I Woke Up in Love (1/1)
Title: I Woke Up in Love
Author: office_bluth
Spoilers: A brief mention of the events of 3x13 and 3x14, but that's it.
Rating/Warnings: PG
Word Count: 8800
Disclaimer: They tell me I don't own Community or its characters. I do, however, own a signed Jim Rash poster and seasons one and two on DVD. So. Yeah.
Summary: "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby carriage" isn't exactly how Jeff and Annie operate.
Author's Note: This is part three of my Love series, the first two being Feels Like I'm in Love and I Love You Love Me More (links below). As always, I have to thank my amazing beta/BFF jennynoname who used a lot of capslock while betaing this, so I think she's a fan.
Feels Like I'm in Love | I Love You Love Me More
Every morning, Annie wakes up right away. Her wide eyes pop open, and she takes in a deep breath, smiling as sun rays stream through her bedroom window and illuminate the back of her companion’s head, his bedhead the only part of him visible beneath the tangle of blankets.
Thirty-six hours after getting food poisoning, Annie doesn’t wake up and jump right out of bed. She opens one eye groggily, grimacing as her stomach rolls. She places a hand on her stomach experimentally, waiting to see how she feels. No nausea. That’s enough to make her brave enough to roll over, turning her back to the sunlight that threatens to turn the throbbing pain in her head into a splitting pain.
And then she sees Jeff. Her boyfriend is pacing next to the bed, his head bowed as he murmurs something she can’t quite make out. Annie stretches, extending her legs as far as possible and pointing her toes. “Morning,” she says, waiting for her customary good-morning kiss.
She gets it, though after a small hesitation on Jeff’s part. “Sorry,” he says, pecking her once more on the forehead. “I didn’t want to kiss you with gross vomit breath.”
“Gee, thanks,” Annie grumbles good-naturedly.
“Feeling better?” Jeff asks, sitting next to her.
Annie hums. “Yeah, I think it’s passed. Remind me to never eat clams again.”
“You mean remind you to never eat at a restaurant Britta recommended,” Jeff amends. She giggles, oblivious to Jeff’s stillness. He drops his gaze for a moment, gathering courage.
“Hey,” he says finally, taking her hand. “You know what? I’m not waiting anymore. I have something I want to say. I wanted to say it the other night, but your puking kind of got in the way.”
Annie lightly hits his shoulder. “Sorry, I’ll try to schedule my food poisoning around your Winger speeches,” she says, sticking out her tongue at him.
Jeff keeps his eyes on her hand, running his thumb over the back of it. “I just - I had given this a lot of thought, you know? I was gonna do it at Greendale, after our friends formed a flash mob and sang ‘Kiss the Girl’. You know, like the time I said - ”
“I remember,” Annie says quietly, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
“Right,” Jeff says. “Yeah. I had it all planned. The girls were gonna be there, and I had this whole speech planned, and then I was gonna ask you. But then you had to go and eat Britta clams and the whole thing was kind of ruined.” He gently knocks her on the temple with his knuckles. “Thanks for that.”
Annie looks questioningly at him. “Ask me what?”
He finally meets her eyes. “Will you marry me?”
Suddenly, it’s as if Annie hasn’t spent the last thirty-six hours in bed. Her pale skin reddens, the apples of her cheeks making her look as Snow White-esque as ever. She springs up and kisses him soundly, her huge smile evident against his mouth. Then she wraps her legs around him, straddling his lap as she threads her fingers in his hair. “Really?” she squeals before pulling him back and capturing his lips with her own. This pattern repeats for a while until Jeff finally sucks down enough air to ask, “So I guess that’s a yes?”
#
Annie frowns, glancing back and forth between the papers spread out in front of her. She lets out a loud groan just as Jeff enters, looking surprised.
“Everything okay?” he asks as he places his hands on her shoulders and kisses the top of her head. Annie murmurs something he can’t quite make out, relaxing into his touch.
“Just this stupid insurance stuff. The hospital prefers employees who aren’t married to have their kids on the mother’s plan, but your plan is a lot better, so there are all these stupid hoops I have to jump though to get this sorted out.” She runs a hand through her hair. “So I sent in the paperwork last week, but apparently they lost it or made a computer error because the girls and I don’t have the same last name. So this is like the third time I’m going through all this, and it’s just so annoying.”
Annie sighs, stacking the papers on top of each other. “Okay, I’m too tired to deal with this now. Are the girls asleep?”
“Yup,” Jeff says, sitting down next to her. “Olivia knocked right out. Charlie made me tell her a few stories about Uncle Troy and Uncle Abed, and then she fell asleep halfway through my amazing rendition of the Greendale Civil War of 2012.”
“Ah, yes,” Annie says fondly. “I’ll never forget that time you threw a pillow at me when I was four months pregnant.”
“It was a war!” Jeff protests. “Besides, I was trying to protect you. I was aiming for Leonard but your head kind of got in the way.”
Annie lets out a loud bark of laughter. “Leonard was on Team Pillow Fort!” she exclaims. “You’re such a liar. You were not trying to throw a pillow at Leonard. He was on your side!”
Jeff’s quiet for a moment. Then Annie doubles over laughing. “You just really hate Leonard, don’t you?” she asks.
“I really, really do,” he says, her laughter as infectious as ever. He chuckles at her for a moment, her wide eyes catching him staring at her.
“What?” she asks, smiling at him.
Jeff shrugs. “Nothing. Can’t I just look at you? Isn’t that kind of the whole reason you live with me, so I can look at you whenever I want? And, you know, our children. Whatever.”
Annie beams, leaning forward to kiss him. His fingers thread through hers, moving her hand up high enough for her to kiss her palm. “Come on,” he says suddenly, standing. “Come dance with me.”
“Jeff!” Annie protests. “Come on. The girls are sleeping. We’ll wake them up.”
“No we won’t!” he says, pulling her arm. “Come on. We’ll keep the music quiet.”
She groans and stands, following him into the living room. Jeff heads over to the stereo, turning it on and finding a suitable radio station. Once he makes sure the volume is low enough to avoid disturbing Charlie and Olivia, he turns back to Annie. “Ready?”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling at him. And then they’re krumping, their lips pursed in determination as they flail their limbs. Thanks to Troy and Abed, who were bored and felt like dancing on one lazy Saturday afternoon, they discovered that Charlie loved watching people krump; Jeff and Annie started doing it just to make her laugh, and quickly learned that it is, without exaggeration, the most fun thing in the world.
Annie jumps onto the couch, squaring her shoulders and waving her arms back and forth, while Jeff flops around on the floor. Then they somehow wind up switching positions, and then their legs wind up intertwined and unable to move. They lay still for a while, regaining their breath. Most krumping sessions end like this.
Then Jeff looks over at his girlfriend, her face flushed and her chest heaving as she starts giggling. Then Jeff starts laughing, one hand rubbing his forehead as he considers their utterly ridiculous predicament. Annie beams at him, rolling on her side and kissing him slowly. He smiles against her lips, his hand gently rubbing her back.
All in all, it’s a peaceful end to their day, though one that’s not totally uncommon for them (seriously. They krump a lot). But as Jeff looks at her, he realizes he wants more and more of these kinds of days, which is silly - he’s seen Annie every single day since they moved in together their junior year at Greendale. It’s not like he’s missing out on anything. And yet, he sort of is.
His breath catches in his throat. Holy crap. He wants this. He wants to marry Annie Edison. He’d always known things would eventually get to this point, but he didn’t think it would hit him so suddenly. Of course he’s going to marry Annie. She’s the mother of his children, his best friend, the only person he wants to see when he wakes up…He’s an idiot. How did he not realize this sooner?
Annie frowns at him. “Jeff? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he says quickly, kissing her again. “Nothing. I just realized that I’m sort of a dumbass.”
She just blinks. “Well, duh.”
#
When she’s six months pregnant, Jeff suggests getting married.
They’re all crammed into their small kitchen. Annie’s trying to get Charlie to eat just one more bite of her cereal, while Jeff adjusts his tie and waits for his toast to pop up. And then he says it, just like that.
“Do you wanna marry me?”
Annie snorts. “Is that really the way you’re gonna do it?”
Jeff considers that. “No,” he says. “I’m just wondering, I guess. Seeing as we have a two-year-old and another baby on the way. And since you’ve been living with me for, like, three years. And we, you know, love each other. Isn’t that what people do? Get married?”
Annie thinks that over. Charlie happily takes a sip of her chocolate milk. “I don’t know,” Annie says thoughtfully. “To be fair, I think people fall in love, get married, then have babies. I think we’re going at this a bit out of order.”
Jeff shrugs. “So what? Just cause we went out of order means we have to completely skip steps?”
“No, I just -” Annie glances at him, realizing how worked up he’s getting over this. “Jeff,” she says gently, “you know I love you. I just don’t want to get married just because that’s what we should do. You know? If we got married, I’d want it to be because - well, because we wanted to marry each other.”
He opens a cabinet door with far too much force. “That’s what you think? That I don’t want to marry you?”
“No,” she says, “I don’t think that. I’m just saying that this is the very first time we’re talking about this. So I’m just, you know, explaining what I think.” She glances at him; he still doesn’t seem very happy. Annie sighs and gets up, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head in between his shoulder blades. “I do want to marry you, Jeff,” she says. “And I know you want to marry me. I really didn’t mean to imply that I wanted anything else.”
Jeff doesn’t turn around, but she can feel his whole body unclench. He squeezes her hands. “Okay,” he says, “so we’re on the same page? We both want to get married?”
“Of course,” Annie says. Jeff smiles to himself.
“Okay.” He turns around, putting his hands on her hips. “You’d better prepare yourself, Edison. Cause whenever I propose - I don’t know when it’ll be - but when I do, it’s gonna be awesome.”
Annie nods dutifully. “Noted,” she says. “Now kiss me goodbye before you have to go to work.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jeff says, imitating her tone. He kisses her, grinning against her lips. “I love you.”
“Love you, too,” she murmurs.
“Daddy!” Charlie calls. “I love you, too!”
Jeff and Annie chuckle. “Guess what?” Jeff asks as he lifts Charlie out of her chair, tucking her under his arm and tickling her as he begins running around the kitchen.
The toddler giggles furiously. “Put me down, Daddy!”
“Nope.” Jeff swings her out from under his arm and holds her properly. “I’m not putting you down until you guess what.”
“What?!” she shrieks, covering her mouth with her hands. Jeff kisses her cheek, then pretends to bite it.
“I love you, too, munchkin.” He kisses her on the side of the head before handing her over to Annie. “I have to go to work. Are you gonna be a good girl and listen to Mommy today?”
Charlie glances at Annie and starts giggling again. Annie nods exaggeratedly. “Yes, Daddy,” Annie says, bumping her daughter’s nose with her own.
“Yes, Daddy,” Charlie repeats, poking Annie on the tip of the nose. Jeff takes a moment to watch them play with each other. Sometimes he does this - just steps back and watches Charlie. It never quite seems real, even three years later.
