happen. It wasn't even everything, but it was enough. It was enough for them and their future lives together. Her mind felt free and relieved.

She heard knocking on her bedroom door and hurried to answer it by telling whomever it was to come on in.

Mona and Samantha bounded in and plunked themselves on the edge of the bed. Mona patted Angela's arm while Samantha laid back in the middle of the bed looking up at Angela.

"Angela, this is a day I never expected to arrive, especially after the past couple of months," Mona told her frankly.

"I'm so excited for you to officially be my Mom, Angela. You've been my unofficial Mom from almost the beginning. I want you to know how much I love you and want to thank you so much for loving my Dad and me and for giving us a wonderful home. I don't know where we'd be if Dad hadn't decided to move us from Brooklyn to Fairfield and you'd given my Dad the job as your housekeeper."

Then Sam turned to Mona and continued her gushing to the two women. "I don't know who I would've had for role models growing up. You were here for me when I needed to talk to someone about my first bra, my first period, my first date, that terrible break-up with Jesse – whenever I needed a woman to talk to, you were here for me," Samantha told them both gratefully. Then Samantha squealed with happiness about her new sibling coming at the end of the year.

"Samantha, Sweetie, you're making me cry," Angela gushed back with tears streaming down her face. You're the bonus daughter I always wished for. I'm glad we're having this conversation now before my make-up goes on," Angela joked as she grabbed a tissue to wipe away the tears falling down her cheeks.

"Come on blondie, it's time to get out of this bed," Mona nudged Angela to get up trying hard not to join the blubbering going on. Still a few sniffles could be heard from Mona as she stood up.

"You two go downstairs, and I'll get my bathrobe and come downstairs in a moment. I'll shower after breakfast," Angela told them.

The ladies joined each other in the kitchen. Knowing that Angela wasn't going to attempt any cooking on her wedding day, Tony had made them food for breakfast and for lunch that he stored in the refrigerator. All they had to do was make the coffee, pour the juice, and warm up the food. For lunch he had stored some sandwiches and a fruit salad in the refrigerator. He also had plated some crackers that he had covered and placed on the counter just in case Angela had any morning sickness during the day.

The phone rang, and Mona answered it. "The Plaza, starting tomorrow until next Sunday. Sure, I'll tell her."

"Angela, that was Peter, and he wanted me to tell you that he's running late on the CDs and he'll have them delivered to you at your hotel in a few days. What is he running late on, Angela?"

"Oh, just something for a campaign that I need to have as soon as possible," she answered back but not very convincingly.

"Angela, I sure hope you're not planning on doing any work on your honeymoon," Mona said discouraged, causing both she and Samantha to shake their heads in annoyance.

"No, nothing like that, Mother. Now, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

Mona wasn't convinced, but she didn't want to bug Angela on this day, so she dropped it. She was sure she'd eventually find out what her daughter was talking about as she always did.

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With birds chirping outside, Tony opened one eye and then the other. Since Mona's apartment only had the large bed in the loft area, Tony wound up sharing a bed with Hank while Jonathan took the couch in the living room. He noticed that Hank was already up and could be heard speaking to Jonathan downstairs.

Before getting out of bed, he spent a few minutes thinking about his conversation with Angela the night before. He was so glad they took that time to talk about their relationship. He was relieved that Angela got off her chest so much of what had bothered her over the years; he was glad to have talked out his issues, too. He knew he had hurt her over the years, and wanted to be sure she told him everything that was on her mind. He knew he had been jealous of her other relationships, too. Even now, he still couldn't believe that someone like Angela had fallen in love with him. He couldn't believe how lucky he was that he was about to marry his best friend and become a new father again in a matter of months. Just the month before, he was waking up in Iowa! What he ever did to deserve all of this he'd never know. He was happy and thankful. But he didn't have much more time to ponder all of it. It was his wedding day, at last.

