Clare's Wedding

"Aunt Clare, Aunt Clare! Is Uncle Charlie still going to be my Uncle when he marries you?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Of course he will still be your uncle, princess. Charlie will always be your uncle, no matter what." Clare said fondly. She loved her niece fiercely and the only regret she had about marrying was that she would be moving to O'Malley House with Charlie and would no longer live with Dawn.

"That's right. I will always be your best and most favorite uncle, won't I?" Charlie said smiling at Dawn. The youngest Montgomery was like all the Montgomery girls, exceptionally beautiful and charming with a touch of demanding to go with it. Not to mention gifted like all the Montgomeries before her.

Dawn smiled brightly. "Yes but...Daddy says it isn't nice or fair to have favorites. That I should love all my uncles just as much. Which I really do. I just think you're the most fun...aside from Daddy of course, he is the most fun."

"Now, be a good little princess and go sit down over there before your Daddy comes in and gives us a three hour lecture on something or other." Clare said quietly and kissed her niece on the cheek.

"I can't believe Clare talked dad into letting her move out of Montgomery Manor." Whispered Cole to Camren as Clare and Charlie were exchanging vows.

"Well, dad didn't have much of a choice. Charlie is an only child, he's the only one to inherit O'Malley House, so he can't very well just leave that all behind. His parents and grandparents worked just as hard for that house as ours did for Montgomery Manor. It would be irresponsible of Charlie to just leave his elder mom alone too. But you know, Charlie would have left it all behind for Clare. Clare of course, would never have allowed it." Whispred Camren back.

"Fortunately for me, I have you to do all that droll heir stuff. You've already had a kid and she will be the next heir. I'm free to come and go as I please and move out if the mood strikes." Cole whispered smugly.

Camren shook his head smiling, "Careful Cole, if mom and dad hear you, you might shock them into an early death."

"Should we be troubled by the fact that it was our baby sister that married before all three of us? We're all older than her and not one of us got married before she did." Caiden said quietly as they all clapped and cheered the newlywed couple.

"Maybe. But at least one Montgomery of our generation did things right. I went about it all wrong, had a kid before I even got the chance to be engaged let alone married." Camren said with a shrug then pointed at Cole, "Mr. Smooth here is Willow Creek's Playboy. He's sworn off a respectable life in favor of a life of debauchery. He professes his love to all and commits to no one." He said with a chuckle then pointed at Caiden, "You my dear brother, I cannot find fault in. You've postponed starting a family in favor of your career. That is not a bad thing nor a bad choice. It's very responsible of you in fact."

Caiden cleared his throat quietly, indicating to his brothers to bring their whispered conversation to an end as their parents and Dawn approached them to see the newlyweds walk out of the chapel.

"Clare! You are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen!" Lori Landgraab said happily.

"Lori! Oh thank you for coming! My happiness would not have been complete without you here!" Clare said hugging her cousin.

"I would not have missed it for the world! You and Charles make an adorable couple, you always have. It's beautiful, your romance. You've known each other your whole lives! I'm so glad to see you two so happy." Lori said with a smile.

"Thank you, Lori."

The rest of the wedding reception went along smoothly. Everyone was happy and enjoying themselves. As usual, Blythe couldn't help herself and made sure she was the one to produce the wedding cake. She insisted it was a mother's place to make her child's wedding cake, just like her mother had done for her.

The newlywed couple however, were rather impatient to be on their merry way and finally get some time alone. After briefly talking to Clare's parents it was decided that at least for this wedding the couple could slip away early. Ben and Blythe promised to take care of the guests and make sure they were fed and entertained properly and they would explain the newlyweds absence.

Clare had spent many hours at Montgomery house both as a child and as a teenager. Clare and Charlie had spend many weekends playing together and later many evenings doing homework together while sharing their ideas for the future. Their ideas of the future had changed over the years of course. When they were children, Clare talked of becoming a Chef of beautiful cakes and desserts. Charlie talked of becoming an astronaut. Later as teenagers they talked of going into space and making the first ever cupcake shop on a different world.

Now, their main goal was to love each other and enjoy being a couple, and possibly starting a family as soon as possible. They lost no time in getting started with trying.

Unfortunately for Charlie's mother, she had not thought to knock before coming in. It never occurred to her that they might have starting their wedding night a bit too early. She left the room as quietly and as quickly as possible, desperately trying to forget what she'd just seen.

Later that same day, Clare found out she was expecting their first child. She was very happy and went to find Charlie and share the wonderful news with him.

Charlie of course, couldn't be happier. They were off to a good start. He had married the girl he had always loved, and now they were expecting their first baby. Life was great.

And then, a thought occurred to him: I wonder if Mr. Montgomery is going to kill me this time?