This morning the newly married Haywood couple would be leaving for their honeymoon down at Riverbend in their cottage. The couple had decided to spend last night at home together with the kids. Also that way Brandon and Madison would be able to say goodbye to their kids in the morning.

When Madison opened her eyes the next morning she found that Brandon was still fast asleep next to her. She smiled warmly to herself. The poor man must have tuckered himself out yesterday and with the long drive ahead of him she couldn't resist letting him sleep in a little longer. She tucked the covers around his chin before she grabbed her robe and headed down to the kitchen for breakfast. But much to her surprise she found that Rebecca was already there.

"I'm reporting for duty," Rebecca said cheerfully. "I'm sorry to surprise you like this but I thought I would make breakfast for you all. You shouldn't be cooking on your honeymoon".

Madison smiled when she saw the large tray of French toast with icing sugar. "Thank you so much" she said as she took a seat at the table.

Rebecca smiled at Madison warmly "sweetheart do you mind if we talk a little? Just quickly okay?" she placed a plate of food in front of her as if she was buttering her up.

"Of course" Madison said without a single care in the world as she dug into her food.

Rebecca held out a piece of paper "dear did you and Brandon sign this during the ceremony?" she asked a little too calmly.

"Hmm?" Madison looked down at the fake marriage license in confusion. Of course she signed it. The pastor had asked her and Brandon to step forward to sign the papers. She had assumed it was part of making things look real. "Yeah of course. It's just a fake document anyways".

"I'm afraid... it's not actually fake," Rebecca said softly.

"W-what?"

"We had a fake one printed by the lawyers. But the pastor didn't seem to receive it on time and instead used the legal binding copy that they provide any newly married couple. I'm afraid with your signatures and that of your two witnesses... well the document are already in the process of being filed with the courts. It seems as though you and Brandon are now... legally married".

Madison's jaw froze and her fork fell from her hands making a large clang against the glass. "But I.... I thought it was going to be fake".

"It was supposed to be. It was all ready to go... we just forgot to give it to the pastor it seems. If it hadn't been filed last night after the wedding then it wouldn't be a concern. But it seems as though it has been. And there is no stopping it now".

"So... what do I do?" Madison asked completely stunned. "Like this is real? Really married? To the entire country of Canada I am now Madison Haywood? Full binding legal marriage?"

"Yes" Rebecca said with a soft sigh "we will work on getting the marriage annulled but it is going to take some time okay? We are going to do this as fast as we can. We have already caused you and your family enough trouble. We don't want to add more to it."

Madison looked down at her plate. Her and Brandon were now legally husband and wife? They were bond to each other? They would be together unless they wanted a divorce. Isn't this the stability that Madison had wanted? Didn't she want to know that Brandon wasn't going to leave her if his memory came back to him? Didn't she want a relationship that felt real? Well what can be more real than a binding marriage? "I... it's no rush" she said softly.

When Rebecca looked at her with slight confusion she had to continue. "I mean that Brandon doesn't show any signs of getting his memory back any time soon. So as far as he knows we really are married right now. It won't affect him one way of another right now. So it really isn't any rush. Him and I are still going to treat each other the same way right now".

It seemed as thought Rebecca was thinking about this for a moment before she nodded "I suppose you're right. After all Brandon won't really know one way or another. But I did think it was wise to tell you. I know that you were kind of forced to sign into this. I'm sure you never expected to be fake married and in love with a guy".

"It doesn't feel so fake anymore," Madison whispered as she was looking down at her food. What she said was true. It didn't feel fake to her anymore. She had grown to love Brandon more than she had loved anymore else before in her life. Her heart longed for him – to be near him and to talk to him. But it was just that. She had come to realize that Brandon was her safe base. When something went wrong she wanted to find comfort in him. And when something went right he was the first person she wanted to tell about it. He had grown into more than just a friend – he was now truly her partner.

"Ah there's my wife" Brandon smiled as he rounded the corner ending the conversation between the two women. He was now fully dressed and looked like he was ready to go. He leaned down and kissed his wife on the cheek "morning my love" and he rested his hand on her belly "morning baby".

Madison giggled a little and smiled up at him "morning honey" she answered back. "You look all ready to go".

"I am" Brandon said with a smile "I'm just going to grab something to eat and then I'll be all ready to go".

Madison stood "alright sounds like I better go get dressed so we can hit the road then. Rebecca does you mind getting the kids up? That way we can say goodbye to them".

It was only going to be a week away from her children but she was going to miss them. She had spent four-day weekends away from them but a whole week seemed so much longer. She slowly climbed the stairs and went to go change. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was going to happen that day – but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was the news that her and Brandon were married. But it didn't feel like it. That was good news. She had a feeling that something bad was coming.

