At Last

Stella and Jordie planned for a wedding that summer. He wanted to do it sooner but she had reservations given how quickly she had jumped into her first marriage. They planned for late July, when they would be just shy of their one year anniversary and not five months if Jordie had had his way.

On the summer day they planned for, in the backyard of Tyler's Dallas home, they got married in front of their family and friends. Her dad walked her down the aisle and she very nearly burst into tears at the sight of Alex standing between Jordie and Jamie as the ring bearer, his little suit matching the others.

The ceremony was short, sweet, and to the point, and when their witnesses, Jamie and her sister Avery, signed their marriage certificate, her father produced one other piece of paper, one Jordie signed eagerly, making Alex his son.

They had their first dance as husband and wife and then their first as the Benn family with Alex. Then Jamie insisted on his turn, which quickly turned to Tyler, Cody, and Brendon taking a dance with her too. She laughed when Jordie whisked her away from them, leaving them all dancing with Alex instead.

She and Jordie would take a two week honeymoon, a Caribbean cruise the first week, and then staying in the British Columbia mountains in a beautiful cabin for the second week, where they could hike, go horseback riding, maybe even a little rafting if they were feeling adventurous.

Her parents were taking Alex to Worcester for the first week, and because Stella didn't have it in her to be a complete bitch, Jason was taking him for the week after. They had found common ground as the season went on and he agreed to every term Stella set forth when it came to Alex. Jason knew that Jordie was the better father figure for Alex, that he could never be that guy, not when it came so easily to Jordie. And he told them that, all the time.

Jason had broken things off for good in January with Tiffany. Stella knew he could do better and she told him so. Jason agreed and made it his mission to find a girl through any means possible, including a plea on the weekly Stars Insider show for Valentines Day. Alex didn't call him dad, and he still told him Brendon was better than him, but they got along and he was becoming another good influence in her son's life along with the rest of the Stars roster.

Jordie and Stella were enjoying a quiet moment by themselves when Alex came flying over, Jamie chasing after him. "Mommy! Dad! Guess what!"

Jordie beamed. Alex had only started calling him dad in the last few weeks, sometime after they had packed up for the summer to spend as a unit in Canada and he still couldn't get over sometimes how much he meant to him. He and Stella had continued to live separately after getting engaged but he spent even more time at their house than before and stayed over often. They were staying with him in Victoria and they'd been looking at houses online to rent in Dallas that were a little bit bigger than her current home.

"What's up bud?"

"Uncle Jamie said I can have a sleepover with him tonight!"

"Thought you guys might want to be alone tonight," Jamie shrugged.

"That's so sweet of you, Jamie," Stella said as she hugged him, kissing his cheek. He blushed red and Jordie laughed.

"Dude, you need a girlfriend."

"Why do you think I'm borrowing your son?" He smirked.

Jordie looked at Stella and smiled proudly. My son, he mouthed to her. "You listen to uncle Jamie, ok? Keep him out of trouble."

"Ok, dad." He ran off and Jamie followed him after Stella hugged him again.

"You're never gonna stop smiling when he calls you dad, are you?"

"Nope. Probably get even bigger when we have a second one."

"Guess we'll have to practice when we're secluded in the mountains because I intend to soak up all the sun the islands of the Caribbean have to offer."

"In a tiny bikini?" He asked hopefully, eyebrows waggling.

"The tiniest," she promised, leaning in to kiss him. She wiped the faintest smudge of lipstick from his lips when she pulled back.

"I love you, Stella Benn."

"I love you too, Jordie. Thank you for letting Alex and I be a part of your life."

"Thank you for letting me be a part of yours, Stels. I'm glad you're my family."

"We're glad to be yours. Come on; I can see Jamie waving for us."

She started forward and he caught her arm, pulling her back and dipping her back in his arms, kissing her deeply. She sighed as they parted.

"Maybe we'll practice a couple times tonight too," she said softly.

"That sounds really good to me."

FIN