It's a Jungle, Baby

The Part with the Justice of the Peace

I wait in the airport with Queenie and Ruby. We're all waiting for our boys to come back. I haven't see them in months. I stretch my hand open and closed, it still hurts like crazy, there's a huge purple bruise along the side where I hit it. Ruby holds onto my other hand and watches for the boys.

"Here they come!!" Ruby smiles as she points to our boys, just getting in the door.

When they see us they instantly run over to us, nearly tripping and falling many times.

Duff runs right up to me and picks me up, spinning me around. I've missed him so much, for the first time in months I feel whole again. He kisses me over and over again, stopping only to smile at me.

None of us talk for a while, we're all just happy to see each other. Duff holds me close to him, studying me to make sure I'm okay. When he gets to my bruised wrist he looks me in the eye.

"What the hell is this?" He wonders and I shake my head.

"I just hit it climbing he tree, don't worry so much." I say and he smiles before kissing my forehead.

"I missed so so much." He tells me. "Did you get the marriage license?"

"Yeah, we're good to get married." I say.

"Yay." Duff smiles.

Axl holds onto Ruby, Steven and Slash is standing behind Axl making Ruby smile, Izzy and Chelsea are pretty close to getting us kicked out of the airport, let's leave it at that. Duff holds me close to him and I hold him tight, I don't want to let him go again. We're one big, happy, twisted family. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

"To the city hall then?" Duff wonders and I nod.

Since all our their stuff was sent to the hotel a head of time, they don't have a lot of stuff, just their carry ons. Chelsea and I had gotten another truck to jam us all into. The band, Chelsea, and Ruby had all decided that they were coming with us to get married at city hall.

"So are you still doing it right in March?" Queenie wonders.

"Yeah, just it's easier if we're going to adopt Ruby if we're married." Duff explains once we put Ruby in the truck. "Have you started that yet?"

"We have to prove prick an unfit father to a judge first." I explain.

"Well with Ruby's arm it shouldn't be that hard." Izzy starts. "What about that book of all those injuries you got in high school? It's still at my folks."

When Axl was in ninth grade, him and Izzy came up with the idea of taking pictures of the handprint bruises Axl and I got on our bodies. We were going to expose him for everything he was, a monster. We collected and dated a lot of pictures but never went any further.

"That could work to." Axl points out.

"I was talking to Kendra, she said that Ruby had told Beth at school what was going on. Kendra has heard screaming from prick and screaming in pain, she's willing to testify." I explain. "We've got enough to prove him as an unfit father but then there's proving that we're fit parents."

Duff wraps his arms around me from behind.

"We'll figure it out, Kitten. We always do." He tells me. "Let's go get hitched."

We wait for a long time before they call us up. I sit with my head on Duff's shoulder, holding onto his hand. Ruby and Steven are playing on the floor. Slash looks like he's sleeping but that's nothing new. Izzy and Chelsea sit across from us, holding each other's hands. Axl sits beside me, watching Ruby. Chelsea smiles at me.

"I can't believe after it all, you are going to get married in blue jeans and leather jackets." She admits and we smile.

"Did you honestly picture it any other way?" Duff wonders as he twists the ring in my finger. "That reminds me, I picked these up at the jewelry store. The guy there said that you argued with them until they said they'd be ready to pick up."

He hands me a small box that contains his wedding band.

"Only slightly." I laugh.

"Taylor, Michael!" The receptionist calls.

"I keep forgetting that Duff isn't your real name." Axl admits.

Steven picks up Ruby and we all walk into a other room. The Justice of the Peace looks at our odd looking group.

"So which two of you are getting married?" He wonders. "Taylor and Michael?"

"That's us." Duff speaks up.

"Let's get started then, if you'd stand here." The Justice of the Peace tells us.

We do as we're told and our friends gather around us.

"Michael and Taylor, today you celebrate one of life's greatest moments and give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, as you join together in vows of marriage."  He starts. "Michael do you take Taylor to be your Wife? Do you promise to love, honor,
cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?" Duff smiles at me.

"I do." He says, giving my hands a squeeze.

"Taylor, do you take Michael to be your Husband? Do you promise to love,
honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him?" The officiant asks me.

"I do." I smile at Duff.

"Repeated Ring Vows... although rings are not required." He tells us.

"I Duff--I mean Michael, take you, Taylor to be my Wife, and pledge my love to your forever." Duff slides the ring onto my finger.

"I Taylor, take you Duff--Michael! Dammit!" He laughs at me and I smile "Michael to be my husband, and pledge my love to you forever." I slide the ring onto Duff's finger.

"Michael and Taylor, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, by the authority vested in me by the State of Indiana I now declare you to be Husband and Wife. Congratulations, you may kiss your bride."

Duff lifts up my chin and leans into my mouth. Our friends cheer and I hear Ruby giggle. I also hear the snap of Queenie's and my Polaroid camera. I know how non-traditional we look, we both sport jeans, leather jackets and cowboy boots. But it's us, it's who we are.

Mr. and Mrs. McKagan.

Taylor Jane McKagan.

Everything in this moment is prefect. We're married, we're going to do it all over again in March but today, November 6th 1987, we're married. Surrounded by the people we love. It's prefect.

I'm married to Duff fucking McKagan. Eat your hearts out, fan girls, he's mine.