Four months after her kidnapping, Angel was standing in front of the mirror in the dressing room at St. Christopher’s Cathedral. Her mother, sister, sister-in-law, and daughter stood in the room with her.

“You look gorgeous,” Mia said with admiration.

“Thank you,” Angel turned around and kissed Mia on the forehead.

Claudia began fluttering around nervously; making sure all the little details with Angel’s gown and hair were attended to. Rori kept trying not to cry. Seeing Angel in her wedding dress was almost more than Rori could stand. “You really look beautiful sis,” Rori leaned over and kissed Angel on the cheek, and Angel grabbed her and held her close. “I love you Ror,” she whispered softly in Rori’s ear.

Angel and Rori had journeyed down a long road together as sisters. Rori had always been tough on the outside and rather soft underneath, though she hid her soft side most of the time. Angel felt that Rori had always been there for her, even when she had been far away and living in Reno, Angel had often thought of her sister and fed off of her strength.

Rori’s couldn’t hold back her tears and they streamed down her face, “I love you too Anj,” then she quickly rushed over to grab a Kleenex before her mascara smeared. “God dammit!” she cursed, “Stop making me cry.”

“It’s alright Rori,” Amanda laughed, “It’s OK to cry at your sister’s wedding.”

Rori dried her eyes, “Doesn’t she look beautiful?”

“She looks gorgeous,” Amanda agreed and then it was her turn to hug Angel, “I’m so happy for you Anj. Seeing you all dressed up like this makes me almost wish Frank and I would have had another big wedding.”

Rori rolled her eyes, “You had to bring that up!”

“Sorry Ror,” Amanda shrugged. Then she blushed. “I know this is your day Anj and I don’t want to ruin it for you, but I’m dying to tell all of you; I’m pregnant.”

All three of their jaws dropped open, “Oh my God!” Claudia rushed over to Amanda and threw her arms around her and Rori, Mia, and Angel did the same.

“When is the baby due?” Rori asked.

“In November,” Amanda said.

“That’s such good news,” Angel smiled. “I’m so happy for you both.”

“No wonder Frank has been so happy lately,” Rori shook her head, “he loves kids.”

Angel looked around the room at the women in her family and her heart melted. She loved all of them deeply. “I wish I had been here for your wedding Rori,” Angel said.

“Me too,” Rori quipped, “You got out of being a bridesmaid; you owe me for that!”

Angel laughed, “I’ll babysit the boys some weekend to make up for it.”

“Sounds great!” Rori smiled.

“I never thought we would be here,” Claudia said with pride.

“Oh Mama,” Angel hugged Claudia and soon there were tears rolling down her face. Claudia, for all of her faults and weaknesses, had always been a kind and nurturing mother. Angel had missed her for a very long time while she had been gone. She often went over to visit Claudia during the day just to bask in her presence. Her mother always gave her food and took time to talk with her and be concerned and interested in her.

“Oh no!” Amanda exclaimed when she saw Angel’s tears and she quickly attempted to fix Angel’s makeup in order to prevent her mascara from smearing.

Mia stood off to the side and wondered what it would have been like if her mother had come back sooner. Over the last several months she and Angel had bonded a lot. One of their first family outings after Coach Bills’ death was on the ski slopes. Angel could barely remember how to ski and Mia had stayed by her mother’s side, encouraging her, until Angel managed to get the hang of it again. Mia could ski and snowboard like a champ; Martin had taught her well.

After that outing, Mia had gone to lunch and dinner with Angel and Jordan many times and as the weather had become warmer, the three of them had gone into the city to see some theater. Mia often stopped by Jordan’s office after school to see her mother, or she went over to Jordan’s house on a Saturday afternoon just to hang out. Angel and Mia had become a lot closer in very short amount of time and Mia could talk to her mother about Kyle, which was something she couldn’t do with Martin or Claudia.

“I can’t believe I’m getting married,” Angel said.

“I’m glad,” Mia smiled with affection. Mia could tell her mother was nervous and she was nervous as well. The cathedral was packed and it was standing room only.

Angel and Jordan’s wedding had inadvertently become the social event of the season. Everyone in town knew who Martin was because he owned the local hardware store and everyone knew Jordan because he was the town doctor. People from everywhere wanted an invitation, and Jordan and Angel had squabbled over the best way to narrow down the list. Angel never expected her wedding to be a hot social ticket. She was expecting the opposite, but the people of Argus Falls had finally forgiven her it seemed.

Martin was filled with pride. It was not befitting him to cry over something as silly as a wedding, yet the urge was strong. It took everything he had to hold back the tears. He grumbled a lot so his true emotions wouldn’t show. “If only this many people turned out for ten o’clock Mass every week,” he thought as he stood waiting in the foyer for his daughter so he could walk her down the aisle.

