Login with:

Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Google

Yahoo

Aol.

Mibba

Your info will not be visible on the site. After logging in for the first time you'll be able to choose your display name.

Need You Now

Chapter 139

Saturday, March 9th, 2013


“I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Pastor Jones announced proudly, the smile on his face genuine and wide as he gestured towards the newly married couple. Winking towards the dark haired groom, he added with glee, “You may now kiss your bride.”

As the happily wed couple turned towards one another and the groom planted a kiss that was less than chaste on his new bride, the grin on Pastor Jones's face somehow managed to grow a kilowatt brighter. Once the couple broke apart, tears of happiness shining in the brides eyes and a grin the size of Texas on the grooms face, he turned his attention towards the guests and announced, “May I present Mr. and Mrs. Richard Grimes!”

“I can't believe I am standing at Cassie Delaney's wedding.” Sam muttered to Daryl, who held on to her upper arm lightly as he helped her stand up. “Miss I-Wouldn't-Get-Married-If-My-Life-Depended-On-It sure changed her tune when Rick came along, didn't she?”

“Guess when the right one comes along things change. Sure did with you.” Daryl wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders and stood with her as the couple made their way down the aisle towards the auditorium where the reception would be held. Mother Nature had kept the cooler weather at bay for the late afternoon wedding, but the nip in the air made him glad that the bride hadn't insisted on an outdoor reception, too. Glancing over at Sam, he took notice of the red flush in her cheeks and chill bumps on her forearms and amended his previous thought about the indoor reception to being that he was damn ecstatic about it. The last thing Sam needed was to stand around in the cold night air on stage, risking catching a cold to make her best friend happy by singing at her wedding. Of course, in Sam's current condition he wouldn't have allowed it anyway, no matter how much she argued with him. Daryl rubbed his arm up and down on her upper arm and muttered, “We should get inside. You’re shivering.”

“I'm not that cold, but yeah, I need to get inside and make sure the stage is set up and ready to go. Being the Matron of Honor didn't let me stray far from Cassie today to do a sound check with the band.” Sam leaned against Daryl's warmth and smiled up at him as he lifted his other hand and laid it gently on top of her distended belly. At around eight and a half months pregnant, her normally petite frame was stretched beyond capacity and made her feel like a small VW bus.

“How's my boy?” He asked, rubbing Sam's belly with a soft smile on his face. “He behaving for you today?” Daryl did his best to hide the annoyance he felt that Sam was not only out of the house, but out of the bed that Krista had sentenced her to nearly a month ago, and pigheaded enough to refuse his suggestion about missing Cassie and Rick's wedding. It didn't make him feel any better that their little bundle of joy had been doing somersaults in Sam's belly and generally making a nuisance of himself.

“The baby is just fine, and so am I. So, just wipe that concerned look off your face. Everything is A-OK in the baby department.” Sam waddled down the aisle after Cassie, following after her best friend from the seat she'd had to sit in during the ceremony, since she hadn't been able to stand beside her thanks to her current condition. While Sam had hated not being next to Cassie, she had to admit that the extra weight around her middle would have made standing for the ceremony downright miserable. Not that she'd have been able to argue the point with her doctor, since agreeing to sit instead of stand had been the only way Krista would allow her out of the house for the nuptials. “And, what makes you so certain we're having a boy, huh? It could just as easily be a little girl, you know?”

“Nah. I know it's a boy.” Daryl replied with utmost certainty as he followed along beside Sam as they slowly made their way to the auditorium, the happy couple having long since walked off and left them.

“And if it's not? Are you going to pout when it's a little girl?” Sam asked lightheartedly, knowing without a doubt that Daryl would be nothing but ecstatic with whatever gender baby they ended up with, so long as she and their baby came out healthy and happy.

“Don't worry about that. I'm gonna get you knocked up again real quick and that time it's gonna be a girl.” Daryl rested his hand on Sam's lower back as she stepped inside the auditorium that had been transformed into a romantic reception area for the evening, hundreds of twinkling lights had been strung from the metal rafters to provide a golden glow and white table cloths had been located to cover the candle topped tables.

