8:01:26

"Carl, breakfast's ready," Debbie called.

"Who are you planning to feed, the fifth army?" Carl asked as he got a look at all the food Debbie had made.

"You know I like to cook when I get nervous."

"Nervous? Why are you nervous?"

"Want to hear the list?"

Carl frowned. "Yes, sweetheart. You have a list?"

Debbie poured them coffee and set the heaping plate of food in front of Carl. "Number one, there's little Briana and being the flower girl."

"Briana? She'll be fine. She's been practicing for months. What could go wrong?"

Debbie made a face. "Apparently at the rehearsal, she got cold feet and refused to walk down the aisle. They had to call Brian to get him to talk her back into it."

"How do you know that?" Carl asked shaking his head.

"I have my sources."

"Number two?"

"Emmett is a wreck about this wedding. He wants everything to be perfect for Molly and Jenn, and there have been a few problems," Debbie explained.

"Emmett can handle anything; you know that," Carl said confidently.

"Michael had to call Brian to come talk to Emmett. He had a meltdown yesterday."

"A meltdown," Carl said thoughtfully as he munched on a strip of bacon.

"Yeah, not a pretty sight according to Michael."

"But it's all over now, isn't it?" Carl asked trying to smooth things over.

"I fucking hope so. Number three."

"There's more?"

"Much more. There's that whole snooty Brenner family."

"What about the Brenner family?" Carl had to ask. "Owen seems like a good guy."

"Somehow he grew up in that family and turned out okay."

"What do you mean?" Carl asked as he finished off his scrambled eggs.

"That Sharon Brenner's real snooty, and her mother is worse, from what Jennifer has told me. That's part of why Emmett's so worried. They may not like what he's done with the wedding."

"Well, it's too fucking bad if they don't like something. It's Molly's wedding," Carl stated adamantly.

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently the wedding has changed drastically since Molly first started Emmett working on it. It's doubled or tripled in size and everything has become much more fucking elaborate. Molly was ready to run away and elope yesterday. She refused to even come out of her bedroom."

Carl chuckled. "Pre-wedding jitters."

"It was a helluva lot more than that," Debbie told him.

"So, did Owen talk her back into the wedding?"

"Brian."

"Brian?"

"Yeah, I guess he told her some hard facts and managed to convince her that it was only one day at the beginning of the rest of her life."

"Christ, I'm not sure I want to go to this fucking wedding."

"Oh, you're going, and so am I. I wouldn't miss it for the world," Debbie laughed.

"You … you don't want to see Molly's day ruined, do you?" Carl frowned.

"Of course not. I want to see her walk down the aisle proudly, marry Owen, and have the best wedding this fucking town has ever seen. I want Emmett to dazzle them with his planning and his catering. I want him to stick it to Sharon fucking Brenner and her hoity-toity mother."

Carl laughed. "I'm glad you're on Molly's side."

"Me too," Debbie chuckled as she poured them more coffee.

"Is that the end of your list?"

"No, there's one more thing."

"What's that?" Carl asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"That fucking Craig Taylor. He has refused to walk Molly down the aisle."

"I know, so Justin's doing it."

"Yeah, but everyone wants the asshole himself to grow a pair and act like a real father for once in his fucking life."

"But he won't," Carl said shaking his head.

"No, he won't, even after Brian offered to stay away from the wedding, if Craig would do the honors with Molly."

"Brian offered that?"

"Yes, he did," Debbie said proudly. "He did his best to fix that too."

"But Craig's not budging?"

Debbie shook her head. "But I wouldn't put it past him to make some kind of trouble for Justin and Brian, and therefore, for Molly."

"Shit! He wouldn't dare."

"You never know."

"Based on everything else you've told me, it's a good thing Brian will be there. He may have to deal with some more messes before he's finished."

"You got that right," Debbie agreed. "I'm going to have my bath. Your suit's hanging in the closet."

"Thanks, Babe."

"I love you Carl Horvath."

"And we'll all get through this day just fine."

"From your lips to God's ears," Debbie said before she headed up the stairs.

8:35:08

"Brian, we are going to be late. And contrary to popular belief, being fashionably late to a wedding, especially if you are in the wedding party, is not acceptable!" Justin was dressed to the nines, looking extremely edible to Brian who was unashamedly leering at him, as Justin was trying to pack up what they'd need for after the wedding. Brian was putting the finishing touches to Bree's hair. Emmett had offered to send a stylist to do Bree's hair but Brian would have none of that. Brian would take care of his daughter's hair himself.

"We are not going to be late. We're only fifteen minutes from the church. The wedding begins at ten. The wedding party will be arriving at nine to work out the last minute details. We…" Brian flicked his hand back and forth between himself, Bree and Justin. "…as well as John, Bobby and Patrick, do not have to be there until nine-thirty. Emmett said that there was no need to have the little ones unnecessarily frightened by all the idiotic adults. I, for one, agree with him. The reception doesn't start until seven. By the time this three ring circus of a wedding is over it'll be lunch time. John, Bobby and Patrick can come back here for lunch and we'll hang out there until it's time to go to the reception. We need to have our 'play clothes' for later."

"I packed most of it last night." Justin indicated the duffle bag on the floor. It held a change of clothes for all of them and extra toiletries just in case.

"Maybe we should take a room at the Plaza. It would make it easier for the kids," Brian suggested.

Justin did a double take as he looked at Brian. If Justin was edible, Brian was a seven course meal all the way to the dessert. It nearly took Justin's breath away. Brian was aging with style, grace and style and sex appeal, and did I mention style. Brian was wearing one of Justin's favorite Armani suits that made Brian look sensually dangerous. It was in sharp contrast to how Justin looked, adorable as well as stylishly country club confident. Brian remained an enigma, so cool and somewhat remote, until...

"Dada!"

"Yes, Squirt?"

"My bow got loose," Bree said with a little frown as she turned to show her Dada where the ribbon around her waist had started to come loose.

"Then we must fix it," Brian stated as he picked her up to stand her on a chair. Bree turned so that Brian could secure her bow. "Perfect!" Brian declared.

Bree carefully turned to face her Dada. "Dada?" Bree had a very serious look in her eyes.

"What is it, Squirt, you nervous about today?" Brian was a little worried that there would be a repeat of what happened at the rehearsal.

"No, Dada, I remebber what Auntie Emm told me."

"The word is remember."

"I remember, Dada."

"Then what is it?"

"Dada, can I marry you?" Brian was slightly shocked at his daughter's question. He recovered quickly and picked her up to carry her to the windows.

"No, Squirt," Brian answered softly as he looked out over the city. The snow had stopped falling, the sun was shining brightly, making everything sparkle.

"Why?" Bree asked in all seriousness.

"Because one day a handsome prince with flaming red hair is going to marry you," Brian whispered just as seriously.

"Okay, Dada," Bree said as she wrapped her little arms around her Dada's neck.

Justin gave them a moment then went to them. He kissed Brian's shoulder then leaned up to kiss his daughter.

"We should get going," Justin said, his love for Brian and Bree sparkling in his eyes as brightly as the sun shining on the newly fallen snow. Brian nodded.

The Kinney-Taylors were ready to wow the city.