This is an alternative ending called 'The Wolf is Getting Married', written by the wonderful Never-Clip-My-Wings-x, which fits in after Chapter 36 of Bleeding Love.

Build your dreams

To stars above,

But when you need

Someone to love,

Don't go to strangers

My darling,

Come to me.

– Don't Go To Strangers

"Do not pity the dead. Pity the living, and above all, all those who live without love."

Christ, he'd been married before, but he sure as hell hadn't been this nervous before. And last time, he'd been in love with his wife-to-be's best friend.

It was two in the morning, and Tom was still pacing around his hotel room nervously, despite the copious amounts of alcohol he'd consumed that evening. Bloody hell, in eight hours she'd be walking down the aisle, as he stood at the front of the church, probably praying that he wouldn't pass out at any point during the ceremony, or that she wouldn't think better of it and run for her life.

Josh would, technically, be his best man – he felt it was too dangerous to ask a colleague, such as the ever-disorganised Grantly or the bumbling Chalky, and his best and oldest friend, Andy, a soldier, would probably pretend to lose the ring just to give him a heart attack. Instead, he'd put Andy in charge of herding all the guests into the church – an appointment which would almost doubtless mean that half of the town, known to the bride and groom or not, would be let in. Andy and Josh were to share the title of "Best Men", but Andy was the one who would be making the speech at the reception, much to Tom's horror.

Nicki had chosen two bridesmaids – Hannah, one of her colleagues from the Army, and Leanne, Hannah's daughter, who was about to follow her mother into the services after finishing her degree in Chemistry at Edinburgh. Andy had been infinitely chuffed upon discovering that he was to take Hannah down the aisle (Tom really wasn't looking forward to his inevitably terrible flirting), while Josh and Leanne would walk alongside each other. Chlo and Mika would be behind them, along with Donte and Brett, all of whom were sharing the responsibility of being ushers - they were supposed to direct people to their seats, although Tom was pretty sure this wouldn't actually happen.

Tom was running the entire ceremony through in his head as he stood at the window, looking out into the night. From his hotel room, he could just make out an avenue lined with full, leafy trees, vaguely illuminated by streetlights, and the midnight blue sky was dotted with tiny stars. His phone beeped, and he must have jumped a foot in the air at the sound of his ringtone (who knew that ducks could possibly sound so terrifying?!). Picking up his mobile, he tried to focus his eyes on the screen, assuming that it would be a sarcastic line from Josh or Andy. His eyes suddenly caught the sender of the text – Nicki. His eyes shot open, and he clicked 'read' with trepidation.

"Are you awake?"

He breathed a sigh of relief as he hastily typed a response with very little thought;

"Yeah, are you?"

He clicked 'send' before realising that yes, she was blindingly-bloody-obviously awake, or she wouldn't have just texted him. He could just see her now; rolling her eyes, smiling and shaking her head at him as she read the text.

"No, I'm sleep-texting. Nervous? I am. Terrified, actually."

"Very funny. Yep, I'm definitely nervous. I think it's meant to be a good sign."

"Mmm. Hope so. I miss you."

"Miss you too. Get some sleep, now. Love you. X" Bloody hell, he felt incredibly soppy sending that.

"Love you too. Xx"

Saturday morning. 9am. Bloody terrified.

He'd been ready for an hour, awake for three. He'd finally fallen asleep around 3am, with Nicki having phoned him from the balcony of her hotel room at half two, whispering so as to avoid waking her friends and bridesmaids up and risking being put under some form of arrest for talking to her fiancée. He could tell that she was nervous by the way her voice shook slightly, where it was usually smooth and self-assured. He thought of her right until he fell asleep, and vice versa.

Andy had spent half an hour straightening his tie, having been informed from his 'sources' that Hannah was partial to the well-dressed gentleman, and was currently busy trying to understand how a particularly confusing bottle of aftershave dispensed the liquid. Tom was entirely lost as to how he'd ever outwitted anyone.

Josh was lazily picking apart a croissant, watching his dad pace the room, and his best friend try to make himself look more presentable (and less hungover) with mild amusement. In three hours, he realised, his English teacher would be his stepmum – and he was strangely alright with that. His dad loved her, which, although a little odd, made him happy.

A couple of miles away in Nicki's hotel room, all was even less calm than it was in her fiancé's hotel.

