It was a warm spring day as the flowers were finally starting to bloom. People had started to arrive around mid-afternoon but were dressed as if they were heading off for church. It had been half a year since Gabe popped the question, but he and Jenny were in no mood to take a long engagement. The church was booked, and the hall was quickly reserved. It was their wedding day and Dick spared no expense to make sure the day was perfect for his little girl. There were limos, the best catering company in the state, and even a very cool band had been booked for the reception, but it wasn’t the Horsemen. While the band was rehearsing for the upcoming tour since Dick had finished his first treatment, they were attending the wedding to have a party rather than perform. All of Jenny’s brothers were there as Albert took a last-minute flight to be there but had to rejoin his own band on tour the next day. The press was very respectful of the ceremony as Dick had promised all the papers that pictures would be provided for free as long as they were left along to enjoy the day, which they all surprisingly accepted.

Dick wasn’t in the best shape for the day, but he was ready to do his duty as father of the bride. It was going to be his first, and hopefully the only time he would have to walk Jenny down the aisle and despite how weak and frail he was from the treatments he had been taking, nothing was going to stop him from doing something he sometimes thought would never happen. Dick had lost a lot of weight, but still was strong enough to get around. Sometimes he needed a cane to help him walk about, but his spirits were through the roof as he was the same old Dick everyone knew and loved. One change that many people had a hard time accepting was the loss of his hair. Dick was known for his dark black spiked hairdo, but now he didn’t have single hair on his head. Not all of his hair fell out but once a good bit of it came out, Dick decided to just avoid the drama of it and go with the cue ball look for a while. Out of respect for Jenny and the photos that were going to be taken, Dick had a black bandana that Jenny said was all right for him to wear. Combined with a black tuxedo, it looked pretty ‘gangsta’ according to Michael, which meant he was all good to go. Gabe was a little nervous as he had been down this road before, and it didn’t end well the first time. Jenny was also from a home that was less than stellar, but he was determined to make things right this time around. He loved that woman with all her heart and there was no hesitation, he was ready to marry again. Dick walked up to Gabe who was standing at the altar and padded him on the back.

“You ready to go, son?” he softly asked.

“I am.” Gabe immediately responded.

“Good man,” Dick said, checking Gabe’s tie. “If you try to run, I have the doors all covered so don’t you even think about it.”

“That’s sweet,” Gabe said, unsure if he was serious. “But unnecessary.”

“Good to hear,” Dick said, with a grin. “I’ll go check on the bride.”

Dick said as he pointed to the pews. “Tony also has permission to trip you if you try to escape so don’t even think about it.”

“Never,” Gabe replied.

“Good man,” Dick said as he started to walk back down the aisle and towards the room where Jenny was doing final preparations. She had arrived by limo only fifteen minutes earlier and was doing some final touch ups and taking a moment to compose herself before everything got underway. Dick softly knocked on the door and waited.

“Come in.” Jenny called out.

Dick opened the door and closed it behind him to make sure no one else came in. As he walked up to see her, he was in awe of how amazing she looked in her dress.

“You look amazing, princess.” Dick said as he came over and gave his daughter a big hug.

“Thanks Dad,” Jenny said as she returned the hug.

Dick didn’t respond to the fact that Jenny had called her Dad for the first time in many, many years. Since she starting talking to him again, she had only been calling him Dick. He didn’t respond and just let the moment hang so he could enjoy as much as possible.

“Are you alright?” Jenny asked.

“I’ll be fine,” Dick said with a smile. “I hope you’re not rushing into this on my account. I hope you’re doing this for the right reasons.”

“It’s okay.” Jenny said as she wiped a small tear away from her father’s face. “We’re not rushing on your account.”

“But you are rushing…” Dick said as he caught on to what she said.

“We felt no need to take our time.” Jenny said with a smile, “Especially considering that there’s a little one on the way.”

Jen softly patted her stomach and watched with delight as it was now Dick’s turn to be surprised.

“Wow,” Dick said as he could hardly believe. “You guys really are going full steam ahead!”

“I’m not getting any younger.” Jenny observed.

“Neither am I.” Dick agreed. “I’m so happy for you, princess.”

They both took a deep breath and Dick offered his arm to his little girl who was about to walk down the aisle and marry the man of her dreams.

“Ready to go?” he asked her.

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“I am,” Jenny said as she took his arm. “Let’s do this.”

Dick walked her out of the room and into the foyer that led to the main room where the ceremony was going to take place. Dick made a motion to someone to let everyone in there know that the Bridal party was ready to make their entrance. People began to rush to their seats, settle themselves in and keep quiet as if they were waiting for a show to start. Gabe was standing at the end of the aisle with his brother Tom beside him, waiting for the rest of his life to get started. Gail was the first to stroll down the aisle, as she was Jenny’s maid of honour. She took her time getting down there to give Jenny more time to relax and get ready for her own walk. Then the traditional wedding theme started, and Dick kissed Jenny on the cheek.

“That’s our queue, princess.” Dick said as he lowered the white veil as per tradition.

“I’m ready,” She declared, “Let’s rock.”

With that they both entered the room and proceeded to walk down the aisle together. She could barely see much through the veil but thankfully her Dad was leading this walk to make sure she didn’t trip over anything. A few moments later she was at the altar, and Dick passed her to Gabe who was waiting for her.

