AN: This chapter is going to be dedicated to getting us back to Redshore City for Meena and Alphonso's wedding. I need the crew there for the next really big conflict. Question: Should Suki get an invite?

Male Elephants are called Bulls

Female Elephants are Cows.

Female pigs that have had at least one litter of piglets are called Sows.

Male pigs are boars.

Part 15

All night, Meena struggled to sleep but her eyes kept opening to look at her sleeping bull. She couldn't help thinking of how much she loved him and couldn't wait to be his wife. However before they could even do any real planning, they needed to decide on the venue. Inside, she knew where it needed to be even if he insisted it wasn't necessary.

Tenderly, she kissed his cheek and lay as close as she could without being on top of him, resolving to talk to her friends in the morning. He smiled in his sleep, moaning her nickname as if dreaming. She closed her eyes, becoming aware of his arm going around her and let herself finally drift off.

The next morning, after sending an emergency group text, making her excuses to Alphonso and giving him a quick kiss goodbye, she went to meet the gang at the theater.

"Okay, Meena, what's up?" Ash began as they sat on the stage in a circle on the floor. "What's the big emergency."

Meena grinned sheepishly. "Well, you know Alphonso and I are planning our wedding but we don't know where to hold it. Or rather I know and so does he but…" She bit her lip. "He's always wanted to get married in his church. Tyler said his mom and dad were married there. It's very important to him but…"

Rosita realized where she was going. "Back in Redshore City." Her breath quickened slightly.

"I know, I know… but… Alphonso moved out here to be with me. He completely uprooted his life for me," she sighed. "And he's so sweet, he would never insist on it because he knows how hard it would be but… it's his wedding too and I love him so much. And traveling is very hard on his father." She looked down. "I know it's asking a lot but… I could handle it for him. But I really want you guys there too."

Johnny nodded. "It would be hard to go back there but if that's what you want Meena. I'll be there no matter where it is."

Gunter clapped. "I love weddings!" His exuberance earned him smiles from the group.

They all glanced at Rosita. The sow's eyes were distant and Gunter hugged her comfortingly. She nodded. "Church weddings can be beautiful and economical. Unlike other venues, you generally only have to give a small donation and even that's not mandatory. And I can understand it if he wants to get married in his church. He sounds like he's very traditional."

Meena smiled. "Yeah, but that's okay, I like traditions. They can be a lot of fun. Ash?" She asked her best friend of the group. "You'll still be my maid of honor, right?"

The porcupine nodded. "Of course I will. I'm looking forward to it. I've already got some ideas for your bachelorette party. Just remember, no pink."

She laughed. "No, no pink. I was thinking of something along these lines." She pulled out a magazine she'd bought. She flipped a few pages and pointed.

Rosita nodded. "That is gorgeous!" She found herself getting into it. Wedding planning was just what she needed.

"Rosita, will you be one of my bridesmaids?" Meena asked and the sow beamed.

"I would be delighted," the young mother hugged her friend. "We'll have to go shopping for your dress and pick out flowers. Come on, there's so much to be done." She squealed with excitement before leading them all out.

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When Rosita called him to say that she and the troupe were wedding shopping for Meena, Norman couldn't help feeling encouraged. It was nice to see her coming back to herself. Even if that meant they had to go back there. It would only be for a few days at best.

However, at the moment, he still had 25 piglets to look after. Eddie was becoming a big help with them despite his initial discomfort. They all seemed determined to keep the polled sheep from giving into depression. It would be awhile before he really felt okay again but he was doing better than he was a week ago.

What did concern him was that she got sick again that morning. He hoped she hadn't picked up a bug.

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Meena tried on dress after dress but none of them really felt right. "There are so many choices. How do I choose?" She looked at her friends, mother and grandmother (who she thought to call on the way to the boutique). "I mean I only get to do this once. How do I know it's the right one?"

Mrs. Patel sighed wistfully. "I remember shopping for my wedding dress." She admired her daughter proudly.

Rosita giggled. "Oh same here, I felt like such a princess, just trying on gown after gown." She looked at Meena who was looking expectantly at them. "How did you know Alphonso was the right one?"

Prehensile ears went around her face as she blushed. "Well, when I was standing outside Stage 3, hiding from Darius, he just appeared and offered me an ice cream and our eyes met. Of course I couldn't speak to him, I just clammed up and promptly ran into the door."

Johnny chuckled, he knew how clumsy Meena could get when she was nervous. "Oh Darius, I forgot all about him. What happened to him?" He didn't really care though. The self-absorbed yak hadn't even bothered to see if he could help. He didn't even come to the services. He supposed he couldn't really expect it when Darius really had not known Buster like they did. The show was just another gig for him. But that's where he stood.

Rosita rolled her eyes. "I tried to talk to him after it happened and he just blew me off. But hey, no, no. Wedding dresses! We're looking for a wedding dress for Meena."