After a moment, he kisses them both goodbye again and heads off to work, feeling as if he could fly.
#
Annie wakes up with a start. She rolls over and checks her phone - 7 AM. Way too early to be awake. But she knows she won’t be able to get back to sleep. Today’s not just a normal day, after all - today, April 15th, 2017, is the day Annie Edison gets married. The thought is almost enough to make her throw up.
It’s not that she has cold feet, or anything. She’s been with Jeff for over five years now, and it’s not as if she’s unsure about their future together. They have 2.4 kids together, and have been living together forever. Her nerves aren’t coming from the marriage itself, but rather the wedding.
For months, the wedding preparation had centered around what would make their friends happy. Shirley’s minister, Troy’s music choices…Hell, Britta even made the final call on the bridesmaids’ dresses (choosing one that complimented her figure, paying no mind to the other girls). This wedding was supposed to be about the four (almost five) of them, and now it’s about seven adults, two children under the age of five, and one fetus.
Carefully, she gets out of the bed in Shirley and Andre’s spare bedroom, taking caution not to wake up Charlie. She and Jeff had decided to spend the night apart, so he stayed at the apartment with Olivia and packed up a few more boxes while Annie and Charlie went to stay with the Bennetts. The bridal party will be congregating in Shirley’s living room at ten to start their hair and make-up, but Annie hadn’t been planning on waking up for another hour.
She tiptoes into the hallway, careful to shut the door silently behind her. Luckily, the spare bedroom is on the first floor, preventing her from having to sneak past Shirley and the boys. Annie makes her way into the kitchen, sitting down and staring at her cell phone.
It’s too early. He’s probably still asleep. Then again, Olivia sometimes wakes up early, so he might be awake with her. Annie bites her lip, her fingers poised over Jeff’s name in her contacts list. Before she can talk herself out of it, she calls her fiancé.
“Hello?”
Instantly, Annie relaxes when she hears his voice. Of course, he sounds groggy, so she should probably feel a pang of guilt for waking him up, but she can’t quite bring herself to care. “Hi,” she says, her voice small. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I just needed to hear your voice.”
“No, you didn’t wake me.” Jeff stifles a yawn. “Okay, you did. But I only fell asleep, like, an hour ago. I could barely sleep all night. Wonder why. Are we doing something important today, or something?”
Annie grins. “Funny,” she says. “I couldn’t sleep, either. I just woke up and…I don’t know. I just had this weird feeling, you know? Something felt wrong.”
He pauses. “What do you mean? Do you not want to do this?”
“No, no!” Her eyes widen. “No, that’s not what I mean. Of course I want to marry you, dummy. I just meant that our wedding isn’t about us anymore. It’s what Pierce, Shirley, Troy, and Abed wanted. We’re just jumping through so many hoops. I mean, we had to bribe a four-year-old to even participate in the stupid thing. Is this really what we want? This big wedding? I mean, it might as well take place in the study room.”
Then she bites her lip, worried he’s taken that wrong. “I don’t mean it like that. It’s not that I’m not happy, or not looking forward to today. Just…”
“…We’ve been steamrolled by Greendale once again?” Jeff chuckles. “I know what you mean, babe. I feel like this whole thing kind of got away from us. I mean, come on. Pierce is an integral part of our wedding. That right there shows that this isn’t exactly the ceremony we would have picked for ourselves.”
“So what are we gonna do about that?” Annie asks, glancing out the kitchen window. The sunlight streams in, making her body feel as alert as her mind has been since she woke up. Sunlight’s always made her feel ready for her day, and today is sort of as big a day she’ll ever have.
She can practically see Jeff’s smile through the phone. “Do you have Shirley’s pastor’s phone number?”
#
Jeff takes a sip of his soda, his eyes never wavering from the narrow blue eyes of his younger daughter. “Come on, Livvy,” he says soothingly. “Eat your pizza. You love pizza.”
The blonde across from his rolls her eyes. “I can’t believe you actually let your kids eat this crap.”
“Britta,” Jeff says through gritted teeth, keeping a wide smile for the baby’s benefit, “Annie doesn’t like people to curse around the girls.”
The therapist rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Expose them to chemicals and violence all day long, but God forbid they hear a four-letter word.”
Charlie cocks her head, thoughtfully munching on a French fry. “Aunt Britta, you’re a lot less fun than Uncle Troy and Uncle Abed.”
Jeff chokes on his drink, making the three-year-old look very proud of herself. “Was that funny, Daddy?” she asks, grinning toothily at him.
“It was funny,” Jeff says, kissing her hair. “Any joke you make about Aunt Britta will be funny.”
Charlie preens under his praise. Olivia gurgles happily, blowing spit bubbles at Britta. The blonde sighs. “One day, you’ll have a kid that likes me.”
“Mommy and Daddy aren’t having more babies,” Charlie informs her aunt. “Timmy from daycare says that you can’t have babies until you’re married, and Mommy and Daddy aren’t married, so they can’t have more babies.”
Jeff shoots a glance at Britta, silently begging her to drop the issue. He and Annie have never really discussed getting married, and he’s not totally sure the three-year-old will be able to understand why this is, and why it’s not something their relationship needs just now.
But, of course, Britta doesn’t get the hint. “That’s a load of crap. Er - sorry,” she says with a quick look at Jeff. “I mean that’s a load of bull. Your parents weren’t married when they had you and Olivia. And besides - Timmy from daycare? He’s a machine,” she cries indignantly, pointing accusingly at the little girl. “He’s just mindlessly regurgitating societal ideals and expectations, spreading the completely esoteric belief that you can’t be happy or fulfilled unless -”
“Britta,” Jeff interjects, his voice low. “Timmy from daycare is three years old. As is Charlie. I think the lectures about everything that’s wrong with society can wait at least until she’s learned how to tie her shoes.”
“Laces were invented just to confuse the youth,” Britta mumbles. “Use Velcro.”
Jeff rolls his eyes. Olivia gurgles from her stroller, the device pulled up against the end of their table. The father of two glances at the stage, where a very scary-looking Chuck E. Cheese has emerged to come play with all the children currently enjoying their rubbery hot dogs and sauce-less pizza.
“Hey, Charles Baudelaire,” he says, turning to the little girl on his right. “Want to go play Skee-Ball?”
Her eyes light up, and she immediately clambers across her father’s lap, too impatient to wait for him to get out of the booth. Jeff chuckles, grabbing her around the waist and helping her onto the floor.
“Britta, can you stay with Olivia?” he asks, three of his fingers clenched in Charlie’s vice-like grip. She starts pulling him away, making Jeff completely oblivious to the panicked look Britta shoots the four-month-old sitting happily in her stroller.
Charlie drags her father to the other side of Chuck E. Cheese, her eyes bright as she locates the wall of Skee-Ball lanes. Jeff takes two gold tokens from their plastic cup and feeds them to the machine, nine rubbery balls appearing from nowhere.
“Daddy?” Charlie asks as she takes a ball and rolls it with all her strength. It doesn’t roll into a hole. Jeff takes her hand when she grabs a new ball and guides her arm through its swing. Twenty points.
“Yeah, munchkin?” he asks, his gaze on the holes at the end of the lane.
“How come you and Mommy aren’t married?” she asks, oblivious to her score. Jeff cringes.
“Well,” he says, choosing his words carefully. “We, um. We just don’t think - we don’t really need to.”
“But don’t you love Mommy?” the little girl asks.
“Of course I do,” Jeff says, surprised. “I love Mommy very much. And we love you and Olivia. But when you love someone, you don’t have to marry them. Mommy and I don’t need to be married to be happy.”
Charlie looks doubtful. “But my friends’ mommies and daddies are married. All of them are. Are you ever gonna marry Mommy?”
Jeff smiles, running his fingers through his daughter’s dark hair. “Yeah, I am.”
Then he stands up straight. “All right, let’s finish up this game and get back to the table. You know how scared Aunt Britta is of Olivia.”
#
The three months after Jeff and Annie get engaged become rather routine.
They wake up in the morning, get ready for work, eat breakfast with the girls, and then kiss goodbye before leaving for work. Then one of them will drop Charlie and Olivia off at daycare. And then Annie will call Britta from the car.
“Hey, Britta!” the brunette chirps, reciting what’s become an unofficial script over the last few months. “It’s Annie. Listen. As you know, I’m engaged -”
At this point in the conversation, the blonde almost always groans. Sometimes her language is a bit more colorful. That’s why Annie only calls once she drops the girls off.
Annie continues, her voice overly cheery to drown out Britta’s cynicism and general terribleness. “Look, I know you don’t do this sort of thing anymore, but it really would mean a lot to me if you would plan my and Jeff’s wedding. You’re great at it, and besides, you’re my best friend. We would both love it if our wedding had your personal touch.”
Around this point, Britta usually hangs up. Annie will call again twice: once on her lunch break and as soon as she gets in the car after work.
Finally, one day, while Annie’s talking to Britta and scarfing down her sandwich, the therapist snaps. “Annie, I can’t deal with this anymore! You’re calling me three times a day just to hear me say no! Do you know what I would say if you came into my office? I would say that you have a self-destructive personality and low self-esteem. You call me over and over again, even though you know my answer has never changed and will never change.”
Annie responds calmly. “Troy can be your assistant.”
“…Fine, I’ll do it.”
#
Jeff takes a deep breath, adjusting his tie. Annie glances at him. “Are you okay? You’ve been antsy all night.”
“So great,” Jeff says breezily, swallowing with a large gulp. “I’m wonderful. Why?” he asks suddenly, perking up. “Are you okay? Are you cold or something? ‘Cause you can have my jacket - here.” He turns around, fumbling for a moment, before straightening and offering Annie his jacket. She takes it slowly, peering at the garment as if it’ll tell her why her boyfriend’s been acting so odd all night.
“This is great, huh?” he asks, looking around stiffly, as if he’s following a script. In fact, that’s exactly what he’s doing, unbeknownst to his companion - Abed wrote a script for the evening, one that the filmmaker swears will smoothly take Jeff and Annie from Point A to Point B (“Point A” being unengaged and “Point B” being, well). “Such a lovely atmosphere. And look - the candle. Makes it so romantic.” He gestures awkwardly to the candle on their table, the black wick unlit. The flame had accidentally been blown out when Jeff bumped into the table on their way in, his legs working on their own as he pulled out Annie’s chair for her.
“So romantic,” he repeats, taking a sip of his wine. “And the music? It really puts love on the mind.” He sets down his glass. “Love. You know, it’s funny to think that we fell in love in a school. Why don’t we go back there?”
Crap. He skipped a few pages in the script. Abed’s gonna kill him.
Annie wrinkles her nose. “Jeff, what’s wrong with you? You’ve said, like, eight thousand things in the last twenty seconds. Are you okay?” Then her face smoothes. “Oh, are you nervous about being away from the girls? Don’t worry about it - they’re with Shirley, and she swore to me that she wouldn’t let Britta within twenty feet of her house.”
