“This is a good idea, right?” Brad asked as they settled themselves at a table.

“What?” Paul asked.

“Getting married.”

“Well you love her, don’t you?”

“Of course,” Brad said forcefully as Paul ordered them a couple shots of tequila.

“And it’s not like you haven’t been through the whole engagement process.”

“Yeah, well that was a couple years ago,” Brad shrugged. Paul sipped thoughtfully at his drink, almost wishing he didn’t have such an important evening lined up for him to keep him from getting full on pissed. “I am doing the right thing, aren’t I?”

“Of course you are, Sherwood,” Paul assured him. “Drink up, if you keep on like this you’ll hyperventilate during the ceremony.”

Brad smiled and downed half his shot. “Hey, if you and Gina can have a happy marriage, anyone can make it work, right?”

“Absolutely,” Paul chuckled. “If we can make it through a few illicit affairs and two attempted divorces, you and Fen can make it through your petty little tiffs. So cheer up, this is your bachelor party for fuck’s sake.”

Brad nodded and grabbed his shot glass. “To my last…” He paused to check his watch. “Three hours of bachelorhood.”

“And here’s to us having the sense to make it to our own weddings on time and with some semblance of sobriety.”

They clinked their glasses together, drained them, and slammed them back on the table.

“Still scared?” Paul asked, both wincing a bit as the alcohol burned its way down.

“Shitless,” Brad said with a dry laugh.

“Another round here,” Paul called towards the bar with a grin.

“So, what now?” Fenny asked as she and Gina sauntered out of the boutique with their dresses.

“I don’t know, we’ve got a few hours before the wedding,” Gina mused, not failing to notice the giddy smile Fenny adopted at the mention of the word ‘wedding.’ “And since the boys are in charge, I guess we don’t have much to do.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to be getting back to work or something?” Fenny asked, knowing full well that Gina had been shirking off quite a bit lately and not wanting her to get in trouble for her truancy. Again.

“What, you think I can get anything done when my best friend’s gonna get married? Besides, Freya’s hanging around and I don’t want to deal with her at the moment. My editor’s great, she understands,” Gina assured her.

“Good,” Fenny smiled. “So what do we do now?”

“Well you should be getting a hen’s night, but we don’t really have the time, do we?” Gina grinned. “And besides, you might run off with the stripper for a quickie.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Fenny chuckled.

“What, you’re saying it’s not a possibility?”

“Well it’s not terribly likely, is it, an engaged woman slipping off with a guy in leather underwe—you didn’t,” Fenny gasped upon seeing the mysterious smirk on Gina’s face.

“It was my last night as a single woman, what was I supposed to do?”

“You know, I’d like to say I’m surprised, I really, really would,” Fenny giggled.

“So no strippers for Fen,” Gina sighed. “I should’ve known better.”

“Flowers!” Fenny gasped.

“What?” Gina demanded, more than a bit confused.

“Flowers, we need bouquets or something, right? I’ll bet the guys haven’t thought of that.”

“Total nutbar,” Gina announced, shaking her head as she followed Fenny towards a florist’s in the distance.

“Are you feeling the urge to break into song yet?” Paul asked.

Brad thought for a moment. “Y’know, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

“Then it’s time to stop drinking,” Paul chuckled. “Feeling compelled to drop your trousers and do some dick tricks?”

“Nope.”

“Then we stopped just in time.”

“I think you’re right,” Brad agreed, looking at his watch again. “Probably time to get ready, right?”

“Probably,” Paul agreed. “You’re gonna need stuff from Gina’s, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, and Fen probably won’t let me near her,” Brad mused, oddly pleased that she was sticking to tradition.

“We can call the girls on our way, warn ‘em,” Paul shrugged.

“You’re a genius,” Brad mused.

“Thanks mate,” Paul grinned.

“I’m totally serious,” Brad declared. “The way you’ve helped me with all this wedding stuff, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without your help, and I don’t know what I would’ve done. Fen kinda gave me a day and I don’t know what would’ve happened if I didn’t make her deadline.”

“Well I should be thanking you for convincing me to do this renewing of the vows thing. Best idea you ever had. Apart from the whole marrying Fenny thing of course,” he smiled.

“Yeah, I’m quite proud of myself for that one too,” Brad giggled. “Getting it done before one of us can find a way to fuck things up.”

“That’s the way to do it,” Paul nodded.

