The Wonders of Fate

A/N:....And the drumroll moment.... Here we go!!!!

Sunlight streamed through the blinds as Catrianna had woken up at Rebecca's home, where the female side to the wedding party had stayed. According to tradition, Bride and groom were not to see each othe within twenty-four hours before the wedding. Just as she was waking up, she reached for her phone, her mother having had started calling hours ago. She sighed sitting up, sliding into fuzzy slippers and bathrobe before she came downstairs. "No Mum, they're to be delivered directly to the church...The caterers know what they're doing, they're professional after all...Mum, don't think about trying to change anything, everything's perfect...Okay fine, just- I need to start getting ready. Ok, thanks, bye."

Cat sighed, her mother already starting with the fussing. Just as she walked in, she saw that Mama Wentz was in the kitchen, no doubt still trying to grow accustomed to the idea that A) her children's friends, whom she had adopted as her own were now starting to marry off, April already having past this point. B) The notion that Rebecca was next. and C) The very thought that Pete and Ivy managed to conceive a child, prior to marriage. Quite honestly, how was she expected to react. The shock had been such an impact, the news that Ivy and Peter were expecting a child. If she was to warm up to the notion, it would go against every teaching she had tried to implement on her children throughout their lives. Then again, she could not simply push away her son, nor a girl whom she had long ago considered to be a daughter.

She put down her cup of coffee, and smiled at Catrianna, as she walked into the kitchen. "Good Morning Dear, I expect that you would have woken up a bit later than this." Cat shook her head. "My mother made sure that I was up bright and early..." She turned around, noticing checking who was here. "So, where's everyone?" The woman smiled as she looked at the clock on the wall. "I believe Rebecca, Ivy and April went off for some last minute touchups with the dresses, they'll be back momentarily, would you like a little something before all the hype begins?" Cat nodded, reaching for the tea and a mug before giving the woman puppy eyes. "Tea would be great." The woman laughed, starting the teapot at a simmer. Soon enough, the tea had been ready, and Catrianna had put the warm liquid to her lips as Rebecca returned.

April and Ivy both making beelines towards bathrooms, morning sickness of course having taken their toll. Ivy had beaten April to the closer one, to which April reacted by calling out. "Ivy I swear, I'm going to stand by here and wait for you to come out. That'll teach yo- oh God!" She put a hand over her mouth as she bolted up the stairs like a bat out of Hell. Becca sighed, reaching for the teapot, reaching for two mugs and then the teabags for peppermint tea. "Those two. We would have been finished with alterations long ago if they hadn't been puking every five minutes. It's like synchronized clockwork!" Mrs. Wentz looked up suddenly, as if out of some daze, and rinsed her coffee cup in the sink. "I am actually meeting the mothers of you girls to prepare, and also to keep Jacqueline from having kittens. I guess I'll see you at the church?" She briefly kissed Cat then Becca, before she grabbed purse and keys, slipping out of the house.

"Did Mama just leave?" Ivy spoke from the entry of the kitchen, looking a bit peakish. Five weeks in, and she already seemed to have lost weight from her morning sickness. Becca shrugged, handing Ivy a cup of peppermint tea. "Yeah, she had plans to get ready with the wedding with the mothers. She said something about keeping an eye on Jacqueline..." Cat rolled her eyes. "Oh Mother, she's been crazy from the second she woke up. She was trying to get me to wake up at the crack of dawn before I put the phone on silent. Good God, I did get an earful. How are you feeling Ivy?"

"Better than she's going to feel if she ever tries to lock me out of a bathroom again," yet another voice responded, glaring at Ivy. Cat sighed, reaching for the tea, to hand it to April. April had been barely into the eighth week. Four more weeks, and the morning sickness would be expected to reduce some. Though for April, this stage of morning sickness had been far worse than the first four weeks, as it had been known to go all the way into the evening. "Thanks Cat, at least someone cares about my physical and mental well being." Ivy rolled her eyes. "For the love of God, what am I supposed to do, stand aside and give you first choice of bathroom now?" April shrugged. "Yes," she put simply, which caused Ivy to shoot her a glare.

Catrianna sighed, rolling her eyes to Rebecca, who mouthed out the words, 'you don't want to know.' Apparently, the two had been snapping at each other since they caught a gaze of one another this morning. That made sense. Two pregnant women, on the day of a wedding. Plus, it wasn't as either girl was the most pleasant to cross. Just as Cat was going to say something, a voice suddenly spoke from the kitchen entry way. "Hello girls, I come bearing doughnuts." The color vanished from April's face as she set her cup of tea down. Though just as she had cupped a hand over her mouth, the snapshot of a Polaroid camera went off. "Oh man! Gabe is going to love this!" From the bathroom, April called out. "Pete, if I come out there to find you still here, I'm shoving that camera so far up your ass..."