“Yes. It is the girls I am worried about,” Jeff says stiffly, barely moving his jaw. “But hey, you’re right, they’re safe, so let’s get on with our evening. So. Wanna go back to Greendale?”
“Um, sure?” Annie chuckles awkwardly. “Not exactly my idea of a romantic evening, but sure. We could revisit a few of our favorite supply closets.” She drags her finger across the palm of his hand, gently caressing his skin.
Jeff visibly relaxes, his shoulders slumping. “Great,” he says, giving himself a mental high-five. So far, everything’s going as Abed scripted. Now to just get to the school and give the signal, and then the music would start, and then he would deliver his speech. And then he’d get down on one knee and Annie would say yes and everything is almost perfect.
And then it’s all ruined.
Annie makes a face. “Can you just give me a minute? I have to - ” Then she heaves, covering her mouth with a napkin. Her face green, she jumps up in her chair, the legs squeaking against the floor in protest, and sprints to the bathroom. Jeff frowns but doesn’t go after her, instead asking the waiter for the check and patiently sipping his wine until his girlfriend returns.
When she does, she’s noticeably pale. And yet green at the same time. Jeff furrows his brows. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” Annie says, dropping into her chair. “I’m not feeling great. I just puked up everything I ate today.” She pokes at her plate with a fork. “I think these clams might have had something to do with it.”
Jeff glances at the dish. “Are you feeling better now?” Annie just grunts in response, a hand on her stomach. Jeff frowns, leaning forward. “You know, clams. Like The Little Mermaid, right? ‘Cause clams are underwater? Hey, speaking of The Little Mermaid, remember when I - ?”
Annie covers her mouth, her eyes snapping shut. “Sweetie, I think I need to go home. I’m sorry. I know you had this nice night planned, but - ”
Jeff deflates. But he takes her free hand, running his thumb over her smooth skin. “No, don’t be sorry,” he says. “We can try again some other night, right? Why don’t you go lay down in the car while I pay the bill?”
Annie smiles weakly. “I love you.” She takes the keys from his extended hand and slowly makes her way out of the restaurant. Jeff watches her leave; as soon as she’s out of sight, he pulls out his phone and texts Abed.
“Flash mob cancelled. Annie’s sick. Operation Proposal is off. We’ll try again soon.”
#
Britta and Annie decide to let Charlie pick her own flower girl dress. After vetoing a cowgirl outfit, a pink dress with fairy wings, and some sort of snow suit, they decide that maybe they should take the responsibility out of the four-year-old’s hands. When they’re at a fitting getting Annie’s wedding dress tailored around her growing belly, they find her a yellow dress that complements the navy blue bridesmaids’ dresses, and a similar one for Olivia. Charlie throws a fit when she first sees it. Jeff has to bribe her into agreeing to wear it by buying her ice cream and promising the little girl that she’ll get to dance with Uncle Troy at the reception.
After that, Charlie’s much more agreeable to the whole wedding planning process. She’s always been a big fan of Uncle Troy.
#
Annie pulls the covers down, smiling brightly as Jeff opens as his eyes. “Morning, babe! I made breakfast already, and Olive and Charlie are still sleeping. It’s just us.” Her eyes widen with excitement before she leans down to quickly kiss him good morning. Before she can pull away, Jeff grabs her arm and holds her in place, keeping her body trapped on top of his.
“I think I could get used to waking up like this,” he says thoughtfully, pressing a kiss to her nose and then to her bottom lip. “So you made me breakfast, huh? It’s not my birthday. And Father’s Day isn’t until next week.” His lips curl into a slow smile. “Wait, what was that part about the girls still being asleep?”
His hands travel to her hips, gently grazing her skin. Annie flushes, burying her face in the curve of his neck. “That’s not quite what I had in mind, Mr. Winger,” she says, though she makes no move to pull away from him. “I was thinking we could talk about this.”
She leans over and grabs something from the nightstand. Jeff studies it, squinting a little to read the small print. It’s a newspaper clipping, a picture of a house taking up the top half. Jeff glances from the ad to his girlfriend’s face, her eyes bright as she waits for his reaction.
“You want to buy a house?” he asks, trying to rest on his elbows. It doesn’t quite work with an Annie-shaped creature draped on his chest, but he does the best he can. Annie nods excitedly in response.
“I mean, maybe not right this second,” she says, her words picking up speed, “but I think it’s something we should start talking about. Olivia and Charlie can barely fit in their room as it is, and this way, it’ll be easier to sleep train Olivia. Plus then we’ll have our own place, you know, that we can make our own and everything. So what do you think?”
Jeff glances at the ad again. “I think,” he says carefully, “that’s a great idea.”
Annie shoots up, accidentally stabbing Jeff in the chest with her elbow. “Really?!” she squeals, oblivious to her boyfriend’s strangled cry of pain. “You really want to do this?”
“Well, yeah,” he says, looking confused. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well.” Annie squirms a bit. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just - kind of surprised that you’re so willing to go along with this. You know, without me having to talk you into it.”
Jeff furrows his brows. “What, you don’t think I can commit? Annie, I’m not that same guy who avoided getting involved in pillow fights and made excuses to get out of having to go to Britta’s cat’s funeral.”
“Pierce’s eulogy for Charles was surprisingly lovely,” Annie says fondly.
The lawyer rolls his eyes before continuing. “The point is, you know I’m not that guy anymore, especially not with you and the girls. I can’t believe you would think I’m still afraid of getting married or buying a house together or any of that.”
She raises an eyebrow, biting her lip to keep her smile in check. “Getting married, huh?”
Jeff pauses. “So the kids are asleep?” Then he grabs her hips and rolls them over, their feet entangling as they settle against each other.
#
Their second wedding runs smoothly. No one, not even Pierce, trips on their way up the aisle, there are no embarrassing outbursts by Olivia (who spends the ceremony in Grandma Winger’s lap), and even Chang stays a silent presence in the very last row, his dark eyes darting around as he looks for any potential wrongdoer.
It all goes by in a blur. Before Annie knows it, she’s standing in front of Jeff, her real bouquet in her hands. Pastor Davis performs the full ceremony this time, looking much happier now that he’s not officiating on a highway. They run through their Abed-edited vows, and then it’s time for the rings. Both their hands shake as they slide the ring on the other’s finger. Neither feels like pointing it out later.
When they’re announced husband and wife for the second time that day, it’s not any less thrilling. Annie’s whole body feels like it’s on fire as Pastor Davis tells Jeff to kiss her, and then suddenly they’re finally connected for the first time in too long, her mouth the only spot on her body where she can feel anything. She’s both numb and oversensitive, her body crackling with energy and still at the same time.
And then the four of them walk down the aisle together, and just as they leave the banquet room, it occurs to Annie that she’s no longer the only one whose last name isn’t Winger. This thought is so exhilarating, she bursts into tears.
#
“Hey, Abed,” Jeff says one night, one of the rare times he’s able to pull himself away from his girls and go spend a few hours at Chez Trotabed. Some time ago, his girlfriend’s former bedroom became Troy and Britta’s room. Of course, the bunkbeds are still set up, Troy sleeping in his old bed two nights a week. It’s sort of a weird arrangement. Jeff’s never really wanted to discuss the details.
The filmmaker grunts in response, not taking his eyes off the TV. Jeff figures that’s as good an opening as he’s ever gonna get. “I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something. You’re obviously an expert on everything that’s ever happened on TV.”
“Except bottle episodes,” Abed reminds him, gently admonishing him with a raised finger.
“Right,” Jeff concedes. “Anyway, I - ”
“And anything involving pet adoption,” Abed adds, looking as if he’s thinking about it very hard. “Don’t get me wrong, I love puppies and kittens as much as anyone, but that whole trope of kids getting their first pet and promising they’d take care of it and then having to enlist the entire neighborhood when the pet inevitably runs away…It always bored me.”
The lawyer blinks. “Right. Okay. Well, anyway. Like I was saying. I remember back when I fake proposed to Britta, you kind of took it upon yourself to plan the wedding…”
“Uh-huh.” Abed shoves a spoonful of yogurt into his mouth. Jeff sighs.
“Right. Well, you’re pretty much an expert on that sort of thing - weddings and…you know, engagements.” He nervously scratches the back of his head. “And you know Annie really well, since you know everything about everyone, plus you lived with her for a few months, so. I was wondering if you, um. You know. Could help me - ?”
“Sure,” Abed says, not taking his eyes off the TV. Jeff pauses.
“Sure. Um, do you even know what I was trying to ask?”
“You want me to help you think of a way to propose to Annie that is both extravagant and specific to her.”
Jeff looks impressed. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I was asking. I mean, you know how Annie is - she deserves more than some generic proposal, you know? She deserves something special. And after everything we’ve been through, it should be something pretty awesome.” He taps his fingers on the screen of his phone. “I just couldn’t really think of any ideas. I’ve been thinking it over for a few months now, and I’m just not totally sure what to do.”
For the first time, Abed tears his eyes away from the TV and glares at Jeff. “Jeff. I’m going to need to ask you to stop talking. It’s the Inspector Spacetime Independence Day special.”
“Oh, right. Of course.” Jeff holds up a hand in apology. Then he frowns. “Wait, isn’t this a British show?”
“Even the Brits like to be free, Jeff,” Abed says, swallowing another spoonful of yogurt.
#
As soon as they announce their engagement to the group, they’re flooded with suggestions as to the theme and atmosphere of the wedding.
“Don’t accidentally say Rachel,” Abed warns Jeff conspiratorially. Shirley starts chattering excitedly about her church and her pastor’s willingness to overlook “unconventional” families and so what if Annie’s Jewish, and Pierce claps Jeff on the back and whispers that he’ll help him with the pre-nup, and don’t worry, Wife Number One is always a little on the eh side.
Britta goes on a violent tirade against marriage (baguettes are thrown and drinks are spilled. It’s not pretty), while Troy just kind of bounces up and down in his seat and asks if he can be the best man or the dude of honor, he’s really not too picky.
#
As it turns out, when you’re engaged, your friends like to give you unsolicited advice about how to plan your wedding.
Jeff’s biweekly drink with Pierce always turns into a recap of the older man’s weddings, the former moist towelette tycoon listing the highlights of his seven ceremonies. Pierce was very much in favor of a Buddhist ceremony, one at his compound and officiated by his cult leader. Jeff always politely declined.
Abed was very much in favor of going all out for the wedding. When he finally presents his plan to Jeff and Annie, after spending two months working on it, it involves a beach wedding on the side of a cliff right at sunset, with Jeff arriving and making his way down the aisle in a motorcycle. Annie’s dress would be sewn by Vera Wang’s blind assistants, the gown costing an astronomical amount that was somehow still affordable for them. Charlie would walk down the aisle and deliver an uplifting speech that left everyone simultaneously sobbing and laughing at the cute little flower girl. Olivia would take her first steps toward her parents just as they said their vows, reaching up for her parents who were finally a joint unit. And then after the ceremony, the whole family would exit via helicopter. No one quite had the heart to tell Abed this was more or less impossible.