“There’s some hairpins in the drawer there,” Gina announced as she appeared from bathroom, hairdryer in hand. “If you wanna do something to keep your hair from getting in the way on the beach.”

“Look at you, always thinking ahead,” Fenny smiled.

“I do what I can,” Gina shrugged, plugged in the hairdryer and filled the room with its dull whir as the two women got ready for the big evening ahead.

“My mother’s gonna kill me,” Fenny giggled suddenly as she situated the last pin in her hair and Gina turned off the dryer.

“What’re you gonna tell your family?” Gina asked.

“I don’t even wanna think about it. All I know is my mother’s gonna complain that she wasn’t here, and my father’ll be pleased he wasn’t, and that it’s not costing him any money. And my aunt will be astounded that it even happened and will demand to know what I had that was blue.”

“What?”

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,” Fenny declared. “You should see the way my aunt goes on about things like that.”

“Oh, right, I forgot about that,” Gina mused. “I think there’s a lot of wedding traditions we’ve forgotten, but we don’t have the time. Hold on a second.”

She left Fenny to stare at herself in the mirror. The wave of panic that Fenny had managed to subdue with activity quickly rose as she was given the opportunity to contemplate what was actually going to happen that evening. She was rescued by her own thoughts as the phone rang, and she leapt up to answer it, pulling her legs up under herself on the bed. “Hello?”

“Oh, hey Fen,” Paul’s voice perked on the other end. “How’re you doing?”

“I think I may be nearing a nervous breakdown, but yeah, things are great,” she laughed.

“Brad’s the same way,” Paul declared. “Be glad you’re getting this over with in one day, imagine having months of all the wedding jitters building up.”

“No, this is just traumatic enough, thank you very much.”

“I’ll bet it is,” he agreed. “Is Genie around?”

“She disappeared for a minute, I dunno.”

“Oh, okay. Well I was just calling to see if it would be ok for Brad and me to come pick up some of his stuff to get ready, and he says you won’t let him near you if you’re in your dress.”

“He’s right. But I’m just here in Gina’s room, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have him pop into his room to get his things.”

“Great. We’ll be there in a few minutes, in and out, no problem, no peeking.”

“Cool, see you later then.”

“Send Genie my love?”

“When did you turn into such a sap?” Fenny teased.

“And to think I did all this stuff for your big day, and now you’re just being mean,” Paul pouted.

“Fine, I’ll tell her,” Fenny chuckled. “Thanks Paul.”

“Bye Fen.”

She hung up the phone and was left to think for another minute or so before Gina reappeared. “Here,” she beamed, holding out her hand. Fenny stood from the bed and peered into Gina’s palm – a pair of tiny stud earrings, each with a small pale blue stone. “You can borrow them, and they’re blue. As for old, Paul gave them to me when we were still dating, which makes them old enough if you ask me,” she smiled. “Goes with your new dress. Your aunt would be proud.”

“Why yes, yes she would,” Fenny agreed as Gina dropped them into her hand. “Thanks, it’s perfect. And, speaking of Paul, he called, he and Brad are coming over to get some things, so we’re relegated to your room so he doesn’t see my dress.”

Gina couldn’t help but beam at Fenny as she outright glowed. “You’ve reached the peak of soppiness, you know that, right?”

“I’m the bride, it’s my job,” Fenny nodded before giggling to herself. “Besides, Paul, who’s truly lost his mind I might add, demands I send you his love. Is he on controlled substances?”

“High on life, I think,” Gina mused.

Paul unlocked the door to Gina’s apartment and slipped inside. “They’re not about, must be locked up in Gina’s room getting ready,” he shrugged as he and Brad slipped inside and down the hall to Brad’s room. He set about anxiously gathering his things, a clean pair of underwear, toothbrush, hair gel, and crammed them all into his toiletries bag.

“I see you gave Fen her monkey bracelet from Paris,” Paul mused, fingering the item in question as it lay on the dresser.

“Yeah, she said it was unique, she really seems to love it.”

“I think the two of you need to stop with this monkey thing, it’s fucking weird.”

“So we’re quirky,” Brad shrugged, wondering where his hairbrush could have gotten. “What about Gina and her giraffe fetish, huh?”

“You’ll notice she doesn’t have one tattooed anywhere with my initials on it.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Brad shrugged.

“Thank god for that,” Paul chuckled.

