Topic: Operation Double Wedding - The Prep

Bethany Daly

Date: 2013-12-31 09:11 EST
New Year's Eve dawned bright over Maple Grove, the last bright sunrise of 2013, pouring golden syrup sunshine over the crisp white landscape still blanketed with snow. The big house was a hive of activity as soon as the sun rose, from the out of town (and out of dimension) guests being catered to in the dining room, to musicians tuning up, to family members rushing in and out, to the event coordinators setting up the main hall to accommodate the weddings that were to take place early that very afternoon.

Both brides and both grooms had been settled in separate rooms in the big house the night before, and every care was being taken to make sure that the only overlap between the feminine and masculine sides of the bridal party were Miranda and Rufus, who were working overtime to keep everything on schedule. The men didn't have half as much preparation as the women, and so were a little less excitable as half past twelve rolled around, one hour to go until the ceremony was due to begin. Even so, the upper levels of the house were awash with bustling hands going this way and that; florists, stylists, photographers, all of them working toward the pivotal moment that was to be the very last Granger engagement of the year.

Of all those rushing around to make sure every I was dotted and every T was crossed, the one who seemed to be rushing around the most was a certain woman who had been the key player in organizing the dual weddings and making sure everything came together. She was not only a mother of one of the brides, but also the woman who had designed everything from the bridal party attire right down to the decorations, and that woman was none other than Miranda Granger. Satisfied that everything was as ready as it was ever going to be, Miranda finally had a moment to focus on her own daughter and make the finishing touches to her ensemble, arranging her flowers just so and making sure not one strand of hair was out of place.

"Oh, Bethany," she sighed, as she fiddled with her daughter's hair for what must be the umpteenth time. "You're so beautiful. How'd you grow up so fast' It seems like it was just yesterday I was kissing your booboos and tucking you into bed at night." She was trying not to cry, but really, what mother gets through their daughter's wedding day without breaking into tears at least once"

Dressed in white and red, her brown hair twisted off her face and tumbling to her shoulders, Bethany shared that slightly tearful smile with her mother as Miranda fussed over her. "Don't you dare cry," she warned with a quiet chuckle. "Because if you cry, I'll cry, and it'll set the wedding back by hours while Georgina tries to fix my face." Heedless of her dress, she enveloped her mother in a warm embrace, hugging tight. "I love you, Mom. Thank you, for everything."

Miranda returned her daughter's hug, carefully but affectionately. "I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not losing a daughter; I'm gaining a son," she said as she hugged her daughter close. "I'm so proud of you, Beth, and I know your father is, too." She couldn't help mentioning Rufus, though this moment belonged to them, the last moment they'd have as mother and daughter before Bethany became a married woman.

"You and me all the way, Mom," Beth promised her fervently. "I'm never gonna stop needing my Mom. Just you wait until you have grandparent babysitting rights." She grinned teasingly, knowing that if she didn't make a joke of something, she was going to cry. "How's Dad holding it together" Has he throttled anyone yet?"

Miranda dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, careful not to smudge her makeup, laughing a little despite her tears. "There's no rush on that, you know. I'm in no big hurry to be called Gramma, though I would love to see how your father would react to being a grandfather." The thought brought a smile to her face and a gleam to her eyes with the love she felt for the man she'd been denied for so long. "He's doing fine. His proper English upbringing won't let him show how nervous he is about all this."

"I can't imagine him being nervous at all," Beth admitted, glancing across the room to where Piper was being fussed over by her sister and Lyneth. In the next room, visible through an open door, the bridesmaids were teasing Piper's father ridiculously as they showed off their dresses to him. Beth chuckled softly, looking back to her mother with affectionate eyes. "You're sure I'm making the right decision?" she asked very softly, her own nerves needing a little reassurance now they were so close to the point of no return.

Miranda fussed a little more with Beth's hair. It wasn't that she needed an excuse to touch her daughter, but this moment might be the last they had before she gave her up to Jason's loving care. "You're the only one that can answer that, Beth," Miranda replied with a soft smile. "You love him, right' If I understand things correctly, you've loved him for centuries."