As much as Tony would've liked to have taken a bath in Mona's hot tub with the six jacuzzi jets, he thought better of using his time up like that and took a shower instead. He threw on his robe and went downstairs to join Hank and Jonathan for breakfast.

"Big day today, Tony," Jonthan greeted him as he went down the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah, it is," Tony agreed with a smile that went from ear to ear.

Hank had made some eggs and toast for everyone saving Tony the effort. "Thanks, Hank, for making breakfast."

"Sure, Tony, I know you have better things to do this morning than worry about making us all breakfast."

As they were finishing breakfast, there was a knock at the door. Hank went to open it and found the team from the rental company standing there.

"Tony, I'm going to go down with the rental company to show them where to set everything up," Hank offered. The rental team had a diagram that Tony and Angela had provided them with for the wedding set up, so Tony agreed to let Hank go down and work with the team to complete the logistics for the set up. Hank left closing the door behind him.

"Tony?" Jonathan began seriously.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Tony, I want to tell you how glad I am that you're marrying my Mom today. You've made her so happy. You've been more of a father to me than my own father, and I want you to know how lucky I am that you'll officially be my Dad today. Thank you for everything you've done for me since you came to live with us," Jonathan appreciatively expressed to Tony.

Knowing how rare it was for Jonathan to get "mushy" with anyone, Tony really treasured this moment with him.

"Jonathan, you've been like a son to me since I moved in here. It's been a joy to watch you grow into the young man you've become, ready to go off to college in a couple of months. It's been my privilege." Continuing, Tony said, "Yeah, I love your Mom very much. I love you, too. Come here," Tony said reaching out to him to give him a hug. "Now let's go get ready for this wedding," Tony told him. They both got up and moved the dishes from the table to the dishwasher.

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Later in the afternoon, the stylist Angela hired to do their make-up and hair showed up. All Angela hoped for that afternoon was that she not need to deal with any morning sickness. So far so good she thought, although she felt some gurgling going on in her stomach. "Nerves," she reasoned and continued getting ready.

Isabel and Wendy arrived with their dresses. They were both satisfied to have found dresses that Angela liked straight off the rack. With such short notice for this wedding, no one had the luxury of time to look through catalogues or try on dozens of dresses. The stylist helped them get ready with their hair and make-up, and then they put on their dresses and shoes.

Throughout the afternoon, wedding vendors and guests started to arrive. Mrs. Rossini arrived with the food and got all the help she needed to ensure everything was set up for later. Mrs. Rossini drove Mrs. Napoli and Billy to Connecticut as they agreed upon several weeks back.

Jonathan took over showing Billy what he would be doing during the ceremony. Jonathan wanted to ensure Billy felt comfortable so he didn't have the same terrible stomach upset that he had at his father's wedding to Heather.

The DJs came and set up their equipment and tested it to ensure it was working properly. The florist came to set up the flowers and drop off the bouquets for Angela, Mona, Samantha, Isabel, and Wendy. The florist also made sure she found the men to drop the boutonnieres off with. Then the florist set up the flowers along the aisle, the front of the alter, and on the guest tables.

As much as Angela wanted to peek out the windows to see what was going on, Mona and Samantha kept her away from them continuously pivoting Angela away from the windows and doors every time she tried to peek out of them. That didn't stop them from peeking outside though, but they didn't want Angela to have anything spoiled by finding out ahead of time how everything looked.

It was finally time for Angela to get dressed. She had selected a dress with an empire waist. The dress shop owner recommended the style to Angela to hide the baby no one knew she was expecting. She found a very light, blush colored midi-length dress with short sleeves that looked perfect on her. She had matching shoes with a low heel knowing she didn't want to tower over Tony on this day nor did she want to stand and dance in high heels in this heat.

Mona and Samantha came into the room just as the dress needed to be buttoned up. "Whoa, Angela," Samantha exclaimed. "You look beautiful!"

"Thank you, Sweetheart, so do you," Angela returned. "You, too, Mother."

"Oh, I'm so happy for you, Angela," Mona proudly looked at her daughter. 'Do you have your "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue?"