Ivy actually burst out laughing, and reached for the box of doughnuts he had brought. "Serves her right...That- Ohhh.... on second thought..." Just as she was saying that, the camera flashed on her. "Smile Ivy." A somewhat pale Ivy, smiled a pose for the camera, but then shook her head. "On second thought, maybe I'll skip the doughnut..." She stepped back for a second, waiting to see if the nausea would pass. It didn't, causing her to rush out of the room, just about colliding with April. "Hey, watch the goods!" April called out, stepping to the side before Ivy would have collided with her. She stepped into the kitchen, and plainly held out her hand for the picture. "Hand it over, or it gets ugly." Pete grinned, reaching for the box of doughnuts, holding one right under April's nose. "Doughnut?" She slapped his hand away vowing silent revenge as she ran off to the bathroom again, this time heading back to the upstairs one, as Ivy had probably puked up a small cow in the one downstairs, given that she had been there a while.

Rebecca sighed, shaking her head at her brother. "I think it's best that you leave before she comes back to kill you. Besides, you're supposed to be getting ready with the boys..." Pete grinned, snapping a picture of Becca, then of one of Cat, shoving a doughnut in her mouth at a fast pace so that she could get dressed for the girls to head out to get their hair done. "Wow, perfect picture here, Cat inhaling a doughnut." Cat looked up, catching a glimpse of the developing Polaroid. "Pete," she began, voice very soft. Rebecca raised an eyebrow, recognizing that characteristic in Cat. She wasn't the type to yell when angry, Her voice merely grew soft, as she was perhaps plotting an undoing at this time. Ivy cut in, now feeling much better as she walked up to Pete, snuggling up to him. She burst out laughing as she saw the picture of Cat. "Ohh priceless, hello baby, going to stick around for a while?"

"Not if he wants to live," April responded, returning to the room. Pete saw the looks on both Cat and April then backed away. "And this is my cue to make my escape. Oh Cat, before I forget... Ryan sent me with this." He placed a small gift box in front of Cat, before gallantly bowing out. I bid you ladies adeiu." He gave them a gallant bow, just before slipping out of the house, clearly heading back with the other guys. The girls crowded around Cat as she reached for the gift box. "I forgot to give Pete my gift for Ryan..." she spoke with a sigh to which Becca squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "If we get ready fast enough, I'll run in and drop it off on the way to the styling salon. Open it." Cat had already been on her way of opening it, revealing a deep sapphire and diamond bracelet. On the inside of the box, there was a note written in Ry's penmanship. 'Kitten, they say that diamonds are a girl's best friend, but the sapphires reminded me too much of your eyes. Besides, weren't you in need of something blue? I'll see you later, looking forward towards eternity. Ry.'

Cat burst into tears right there, along with Ivy and April... "April, are you crying?" Becca cut in with curiosity. "No no, there's an eyelash in my eyes, I think I'll go to a mirror to fish it out." She walked out of the room, probably to cry in the bathroom. She was never one to show that much emotion. Neither was Ivy, though she was clearly sniffling as she fingered the bracelet. "You changed him Cat, from the moment he set eyes on you," she whispered with a watery smile. Becca, the only one not crying at this point, took to fastening the bracelet around Catrianna's wrist. "I admit, he has good taste," she added with a wink to which Cat raised an eyebrow, recognizing that look. "When did you find the time to go shopping with Ry?" Becca shrugged. "Last week, when your mother held you captive for wedding planning. Ryan wanted to escape the future mother-in-law, though he needed a girl's opinion on the jewelery. So, I went with him. Believe it or not, he actually was the one that spotted the bracelet. "I believe it," Cat murmured wiht a softened smile just as April came back in.

"Holy shit, aren't we supposed to be somewhere in an hour?" April had said. Cat gasped, seeing that she was the only one in her PJs. "Bloody hell! I'll be right back" she gasped, racing out of the room to get changed. She got ready in record timing of fifteen minutes, before re-emerging, in jeans and a Tshirt. Rebecca giggled as she twirled Cat around. "You're wearing the outfit you were wearing when you met Ryan." Cat looked down, noticing her comfortable old pair of jeans, and a shirt that said security on it, before laughing. "To think, I only grabbed the first clothing I could reach, think it was fate?" Becca laughed, taking Cat's hand, patting it reassuringly. "Yes, Cat, it's most definitely fate...Yet another wonder of fate."

A/N: I am so going to have to divide the wedding into multiple chappies- sheesh