She got herself dressed in black tights and a blue blouse – two of the only things that could fit her nicely now. She would need some new clothes in the next few weeks. But for now she would make do. She didn't bother doing anything special. It was just going to be her and Brandon for their time at the cottage. No one else was going to see them unless they went to town. When she came back downstairs the kids were waiting for her.

"I'm going to miss you all so much" she fell to her knees and hugged her two daughters very tight to her body. She breathed in their soft children scent and snuggled them closer.

The two girls giggled and tried to break free. "Mommy" they whined, "You'll squish us".

Brandon walked over holding the last of the bags "yeah mommy you're going to squish them".

Madison smiled and pulled away to give Brandon a chance to hug them goodbye. "That's daddy's job!" Brandon cheered as he gave the gives a tight squeeze earning more giggles.

"Bye guys" Noah said being the chill one in the family as he gave both parents a quick hug.

"Okay you three behave for your grandparents alright?" Madison said "be in bed by nine and eat all your dinner. Not too much video games okay Noah? And girls you two have to finish your geography project before school starts back."

"Okay" Brandon chuckled wrapping his arm around his wife's waist. "I think they got it babe. It's time for us to go".

The kids laughed a little at their parents and waved goodbye as they got in the car and started to drive away.

"So how does it feel to be a married woman?" Brandon teased as they got on the high way "any different than the last fifteen years you've spent as a married woman?"

Madison smiled softly to herself. She hadn't been married for the last fifteen years and since they technically are married now shouldn't she feel a little different? Her love for Brandon didn't change. But yet she felt more stable, she felt as though things were finalized. There was no backing out now and things were finally going smoothly.

"It feels wonderful," she said softly as she took hold of his hand.

"Did I tell you yesterday how beautiful you looked?" Brandon asked.

"Oh?" Madison kept a straight face "so I'm not beautiful every day?"

And Brandon seemed to fall for the trick. "What? No! That's not what I'm saying at all. You're beautiful every single day".

She smiled at him "I'm only teasing my love. But you should have seen your face! It was priceless".

Brandon shook his head and sighed softly "one of these day's Madison you're going to give me a heart attack I swear".

She smiled even more and leaned over to kiss his cheek "yeah but you still love me".

"Well I think it's impossible to stop".

The young couple spent the remaining three hours of the road trip teasing each other. They rarely stopped along the trip only to gather groceries and have lunch.

"What are you giggling about?" Brandon asked as he took a bite of his lunch. They had stopped off at the same café in town to eat. It seemed to becoming their tradition.

"That waitress over there" Madison said casting a glance at a young teenage girl with long dark brown chocolate hair and crystal blue eyes who was currently watching them. When the young girl locked eyes with Madison she blushed and quickly looked away. "She's been watching you the whole time. I think somebody has a little crush on you," she teased.

Brandon laughed, "Well I am happily taken by my wonderful wife. Not to mention I'm old enough to be her father".

Madison laughed softly 'oh come on now. You're not that old"

"I guess you're right. I'm still young enough to keep you on your toes" he said with a cheeky smile. His foot pressed against hers under the table.

"I think no matter how old you get you'll always be able to keep me on my toes" she said sweetly. She finished the last of her fries and sighed "alright time for ice cream. Preferably chocolate."

"Ice cream?" Brandon asked stunned "it's the middle of winter!"

Madison pointed to her belly "hey you did this to me. You can't complain when I want ice cream in January".

"Ah so the cravings have begun" Brandon teased. He waved over the waitress with the crush and smiled warmly at her "hey..." he glanced at her nametag "Katie, can I get an order of chocolate ice cream?"

The young girl stood there stunned for a moment. She simply looked down at Brandon with her jaw opened a little. She seem so lost in his eyes it was kind of cute and Brandon had to smile at that. "Uh... Kate" was all she could say at first. She gave her head a shake causing the brown ponytail to sway "my name's Kate. And yes of course". She quickly shuffled away from the table to fill the order.

"So" Brandon said when his wife was done with her treat "ready to hit the road again?"

"You bet. We are so close I can almost taste it," she said smiling. The young couple then piled in the car and drove the final leg of the trip to reach the woodland cottage.

"It looks even more beautiful than last time," Madison said with a smile as she glanced up at the snow covered building. This time around there was enough snow on the ground that they would be able to go snowshoeing or cross country skiing.

"I'm rarely ever here in the winter so this will be a real treat" he said grabbing the bags and carrying them inside. "We got the pipes fixed now so don't even worry. Everything is back to perfect condition now".