Troy likes to price big inflatable slides. His plan involves Jeff and Annie getting married at the top and then immediately sliding down, the whole surface of the slide decorated with rose petals. Then they’ll have a barbeque in Pierce’s backyard while they dance to some oldies on the radio. And then they’ll watch fireworks go off. It’s not the worst plan he’s ever had.
Shirley’s plan is contingent on Jeff and Annie getting married in her church. With her pastor. As it turns out, the whole Jew thing isn’t totally okay, so they’re just not gonna bring that up. The kids are okay, though.
So when they sit down with Britta to figure out the details of their April wedding (it had seemed too close, but once Britta reminded them of what she managed for Shirley and Andre’s rehearsal with just a day’s notice, the couple decided not to worry about it), they’re both a little hesitant to ignore their friends’ wishes. As Abed once explained to them, this isn’t just Jeff and Annie’s wedding. Two members of their group are getting married - this is big. Sure, Shirley has kids and got married while they were in school, but she had those kids when they all met. Jeff and Annie were the little group members that could, the ones that got together and had kids and are getting married. This, according to Abed, is like Monica and Chandler’s wedding - it’s a celebration of the whole group, not just the ones exchanging vows.
It takes a while, but they finally figure out a way to incorporate all the group’s ideas. Shirley’s pastor, oblivious to Annie’s half-Jewish status, will officiate, while a Buddhist prayer will be read. Abed’s plan is a little harder to work in, but eventually, the three of them decide that Charlie will be a flower girl and they’ll bring Olivia up with them at the end of the ceremony, the four of them leaving as a family. And, to make Troy happy, the reception will be in Pierce’s backyard, with a fireworks display.
When they inform the group of their plans, Troy and Shirley get a little misty-eyed. Even Pierce looks touched. Abed’s the only one to scoff. “I say go big and dramatic or go home,” he says. “But this sounds nice. Maybe it’s not a very special episode after all. All right. I’m in.”
#
“Right up here, please?” Annie leans forward, making sure her limo driver can see where she’s pointing.
The driver frowns. “Here? Are you sure you want to get out here?”
“Yeah, just up here.” She bends forward as much as her swollen stomach will allow and grabs Charlie’s shoes from the limo floor. “All right, princess. We’re gonna get out in a second, so I need you to put your shoes on.”
The four-year-old pouts. Annie sighs. “Charlie, come on. We’re gonna see Daddy and Olive. You have to put your shoes on, okay? I need you to do me a favor when we get out. Do you think you can do something really special for me?”
“What do you want me to do?” Charlie asks, reluctantly taking the shoes from her mother. Annie smiles, helping her adjust the straps on her Mary Jane-style flats.
“I’m gonna stay in the car for a minute, but when you see Daddy, you’re gonna get out and gather some flowers.” She strokes her daughter’s hair, careful not to ruin the curls that Andre’s sister spent an hour perfecting. “Get some for me and you, okay? Make sure they’re pretty.”
“Okay,” Charlie says, frowning as she peers at her shoes to make sure they’re on correctly. “Mommy, what are we doing here? This isn’t the wedding place.”
Annie grins, glancing out her window. The limo’s come to a stop, in an innocuous shoulder on the side of the highway. The entire space is empty, a small expanse of grass that leads to a gathering of trees. “See that space over there?” she asks Charlie, pointing to the clearing. The little girl nods. “Daddy and I are gonna get married there.”
Charlie’s eyebrows shoot up. The few minutes before Jeff’s limo pulls up are spent with the little girl swinging her legs back and forth and excitedly asking her mother why they’re getting married and what about the big place they went to and is Uncle Troy gonna be here? Once the second limo drives into the parking lot, Charlie lets out an ear-splitting squeal and wrenches herself out of the car, running into her father’s waiting embrace.
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” she exclaims as Jeff grabs Olivia under the armpits and pulls her from the limo. “You and Mommy are gonna get married on the street! And no one’s here to see but me and Livvy!”
“I know, Charlie Chaplin,” Jeff says, holding Olivia tight against his chest and slamming the limo door shut. “But we can’t start until you go get some flowers. Did Mommy already tell you we need you to do that?”
“Uh-huh!” Charlie pulls herself up to her full height. “I’m gonna pick some really pretty ones. Watch!”
She runs a few feet away, looking intently at the small bushes that line the entrance to the mini-forest. Jeff grins at her, then glances at Annie’s limo. His fiancé informed him earlier on the phone that she would not be leaving the comfort of her car until the pastor had arrived and their impromptu ceremony could start. Jeff tears his eyes away and turns to the road, wondering what’s taking the pastor so long.
As if on cue, a beaten-up sedan pulls into the shoulder. Pastor Davis gets out, grumbling something under his breath as he hurriedly knots his tie. “Jeffrey!” he calls, crossing the few feet over to the taller man. Jeff shakes his hand, shifting Olivia to his other side.
“Thanks a lot for doing this,” Jeff says, smiling nervously. “I know it’s probably unconventional, but it’s kind of important to us that we could do this before the official ceremony.” He feels his phone buzz in his pocket - probably Britta wondering where he is. Their wedding planner had scheduled everything, including their arrivals, down to the minute; he’s probably late by now. He can’t bring himself to care in the slightest.
Charlie runs back over to Jeff’s side, two small bouquets of wildflowers in either hand. “Daddy, how are these?” she asks, holding them out for his inspection.
“Those look great,” Jeff says, something flip-flopping in his stomach. “Why don’t you go give Mommy hers, and then come back over here and we’ll get this party started?”
Charlie giggles and does as he says, running over to Annie’s limo and opening the door just enough that she can hand Annie her flowers without letting Jeff catch a glimpse of her. She’s pretty sneaky for a four-year-old. Then she skips back to her father’s side, clutching her own set of flowers tight against her chest.
Pastor Davis takes a few steps back, trying to give them enough room for the ceremony. Jeff follows him, standing on his left, still holding Olivia. He puts his hand on Charlie’s back and gently pushes her across from him, around where Annie’s going to stand.
And then Annie climbs out of the limo, having to pause momentarily to ensure her dress doesn’t get stuck. When the one-year-old in Jeff’s arms sees her mother, she starts giggling uncontrollably. “Mama looks pretty,” Olivia coos, resting her head on Jeff’s shoulder.
“She certainly does, Livvy,” Jeff murmurs, unable to take his eyes off Annie as she moves down the so-called aisle. She joins them, blushing slightly under Jeff’s gaze.
“Hi,” he says quietly. Annie beams at him, ducking her head.
“Dearly beloved,” Pastor Davis begins, “we are gathered here by the side of the highway in order to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony, in a style they both find fitting and appropriate. Since it’s just the five of us, I don’t see the point in going through all of it, so let’s skip to the vows. Annie?”
The bride clears her throat before starting. “Well, since Abed insisted on editing our vows for the ceremony, I thought I would say the vows I wrote before he, you know, tore them apart.” Jeff chuckles. Annie bites her lip. “Jeff, I’ve known you for a long time now, and honestly, I haven’t always known that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. In fact, I haven’t always liked you.”
Jeff lets out a loud bark of laughter at that; Pastor Davis makes a face like he’s just swallowed a lemon. Annie continues, her eyes shining. “But then you kissed me after a dance, and it was probably the most inappropriate thing in the world. But we got closer, and suddenly I woke up one day and I realized you had become my best friend. And then I realized I was in love with you. And then I realized that I had been in love with you for - well, longer than I had realized.” She shifts a bit, one of her heels starting to sink into the grass. “You spent your whole time at Greendale trying to prove to everyone, including yourself, that you were this self-centered jerk who didn’t care about anyone but himself. But I know that’s not true. For whatever reason,” she says with a grin, “I took an interest in you, and you showed me that you were an amazing, kind, generous person. You were there for me when I needed you most, and you’ve been there for me ever since, and I know for a fact that you’re gonna be there for me for the rest of our lives.”
Annie places a hand on her stomach, grinning at Olivia, who’s been distracted by a butterfly. “You’re an amazing father, Jeff, and watching you with Charlie and Olivia has just made me love you even more. I’d say that I can’t wait to be your wife, but the truth is, I’ve felt like Mrs. Winger ever since you asked me to move in with you. So I don’t see this as the beginning of anything; this is just confirming something I’ve known and wanted since you kissed me outside the Tranny Dance.”
Pastor Davis clears his throat, turning to Jeff. “Jeffrey?” he prompts.
Jeff shifts his weight, Olivia holding on tight to his lapel. “I’ve spent most of my life being - as you said - a self-centered jerk who didn’t care about anything but himself. For years, I tried to keep everyone out, and I did a pretty good job of it. But there was one person I could never keep out, and that was you. Even when I was willing to blow off the group to try and pick up a professor, or do any of the other things I put the group through, you were the one person who could make me see sense. You made me feel bad about the things I did, not because you were trying to tell me what to do, but because you knew something I didn’t. You knew I was capable of caring about people besides myself. You made me realize that I can care about people and want to protect people and that’s just something I never knew how to do before Greendale.”
He pauses. “Annie, you’re the best friend I never realized I had. You’ve changed me, and most importantly, you’ve given me these two adorable little weirdos. You’ve given me the family I never had and the chance to be the man you’ve always known I could be. And for that, I love you.”
Annie grins at him, wiping her eyes. Charlie bounces up and down on her toes, her mother’s joy making her smile, too. Even Olivia, too young to understand what’s happening, is smiling, happily burying her head into her father’s neck. Pastor Davis clears his throat. “I assume the rings aren’t with the two of you, so we’ll skip that part for now. Do you, Anne Elizabeth Edison, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do,” Annie says, her eyes brimming with tears again.
“And do you, Jeffrey Tobias Winger, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
The lawyer can’t help himself from bouncing on his toes a bit. “I do.”
“Then by the power vested in me - whatever power that is when you’re on the side of a road - I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Before Pastor Davis gets all the words out, Jeff’s surging forward, his body connecting with Annie’s. She reaches for him, her arms wrapping around his neck, mindful of Olivia. They kiss until Charlie lets out a disgusted sound, embarrassed of her gross parents. The newlyweds pull apart, their matching grins spreading across their faces.
“I love you,” Jeff murmurs. “I guess it’s time to go get married for real, huh?”
“We did get married for real,” Annie says, gazing up at him. “This was just for us. Now we’ll go do it for everyone else to make them all happy.”
Jeff kisses her once more. “Then I can’t wait to unofficially marry you for the second time,” he says, taking a small step back. “I’ll see you at the altar.”
Annie beams. “I’ll be the one being walked down the aisle by the old guy who’ll probably trip over his own feet.” Jeff chuckles at that. Then he bends down to kiss Charlie on the forehead before waving goodbye and heading back to his limo.
After thanking the pastor, Annie and Charlie get into their own limo. “That was nice,” Charlie says, curling into her mother’s side after they’ve both fastened their seatbelts. “It made me happy.”
“It made me happy, too,” Annie says, pressing a kiss into her daughter’s hair. Then her mouth sets in a firm line. “But whatever you do, do not tell Aunt Britta about that.”