Brad snapped his case closed after finding his hairbrush in Fenny’s bag. “We’ve got the rings, the chick to do the ceremony, the paperwork’s been filled out—”

“The women,” Paul interjected.

“Right, the women, and dinner, right? We do have reservations?”

“For the hundredth time, yes, and if you ask me again I’ll smash your head in, and that doesn’t fit in with the dress code at the restaurant.”

“And does the management look kindly on the fat lip you’d get in return?” Brad asked teasingly.

“Only if it matches your jacket.”

“What are you doing, Fen?” Gina demanded as Fenny leaned against the wall, absently tugging at the material of her new dress.

“Brad and Paul are in the next room.”

“And?”

“They’re talking.”

“About?”

“Taking us to dinner at a swank restaurant,” she chuckled.

“Ooh, really?” Gina perked, intrigued. “What’s on the menu?”

Fenny pulled away from the wall as she heard a familiar noise. “Shit,” she hissed through her teeth.

“Think I’ll stick to McDonalds,” Gina mused as Fenny dug her cell phone out of the pocket of her discarded jeans.

“Hello,” Fenny demanded of the phone as Gina pulled on a pair of shoes. “No Andy, we cannot talk things through.” She looked up at Fenny, who frowned into the phone. “Because I’m getting married.” Gina smiled a bit at the hint of smugness in Fenny’s tone. “Yes, married, as in wedding, right. No not Danny,” she hissed. “Brad. No wait — look, stop it a minute. It’s not worth arguing over. I’m in love with him, I was never in love with you, I’m getting married. Well you should’ve thought about that before you became a pretentious prick, shouldn’t you? I’m sorry, but it’s over, and it has been for a very long time. I know. Goodbye Andrew.”

Fenny’s last statement sounded truly sincere, and Gina peered at her closely. “Well?”

“Hopefully I got it through his thick skull,” Fenny said, but didn’t comment further, and Gina decided not to push it. “The boys are gone,” Fenny declared as she leaned towards the wall again.

“Come on, let’s get going, you’ve got a wedding to get to.”

“So I do,” she smiled.

“You’ve got your rings, right?” Brad asked, working his bare feet further into the warm sand with every passing minute.

“Yes I do, and you’ve got yours, you’ve announced this three times already and we’ve only been standing here for five minutes,” Paul sighed.

“Sorry,” Brad breathed, letting out a nervous chuckle.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Barbara assured him with a warm smile. “You’re doing better than some of the grooms I’ve seen. After all, this is going to be a short, simple ceremony with only two of your closest friends.”

“And no sprinklers,” Paul mused.

“Shame,” Brad giggled. “Maybe we could get a big tidal wave or something to make the dress go see-through.”

“It’s gonna take an act of god to keep something like that happening,” Paul declared, “what with our track record and everything.”

“Everything will be fine,” Barbara said again, and Brad nodded, fiddling with the rings in his pocket. “I think they’re here,” she added softly after a moment, and both men turned away from the water and back towards the dunes to see the two figures approaching.

“Oh my god,” Brad gasped. His heart leapt into his throat at the sight of Fenny in the flowing white dress and the bouquet of flowers clutched tightly in her hands. This was really real, it was actually happening, and he didn’t quite know what to do. Paul smiled knowingly at Gina as she approached, while she smirked at his choice of clothing. This had the possibility of being the most perfect wedding imaginable.

Fenny grabbed hold of Brad’s arm with both her own, overwhelmed by a sudden sense of panic. She barely heard a word that was said as Paul made introductions and she wondered why he had to be so damn calm. There were supposed to be rehearsals for this sort of thing, and she had no idea what to expect. She cursed herself for never watching the wedding programs on TLC that would have made her better prepared. These next few minutes would change her life, and she was scared to death at the whole idea, but knew it was right. Barbara began her short speech on love and friendship and life, and Fenny just tried to remember to breathe. Brad looked down at her, and as their eyes locked, she realized he was in much the same situation, which comforted her to no end.

Gina watched the couple trembling and beaming at each other as she wrapped her arm around Paul’s waist. “Sweet, isn’t it?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he whispered back. “It’s good to see them finally go through with it.”

“Yup.” Gina rubbed Paul’s back. “How long you think it’ll last?”

“Three days,” he declared.

“Oh, be fair,” she chided. “I give ‘em a week, gives them time to get over the honeymoon phase.”