“Oh, you are, are you? Pretty sure of yourself, Dixon. You're no spring chicken.” Sam replied with a laugh, using her mother's words to tease him. She stopped and turned to face him once they were out of the flow of traffic coming into the room and gestured for him to lean over, since the extra girth on her frame didn't allow much ease in the tiptoe department. When Daryl was close enough, Sam pressed a light kiss to his lips and said, “But, I'm willing to practice that baby making thing with you as soon as Krista gives me the all clear. I miss you.”

“Counting the minutes.” Daryl assured her, his eyes flashing with the need his body desired. It had been over a month since they'd made love thanks to his damn sister-in-law insisting that Sam wasn't up to anything other than bed rest, and he was fairly certain he was going to explode soon...and wasn't looking forward to waiting another two months before he could bury himself inside of his wife. Smiling down at Sam, he placed his hands on the swell of her belly and smiled when the touch was rewarded with a kick from his child. He looked up from his hands and asked, “I ever tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”

“You did, although it's not nice to lie, you know? I look like a freaking beached whale.” Sam groaned and covered his hands with her own. “Don't get me wrong, I love this little baby with all my heart, but if he...or she, doesn't get out of there soon I am going to go bananas.”

“It'll happen soon enough.” Daryl promised, eager to have hold the baby in the hands that were being kicked at rapidly. He still didn't understand how that feeling didn't freak Sam out in the slightest, just feeling it on the outside of her belly was strange to him, but he wasn't the mother, so maybe it was supposed to be that way to him. Maybe he was supposed to feel an odd mixture of awe and weirdness?

Their bubble was suddenly broken by the sound of her father's voice booming from the stage, which was Sam's signal to get her butt in gear and get ready to present the bride and groom with their present from her...a song handwritten specifically for their first dance as husband and wife. A song that she had agonized over for weeks because she wanted it to sound just right, to feel perfect for them.

Sam left Daryl standing along the edge of the crowd, knowing he'd eventually make his way towards the table with the rest of his family, and waddled up onto the stage just as her father was finishing up his speech for the new couple. She stood next to her dad, sharing a smile with him when he glanced her way, one that was genuine as they'd come leaps and bounds since last spring in regards to repairing their relationship. While she hadn't forgiven him for what he'd done, she had come to be able to live with it and move on from there. It was the best she could offer for the moment.

She stared down at the couple in the center of the crowd, arms wrapped around each other and faces full of sheer happiness. Cassie was a gorgeous bride, not that that wasn't to be expected since she was a stunning woman when she wasn't in a beautiful cream colored wedding gown that hugged her curves and glowing with the happiness that came from being in love. Sam watched as Rick dipped his head and nuzzled Cassie's neck, eliciting a throaty laugh from her that echoed throughout the room, and felt only a twinge of jealousy. She pushed away the green eyed monster before he could truly rear his ugly head, reminding herself that she chose to not have a wedding with Daryl and opted instead to exchange a declaration of their love for one another on the night of the original wedding date, just the two of them, beneath the stars on the balcony of their home after they'd made love. She had been a good three months pregnant at the time, only a slight bump present on her belly, but Daryl had spent a great deal of time kissing every single inch of skin on that baby bump. The night had been exactly what she had wanted, the two of them affirming their love for each other. Nothing more, nothing less.

Finally, her father ended yet another one of his long winded speeches and she accepted the microphone and a kiss on the cheek from him. She felt naked without her guitar, but the bulge of her belly wouldn't allow her to play it, so she stood in front of her band and greeted the crowd. “Before we start, I just want to say how happy I am for Rick and Cassie. It's not every day that your best friend finds the person they're meant to spend the rest of their life with. Rick, I know I've said it before, but as the best friend I have to say it again...you hurt her and you have to deal with me. I may be small, but I'm fierce.” Sam narrowed her eyes at Rick in the most menacing way she could possibly muster up at the moment, and laughed when he had the decency to feign fright. “Cassie, you've been the sister I never had and always wanted, my backbone, my protector, my personal cheerleader, my everything for over twenty years. I love you more than you'll ever truly know and I am so happy for you. I wish you both nothing but happiness.”