Author: office_bluth
Spoilers: A brief mention of the events of 3x13 and 3x14, but that's it.
Rating/Warnings: PG
Word Count: 8800
Disclaimer: They tell me I don't own Community or its characters. I do, however, own a signed Jim Rash poster and seasons one and two on DVD. So. Yeah.
Summary: "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby carriage" isn't exactly how Jeff and Annie operate.
Author's Note: This is part three of my Love series, the first two being Feels Like I'm in Love and I Love You Love Me More (links below). As always, I have to thank my amazing beta/BFF jennynoname who used a lot of capslock while betaing this, so I think she's a fan.
Feels Like I'm in Love | I Love You Love Me More
Every morning, Annie wakes up right away. Her wide eyes pop open, and she takes in a deep breath, smiling as sun rays stream through her bedroom window and illuminate the back of her companion’s head, his bedhead the only part of him visible beneath the tangle of blankets.
Thirty-six hours after getting food poisoning, Annie doesn’t wake up and jump right out of bed. She opens one eye groggily, grimacing as her stomach rolls. She places a hand on her stomach experimentally, waiting to see how she feels. No nausea. That’s enough to make her brave enough to roll over, turning her back to the sunlight that threatens to turn the throbbing pain in her head into a splitting pain.
And then she sees Jeff. Her boyfriend is pacing next to the bed, his head bowed as he murmurs something she can’t quite make out. Annie stretches, extending her legs as far as possible and pointing her toes. “Morning,” she says, waiting for her customary good-morning kiss.
She gets it, though after a small hesitation on Jeff’s part. “Sorry,” he says, pecking her once more on the forehead. “I didn’t want to kiss you with gross vomit breath.”
“Gee, thanks,” Annie grumbles good-naturedly.
“Feeling better?” Jeff asks, sitting next to her.
Annie hums. “Yeah, I think it’s passed. Remind me to never eat clams again.”
“You mean remind you to never eat at a restaurant Britta recommended,” Jeff amends. She giggles, oblivious to Jeff’s stillness. He drops his gaze for a moment, gathering courage.
“Hey,” he says finally, taking her hand. “You know what? I’m not waiting anymore. I have something I want to say. I wanted to say it the other night, but your puking kind of got in the way.”
Annie lightly hits his shoulder. “Sorry, I’ll try to schedule my food poisoning around your Winger speeches,” she says, sticking out her tongue at him.
Jeff keeps his eyes on her hand, running his thumb over the back of it. “I just - I had given this a lot of thought, you know? I was gonna do it at Greendale, after our friends formed a flash mob and sang ‘Kiss the Girl’. You know, like the time I said - ”
“I remember,” Annie says quietly, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
“Right,” Jeff says. “Yeah. I had it all planned. The girls were gonna be there, and I had this whole speech planned, and then I was gonna ask you. But then you had to go and eat Britta clams and the whole thing was kind of ruined.” He gently knocks her on the temple with his knuckles. “Thanks for that.”
Annie looks questioningly at him. “Ask me what?”
He finally meets her eyes. “Will you marry me?”
Suddenly, it’s as if Annie hasn’t spent the last thirty-six hours in bed. Her pale skin reddens, the apples of her cheeks making her look as Snow White-esque as ever. She springs up and kisses him soundly, her huge smile evident against his mouth. Then she wraps her legs around him, straddling his lap as she threads her fingers in his hair. “Really?” she squeals before pulling him back and capturing his lips with her own. This pattern repeats for a while until Jeff finally sucks down enough air to ask, “So I guess that’s a yes?”
#
Annie frowns, glancing back and forth between the papers spread out in front of her. She lets out a loud groan just as Jeff enters, looking surprised.
“Everything okay?” he asks as he places his hands on her shoulders and kisses the top of her head. Annie murmurs something he can’t quite make out, relaxing into his touch.
“Just this stupid insurance stuff. The hospital prefers employees who aren’t married to have their kids on the mother’s plan, but your plan is a lot better, so there are all these stupid hoops I have to jump though to get this sorted out.” She runs a hand through her hair. “So I sent in the paperwork last week, but apparently they lost it or made a computer error because the girls and I don’t have the same last name. So this is like the third time I’m going through all this, and it’s just so annoying.”
Annie sighs, stacking the papers on top of each other. “Okay, I’m too tired to deal with this now. Are the girls asleep?”
“Yup,” Jeff says, sitting down next to her. “Olivia knocked right out. Charlie made me tell her a few stories about Uncle Troy and Uncle Abed, and then she fell asleep halfway through my amazing rendition of the Greendale Civil War of 2012.”
“Ah, yes,” Annie says fondly. “I’ll never forget that time you threw a pillow at me when I was four months pregnant.”
“It was a war!” Jeff protests. “Besides, I was trying to protect you. I was aiming for Leonard but your head kind of got in the way.”
Annie lets out a loud bark of laughter. “Leonard was on Team Pillow Fort!” she exclaims. “You’re such a liar. You were not trying to throw a pillow at Leonard. He was on your side!”
Jeff’s quiet for a moment. Then Annie doubles over laughing. “You just really hate Leonard, don’t you?” she asks.
“I really, really do,” he says, her laughter as infectious as ever. He chuckles at her for a moment, her wide eyes catching him staring at her.
“What?” she asks, smiling at him.
Jeff shrugs. “Nothing. Can’t I just look at you? Isn’t that kind of the whole reason you live with me, so I can look at you whenever I want? And, you know, our children. Whatever.”
Annie beams, leaning forward to kiss him. His fingers thread through hers, moving her hand up high enough for her to kiss her palm. “Come on,” he says suddenly, standing. “Come dance with me.”
“Jeff!” Annie protests. “Come on. The girls are sleeping. We’ll wake them up.”
“No we won’t!” he says, pulling her arm. “Come on. We’ll keep the music quiet.”
She groans and stands, following him into the living room. Jeff heads over to the stereo, turning it on and finding a suitable radio station. Once he makes sure the volume is low enough to avoid disturbing Charlie and Olivia, he turns back to Annie. “Ready?”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling at him. And then they’re krumping, their lips pursed in determination as they flail their limbs. Thanks to Troy and Abed, who were bored and felt like dancing on one lazy Saturday afternoon, they discovered that Charlie loved watching people krump; Jeff and Annie started doing it just to make her laugh, and quickly learned that it is, without exaggeration, the most fun thing in the world.
Annie jumps onto the couch, squaring her shoulders and waving her arms back and forth, while Jeff flops around on the floor. Then they somehow wind up switching positions, and then their legs wind up intertwined and unable to move. They lay still for a while, regaining their breath. Most krumping sessions end like this.
Then Jeff looks over at his girlfriend, her face flushed and her chest heaving as she starts giggling. Then Jeff starts laughing, one hand rubbing his forehead as he considers their utterly ridiculous predicament. Annie beams at him, rolling on her side and kissing him slowly. He smiles against her lips, his hand gently rubbing her back.
All in all, it’s a peaceful end to their day, though one that’s not totally uncommon for them (seriously. They krump a lot). But as Jeff looks at her, he realizes he wants more and more of these kinds of days, which is silly - he’s seen Annie every single day since they moved in together their junior year at Greendale. It’s not like he’s missing out on anything. And yet, he sort of is.
His breath catches in his throat. Holy crap. He wants this. He wants to marry Annie Edison. He’d always known things would eventually get to this point, but he didn’t think it would hit him so suddenly. Of course he’s going to marry Annie. She’s the mother of his children, his best friend, the only person he wants to see when he wakes up…He’s an idiot. How did he not realize this sooner?
Annie frowns at him. “Jeff? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he says quickly, kissing her again. “Nothing. I just realized that I’m sort of a dumbass.”
She just blinks. “Well, duh.”
#
When she’s six months pregnant, Jeff suggests getting married.
They’re all crammed into their small kitchen. Annie’s trying to get Charlie to eat just one more bite of her cereal, while Jeff adjusts his tie and waits for his toast to pop up. And then he says it, just like that.
“Do you wanna marry me?”
Annie snorts. “Is that really the way you’re gonna do it?”
Jeff considers that. “No,” he says. “I’m just wondering, I guess. Seeing as we have a two-year-old and another baby on the way. And since you’ve been living with me for, like, three years. And we, you know, love each other. Isn’t that what people do? Get married?”
Annie thinks that over. Charlie happily takes a sip of her chocolate milk. “I don’t know,” Annie says thoughtfully. “To be fair, I think people fall in love, get married, then have babies. I think we’re going at this a bit out of order.”
Jeff shrugs. “So what? Just cause we went out of order means we have to completely skip steps?”
“No, I just -” Annie glances at him, realizing how worked up he’s getting over this. “Jeff,” she says gently, “you know I love you. I just don’t want to get married just because that’s what we should do. You know? If we got married, I’d want it to be because - well, because we wanted to marry each other.”
He opens a cabinet door with far too much force. “That’s what you think? That I don’t want to marry you?”
“No,” she says, “I don’t think that. I’m just saying that this is the very first time we’re talking about this. So I’m just, you know, explaining what I think.” She glances at him; he still doesn’t seem very happy. Annie sighs and gets up, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head in between his shoulder blades. “I do want to marry you, Jeff,” she says. “And I know you want to marry me. I really didn’t mean to imply that I wanted anything else.”
Jeff doesn’t turn around, but she can feel his whole body unclench. He squeezes her hands. “Okay,” he says, “so we’re on the same page? We both want to get married?”
“Of course,” Annie says. Jeff smiles to himself.
“Okay.” He turns around, putting his hands on her hips. “You’d better prepare yourself, Edison. Cause whenever I propose - I don’t know when it’ll be - but when I do, it’s gonna be awesome.”
Annie nods dutifully. “Noted,” she says. “Now kiss me goodbye before you have to go to work.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jeff says, imitating her tone. He kisses her, grinning against her lips. “I love you.”
“Love you, too,” she murmurs.
“Daddy!” Charlie calls. “I love you, too!”
Jeff and Annie chuckle. “Guess what?” Jeff asks as he lifts Charlie out of her chair, tucking her under his arm and tickling her as he begins running around the kitchen.
The toddler giggles furiously. “Put me down, Daddy!”
“Nope.” Jeff swings her out from under his arm and holds her properly. “I’m not putting you down until you guess what.”
“What?!” she shrieks, covering her mouth with her hands. Jeff kisses her cheek, then pretends to bite it.
“I love you, too, munchkin.” He kisses her on the side of the head before handing her over to Annie. “I have to go to work. Are you gonna be a good girl and listen to Mommy today?”
Charlie glances at Annie and starts giggling again. Annie nods exaggeratedly. “Yes, Daddy,” Annie says, bumping her daughter’s nose with her own.
“Yes, Daddy,” Charlie repeats, poking Annie on the tip of the nose. Jeff takes a moment to watch them play with each other. Sometimes he does this - just steps back and watches Charlie. It never quite seems real, even three years later.
After a moment, he kisses them both goodbye again and heads off to work, feeling as if he could fly.
