Jeff tossed and turned, groaning at the lack of warmed on the other side of the bed. He wasn't used to sleeping by himself anymore. As sappy as it sounded, he slept better when Annie was lying next to him. But she had wanted them to sleep in separate rooms the night before their wedding. And as annoying as it was not to cuddle up against her, he was willing to sleep alone for one night (besides, he figured they'd be spending a LOT of time together in bed on their honeymoon.)

After several more minutes Jeff groaned and sat up in bed, looking at the unfamiliar hotel room bathed in moonlight. While he did miss having Annie next to him, he knew that wasn't the main reason for his sleeplessness. It was what was to happen tomorrow. It was marrying Annie.

It wasn't a question of love. He loved Annie, more than he ever thought he could ever love another person. But that didn't change the fact that he had doubts. About if he could actually do it and be the husband she deserved for the long haul. He had hoped those feelings would go away the closer they got to the actual wedding date. But now it was the night before their wedding and they were as strong as ever.

Jeff groaned as he looked at his phone. He knew there was only one person he could trust enough to talk to about this. But he wasn't sure if that was possible.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As Annie opened her eyes after being pulled from the realm of sleep she looked over at the bedside clock. 1:26Am. Exactly 33 minutes from when she had last woken up and fallen back to sleep. So far that made three times she had woken up since going to bed. At this rate she would never get a decent night's sleep. The last thing she wanted was to be exhausted on her wedding day.

She wasn't sure why she was so nervous. Sure she had a few doubts. But all the planning and preparation had filled her with joyful glee. She was only twenty four and was already able to have her perfect dream wedding (she had literally been able to have everything she had put down in her wedding planner come true). But now that everything for the perfect wedding had been achieved, she found she was nervous about what came afterwards. She was nervous about the actual marriage.

Annie wished she had talked to someone about this beforehand. But she wasn't sure who she could confide in. Britta was out given her feelings on marriage. And while she had considered Shirley given the fact that the woman was actually married, somehow she just didn't feel comfortable broaching the subject with her. Troy was surprisingly good at listening, but this seemed outside of his expertise. Abed was more likely to just use some pop culture scenario rather than give her actual advice. And Pierce…somehow she didn't feel it was wise to act a guy who had been married seven times for marriage advice.

The person Annie knew she should have gone to for advice was her best friend. The one person she knew she could trust to talk to about anything. The person she confided everything to, and who would listen to her without judgment or mockery. Who would tell her when she was out of line, and allow her to grow as a person.

But unfortunately, this was one time when she couldn't go to that person for advice.

Annie frowned as she saw her phone vibrate. Her brow relaxed though when she saw who had texted her. She flipped open her phone and read the text message.

Meet me outside by the pool

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff looked over as he saw the door open and someone walk outside. He smiled as he saw Annie approached him in a tank top and striped pajama pants. "Nice PJ pants."

"Least mine match my top." She chuckled at the sweat pants and Marriot t-shirt he was wearing. "Are those from the lobby gift shop?"

"Yea," he said guiltily. "I bought them this afternoon. I didn't pack any sleepwear since, after tonight I figured I wouldn't need any until we got back from the honeymoon."

Instead of blushing Annie simply grinned. "For the record, this is the last time I was planning to wear sleep clothes until we got back." She slipped off her slippers and rolled up her pant legs before sitting next to Jeff and dipping her feet in the pool. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Obviously, since I texted you."

They sat there for a few minutes, playfully playing footsie underwater before Annie touched his arm. "Jeff. Why did you ask me out here?"

Jeff took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts. "Ok. Here's the thing. I'm about to ask you to do something that I know is impossible. But I'm going to ask you to do it anyway, and I really need you to try your best to do this for me, all right?"

"Ok," Annie said slowly. "What is it?"

"I have some concerns, in regards to tomorrow. And the only person I can talk to about it, is my best friend. But the thing is, you're my best friend. So I need to talk to you not as Annie, the woman I'm about to marry, but as Annie my best friend. I need you to separate yourself and listen and give me advice as my best friend. I know what I'm asking is impossible but-."

"I'll do it." Jeff stopped talking as he stared at Annie. She smiled a reassuring smile as she continued. "I'll listen to your concerns about marrying me as your best friend, and not as your future wife. But ONLY on one condition."

"What?"

"You have to do the same thing for me. You listen to me talk about marriage as my best friend, and not as by future husband. Can you do it?"

Jeff thought about it for a moment before nodding his head. "Ok. It wouldn't be fair if I said no after you agreed to do this."