But his wife wasn't paying much attention to him. She was focused on watching the snowflakes fall in front of her.

Brandon chuckled a little and headed inside. He didn't want to ruin his wife's fun and he decided to spoil her a little by completing the chores. He put the food away and even started a fire after he did some light cleaning. She deserved a rest this week. He knew she worked too hard.

To his surprise when he walked outside he came face to face with what looked like a family of snowmen. He had to chuckle a little "baby you'll catch a cold if you stay out here too long".

"I'm almost done!" Madison called as she rolled a ball. "I just need to finish the baby snowman".

Brandon counted the family of five snowmen and the sixth she was starting to make "you're making the baby too? He isn't even born yet"

"She" Madison corrected "and there still needs to be a baby snowman".

He shook his head playfully and smiled "you are certainly somebody else". But nonetheless he got down on his knees and started to roll a ball for the baby snowmen.

Together the two parents were able to finish everything quickly. The family of snowmen was lined across the walkway as if they were welcoming anyone who might come by. Although the snowmen had finished Madison wasn't done having fun in the snow.

She rolled a smaller ball of snow and threw it Brandon's back.

He jumped a little and laughed "oh no you didn't!" he called out. In a matter of seconds a full-blown snowball fight had started between them two. They each started to throw balls of snow at each other but Brandon was being sure not to hit her tummy too hard. Brandon was hitting snowballs away from him with his hands and looked as though he was doing some karate in the air – which only made Madison laugh loudly.

They were both cold and getting tired but neither of them was about to announce defeat.

Madison was hiding behind a tree and getting her balls ready to throw. Things had gotten so serious that she decided to put a plan in place. She was crouching in the snow and wasn't focused on listening to the sound of feet crunching in the snow.

Brandon snuck behind her and dumped a cold snowball right down her back.

The cold hitting her skin made Madison scream and jump straight up. "Oh my god" she screeched. She turned sharply to glare at Brandon. But both knew that it wasn't going to last a long time. She could never stay mad at him for a long time. In a matter of seconds her glare turned to a smile. She burst out laughing – followed by an even louder laugh from Brandon.

He held his arms out and allowed her to step into the warm hug. But soon his smile turned to a frown "baby you're freezing!" he pulled her closer and rubbed her arms softly. "We need to get you inside and warm up".

The two headed inside and Madison smiled when she saw that a fire had already been started. But when she turned she found that the sweet and loving smile on Brandon's face had been replaced with one of desire and passion.

Brandon grabbed her hips and led her over to the soft rug in front of the fireplace. "Lets get these cold wet clothes off of you," he said with a smirk.

Madison lay on the floor and tugged Brandon down with her "that sounds like a wonderfully perfect idea".

The young couple awoke several times during the night in order to melt into each other's embrace. Never once did they find their way to a bedroom but instead remained sleeping on the ground. That's where you would find Madison now. She was seated on her side, balancing her head on her elevated hand watching Brandon as he slept. She needed to come clean to him about everything that she had learnt that morning – there was no denying it now. Pretending to be his wife was one thing, but actually signing the papers that legally bound them to each other – that was a completely different story.

She reached her hand forward and gently began to stroke his hair. She was hoping that it wouldn't awaken him, she had decided that the moment he awoke she would start having the talk, but she wasn't ready for that to happen yet. She just wanted to be close to him one last time.

Her fingers tangled into his chocolate hair. It was just as soft and silky as it looked. If she were lucky this new baby of hers would have its fathers hair. The baby. What would happen to the baby if she told him the truth? Would they be able to raise the baby together? Or was it possible that she would be a single mom again? She knew rationally she'd be able to handle it; she was good at being a mom and would have what it took to raise four. But she didn't like the idea of another one of her children growing up without a father.

And what about Noah, Emma and Ella? All three of the kids had grown extremely close to Brandon over the last few months, and each other them thought of him as their father. Noah knew the truth of course, but even he had grown close to Brandon. And Madison was certain all of them would be sorry to see him go.

But no one would be as sorry as Madison if she lost him.

"Are you okay?" Brandon's husky voice sounded – there was a hint of worry in his words. He had just awoken to the feeling of warm droplets of water falling onto his cheeks. He peeled open his eyes and found Madison crying.

Madison hadn't even realized that she had started crying. The thoughts of losing Brandon hurt her deeply. She forced a smile and shook her head. She released her husband's hair and rubbed her fingertips under her eyes. "I'm fine" she sighed and forced herself into a sitting position, tugging the covers closer. She glanced at Brandon shyly "could we talk?"