#
Annie wakes up with a start. She rolls over and checks her phone - 7 AM. Way too early to be awake. But she knows she won’t be able to get back to sleep. Today’s not just a normal day, after all - today, April 15th, 2017, is the day Annie Edison gets married. The thought is almost enough to make her throw up.
It’s not that she has cold feet, or anything. She’s been with Jeff for over five years now, and it’s not as if she’s unsure about their future together. They have 2.4 kids together, and have been living together forever. Her nerves aren’t coming from the marriage itself, but rather the wedding.
For months, the wedding preparation had centered around what would make their friends happy. Shirley’s minister, Troy’s music choices…Hell, Britta even made the final call on the bridesmaids’ dresses (choosing one that complimented her figure, paying no mind to the other girls). This wedding was supposed to be about the four (almost five) of them, and now it’s about seven adults, two children under the age of five, and one fetus.
Carefully, she gets out of the bed in Shirley and Andre’s spare bedroom, taking caution not to wake up Charlie. She and Jeff had decided to spend the night apart, so he stayed at the apartment with Olivia and packed up a few more boxes while Annie and Charlie went to stay with the Bennetts. The bridal party will be congregating in Shirley’s living room at ten to start their hair and make-up, but Annie hadn’t been planning on waking up for another hour.
She tiptoes into the hallway, careful to shut the door silently behind her. Luckily, the spare bedroom is on the first floor, preventing her from having to sneak past Shirley and the boys. Annie makes her way into the kitchen, sitting down and staring at her cell phone.
It’s too early. He’s probably still asleep. Then again, Olivia sometimes wakes up early, so he might be awake with her. Annie bites her lip, her fingers poised over Jeff’s name in her contacts list. Before she can talk herself out of it, she calls her fiancé.
“Hello?”
Instantly, Annie relaxes when she hears his voice. Of course, he sounds groggy, so she should probably feel a pang of guilt for waking him up, but she can’t quite bring herself to care. “Hi,” she says, her voice small. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I just needed to hear your voice.”
“No, you didn’t wake me.” Jeff stifles a yawn. “Okay, you did. But I only fell asleep, like, an hour ago. I could barely sleep all night. Wonder why. Are we doing something important today, or something?”
Annie grins. “Funny,” she says. “I couldn’t sleep, either. I just woke up and…I don’t know. I just had this weird feeling, you know? Something felt wrong.”
He pauses. “What do you mean? Do you not want to do this?”
“No, no!” Her eyes widen. “No, that’s not what I mean. Of course I want to marry you, dummy. I just meant that our wedding isn’t about us anymore. It’s what Pierce, Shirley, Troy, and Abed wanted. We’re just jumping through so many hoops. I mean, we had to bribe a four-year-old to even participate in the stupid thing. Is this really what we want? This big wedding? I mean, it might as well take place in the study room.”
Then she bites her lip, worried he’s taken that wrong. “I don’t mean it like that. It’s not that I’m not happy, or not looking forward to today. Just…”
“…We’ve been steamrolled by Greendale once again?” Jeff chuckles. “I know what you mean, babe. I feel like this whole thing kind of got away from us. I mean, come on. Pierce is an integral part of our wedding. That right there shows that this isn’t exactly the ceremony we would have picked for ourselves.”
“So what are we gonna do about that?” Annie asks, glancing out the kitchen window. The sunlight streams in, making her body feel as alert as her mind has been since she woke up. Sunlight’s always made her feel ready for her day, and today is sort of as big a day she’ll ever have.
She can practically see Jeff’s smile through the phone. “Do you have Shirley’s pastor’s phone number?”
#
Jeff takes a sip of his soda, his eyes never wavering from the narrow blue eyes of his younger daughter. “Come on, Livvy,” he says soothingly. “Eat your pizza. You love pizza.”
The blonde across from his rolls her eyes. “I can’t believe you actually let your kids eat this crap.”
“Britta,” Jeff says through gritted teeth, keeping a wide smile for the baby’s benefit, “Annie doesn’t like people to curse around the girls.”
The therapist rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Expose them to chemicals and violence all day long, but God forbid they hear a four-letter word.”
Charlie cocks her head, thoughtfully munching on a French fry. “Aunt Britta, you’re a lot less fun than Uncle Troy and Uncle Abed.”
Jeff chokes on his drink, making the three-year-old look very proud of herself. “Was that funny, Daddy?” she asks, grinning toothily at him.
“It was funny,” Jeff says, kissing her hair. “Any joke you make about Aunt Britta will be funny.”
Charlie preens under his praise. Olivia gurgles happily, blowing spit bubbles at Britta. The blonde sighs. “One day, you’ll have a kid that likes me.”
“Mommy and Daddy aren’t having more babies,” Charlie informs her aunt. “Timmy from daycare says that you can’t have babies until you’re married, and Mommy and Daddy aren’t married, so they can’t have more babies.”
Jeff shoots a glance at Britta, silently begging her to drop the issue. He and Annie have never really discussed getting married, and he’s not totally sure the three-year-old will be able to understand why this is, and why it’s not something their relationship needs just now.
But, of course, Britta doesn’t get the hint. “That’s a load of crap. Er - sorry,” she says with a quick look at Jeff. “I mean that’s a load of bull. Your parents weren’t married when they had you and Olivia. And besides - Timmy from daycare? He’s a machine,” she cries indignantly, pointing accusingly at the little girl. “He’s just mindlessly regurgitating societal ideals and expectations, spreading the completely esoteric belief that you can’t be happy or fulfilled unless -”
“Britta,” Jeff interjects, his voice low. “Timmy from daycare is three years old. As is Charlie. I think the lectures about everything that’s wrong with society can wait at least until she’s learned how to tie her shoes.”
“Laces were invented just to confuse the youth,” Britta mumbles. “Use Velcro.”
Jeff rolls his eyes. Olivia gurgles from her stroller, the device pulled up against the end of their table. The father of two glances at the stage, where a very scary-looking Chuck E. Cheese has emerged to come play with all the children currently enjoying their rubbery hot dogs and sauce-less pizza.
“Hey, Charles Baudelaire,” he says, turning to the little girl on his right. “Want to go play Skee-Ball?”
Her eyes light up, and she immediately clambers across her father’s lap, too impatient to wait for him to get out of the booth. Jeff chuckles, grabbing her around the waist and helping her onto the floor.
“Britta, can you stay with Olivia?” he asks, three of his fingers clenched in Charlie’s vice-like grip. She starts pulling him away, making Jeff completely oblivious to the panicked look Britta shoots the four-month-old sitting happily in her stroller.
Charlie drags her father to the other side of Chuck E. Cheese, her eyes bright as she locates the wall of Skee-Ball lanes. Jeff takes two gold tokens from their plastic cup and feeds them to the machine, nine rubbery balls appearing from nowhere.
“Daddy?” Charlie asks as she takes a ball and rolls it with all her strength. It doesn’t roll into a hole. Jeff takes her hand when she grabs a new ball and guides her arm through its swing. Twenty points.
“Yeah, munchkin?” he asks, his gaze on the holes at the end of the lane.
“How come you and Mommy aren’t married?” she asks, oblivious to her score. Jeff cringes.
“Well,” he says, choosing his words carefully. “We, um. We just don’t think - we don’t really need to.”
“But don’t you love Mommy?” the little girl asks.
“Of course I do,” Jeff says, surprised. “I love Mommy very much. And we love you and Olivia. But when you love someone, you don’t have to marry them. Mommy and I don’t need to be married to be happy.”
Charlie looks doubtful. “But my friends’ mommies and daddies are married. All of them are. Are you ever gonna marry Mommy?”
Jeff smiles, running his fingers through his daughter’s dark hair. “Yeah, I am.”
Then he stands up straight. “All right, let’s finish up this game and get back to the table. You know how scared Aunt Britta is of Olivia.”
#
The three months after Jeff and Annie get engaged become rather routine.
They wake up in the morning, get ready for work, eat breakfast with the girls, and then kiss goodbye before leaving for work. Then one of them will drop Charlie and Olivia off at daycare. And then Annie will call Britta from the car.
“Hey, Britta!” the brunette chirps, reciting what’s become an unofficial script over the last few months. “It’s Annie. Listen. As you know, I’m engaged -”
At this point in the conversation, the blonde almost always groans. Sometimes her language is a bit more colorful. That’s why Annie only calls once she drops the girls off.
Annie continues, her voice overly cheery to drown out Britta’s cynicism and general terribleness. “Look, I know you don’t do this sort of thing anymore, but it really would mean a lot to me if you would plan my and Jeff’s wedding. You’re great at it, and besides, you’re my best friend. We would both love it if our wedding had your personal touch.”
Around this point, Britta usually hangs up. Annie will call again twice: once on her lunch break and as soon as she gets in the car after work.
Finally, one day, while Annie’s talking to Britta and scarfing down her sandwich, the therapist snaps. “Annie, I can’t deal with this anymore! You’re calling me three times a day just to hear me say no! Do you know what I would say if you came into my office? I would say that you have a self-destructive personality and low self-esteem. You call me over and over again, even though you know my answer has never changed and will never change.”
Annie responds calmly. “Troy can be your assistant.”
“…Fine, I’ll do it.”
#
Jeff takes a deep breath, adjusting his tie. Annie glances at him. “Are you okay? You’ve been antsy all night.”
“So great,” Jeff says breezily, swallowing with a large gulp. “I’m wonderful. Why?” he asks suddenly, perking up. “Are you okay? Are you cold or something? ‘Cause you can have my jacket - here.” He turns around, fumbling for a moment, before straightening and offering Annie his jacket. She takes it slowly, peering at the garment as if it’ll tell her why her boyfriend’s been acting so odd all night.
“This is great, huh?” he asks, looking around stiffly, as if he’s following a script. In fact, that’s exactly what he’s doing, unbeknownst to his companion - Abed wrote a script for the evening, one that the filmmaker swears will smoothly take Jeff and Annie from Point A to Point B (“Point A” being unengaged and “Point B” being, well). “Such a lovely atmosphere. And look - the candle. Makes it so romantic.” He gestures awkwardly to the candle on their table, the black wick unlit. The flame had accidentally been blown out when Jeff bumped into the table on their way in, his legs working on their own as he pulled out Annie’s chair for her.
“So romantic,” he repeats, taking a sip of his wine. “And the music? It really puts love on the mind.” He sets down his glass. “Love. You know, it’s funny to think that we fell in love in a school. Why don’t we go back there?”
Crap. He skipped a few pages in the script. Abed’s gonna kill him.
Annie wrinkles her nose. “Jeff, what’s wrong with you? You’ve said, like, eight thousand things in the last twenty seconds. Are you okay?” Then her face smoothes. “Oh, are you nervous about being away from the girls? Don’t worry about it - they’re with Shirley, and she swore to me that she wouldn’t let Britta within twenty feet of her house.”
“Yes. It is the girls I am worried about,” Jeff says stiffly, barely moving his jaw. “But hey, you’re right, they’re safe, so let’s get on with our evening. So. Wanna go back to Greendale?”
