Meet the Gallows (June 2017)

[Claire Gallows]

June 2nd, 2017
Bedford, Virginia
United States of America
Earth


Country road, take me home to the place I was born…




The last vestiges of heavy darkness had still been hanging in the early summer sky on the Earth side of the shimmering portal, lightening by degrees as a hazy amber light stretched its way across the horizon threatening the night from the east. Their SUV had ambled through the portal and into a forested clean not unlike places all too familiar in Rhy’din but within thirty minutes had transitioned from an old jeep trail to a simple asphalt highway. The landscape surrounding them during the trek was steady contrast between open farm/pasture land and rolling forested hills, set against the backdrop of Appalachia. From the portal to the outskirts of town was almost two hours, the latter half lacking in the twins normal toddler babble and filled with music from the radio as the big driver finally got a familiar station dialed in.

Cooper hadn’t been born in Bedford, but it was a struggle to recall much of the time before a sizable portion of the Gallows clan transplanted there, so when he thought of the home of his youth, this was it. The approach brought them up a lazy stretch of 122, the farmland giving away a what barely passed for a more urban sprawl; signs to their right advertised for the D-Day Memorial to the northwest and an old antique mall did a surprisingly steady business to the left. It took another fifteen minutes to get through town itself and as they passed to the northeast, it was left behind in favor of a return to the rural setting. Ranches replaced the farmland and it was through one of those large archways that the cowboy finally turned, rumbling on towards the white and gray buildings beyond.

It was with no lacking amount of apprehension that Claire had said goodbye to Rhydin before they packed up the Jeep and headed on out. Earth was oft talked about but never had she been there. America was another place of particular import for all that others in her life had made it a big deal. One in particular happened to be the driving force (quite literally considering he was behind the wheel) for her visit and so she put her trust in him to plot the trip from start to finish. That was a rarity for Miss Control Freak, but she had faith. The countryside had her wistful and the gentle slopes of the Blue Mountains to the north left a placid smile on the curve of her mouth until their last turn. In the passenger seat, she sat up a little more and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly along the length of the driveway. "I'd ask are we there yet but I think I'm afraid of the answer."

"Relax," Cooper murmured aside to her. "You're a warrior, Slugger, and this'll just be another battlefield. And ma's gonna love you. You're nervous. She's excited. I offered y' roadhead after the twins passed out. Should've taken me up on it."

A crooked smile tugged at one corner of his mouth but the cowboy was reaching out to place a big hand over hers to squeeze. The Jeep's wheels kicked up dust as they drew closer to the houses, the closest among them already showing the figures of people standing on the large porch. He finally pulled them up to stop beneath a massive old oak tree out front, putting the SUV in park. It was then that he turned a more earnest look to her. "The ones that matter are gonna love you s' much as I do. S' the only thing that matters, okay?"

"Yeah and I always feel like I'm gonna puke before a fight too." She snorted at him. Beneath his hand she turned hers over so she could interlace her fingers with his. Tightly she squeezed before turning her gaze out the front window. He was excited, or so it seemed, and that's what mattered. She could handle a week of this for him. Her free hand smoothed over the hem of the subtly patterned sundress she had picked out for the trip. Comfortable and halfway stylish plus it was nice and cool in the impending Virginia humidity. The rumbling of the dirt and gravel drive roused one of the two in the backseat. Averia was quiet save for a little yawning stretch and a turn of bright eyes out the window too. Claire glanced over her shoulder, smiled a bit, and looked back to the cowboy. "Following your lead. We'll get through this."

"It'll be different but you'll love it." Leaning across the seat, he pressed a warm kiss to her mouth. "You'll look back on this week fondly. Promise." And then he kissed her again for good measure, before opening the door and ducking out of the Jeep. "You grab bright eyes and I'll grab moptop."

Opening the passenger door behind him, it was a simple thing to free Alex from his car seat and heft him effortlessly against one shoulder. Once he was settled, Cooper rounded to the front of the jeep to meet Claire. Up on the porch, bodies began to stir and descend the short steps to meet them. Three women, they ran the gamut of age and looks, while still appearing obvious relations. The youngest was somewhere in her early to mid-30's, with curly hair that was dark like Cooper's but had eyes of a lighter hue, a medium blue. In the right light, she could have passed for Belle and must have been BJ. The next oldest could had been anywhere between her late 30's to mid-40's and had hair of deep auburn-brown with eyes that matched BJ's. She had Cooper's crooked smile, which was on full display. It had to be Rebecca Lynn. Both women made a bee-line for their brother, flinging themselves at his unencumbered side hard enough to make him sway but without disturbing the sleeping little boy in his other arm. He was hugged hard and pulled down into cheek kiss, mumbling something all the while. It was the third woman who made straight for Claire.

Miakoda Gallows was a striking woman, even in her 60's. Her hair was the classic blue-black of a true native american, streaked mildly with gray and tied back into a single braid over one shoulder. There was no denying where the cowboy had gotten his eyes and coloring, from the tint of her skin to the dark, penetrating stare. As the sisters fussed over their brother and his bundle, it was Claire that Mia focused on. But there was nothing harsh in the intensity of her gaze. In fact, the opposite. The stare matched her smile, as if she found she liked whatever she saw, and with little more preamble than that, she closed the distance to the pink haired woman and wrapped her in an unapologetic hug.

"I've been waiting a long time for this," she told Claire quietly.

"I trust you." She mumbled against the cowboy's mouth. Claire slipped from the Jeep with a quiet thump of Nikes on dirt. They were an offkey addition to her otherwise feminine ensemble. Comfort, man. Can't be beat. She made quick work of moving to the back door to free Avy from her matching car seat. Before leaving, Claire had tied the toddler's hair up into pigtails that stuck out from the sides of her head in wild tufts of midnight black. Neither of the twins looked much like their mother, which was always fun to watch people speculate on, and she half expected it after some of the things Cooper had said while preparing her for the trip. Hugging Avy tight to her hip, she bumped the door shut and fixed on a hesitant smile before heading for the front of the Jeep to meet Cooper.

With minor amounts of trepidation, she watched the throng of people make their way toward them, keeping close to Cooper only until his sisters accosted him. It left her vulnerable and more than open to the distinguished woman coming her way. She was just about to shift Averia to her other hip in order to offer Cooper's mother a hand to shake when instead the woman wrapped her up in a warm hug. It was enough to startle a quiet laugh out of Claire, who looped one arm around her for a tight squeeze. "It's so good to finally meet you, ma'am. I've heard so much about you all."

"Mia," the older woman corrected her with mild amusement. "Or mom. You're bringing too many beautiful additions to my family to call me anything but, Claire. And this precious little girl must be Averia. Cooper has told me a lot about her and little Alex. And you."

"Mia," Claire repeated with a sheepish smile. Mom would take some getting used to, if only because she hadn't had someone to call Mom in a very, very long time. Avy gave the older woman a shy smile then hid her face against her mother's shoulder. Claire reached up to give one of the toddler's pigtails the slightest of tugs.

"Avy, can you say hi?" The young looking (but hardly so) mother murmured to the girl. Averia peeked up, curled a chubby hand open and closed a few times in a little wave. It would have to do. Claire glanced aside to Cooper and Alex then back to Mia, cracking a wry smile. "Hopefully good things."