Brandon eyed her curiously, the concern was written all over his face. He pushed himself up and shifted so he was seated facing her. "Baby what is it?" he asked reaching for her slender hands and clasping them in his own larger ones.

Suddenly Madison's throat felt very tight. Was she able to take a breath? That's what she needed to do right? Breathe? That was supposed to help in these kinds of situations. If it hadn't been for Brandon holding her hand she would probably be twisting her hands together nervously.

"Its about yesterday" Madison forced out. She thought the tears had stopped, but they continued to roll down her face. She couldn't lock eyes with him, looking away from him to watch the floor.

"Yesterday?" Brandon's brows furrowed together "do you mean the wedding? Was there something wrong with it honey? Wasn't it everything you wanted it to be? I know that ex of yours might have caused some issues but we took care of it".

"Its not..." Madison shook her head sadly. This was harder than she expected it to be. "It's more than just one day," she whispered.

Brandon released her hand and reached forward to rest his palm gently on her cheek. "Madison baby whatever it is you can tell me" he reassured her.

By now tears had formed in Madison's eyes and she could no longer maintain eye contact with Brandon. She was so ashamed with herself. In fact she was sick to death about it. How could she have deceived this magical man for so many months? He and his family had been nothing but kind to her and here she was wasting it. She had taken advantage of it. She had used him.

She was going to hell for this – she was sure of it.

Gently Brandon wiped one of the stray tears away. He never pushed her to talk; he let her have her space. But he also never let out – showing his support and everlasting love.

"We aren't actually husband and wife" Madison was finally able to choke out.

Brandon chuckled a little "what are you talking about baby? We just renewed our vows. I was there".

Madison shook her head again "I mean we hadn't been married before. I'm not your wife. I'm not Madelyn".

"I know" Brandon spook softly in a tight controlled voice "you're Madison".

There was something about the way he said it, that made Madison look up in a moment of surprise. He could easily have been reassuring her of her name, but it sounded like more than that. "Y-you... you know?" this was a million dollar question with a very deep meaning to it.

"That you're not my first wife Madelyn? Yeah I know?" Brandon sat back and pulled his legs towards his chest.

"W-when..." Madison whispered, "When did you figure it out?" she choked back another round of tears.

"Around the time you told me about the baby" Brandon answered softly "I found a book in your bottom drawer. It was sighed to Noah from dad, but it wasn't from me. It wasn't my handwriting. After that it all came back to me as if it was a dream. I remember it all. I remember Madelyn dying with our unborn child, years and years of overworking myself and being miserable, I remember the accident and you finding me. I know that my life has changed since I met you".

"Yeah" Madison mumbled "now you wasted six months of your life with three kids that aren't yours and a baby on the way that you never wanted'.

"Wasted?" Brandon who up until this moment had seemed rather calm and composed had a flash of anger across his face "you think these last six months have been a waste? Never. They have been the best six months of – well of my entire life. That's why I insisted on the vow renewals, why I had a real marriage certificate set in place".

"You switched the fake certificate with a real one? Why would you do that?" Madison's mouth fell open in shock.

"We had already been living as husband and wife. We had already had a family. And now with a baby on the way" Brandon glanced down sheepishly at the floor and made himself busy playing with stray strings from the rug. "I guess I was afraid of losing my family. I already lost a family once. I didn't want to lose another".

"You would never lose us Brandon" Madison whispered.

"You mean" Brandon started as he looked up at her "you're not going to leave me?"

"No" Madison answered back; the faintest of smiles was dancing across her lips. "If you can forgive me for deceiving you all these months about being your wife".

"Only if you can forgive me for tricking you into a marriage with me" Brandon stated, a small smile was playing on his face now too.

"I'm sorry about my ex husband. He wanted to harm our family" Madison said sadly.

"But he wont. I've taken care of it. And there's nothing he can use to hold over our heads" Brandon insisted.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about everything earlier" Madison added.

"I'm sorry about that too" Brandon said, "I should've told you when I started to remember things".

"I can't imagine going through that alone. Waking up in what must have felt like a dream world" Madison was glancing back down at the floor "that couldn't have been easy".

"No, but being surrounded by yours and the children's love had made it easier" Brandon explained.

"Can you ever forgive me for everything I've done Brandon?" Madison asked.

"I more than forgive you. I'm blessed that you did it. I'm lucky to have this change in my life" now a full sparkling smile had formed "do you forgive me?"

"Of course I can forgive you," Madison said softly "I love you. I would be insane not to forgive the man I love."

"I love you too Madison Haywood" Brandon reached forward. He rested his hands on either side of her face "and I love how our lives have turned out."