“Um, sure?” Annie chuckles awkwardly. “Not exactly my idea of a romantic evening, but sure. We could revisit a few of our favorite supply closets.” She drags her finger across the palm of his hand, gently caressing his skin.
Jeff visibly relaxes, his shoulders slumping. “Great,” he says, giving himself a mental high-five. So far, everything’s going as Abed scripted. Now to just get to the school and give the signal, and then the music would start, and then he would deliver his speech. And then he’d get down on one knee and Annie would say yes and everything is almost perfect.
And then it’s all ruined.
Annie makes a face. “Can you just give me a minute? I have to - ” Then she heaves, covering her mouth with a napkin. Her face green, she jumps up in her chair, the legs squeaking against the floor in protest, and sprints to the bathroom. Jeff frowns but doesn’t go after her, instead asking the waiter for the check and patiently sipping his wine until his girlfriend returns.
When she does, she’s noticeably pale. And yet green at the same time. Jeff furrows his brows. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” Annie says, dropping into her chair. “I’m not feeling great. I just puked up everything I ate today.” She pokes at her plate with a fork. “I think these clams might have had something to do with it.”
Jeff glances at the dish. “Are you feeling better now?” Annie just grunts in response, a hand on her stomach. Jeff frowns, leaning forward. “You know, clams. Like The Little Mermaid, right? ‘Cause clams are underwater? Hey, speaking of The Little Mermaid, remember when I - ?”
Annie covers her mouth, her eyes snapping shut. “Sweetie, I think I need to go home. I’m sorry. I know you had this nice night planned, but - ”
Jeff deflates. But he takes her free hand, running his thumb over her smooth skin. “No, don’t be sorry,” he says. “We can try again some other night, right? Why don’t you go lay down in the car while I pay the bill?”
Annie smiles weakly. “I love you.” She takes the keys from his extended hand and slowly makes her way out of the restaurant. Jeff watches her leave; as soon as she’s out of sight, he pulls out his phone and texts Abed.
“Flash mob cancelled. Annie’s sick. Operation Proposal is off. We’ll try again soon.”
#
Britta and Annie decide to let Charlie pick her own flower girl dress. After vetoing a cowgirl outfit, a pink dress with fairy wings, and some sort of snow suit, they decide that maybe they should take the responsibility out of the four-year-old’s hands. When they’re at a fitting getting Annie’s wedding dress tailored around her growing belly, they find her a yellow dress that complements the navy blue bridesmaids’ dresses, and a similar one for Olivia. Charlie throws a fit when she first sees it. Jeff has to bribe her into agreeing to wear it by buying her ice cream and promising the little girl that she’ll get to dance with Uncle Troy at the reception.
After that, Charlie’s much more agreeable to the whole wedding planning process. She’s always been a big fan of Uncle Troy.
#
Annie pulls the covers down, smiling brightly as Jeff opens as his eyes. “Morning, babe! I made breakfast already, and Olive and Charlie are still sleeping. It’s just us.” Her eyes widen with excitement before she leans down to quickly kiss him good morning. Before she can pull away, Jeff grabs her arm and holds her in place, keeping her body trapped on top of his.
“I think I could get used to waking up like this,” he says thoughtfully, pressing a kiss to her nose and then to her bottom lip. “So you made me breakfast, huh? It’s not my birthday. And Father’s Day isn’t until next week.” His lips curl into a slow smile. “Wait, what was that part about the girls still being asleep?”
His hands travel to her hips, gently grazing her skin. Annie flushes, burying her face in the curve of his neck. “That’s not quite what I had in mind, Mr. Winger,” she says, though she makes no move to pull away from him. “I was thinking we could talk about this.”
She leans over and grabs something from the nightstand. Jeff studies it, squinting a little to read the small print. It’s a newspaper clipping, a picture of a house taking up the top half. Jeff glances from the ad to his girlfriend’s face, her eyes bright as she waits for his reaction.
“You want to buy a house?” he asks, trying to rest on his elbows. It doesn’t quite work with an Annie-shaped creature draped on his chest, but he does the best he can. Annie nods excitedly in response.
“I mean, maybe not right this second,” she says, her words picking up speed, “but I think it’s something we should start talking about. Olivia and Charlie can barely fit in their room as it is, and this way, it’ll be easier to sleep train Olivia. Plus then we’ll have our own place, you know, that we can make our own and everything. So what do you think?”
Jeff glances at the ad again. “I think,” he says carefully, “that’s a great idea.”
Annie shoots up, accidentally stabbing Jeff in the chest with her elbow. “Really?!” she squeals, oblivious to her boyfriend’s strangled cry of pain. “You really want to do this?”
“Well, yeah,” he says, looking confused. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well.” Annie squirms a bit. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just - kind of surprised that you’re so willing to go along with this. You know, without me having to talk you into it.”
Jeff furrows his brows. “What, you don’t think I can commit? Annie, I’m not that same guy who avoided getting involved in pillow fights and made excuses to get out of having to go to Britta’s cat’s funeral.”
“Pierce’s eulogy for Charles was surprisingly lovely,” Annie says fondly.
The lawyer rolls his eyes before continuing. “The point is, you know I’m not that guy anymore, especially not with you and the girls. I can’t believe you would think I’m still afraid of getting married or buying a house together or any of that.”
She raises an eyebrow, biting her lip to keep her smile in check. “Getting married, huh?”
Jeff pauses. “So the kids are asleep?” Then he grabs her hips and rolls them over, their feet entangling as they settle against each other.
#
Their second wedding runs smoothly. No one, not even Pierce, trips on their way up the aisle, there are no embarrassing outbursts by Olivia (who spends the ceremony in Grandma Winger’s lap), and even Chang stays a silent presence in the very last row, his dark eyes darting around as he looks for any potential wrongdoer.
It all goes by in a blur. Before Annie knows it, she’s standing in front of Jeff, her real bouquet in her hands. Pastor Davis performs the full ceremony this time, looking much happier now that he’s not officiating on a highway. They run through their Abed-edited vows, and then it’s time for the rings. Both their hands shake as they slide the ring on the other’s finger. Neither feels like pointing it out later.
When they’re announced husband and wife for the second time that day, it’s not any less thrilling. Annie’s whole body feels like it’s on fire as Pastor Davis tells Jeff to kiss her, and then suddenly they’re finally connected for the first time in too long, her mouth the only spot on her body where she can feel anything. She’s both numb and oversensitive, her body crackling with energy and still at the same time.
And then the four of them walk down the aisle together, and just as they leave the banquet room, it occurs to Annie that she’s no longer the only one whose last name isn’t Winger. This thought is so exhilarating, she bursts into tears.
#
“Hey, Abed,” Jeff says one night, one of the rare times he’s able to pull himself away from his girls and go spend a few hours at Chez Trotabed. Some time ago, his girlfriend’s former bedroom became Troy and Britta’s room. Of course, the bunkbeds are still set up, Troy sleeping in his old bed two nights a week. It’s sort of a weird arrangement. Jeff’s never really wanted to discuss the details.
The filmmaker grunts in response, not taking his eyes off the TV. Jeff figures that’s as good an opening as he’s ever gonna get. “I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something. You’re obviously an expert on everything that’s ever happened on TV.”
“Except bottle episodes,” Abed reminds him, gently admonishing him with a raised finger.
“Right,” Jeff concedes. “Anyway, I - ”
“And anything involving pet adoption,” Abed adds, looking as if he’s thinking about it very hard. “Don’t get me wrong, I love puppies and kittens as much as anyone, but that whole trope of kids getting their first pet and promising they’d take care of it and then having to enlist the entire neighborhood when the pet inevitably runs away…It always bored me.”
The lawyer blinks. “Right. Okay. Well, anyway. Like I was saying. I remember back when I fake proposed to Britta, you kind of took it upon yourself to plan the wedding…”
“Uh-huh.” Abed shoves a spoonful of yogurt into his mouth. Jeff sighs.
“Right. Well, you’re pretty much an expert on that sort of thing - weddings and…you know, engagements.” He nervously scratches the back of his head. “And you know Annie really well, since you know everything about everyone, plus you lived with her for a few months, so. I was wondering if you, um. You know. Could help me - ?”
“Sure,” Abed says, not taking his eyes off the TV. Jeff pauses.
“Sure. Um, do you even know what I was trying to ask?”
“You want me to help you think of a way to propose to Annie that is both extravagant and specific to her.”
Jeff looks impressed. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I was asking. I mean, you know how Annie is - she deserves more than some generic proposal, you know? She deserves something special. And after everything we’ve been through, it should be something pretty awesome.” He taps his fingers on the screen of his phone. “I just couldn’t really think of any ideas. I’ve been thinking it over for a few months now, and I’m just not totally sure what to do.”
For the first time, Abed tears his eyes away from the TV and glares at Jeff. “Jeff. I’m going to need to ask you to stop talking. It’s the Inspector Spacetime Independence Day special.”
“Oh, right. Of course.” Jeff holds up a hand in apology. Then he frowns. “Wait, isn’t this a British show?”
“Even the Brits like to be free, Jeff,” Abed says, swallowing another spoonful of yogurt.
#
As soon as they announce their engagement to the group, they’re flooded with suggestions as to the theme and atmosphere of the wedding.
“Don’t accidentally say Rachel,” Abed warns Jeff conspiratorially. Shirley starts chattering excitedly about her church and her pastor’s willingness to overlook “unconventional” families and so what if Annie’s Jewish, and Pierce claps Jeff on the back and whispers that he’ll help him with the pre-nup, and don’t worry, Wife Number One is always a little on the eh side.
Britta goes on a violent tirade against marriage (baguettes are thrown and drinks are spilled. It’s not pretty), while Troy just kind of bounces up and down in his seat and asks if he can be the best man or the dude of honor, he’s really not too picky.
#
As it turns out, when you’re engaged, your friends like to give you unsolicited advice about how to plan your wedding.
Jeff’s biweekly drink with Pierce always turns into a recap of the older man’s weddings, the former moist towelette tycoon listing the highlights of his seven ceremonies. Pierce was very much in favor of a Buddhist ceremony, one at his compound and officiated by his cult leader. Jeff always politely declined.
Abed was very much in favor of going all out for the wedding. When he finally presents his plan to Jeff and Annie, after spending two months working on it, it involves a beach wedding on the side of a cliff right at sunset, with Jeff arriving and making his way down the aisle in a motorcycle. Annie’s dress would be sewn by Vera Wang’s blind assistants, the gown costing an astronomical amount that was somehow still affordable for them. Charlie would walk down the aisle and deliver an uplifting speech that left everyone simultaneously sobbing and laughing at the cute little flower girl. Olivia would take her first steps toward her parents just as they said their vows, reaching up for her parents who were finally a joint unit. And then after the ceremony, the whole family would exit via helicopter. No one quite had the heart to tell Abed this was more or less impossible.
