Chapter 20: Rice, Roses and Endings

Two months later

Jacks PH

Blair sighed contentedly and lifted her head from where it was resting against her husband's sweat-sheened chest. "My, my, my, what good hands you have, Mr. Jacks," she punctuated her words by dropping her lips to the named appendages, her tongue tracing it's own pattern. "And then there's your chest," again, her lips found the named area as Jax made a low noise deep in his throat, "and your lips," a long lingering kiss, "and your.."

Jax caught her hand at the wrist as it drifted lower across his body. "Whoa, whoa, my insatiable wife," he laughed, pressing a kiss against the inside of her wrist. "We do have to be somewhere in," he turned his head to glance at the bedside clock, "less than an hour. And, with you, I like to take my time." He turned his head back towards hers, brushing her lips tantalizingly before raising himself to a sitting position and reaching for an envelope beside the clock. "Besides, I have something for you."

Blair sat up, languidly, her legs crossed and the tangled sheet loosely tossed about her. Her eyebrow lifted as he handed her the envelope.

"Go ahead," he urged with a grin as she looked at him questioningly. "Open it."

Without further urging, Blair tore into the large plain white envelope; two papers fell out. Her brow furrowed, she picked up the shorter newspaper article first. Slowly, her expression changed to one of delight and utter satisfaction. She lifted her head from the article to her husband. "Jax!" Blair cried gleefully.

His lips parted in a large, sunny grin. "Read the other one," he encouraged.

She picked up the larger document, skimming it quickly. The expression that had been on her face was completely eclipsed by the pure joy shining from Blair's eyes as she finished reading and looked up. "This is for real?" she asked, her back very straight. "Max is goin' to jail?" One fingernail tapped the middle of the grainy black-and-white mug shot and accompanying article detailing his arrest on several counts of fraud and dirty business practices. "And, Starr," her eyes filled as she hugged the legal document to her chest, "can come home?"

Jax nodded, one hand behind his head. "All legal and above board. I'm only sorry it took so--"

His apology was cut off as Blair flung herself at him, pressing kisses across every free inch of his skin, her long limbs twining about him. Jax laughed, and his free arm lowered to her lower back to support her precarious perch. "Oh my God, Jax," Blair breathed a moment later, her eyes burning wildly as she looked at him, his hand now twined in her long honey-blonde hair, "we really are gonna have it all, aren't we? Power, family, everything."

Jax lifted his head and drew hers to him, resting his forehead against hers. "I promised you, didn't I? On our wedding day. 'Marry me and we'll take the world by storm'," he quoted himself. "This is just installment one of keeping that promise."

Blair tilted her head just enough so that her lips met his, sweetly, deeply, her arms sliding around his neck. "How much time did you say we had?" she murmured into his mouth.

He didn't bother to look at the clock as he slid down into the bed, drawing her with him. "Enough," Jax answered, tracing circles against the small of her back. "After all, they can't start without us. I'm the bloody best man."

V's apartment

At his characteristic taptapTAtaptap on the door, V slid the second glittering hairpin in her hair, tugged at the wine-red satin jacket of her pantsuit, took a last bite from the Granny Smith in her hand, and opened the door.

Half-hidden behind the enormous bouquet of incredibly, thrillingly gaudy blood-red roses, V could barely see the spikes of Scotty's hair. Peeking past them, he scanned her petite figure appreciatively and let out a low wolf-whistle. "Wow. You look--" His eyes finally found the object in her left hand, and a knowing grin slid onto his face. "Whatcha eatin', Ardanowski?"

Her eyes followed his, and her hand immediately lifted to hide behind her back. "Nothing," V said, hastily dropping the core in a trash can behind the door. The last thing she needed was for Scott to realize that she'd become addicted to the darned green things. She schooled her expression into the cordial neutrality it had worn for the past couple of months with him. "Where's Serena?" she asked.

"Aw, I sent her ahead with Luce," Scott said breezily and stepped into the apartment uninvited. "You wanna put these in some water?" he asked, waving the roses at her.

V hesitated, then took them, unable to help from burying her face in the blooms to capture their rich scent. "They're lovely," she admitted, reluctantly, stepping around the low kitchen bar table and starting to fill the largest vase she had at the sink. As she placed the roses in them, she spoke, not looking up at him. "But not necessary. This isn't a date, Scott; I'm just accompanying you and your daughter to a wedding."

"Serena, you, me, a big party. Sounds like a date to me," Scott said cheerfully, sliding into a bar stool and resting his elbows on the table. He grinned as she turned to face him, her face deliciously irritated. "Hey, V, I'm just makin' my intentions clear. Since I screwed up so badly on that one before. I want you. I want you with me. You make me laugh; you make me -- happy." His blue eyes did their best to look puppy-dog pitiful. "C'mon, give me another chance."

