AN: The wedding venue in the following chapter is completely made up, okay? All I know about Virginia in the summer is that it's really hot and humid, and I didn't want to write about an outdoor wedding, with people being hot and sweaty and possibly passing out and being all gooey and stuff, so yeah...I thought I'd just make up a pleasant and pretty place that would sound nice, an indoor place. So don't go looking for it, 'cause you won't find it!

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Scarlet Oak Plantation was located just on the outskirts of Alexandria, on a tributary of the Potomac River. It had been a spectacular failure as a plantation, and had very nearly burned to the ground a couple of times. Someone had, during the reconstruction, had the idea to turn it into some sort of government building, and it had limped along for a hundred years or so, being used for this, that, or the other purpose, with more and more of its acreage being sold off and bulldozed for other purposes.

It had been reborn in its final incarnation as a restaurant, golf course, and resort destination for weddings and events in the nineteen sixties, when some industrious conglomerate had purchased the plantation, its outbuildings, and the remaining few acres and restored it to its previous glory, reconstructing the beautiful grounds based on drawings and paintings located in the decrepit library, and refurbishing the insides with a combination of antiques and modern comforts.

It was a gorgeous place to have a wedding, and, most important, as far as Mouse was concerned, its main rooms were centrally air-conditioned. The main wedding party would spend the night before the ceremony there, in the lovely hotel, and everyone else could just drive in on the day.

"Mommy? Am I allowed to see you today, or is that bad luck too?"

Mouse's eyes welled up when she heard her son's small voice at the door to her room. Being called "mommy" melted her heart every single time she heard it, even when Leo was bellowing it from the bathroom because he needed toilet paper.

She opened the door to see him standing in his pajamas, untamed bedhead sticking up every which way from his pillow, and he had never looked so dear to her. She knelt to embrace him, pulling him close. She could feel his arms wrap around her, and felt him inhale deeply.

"Mm, you smell good," he declared with a smile.

"So do you," she told him truthfully. "What do you need, big guy?" she asked.

"Who did you sleep with?" Leo asked, looking beyond Mouse, into her room.

"Mary Lizard," Mouse answered with a smile. "She's going to help me get ready today, along with Grandma and a couple of your other aunts."

"Oh. I slept with daddy," Leo said.

"I know," Mouse said. "Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

Leo shook his head. "I wanted to ask you something," he said, lowering his voice to a whisper, which wasn't really necessary because the hallway was deserted.

Mouse looked at him inquiringly.

"Am I--am I allowed to give you something today at your wedding?" he asked. "Like at the wedding? In front of everyone?" He swallowed.

Mouse pursed her lips as she considered. "If you want to," she finally said. " Would you rather just give it to me now?" she encouraged. She had no idea what was going through his fanciful little mind.

Leo shook his head decisively. "I want to do it during the wedding," he said. He looked determined.

"Is it going to take a long time?" Mouse asked uncertainly.

"Nope, I'll just say a sentence and hand it to you," Leo replied.

"Well, that sounds okay," Mouse said. "But why didn't you just ask your daddy?"

"It's a present just for you," Leo whispered, lowering his voice even more and leaning very close to compensate. "I don't have one for daddy," he admitted. "That's really what I wanted to ask. You always say not to give things unless you have enough for everyone, and I only made one for you." His tiny face, which looked more and more like Henry's every day, was tortured. "But I really really want to give it to you. Is that okay? Is that fine? Do you think daddy will be sad?" He gazed anxiously at Mouse, blue eyes huge.

Mouse grasped his hands as she shook her head. "I don't think he'll mind," she assured him. She leaned in and kissed his forehead. "You're such a good boy, Leo, and I'm so glad you're my son, I really am."

Leo beamed at Mouse, looking like sunshine.

"See you at the wedding, mommy!" he said, his voice back at its regular volume. He took off down the hall back towards the room he shared with his father.

Mouse shut the door and leaned on it.

There wouldn't be a dry eye in the house.