"Look at the way he holds that boy of yours. What do you think?" Miakoda smiled a special smile when looking towards the two boys. "He was made for this. Come on, Claire. Let's introduce you to Betty Jo and Rebecca." With a gentle nudge, she urged Claire onwards towards the rest of the Gallows clan currently present. "Tanner is already working and might not be by until lunch. Hunter's plane doesn't get in until tonight. Rebecca's boy Ray is in a summer program in college. I don't know that we'll see him."

In short order it became a larger mess of people, with Miakoda breaking off to hug her son and meet Alex, trading off for a very excited BJ and Rebecca. There was a woman in Cooper's life and babies. It was enough to disarm them both and warm up to Claire instantly.

"Those two are as thick as thieves, watch 'em." Claire warned Mia with a conspiratorial smirk. Adjusting Averia in her hold, she lurched into motion again, a step and a half behind the family matriarch. Claire could feel Avy tuck a little tighter against the crook of her neck and smoothed a soothing stroke down the girl's back. She was an adorable bundle of soft lightweight cotton and a fluffy pseudo-tutu, looking every bit the part of little girly-girl. Once entrenched in the knot of Gallows (would that be a noose?), Claire tried to keep herself open enough, smiling where appropriate and offering sincere words of gratitude for both their hospitality and introductions.

"I believe it."

Soon enough Cooper had his good arm curled around Claire again and they were deeply engaged in conversation with the Gallows women. Their 'flight' (it was discussed for Rebecca's benefit, with BJ and Miakoda sharing a knowing look), the drive out, and any plans they had for their stay. The cowboy took the lead for most of the conversation but left plenty of room for the pink-haired warrior woman to add or engage as it pleased her. Before long there was a shift in gears, with a waking Alex passed off to BJ and a kiss to Claire's mouth before telling her he'd get their bags.

Auntie Beej led the Farron contingent up to the two guest rooms, Cooper and Claire's, and an adjoining room that already had toddler beds set up for the duo. It was a little under 20 minutes later that they were left on their own while other things were seen to, including some privacy allowed as the aforementioned auntie volunteered to be entertainment while they got settled.

Claire was still getting used to the fact that not everyone came from a world where magic and portals were commonplace. It left her quieter than usual but thankfully Cooper filled in most if not all of the blanks. A few things had been rehearsed before their departure, just to avoid slip ups, but otherwise the cowboy seemed to be comfortable taking point on it. Hesitant as she was to hand the kidlets off to someone she had only just met, she reminded herself that this wasn't just a friend, this was Cooper's family. They could be trusted, the kids would be fine. Still, it left her to sit on the bed's edge with her hands balled in her lap to either side of the half moon swell beneath her dress while Cooper dropped their bags off. Quietly she offered her impressions. "I like them."

Profound.

"Hey." Reaching out, he tipped her chin slowly upwards, leaning down as he did to meet her mouth with a kiss. "The twins'll be fine. Beej is tuned in. Even spent a few summers with me in Rhy'din when she was in college. They'll be fine. You. How're you? It's a lot to take in this quick."

He stole her breath for a heartbeat's length and relaxed her mouth into a soft smile when he broke it. One hand lingered on his outstretched arm and her head bobbed a shallow nod. "I know. I know. Just... you know me. I worry."

It was true, she did. The woman was a worrier to the very core of her being, especially when it came to the twins, doubly so when they were so far from anything resembling home. "Me? I'm... I'm processing. Probably better to meet half of 'em now and the rest later, right?"

"At least you're gettin' the good half now," he snorted a laugh and kissed her again before pulling her to her feet. "Hunter? You'll probably get along. He's the reserved, quiet one. Smart as Hell. A surgeon. He'll be mildly interested t' pleasantly indifferent. Becky's son Ray's a good boy just a little rough around the edges. Like that kid Addie's seein', only with a better pedigree.

"Tanner..." Cooper trailed off. "He's the oldest. And a dick. There was a time we got along. Long time ago. He took muh 'exile' from this place over twenty years ago t' heart. Doesn't matter than dad and me reconciled befo' he passed and were mo' than good. Far as he's concerned, m' still the *** stain on the family's name. If anyone's gonna try t' make y' feel unwelcome, s' him. S' no wonder he's in his mid-forties and still single."

“And Hunter’s coming in later while Tanner’s just at work.” She repeated Mia’s earlier information, more for her own benefit than his. Two dozen times she had gone over Cooper’s siblings’ names to commit them to memory along with the little tidbits of information he had given her along the way. A veritable brood of sorts, it took some work to keep it straight. Claire had all of a single sibling to keep track of. It was an odd contrast that likely explained the cowboy’s desire for a large family.

“Romeo’s not that bad either.” Claire chided gently. The big blonde bruiser had garnered something of a soft spot in his boss’s heart, likely by proxy of his association with her time-displaced goddaughter, but still. Tugged to her feet, she leaned her forehead against his chest for a moment before straightening. “I won’t give him any choice but to like me and if he won’t like me, he’ll at the very least tolerate my presence or else.”

That smile. It said she may have been kidding. The eyes? Not so much.

[Cooper Gallows]

"See? That's muh slugger." Both arms dipped to slide around her expanding waistline, his bearded mouth raining kisses down atop the crown of her head. "S' amazin' what the perspective of twenty plus years'a not livin' at home brings. The things y' learn t' see that y' never saw befo'. Look at ma. She'll play the part'a loyal, mostly deferential housewife and quiet mother. But like her forebearers, she's got a spine'a steel and mo' grit than most men. There were plenty'a times when she was like dad's secret weapon. It'll make fo' an interestin' week."

"The queen protects the king." She hummed a note of amusement to go with her chess metaphor. It was likely applicable at many points in her life, this was no different. The woman she had met downstairs certainly seemed to suit the bill. Claire took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, peering up at the towering cowboy. "Interesting good or interesting bad?"

"Definitely interestin' good. Interestin' bad? Remains t' be seen." His nose touched hers and smiled crookedly, his lips pursing out to peck a small kiss to her own. "We get bad things. S' always a guarantee in life. But he get goods things too. S' gonna be good things here. That's a promise, babe."

"Bad like me punching your brother in the throat?" She asked innocently, curving a smile against his mouth when he kissed her. Her hands brushed across the front of his chest, smoothing out his shirt. "Okay. I trust you no matter what. What's on the agenda now that we're here?"

"Well," the cowboy chuffed. "Neither one'a the kids is wailin' fo' us yet, so we could take our chances and hope muh hand over yo' mouth is enough fo' a few minutes." Dark brows bobbed. "Or we can save that 'til nap time, grab them and Beej and go see what mama and Becky have goin' on in the kitchen. Other than the twins snackin', we didn't exactly have much fo' breakfast and you've gotta be starvin' by now."

"Parent quickies... is that what we've been reduced to?" She laughed quietly. Claire tipped up onto her toes to tease a kiss to the corner of his mouth before rocking back on her heels, her hand dragging down his stomach with the motion. "You're in charge here, like I said. I'm hungry but I could go for either, if I'm being honest."

"I could make a livin' between those thighs." Cooper snorted and grinned, smoothing those massive hands down over her backside and giving it a squeeze. "But I'll tell y' what. Let's see if'n Beej and the twins're gettin' on aw'right. We'll get some mo' food in them and in you and then I'll take you fo' the grand tour'a the spread. We can walk and talk, and take the kids if 'n they're restless. Otherwise we can find a quiet place ta make a little trouble t'gether. Worst case scenario, we can have some time t'gether in the shower or the tub when the kids're down fo' a nap."