The bridal boutique had gone quiet for a moment as their thoughts were taken back to the incident but they swiftly returned to the task at hand. They needed to start moving on.

Desperate to change the subject, Meena grabbed the nearest gown and hurried to the changing room. She took only a moment to look at the pendant around her neck. A few minutes later, she cried out. "This! This is it! It's perfect!" She came out of the dressing room to model the gown.

"Meena, that is amazing!" Ash agreed. "That's you all over."

Mrs. Patel had to turn her head away briefly before responding. "Absolutely stunning. If only your father could see you now."

Her grandmother nodded. "I fully believe my son is looking down on Meena right now. And he'd be so proud of you." She got up and hugged her grandchild.

Meena couldn't help the tears in her eyes. She wasn't sure if they were happy tears or sad tears or a mixture. She was confused about her feelings. In some way, it felt wrong to be so happy but she wanted to be happy. "Well, I'll get changed and we can take care of business."

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They had hardly spent a moment apart over the last week but Kickenklober insisted on working with Ryan in an empty lot near the hotel, since their dance studio wasn't nearly ready yet. He'd wanted to continue training Johnny too but Meena's text had come in at just the right/wrong time.

Ryan tried to do the steps he knew had mastered a long time ago but, for some reason, he couldn't seem to land them right that day. His teacher rolled his eyes at him in frustration.

"What is wrong with you, Ryan? You are acting like Little Johnny on his first day," he scolded his pupil.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry sir. I don't know what's wrong with me today. I must be out of practice."

Kickenklober sighed. "Bahhh, you're thinking of Johnny instead of your practice. Ryan, I implore you to be careful. You're getting in very deep."

The tiger shrugged. "That's okay, I want to get in deep. And you need to stop being so hard on Johnny. He's a good gorilla and I love him." He said.

"Ehhh, the boy has shown his true potential, but that's not my concern. You think you love him, you think he loves you. You don't know how easily and quickly that changes and how it can mess you up," Klaus said bitterly. "It happens so fast.

"Mr. Kickenklober, I'm sorry but you can't equate us to you. I understand your concerns but I don't care about the risk. You taught me, no risk, no reward, remember?" Ryan said. "When my parents were threatening to kick me out and I was afraid of what might happen if I didn't obey my father. You told me to take the risk and let them throw me out if they wanted. I never regretted taking that advice." What he hadn't told Johnny and his dad that night was Klaus had been the dance team instructor at his high school at the time. "Trust me to know what's best for me."

Teacher and student stared each other down for several minutes. Finally, the long-nosed monkey stepped back.

"Just don't end up like me," he pleaded in a tone Ryan rarely heard. "And focus! Back to work!" He shouldered his trusty stick.

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Later that evening, she met Alphonso and Tyler at the truck just in time to help them close up. Her mother had taken the packaged dress back to her house to prevent Alphonso from seeing it too soon.

"Did you have a good day?" She asked with an air of mystery.

Her fiancé smiled at her. "Sure did. Missed you though." He kissed her tenderly, their trunks linking. "What about you?"

"Well, I found my dress and I talked with the guys," she began the conversation. "I know what you said and I love you for it but, getting married in your church has been your dream. Tyler told me. And I want our wedding to be the wedding of your dreams as much as the wedding of mine. So… let's call your pastor and let's do it. I'll go back to Redshore City for you."

The bull elephant found himself floored by her words. He really did want his church for the wedding and it would be much easier for his father to be there. "If you're really sure… Alright, we'll call him in the morning and get the ball rolling." He kissed her deeply.

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Rosita got home exhausted but in a good way. She hung up her jacket. "Norman, I'm home."

"We're in here, honey!" Norman called back and she went into the kitchen to find them eating pizza. "Did you have a good time?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I actually did. We went dress shopping. Meena found the most gorgeous wedding gown." She grabbed a paper plate and a slice of mushroom pizza. "Did you all have a good day?" She looked at Eddie.

Eddie nodded quietly. "Yeah. We spent the day doing chores while the kids were at school then we went to the library."

The kindly sow smiled. "Good, thank you for helping with the chores. You're a very big help." After being constantly told how useless he was, Rosita wanted to make sure he received praise for the little successes he was slowly making. "Oh um… Meena asked me to be a bridesmaid and of course I said yes but… They're having the wedding in Redshore City. It'll only be a few days and then we'll come home again.

"Are you sure you want to go back?" Norman asked and she shook her head.

"I'm sure none of us do but Meena's right. It's not just her wedding. It's his too and it's important to her that he at least gets his church wedding after all the sacrifices he's made for her," Rosita explained. "For someone he knew all of four days."

Her husband nodded. "That makes sense. Alright." He squeezed her hand.

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AN: Let me be clear, Kickenklober isn't altogether against Johnny and Ryan but he's a bitter old monkey for a reason and their story is just hitting a little too close.

Next Chapter: We're skipping ahead to the wedding but will it be smooth sailing?