Tomorrow May Never Come

The day of the wedding had finally come; it wasn't quite as happy of a day as neither Kate nor Zack had pictured. All they could think about was Brian, and the news they had received about him. Everyone had asked why they were so somber. They were getting married--it was supposed to be one of the happiest days of their lives. And neither of then could keep Brian's fate to themselves, though they knew it should have been he himself telling everyone that he was going to die. But if Brian hadn't even told two of his closest friends, who would he tell? People needed to know so they didn't ask questions when he just wasn't there one day.

Standing in one of the elegant rooms in Zack's parents' home, Kate looked into a full length mirror as she examined herself. The gown she was wearing was simply amazing: strapless, blindingly white, with tiny crystal jewels embedded into the entire bodice and a back that was laced up. The skirt wasn't huge; Kate had no desire to have a ten foot train behind her dress, but it was slightly poofy. In other words, the dress was perfect. She was in love with it.

She was trying hard to keep her composure together for everyone. Kate knew her mother didn't want to see her sad on this day. She was supposed to be crying happy tears, not sad ones, but with the fact that Brian was withering away in the back of her mind Kate couldn't keep the tears away. Though she was at least able to keep her makeup from being ruined, which Jess was thankful for, since she had done Kate's hair and makeup. Kate's eyes were slightly smoky but not too overdone, and her hair was pulled back--Zack liked it that way.

A knock sounded on the door, and Kate, her mother, Jess, and Brian's mother all looked up before it slightly opened and Danielle popped her head in.

"Hey, it's just about time. Are you ready to go?" she asked quietly. Taking a deep breath, Kate nodded, smoothing out the front of her dress once more and giving herself one more look in the mirror before she headed for the door, everyone behind her.

"Mom...will you walk me down the aisle?" Kate asked very quietly as she turned to her mother, walking down the hall toward the door to the grand back yard.

"Of course," Denise answered with a small smile, linking her arm with Kate's as they walked together. They paused just before leaving the house, because as soon as they were on the large stone patio, it would begin, and she'd have to endure the rather length walk across the patio, down the stairs to the ground, and down the aisle to the alter, where Zack would be waiting for her. There would be no bridesmaids, no best man; just Kate, Zack, and the priest.

Taking a deep breath once Suzy, Jess and Danielle had left, making their way to the seats they had reserved in the front row, Kate nodded her head and Denise reached for the door handle.

They stepped out, and the music began.

Kate kept her head down as her heels clicked along the stone patio, down the steps. She tried to keep her breathing steady, the tears seconds away from falling, both from the fact she was about to be married, and the fact that Brian was going to die. But nothing could hold them back once she ran it over ad over in her mind. Once she reached the beginning of the aisle, the tears were coming full force, breathing coming hard to her, and she stopped. She felt her arm tug when Denise continued, not realizing her daughter had stopped.

"What is it?" Denise asked as she turned, concern in her eyes.

"I can't... I can't do it," Kate whispered, brushing tears away as she shook her head. She didn't know what had come over her, but she couldn't go through with this.

"Yes you can sweetie, come on," Denise said, encouraging her daughter to move the rest of the way down the aisle. She'd seen the confused look that had passed over Zack's face, which was also somber, when he'd seen her stop.

Kate shook her head again, hand going to her stomach as she felt she might even be sick. And then she felt a hand on her shoulder, strong and comforting. She looked up and was met with the chocolate stare of Brian, only causing her heart to wrench more.

"You can do this..." he said, giving her a small smile before he took her free hand in his, linking their fingers. "Come on..."

Slowly but surely, the three of them made their way down the aisle, tears flowing freely from Kate's eyes as both her hands were taken, causing her to be unable to wipe them away. When they made it to the end of the aisle, Denise let her go, letting Brian pull Kate into a hug.

"I'm right here," he whispered into her hair, hands slightly rubbing her back to try and calm her. "I'm not going anywhere." His words only made Kate cry because eventually he would be gone, sooner than she'd like.

Giving her a kiss on the side of Kate's head, Brian let her go, looking toward Zack.

"She's all yours, man," he said with a small grin, returning one from his friend, and Zack took Kate's hands as she stepped up to him, taking a deep breath. This was really about to happen; they were really getting married.

Up until the vows, Kate barely paid any attention to a single word the priest said, too busy crying and thinking about Brian and how everything was so messed up that she almost didn't care. All she paid attention to was Zack, his thumbs running gentle circles on the backs of her hands, the small, though almost sad, smile on his lips, his green eyes staring back at her.

It seemed like no time at all had passed before they were exchanging their vows, and before they knew it, they were married, and Zack was pulling her toward him.

"I love you," he whispered before his lips met Kate's, both their eyes closing as they held each other. And then they were walking down the aisle, friends and family cheering for them on all sides as they made a sort of greeting line at the far end of the aisle. Kate felt robotic as she went through them, thanking everyone for coming, giving out hugs and kisses on the cheek to those that were closest to her. And then she realized Brian was missing, and her heart dropped. Just the fact that she couldn't see him was frightening to her, but then she felt relieved when she saw him leaning against a nearby tree along the adjacent side of the house, under the shade.

Tugging on Zack's hand to get his attention, Kate pointed over to where Brian was standing, leaving everyone else as the two of them slowly headed over there.

Seeing them coming, Brian stood a little straighter, pulled his hands from his pockets, and tried to blink back the tears he knew were coming. No words were exchanged as Kate grabbed a hold of him tightly, arms wrapping around his shoulders as she hugged him for dear life. Brian rested his head on her shoulder for a moment before motioning for Zack to come closer, pulling him into the hug as well.

And together, the three of them slowly broke down, unable to keep the tears from falling. They stayed like that for quite some time, just holding each other, not wanting to let go and face the truth that soon, for one of them, this all would be ending.

Sniffling after many minutes, Brian finally pulled back, looking between both of his friends.

"Everything is going to be alright," he said, trying to keep his brave face on. "You'll see. You two have got each other now, and together you're going to get through this, and you'll see that this is just the way things have to be."

Kate and Zack both nodded, though they didn't fully believe the words Brian said.

"You guys gotta...get going. The reception's going to start soon; I'm feeling tired so I think I'm just going to go home and relax, if you don't mind."

"No, of course," Zack said, giving one last hug to Brian, allowing Kate to do the same, and they left him to be in peace.

Leaning back against the tree, Brian closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as the tears came down harder. Things were going to be hard for those two, for everyone, once he was gone. But he also knew that the pain of losing him that all the people cared about him would have would, like time, fade away.