"Almost millenia," Beth murmured softly, drawing sweet comfort from her mother's gentle fussing. She smiled, leaning close to kiss Miranda's cheek. "Sorry, I guess I just needed to hear someone else say it."

"Don't be like me, Bethy. Don't let your own fears keep you from the man you love. You deserve to be happy, and so does Jason. He's a good man, and he loves you very much. I couldn't have hoped for a better man for my little girl." She smiled as Bethany kissed her cheek, fanning her own face to try and stop herself from crying. "Oh, I'm going to be one of those mothers who sobs through the whole ceremony!"

"Just don't do it too loudly, or I'll laugh too much to get my vows out," her daughter threatened laughingly, turning to greet Gabi as she came into sight, bearing the flowers with quiet care.

"I'll try not to blow my nose too loudly or get any snot on my dress," Miranda promised with a smirk. You could dress her up, but inside she was the same old Miranda. "Oh, Gabi, you look lovely! Is everyone ready?"

Still a little self-conscious, but determined not to let Beth down after she'd chosen her so specifically for such an important place in her bridal party, Gabi offered up her shy smile to her aunt, shrugging one shoulder as though to dismiss the compliment. "It's the dress that's lovely," she pointed out disarmingly. "As far as I know, everyone is pretty much ready. Last minute hair bits are being done to Elena and Dru, but the photographer is taking pictures of the process for the album, so I think that was the plan. It was the plan, wasn't it?"

Bethany Daly

Date: 2013-12-31 09:12 EST
Beth chuckled at her cousin's uncertainty, reaching over to hug Gabi fondly. "It's all going to plan, Gabs," she promised her shy cousin. "Just keep repeating that to yourself. It's all going to plan. Provided the grooms haven't left the dimension via a back window." She blinked, looking worriedly to Miranda. "They haven't, have they?"

Miranda laughed at the worry on her daughter's face, joined by the uncertainty of her shy niece. "Of course not! What man in their right mind would walk away from two such beautiful brides" Besides, I have it on good authority that they're both head over heels in love. It's Leilani that concerns me most. How is she doing without Cian' How's she getting on with the other girls?" If there two people who were exact opposites it was Leilani and Elena, though so far, they seemed to be getting along just fine.

"I wonder if Jase knows my dad could break him in a dozen places where it doesn't show if he tried to skip out on me," Beth mused impishly, subsiding as Gabi giggled at the silly turn the conversation had taken.

In answer to Miranda's queries, the blonde Granger glanced toward the room where the bridesmaids were chattering ten to the dozen, and a small smirk appeared on her face. "She seems to be handling it very well," she told her aunt. "There was one hairy moment when one of the stylists startled her, but she didn't kill him, so that's a plus. Helena's keeping her company while Elena tells dirty stories."

Miranda rolled her eyes, but the look was joined by amused laughter. "That girl is hell on wheels, but I love her! You know, I am working on designing the gowns for Tony and Anya's wedding." She flashed a wicked grin. "I am thinking about opening a bridal shop in the city and specializing in weddings. I could use a change."

"Now that is an awesome idea," Beth agreed as Gabi slipped away to compare notes with Harper on just how ready the bridal side of the bridal party were. "You know who you should get to model your stuff, right?" She grinned, clearly about to drop one of her cousins right in it and entirely too gleeful about it. "Jasmin and her fella. They're disgustingly photogenic."

During all the excitement of the last few weeks, Miranda's memory had slipped a little as to exactly which one of the many beaus running around was Jack. She could not argue with the fact that Jasmin was gorgeous, though. "Oh, Jasmin is made for modeling. You know who else I've been wanting to get behind a camera" Johnny Storm!" She had to fan herself at the thought of the firefighter slash superhero. "He is hot!" And she didn't just mean his temperature.