The scene was absolute chaos – the bride to be was sat on her bed with her bridesmaids, surrounded by a sea of makeup and hair products. Leanne was wielding a foundation brush dangerously, a bottle of foundation in the other hand, telling Nicki to stay still while she painted the pigment lightly onto her skin. Chlo was sat behind Nicki with at least an entire packet of hair grips in her mouth, trying to comb Nicki's thick, unruly hair into a vaguely shaped chignon, and cursing as every tendril sprung back out of the hair grips pinning it to her head. Hannah was watching, sat at the end of the bed, her eyes slightly unnerving Nicki as they watched her every action, and Mika was arranging all the bridesmaids dresses on the bed between Hannah and Nicki.

Leanne was smoothing the foundation over Nicki's skin with her pale hands, then set about powdering her makeup into place. Nicki crinkled her nose at the feeling of the brush against her skin, as Chlo finally succeeded in pinning a strand of her hair in the intended place, and made some sort of celebratory shouting noise.

"You nervous?" Leanne asked, throwing her long black hair behind her shoulder as she picked up a small pot of black eyeshadow and a dangerous looking brush, pointing it at Nicki.

Nicki nodded, pressing her lips together, "Yeah, I suppose so. I was more nervous last night, really." It was awkward to make conversation at such a moment, but she thought she'd better try.

"It's him that should be nervous, marrying you." Hannah observed in what Nicki knew wasn't actually a particularly sarcastic tone. She laughed, and ended up almost having her eye poked out by Leanne's eyeshadow brush, which was dangerously close to her eyeball.

Her wedding dress was hung on the edge of the wardrobe; simple and elegant, with a loose, Grecian top and beaded waistband. The simple ivory fabric just brushed the cream carpet in the hotel room, on which sat a grey box containing her shoes, which had cost a small fortune. Her bridesmaids had coerced her into buying them in ways Nicki wasn't entirely sure of.

Something old – Her diamond and silver bracelet, given to her by her sister more years ago than she could remember.

Something new – The earrings Tom had bought her for her birthday; fine silver chain drops with tiny diamonds at the ends.

Something borrowed – Hannah's incredibly expensive brooch, used to pin her veil back so as it didn't blow forwards into her face. Nicki dreaded to think how much it had cost.

Something blue – Well, she didn't have anything blue, really. Her eyes, perhaps, and Tom's. She closed her eyes as Leanne carefully applied blusher to the apples of her cheeks, and thought of her fiancé's eyes; the eyes she wanted to see first thing in the morning and last thing at night for the rest of her life. Her flowers – they were blue, she realised. His tie was midnight blue, too, as were the dresses of the bridesmaids, and the ties of the best men and ushers.

As she opened her eyes, all four other women grinned as if they were young teenagers just experimenting with make-up on their friend. Nicki worried for a split-second that they'd applied electric blue eyeshadow as blusher, but a quick glance in the mirror pacified her fears – and bloody hell, she thought, she actually did look nice. She smiled at her best friend, who had hurried over to the wardrobe to pick up Nicki's dress, and was now spinning madly around the hotel room holding it to her body as if she was dancing with it.

Nicki was still in her pyjamas, which consisted of a pair of leopard print bottoms which she thought she'd had for at least a decade, and Tom's grey t-shirt which she'd somehow obtained over however long it was they'd lived together. It smelt of him still, and when she thought nobody was looking, she sniffed the hem of the soft grey fabric; inhaling and smiling to herself, unaware that her bridesmaids were looking at each other and smiling at the sight of Nicki sniffing her fiancé's t-shirt.

"Right, let's get you dressed." Hannah said, placing the dress on the unmade bed in the centre of the room, next to those of the bridesmaids. The contrast between the colours of the fabrics looked spectacular; midnight blue against ivory. It was almost as if they were the night sky and Nicki was some kind of star in it, simple yet bright and blinding.

Nicki nodded at her best friend, looking out of the window dreamily for a couple of seconds before uncrossing her legs and standing up to get dressed.

She was wearing a sodding garter band. A ruddy bloody garter band. She was going to kill her friends, after she was back from her honeymoon.

Just as she had been about to leave her hotel room, the door had opened, and Christine, Lorraine and Audrey tumbled in along with Hannah and Leanne. She'd known it couldn't be an innocent visit by her colleagues and friends, and was utterly dreading what they'd brought with them.

They'd all fallen onto the bead laughing for no apparent reason, and after they'd managed to calm themselves down, Nicki stood with her hands on her hips in front of them as if addressing a bunch of pupils.

"What have you done?" she asked, dreading their response.

"We bought you a present," Christine giggled, and had she not known better, Nicki would have thought she was drunk, "Or should we say, we bought Tom a present, which will be presented on you."

