All of Brooks Parents

A few minutes later they were pulling up in front of the chapel. Millie's car was already there. She and Lucy were in Alistair's office talking with him as Brook toddled around doing her best to get into things she couldn't reach. It took a bit but Millie got her settled on her lap.

"Reverend, I know Steve is going to be nervous. He has a ..thing about weddings. I really appreciate you helping him with the vows because he'd probably never be able to come up with a single word. It's okay. I know he loves me, he just has a hard time expressing himself under certain circumstances."

"That's not unusual for a groom, Millie. He'll be fine. I'll walk him right through it. You just relax and enjoy the day." 

The sound of the chapel doors opening were the result of Steve stumbling in. Thank goodness he had Andy to lean on. He was not intoxicated but he was suffering the start of an anxiety attack. The moment the doors of the chapel closed behind him he gasped for a breath.

"Andy, " he wheezed "What if I say something wrong?"

 "Hello, Steve," Alistair smiled, coming through a door behind the altar area. He'd heard Steve's remark and came forward, resting his hand quite deliberately on Steve's forearm. "You won't say anything wrong," he said quietly. "I'll see to that. Now what you need to do is take a deep breath and sit here on the pew for just a second." He guided Steve to the closest pew and sat with him, replacing his hand on the groom's arm, imparting calmness. "You love Millie. You love the child you share. Let this be a beautiful moment. Just...let it, all right?"

Steve nodded, wishing he had a paper bag to breathe into. He glanced over at Andy and it helped some to see the younger man who was totally composed.

Millie adjusted a bow on Brook's dress one last time. "There you go, kiddo. Pretty soon your mommy and daddy will be married again and you're going to have a new auntie and uncle, " Millie winked at Lucy.

Rising to her feet, she peeked out into the chapel. They really hadn't practiced or rehearsed anything so Millie figured now was as good a time as any. Turning to look at Lucy, she said, "Let's go get this done before I change my mind."

Taking Brook's hand, she stepped out of the office, holding the door for Lucy. "Would I seem overanxious if I said that I was ready to get the show on the road?"

Steve just kept breathing.

Andy saw Lucy come out of the door with Brook followed by Millie he looked over at Steve who seemed frozen in place maybe concentrating on his breathing, "Steve," he whispered, "I think you're supposed to get up now, Steve?"

Steve stood up, shakily. Millie had never looked so beautiful to him and he managed to smile at her.

Alistair stepped up toward Millie, guiding her to stand to Steve's left, facing where he'd be standing as he performed the wedding. Brook stood close in front of her parents, almost pressing against their legs, while Lucy took her place to Millie's left and Andy to Steve's right. Alistair smiled at them, nodding reassuringly at Steve. "It is," he began, "always a thing of wonder and love when a man and a woman come together, side by side, to reaffirm their choice of each other, their commitment to always be there beside the other. Such a wonder is only all the greater when the tangible expression of that love is also present. Brook," he looked down at the little girl, "always remember that you are a vital part of what is happening here today. You are here because your father and your mother love one another and they love you. It is because of this love and in that love that Steve and Millie are saying, are promising, what they are right now.'

"I wuv mommy and daddy and aunt Wucy and Uncle Andy and you too," she said in her little girl voice. "My puppy awso."

Alistair smiled quite broadly at Brook then looked back at Steve and Millie. "Love is not always what we expect when certain things happen in our lives. Sometimes love is a surprise, but no less wonderful for that. Sometimes it can be even more wonderful because of that. Steve and Millie, will you turn and face each other, holding both hands, as Steve repeats after me."

"Millie, I reaffirm to you this day that you are the one I choose as my wife. You are the beloved of my heart, the home to which I will always return." Alistair led Steve through the words, small phrase by small phrase. "I promise you, with all my heart and soul, with everything that makes me me, that I will be be faithful to you, loving you and none other. I say to you that I will be a good husband to you, a good father to Brook, and that you can trust me and rely on me no matter what comes. You make me happy, you make me complete, and I want nothing more than to do the same for you. You make me glad to be your husband and my desire is that I make you glad you are my wife. I have chosen you and I do choose you, Millie. I will always choose you. Somehow, in ways I don't even understand, love has found us and woven us together into the great web of life...you, me, and Brook. You have become my destination, and it is with love and gladness that I recommit to walking this road with you. I love you."