"That'd be the life, wouldn't it?" She cut him an amused smirk that definitely didn't lack in affection. For a flicker of a second she pressed herself to him with the squeeze of his hands before disengaging to keep herself from teasing further. A hand sought his instead while she leaned just enough to try and snake the other around to smack him across the rear. "Giddy up then, cowboy. The world awaits!"

Claire tried to change their position in the moment and failed. As she tried to disengage and be cheeky, Cooper caught her by the rest and turned her, and it was then that the pink-haired warrior woman found herself pressed against the dresser. BIg hands framed her face, lifting it up until deep brown stared down into glittering aquamarine.

"Claire, and life with you is the life. Fuller. Sweeter. Better. Holdin' your hand, holdin', your kids, holdin' your heart, or even just holdin' you down while I make you scream. It's the only life I want. This is the home'a muh youth. You? Alex and Avy? Belle? Wherever y'all are? That's where home is now. You're muh home. I love you."

She chuffed a laugh when the small of her back bumped the dresser and looked up at him. With his hands high, hers went low, one to each of his sides. She had only been teasing and then he had to go and be all... Cooper. Her Cooper. The one that made her melt and other such things. Her smile tugged crooked and she took a deep breath, chin tilting upwards. "We're your home now but I also wanna share in the home that made you the man I fell in love with. With the family that made you who you are. I'm ready for this and I love you too, okay?"

"Okay." He stole one more slow kiss before drawing away from her. "Mmmf. God, fat chicks're so hot."

He turned then to one of their bags, rummaging through it and grabbing something small from the bag to pocket. Then he was slipping a hand around Claire's and leading her into the adjoining bedroom where BJ was reading to a silent Averia while Alex played with an old wooden model train, a blocky think with faded spots on it and little dings in it.

"Oh shut up!" Another laugh spilled over to go with the roll of her eyes and the smack of her hand against his chest. Thankfully this time around she wasn't as big as she had been with the twins. Aemilia said she was still measuring big anyways but compared to the moon belly she ended up with before, she could deal. Without prying into what he had to get from the bag, she took his lead to the other room and fixed on a smile for those within. Averia's argent eyes were wide and intent on the woman reading to her as if trying to figure out more than just the words of the story while Alex made pitchy train sounds as he dragged it around.

"You love it." Standing just inside the doorway, the cowboy curled a big arm around his fiance's waist and watched the scene as it was unfolded before them. BJ flashed Cooper a quick, mostly reassuring smile before whispering against Claire's ear. "She's got this. Otherwise mama will know what t' do. Let's go fo' a walk?"

"Maybe." She admitted with faux-consternation. Leaning into his grasp, he watched the trio with steadily decreasing hesitation. After a few moments, she conceded to Cooper with a soft nod and an even softer murmur. "You're right, it's fine. Let's go before I overthink it?"

With another tug, Cooper led her back downstairs and then out the back door. Around them was the sweeping expanse of the ranch, what appeared to predominantly be a horse breeding and training facility, with some just enough of a farm element to sustain the family and few live-in hands. Out in the corrals, horses plodded along and pranced about, beautiful in their diversity. It was there that he led her, easing in behind to slip his arms around her when she leaned against the heavy wood fencing, and carrying on a quiet conversation against the shell of her ear while they watched.

"Ray's mama's only grandkid. Alex and Avy are 'bout t' get spoiled beyond measure. There gonna live like a little king and a little queen this week. S' gonna be a new taste'a normalcy fo' them."

Once outside, she shielded her eyes with a hand until they adjusted to the change in light. A sweeping look finally took in the ranch for what it was. Now that she could appreciate it, she quieted for a few moments to take it all in. Claire had always had a soft spot for equines which likely accounted for the fond, almost gleeful smile that inched its way onto her mouth when he took her over. Her arms folded atop the fence, one foot lifted for the bottom board.

"Is that how it goes?" She asked softly, genuinely curious. Regis sent as much as he could to spoil the twins though much of his support came financially than anything else and Claire's own grandparents had passed before she was born. "Worse than you spoil 'em?"

"It'll be a different sort, but totally worse." He grinned against her ear and kissed the lobe. "I think this'll be enough t' coax mom t' actually visit Rhy'din and spend some time there. New grandbabies. An interestin' daughter-in-law."

"You think so?" She asked, tipping her ear up into the bristly attention of his mouth. The closest thing to family that had visited Rhydin aside from Serah had been Noct's cousin. Never his father, the only biological grandparent the twins had. It had her introspective for a few moments but only until the warmth settled in her cheeks. "She's welcome any time... if she wants to come once this one makes his appearance, I'd be okay with it."

"I'm thinkin' she'd like that." Cooper smiled his crooked smile. "There'll be plenty'a room at the new place once we're in or, if'n that's too close fo' comfort, we can set her up at the place above the owl. Whatever you're comfortable with."

"Can figure it out a bit closer to then... still plenty of time right?" They hadn't even made it into the new house yet though that would likely come after they got back to Rhydin. Her gaze panned across the spread of horses then glanced up and back to him. "What about your sister...s? Or just BJ?"

"Beej would come. She's been there befo'. Becky... I dunno. She's never known 'bout any of it. I'd be happy t' bring her out but it might be somethin' of a shock. She'd have t' keep it under wraps."

Claire nodded, recalling some of the struggles Serah's old roommate had talked about in being a rather mundane human privy to a world like Rhydin. "I, um, I'm not really used to this whole... having a family thing. Like family beyond our core unit and, like, Serah. But... I could get used to it. You know?"

"You're talkin' like y' think m' worried. M' not." One hand lifted, a large index finger dragging through her hair to tuck an errant lock behind her ear. S' our life now. You've shared yo' family with me. Now it's my turn."

"But I was worried." She confided in him earnestly. It was a fact of life, she was a worrier. Her own family was a mess on the best of days and she often had nothing but issues with her former in laws. Though she liked watching the horses, she also liked looking at him when she spoke to him so with a little wriggle, she turned around between him and the fence. "I just... yeah, I wanted you to know I was grateful for it."

"How grateful?" Dark brows bobbed but the warmth of his embrace stole some of the cheek from the question. The big pads of his thumbs rubbed gently along her spine, another small reassurance. "One day at a time, Slugger. Just enjoy this, okay?"

"I am. I mean, I'm trying. But I am." Ask her again in a few hours when more of the family joined. Her hips pressed against the fence and her shoulders tipped forward to try and separate them from where she was pinned. After all, he had said they could go walk. "I promise I'll show you just how much, yeah?"

"You are good at keepin' yo' promises." Laughing, he eased away and seized one of her hands, tugging her towards one of the oversized barns. "The tour continues."

She cut him a smirk and tightened her hand on his. A glance tipped over her shoulder at the main house for once last reassurance that the twins were in good hands before she shuffle stepped to catch up with the cowboy. "Don't tell me you're taking me for a literal roll in the hay."

"Naw, but there's a nice thick oak tree much farther out yonder, past the pryin' eyes." He met met smirk for smirk. "Thought I might lean you against it and push that sundress up for a spell."