Frank and Jordan had become best friends again. Frank had restored the old mustang that Angel had driven to town. The car was no longer rusty and old looking. Frank had shined it up and restored it. The Mustang, much like its owner, had been through a lot over the years, but with some tender loving care it had became whole again. Frank delivered the car and the keys to Angel a week early because he couldn’t stand to wait any longer. The car had been one of the only things Angel had ever owned in her life, and she loved Frank for restoring it for her.

“God I would kill for a cigarette about now,” Angel said nervously as the time for the ceremony approached. It was her nerves talking.

“No!” Rori said emphatically. “You and Pop made that deal three months ago that you would give up cigarettes and he would eat salads for lunch every day.”

“I remember,” Angel said in frustration. “I don’t know what I was thinking, but you have to admit Pop’s lost some weight lately, he looks pretty good.”

“Yes he’s a lot fitter,” Rori said.

“And friskier,” Claudia shook her head and then she blushed when she realized she had said that in front of her daughters, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter.

They all three laughed, “Go Pop!” Rori smiled.

“God, that’s more information than I needed to know,” Angel muttered.

“Like father like son,” Amanda smirked.

“Oh Stop it!” Rori said.

The organ music played loudly as the processional began and Claudia took her seat in front. Jordan walked in the side door along with Frank and took his position at the front of the church. Frank was his best man. Jordan had also decided to convert to Catholicism. He had been studying for several months and he was now officially a Catholic in good standing. Jordan figured he may as well convert because he knew Martin would insist that he and Angel attend Mass every Sunday with the family, plus most of the people in the community were Catholic.

Jordan was nervous and anxious as he stood waiting for Angel. He never thought this day would come. Everyone took their seats in anticipation and Amanda walked down the aisle by herself first since Frank was already standing beside Jordan. Doug was the only groomsman and he escorted his wife Rori down the aisle next, where they took their place at the front of the cathedral. Mia was the last one and she began her walk alone as her mother’s Maid of Honor. Mia hoped she didn’t accidentally trip and fall, she was so nervous. Her palms were sweating, and when she spotted Kyle among the crowd she blushed a little.

Angel entered the foyer to walk down the aisle with Martin and his heart skipped a beat. She was stunning. He looked proudly at his daughter and she smile at him before putting her veil over her face. “Ready Pop?”

Martin’s eyes twinkled. “You bet,” and then he paused. “I love you Angel.”

“I love you too Pop,” she struggled to keep her tears from falling.

“Let’s go do this thing,” Martin said and he extended his arm. Angel was a bundle of nerves and almost wanted to turn and run because of all the people and fanfare, she had to remind herself constantly that this was what she wanted. The “Ohhh’s” and “Ahhhh’s” from the crowd made her more nervous than ever, but as she neared the front of the cathedral and saw Jordan, she knew everything would be alright.

Jordan looked down at her as if she were the only woman on earth and as her father muttered his lines stating that he gave her in marriage, and left her at the altar, Jordan took hold of her arm and pulled her forward and time seemed to stand still. This was the day they had waited for.

The ceremony was long and all the traditional music and rituals were part all of it. After it was over and both Angel and Jordan had said, “I do,” they walked out of the church arm in arm with everyone else following. Angel held onto Jordan’s arm for dear life and they drove away to the reception.

Originally Angel had wanted the reception to be held in Jordan’s backyard, but she soon realized that with the size of the wedding would make it impossible. Instead of his yard, the reception was held at the local reception center.

Angel had the first dance with her father as was the tradition. By then Martin was over his feelings sentimentality. He was struggling to stay comfortable in his “monkey suit” as he fondly referred to his tuxedo.

“It will be over soon,” Angel whispered in his ear as they danced.

“Don’t worry,” Martin assured her, “My daughter only gets married once, or at least I hope it’s only once.”

“Oh it will be only once,” Angel assured him.

The wedding reception was a huge success, but exhausting for everyone, particularly Angel. She had more time to greet the guests at the reception, but as the evening wore on her eyes glazed over and her mind became a bit spacey. She was exhausted.

Among the guests at the reception was a woman no one would not have expected; Jan Bills. She had come into Jordan’s office three months earlier because her son Derek was very ill and the doctors at the hospital couldn’t seem to diagnose his problems. Jan had confidence that if anyone could diagnose her son’s illness it would be Jordan Parker.

Jordan was initially perplexed because Derek’s symptoms weren’t typical, but Jordan managed to nail down an accurate diagnosis in a very short time. Derek had salmonella poisoning. During the time Jan was in the office to see Jordan she avoided looking at Angel, which was very awkward for both of them. Jan used her son Riley to talk to Angel and also she spoke directly to Connie and Meredith in order to avoid saying anything to Angel, but Angel managed to take it all in stride.