V twirled the stem of one of the roses between her fingers, determinedly not looking at him. "Scott, I--" She looked up, and into those eyes, and -- after that, what choice did she have? She broke off the rose towards the top of the stem and took a deep breath, approaching him. She leaned over the bar, sliding it in his empty buttonhole. "One date. Like -- a trial sort of thing. No promises, but," her hands lingered on his lapels, and she shifted her weight, nervously, with with the beginnings of a smile curving her lips, "maybe."

Scott leaned across the bar, his lips gently grazing hers. "I can work with a maybe," he murmured softly, a moment later. "That's definitely do-able. 'Sides, I was gettin' desperate. Serena was ready to start tryin' out some of those moves you keep teaching her if I didn't make headway soon."

V grinned. "Smart cookie, your daughter," she teased, slipping around the table to his side, snagging a couple of apples on the way and sliding them in Scotty's pocket as he laughed.

Carly's bedroom

"And so.." Lucy twisted off the braid with a small elastic, weaving the intertwined pale green ribbon around the end deftly, "there. Almost all done." She picked up a sprig of baby's breath and fastened it in the loose crown of braids framing the younger woman's face, then loosened a couple of tendrils around her face. After regarding her handiwork, Lucy picked up a hand mirror and handed it to her. "What do you think?"

Carly took the silver backed mirror but looked at Lucy. "I think that you should be letting me do your hair instead of the other way around." She glanced down at her reflection. "Oh my God! Lucy, I look -- virginal. Well," she amended with a cheerful grimace, her hand resting on her swollen belly, "from the neck up, at least."

"As befits the daughter of the bride," Lucy said, looking Carly in the eye from her seat in front of the vanity as she performed her own last minute touches. As Carly scowled at her, Lucy wrinkled her nose. "Sorry, sorry, sorry. I know that's not your favorite word. But, Jerry is your father, lovey, and" she smiled beatifically into the mirror, "it's my day and I get to say what I want."

"Yeah, I guess you do," Carly admitted reluctantly. She watched the other woman applying a thin coat of lip gloss and clipping on an antique pair of diamond earrings. "God, Lucy, how do you stay so calm? Every time I've gotten married, or attempted to, I've been a mess."

Lucy waved a dismissive hand. "As Aunt Charlene would say, piffle. I've had a lot of practice, you know. And, Jerry," her smile deepened and sappy as it was, Carly had to admit that when Lucy said the man's name, she glowed, "has my heart. When it's right, nervous is kind of beside the point. And, this is the rightest of all right things I've ever done in my whole life."

The door burst open, and Serena barreled into the bedroom, flashing a quick smile at Michael's mom who was gonna get to be her new big sister, then turning to Lucy. "Luke says to tell you to get a move on, Mom." She giggled. "He also said maybe you came to your senses and ran away through the window, and Alexis hit him with a spoon."

Carly snorted, and Lucy laughed outright. "I never, ever thought I'd say this, but Alexis Davis just might be a woman after my very own heart." She looked at Serena. "Is your Daddy here?"

Serena nodded and held her hand out towards Lucy, showing her the apple section she was nibbling on to tide her over 'til the wedding feast. "He brought V," the little girl grinned, "and she brought apples."

Lucy smiled and held out her arm to her daughter. "C'mere, Punkinhead." Serena gladly came to her, and Lucy held out her tube of lip gloss. Serena pursed her lips in the mirror and applied it expertly; Lucy laughed and leaned her head against the child's. "Now, are you and Chrissy ready?"

"Yep." Serena nodded. She pulled a ribbon from around her neck, holding up the ring on end. "I have the ring, and Christina and me are going to give it to you together." She looked at her mother in the mirror. "You look really awesome, Lucy."

"Thanks, babyboo. But, it's nothing compared to my two gorgeous daughters." Lucy pressed a kiss against Serena's forehead, then held her tight for a moment, before looking over her shoulder at Carly. "Ready?"

"Ready and able. Hey, Serena," Carly called to the girl, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, the folds of her pale green and white chiffon gown falling gracefully from empire waist, over eight-months pregnant belly, to her ankles, "want to help me, kiddo?"

"Sure," the girl said affably, moving to Carly's side and letting her bear down on her shoulder as she stood carefully, bracing herself both against Serena and the bedstead.