"Didn't think we needed to go that far out for some thick wood..." She said with a snicker but cast her eyes out across the property to see if she could find what he was talking about. "But now I'm curious."

"C' mon." Tugging on her a little more, Cooper led Claire around the barn, which gave a clear view of the landscape beyond. A few hundred yards out, another large oak tree dominated the landscape, out in an open field. "Right out there."

Amiable to being tugged, she followed along with all of the lacking stealth of a love drunk teenager. Once around the barn, a short breath was inhaled with the view. Wide open space against a distant backdrop of mountains. It was a far cry from the urban sprawl of the city. The tree was their destination and so she hurried along to the shade offered by the wide reach of its branches. "Don't have to be as quiet out here, eh?"

Cooper barked a laugh at that. "You'd be surprised how sound carries, dependin' on the wind."

Out at the tree, he drew her in again, tugged her back against his chest and slinging his arms snug around her. Squeezing. Warm lips touched beneath her ear, kissing gently.

"Wanna test that theory?" She waggled her brows at him. Beneath the tree's shade, she exhaled and leaned back against him. It was a little more comfortable than trying to face him and hug him with the ever growing baby bump in the way. One hand came up to pull her hair away from her neck on the side aligned with his mouth. "How long've we got?"

"How long you want this to last?"

They made it back to the house thirty minutes later, winded but no worse for the wear and the rest of the family none the wiser. The twins were fine, of course, lending further credence to Cooper’s reassurances that they were in good hands. A fine start, all things considered, but the cowboy had promised her it would be interesting and there was still plenty of time for that.

[Claire Gallows]

Lunch

It had been with a minor dose of schoolyard guilt that Cooper and Claire had returned to the Gallows family home, with a more relaxed posture and easier smiles. Claire had seemed to loosen up, trading snippets of conversation with BJ and Becky as they finally laid the twins down for a nap, giving the Gallows women their first glimpses of the cowboy with the toddlers together. The sisterly 'Awwwwwww'ing was enough to chase him from the room and down into the kitchen with his mother while the three younger (looking) women continued to talk, mostly about a much younger Cooper. It had the makings of the perfect first day.

Then Tanner arrived.

Miakoda and Becky were setting things out on the table for lunch, leaving Cooper, Claire, and BJ sitting on the front porch to chat when the four-door Dodge pick-up came ambling up the drive. Cooper had segregated himself from the women, at least as far as it took for him to smoke a cigarette and not let the smoke drift his fiancee's way, his dark attention sliding to the arrive with what could only been characterized as a pained smile. He wasn't looking forward to the reunion.

True to the Gallows bloodline, Tanner was a big man. Six and a half feet tall if not a touch under, where he didn't match his younger brother in height, he made up for it in thickness. The man was broad everywhere, almost bordering on what some might have seen as fat but not quite, like a heavyweight boxer or wrestler long since gone to salt. A thick brow and almost piggy eyes ruined what once might have been a handsome face, stealing some of the intelligence from his visage, and relegating him to the status of almost good looking. The faint, perpetual frown ruined the 'almost'. Dark eyes darted from Cooper on the porch to the other women, with BJ all but ignored in favor of brief, but intense scrutiny of Claire before Tanner's attention drew back to his brother.

"The exile turned wannabe prodigal son returns."

Call it the afterglow but Claire didn't feel the creep of tension rise with the rumble of tires. Cooper's sisters were sweet and easy to talk to and his mother was more than hospitable. It was hard to dislike anything thus far. The fact she sat outside while the twins napped inside spoke volumes about the level of her comfort. Mia had mentioned that Tanner would be by around lunch and Cooper had seemed less than thrilled by the prospect, but family was family, no matter how unpleasant. By the time the truck's door opened, Claire had pushed herself to her feet, no small feat considering the displacement of her center of gravity. She was to the porch stairs by the time he closed it and to the bottom before he could get terribly far. Donning the dazzling sort of smile that she had perfected through a number of press conferences and plenty of Citadel appearances, her sneakers ate up the space between her and the large, frowning man.

Claire Farron ate men like Tanner Gallows for breakfast. Lucky for him it was lunchtime and her own perpetual surliness was overwritten by the love of a good man and the determination behind her words when she had told him that she would make his brother like her whether he liked it or not. She heard him, the derisive words he directed toward her fiance, but it was as if the sarcasm went in one ear and out the other. There was plenty she could have said. And you must be the asshole older brother. Instead she presented him with an extended right hand and (if taken) a firm, businesslike shake. "And you must be Tanner, I've heard so much about you. I'm Claire, it's lovely to finally meet you."

When she wanted to, she could affect an imposing presence and this time, she definitely wanted to. He would like her whether he liked it or not and if he didn't, she refused to let him spoil this trip for her cowboy.

Cooper was halfway down the stairs when Claire reached his brother, surprising the former when she traded her in-ring grit and surliness for her press conference smile. Tanner, expecting a wagging female tongue and an exchange that would incite his brother to anger, was caught off guard by the seeming sincerity of the pink-haired woman's approach. "The belly gave you away," he drawled slowly after a moment, as if unsure how to approach the greeting. A glance dropped to her hand, producing the arch of a brow when it appeared more callused than soft. Eventually he took her hand and shook it, keeping it quick. "Tanner. Welcome to Bedford."

Unaware until right then that he'd been holding his breath, Cooper exhaled and spared a quick glance back at BJ, who had disappeared into the house. Just like the youngest to run and tattle. "Tanner," he greeted his brother finally, stubbing out the cigarette and stuffing it into his pocket.

"Did it? Damn, I was going for the camouflaged look. But thank you, I'm glad to be here." Her grin pulled crooked and she let the man go, turning back to the porch to find BJ gone and Cooper looking torn between surprise and wariness. With her back to Tanner, she gave Cooper a more private smile before glancing between the two men. "I heard lunch was about ready."

See also; go inside before anyone can be a jerk.

What was either man supposed to say to that?

Cooper made a point of offering Tanner his hand in greeting when the oldest Gallows brother drew closer, but the other man brushed past him with the shove of a shoulder and skirted around Claire to step inside. With an unsurprised snort, the cowboy turned to Claire and slipped an arm around her waist. "Ain't decided if'n I'm appreciative that you were so diplomatic or disappointed that you didn't uchi mata him into the gravel."

A warm kiss touched her forehead.

Her smile lingered until she was certain that the eldest Gallows son was inside. With a tip on her toes, she leaned into the touch of his mouth then rocked back to fix him with a soft smile. "There's still plenty of time for that."

Tides shift, winds change. The jury was still out on whether or not she'd put Tanner on his back for mouthing off before the trip was through. A slip of a hand caught her a handful of cowboy butt for a squeeze and a pat. "Let's go get the twins up and subject him to more cute than he can handle."

"If that doesn't melt his heart, you've got muh permission to put him on his ass." With a crooked smile, he opened the screen door for her.

One might have thought that lunch would have been a quiet affair, with the tension Tanner's presence created. Or, well, threatened to create. Alex and the Gallows women were having none of it, choosing instead to babble away, about all things insignificant and great. A rare treat, even Avy joined in, warming up to the big man's family with a series of clipped little babbles and tentative smiles. Cooper ate it all up with a spoon, revelling less in Tanner's sullen silence and more appreciating the irony of what was occurring. He kissed the woman at his side repeatedly and laughed at his sisters, played with the children and just soaked up the moment.