"Mouse? What are you doing?" Her sister's voice brought her back to the present. "Get your ass in the shower, please, so you aren't late to your own wedding."

Mouse got moving, and four hours and much primping later, she was ready. Her mother was all atwitter, and her sisters were gushing as they flitted around her, messing with her hair.

Mary  stood to the side, holding the veil, which was still in its wrappings. It wasn't going to get unwrapped until they were downstairs and Mouse was ready to walk. It was just too delicate to risk for the trek down the hallway and in the elevator.

"Holy shit, that doesn't even look like me," Mouse remarked when she saw herself in the mirror.

Her sister Janice, who was good at these things, had done her hair and make-up. "I really did a good job, didn't I?" she mused. She had used the same color palette as Mouse's dress, pinks and purples, and Mouse's soft brown eyes looked magnificent. Her lips, too, were voluptuous and magenta, accentuating even the tiniest smile. Her hair had been curled in soft waves and pulled away from her face, gathered to fall in a cascade under the sheer veil.

Mouse nodded.

Janice looked at her little sister. "This is how you look to us, though, sis. This is how Henry sees you all the time, you know?" She nodded, showing a gentle smile.

Mouse smiled back. "I love you, Jan. Now stop, before you make me cry, and you have to do this gorgeous make-up all over again."

"Okay, okay, cry later, please," Mouse's mother interrupted. "It's already ten after, we're late, girls! Let's go, let's go."

They trouped out and headed toward the elevator, with Mouse holding up the front of her dress, and a couple of her sisters holding the back. Her mother held her bouquet of sweet peas.

Mouse could hear the music she'd chosen coming from the ballroom as she approached. Oh my god, this was really real.

She was actually getting married.

Outside the door, all her sisters but Mary kissed her and went to take their seats. Then her mother kissed her and handed her the bouquet. "I love you, Martha Mouse," she said softly. "And I'm so proud of you, always, you know that, right?"

Mouse did not want to be walked up the aisle by her father, like she was his property, and he was giving her to Henry, so he was already seated with the rest of the guests. She didn't mind walking up alone so everyone could admire her beautiful dress, however.

Mouse nodded at her mother and made a scooting motion, and suddenly she was standing with just Mary, who was busy pinning the beautiful veil to Mouse's brown hair.

"Stop turning your head, you're making me fuck it up!" Mary complained. Her voice must have been pretty loud, because heads inside the ballroom turned their way, and people laughed.

Oh my god.

"Lower your voice, Mary Lizard!" Mouse hissed, and the laughs got louder. Even Leo, resplendent in a bow tie, who was waiting up front with his father, put his hand to his mouth and giggled.

Mary just slapped at her sister's shoulder and walked backward, spreading out the veil in all its glory.

It was gorgeous, with flowers all over it, and Mouse had specifically asked for a dark carpet on the aisle, so the flowers on it would show.

"Okay, Mouse, you ready?" Mary asked breathlessly, smiling.

"Get out of here, Mary Lizard, before I start bawling," Mouse said, giving her sister a push.

"Bitch," Mary said with a smile. She kissed Mouse on the mouth, being careful not to mess up her lipstick, and began her walk up the aisle toward Henry and Leo, eyes demurely down, the very picture of modesty and decorum in her lovely Maid of Honor dress.

Then it was Mouse's turn, and she walked carefully, feeling all eyes on her as she started the walk that would begin the most important segment of her life.

She smiled softly at Travis, who had left New York City early that morning to be here for the ceremony. "Thanks for coming," she mouthed at him.

"You look beautiful," he mouthed back, tipping her a wink.

Mouse looked up at Leo and Henry, and from then on, she didn't really see anyone else. She was peripherally aware of her mother and father and brothers and sisters looking at her, smiling and crying, but her world was filled with two sets of blue eyes.

Henry looked amazing in a tux as black as his hair. He was the handsomest man Mouse had ever seen, she believed. His hair curled around the top of his collar, and his smile rivaled the sun as he looked at her.

