The day was finally here.
I was in my last hour of being Rachel Paxton. Soon I would be Rachel Styles. It felt weird on my tongue when I said it, but there was something special to it.
I was all ready to walk down the aisle. I had been for over two hours now. I was so anxious that I had gotten ready before some of the girls even arrived at my house.
When they walked through the door their mouths dropped open. The dress highlighted my best features, one of which was my stomach for the time being. I sat back and watched as the other girls got their hair and make up done. They all resorted to taking pictures with the camera that Zoey had brought while they had nothing to do.
Finally everyone was completely finished, and they all looked beautiful.
Just as Harry had planned, a sleek black limo arrived to take us to the location. Harry and I had carefully chosen a beachfront venue in Santa Monica that overlooked the water. I had fallen in love with it the minute I saw it, and I knew that was were we would be getting married. No doubt about it.
We arrived at the beach, and I was immediately ushered into a small building that had been set up. It had a mirror and a couch with matching chairs in it, but nothing more. It was simply for me to hide while everyone waited.
One by one the girls were ushered out of the room. Bre with Zayn, Jess with Niall, Liam with Gemma, and Zoey with Louis.
Now it was my turn. I waited for the wedding march to start before the doors opened to reveal me. Dad was waiting there for me, holding his arm out for me to take. I smiled at him and linked my arm onto his.
"You look beautiful," he said. I smiled up at him once more and began to search for Harry.
I found his face instantly, and his smile warmed my heart and gave me butterflies, but maybe that was just the baby kicking. Whichever.
We walked slowly down the aisle, and I smiled at every familiar face that I saw.
When we reached the alter Dad kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear, "You may not have known it before, but you'll always be Daddy's little girl."
I hugged him as tightly as I could with my stomach. When I let go he walked away, and I gave my bouquet to Zoey to hold onto during the ceremony.
After waiting for everyone to settle back into their seats the priest began.
"Welcome everyone. Harry and Rachel have chosen you, those special and important to them, to witness and celebrate the beginning of their life together. Today, as we create this marriage, we also create a new bond and new sense of family - one that will undoubtedly include all who are present here today," he said.
"True marriage is more than joining the bonds of marriage of two persons; it is the union of two hearts. It lives on the love you give each other and never grows old, but thrives on the joy of each new day. Marriage is love. May you always be able to talk things over, to confide in each other, to laugh with each other, to enjoy life together, and to share moments of quiet and peace, when the day is done. May you be blessed with a lifetime of happiness and a home of warmth and understanding." He looked at us expectantly. "I understand you prepared your own vows, am I right?" he asked.
"Yes," I answered. I began to read from the piece of paper that Zoey handed me. "Harry, I love you with my whole heart, and my entire belly." I rubbed my swollen stomach, and I could hear laughter coming from the guests. "It took me less than a year to fall so helplessly head over heels with you. You're my friend, my lover, and the father of my child. Through everything that may come, I promise to love and support you. I promise to always be true to you and never leave your side. I promise I will be your equal partner in an loving, honest relationship, for as long as we both shall live." I slid the ring onto his finger as a tear slid down my face.
He reached forward and wiped the tear from my face as he began to recite his vows.
"Rachel, I love you with every part of my being. Our relationship began as something that even I can't explain, and it blossomed into one of the best love affairs. You're my friend, my lover, and the mother of my child." He reached his hand out and rested it on my stomach. "Through everything that may come, I promise to love and support you. I promise to remain faithful, no matter the distance between us. I promise to always make the right choices when it comes to family, us, and you for as long as we both shall live." By now we were both in tears, and nothing could stop them from leaving trails down our faces.
"Do you Rachel choose Harry to be your partner in life, to support and respect him in his successes and as well his failures, to care for him in sickness and in health, to nurture him, and to grow with him throughout the seasons of your life together?"
"I do," I said I said through my tears.
"Do you Harry choose Rachel to be your partner in life, to support and respect her in her successes and as well her failures, to care for her in sickness and in health, to nurture her, and to grow with her throughout the seasons of your life together?"