It could have been overwhelming, the sheer number of talkative people in one place, but there was an underlying familial bond that made it easy for Claire to take it all in contentedly. She made small talk with the women and made earnest attempts at roping Tanner into it too. There was talk of what she did back "home", a vague allusion to some place out West that she had never heard of and definitely never been to. BJ and Mia knew better and interjected accordingly when she struggled for the minutiae that would have completed her stories. It helped balance out the fantastical things that Alex liked to offer out, making it easy to write off the little boy's voracious imagination as exactly that.

Lunch was hardly over when Tanner excused himself, momentarily prompting an awkward silence. It was Cooper who finally broke it, sparing the need for anyone to make excuses. "M' thinkin' s' time t' take the twins t' visit the horses. Maybe take 'em out fo'a trail ride."

In the time it took to give Claire a squeeze of the hip and for them to change clothes, the quartet was off to the massive stables and then beyond, with a handful of stolen hours that felt more like home in Rhy'din than anything else before the return trip and subsequent lesson to the toddlers in rubbing down horses. Have to start them out early. By the time they were back to the house and cleaned up, Claire was invited to help set the table for supper, the cooking of which appeared to be a more complicated affair than the sandwiches for lunch. Venison meatloaf, horseradish mashed potatoes, and steamed, spiced zucchini. Cupcakes, there were cupcakes. Insider information had been shared.

Dinner began much as lunch had, along with the announcement that Hunter's arrival would be delayed by a day, but did little to sour the mildly festive mood. That was left for Tanner do, one too many beers in, amidst BJ's interested line of questions to Claire about her job when he blurted out: "Sounds lucrative. How come you need him?" A thumb jutted towards Cooper. "Looks like y' aw'ready had someone else's litter."

Claire's equestrian soft spot was further exploited with the ride and time spent with the horses, even if it meant needing an extra boost up and hand down when all was said and done. For all that Cooper had warned of potential tension with his older brother, she was riding high on the fact that lunch had come and gone with little incident. Dinner found her more than willing to help with the table though she sheepishly admitted she was no help in the kitchen. It gave her a chance to express to Mia her gratitude that Cooper knew his way around the kitchen or else she'd live on a diet of takeout and coffee. It was an innocuous start to dinner. She hadn't counted on its progression.

"Hmm?" She blinked over to Tanner, unsure if she had heard him right. Her grip had tightened on her fork, prim in its hold though a simple quick switch of her grip could have rendered it a weapon. It took her a moment and a glance at the rosewood ring on her left ring finger before she could formulate an answer for the ill tempered man. "It's a successful business that I started building with my husband before he died. I'm very grateful for how much Cooper helped when I lost him."

"Tanner," Miakoda said his name, a subtle warning in her tone.

"What? Man's got a right t' be curious about who he lets in his house." There was a less than subtle emphasis on the ownership, an attempt to assert dominance. "So? What? Ol' Chicken Coop was waitin' in the wings to console the grievin' widow? From the looks of things, boy, you didn't waste much time. Or is that swell from another grateful well wisher and little brother's just got a fetish for sloppy seconds?"

"It's alright, I know I'd be curious to know how it's possible for my sibling to find someone that makes them happy if I were incapable of doing so myself." She said with a pleasant smile that didn't reach her eyes. Under such scrutiny other women in her condition would have let the tears overwhelm them but though she felt their burn at her lash line, she felt too something far more pressing, the fire that reared its ugly head when her family was under attack. Her fork was set down with a click of metal to wood and she neatly folded the napkin that had been in her lap and reached over with it to dab at Alex's nose, murmuring something soft into a kiss to his forehead before she set the napkin down and gently scooted her chair back from the table.

"I'd be glad to elaborate further in another room if you're keen on letting your family continue eating without our interruption." Her gaze bore into the man, defiantly daring him to say more.

"You a guest in my house you freaky-haired hussy. Don't wanna hear what I got t' say? Then get the f---" Miakoda had been on the cusp of interceding, a growing anger in her eyes, even BJ and Becky started to speak.

It all halted with the heavy sound of the cowboy's chair legs screeching across the well worn hardwood floor.

[Cooper Gallows]

"Cooper," Mia breathed his name sharply but went no further when he raised a hand to stop her.

His rise to his feet and been slow, unhurried. His hat had been abandoned in good manners, leaving a placid expression that shouldn't have been as disconcerting as it was and a furrowed brow. There was nothing threatening in the movement despite Cooper's looming height but Tanner lurched to his feet as if it was a challenge.

"Gonna fight little miss badass's battle for her, Chicken Coop? C' mon!" Meaty fists were clenched and ready.

"Tanner," Cooper said his name softly. Long strides brought him around the table, half the distance to his older brother. "One: That woman and her children are guests in this house and you ain't done a single thing t' make 'em feel as such. Two: Even pregnant, this woman with the stunnin' pink hair could put you down harder than a hammer to a nail. Y' should be thankful I'm savin' you the embarrassment. And three," he stepped up an arm's reach from Tanner and leveled a serious look on him. "That woman right there? She's gonna be my wife. She's gonna be the mother'a yo' niece or nephew, the mother'a my child. Those children'a hers? As good as mine and I love 'em like they are. You wanna come at me? Say what y' gotta say. Wanna beat me with words and fists? I can take it. Y' say one mo' word 'bout Claire or Alex and Avy, or even her dearly departed husband, I will put you through the floor, blood be damned."

Growling, the older man threw a wild swing and the larger. He made a meaty *thwack* against the palm of the cowboy's hand when it shot out to catch the fist, stopped cold. The crackle of something unpleasant followed when Cooper squeezed. "I love you, Tanner," he told his brother quietly. "As sure as the crops need the rain, but I didn't choose you fo' muh family. I did choose them and I will choose them every single time. I don't wanna have t' regret defendin' that choice. Not here. Not now."

Cooper was to his feet before she could get there and it was at the edge of her seat that she remained, her hands tight on the table's lip and her eyes on the two men as the distance between them shrank. The more the shorter man spoke, the more her proverbial blood boiled. She looked somewhere between furious and stricken, torn between staying and going. Her attempt at getting Tanner out of the room and away from the twins and anyone else that was witnessing his unpleasantness had failed but where she failed, Cooper took up the charge with low tones and earnest words. She held it together, or at least she thought she did until Cooper gave Tanner the lay of the land. When she shot to her feet with the swing of the older man's fist, she didn't even realize she was crying. It was a silent trickle that left her cheeks ruddy and Alex tugging on the hip of her dress. Claire slipped the toddler a few fingers but fixed her gaze on her fiance, her jaw and shoulders tight.

"Cooper." A single word; gentle and quiet. She nodded once though what it meant was anyone's guess. "It's done."

"I was the good son," Tanner growled. "The dutiful one. But you were the favorite and still *** everythin' up. You were still his favorite even after he threw you out."

Cooper's jaw clenched at that, his gaze briefly flickering to Claire and then to his sisters and mother. There was an empathy in his voice for his older brother, but no apology. "I made a choice. So did dad. I chose t' protect a girl no one else would. Dad chose to protect the family's future here. With the advantage'a hindsight, be both made the right choice. You're still the good son. The dutiful one. You're the one who's kept this place runnin' all this time. M' grateful fo' that. M' bettin' dad is too. I don't regret what I did. Dad made peace with it too, even though it cost me the future he wanted fo' me."