Sam paused, the lump in her throat refusing to let her do anything more than wipe at the tears in her eyes, while Cassie did the same. After composing herself, she continued, “Thanks to my doctor, who refuses to let me stay up and play all night, I will only be performing one song tonight and then Clay's going to take over. Krista tried to tell me I wasn't going to do this much, but we see who won out on that argument. Like I would miss singing the first song to the happy couple.” But, Sam admitted to herself, she was tired and her back and feet were trying to kill her slowly. Plus, whatever she'd eaten for lunch was not settling well in her stomach. Gas maybe? She just prayed she made it through the one song without farting loudly. She eased down onto the chair that someone had graciously thought to put up there for her and sighed in relief. “I wrote this song specifically for Cassie and Rick, I hope ya’ll like it. It's called When the Right One Comes Along.”

She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to get the thumbs up from the band and tapped her foot on the floor along with the beat of the music. “There's no music, no confetti...Crowds don't cheer, and bells don't ring...But you'll know it, I can guarantee...When the right one comes along.”

“What they're thinkin', what you're feelin'...You no longer have to guess...All those questions are finally put to rest...When the right one comes along.” Sam took a deep breath, one that did nothing to quell the feeling of unease that had her heart thumping and a sheen of sweat popping out on her skin. Ever the professional, she pasted on a smile and pushed the icky feeling aside to continue singing. “Every single broken heart will lead you to the truth...You think you know what you're looking for...'Til what you're looking for finds you.”

“In a cold world, it's a warm place...Where you know that you're supposed to be...A million moments full of sweet relief...When the right one comes along.” Sam’s gaze connected with Daryl's and the one he returned showed that he knew something was wrong with her, she could tell by the furrow in his brow and the hard set in his jaw. Not wanting to give away just how unsettled she was feeling, Sam looked away from him, only to have her eyes meet up with her brother and a twinge of heartache hit her at the sadness in his eyes. While Tyler had been on his best behavior around Cassie since his return, it hadn't been enough to pull her away from Rick. The evidence of just how much his heart still hurt was written all over his handsome face as he watched the woman he'd let get away dance with the man she'd ran to. It was that expression that had Sam regretting the lyrics she was about to sing once more. “Every single broken heart will lead you to the truth...You think you know what you're looking for...'Til what you're looking for finds you.”

“It's so easy, nothin' to it...Though you may not believe me now...But I promise, honey you'll find out...When the right one comes along.” A sharp pain seared through Sam, nearly doubling her over with its ferocity, but she managed to breathe through it since the end of the song was near. One final short verse and then she could retire to a chair in the crowd and rest. “All that changes is only everything...When the right one...”

The last two words of the song exited Sam's mouth in a guttural groan of pain as pain shot through her midsection once more, this time achieving its goal of making her double over from the pain. Panting, Sam tried to recall the breathing techniques that Lindy had been teaching her, but all she could manage at the moment was a gasp of breath here and there while holding her belly and scanning the crowd with wide, frenzied eyes in search of her husband.

When Sam's eyes finally made contact with Daryl's, she somehow managed to smile through the pain and cry out, “I think it's time!”



**Song: When The Right One Comes Along by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio**

Notes

I dedicate this chapter to everyone who has been whining about babies this whole time. LOL

Comments

@aphishinthec


Wow! Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed it again. :)

Serenity Serenity
12/1/16

I binge read this too over thanksgiving weekend and literally could not put it down. I was a constant reader when the updates were regular, but sadly am the worst at remembering to review. Excellent story to binge read!!

aphishinthec aphishinthec
12/1/16

@Tripper


Squee! Glad you liked it just as much the second time around. :)

Serenity Serenity
11/28/16

So, I may have just gorged myself on this story and read it all over again in a few days. This is one of my very favourite stories of all time. So freakin' good. Thanks again for this wicked story!

Tripper Tripper
11/25/16

@Lunabelle4


Thank you so much!

Serenity Serenity
11/14/16