After Derek recovered, Jan felt ashamed of herself for the way she had behaved. She knew she would have to go back for more office visits over the coming days, weeks, months, and years, so she took it upon herself to go back to Jordan’s office and apologize to Angel. “May I speak with you alone?” Jan had asked her.

Angel had reluctantly agreed, afraid she was going to be read the riot act by Jan. When Jan apologized to her, Angel wasn’t certain how to respond. “It’s OK,” Angel assured her. “I wouldn’t expect you to act any other way around me.”

Not long after that, Jan had to bring Carlton in to Jordan’s office because he had twisted his ankle and this time the two of them were cordial. Jan found herself chatting with Angel and she ended up inviting Angel to lunch so they could discuss Mia’s relationship to her sons. Once they began talking, their friendship came out of nowhere. Jan found someone she could confide in with Angel in Angel’s case she felt Jan understood how she felt being the victim of rape.

Angel eventually got to know Riley, and Jan’s other two boys fairly well and Angel and Jordan ended up hosting a barbecue for Jan and her boys and invited the Pirellis over, so that Mia could mingle with her half-brothers.

It was a very awkward gathering at first, but Jan knew Martin from the hardware store and Frank knew Jan from his friendship with Wiley, so after Rori was warned to behave herself ahead of time, things worked out OK. Given the way things had unexpectedly progressed between Jan and Angel, it did not seem unusual to either of them that Jan attended the reception, but to an outsider it would have been perplexing.

Angel was friendly with everyone in town and never judged anyone. People sought her out when they went to Jordan’s office because they felt they could confide in her. They often weren’t afraid to tell her their secrets, which in most cases Angel wished they would keep to themselves.

By the end of the night after such a long day, Angel was becoming tired and a bit ornery. “It’s time for us to get going,” Jordan said when he noticed her disposition. He knew she was tired and needed her rest. They changed into their traveling clothes and waved goodbye to everyone as they got into a limo that would take them to the airport.

Martin and Claudia watched them drive away. “It’s only two weeks,” Martin kissed his wife on the cheek.

“I wish I was going to Paris,” Rori said and she nudged her husband Doug playfully.

“Paris is overrated,” Frank said. “Plus if I know Parker he’s not going to let her out of the motel room for long.” Amanda nudged her husband and motioned toward Mia. Frank realized he was a bit out of line. “I mean um, they’re both so tired.”

Mia knew exactly what Frank meant, she wasn’t stupid and she smiled at Popoff’s stern look. “I hope they have a great time,” she sighed.

All of them nodded in agreement and then they turned around to gather up their things and leave the reception. It had been a long and exhausting day for all of them, but a happy day.

***

Angel snuggled with Jordan on the airplane as the two of them drank champagne and relaxed. When the airplane approached the airport in Paris, Angel leaned against him and look out of the first class window. Jordan gave her a little squeeze, “You’re going to love Paris.”

“I’m sure I will,” Angel smiled. The truth of the matter was; she didn’t care where she was as long as Jordan was with her.

“I booked us one of the finest hotels,” Jordan smiled. Angel smiled at him.

They left the airport after they got their luggage and took a taxi to the hotel. Once they were inside the large hotel suite, Angel lay on the bed in sheer exhaustion. “I’m glad we only have to get married once.”

Jordan grinned at her, “Me too, Mrs. Parker.”

“I like the sound of that,” Angel smiled, “Mrs. Jordan Parker.”

Jordan snuggled up next to her and kissed her. “The night I first saw you in the bar I never knew how much my life would change.”

Angel felt him begin to remove her clothes and she couldn’t wait for him to caress her, “I thought you were just some cowboy when I first saw you,” she laughed.

“I am just some cowboy,” Jordan assured her.

“You’re my cowboy now,” Angel said with raised eyebrows and she rolled up on top of him and looked down into his eyes with amusement.

Jordan grinned, “What are you doing up there? I’m going to be on top,” and he rolled over and pulled her under him, pinning her playfully to the bed. “Know your place woman.”

“Jordan,” she began to protest, but she felt his lips caress hers. “OK, we can take turns being on top,” she said in a tired voice.

“I love you,” Jordan whispered.

“I love you too, Doctor Parker,” Angel said as he kissed her. Even though Angel wanted to eventually do some sightseeing, she knew it would be awhile before they left the hotel suite and she was fine with that. Somehow she sensed this would not be their only trip to Paris, she knew that Jordan was determined to show her the world a little at a time, and she was excited to go with him wherever he went. Life for them was just beginning.