He gestured towards Claire and the twins. "Look where it got me. She's gorgeous. They're priceless. You've got another niece that'll be here tomorrow. I got everything I never knew I wanted. And mo'. And look how it turned out fo' you, pent up anger or no. And fo' me. We didn't do so bad, did we?"

It was awkward. Terribly uncomfortable for everyone at the table. She could feel eyes on her, Alex's, Averia's, others she couldn't pin because it would require looking away. In the months leading up to the trip, Cooper had regaled Claire with stories of his time on Earth, his life before Rhydin and before everything changed. She understood complicated family dynamics, hell, the Farrons were the very definition of it. But they were usually far more private about it, their grievances kept behind closed doors and relegated to short interchanges via text or passive aggressive gestures. Never was it so overt as this. Her mouth was dry and her jaw hurt with how tight she clenched her teeth until a quiet chirp from her other side stole the fight from her fire.

"Papa." A clear word from a soft spoken little girl. From her seat Averia reached for the cowboy, the intelligence in her gaze stating she was well aware of the roiling conflict between the two big men. She wanted Cooper anyways.

"Don't answer," he spoke again, halting anything Tanner might have said, though the older man appeared struck dumb by the speech. And conflicted. "Think on it. Please. You and me got business befo' we leave t' head back home but it needs t' be addressed from a better place than this."

And Avy was calling to him.

When Cooper turned back to reach for her, it was to scoop her up in his thick arms and cradle her against one side of his chest. It made it easy to rumble and press a reassuring kiss to her little temple. "M' here, sweet thing. Papa's here. Everything's gonna be aw'right. I promise." The cowboy cradled her like that for a few long, silent moments before turning a look to the others. "Why don't we break fo' a bit. Let everyone get some air and whatever. We can meet back here later fo' those cupcakes mama made special. Pink frostin'."

As Cooper freed Avy from her seat, Claire leaned down to do the same for Alex. The little boy had gone remarkably quiet, evidently quite concerned over what was going on. At the very least, focusing on him gave her time to stop crying and to swipe her fingers beneath her eyes to smooth her makeup. A break and then cupcakes sounded perfect. Fussing over him, she didn't look up when Avy gave the cowboy a raspberry to the cheek then repeated her grabby hand motion, this time at the elder of the Gallows men.

"Tan-Tan." She asked, her bright, curious eyes on the man, undaunted as much as her mother had been when staring him down.

"And now," Cooper drawled. "You're doomed."

Nearly disarmed by Cooper's speech, Tanner was doubly so when finally addressed by the pretty little slip of a girl, blinking dark eyes at her and staring silently for a few long moments. Then, tentatively, he reached out and took Averia into his arms. It was a ginger hold, as if he was suddenly afraid he might break her. Or that the cowboy might break him if he did.

A razor sharp look from Mama Bear shot from Cooper to Tanner as the hand-off was made. She stared at the trio for a few moments, watching as Averia beamed a rare smile when she got what she asked for. The toddler patted the man's cheek and cooed a sound of content, proud like she had just tamed the beast. It was a sweet moment but it didn't soften the hard line of Claire's mouth until Alex tugged at a lock of her hair to call her attention back to him.

"Cupcakes, Mama? Pink! Is pink too." Tug tug, he too beamed a toothy smile. "Cupcakes, cupcakes!"

"Even hard men have soft sides," Cooper murmured aside to Tanner before collecting Averia back from his brother. "The best ones do."

His crooked smile bloomed a little as it was panned across the women, another kiss dusted atop the crown of Avy's head before he was moving back to Claire. "Bath time. Cupcakes. Then maybe Aunties Beej and Becky will do some singin' and Gramma will tell one'a the old stories befo' bed. Giddy up!"

Averia was thrown over a shoulder before an exaggerated gait carried her towards the stairs.

Claire looked after Cooper as he bounced the dark haired girl to the stairs before looking back to those around the table.

"He hasn't quite caught on that you do bath time after cupcakes." She confided in the women at the table with half of a wry smile. It wavered a bit but she still managed a glance toward Tanner. He was given a single nod before she turned to head up after Cooper with Averia's counterpart on a hip. Upstairs, she waited until the water was running to say anything. "The hell even happened down there?"

"Old, bad blood," he replied to Claire, keeping his tone light for the sake of the children. "All that stuff that got me run out'a town when I was a kid? He took it hard. Harder when dad didn't have much choice but t' throw me out. Dad played it hard, close t' his chest. Tanner took it t' heart. Didn't come 'round when dad and I reconciled befo' he passed on."

At the top of the stairs, he bumped open the door to their room and closed it behind them when she stepped inside. "He's a good man but with a mean streak a mile wide. This was gonna happen sooner or later. M' just sorry it had to involve you, Slugger."

"Wanna talk a mean streak, the next time he involves my kids, I'm showing him how I earned that nickname." She jutted her chin toward him with an earnest nod. For that, Alex tried to put his hand over his mother's mouth.

"Shh, Mama, no no. No mean." He admonished her, startling a laugh out of her behind his little hand. Gently she lowered his hand and set him down with a little poke to his forehead amidst a mop of wavy platinum hair.

"Hush you, I was perfectly well behaved." As if she had to justify herself to a two and a half year old.

"Mean is for time out." He told her as she tugged his dinner-stained shirt off. It was set aside and she nudged the toddler toward the bathroom.

"Get your lil butt in there before I show you time out." The pink haired mother wriggled tickle fingers after the boy who went running before she could make good on the threat. His sister was soon to follow before their mom looked back to Cooper. "I mean it though."

Cooper watched the exchange between mother and son, taking Claire's words to him with a half-earnest nod. He only seemed half displeased with the turn of events, likely for obvious reasons. His attention was turned mostly to Averia by then, who was getting a series of little zerberts to her cheek while he tugged her out of her outfit to get her ready for the bath.

"It's done. If'n this didn't bring Tanner 'round and set him straight, the next words towards my family will get him grounded the hard way. I meant every word I said."

"Hammer to a nail." She repeated the cowboy's earlier words. It was just as good as a promise. After that she let it drop, focusing instead on getting the toddlers squeaky clean. Easier said than done considering they had been promised cupcakes, but between Claire and Cooper, they were able to wrangle both of them into lightweight pajamas, wild hair tamed for the time being by a fine toothed comb. When all was said and done, their mother took in a deep breath, preparing herself for the trip back downstairs.

"Y'all've become muh whole world. Y'all and Belle. Don't you ever fo'get that." He leaned down to kiss her softly. "We can have the ladies downstairs ringlead cupcake and music time if'n y' need a break. We could hang up here and just keep talkin'."

"I know." She murmured, tugging gently on Alex's hand to keep him from bolting for the stairs. "But no, your mom and sisters deserve better. We'll make good and show up, plenty of time to talk after the wee bits go down for the night."

"They really like you," he told her before another kiss. "Not that m' surprised." Scooping up one wee little one in each burly arm, Cooper balanced with ease and gave the pink-haired woman a gentle nudge with his hip. "Lead the way, darlin'. I like the way yo' caboose sways in that dress."