Annie nodded her own head before looking into Jeff's eyes. While he knew it was impossible, he could almost swear something shifted in her own eyes to where she physically went onto 'best friend mode'. "Ok Jeff. What are your concerns with marrying Annie?"

He chuckled at her commitment to separating herself for this exercise before sighing deeply. "I'm afraid that I'll screw it up. I've never had the greatest opinion when it comes to marriage. And as much as I love my future wife, a part of me fears that I won't be able to cut it. As a husband and as a father. I've never wanted to marry someone before, because I swore that I would never want to risk running off and hurting them like my father hurt me and my mother. And now that I'm about to take the plunge, I'm terrified that I might run off down the line if things get too difficult."

Jeff turned away as he swallowed down the lump in his throat, hating that he was telling this to his future wife mere hours before they were about to get married. But when he looked at Annie he saw that she wasn't freaking out like he was afraid she would. Instead she was frowning slightly as she appeared deep in thought. "Well Jeff," she said as she lightly skimmed the water with her right hand. "When we were in school you had several chances to run away from difficult situations. And you almost always came through." He smirked at her use of the word almost. "And we both know when it comes to Annie you've always made exceptions you'd never make for anyone else. I think you're more of a in it for the long haul guy then you yourself realize.

"Also, look at it from this way. You and Annie lived together for a year before you proposed to her. That there is pretty much how marriage is. There's not much difference between what you two had before and what you two will have after tomorrow. You two argued and fought and dealt will any personal habits one discovers when they live with someone else. And you never left then. So I don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to being a husband. And as for kids, I believe you're going to be a great father. And will never think of leaving like your father did, and Annie's father did too."

Jeff smiled, feeling immensely better after talking it over with best friend. "Thanks Annie. I probably could have eventually figured that out for myself. But I needed to talk it out with you first."

"Anytime Jeff." She waited a moment before clearing her throat. "Ok, my turn. Now you have to listen to me while I talk to my best friend. Ok?"

"All right." He took a moment to compose himself before he felt he was ready. "So what are your concerns with marrying Jeff?"

Annie was quiet for several moments as she stared off into the distance. "It's not that I don't want to marry Jeff. It's just; I'm worried that this might be happening too soon. I've only been with Jeff for about two and a half years. What if that's not enough time to know if marriage is the right step to take? And I keep thinking about my mother. She married my dad when she was about my age. And she always said it was a huge mistake to get married when she was that young. She wasn't able to travel or do so many of the things she wanted to do. And I'm worried that I might become like her, where I end up resenting my husband because I got married before I was able to experience so much of life."

Jeff nodded his head as he thought over what he had just heard. "Well Annie. You are right. You and Jeff have only been a couple for less than three years. BUT, you two have known each over in total for close to SIX years. Before you guys even became a couple you had already gone through many trials couples go through. Remember your first date. You said it was so easy and enjoyable because of how well you two knew each other before it happened. Just because you haven't been in a romantic relationship with Jeff that whole time doesn't mean you two weren't getting to know each other. Regardless of how it happened, he knows you pretty well, and the same goes for you knowing him. Whether you realize it right now or not, I think you're fine in the knowing him well enough to marry him category.

"And as for fearing you'll become like your mother just because she also married young, I don't think that will happen. From what you've said, your parents had a number of problems before they even got married. I doubt those problems would have gone away even if they waited another few years. And you always said your dad was someone who would rather stay at home then travel. Well I have it on good authority that your future husband has no problem with traveling. And that he would love to explore the world with his bride, and will support her in anything she wants to do. So you should have no concern with not being able to live your life just because you're about to be a married woman."

Annie nodded her head as she gently smiled. "Thank you Jeff. I probably should have talked to you about this sooner. I just didn't know how strongly those fears were until tonight."

"It's ok. I can't really blame you for not saying anything, since I pretty much did the same thing." He let out a deep breath of relief as he played with her foot. "I never had a best friend before I met you. It's nice to have someone I can talk to about anything. And the fact that I'm marrying her makes it even better."

Annie smiled as she leaned in and hugged Jeff. "I'm glad you're my best friend to. And my fiancé. And my husband in-." She paused as she looked at the watch on Jeff's wrist. "Fourteen hours. We should probably get to bed. I have to be in the bridal suite for hair and make-up by 10:30."

"Ok." As she pulled away he took hold of her hand. "But can we please sleep in the same bed tonight? I sleep better when you're next to me."

"AW!" She smiled before she stood up. "All right. But we're not having sex until after we're married."

"Fine," Jeff said with false drama. "But just to warn you then, you're not getting any sleep tomorrow night."

"I wasn't planning on it," Annie said with a devilish grin as they walked back into the hotel.