July 26th, 2023
"Okay, so... This is the last fitting and everything is perfect so I don't want to hear anything bad about the dress!" Emily yelled from behind the curtains as all her bridesmaids sat in sofas in front of it, in their — royal blue — dresses, just waiting for her to come out. "I just want good feedback, so if you have any nasty opinions, keep them to yourselves. And, yes, that means you, Lopez!"
"Fine, stop with the drama." Santana called back with a smile. "Just get on with it. I want to see it again."
And so, Emily pulled open the curtains and stood there with a smile as she waited for the reactions. As soon as the girls saw her, they all gasped all of the admiring the way the long, flowy, white dress hugged her body perfectly, showing off all her right assets and making the beautiful woman that was Emily Marshall look even more goddess-like, especially now that she had gone all the way to pin her hair up the way she'd be wearing it on her big day.
"Oh, my God..." Tina mumbled, a pout already forming in her lips they wobbled a bit. "You look so beautiful..."
"Oh, no, no, no, Cohen-Crazy. No crying." Emily chuckled, her own eyes watering already. "Because if you start, I will too and we don't need that, huh?"
"You're right." Tina sniffled, as everyone laughed at the ever so emotional girl. "Sorry."
"Oh, Queen T... Come here." Mercedes laughed at her friends as she pulled the woman into her arms to allow her to cry on her shoulders. Running a hand through Tina's hair, Mercedes then turned to look at Emily. "You look hot, Em. Sam won't even know what hit him when he sees you."
"You think?" She asked, turning around for a second to take a look at herself in the mirror for a second before turning back to look at the girls.
"Are you joking?" Santana scoffed. "You could walk down that isle dressed in a sack of potatoes and Trouts would still kill for you."
"True." Kitty agreed, smirking a bit as she looked Emily up and down. "It's kind of sickening how much he simps for you."
Santana hummed in agreement then, before widening her eyes a bit when she heard Natalie giggling and turning to look at her, only to remember no one other than Mary Evans was sitting right there beside Emily's mom.
"And we mean that in the most respectful way possible, Mrs. Evans." Santana said, as everyone chuckled.
Mary wasn't even offended, though. To be fair, she wasn't even listening. Instead, she was just focused on trying not to cry as she saw, for the first time, Emily in her dress, only seven days before being, officially, welcomed into her family. And honestly, she was so glad it was her that she would be having as a daughter-in-law because, not only did Mary know for a fact, she cared for and loved her oldest son deeply, she was also an amazing woman who never once hesitated before jumping into an opportunity to help her or her husband or Stacy or Stevie; always more than happy to go out of her way to make sure that her family was safe and happy purely because she knew how much they meant for Sam, in the first place.
Mary's silence had, apparently, been interpreted in the wrong way because suddenly, Emily was panicking again.
"Mary?" She called gently, trying to remain calm and not to burst into tears already. "Did you... I mean, the dress? Did you like it?"
"Oh, honey..." Mary cooed then, getting up from her seat as she picked up a box from beside her before walking up to the young woman. "You look incredible."
"Oh, thank God..." She mumbled under her breath as everyone chuckled. "So, hum... It's approved, then?"
"Of course it is." Mary chuckled. "It's beautiful, and you look stunning in it. I was just... I've been wondering. And it's totally fine if you don't want to. Don't feel obligated to say yes. But I... I mean, you kind of need something borrowed for the wedding, right?"
"Yeah."
"So, hum... How would you feel about borrowing my veil for your wedding?"
And as soon as she said it, Mary pulled open the box revealing one of the most delicate fabrics Emily had ever laid eyes on in her life. She gasped then, hesitating before reaching over to grab the veil from the box only to have Mary chuckle as she pulled it out herself, before positioning herself behind Emily as the woman stood facing the mirror.
"May I?" She asked gently, as Emily nodded through her tears.
Smiling at her, Mary placed the veil over her head, and, as soon as it was placed correctly, all the women in the room burst out into tears. Tina full own sobbing as all the other girls watched in different levels of emotion as Mary placed both of her hands on Emily's shoulders and rested her chin over one of her hands so she could look at Emily's eyes through the mirror.
"Welcome to the family, Em." She whispered as Emily sobbed once. "I'm glad to have you as a daughter now."
And just like that, Emily spun around to pull Sam's mom into a hug as she cried in her shoulders.
"Thank you, Mary." She said, as Mary ran a hand up and down Emily's back. "For everything."