"Oh God, Mom!" Beth cringed laughingly, waving a hand at her mother as she giggled. "I don't want to hear about your superhero crushes, not when I actually know the guy! And he's married!" She snickered, rolling her eyes as she flicked a curl back off her shoulder. "And besides, Jack looks just like him."

"Bite your tongue, Bethany Granger! He's not a crush. He's a friend. It's not my fault he's adorable. And I am very well aware of the fact that he's married. So am I, remember" Married, not blind. I can still admire from afar," Miranda told her daughter, just a little too defensively, furrowing her brows as Beth brought Jack's name up again. "What do you mean he looks just like him' There is only one Human Torch!"

"I mean exactly that," Beth laughed, carefully fluffing out her dress so she could sit down on her lingerie clad rear end without wrinkling the layers of fabric that covered her from the hips down. "He looks like Johnny. Like Michael looks like Johnny. Seriously, you're gonna have all three of them in the same room in, like, a half an hour. You can see for yourself!"

It was a rare occasion when the daughter was able to stupefy the mother, but this was one of them. Miranda's perfectly pink lips puckered a moment, a small wrinkle forming between her brows before she chuckled and shook her head in disbelief. "You almost had me there for a minute, Bethany, though now that you mention it, there is a bit of a resemblance."

"A bit of a resemblance." Snorting with laughter, Beth braced herself as the tiny flower girl in the shape of Lyneth came hurtling over to them from where Piper was talking quietly with her own mother. "What do you say, cheeky' Do Johnny, Jack, and Michael look the same, or not?"

Lyneth frowned thoughtfully, absentmindedly scratching at the butterflies on her headband. "Yes," she agreed finally. "They looks just like each other, and I'm hungry. M'anda, can I have a sammich?"

"Lyneth!" Miranda exclaimed as the little Fae-girl burst in on them, scratching her headband. She bent over to adjust the headband so that it was just so again. "Try to stay in one piece for just a little while longer, would you, darling?" She smiled at the little girl, glad she'd come prepared for a change. "You can have a sammich so long as you promise not to smear jelly all over your dress. Can you do that?"

"Mummy says if I can't be neat, I can't be in the weddin', and she'll cry," Lyneth repeated solemnly, though, for those who knew, there was lurking in her eyes a suggestion of her older self keeping an eye on the smaller, clumsier side of her for the sake of all around her today. With Miranda's permission secured, however, Lyneth toddled off to seize her grandfather's hand and pull him toward the main door into the suite, her escort to the kitchens chosen seemingly at random.

While Beth laughed, another voice made itself known. "Yes, I realize that the grooms are not supposed to see the brides in their dresses, but I am fairly sure even you can tell that I am far too old to be marrying either one of the young ladies on show today," Rufus could be heard negotiating with one of the event staff outside in the hallway. "I am, in fact, a father of one of the brides. Are you really going to stop me from seeing my wife and daughter for a brief moment' I promise, no sneaky photography or hidden webcams."

Any more discussion of the Johnny Storm clones would have to wait as Miranda caught wind of her husband's voice in the adjoining room and gasped in surprise. It wasn't exactly bad luck for him to be there as he wasn't a groom, but this was still supposed to be a testosterone-free zone until the wedding was ready to get underway. She waved a hand at her daughter, looking like she'd just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Not a word about youknowwho," she whispered, gathering the hem of her dress to sweep toward the doorway, a stern look toward the man making a fuss there. "Rufus Bennett, you know you are not supposed to be back here!"

Bethany Daly

Date: 2013-12-31 09:13 EST
"Miranda Granger-Bennett, you're a vision of loveliness," was the charming reply from her husband, who was standing just outside the door, hands in his pockets, wearing a wide grin as Miranda came into view. "Given that I have no idea where the buttonholes are and the boys are starting to panic, I thought it best to seek out the lady herself. Was I wrong to do so, my beautiful rose drop?"