Nicki raised one eyebrow, wincing as a package was produced from someone's bag and thrown haphazardly at her face, which she just about caught in time. What the package contained made the blusher Leanne had carefully applied to her skin entirely unnecessary.

A lace garter band with a satin ribbon was pinned to a midnight blue satin backing, and Nicki could only imagine what her face must have looked like when she managed to unpin the garment from the casing and held it up one-handed in front of her.

And, for the first time in as long as she could remember, she had been entirely speechless.

"Go on, put it on!" Lorraine practically screamed from the bed.

"I am not putting a sodding garter band on."

"Fine," Hannah had said, getting up as if that was the end of the matter, then pausing just as she was a foot or so away from Nicki, "I'll put it on for you."

And somehow, after much argument and running around the hotel room, Nicki had wound up with the garter belt around her thigh, and was now sat in the car which was taking her and her bridesmaids (two of whom she was very close to killing) to the church.

At least it was blue, she supposed.

Tom was waiting with Andy and Josh at the front of the church (which, as predicted, Andy had let absolutely everyone into), waiting for Nicki. She'd probably thought better of it and left while she could, he thought to himself, but shook himself out of it, because he knew he'd be a nervous wreck by the time she actually did turn up.

He'd just got around to wondering how it was that Jesus had a six-pack at his age, when he realised that the whole congregation was now stood up. Shit, she's here.

He spun round as Josh and Andy went to meet Leanne and Hannah, and tried as best as he could to see Nicki through the congregation and the bridesmaids, but succeeded only in catching a quick glimpse of her veil.

Andy and Hannah began to walk down the aisle, the former grinning like a Cheshire cat on drugs as he took Hannah's lightly tanned, toned arm in his and led her towards the front. Josh and Leanne followed them, Josh slightly adjusting his suit as he took the arm of his friend and they followed Andy and Hannah in the procession. After them, Chlo and Mika walked with Donte and Brett respectively, and in that moment it hit Tom just how grateful he was for his friends and family. The bridesmaids' dresses were long, midnight blue chiffon, as were the men's ties, with pleated bodices and flowing skirts down to the floor, and all four carried them off easily, with their tall, slim figures. No wonder Andy looked so chuffed, Tom thought, but he only had eyes for the last woman to make her way down that aisle; Nicki.

She was stood at the entrance to the church, looking ever-perfect. He couldn't quite make out her facial expression through the crowd of people craning their necks to see, but bloody hell, she'd still look gorgeous wearing a white bin bag. He knew that Michael was giving her away, but couldn't see him either – bloody hell, he should have brought some binoculars.

He finally managed to see her when she got halfway down the aisle, and Christ, she looked gorgeous. Eyes followed her as she made her way down the aisle with Michael, her simple dress loose on her chest and fitted on her perfectly flat, toned stomach. Michael looked incomprehensibly proud of her, as if he was actually her father – thinking about it, he was probably more of a father to her than her biological father ever had been.

She smiled nervously through her veil as she reached the front of the church, and Michael kissed her on the cheek before smiling at Tom and going to stand next to Christine on the second row, who smiled at Tom and Nicki more soberly than Tom could ever remember her doing. Hell, Nicki even managed to smile at her, which was a surprise considering how frosty relations had historically been between the two women.

Nicki then turned back to Tom, and he managed not to faint as she pushed the lace-edged veil back, and it suddenly hit him just how utterly gorgeous she truly was.

Her lightly tanned, soft skin had very little makeup on, but she had black eye shadow smudged on her upper lash line, where her long, black eyelashes curled upwards softly, opening her incredibly deep blue eyes. He knew the precise colour of them; aqua blue with green flecks in the centre, grey further out, and deep, sapphire blue at the very edge. Bloody hell, he dreamed of those eyes, their enchanting depth, warmth and gleam.

She looked perfect – even more so than she ever had done before. She'd put weight on since she'd started to get better – her arms were toned and, he knew, the rest of her beautiful body had become more muscular than skinny as it once was.

"You look incredible." He managed to murmur, stumbling over his words as if he was a teenager on a date with the prettiest girl in the school. Christ, he felt like a teenager on a first date. He was almost convinced that he'd say the wrong words, or fall over, or tread on her dress.

She just smiled in response, in all her perfectness. He could see she was nervous (albeit probably not as nervous as he was) – she was biting her lower lip ever so slightly as the vicar began to speak. He remained convinced, as he had been when he was a child, that all vicars were clones of each other – they all seemed to have the same droning voice, and looked like what he knew Grantly would call a "right knit-your-own-yoghurt type".