"Wow," he mouthed in her direction.

To Henry, Mouse was a vision. He couldn't remember what she'd looked like when they met; he had a vague recollection of a short girl with dark hair and a nice smile, but that was about it.

Today, though, in her wedding dress, everything about her was perfect. Her hair and eyes looked velvety soft, her skin the perfect color. He could tell from her expression and how she was holding her arms that she was nervous; he knew her that well. The tips of her slippers showed with every step, and he realized she was worried she would trip. This thought made him smile, and love her even more.

Next to him, Leo was staring at his mother, the only mother he would ever remember. "She's so pretty," he whispered to his father, tugging at his hand. Everyone heard, and there was a collective "aww" and nods of agreement.

She reached the front without mishap, and made a little "whew" of relief, as she rolled her eyes and grinned at Leo. She handed her bouquet to her sister, and turned to face her men.

The judge presiding over the ceremony was a friend of the family, and she was smiling as she began her words. They were irreverent and funny, which suited the mood of everyone involved.

"I am so honored and lucky to have found not just one, but two exemplary men with whom to share my life," Mouse said, looking from Henry to Leo, and back to Henry, whose blue eyes were nearly incandescent with joy. "And I promise to give you both my whole heart, every day, and to love you to my utmost for every day of my life, I do," she finished softly, nodding her head.

"I was in such a dark place, for so long," Henry began, his voice already thick with emotion. "And my little boy was with me," he continued, placing his hands on Leo's shoulders. "Then a zephyr blew into our lives, a warm breeze with a funny name, the most amazing smile, and a way of seeing life that brought sunshine and light to everything that had been bleak and barren before." He smiled at Mouse. "You have made everything so beautiful and new, for both of us, and I promise to spend my life trying to make you as happy as you've made me." He absently wiped away a tear and looked at the judge, letting her know he was finished.

They quickly, smilingly, exchanged rings, sliding them on each other's fingers, with a lovely kiss after.

The judge took a breath to speak, but Leo was tugging on Mouse's hand, and she shook her head at the judge, motioning toward her son.

"Leo would also like to say something," she informed everyone.

Henry looked at Mouse in surprise, and she smiled back with a little shrug.

Leo pulled something out of the front of his shirt and unrolled it, like a scroll. It was made of pink felt, and anchored on either end with popsicle sticks which had been glued on. The felt was covered with uneven, childish writing. It was definitely homemade, by very young hands.

Leo began to speak, in what was for him a soft voice. Luckily, it was still pretty loud, so the assembled people could still hear him.

"I copied this, even though I know you're not supposed to do that," he said. He looked around uncertainly, uncomfortable with all the eyes on him. He pushed on determinedly. "I know this is supposed to be from a mommy and a daddy to a new baby, but it's how I feel," he went on. He finally just looked up at Mouse, feeling safe as long as he was looking into her eyes. He handed her the scroll. "Is it okay that I copied?" he asked, very worried about this fact.

Mouse looked at at it, her hand over her mouth. It was still warm from being next to his little body. She nodded. "It's from the cross-stitch Josie made for him, the one that's on his bedroom wall," she whispered to Henry, her voice breaking.

"Read it to me, big guy," she requested, handing it back to him and kneeling so they were eye to eye.

He nodded. "First we had each other," and here he reached for his father's hand, "then we had you, now we have everything," he read aloud, his small voice poignant and perfect in the silent room. He handed her the scroll again.

She clutched it to her chest and reached for Leo with her free hand, hugging him to her and rising as she held him, her eyes closed.

Henry, crying freely, stepped in and hugged them both, as the assembled congregation burst into spontaneous applause.

"Oh my," the judge said with a kindly laugh, clapping herself. "I definitely pronounce you husband and wife."

"And child," she added, continuing to clap. "Ladies and gentlemen," she finally said, gesturing to the three of them, who were still hugging, "I present to you the Cameron and Gardener family--Henry, Martha, and Leo!"