Her expression changed on a dime, softening into a warm smile, blushing as pink as a new bride at her husband's compliment. She enjoyed teasing him, and he didn't seem to mind much, turning the tables on her with a compliment that would sweeten the most irate of moods. "You, Rufus Bennett, are a charmer," she said, reaching up to tweak his nose. "But I think you probably deserve a few minutes alone with your daughter before you give her away." She smooched his cheek, pausing a moment to brush the lipstick from his cheek before turning back to Bethany. "I have to go rescue the boys now, Beth. I'll see you inside. Try not to make your father cry!"

"Like that's even possible!" Beth called from inside as Rufus kissed his wife's forehead, switching places with her.

"Do try not to upset the event staff, angel," he murmured to her. "They're doing their best. Oh, and I believe someone went in search of Vicki to make Cosmo behave himself." He grinned, winked down at her, and stepped smartly into the room beyond to savor a few minutes with the little girl he had only really begun to know in the last few months.

"He didn't have an accident, did he?" Miranda asked worriedly. She hadn't thought including a dog in a wedding ceremony was a very good idea, but she'd let herself get talked into it. She just hoped the dog would know what to do when it came to herding little Jack the ring bearer down the aisle. She blew her daughter a kiss, gave her husband a quick smooch, and off she went to make sure the boys were as ready as the girls were.

The suite in which the grooms and their party were being crow-barred into their morning suits was on the other side of the house. Miranda's route took her through the gallery that overlooked the main hall, where guests were beginning to gather and take their seats in preparation for the nuptials to come. As she passed the top of the stairs, Vicki joined her, Emily perched on one hip. The redhead was laughing, moving to fall into step with Miranda easily. "I hear there's a buttonhole shortage and a dog discipline problem," she commented cheerfully. "Need a hand?"

"You look like you already have your hands full," Miranda remarked upon meeting Vicki, who had Emily balanced against one hip and was obviously expecting another child in a few months' time. "But..." She flashed a grin. "I'll take all the help I can get." She reached over to tickle Emily's cheek. "You and Jon make such lovely babies. When are you going to let me have her for a night?"

"Anytime you want her," Vicki laughed as Emily giggled at the tickling. The ten month old girl was still going through her shy phase, but family always got a smile out of her even as she clung to whichever one of her parents she was holding onto at the time. "We're due a date night pretty soon. You know, get a full night's shagging in before I'm out of bounds for a month or so."

"I'm sure Jon won't mind that," she said with an amused smirk. "Come on. Let's go check on the boys and see how they're doing." She looped an arm through Vicki's to lead her through the house to the wing where the grooms and their groomsmen had gathered to get ready, Cosmo included.

As they approached, it became clear that the dog discipline problem was perhaps a little more pressing than the lack of buttonholes. Cosmo was audibly barking, and as Vicki remarked to Miranda, "Probably jumping around like cat on a hot tin roof, too."

"He sounds as excited as the grooms!" Miranda added with a smirk, making no mention of the fact that the dog's master was supposed to be keeping him under control. What were the boys doing anyway that had the dog barking like mad, or was he just excited at all the confusion'

"He won't be in a minute," Vicki snickered softly. She was the disciplinarian in the family when it came to their hyperactive collie, and no matter how excited he was, or how many people he was trying to herd into a single corner of the room, Cosmo never dared disobey her. She wasn't as soft a touch as Jon. Raising a hand, she knocked on the door, hiking Emily a little higher on her hip.

Male voices could be heard behind that door, laughing and raising a bit of a ruckus, amidst the barking of the dog. Miranda rolled her eyes, with a "boys will be boys" look on her face. She was half-tempted to barge in and scold them, but Vicki had already warned them with a knock on the door, so she decided to wait. By the time the door was answered, she was standing there with arms crossed and no-nonsense look on her face. Fortunately, it was Jon who answered the door and not Jason, or someone might have gotten a tongue lashing. Jon smiled a little sheepishly when he found his wife and aunt standing outside the door, looking from one to the other questioningly.