"The something new and the something blue were easy," Angela told them. "I have the two new garters that you bought me, Mother. I have them on already," Angela put her hands to her leg to show her mother where they were. "One to keep, and one for Tony to take off and throw to the single men."

"I wonder who's going to catch it after Tony takes it off of you," Mona contemplated softly.

Samantha answered Mona telling her, "There are quite a few single men coming tonight, so it will be exciting to see who gets it. Just as exciting to see who catches Angela's bouquet."

Then Samantha brought her hand to Angela's and offered her the necklace Angela bought for her 12th birthday. "Angela, I want you to have this as your borrowed item today."

"Oh, Samantha," Angela brought her into a hug trying very hard not to shed a tear and smear her make-up. "That's so sweet of you, Sam. I'd be honored to wear it today. Thank you."

"Here, let me put it on you, Angela," Samantha offered as Angela turned around and bent down so Samantha could put the necklace on without disturbing her hair.

"I have an idea for what I want to do for the something old," Angela said as she walked to her jewelry box. She opened it up and took out a beautiful emerald pin.

"Mother, Daddy gave this to me when I turned 13. Can you help me pin it on the front of my dress? I'd do it, but I want to be sure I don't poke a big hole in the dress. That will be the something old."

Then it was time to add the veil as the final piece of Angela's wedding attire. The veil reminded her of the one she had on the day of the Ferguson's wedding – a tierra with teardrop pearls hanging from the sides and then a laced veil flowing down her back covering the many pearl buttons going down her back. She was glad she left her hair flowing down instead of doing an upsweep. It looked more gentle flowing under the veil.

Finally, all done with the primping and preening, the ladies went downstairs and waited for the photographer to show up. Once at the house, the photographer took many pictures of everyone in varied positions. Then they went over to Mona's to take photos of the men. One of Hank's friends from the college theatre department was available to take video of the wedding, and he arrived soon after the photographer did.

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As 7:00 p.m. approached, Mona and Angela gathered to wait for their turn to go outside. The other ladies had walked outside waiting for their turn to walk down the aisle. By then, the sun was heading down, but sunset was at least another hour and a half away. It was hot, but not unbearingly hot. There wasn't much anyone could do about the humidity though.

Mona turned to Angela and told her how much she loved her and how lucky she was to have found someone like Tony to marry. "He's a good one, Angela, and I hope you two, well, actually the three of you, will be very happy." Mona took Angela's hand and squeezed it as she reached over to Angela's cheek and placed a small kiss on it.

"Thank you, Mother," Angela told her appreciating the rare moment of affection between the two women.

When Can't Help Falling in Love with You started playing, the guests knew the ceremony was about to start. First down the aisle went Father Marconi followed by Tony and Jonathan. They took their places at the front of the alter. Following them were Isabel and Wendy in their blush pink bridesmaid dresses. Tony had selected Paul and Eddie as his groomsmen so they walked with Isabel and Wendy, respectively. Samantha was the next to walk down the aisle with Hank. She'd selected a darker pink dress to wear as Matron of Honor to stand out from the bridesmaids. Tony looked at his daughter, smiling proudly, as she took her place at the front and side of the alter. Then down the aisle went Billy in his little tuxedo holding the pillow with the two rings he was given to carry.

Then everyone stood in preparation for Angela to walk down the aisle. Everyone looked up the aisle to see Angela and Mona come out of the house. The Wedding March by Wagner started playing. As Angela walked down the aisle with Mona at her side, she did everything in her power not to start crying as she made her way down to the alter.

As Angela walked down the aisle, all she saw was Tony standing at the front of the alter looking at her getting closer to him by the second. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo with royal blue cummerbund, she thought. Watching her walk down the aisle were family and friends who came from far and near to see the most anticipated wedding in Connecticut in years.

She took her place next to Tony who was beaming at her as broadly as the day he envisioned standing at the alter with Angela at Paul and Isabel's wedding. It turned out to be a vision he could never unsee once it was ingrained in his brain and memory.