“Brad’ll be in line to get a divorce before he leaves the country so his fans in the States don’t find out. All six of ‘em.”

“Not if Fen gets it annulled first, that way she won’t have to tell her parents.”

“We really should be optimistic for them,” Paul smiled as he pulled Gina closer to him. “After all, look at all the people who said we would never work, and here we are.”

“Here we are,” Gina agreed with a loving grin before realizing the celebrant was halfway through Brad’s vow. “Ooh, the good bits…”

“…and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as you both do live?”

Brad looked Fenny in the eye, squeezed her hand, and, with that lopsided smile that always made her heart flutter, said simply, “I do,” before placing the ring on her finger.

Barbara smiled warmly at them both as she turned to Fenny. “And do you, Fenella Grey, take this man, Bradley Sherwood, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and told hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both do live?”

She nodded for a moment, swallowing, trying to find her voice, before managing a quiet, “I do.”

“The ring,” Paul half-coughed, half-yelled.

“Huh?” Brad said, wrenching his attention away from Fenny. “Oh, right, yeah.” He dug into his pocket again and handed his own ring to Fenny so she could slip it onto his finger as well.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” Barbara declared and they looked up at her. “You may now kiss the bride,” she grinned.

Brad smiled a bit manically at Fenny as she stood on her bare toes to reach him, wasting no time sharing their first embrace as a married couple, tender, passionate, and relieved. When they pulled apart, Fenny wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his shoulder. “We did it,” she smiled.

“Finally,” Brad mused.

“They’re almost nauseating when they’re happy, aren’t they?” Gina teased.

“We’re not the only ones,” Brad declared.

Gina looked up sharply when Barbara moved to stand before her and Paul, cracking open her book. “Hey?”

“How do you feel about renewing your vows?” Paul asked sweetly. “We’ve been through a lot, and I want to prove that I still love you and that I’d marry you again.”

“Paul,” Gina cooed, “you didn’t need to do this to prove you love me, I know you do.”

“Please?”

A smile crept across Gina’s face. It meant a lot to him, he’d planned it out so carefully, and after all, he was right, they had been through a lot lately, a little reinforcement of the vows couldn’t hurt. “Yeah, okay.”

“Thank you,” Paul whispered as he kissed her cheek before devoting his attention to Barbara, nodding at her.

“I’ll skip ahead to the important part, shall I?” she asked with a smile, and they both nodded at her. “Do you, Paul McDermott, continue to keep this woman, Gina McDermott, as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both do live?”

“I do,” he said firmly and tore his eyes from hers just long enough to slip the new ring onto her finger, then handed her his.

“And do you, Gina McDermott, continue to keep this man, Paul McDermott, as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both do live?”

“I do,” she said. Fenny, standing beside her, smiled as she noticed, even in the fading sunlight, Gina’s fingers were trembling with rarely seen emotion as she moved the ring up his finger.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. Still,” Barbara said, a hint of a laugh playing on her voice. “You may now kiss your wife.”

Gina looked at Paul almost coyly as he leaned down to give her a loving kiss, pulling her close to him. When they pulled apart, a bit breathless, Fenny and Brad stepped forward to speak to the celebrant who congratulated all four of them before excusing herself to go.

“It really was a fantastic ceremony,” she mused as she struggled a bit through the sand. “I wish you all luck and long, happy lives together. All of you.” She turned and left, leaving the two couples to watch the final orange rays of the sun color the clouds deep violet and red.

“We’re married,” Fenny mused.

“So are we,” Gina declared.

“Wow,” was all Brad had to say.

“Aren’t we meant to be pelting each other with rice or something?” Paul asked.

“Bad for the birds,” Gina said.

“So?” Paul smirked. “What’s a few seagulls between friends?”

“I, for one, don’t want sea birds exploding on my wedding day,” Gina said resolutely. “Even if it is my second one.”

“Let’s find another way to celebrate then,” Fenny suggested.

“You read my mind,” Brad said, linking his fingers with hers.

“We’re owed a cake, right?” Gina asked hopefully.

“Only if you’re good,” Paul said, eyebrow raised.

“And if I’m naughty?” she countered.

“Come on you two, let’s go to our makeshift reception before you start consummating on the sand,” Brad teased.

“Spoilsport,” Paul pouted, kicking sand at him. One of their patented, unwarranted giggle fits ensued, more of a release of tension from what promised to be among both the most stressful and most spectacular days of any of their lives.