"I do." He wiped at his face to remove any trace of him crying, but there was no use. The tears were pouring from him like a waterfall.
"Rachel and Harry, you have declared before those of us present that you will live together in marriage. You have symbolised it by joining hands, exchanging rings, and have promised each other the joy of all your days. It is therefore with great pleasure that I declare you to be husband and wife." He cast a smile in our direction before saying, "You may now kiss the bride."
Harry smiled and grabbed my face in his hands. I threw my arms around his neck, and kissed him as appropriately as I could in front of our friends and family.
I smiled into the kiss when the guest stood up and clapped. I could hear some wolf whistling that caused our bodies to shake in laughter.
Harry pulled away and rested his forehead on mine. His green eyes burned into my blue eyes as he looked right into them.
"So, Mrs. Styles, should we get this thing over with so I can have my way with you later?" he whispered so low that no one around us could hear.
"Well, aren't you the little pervert tonight? You wanna have your way with the innocent pregnant girl?" I asked jokingly.
"Innocent and pregnant shouldn't be used in the same sentence, love," he replied with a smile on his face.
He took my hand and led me through the crowd of people, followed by the groomsmen and bridesmaids, towards the dining room that was in the hotel. We walked through the doors that were open to the beach, and we waited for everyone to join us.
We ate the food that the hotel had prepared, we kissed when asked to, and we drank whenever we could. Of course I was stuck drinking fruit juice while Harry got to soak up the alcohol.
When it came time for us to have our first dance Harry led me to the floor, but no music played. Instead everyone parted so I had a view of a man that stood on the stage with his guitar and microphone.
My mouth dropped when I saw who it was.
"Congratulations, mate. You picked up a good one, so don't let her go," he said.
I looked up at Harry, and my eyes looked for an answer in his face. When I found none I found my words instead. "But... You... How did you do this?" I asked.
"Me and Ed are pretty good friends. So, I asked him for a favor, and he was happy to come. He couldn't make it to the wedding though, otherwise you would've seen him earlier."
"You have no idea how much I love you right now," I told him as I wrapped my arms around him.
Ed began to strum his guitar as Harry replied. "I think I do." He leaned in a gave me a quick kiss before he pulled back. "Let's save that for later."
"This is for Harry and his new bride," Ed said and he began to sing.
"Settle down with me
Cover me up
Cuddle me in
Lie down with me
And hold me in your arms
And your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed in my neck
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet
And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now
Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love
Settle down with me
And I'll be your safety
You'll be my lady
I was made to keep your body warm
But I'm cold as the wind blows so hold me in your arms
Oh no
My heart's against your chest, your lips pressed in my neck
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet
And with this feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now
Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love
Yeah, I've been feeling everything from hate to love from love to lust
From lust to truth I guess that's how I know you
So I hold you close to help you give it up
So kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love
Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love"
I was in tears for the second time that night. I reached up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.
"You remembered?" I asked.
"It was the first song that we ever danced to. Of course I remembered." He brought his lips back to mine, and we stayed linked together as more and more people made their way to the dance floor.
Finally Harry pulled me off of the dance floor, back to an open table. He sat down and pulled me onto his lap. I could tell that he was uncomfortable under my weight, but he didn't say anything.
We watched as everyone danced together, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Zoey and Louis linked together.
I nudged Harry in the ribs and pointed towards the pair. "Harry, look."
I watched as his eyes followed the direction I was pointing in, and his mouth dropped. "That sly dog. Has he been eyeing her for a while now?" he asked.
I nodded and preceded to explain. "They slept together in Vegas. I caught Zoey while she was trying to sneak out of his room." I tried to laugh at the memory of her being frazzled when I caught her, but a sudden pain shot through my abdomen. I clutched my stomach and gritted my teeth until the pain was gone.
"Rach, what's wrong?" Harry asked, concerned.
I looked up at him and smiled, shaking it off. "Nothing, just a cramp. Maybe I ate something bad?"