As Lucy rose and started to join them, the door opened a second time, and Blair swept in, speaking as soon as she entered, her emerald green gown matching the flash of her eyes. "Sorry, Lu, I am so sorry. Time got away from us." She stopped abruptly when her gaze finally settled on Lucy as the other woman was slipping the cream silk half jacket over the slender pale green silk column that served as wedding gown. The jacket lapels were delicately embroidered with finely curling vines in the same shade as her gown. Lucy's hair fell down her back, and her only jewelry was a pair of antique diamond earrings. "Oh, Lucy," Blair took in a breath, "you look absolutely breathtaking. Jerry is gonna fall down in a faint when he sees you."

Carly rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. "Since she's finally here, we'd better go in," Carly looked at Blair, flashing a totally insincere smile. "Blair."

Blair's smile was equally wide and equally insincere as she nodded at the other woman. "Carly." She let out a small, tinkling laugh. "Lord, you look like you're about ready to burst!"

"Just about," Carly agreed, her smile never fading. "Better not stand too close, Auntie Blair."

Lucy laughed and walked over, linking arms with both her soon-to-be stepdaughter and the woman who'd always been the sister of her heart and was about to be, officially, her sister-in-law. She grinned at Serena on Carly's other side. "You better go ahead and lead us out, Punkin. Before my two best ladies start a cat fight in the middle of my wedding." She pinched both Blair and Carly lightly on the inside of their arms. "And, while Luke might like that, no one else would."

Carly's PH

Carly regarded the room from the armchair set aside specifically for her. It had turned out well, she thought, satisfied, looking at the room bathed in elegant drapes of cream satin bound with green ivy and accented with pale pink sweetheart roses. The soft scent of vanilla wafted about the guests from clusters of white candles perched on anything that would stand still.

When Lucy and her -- Jerry had approached her with the idea of having their wedding at her place so she could attend and participate, she had launched onto it gladly as distraction from her shambles of a life. Decorations, favors, cake -- they had given her free rein with one direction: simple and small. Both of them seemed to view this wedding as more a formality than anything else; it was obvious even to all the naysayers who gossiped about the quickness of this ceremony after Lucy's divorce that when Lucy and Jerry were together, they fit.

Carly's musings were interrupted as a man lay a hand on her shoulder then crouched by her chair to meet her eyes on her level. "Hey Caroline," Jerry smiled at his daughter, "how're you doing?"

"Fine, as long as she," Carly jerked her head towards Blair, laughing and twined around Jax as the two of them chatted with V, "stays away from me. But, then, I'm not gettin' married in about ten minutes. How are you, Jerry?"

He smiled. "Happier than I have any right to be. The day is bright, and the woman I'm marrying is the one woman in this world who holds my heart." Jerry hesitated for a breath. "And, to top that off, my daughter's the one who's thrown me this beautiful wedding."

Carly shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, well, don't read too much into it, okay? It was just -- something to do." Her fingers flexed on the armrest.

Jerry smiled again, encouraged by the simple fact of Carly NOT biting his head off at any signs of fatherly devotion. That was a step forward. "Whatever the motivation, it means a lot, luv. To both Lucy and I. Thank you."

She nodded. "I like Lucy; she, at least deserves it." Carly smiled slightly, reaching out tentatively to smooth her father's jacket. Her smile became slightly wider. "You clean up pretty well, Jer. But, tell me, any Feds gonna interrupt this wedding?"

Jerry laughed. "If they are, they won't be coming for me," he nodded at a figure behind them, and Carly turned, meeting Sonny's eye as he spoke to Luke and Alexis. She turned hastily back to Jerry, glaring at him. "Just -- be careful, Caroline." He pressed a quick kiss on her forehead, then straightened up, sliding away to join his bride-to-be.

Carly closed her eyes and counted silently to herself. 3...2...1...

"Hi," came the low, smooth voice at her shoulder. Even in the crowd, even in any crowd, she knew it immediately.

Carly turned her head, her hands resting against her stomach. "Hey, Sonny. I wasn't sure you'd be here today."

Sonny grinned, his dimples flashing briefly. "And turn Lucy Coe down? Nah, I value my life." He leaned down across her shoulder, touching her stomach with feather-light fingertips. "You have an appointment tomorrow, right?"

She swallowed, and nodded. "Are you still coming?"

"If you still want me there."

Carly hesitated a long moment, then nodded a second time. "I do," she said, simply.

His eyes caught hers and held. "Thank you." Sonny's words were soft, and his face very close to hers.

The minister chose just that moment to clear his throat, and Sonny straightened up, his hand remaining at Carly's shoulder. "If Lucy and Jerry are ready," he glanced at the two of them and smiled, "we can begin."

Lucy hugged the older man she was talking to tightly and turned to Jerry, slipping her arm through his. The two of them stood in front of the minister, with friends and family forming a loose gathering about them. The minister smiled at the couple, waited a beat for the last murmurings and rustlings to stop, and began.

