How Soon Is Now

Part One - Chapter Twenty-Seven: Tying the Knot

Nicola took a deep breath as she stared at herself in the mirror, she had spent the last month planning her and Fernando's wedding; she knew that he would miss having his parents at their big day and she had worked hard to make it up for him.

The world still thought that Fernando was dead and until they could there was little that they could do to make things easier; it was going to take a lot of work to undo what had been done in the past.

Marissa and Amber smiled at their best friend, they had never seen her so happy and they knew that nothing could take away from the day; she looked simply beautiful in her ivory jewel neck A-line knee-length wedding dress paired with peep-toe bowknot satin shoes.

"You look beautiful," Alexandria gushed stepping into Nicola's bedroom, she hadn't been able to resist coming to her own daughter's wedding; it didn't matter that she was technically dead right now.

Nicola turned around and stared at her mother, she couldn't believe that she was here; she had only thought that her grandmother would be there since she was going to be presiding over the hand fastening ceremony.

"I wasn't going to miss my daughter's wedding," Alexandria whispered hugging Nicola with a smile, she looked at her mother; she really didn't know what would make this better especially with her surprise for Fernando.

A knock at the door caused the two to pull apart, Nicola took a deep breath before Ryan stepped into the room; he was wearing a suit and smiled at the women in the room.

"We're ready for you," Ryan announced knowing that the downstairs of the coven house had been decorated perfectly for this moment and everyone was waiting.

***

Fernando took a deep breath while he fixed his tie, he was a little nervous about marrying Nicola but it was what he wanted; the only thing that hurt was the fact that his parents wouldn't be there.

Shaking his head, Fernando took a deep breath trying to control his nerves and focus on what he was about to do; he was marrying his soul-mate and that was all that mattered.

The door to the room opened but Fernando didn't turn to look, he would have to head into the living room soon and he knew that he would be seeing her soon in her wedding dress.

"Nando," whispered a voice making Fernando still, he stared at the wall ahead of him for a moment wondering if he had imagined the voice; he slowly turned around to stare at the couple that had stepped into the room.

"Madre," Fernando whispered staring at his mother, he couldn't believe that she was stood before him when he was getting married in the next few minutes; he had no idea what to say right now but he knew that they were real.

José and Flori stared at their son, they hadn't known what to believe when they had been invited back to Hallows Town but they certainly hadn't expected this.

"What?" Fernando asked shocked watching as his mother hurried across the room to give him a hug, he didn't know what to say to them since they were meant to believe that he was dead.

Flori clung to her youngest son and wept, she had truly believed that he was gone and she was thrilled that he was okay; she didn't know how to thank everyone for that happening.

"Your fiancée explained everything... she's wonderful Nando," José revealed smiling at his son, he was so proud of Fernando for what he had sacrificed and for finding the right woman.

***

"We are gathered here today to unite two souls as one. Do you, Fernando andNicola join us here of your own free will to acknowledge the eternal bond shared by both of you?" Joanna Matthews asked smiling at the couple, she couldn't believe that she was actually marrying her granddaughter.

Nicola smiled at Fernando as she stared at him, she could tell that he had loved her surprise of having his parents at their wedding; she doubted that he would have been happy if they weren't there.

"I do," both Fernando and Nicola said without any hesitation, they were never going to regret getting married; they were soul-mates and anyone who looked at them could see it.

Joanna nodded as she looked between the couple, before she signaled for the couple to take their vows to one another; she hadn't been able to stand over Alexandria's wedding because her daughter had never wed but this was good enough.

Their guests smiled as they watched them, they knew that the couple were done wasting time; Flori and José couldn't believe how happy their son looked after only a few months of being with Nicola.

"Nicola, through all the tears and struggles, I always knew in my heart that we'd make it here again. I promise to love and respect you from this point forward as your husband, as my wife, my lover, my friend, and my soul mate. All I am is yours," Fernando said reciting his vows, he had written them himself and he would spend the rest of his life with her; he wanted everything with the woman that stood before him.

Nicola blinked back tears as she smiled at Fernando, she had no idea how she had spent so much of her life without him; she was thankful to the force that had reunited them again.

"Fernando, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I was afraid that you were too good to be true, that maybe I didn't deserve someone as pure and beautiful and loving as you are. But here we are surrounded by the people that I love the most and I feel so proud and so blessed to be your wife, your soul mate. Fernando, I was born to love you and I always will," Nicola recited as the two smiled at each other as they waited for Joanna to continue; they were surround by Nicola's coven, Ryan and the Morris family, they could care less about what was to come.

"Here before witnesses Fernando and Nicola have sworn their vows to each other. With this cord I bind them to those vows," Joanna continued taking a red cord and wrapped it loosely around their hands binding the two together.

Flori smiled watching her son, she didn't care that he wasn't getting married in the family church, she was just happy that he had found someone to spend his life with.

"Heart to thee, Body to thee, Always and forever, so mote it be," the couple repeated resting their heads against each other; they were happy and that was all that was going to matter to the couple and their families.

Joanna smiled at the couple as they shared their first kiss as a married couple, everything was going to be alright and she was sure of it even if she had to watch them from the afterlife.

Everyone was quick to move to congratulate the couple, they knew that they had been through a lot and they hoped that this was going to work out for the two of them.

"You don't have to play dead anymore," Alex said pulling Fernando to the side, he had been working on a plan to allow Fernando to have his life back again now that he was married.

Fernando sighed in relief as he looked over at Nicola, he smiled at the idea that soon everyone would know that he had married such a perfect woman.

The news would also mean that he would finally be able to see his daughter again without having to spy on her.