Emily cooed with delight on seeing her father standing there as the door opened and Cosmo's barking grew exponentially louder on hearing his puppy. Unfortunately for Jon's standing among the grooms and groomsmen, and Cosmo's exuberant display of excitement, however, Vicki was on top of it, even as she smirked at her husband. "Cosmo, sit!" There was a quiet yelp of surprise from behind Jon, and a sudden cessation of all dog noise. Cosmo might be enthusiastic, but he wasn't stupid.

"I was just about to do that!" Jon said as Vicki silenced the dog with a single command, flushing a little with embarrassment. It was no big secret that Vicki was the disciplinarian in the family, though Jon was trying. There was a bit of commotion as a bottle got passed behind backs in hopes of hiding it from the women.

"I hope you're all dressed because I'm coming in!" Miranda announced as she pushed her way past Jon.

"Of course, stud muffin," Vicki drawled, letting Miranda push past before stepping inside herself. "That's why one of the event guys came downstairs in a panic, declaring that the dog was going to tear a hole in someone's suit." She chuckled, handing Jon his daughter. "Here, hold this. I'm on the hunt for buttonholes."

Bethany Daly

Date: 2013-12-31 09:15 EST
"She's not wet, is she?" Jon asked as he was handed his daughter, like a sack of potatoes. He didn't mind changing her, but he also didn't want to soil his suit or Miranda would kill him.

"Oh, for God's sake, Jon! If she's wet, change her! It's a diaper, not toxic waste!" Miranda exclaimed. "Thomas! Did I see a bottle?" she continued, holding out an expectant hand.

"It's Tommy, not Thomas," Des broke in helpfully, with a small smirk. Miranda shot him a look that wordlessly said, "Don't butt in."

Tommy glanced at the others before handing over the contraband that had been passed back and forth between them since Rufus had left with what bottles he'd already confiscated. For once in his life, he had an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry, ma'am."

Miranda took the bottle and sighed as she found it was already half drained. "Desmond Granger, if you are drunk, so help me..."

Jason broke in before Desmond could utter a word. "We're fine. Just a drink among friends for good luck."

Miranda turned a pointed gaze to her soon-to-be son-in-law. "You had better be, Jason. It's my daughter you're marrying!"

Jon disappeared momentarily to change Emily, while Cian appeared at Miranda's side. "Don't worry, Aunt. It's going to be an awesome wedding, and it's all because of you."

Miranda's mood turned and she smiled, reaching up to pat her nephew's cheek, obviously having a soft spot for him, though in truth, she was fond of them all. "Sweet talker," she said, before leaning closer. "Let me smell your breath."

Cian smirked, but instead of letting her smell his breath, he leaned close and kissed her cheek. Miranda laughed.

"Troublemakers. Every last one of you." She reached up to adjust Cian's tie. "And you all look very handsome. Your ladies are very lucky to have you." Satisfied that Cian's tie was sufficiently adjusted, she looked the group over, sighing as she stepped over to Tommy who looked a little rumpled and the least accustomed to getting dressed up. "As soon as the wedding is over, you can take your tie and jacket off and relax a little," she assured him as she adjusted his tie. She'd never tell them or her husband, but she was enjoying being surrounded by all the testosterone in the room. "There," she said, as she stepped back to examine them again, eying the room and finding something missing. "Where's Michael?"

"I think he said he was going to the bathroom," Tommy replied, a little too quickly.

"Bathroom, my a-" Miranda broke off before she cussed. She was supposed to be a lady, after all. "He's probably trying to get a sneak peek at his wife!" She sighed. She'd wanted to get a closer look at him to see just how close a resemblance he bore to the Human Torch.

Of the entire bunch, Jason looked the most nervous, a shade too pale, and it might have been for his sake that the bottle had been passed.

"For God's sake, Jason! You're getting married, not going to an execution."

"Oh, God," Jason muttered, turning a shade paler before hurrying out of the room.