Steve's face mellowed as he repeated what Alistair said. The sincerity in his voice shone through with every word he spoke. He loved Millie and Brook more than ever right now and he would never change a thing. His nerves were a thing of the past. He looked into Millie's eyes as he spoke his vows and when they were finished he longed to kiss and to hold her and Brook in his arms, but it was Millie's turn to speak her part.

Alistair had just finished asking Millie to repeat after him, and the words began. Alistair hadn't even planned the vows ahead; he simply looked at the people in front of him, love shining out of their eyes, and said what came to him as right. 

"Steve, I love you. For me that is the beginning and the end of what I want to say to you in this place, on this day. I promise you, Steve, with all my heart that I will love you gladly and I will love you always. I want to live with you and laugh with you, stand by your side and sleep in your arms. I want to be joy to your heart, food to your soul, and be the mother of your children. I look at Brook here with us, and I see the merger of you and me, the good that we can be together. I promise to love you deeply and honestly for it is your heart that moves me, your mind that challenges and inspires me, your humor that delights me, and your hands I wish to hold forever. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple and when it seems complicated. Steve I chose you, choose you, and will always choose you as my husband. I love you."

The way she looked at him spoke volumes. It actually made him feel the blush. He felt like the first time he told her that he loved her. He could hardly take his eyes off her but he did for a moment as he asked Andy for the rings. He gave the larger of the two to Millie.

When the rings were produced, Alistair asked Steve to slide the band on Millie's finger and repeat after him again. "Millie, as a sign from my heart that I desire to live with you as my wife and that you may remember forever that I have chosen you above all others, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love."

Then, as Millie slid Steve's ring on his finger, the words came: "Steve, you have become my home and there is no way to measure the love I have for you and all that you have come to mean to me  So I give you this ring, a circle with no end, as a symbol of that, of how you have made me believe again that anything is possible. I love you."

Steve looked at his ring then at Alistair. He was grinning from ear to ear as he said, "Can I kiss her now or what?"

"Yes, Steve, you may most assuredly kiss your bride!"

So he did. He kissed her softly and tenderly and long. Then he threw his head back and laughed before picking Brook up and kissing her. Then he kissed Lucy and he even kissed Andy right square on the mouth.

"Hot damn, we're finally really married!" he yelped and then he apologized for saying damn in front of the Reverend. "I'm just so daaaarn happy."

"Steve," Millie said with a giggle. "Steve, now it's Brooks turn." Millie turned around and reached for Lucy's hand then she took Andy's with her other hand. "Reverend, our friends are here to stand for Brook."  

Alistair looked benevolently at the young couple then back at Steve and Millie. "I'd like to do this in two parts," he said. "First, Steve, if you will pick up Brook, please?" When Brook was neatly tucked in the crook of Steve's left arm and Millie had hers slid through his right, Alistair continued. "Steve and Millie, a child is a gift from God, a visible symbol, too, of the love between a man and a woman. Would the two of you repeat in unison after me.  As Brook's parents we promise before God and man always to put her good before our own, to try in every way we can to set a good example for her, and as the best gift we can give her, to love each other fully and openly. We ask God to watch over her, to watch over us as a family, and we dedicate her life to Him and into His care."

"Now, Andy, if you would take Brook into your arms and stand with Lucy as you two also repeat after me. As a couple we accept the honor and the responsibility of Godparents to Brook, promising according to whatever the providence of God may bring, that we will watch over her, care for her, and love her. We dedicate ourselves to her well-being and happiness and it is with joy in our hearts that we make this sacred commitment."

Andy took Brook whose arms went around his neck and he received a kiss from the little girl. He patted her back and with Lucy repeated the words Rev. Harris spoke. The full realization of what he and Lucy were doing finally hit home and he swallowed the lump in his throat holding Brook a little closer.

There was a sort of awkward silence in the chapel at that moment but not for long. It was Steve who managed to break it with a single word. He wore a big smile when he said it too. With joy in his voice he announced ..."AMEN."