Angela handed her beautiful bouquet of pink roses and baby's breath to Samantha who smiled brightly back at her. Father Marconi started the ceremony as Tony and Angela stood listening to him voice the sacred words that began their ceremony. Then he told the attendees that Angela and Tony had written their own words that they wanted to share with everyone. Even though this was a Catholic wedding, since Angela wasn't Catholic, Tony and Angela had agreed that she would read her words first. Nothing they had done through their years together was traditional, so why should their wedding ceremony be?

Turning to Angela, Father Marconi nodded to her and told her to begin. Angela bit her lip and looked straight into Tony's eyes. She then shared her thoughts and words with all the guests.

"Tony – when we met at camp all those years ago as kids, never could I have imagined we'd be standing here joining our lives together."

All Angela had to do was utter those first few words, and you could hear obvious gasps coming from the group of people sitting on their white folding chairs. Then you could hear a pin drop. Samantha whipped her head and open mouth towards Mona who also had her mouth wide open and looked back at Samantha. A look of satisfaction passed between Mona and Samantha. Over the years, they had talked about the possibility of Tony and Angela being the two kids that had their first kiss together at Jonathan's camp. They had never brought Jonathan into the conversations, keeping it a secret between them. They even talked about it the night they went to the restaurant after being dumped. Now their speculation was validated.

Jonathan didn't know what they were talking about since this was a subject that never got talked about in their house. This was the first time he was hearing this story. He wanted to find out as soon as the ceremony ended what his mother was talking about. In fact, the entire bridal party had their mouths agape at this revelation.

Then she continued:

Tony, I love you more than words can ever convey. You've supported me – you've been a father to my son – you're my best friend and you've loved me unconditionally all these years. You encouraged me to build a business while at the same time making me happy to come home at the end of the day to be with our family. I'm so glad I opened my front door to you nine years ago. You made my life so much fuller than I ever envisioned it could be. You've given me so much self-confidence and endless love. I can't wait to call you my husband and share the rest of my life with you. I've loved you for so long, and I'll love you forever."

Guests in the background could be heard sniffling as Father Marconi turned to Tony and asked him to share his words for Angela. Tony had to take a breath and wipe away a tear before starting.

"Angela, you were something amazing the night we met at camp all those years ago, and you're still the most incredible, kindhearted, beautiful, dynamic, beautiful woman I've ever met. I'm the luckiest man in the world tonight. You've encouraged me to be the best version of myself. You've supported me since day one. Who would've thought that by opening your front door to me and my little girl nine years ago would lead us to tonight. I'm marrying my best friend, and I'll never be able to tell you how much I love you and what you mean to me. I can't wait to call you my wife. I promise to love you with all of my heart for the rest of my life."

Tony and Angela gave each other the widest, slyest smiles, neither knowing the other was going to mention meeting at camp as kids. Neither had ever shared the information with anyone but each other during the past nine years. Now it was out in the open for everyone to know.

Father Marconi continued the ceremony by asking Angela and Tony to take their wedding rings and place them on each other's fingers. Tony and Angela had the inside of the rings engraved with an AMM + AKM = two intertwined hearts. Billy was so proud to give the rings to each of them while he stood there with the beautiful emerald green pillow he had carried down the aisle and patiently waited with until his turn to be part of the ceremony. Angela had looked down as he gave her the ring and caressed his head looking down proudly at him while whispering "thank you" to him. As Tony put Angela's ring on, she noticed he was wearing the watch she had given him for their 7th anniversary. She gave him a knowing smile as he put the ring on her finger.

Father Marconi concluded the ceremony by telling Angela and Tony that they were married and asked them to kiss each other.

The guests all applauded and whistled as the bride and groom kissed for the first time as husband and wife. Father Marconi had to clear his throat to get Angela and Tony to part from each other while faint snickers from the onlookers could be heard.