He looked at me skeptically, his eyes full of concern. I thought he was just going to let it go, but I couldn't have been more wrong. "Are you sure?"
"Harry, I'm positive. Let's go get something to drink." I got up and pulled him up along side me. He kept his fingers laced with mine as we walked towards the drink table. I saw Zoey walk off towards the drinks and I waddled a bit faster to catch her. "I'll be right back. Just get me some juice. I don't care what kind."
"Rachel, how's everything going?" she asked excitedly when she saw me approaching her. I looked back at Harry, who's eyes were still on me.
"Everything's fine. How about you? I saw you and Louis getting pretty friendly on the dance floor," I said with a smirk.
"Oh, um, that. Uh, yeah, we were just dancing." She shook off the question, and another pain shot through me. I held onto my stomach for dear life, but I could tell that something was wrong. It was beginning to feel like I wet myself. It took me a moment to figure out what was happening. When I did my eyes grew wide, and I spun around faster than I've moved throughout my entire pregnancy.
"Harry!" I screamed. He dropped the glass of juice he was holding and raced towards me. "Harry! We need to go!"
"Rachel, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked. By now people were starting to eye us curiously.
"Harry," I said, lowering my voice, "the baby isn't waiting for ten more days. We need to go. Now!"
Realization struck him, and he picked me up bridalstyle as he raced through the crowd. "Make room!" he shouted. "We're having a baby!"
I couldn't see what everyone's reactions were because my eyes were closed due to another contraction.
We found ourselves outside by the limo. Harry said something to the driver as we got into the back. Harry held my hand, and I squeezed it everytime another contraction hit me.
Thankn God traffic wasn't bad, or I would have popped the baby out right in the limo. Harry raced into the hospital when we arrived, and he returned with a wheelchair. He wheeled me in to be meet by Doctor Evans and Doctor Hunter.
"Your friend, Zoey, called us right after you left. She told us everything. Let's get this baby out," she said to me with a smile.
She wheeled me down a set of hallways and into a delivery room. They allowed me to change by myself since the contractions were far enough apart, but that didn't mean they weren't painful.
After waiting for at least an hour, Doctor Evans gave me the okay to begin. I held onto Harry's hand and squeezed as tight as I possibly could. I could tell that he was in pain due to the faces he made everytime a contraction hit me. It was like he was experience what I was, just to a lesser degree.
"Who the hell said natural birth? I should've let them drug me!" I screamed out in pain.
"Rach, you were the one that wanted to do it naturally," Harry replied.
I grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him closer to me. "Never. Listen. To the pregnant lady," I said through gritted teeth.
"Rachel, you're doing great. Just a few more, and we'll have your baby out for you, okay." I took a deep breath and pushed with everything I had. I kept pushing after Doctor Evans counted to three.
Finally I could hear the cries of a baby fill the room.
Everything started to fade out, and I began to see only darkness.
"Rach? Rachel? Hey, don't do that! This isn't funny, Rachel," Harry yelled.
"Shit!" I heard Doctor Hunter say. Voices were getting droned out, and I had completely lost my vision of everything around me. Something was wrong. I just knew it.
"Nurse, get him out of here," one said.
I could feel Harry's hand leave mine as he was dragged from the room.
"Rachel, you've gotta wake up! Don't do this to me!" he screamed. I could his sobbing fade as he was taken away. I could still hear my baby crying, though, and it gave me hope.
"We're going to need some help in here," Doctor Evans screamed.
With every scream that filled the room, my baby's wailing got louder.
It was the last thing I heard until I was completely lost from the concious life.
Oh, cliffhanger. So they're married, and they had their baby, but what's gonna happen to Rachel?
The next chapter will be in Harry's point of view... That's a first. I really hope you guys like it. Only one more chapter left plus an epilogue. I'm so excited for it. And then I get to start writing "His Darling Rebel". Yaah! You have no idea how excited I am.
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- Kenz xx
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