She wasn't going to be disappointed for long on the lack of a Human Torch lookalike. The door opened, and Michael was pushed through ahead of one pregnant redhead and a tray of carefully created buttonholes - the ones that had mysteriously gone missing about an hour before. Vicki was laughing at someone outside, the identity of that person made clear by her calling over her shoulder. "I don't care what it was you weren't doing, El, get back to the brides before Miranda catches you wrinkling your dress!"

Jason just barely managed to get out the door before Vicki was pushing inside. Des sighed and dismissed himself, "I better go make sure he's okay."

"Don't be long! We're going to start soon!" Miranda called after them, with a frown. She turned her attention to Vicki and the returning groomsmen, hands on her hips as she glared at Michael. "And where have you been" Fraternizing with the bridesmaids" I'm not sure if I should spank you or Elena, though I have a feeling she'd enjoy it too much."

Michael had a slightly guilty look on his face as he stepped inside, lifting his hands in supplication. "Don't blame me! I'm innocent!"

"No one who is married to, or even next to, a De Luca is ever going to be able to say they're innocent with even a modicum of credibility, Michael," Vicki chuckled, setting the tray of buttonholes down. "Right ....groomsmen are the purples, yes?"

"Uh huh," Miranda said. "I can't leave you alone for five minutes," she muttered to herself. "Purple, yes. Victoria, you're a lifesaver!" She tugged Michael closer first to take a good look at him. "Your hair is darker," she murmured, vaguely. "But you have the same eyes. Remarkable."

Michael arched dark curious brows, "The same eyes as who?"

"Jack," Tommy interjected. "You're almost a dead ringer for my friend Jack."

"I was going to say Johnny Storm," Miranda remarked, a thoughtful expression on her face. Maybe the girls were right; maybe Johnny did have a couple of doppelgangers on Rhy'Din. If that was the case, she wanted to get her hands on all three of them. "What's with the sourpuss?" she asked as she reached for a boutonniere to pin it on Michael's lapel. "I need to talk to you later. I have a proposition for you."

"If you ask me, they both look like Johnny," Vicki commented a little indistinctly. The reason for this was because she had Jon's boutonniere held gently between her teeth as she pinned Tommy's into place with a grin, reaching up to brush his hair back out of his face once she was done. "Tell you what, your jaw is going to hit the floor when you clap your eyes on Lena today," she warned the surfer cheerfully, turning to see if she could locate her husband and daughter. "Emmy-wemmy-popsie-poo!"

"What kind of proposition' I don't have a sourpuss, and who's Johnny?" Michael replied with a frown that proved Miranda's point.

"Yes, you do," Miranda teased back with a grin, enjoying winding him up.

In the meantime, Tommy was grinning back at his future sister-in-law. "Thanks for the warning. I'll try not to drool."

Miranda rolled her eyes, as Vicki called for her daughter. "Good lord, Vicki. If you call Jon like that, I'm going to barf."

The redhead's grin turned evil at that threat. Miranda hadn't spent too much time with Vicki, or she wouldn't have offered up a unique opportunity to tease everyone in the room in such a way. Taking a deep breath, Vicki aimed herself at the door she thought Jon had gone through and yelled, "Oy! Bodacious body banger!"

Cian was snickering at the by-play between Miranda and Vicki, wondering which of them was worse. By some miracle of miracles, Miranda and Vicki eventually managed to get all the buttonholes pinned on the men's lapels with a minimum of fuss. Cosmo had been calmed down and was getting reacquainted with Caroline's son in preparation for their walk down the aisle with the rings. The grooms had returned and Jason was looking a little less pale, thanks to the quick intervention of Desmond. Emily's nappy had been changed, and she had been pried away from her father's arms until after the wedding.

Everything seemed to be in order and ready to go, but for one last detail. Miranda snatched the bottle she had left with on a table after confiscating it and turned to the boys with a warm smile. "You all look very handsome, and I'm proud of you all." She lifted the bottle to toast them. "Here's to you. I love you all. Now, go out there and knock 'em dead." And with that said, she took a healthy swig of liquid courage and left them to it.

((Next stop, the ceremony!))