Dick shook Gabe’s hand and then proceeded to sit beside Michael and his own kids. Everyone stopped taking pictures and quieted down as the music stopped so the words that were about to be spoken could be heard by everyone in the hall. The minister performing the ceremony spoke of love and commitment, and that marriage is a sacred institution that should never be entered into lightly. He then went on to quote a few famous passages from the book and lecture about responsibility and other things that were related to marriage. Jenny could feel her knees getting week as she was so nervous. Gabe had done this before, so he was calm and more collected than the first time he had done this, but this time out he was more confident about what he was doing and who it was with. He was ready to try again, knowing that this was the perfect person for him. Finally, they got to the exchange of the vows and rings. The minister took the rings and handed it to both Jenny and Gabe.

“The couple have written their own vows,” the minister declared, “And we will hear them now as they place the rings on each other hands.”

Jenny was the first to go. She took Gabe’s hand and took out a small cue card to help her get through it. “I stand here today doing the one thing that I never thought would ever happen. I’m with a man I love more than I love myself, someone who I love more than life itself. I stand here today Gabe, pledging to be here for you through the good and the bad times. For the times when we are rich or penniless, the times when we are healthy and when we are sick. The only place I want to be is wherever you are and spend the rest of my life the man I love most.”

She placed the ring on his finger.

“I make this vow this to you today with this ring.” Jen said, tears rolling.

The audience gave a soft clap and cheered what they thought were very heartfelt words.

Gabe took Jenny’s hand and paused for a moment before speaking. She couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t holding any cards as he seemed ready to give his own vows.

“Jenny,” he started, “We stand here today a testament to the power of fate and destiny. Over twenty years ago, we met for just a brief moment that stuck with us forever and then many years later we met again, unaware that we had a history. Despite what I have learned about you and your family over the last year, that’s not the reason why I feel in love with you. The real woman I fell in love with was that very kind doctor who first treated me for a broken finger that I got on the job because I wasn’t watching what I was doing. You were kind, compassionate and very caring despite how stupid I looked that day. That was the woman I feel in love with weeks later when we were sharing an ice cream float and spicy wings. That was the woman who I wanted to marry and that is the woman who stands before me today. You’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with; the woman who I love more than I love breathing. You’re the one who truly rocks my world.”

Gabe put the ring on her finger.

“As your husband,” he continued, “I vow to be loyal, honest and supportive in all our future endeavours. I pledge to stand by your side till the very end, till death to us part.”

The crowd gave another short applause. And after saying a few more quotes and passages, the minister finally declared that they were man and wife and that they could seal the deal with a kiss. Everyone in attendance jumped to their feet and gave a thunderous applause as Jenny and Gabe engaged in a deep kiss before turning to face the audience for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Davis. Holding hands, they walked back down the aisle and towards the door to greet the world, together. Once outside the real work started. Shaking hands and thanking people for coming out. Getting pictures taken with the wedding part and what not. While there was a crowd of fans on hand to witness the couple make their exit, they were respectfully quiet and let Jenny and her husband enjoy their day, much to the delight of Dick and the band.

Dick walked up to Gabe and shook the hand of his new son-in-law. “That was an amazing speech. And on a side note, Jenny told me about the baby.”

Gabe looked back at Dick with a look you would expect to see from a deer that had been caught in the headlights. “Baby?”

“Uh oh,” Dick said as he finally realized what he had done. “I didn’t know she didn’t tell you. She never told me to keep it a secret, so I naturally assumed…”

“That’s all right, Dad.” Jenny said as she came to Gabe’s rescue. “I did this just to see the look on his face. Did you get that?”

“Oh yeah,” Tom called back, as he motioned to his blackberry, “This priceless moment will be on facebook before the reception starts.”

“Thanks Tom.” Gabe said with a glimmer of sarcasm.

“No prob, Bro.” Tom said as he gave his brother the thumbs up.

Dick turned to Jenny, “You set me up!”

“But you did so well!” Jenny said as she walked over and gave her Dad a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you at the reception.”

“Not if I see you first.” Dick countered.

“Lame,” Jenny said as she put one foot into the limo. “That line is almost as old as you are.”

Everyone had a good laugh but waved as Jenny got into the limo and closed the door. Lights were now flashing; horns were honking and there were loud cheers finally coming from across the street as the limo pulled away. Jenny looked through the window at the hundreds of Horsemen fans who had been camped out across the street to see any glimpse of the band and had signs that read “Congratulations Jenny!” written on them. Even though many of them were there to see their favourite rock band, many of them took the time to pass on their well wishes to Jenny and Gabe. She sat back and looked over at Gabe who was still a little shocked.

“What?” she asked.

“Are you really pregnant?” Gabe asked. He wasn’t upset or anything, but still surprised by the news.

“I am,” Jenny said with a giggle. “I haven’t had a single drink in seven weeks, and you never noticed!”

“I guess I was so busy getting ready that I didn’t notice.” Gabe confessed, but then he smiled. “I couldn’t be happier.”

He said as he came over and sat down beside her and gave her a soft kiss, and hugged her tightly, but not too tightly out of fear of harming the baby. He paused for a moment and the looked at his new wife.

“I’m still allowed to get smashed, right?”