"With great joy, we come together to join this man, Jeremiah Jacks, and this woman, Lucille Coe, together in matrimony." Jerry's fingers twined with Lucy's and tightened. The minister paused, looking at the faces surrounding the couple, most, if not all, shining with good will and good cheer. "This marriage is but the start of a lifetime of love. Neither I, nor all of society, can join these two lovers today. Only they can do what they have chosen. They are joining themselves, each to the other. We, by our participation in this celebration, do but recognize and honor their intention to dwell together as husband and wife."

Carly's hand lifted, without volition, to rest on Sonny's, hearing an echo in her mind of another statement of intention, long ago. "I'll marry you. And I promise to honor and protect you and love our children. And, I'll never leave you. So help me, God."

Jerry turned to Lucy, taking both her hands in his. He smiled, his eyes twinkling, and leaned forward, brushing a soft kiss against her lips. "I promise you, Lucy Coe, that I will be your loving and loyal husband from now on," his voice was quiet, but resolute as he spoke. "I will share with you all of life's joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, until death parts us."

Lucy's eyes filled with tears and she blinked them back, rolling her eyes at herself with a small laugh. She loosed one hand to wipe underneath her eyes briefly, then slid it back in Jerry's to begin repeating his vow in a strong, sure voice. "I promise you, Jerry Jacks," she began, her eyes full of him, "that I will be your loving and loyal wife, from now on. I will share with you all of life's joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, until death parts us."

From Jerry's right side, Jax slid his arm around his wife, bending to whisper something in her ear. Blair's arm tightened around him and she lay her head on his shoulder in response.

Each of you has rings," it was the minister's turn. "Will you exchange them?"

Lucy turned to Serena, who cupped Christina's hand around her larger one as she handed the ring to her mother. Lucy kissed both their fingertips before turning back to Jerry, who had just been handed his ring by Jerry.

The bride and the groom both took their partners hands in theirs, sliding their rings, sweetly, simply, home while the minister continued. "As a ceaseless reminder of this hour, and of the promise you have made to each other, these rings also speak of the oneness you now experience as husband and wife." The minister nodded to Carly, who loosed her hand from Sonny's and unfolded the reading she had slipped in a fold of her dress.

Her voice was soft, and both Lucy and Jerry, their hands once again intertwined, turned to face her. "Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other."

It was Blair's turn next, speaking from her husband's side; she paused first, to blow a kiss to Lucy. "Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other."

Jax took up the refrain. "Now you will feel no loneliness, for each of you will be a companion to the other." He clapped his big brother on the shoulder, briefly.

"Now you are two bodies, but there is only one life before you." Luke's voice boomed across the circle, one hand smoothing the wrinkled scrap of paper, the other drawing Alexis close; he had agreed to read only if Lucy promised two things: first, a dance with him every time she entered his club and second, he got to read the juicy part.

Serena piped in. "Go now to your dwelling place, to enter the days of your life together."

And, back around the circle to Carly again, to bring it home. "And may your days be good, and long upon the earth." She lifted her eyes to her father and his wife, smiling brilliantly at both of them, feeling, suddenly, like family.

As Lucy and Jerry turned back to face the minister, he placed his hand over both of theirs. "Because they have so affirmed, in love and knowledge of the other, so also do I declare that Lucy and Jerry are now husband and wife." The older man smiled gently at Jerry. "Now, Jerry, would be the time when you may kiss the bride."

Amidst chuckles from the crowd, Jerry grinned. "Sorry, Father, guess I jumped the gun a bit there. But with my beautiful wife," his hands slid up Lucy's arms to cup her cheeks tenderly, "can you blame me?" He leaned in, not waiting for an answer, pressing a long, chaste kiss against her lips. As they both drew a breath, Jerry grinned wickedly and with a sudden movement, drew Lucy back against his arm, leaning her down and kissing her thoroughly.

Carly was the first to start laughing, as she slipped two fingers in her mouth and whistled, long and loud. Soon the whole room was alive with laughter, raucous calls, and applause. The newlyweds finally came up for air, both flushed, they bowed and curtsied respectively, and the applause swelled to greet them as Jax called out, "Ladies and gentlemen, Lucy and Jerry Coe-Jacks!"

Yes, this really is the end. And, yes, I know nothing is neat and tidy, but when is it really, in either real life or the soap world? However, neatness and tidiness aside, there is a sequel coming, entitled, of course, "Stable Ground" taking place about six months after this thing ends. Much love, you guys. --Elizabeth

PS. I got the wedding ceremony somewhere off the web. Meant to credit it, but I seem to have lost the link. Mea culpa.

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