Troy likes to price big inflatable slides. His plan involves Jeff and Annie getting married at the top and then immediately sliding down, the whole surface of the slide decorated with rose petals. Then they’ll have a barbeque in Pierce’s backyard while they dance to some oldies on the radio. And then they’ll watch fireworks go off. It’s not the worst plan he’s ever had.
Shirley’s plan is contingent on Jeff and Annie getting married in her church. With her pastor. As it turns out, the whole Jew thing isn’t totally okay, so they’re just not gonna bring that up. The kids are okay, though.
So when they sit down with Britta to figure out the details of their April wedding (it had seemed too close, but once Britta reminded them of what she managed for Shirley and Andre’s rehearsal with just a day’s notice, the couple decided not to worry about it), they’re both a little hesitant to ignore their friends’ wishes. As Abed once explained to them, this isn’t just Jeff and Annie’s wedding. Two members of their group are getting married - this is big. Sure, Shirley has kids and got married while they were in school, but she had those kids when they all met. Jeff and Annie were the little group members that could, the ones that got together and had kids and are getting married. This, according to Abed, is like Monica and Chandler’s wedding - it’s a celebration of the whole group, not just the ones exchanging vows.
It takes a while, but they finally figure out a way to incorporate all the group’s ideas. Shirley’s pastor, oblivious to Annie’s half-Jewish status, will officiate, while a Buddhist prayer will be read. Abed’s plan is a little harder to work in, but eventually, the three of them decide that Charlie will be a flower girl and they’ll bring Olivia up with them at the end of the ceremony, the four of them leaving as a family. And, to make Troy happy, the reception will be in Pierce’s backyard, with a fireworks display.
When they inform the group of their plans, Troy and Shirley get a little misty-eyed. Even Pierce looks touched. Abed’s the only one to scoff. “I say go big and dramatic or go home,” he says. “But this sounds nice. Maybe it’s not a very special episode after all. All right. I’m in.”
#
“Right up here, please?” Annie leans forward, making sure her limo driver can see where she’s pointing.
The driver frowns. “Here? Are you sure you want to get out here?”
“Yeah, just up here.” She bends forward as much as her swollen stomach will allow and grabs Charlie’s shoes from the limo floor. “All right, princess. We’re gonna get out in a second, so I need you to put your shoes on.”
The four-year-old pouts. Annie sighs. “Charlie, come on. We’re gonna see Daddy and Olive. You have to put your shoes on, okay? I need you to do me a favor when we get out. Do you think you can do something really special for me?”
“What do you want me to do?” Charlie asks, reluctantly taking the shoes from her mother. Annie smiles, helping her adjust the straps on her Mary Jane-style flats.
“I’m gonna stay in the car for a minute, but when you see Daddy, you’re gonna get out and gather some flowers.” She strokes her daughter’s hair, careful not to ruin the curls that Andre’s sister spent an hour perfecting. “Get some for me and you, okay? Make sure they’re pretty.”
“Okay,” Charlie says, frowning as she peers at her shoes to make sure they’re on correctly. “Mommy, what are we doing here? This isn’t the wedding place.”
Annie grins, glancing out her window. The limo’s come to a stop, in an innocuous shoulder on the side of the highway. The entire space is empty, a small expanse of grass that leads to a gathering of trees. “See that space over there?” she asks Charlie, pointing to the clearing. The little girl nods. “Daddy and I are gonna get married there.”
Charlie’s eyebrows shoot up. The few minutes before Jeff’s limo pulls up are spent with the little girl swinging her legs back and forth and excitedly asking her mother why they’re getting married and what about the big place they went to and is Uncle Troy gonna be here? Once the second limo drives into the parking lot, Charlie lets out an ear-splitting squeal and wrenches herself out of the car, running into her father’s waiting embrace.
“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” she exclaims as Jeff grabs Olivia under the armpits and pulls her from the limo. “You and Mommy are gonna get married on the street! And no one’s here to see but me and Livvy!”
“I know, Charlie Chaplin,” Jeff says, holding Olivia tight against his chest and slamming the limo door shut. “But we can’t start until you go get some flowers. Did Mommy already tell you we need you to do that?”
“Uh-huh!” Charlie pulls herself up to her full height. “I’m gonna pick some really pretty ones. Watch!”
She runs a few feet away, looking intently at the small bushes that line the entrance to the mini-forest. Jeff grins at her, then glances at Annie’s limo. His fiancé informed him earlier on the phone that she would not be leaving the comfort of her car until the pastor had arrived and their impromptu ceremony could start. Jeff tears his eyes away and turns to the road, wondering what’s taking the pastor so long.
As if on cue, a beaten-up sedan pulls into the shoulder. Pastor Davis gets out, grumbling something under his breath as he hurriedly knots his tie. “Jeffrey!” he calls, crossing the few feet over to the taller man. Jeff shakes his hand, shifting Olivia to his other side.
“Thanks a lot for doing this,” Jeff says, smiling nervously. “I know it’s probably unconventional, but it’s kind of important to us that we could do this before the official ceremony.” He feels his phone buzz in his pocket - probably Britta wondering where he is. Their wedding planner had scheduled everything, including their arrivals, down to the minute; he’s probably late by now. He can’t bring himself to care in the slightest.
Charlie runs back over to Jeff’s side, two small bouquets of wildflowers in either hand. “Daddy, how are these?” she asks, holding them out for his inspection.
“Those look great,” Jeff says, something flip-flopping in his stomach. “Why don’t you go give Mommy hers, and then come back over here and we’ll get this party started?”
Charlie giggles and does as he says, running over to Annie’s limo and opening the door just enough that she can hand Annie her flowers without letting Jeff catch a glimpse of her. She’s pretty sneaky for a four-year-old. Then she skips back to her father’s side, clutching her own set of flowers tight against her chest.
Pastor Davis takes a few steps back, trying to give them enough room for the ceremony. Jeff follows him, standing on his left, still holding Olivia. He puts his hand on Charlie’s back and gently pushes her across from him, around where Annie’s going to stand.
And then Annie climbs out of the limo, having to pause momentarily to ensure her dress doesn’t get stuck. When the one-year-old in Jeff’s arms sees her mother, she starts giggling uncontrollably. “Mama looks pretty,” Olivia coos, resting her head on Jeff’s shoulder.
“She certainly does, Livvy,” Jeff murmurs, unable to take his eyes off Annie as she moves down the so-called aisle. She joins them, blushing slightly under Jeff’s gaze.
“Hi,” he says quietly. Annie beams at him, ducking her head.
“Dearly beloved,” Pastor Davis begins, “we are gathered here by the side of the highway in order to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony, in a style they both find fitting and appropriate. Since it’s just the five of us, I don’t see the point in going through all of it, so let’s skip to the vows. Annie?”
The bride clears her throat before starting. “Well, since Abed insisted on editing our vows for the ceremony, I thought I would say the vows I wrote before he, you know, tore them apart.” Jeff chuckles. Annie bites her lip. “Jeff, I’ve known you for a long time now, and honestly, I haven’t always known that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. In fact, I haven’t always liked you.”
Jeff lets out a loud bark of laughter at that; Pastor Davis makes a face like he’s just swallowed a lemon. Annie continues, her eyes shining. “But then you kissed me after a dance, and it was probably the most inappropriate thing in the world. But we got closer, and suddenly I woke up one day and I realized you had become my best friend. And then I realized I was in love with you. And then I realized that I had been in love with you for - well, longer than I had realized.” She shifts a bit, one of her heels starting to sink into the grass. “You spent your whole time at Greendale trying to prove to everyone, including yourself, that you were this self-centered jerk who didn’t care about anyone but himself. But I know that’s not true. For whatever reason,” she says with a grin, “I took an interest in you, and you showed me that you were an amazing, kind, generous person. You were there for me when I needed you most, and you’ve been there for me ever since, and I know for a fact that you’re gonna be there for me for the rest of our lives.”
Annie places a hand on her stomach, grinning at Olivia, who’s been distracted by a butterfly. “You’re an amazing father, Jeff, and watching you with Charlie and Olivia has just made me love you even more. I’d say that I can’t wait to be your wife, but the truth is, I’ve felt like Mrs. Winger ever since you asked me to move in with you. So I don’t see this as the beginning of anything; this is just confirming something I’ve known and wanted since you kissed me outside the Tranny Dance.”
Pastor Davis clears his throat, turning to Jeff. “Jeffrey?” he prompts.
Jeff shifts his weight, Olivia holding on tight to his lapel. “I’ve spent most of my life being - as you said - a self-centered jerk who didn’t care about anything but himself. For years, I tried to keep everyone out, and I did a pretty good job of it. But there was one person I could never keep out, and that was you. Even when I was willing to blow off the group to try and pick up a professor, or do any of the other things I put the group through, you were the one person who could make me see sense. You made me feel bad about the things I did, not because you were trying to tell me what to do, but because you knew something I didn’t. You knew I was capable of caring about people besides myself. You made me realize that I can care about people and want to protect people and that’s just something I never knew how to do before Greendale.”
He pauses. “Annie, you’re the best friend I never realized I had. You’ve changed me, and most importantly, you’ve given me these two adorable little weirdos. You’ve given me the family I never had and the chance to be the man you’ve always known I could be. And for that, I love you.”
Annie grins at him, wiping her eyes. Charlie bounces up and down on her toes, her mother’s joy making her smile, too. Even Olivia, too young to understand what’s happening, is smiling, happily burying her head into her father’s neck. Pastor Davis clears his throat. “I assume the rings aren’t with the two of you, so we’ll skip that part for now. Do you, Anne Elizabeth Edison, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do,” Annie says, her eyes brimming with tears again.
“And do you, Jeffrey Tobias Winger, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
The lawyer can’t help himself from bouncing on his toes a bit. “I do.”
“Then by the power vested in me - whatever power that is when you’re on the side of a road - I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Before Pastor Davis gets all the words out, Jeff’s surging forward, his body connecting with Annie’s. She reaches for him, her arms wrapping around his neck, mindful of Olivia. They kiss until Charlie lets out a disgusted sound, embarrassed of her gross parents. The newlyweds pull apart, their matching grins spreading across their faces.
“I love you,” Jeff murmurs. “I guess it’s time to go get married for real, huh?”
“We did get married for real,” Annie says, gazing up at him. “This was just for us. Now we’ll go do it for everyone else to make them all happy.”
Jeff kisses her once more. “Then I can’t wait to unofficially marry you for the second time,” he says, taking a small step back. “I’ll see you at the altar.”
Annie beams. “I’ll be the one being walked down the aisle by the old guy who’ll probably trip over his own feet.” Jeff chuckles at that. Then he bends down to kiss Charlie on the forehead before waving goodbye and heading back to his limo.
After thanking the pastor, Annie and Charlie get into their own limo. “That was nice,” Charlie says, curling into her mother’s side after they’ve both fastened their seatbelts. “It made me happy.”
“It made me happy, too,” Annie says, pressing a kiss into her daughter’s hair. Then her mouth sets in a firm line. “But whatever you do, do not tell Aunt Britta about that.”