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the joining of Thomas and Nicola in marriage. With love and commitment, they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife." Tom shot Nicki a look at the exact same time she glanced at him, trying not to laugh. She knew how much he hated people using his full name – she'd taken to calling him by it if he hadn't done the washing up, which seemed to get the job done efficiently.

"If any person present knows of any just impediment to this marriage, they should declare it now."

There was a deafening, terrifying silence in the church in the pause after the statement, in which the bride and groom glanced at each other in almost trepidation. The silence was broken only by a guest hiccupping a few rows back – Tom's top suspect was Steph Haydock, who was sat with Grantly and several other former members of staff, including Ruby and Matt. He was almost convinced that they'd be scraping them off the floor come the end of the reception.

"True marriage is more than joining the bonds of marriage of two persons; it is the union of two hearts. It lives on the love you give each other and never grows old, but thrives on the joy of each new day. Marriage is love. May you always be able to talk things over, to confide in each other, to laugh with each other, to enjoy life together, and to share moments of quiet and peace, when the day is done. May you be blessed with a lifetime of happiness and a home of warmth and understanding." The vicar continued, waving his hands around dramatically, leading to Tom worrying that he might knock over one of the twenty million candles he had adorning the altar and set the entire church on fire. It'd be just his luck – the campest vicar they could have possibly found knocking over a candle better suited to a hypnotist's studio and the whole wedding going up in smoke.

"Do you, Nicola, take Thomas to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

"I do." She responded, and he could hear a slight waver in her voice as she did. There were tears in her gorgeously clear eyes as the words came from her lips, and he squeezed her hand with his, and she smiled gently as he did so.

"And do you, Thomas, take Nicola to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

"I do." He answered, and felt the tears come to his eyes, too. Jesus Christ, he wasn't good at this whole emotional lark.

"And now, the exchange of rings. Leanne and Joshua, may I have the rings, please?" Tom was partially surprised to see Josh actually respond to his full name, as the two teenagers came forward with the rings held in their hands.

The exchange went in a blur, and before he knew it, the vicar was declaring their marriage to their family and friends (and assorted strangers who'd been led into the church by the best men and the ushers).

"I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss."

His heart must have been beating faster than that of a hummingbird as their lips finally met, and the church and their surroundings seemed to melt away as they were entirely lost in each other for those few seconds. They broke the kiss to rapturous applause from their friends and family, including several wolf whistles from the various parts of the church in which the students had been allocated.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you for the first time; Thomas and Nicola Clarkson."

It seemed like hours that they were stood outside the church talking to various guests, including several people neither thought they'd ever seen before, but appeared to know the couple disturbingly well.

Scout had come up and hugged both of them rather overenthusiastically, declaring the two to be her "fave teachers ever", and enquiring as to the nature of the food that would be served at the reception later on.

People eventually began to depart for the reception in the hotel, until it was just the bride and groom, the best men, and two bridesmaids left. Hannah seemed to be warming to Andy's slightly insane manner, and had allowed him to keep his arm around her shoulder for the past five minutes (although she claimed this was on the basis that it was "bloody freezing"). Leanne and Josh were discussing a band that nobody else had ever heard of, and the four of them eventually decided to take the cars to the reception and leave Tom and Nicki alone together for a while.

Tom took his wife's hand (he couldn't get used to calling her his wife; it felt so alien), and they walked round to the graveyard at the back of the church where Jess and her daughter were buried. Nicki had thrown her bouquet outside the church, which, after landing on Grantly's head, was caught by Christine. For the second time that day, Tom had been surprised to see the two women exchange warm smiles.

Nicki had kept two roses back, however, and as Tom led her over to her sister's grave, she untied the small piece of ribbon binding them together. In front of the gravestones, she placed the roses, murmuring something to both of them that Tom couldn't quite make out, and he went to walk away and give her some privacy. Before he could, his wife managed to catch hold of his hand and stop him in his tracks, and he could see the tears in her gorgeous, deep eyes again. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head as she held onto him, her elegant hands placed on his shoulder blades.

"We'd better go." she stated, untangling her arms from his body and taking his hand. They made their way slowly through the graveyard to where the car was waiting, the driver looking non-too-impressed that they'd kept him waiting for an extra five minutes. He helped her in, then sat down next to her on the cream leather seat in the back of the car, putting an arm around his wife as they were driven off to their reception.

A second and final part will be uploaded in due course, if we manage to sort out our formatting difficulties again. Massive thanks to Sarah for all her support during the time I was writing Bleeding Love, and of course for writing this x