"I'm really trying to be likeable for once." She admitted with a sheepish shrug. He bumped her into motion and she set for the stairs with a look over her shoulder at him. "You like it regardless of what I'm wearing."

She may have put a little extra swing in her hips all the way down.

"Well, look at it. It's perfect." He grinned back and forth between the twins as they descended. "Mama's got a pretty butt."

At the bottom of the stairs, they were greeted to the pleasing chatter of the Gallows women in the kitchen. Someone had been made well aware of Claire's addiction and the pink-haired future Mrs. Gallows was greeted with the first cupcake, followed by a series of minis for her minis. It led into one of those companionable kitchen conversations, with hips leaned into counters and steaming mugs passed around. It wasn't long before Alex and Avy were being passed around amongst the women again, with Miakoda the greediest of them all.

[Claire Gallows]

June 5th

It had been a peaceful night. Sleep had come easily, the heavy weight of a welcome slumber that when interrupted, hadn't been so by the twins being restless but far deeper into the night by some far different shenanigans. They were the sort that were mean to coax a certain pink-haired fighter into a far deeper sleep, the sleep of delightful exhaustion. It allowed the cowboy to rise far earlier than the sun and steal away from her lithe embrace without rousing her.

There was too much to be done.

When the bright rays of the morning sun finally saw fit to push light through the bedroom curtains, they were punctuated by a trio of different sounds, coming together to rouse even the most sated sleepy head. The first was the cacophony of voices and moving objects below, outside of the house. A fair many people seemed to be very industrious. The second was the laughter of the children and the combined (and similar) sounds of Belle and BJ playing with them. The last was a simple, polite knock on the door and the sound of Miakoda's voice. "Claire? Are you awake?"

For such a mountain of a man, Cooper could move remarkably quietly. Sure he had her sleeping like the dead which helped, but she hadn't even noticed he'd slipped away early that morning. Still, she took the opportunity to wake up slow. No screaming twins wanting breakfast, no pressing business matters, just peace and the relative quiet. Shortly before the knock had solidified morning's arrival, she took a few minutes to freshen up, changing from pajamas to a new, lightweight sundress in a shade of baby blue that brought out her eyes. Shoes could wait, she had nowhere to go just yet. Mia's voice found her working a brush through her hair, the mass of pink tugged over one shoulder in preparation for a loose braid to keep it off her neck in the Virginia heat. With the knock she thought it may be Cooper but instead a more feminine voice met her ears. Claire nearly fumbled herself right off the bed while getting to her feet but managed to make it to the door looking only slightly ruffled. "Yes! I'm awake," she chirped, tugging the door open and fixing on her best smile.

"Oh, good!" Cooper's mother fixed her with a smile that was as sincere as it was subtly mischievous; it was the first time one might have noticed it was crooked, like someone else's. Despite the time of the morning, the statuesque woman was still in a robe, tied demurely high on her waist. "I was afraid of waking you too late, but Cooper didn't want you disturbed too early. Too much going on since dawn and he's had plenty on his plate since then. I hope you won't be too disappointed but Belle," her face flushed with happiness at saying the name, "and I are responsible for you for the next handful of hours."

A growing mirth caused Mia to chew at the inside of her cheek. "You're going to need a dress for today. A special one."

Claire had looked at Cooper's mouth so many times that it was easy to see the resemblance in his mother's lopsided imitation. It had her own smile flickering higher as she passed a quick look past the woman then back to meet her gaze with a something that read equal parts confusion and surprise. She had never been a particularly eloquent person so it took her a few moments to offer something more than a deer-in-the-headlights stare and a bobbling nod. Something something Cooper's busy something something Belle something something... wait. Claire looked down at the dress she had put on then back up to the taller woman. "Is... this alright? Or...?"

"If that's what you want," Mia smiled again. "But I have half a dozen others waiting for your approval. You'll look beautiful no matter what. Would you... I haven't gotten to do this with any of my daughters yet... would you like me to do your hair?"

She was only mildly dancing around the subject of what was going on.

What in the nine hells was going on? One blink, two blinks, her mouth opened and then shut. "Umm..." Give her a moment, she'd only just woken up a short time ago and had a tiny foot lodged beneath her ribcage somewhere. With a deep breath in and a slow exhale, she once more put a smile on. "Whatever you'd like to do! I literally have no idea what's going on at the moment but I trust you."

"If you take a peek out the window," she lifted her chin towards one of the curtained portals beyond. "Then I wouldn't be lying when I tell Cooper that I didn't tell you anything. He wants it to be a surprise. At least, somewhat."

It was out there, if one looked far enough. Out beneath that old, sturdy oak tree where they had their playful tryst only a few short days ago. It was all there: an awning wreathed in fresh honeysuckle. The rows of chairs, modest as the number were. The long train cutting a path down the center...

Claire arched a brow at the dark haired woman and tipped a look over her shoulder. Backpedaling a few steps, she turned on her heel and slipped a hand to one edge of the curtain. Carefully, to make sure that it wasn't noticed below, she cracked it open and snuck a peek. She didn't see it at first, not until her gaze lifted further beyond the immediate vicinity. Shades of wafting white and pale pastel colors ringed the area. Her heart caught in her chest and she let the curtain go, pausing with her back to Mia to rub at her eyes.

"It's... it's bright out there." She fibbed, chalking up her watering eyes to the sun. A swipe of her fingers soaked up the worst of it before she turned back around, wide eyed. "Is... that for us?"

"And I quote: She wants t' wait 'til after the baby's here. Y' know, the belly and stuff. Me? I don't think she's ever looked mo' beautiful and I can't wait t' make her mine fo' real." Mia's mouth quirked again. "Me? I agree. I've waited a long time for another daughter, especially one as strong and as soft as my Cooper needs."

There were the waterworks, ones she had been restraining for a fair portion of the trip. Between the stress of the offworld journey to the less than subtle tension between the two older Gallows brothers, she had kept a tight leash on her precarious emotions. And just like that, Mia had unraveled them all at once. Claire's bottom lip quivered and she stepped across the scant distance between her and the woman and in a rare show of vulnerability, hugged her fiercely. "We were sorta gonna do it backwards, huh?"

Long arms wound tight around Claire, hugging her as close as the prodigious belly would allow. It was Miakoda's turn to tear up, though it was more subtle. "It doesn't matter, as long as you really want it. He wants it. Very badly. For as long as you'll let him have it. I see the way he looks at your children, the way he looks at you when you aren't looking. All you need now is his name."

"I do, gods do I." She said with a shaky laugh while wiping at her eyes. If she was going to do this, it wouldn't do to have red, puffy eyes. "I..." Claire hesitated, debating just how much to say. But it was already halfway out there, so her voice lowered slightly to keep it between the two of them. "I didn't think I'd find it again after... everything. But he's... everything I never knew I needed. Helped me put myself back together when I didn't think it'd be possible. I'm not quite the same... I don't think, but I don't think that's a bad thing."

After a few moments to calm down, she gave Mia a determined nod. "I wanna do this. Today, tomorrow, whenever."

"Today then," she nodded. "And tomorrow, forever. However long that lasts. Would you like me to do your hair now?"

[Cooper Gallows]

Here comes the bride…

She was coming, right?