Mary just nodded then, stepping aside to let the other women in the room to take turns showing off their own bridesmaids dresses before pulling Emily for a hug each: Natalie, Stacy, Kitty, Marley, Unique, Rachel, Tina, Mercedes, Brittany, Santana and, lastly, Quinn. As soon as her best friend hugged her, Emily felt a wave of serenity wash over her, finally allowing her to take a break from all the stress from the wedding planning and, that was when she knew: she needed to talk to her then because she was sure... As soon as she told Quinn what she had been keeping to herself for a while now, she'd feel a lot better.
"I, hum... I really like your dresses, guys." She said, nodding to herself as she took another look at all the different style dresses that she had allowed her girls to pick but all in the same color. The girls nodded then, mumbling their approvals as well. "And I'm glad you do too. But, hum... I really needed a moment with my Maid of Honor, please?"
Without missing a beat, Marley — who had been deadset in doing whatever it was that Emily asked of her as soon as she was asked to be a bridesmaid — nodded.
"Of course." She said, as all the other girls nodded as well. "We'll take off our dresses and wait for you two outside, okay?"
"Thanks, Marley." Emily smiled at her, holding onto Quinn's hand as the two of them stood there, waiting for everyone to leave.
As soon as they were all out and the door closed, Quinn was quick to turn around to look at Emily with a worried frown.
"Are you okay?" She asked, without skipping a beat. "Stressed? Nervous?"
"I mean, yes. But I've been a pile of nervous the whole week, so nothing new there." Emily shrugged as Quinn chuckled.
"You shouldn't be, you know?" She asked with a soft smile, as she ran both of her hands up and down Emily's arm. "You guys are made for each other. If I had to bet in any of our high school sweethearts to last, it would've been you and Sam. Ever since your sophomore year."
"Thanks." Emily smiled then, walking toward one of the settees the girls were sat in earlier as she took a seat too. "It's nice to hear it. But that's not actually what I'm nervous about. I mean, I love him and I can't wait to marry him."
"So... What's wrong?" Quinn asked, as she moved to take a seat beside Emily. "How can I help?"
"It's just... I'm worried that this fitting won't be enough." She said, as Quinn frowned.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, confused. "The dress is fitting you perfectly and we only have seven days till your wedding. You won't lose or gain weight until then. You still weight the same you weighted back in high school."
"I just... I don't know... I might be gaining some more weight the next few weeks..." Emily trailed off, smiling a bit when she realized Quinn still hadn't caught up on what she was trying to say.
"Are you out of your mind?" Quinn scoffed. "You're not gaining weight, Marshall."
"Not yet." She stressed, turning to look at Quinn as the older woman kept staring at her as if she was mad. "But in a few weeks."
"If you gain weight in a few weeks it won't matter anymore because you'll be... Wait." Quinn widened her eyes as she turned to look at Emily with her mouth hanging open, only to smile when Emily did too. "You're not..."
"Yes, I am." Emily giggled, watching as Quinn squealed.
"Wait, really?" She asked, pointing at Emily's stomach only to laugh when Emily nodded and placed a hand over her belly. "Oh, my God, yes! I'm so happy! Come here, come here, come here!"
Emily laughed when Quinn stood up and pulled her up to her feet as well, wrapping her in a hug as the two of them jumped up and down for a second.
"Oh, I'm so happy!" Quinn squealed, placing her own hands over Emily's stomach as she started crying again. "Oh, you'll be such a good mom! And Sam, oh! Sam will be such a good dad! I bet he's so excited, I..."
"He doesn't know." Emily interrupted her friend as Quinn gasped again. "No one knows, actually, I just... I thought you deserved to be the first to know."
"Really?" Quinn squealed again as Emily laughed.
"I mean, you are my best friend and you will be the godmother so..."
Emily laughed again when Quinn screamed, pulling her in for a tight hug again. The two women stood there for a second, crying and laughing and hugging and jumping and everything in between. After a few minutes, however, Emily grew a bit tired, falling back down on the settee and pulling Quinn down with her. Smiling when her best friend placed a protective hand over her belly again, she threw her head back.
"Now... Again, no one knows. This is top secret, understood, Fabray?" She asked, as Quinn nodded.
"You got it." Quinn nodded, before standing up again and extending a hand toward Emily to help her up again. "Now, let's get you out of this dress so we can meet with the rest of the girls. Your mom and Mrs. Evans promised us lunch after this and this baby mama needs her food."
"Oh my God... Do not start babying me, Fabray. I can take care of myself." Emily groaned playfully, allowing Quinn to pull her up again as the two of them made their way into one of the dressing rooms.
"First of all... I don't really care about you anymore. Just for my godchild inside of you." She teased, pushing Emily forward as the younger woman fake gasped before laughing when Quinn did too. "Second... You babied me when I was pregnant in school. This is just payback, bitch."