They stepped away from each other, Angela turning a bright shade of pink and Tony not being far from that shade of pink himself. They both cleared their throats guiltily. Then Father Marconi introduced the couple as Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Micelli.

Samantha gave Angela her bouquet back, and then she and Tony walked back up the aisle hand-in-hand. The wedding party followed closely behind. Then their guests stood up and walked over to give them hugs and kisses in congratulations.

An unofficial receiving line slowly took shape as all the guests wanted to share their congratulations with the happy couple.

Spill it, you, two!" Mona demanded when she reached the bridal couple. Samantha hurried to catch up to Mona because she didn't want to miss a thing. Jonathan joined them, too.

"Not now. We'll explain it later during dinner," Angela pleaded with her family not to badger them then.

They were soon crowded by the guests, so Mona, Samantha, and Jonathan had to step back and wait to hear more about how Tony and Angela had met at camp. The three of them had no plans to let them off the hook about such a milestone event.

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"Only with the right person …," they spoke at the same time as they took each other in an embrace for their first dance as a married couple.

"You look gorgeous tonight, Angela," Tony told her lovingly.

"And you look handsome yourself," Angela whispered back to Tony as they got ready for their First Dance."

Then the DJ started their First Dance song, After All. At some point during the past couple of weeks, they were driving in the car running wedding errands while a Contemporary Music radio station played in the background. When this song came on, they looked at each other with a look of "A ha – this is it" and exclaimed at the exact same moment, "This is the song we need to have as our First Dance."

Peter Cetera and Cher serenaded the newly-wed couple as they took to the dance floor for their First Dance.

"Well, here we are again
I guess it must be fate
We've tried it on our own
But deep inside we've known
We'd be back to set things straight
I still remember when your kiss was so brand new
Every memory repeats
Every step I take retreats
Every journey always brings me back to you

After all the stops and starts
We keep comin' back to these two hearts
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall
After all that we've been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it's meant to be, forever you and me, after all

When love is truly right
(This time it's truly right)
It lives from year to year
It changes as it goes
Oh, and on the way it grows
But it never disappears

Always just beyond my touch
You know I needed you so much
After all, what else is livin' for?

Anyone in the group of guests and family could see how much Tony and Angela loved each other. It was so obvious to everyone for so long that they just couldn't believe it took them this long to get married. They belonged together, and now knowing when they first met each other, it was ever so much more obvious they needed to be together for the rest of their lives.

After their dance concluded, the DJ continued to spin the music selected by Tony and Angela inviting others to join the couple on the dance floor.

End Chapter 22: The Room, Unslept In: Only with the Right Person, I

Coming Soon, Chapter 23

Author Notes:

I had to give Tony and Angela a wedding. It's the one thing I missed the most on the series. Funny note – my daughter who watched the show last year said after Samantha's wedding, "I didn't' want to see Samantha's wedding, I wanted to see Tony's and Angela's."

I must've gone through 100 songs to figure out what song I wanted to use for their First Dance. I listen to 80s on 8 on Sirius/XM all the time (to ad nauseum, according to my husband). Well one day recently, this song was played, and I hadn't heard it in a long time. I listened carefully to the words and knew instantly this was THE ONE! The words perfectly described the journey Angela and Tony took to get to their wedding day: it must be fate, I still remember when your kiss was so brand new (Kissing Rock), all the stops and starts, etc., etc., etc.

And finally, besides not getting a Tony and Angela wedding, the one thing that bothered me the most was how the writers dropped the whole It Happened One Summer kiss at camp. The writers clearly didn't realize what they had! I so wanted Mona and Samantha to find out it really was Tony and Angela who kissed at Kissing Rock. To me that was a big major deal. To me it was the defining moment that sealed the deal with the two of them (well, that and them visualizing marrying each other at the Ferguson's wedding – wow – the looks on their faces during that scene). They really were fated to be together. That's why I included it in their wedding ceremony. I wanted them to acknowledge how that moment was pivotal in their relationship.