In one universe, Jade Bennett is the companion (and later wife) of the Doctor; in another, she's engaged to a divorced father of three, Doug McCleod; in another, she's the girlfriend of DI Alec Hardy; and last, but certainly not least, in another, s...
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Jade stood in line with Doug, Emmy, and Ariel at the department store. They were shopping for the wedding and found the three remaining vests they needed for Doug's two remaining groomsmen, Kenneth and Colin, and the ring bearer, Doug's son Mickey. The vests were supposedly Easter clothes and, since Easter was over, they were now marked down for a lower price. And on top of that, Jade had a coupon, leaving the final price at 66.60.
Ariel squirmed in the shopping cart seat, reaching for Doug. "Da! Da!"
Doug picked Ariel up. "Impatient, are ya?" Doug asked. "Well, we're almost done here. We're just going to make two more stops and then we'll go home and rest," he said, beginning to tickle Ariel's belly as she giggled. Jade laughed quietly and smiled, reaching to tuck Ariel's dark hair behind her ears. In the last year, Doug proved himself to be more of a father to the little girl than Josh ever was. Doug was sweet, considerate, and willing to listen. He would read to Ariel before bed and do all the voices. Whenever Ariel had nightmares about Josh, he would spring up from his bed to comfort her. When she was sick, he would cuddle with her and he was able to convince her to take her medicine. Everyday, Jade made sure that she thanked God for bringing this wonderful man into her life.
***
As far as the actual wedding goes, Jade and Doug had already a venue: the ceremony was going to be on a beach in Scotland with the reception being held in this old, vintage-looking barn that was just a few yards away from the beach. For catering, both sides of the family were cooking, so it was going to be kind of a potluck. The DJ they had booked was Jade's brother-in-law, Rodney's, brother, Dustin. Emmy was Jade's maid of honor and her bridesmaids were Marina, Rachel, and Lotte. The flower girls would be Jess and Ariel. The best man was going to be Doug's brother, Gavin, and the groomsmen were Kenneth (Gavin's son), Rodney, and Colin. The wedding colors had already been decided as teal and pale yellow. Emmy's dress was going to be pale yellow while the other bridesmaids would wear teal.
Most of what they were doing was DIY, which is why they made multiple trips to a craft store that Marina frequented. They still had to book tables, chairs, a photographer, and an officiant. They had 107 days to go until August 8th and the anticipation was killing both Jade and Doug. Jade couldn't wait until she was Mrs. Jade Scarlett Bennett-McLeod (professionally, she would hyphenate, but she would change her name personally).
