I knocked on the open attic door.

"Barb? You up here?"

"Oh, yeah! One sec!" I heard her call to me. She emerged a moment later, feather-duster in hand. "Hey, (Y/N)! What's up?" she asked me, turning the tv volume down in the background.

Adam was over in the corner, working on what looked to be a tiny model of Bernie's. He waved at me before returning to his work.

"Oh, if you're busy, I can come back later-"

Barbara hurriedly waved that thought away. "Of course not! Come in! What's on your mind?"

She ushered me over to the small, cherry dining table and motioned for me to sit down. I obeyed, and she did the same, sitting herself across from me.

"A lot, actually."

"Wedding stuff, huh?" she guessed, giving me a sympathetic smile. I grinned and nodded. "Well, I know exactly how you feel. The week before Adam and I were married, I was a nervous wreck! I kept fretting over every little detail, didn't I, Adam?"

He turned and nodded, chuckling. "I remember that one time you just broke down and sobbed because one of the flower bouquets the florist sent us was the wrong shade of blue."

I laughed lightly, and Barbara looked up at the ceiling, smiling sheepishly. "Yes, well, it's not a moment I'm proud of."

Adam simply chuckled again before turning back to his project, once more.

"So. You've got questions? Concerns?"

I nodded.

"Minerva and I spent all day yesterday looking for a dress, but I couldn't find anything," I lamented, sighing and putting my head in my heads.

Barbara and Adam smiled at each other.

"What?" I asked, grinning a little in confusion.

"Minerva told us how much trouble you were having, trying to find a dress, so, she, Riley, Adam, Betelgeuse, and I decided to help you out."

"We hope you like it," Adam told me as he carefully laid a dress bag on the table in front of me.

I stared down at it in wonder. I then looked up at the Maitlands, who were smiling encouragingly at me. I gently unzipped the bag and gasped.

Within the protective plastic laid a black wedding dress, with long, black, lacy sleeves that fell off the shoulders, a sweetheart neckline, elegant spiderweb patterns over the whole thing, and a full skirt that was cut up above the knees in the front and trailed the floor in the back. I smiled, knowing that that aspect of the skirt was Riley's doing, no doubt. I stroked the fabric gently, my eyes raking over the beautiful dress.

"Where in the world did you guys find this dress?"

"It was actually mine, once upon a time," Barbara told me, smiling. "Riley made a few minor adjustments, Minerva and I added the spiderwebs, and Betelgeuse changed the color."

"Are.... are you for real?"

Barbara smiled at me again and nodded. "Absolutely. I can't think of a better bride-to-be to give it to."

That brought tears to my eyes, and I got up from my spot at the table to give her a big hug. She squeezed me tightly. I peeked up at Adam.

"Come on, you too, Adam. You're a part of this, too!" I said, motioning for him to come join us.

He grinned and obliged, wrapping his arms around his wife and me.

"Thank you guys so much. For everything. You two have been more of a mother and father to me than my actual parents."

I could tell that both of the Maitlands teared up when I said that. Adam got a little choked up.

"Aw, kiddo," he began, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "You know, we decided that we wanted kids right before we died, and I, well..... I feel like we got our wish with you and Lydia."

I felt Barbara nod her head in agreement. "I do too, Adam."

"Well, I'm so thankful for you guys. I literally don't know what I'd do without you. I love you both."

"We love you too, (Y/N)," Adam told me tenderly, giving me another affectionate squeeze.

And I couldn't believe how insanely lucky I was that the Maitlands and the Deetzs had welcomed me into their odd, but strangely perfect, family.

*************************************************

Hey, guy! It's ya gurl, back with another author's note.

So, I firstly wanna apologize for how slow the updates are coming, right now. I've just been super busy studying for the ACT coming up so I can hopefully get a full ride to my dream college... I only have to get my composite score up by one point to get a full ride.... fingers crossed!

Anyway, next I wanna apologize for how short this chapter was. This is just how I logically wanted to leave the chapter, and also wanted to add in some much needed quality Maitlands content. They're precious and I love them.

But yeah, the next chapter might also be a bit shorter, but the next two chapters after that will hopefully compensate for that.

I can't believe I have three more chapters to write before this book is finished. Wow.

Anyway, hope you all guys enjoyed, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!

Ciao, bellas!

~Smol Emo