It had been something modest, the surprise Cooper had orchestrated. A busy morning that started before the sun had bloomed into a small collection of folding chairs, no more than a few dozen, with a rustic carpet that ran down a lane in the center and stopped before an ornate oak wedding trellis wound through with honeysuckle, the smell of which filled the air. Familiar faces and not filled the seats, the majority of them Earth-side family and friends with only a few surprising exceptions.

At the cowboy's side stood the fidgeting but dapper best man in the form of Alex, a more subdued but no less happy Avy standing opposite to play a more unorthodox maid of honor to her mother. Of all people, it was Belle who played the flower girl for her father's wedding, a bittersweet but sincere smile curving her mouth as she painted the path to the man with scatter handfuls of flower petals.

This was it. The moment they had yet to set a date for, decided on a whim and served up with a subtle, rustic reverence. Cooper waited patiently while the strum of guitars played, not the wedding march but something less... demanding.

After a reassuring pep talk from her soon to be mother-in-law, Claire was ready. From a handful of dresses, she had selected an off-white crinkle dress that toed the line of Grecian inspired. A studded waist crested the swell of her abdomen and the v-neckline was flirty without being scandalous. Mia had helped her pin her hair half up with the rest left to fall in careless waves around her shoulders. Pearl trimmed sandals were comfortable but classy, practical and pretty. Gold filigree feather earrings offered a little sparkle in an apropos shape. Belle went before her, leaving Claire at the end of the runner, her heart pounding in her ears and her grip tight around a twine bound bouquet of wildflowers. Flowering dogwood, cornflower, dianthus, and sweetheart roses offered a fragrant touch to the whole ensemble, a fact she was reminded of when she took a deep breath in.

This is real.

This is happening.

This is now.

She exhaled and took the first steps down the aisle. It was the longest and shortest walk of her life but what was at the end more than got her through. There were eyes, most on her, but she had eyes only for them. A handsome cowboy. A platinum mopped little boy. A dark haired little girl. A misty eyed young woman. Patchwork as it may be, it was hers.

Noticeably absent was a minister, with only Cooper, Belle, and the twins there to greet her when she reached the rich wooden trellis laden with honeysuckle. Without preamble, the cowboy took one of her hands into his lifting it to his lips to press a kiss to her palm.

"I don't need a pastor or no one else t' walk me through a bunch'a words billions'a people throughout history have said. M' not a Christian. Neither are you," he told her quietly, producing a few soft, scandalized gasps from the assembled. "But m' gonna tell the Earth and the Sky, the Sun and the Moon, and all's these people here some things. You sure you're ready t' hear them, Slugger?"

She managed not to run her way up there and she also resisted any desire to turn tail and run. When she made it to the trellis, she shifted her bouquet into one hand before leaning down to offer it to Averia. Avy took it and stuck her face in it before promptly sneezing. With a fond smile, Claire turned back to Cooper to give him her hand. She barely registered the gasps and those she did, she chalked up to the lacking minister. Religion had always been such a non-issue except when it came to saving the world and then it was a contentious thing if only for its tangibility. Her hand tightened on his and she gave him a bobbling nod, more than sure. "I wouldn't be up here if I wasn't. Let's hear it."

"I didn't think I'd do this again," he told her plainly, a gentle delivery but loud enough for the small but august group behind them to hear. "Didn't think I'd want this again. Never thought I'd get t' be a father and now... first Belle, then..." His big hands dropped to the swell of her belly with a reverent touch. "And Alex and Avy too. I went from havin' little, acceptin' things as they were... t' all'a this. You've been the one constant through all'a the good things that've come. You. M' surrounded by too much love right now t' say that you're muh everything but... you were the start'a it. The start'a muh Everythin', capital E."

Cooper took a slow, deep breath.

"Forever ain't a long time. Forever doesn't really have a definition. Neither does eternity, when you think about it. But m' gonna love you, love our family, fo' all the time I've got and them some. Won't ever stop lovin' you. M' gonna do whatever I can, stop Heaven and Hell, t' keep on lovin' you, bein' there fo' you and Alex and Avy, Belle and the little squirmer inside you. Fo' as long as you'll let me and maybe fo' some time after than too. I love you. So. Damned. Much. Whatever time there is, fo' however long, who I am and everything I've got is yo's.

Be m' wife, Claire Farron, all you gotta do is tell me you will, and you are."

"Me neither." She agreed, a soft murmur to answer his admission. That she could go from a heap on the floor of a terribly empty Caelum Manor to standing before him and a small crowd to hand her heart over once more was still a bit beyond her comprehension. A shuffle of her feet scooted her closer to him, her hands settling over top of his.

"Cooper. Bradley. Gallows. You know, I oughta scold you for putting this together without telling me, but that'd imply I don't want it. And I do. This? All of this?" She gestured between the two of them then swept a hand to indicate Alex, Avy, and the others before continuing. "I knew I wanted it. Didn't know it'd be right now but you know what? What better time than when you've got all your family here. I love that you let me share in your life and I love that you're a part of mine. Life's a mess more often than not but you're my lighthouse no matter the weather. Dunno where I'd be without you save a whole lot poorer off for it. You bring so much to this life of mine with your love and your laughter and you kindness... that I can't wait to spend the rest of my days with this heart marked as yours. I will. I am. Always."

"I'm yo's. Yo' husband." He tilted his bearded chin towards the sky above them where a lazy sun hovered just over a mess of fluffy white clouds. "S' that easy," he told the sky. "M' hers and she's mine. Those children. M' theirs and they're mine, and I'll raise 'em as such. Fo' as long as I can or as long as fo'ever is. Y' hear that? So we've promised, so it is."

He turned a look back down to Claire, soft but intense. "You're mine. S' the way it is, 'til you decide otherwise. 'Til then, you're Claire Gallows."

"And I'm your wife." Her smile tugged crooked with the proclamation, her eyes bright and intent on his face. Had she been the crying sort, that would have been the moment for it but she managed to hold it together if only because the joy welled so greatly within her that she had nothing but a growing grin when he looked back to her. She slid her hands up his chest to the sides of his neck and tilted her head to one side. "You're mine but you can stay Cooper Gallows. Now are you gonna kiss the bride or not?"

Claire's question produced a round of laughter from the audience.

Not one to keep her waiting, the cowboy seized the back of her neck and pulled her into a long, deep kiss. She was left with little choice but to lose her place on the ground, hauled off her feet as she was to be held there, his mouth sealed to hers to do the one thing he'd been waiting for since waking up early that morning.

Any worry, any concern, any uncertainty over the day, the trip, anything... it was lost to that moment, swept off her feet quite literally for a melding of mouths to seal the deal with a kiss. It was perfect even with Alex cringing and decrying the kissing as yucky off to the side. Claire grinned against Cooper's mouth as her feet finally touched back down. She didn't pull away just yet, her mouth quietly moving with words no one else could hear but everyone could assuredly see on her lips. I love you so *** much.

His smile was no less genuine, but when words came again, they were murmured against her ear, only for her. "You're gonna need t' put up the sound wards t'night when y' show me..."

"Consider it done." She said with a squeeze before giving him a secretive smile and turning to stand beside him. A hand slipped for his and the other was held out to Averia since she was closest. "C'mon lil bit, I think it's time to celebrate. What's Papa think?"

"Papa thinks we should party with our family and enjoy the beautiful day." The words came with a crooked smile and another kiss, even as he reached for Alex. "S' time t' enjoy bein' Mister and Missus Gallows."