Donna heard the roosters crowing and opened her eyes. She'd spent the night curled into Robert's arms on one of two tiny living room couches.

                              At the table she could see Michelle, sipping her coffee alone. Donna decided to get up and join her.

                            "Morning, Donna." She greeted. "Morning, Mom."

                            "So you and Robert decided to spend the night together." She said curiously.

                            "Not like that." Explained Donna.

                            "Hey, whatever you do is up to you. Secret's safe with me." said Michelle, making a lip-zipping motion.

                            "It wasn't anything like that. He came up last night and asked if I was as scared as he was. I said yes, but I also said that sometimes it's okay to be scared of a new direction in life, and we decided to go to bed as a family."

                            "See? You're off to a good start." said Michelle.

                           "I think we are." commented Donna. There was a small silence and Donna sighed, then spoke again. "Mom, what happens if I don't love him?"

                           "Well didn't you already establish that you don't love each other?"

                           "Yeah, but I mean, I kind of assumed love would eventually follow after getting married. Now I'm wondering, what if it doesn't?"

                           Michelle looked into her daughter's eyes. "Donna, if you're having any doubts about this, any at all, you need to be upfront about them. Okay? No one is gonna be mad at you, no one is going to blame you. The fact that you even volunteered to make CPS leave shows your heart is in the right place."

                          "No. I'm not letting them go to foster care. That's not an option. I'm just simply asking what I'm supposed to do if I can't love him."

                        "Well, I suppose you could do two things. The first being, marry him and legally adopt the kids together, and stay married until CPS makes their inspection, then divorce him and sign your rights to the kids over, or you can get married and adopt the kids, and just wait until they're a little older and more independent. They would understand then."

                      "I'm not just doing it for CPS. I'm doing it for Mark and Delilah too. Before you and Dad adopted me, I had no mom. And the closest thing I had to a dad was Mr. Chapman, who owned the group home. He was usually the one beating us. They need a mom who can kiss their cuts, and make them sandwiches, and come to their school plays. All the things Mrs. Hess used to do. Not that I'll ever be Mrs. Hess, but I'm someone."

                  Michelle put her hand on Donna's shoulder. "You're doing the right thing. And believe me, once you've settled into Robert's life, taking care of the kids and being a wife, the love will come."

                 "I hope so."

                  It was then that Bill came down the stairs, a large box in his arms.

                  "Oh good, you're awake." He said upon seeing Donna. "Your mom and I wanted to give you something for your wedding." He said, handing her the box.

                 "Thanks Mom and Dad." She said, grinning and opening the box. Inside laid a floor-length, shoulder-padded wedding gown with full-length fitted sleeves, a keyhole neckline, and a beaded waist. The white of the dress had somewhat aged, but otherwise, it was perfect.

                "Wow," She whispered breathlessly.

                "It was my mom's. When I was marrying Michelle we didn't have a whole lot of money, and she gave her the dress to wear. Now you can wear it." He said with a smile.

               "Try it on." said Michelle, attempting to repress her squeal so as not to wake Robert, Delilah, and Mark.

               "I'm gonna." said Donna, grabbing the dress by the hanger it was on and going up the stairs with it.

             Robert stirred and sat up. Catching sight of Michelle, he mouthed, "What time is it?"

             "Seven, but it's a Saturday." She whispered.

             He nodded and got off the couch. Robert grabbed his duffel bag and was about to go upstairs.

            "Mm, Donna's in the bathroom." said Bill. "Oh," said Robert, sitting at the table.

            "I wanted to thank both of you for letting us stay this week. It's really been a big help for me to not be alone."

           "Are you going back home?" Asked Michelle.

           "Yeah, I think the kids have had enough time to accept and deal with Mom and Dad dying, and they really wanna see Jack again."

           "Jack?" Questioned Bill.

           "Their dog." Answered Michelle. "You don't have to thank us, Robert. You've always been committed to us and the farm. We'll always be here for you."

           "Thanks, you know, that means a lot to me. And them too." He said, pointing to the kids' sleeping forms on the other couch.

           "How does it look?" Asked a soft voice. Robert turned around in time to see Donna, looking like, well, a bride. His bride. She smiled at him, her blue eyes bearing some kind of pride.

          "You look beautiful, sweetheart. Better than I did." said Michelle. Robert was captivated.

          "Do you like it, Robert? It was my Grandma's." "I do." Was all he could say. The image of her walking to him in a white dress was gonna be with him forever.