EPILOGUE

A piercing cry stirred Elsa from her blissful slumber. The sound was distorted as if playing on an old radio and in her barely awakened state it took her a moment to realize it was coming from the baby monitor on her bed stand. Groaning, she reached to switch the device off hoping to spare Jack's hearing. Perhaps he'd been lucky enough to not have registered the crying yet.

Once silence was restored in their bedroom, she took a deep breath and begrudgingly pushed the covers off. She was just about to swing her legs over the edge of the bed when she felt a heavy arm wrap itself around her waist and hold her down.

"I'll go," Jack murmured in a raspy voice. "You stay in bed."

Before she could object, she heard the rustling of the bedsheets and the movement of the mattress, followed by his heavy footsteps as he tiredly dragged his feet across the floor. She watched him open the door and disappear in the hallway and while she was grateful he had sacrificed his comfort for hers she couldn't help the pang of guilt she felt, knowing he'd have to get up early in the morning to take their six-year-old son, Lucas, to school.

Resting her head back on the pillow, she tried to stay awake out of solidarity.

Jack yawned widely and rubbed the back of his neck, as he walked down the corridor towards the nursery. He was still not quite awake, but fortunately for him after five years of living in this house he could easily navigate through it even with his eyes closed. And if that hadn't been the case, then his daughter's shrill cries for attention would have been enough of a guide.

The house he'd bought as a wedding gift for Elsa. The topic of purchasing a new home had surfaced shortly after their son's birth. While they both had loved the apartment they had been living in, they'd felt that their little boy would need more space to play and would generally be much better off growing up in the suburbs. They had discussed it at length and had even visited a few potential properties. He had made sure to note down all of Elsa's preferences, but he'd also done everything possible to stall the purchase. Being who he was, he'd wanted to make it special for Elsa so he'd decided to surprise her. He still vividly remembered her face upon fist seeing their new home.

Considering he had proposed to her about two months before her due date, they had decided to postpone the wedding until after the baby was born and shortly after their son's first birthday they had said their vows. With the intention of keeping that special day simple and private, they had opted for a short but romantic ceremony to which only their closest friends had been invited. Since both his and Elsa's parents had been no longer among the living, the only family members present had been Bunny's parents and sisters.

The day after the reception, which had taken place at a charming, little inn in a nearby resort, they had thanked their guests and waited for all of them to be on their way before he had loaded the car with their overnight bags and the gifts they had received. Then he had helped Elsa strap Lucas into his car seat and they had headed home… only not the home Elsa had had in mind.

Just as they had reached the outskirts of Arendelle, he had pulled over and reached into the glove compartment to take out a dark cloth. Claiming he had a surprise for her, he'd asked her to put on the blindfold. His unexpected and strange request had left her puzzled but, after he'd told her to trust him, she had reluctantly tied the cloth over her eyes. The remaining twenty-minute drive he'd spent dodging her question as her confusion and curiosity had been replaced by frustration with his secrecy.

Finally, he'd pulled up in front of a large two-storey yellow-brick house, located in an upper-middle class suburb overlooking the sea. A spacious front yard separated the house from the tall, neatly trimmed hedge which served as a fence. What wasn't visible from where they had stood was the even bigger back yard with a clear view of the sea.

He'd switched the engine off and reached into the glove compartment to take out a small remote control. Asking a still blindfolded and at that point pouty Elsa for a little more patience, he'd stepped out of the car and walked to the other side to open the door for her. Gingerly taking her hand, he'd helped her out of her seat before unbuckling Lucas and scooping him in his arms. He'd then pointed the remote control towards the ornate iron gate, situated in a gap in the hedge, and pressed a button. As the gate had opened with a metal click, he'd reached to undo Elsa's blindfold with the words 'Welcome home'.

Admittedly, he'd been a bit nervous about showing her the house. He'd not regretted the purchase even for a moment. Nevertheless, as Elsa's eyes had fluttered open and she had blinked adjusting to the bright light, he'd wondered if she would scold him for making such an important decision, without consulting her first. Her gaze had settled on the unknown house and she'd stared at it in confusion until his words had finally sunk in and the realization had hit her. He'd watched her whole face light up as her lips had spread into an excited smile. That had been right before she'd turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck with a happy shriek.

Jack chuckled at the memory and opened the door to the nursery. Wincing at the loudness of his daughter's voice, he quickly slipped inside the room, before her mighty cries filled the hallway, and noted absentmindedly that with such pipes she would probably grow up to be an opera singer.

Once he found the light switch and flipped it, he crossed the room and bent over the crib.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," he said soothingly and carefully took the two-month-old baby in his arms, making sure to support her head. "Daddy's here, little sweetheart."

His tender embrace seemed to have an immediate effect – her cries became slightly hesitant and definitely less loud. He held her to his chest and pressed his lips to her head, giving her a lingering kiss while he swayed her gently in an attempt to calm her further and hopefully make her fall asleep again. When two minutes later his efforts proved utterly unsuccessful, he promptly checked if she needed to be changed. Seeing as it wasn't the case, he figured there was only one other reason for her unstoppable cries.

"Okay, you're hungry," he concluded. "It's seems only Mommy can help now, so let's take you to her."

With another kiss to her head, he turned around and carried her out of the nursery, stopping only to switch the lights off using his elbow. Not bothering to close the door behind him, he headed to the master bedroom. He grimaced and increased his tempo when her voice echoed off the walls of the hallway. With a little luck, her older brother hadn't heard anything and was still fast asleep. Unfortunately, all such hope vanished when he heard a tired voice call out to him.

"Dad?"

Sighing softly, Jack turned around to see his six-year-old at the other end of the hallway. Standing by the door of his room, Lucas was nervously fidgeting with the hem of PJs top. Much like his own unruly hair, his son's white-blond locks were in their usual tousled state, disheveled further by the fact that until recently he'd been asleep. The hair was one of many physical traits Lucas had inherited from him and Jack remarked that with every passing day his son looked more and more like him, the only difference being Lucas had Elsa's eyes

"Hey, little man," Jack said and walked over, gently bouncing the baby in his arms. Thankfully, his daughter, Charlotte, seemed to have calmed down even though she was still huffing and puffing and smacking her lips as if to remind him he was on mission to bring her to her food source. "Why aren't you in bed?" he asked and mentally rolled his eyes at his own pointless question. After all, Charlotte was capable of great decibels.

"I had a nightmare," Lucas complained, taking a step forward. "I'm scared and I can't sleep."

Jack's expression softened. Giving Lucas a kind smile, he readjusted his hold on Charlotte to support her with only one arm and extended his free hand towards his son, who didn't hesitate to take it.

"Come," he urged quietly and led Lucas towards the master bedroom.

Whenever Lucas would wake up during the night, he would come running to their bedroom, which was most certainly where he'd been headed this time too. In such cases, either him or Elsa would take Lucas back to his room and read to him until he fell back asleep. It was an exhausting but effective strategy they had developed to prevent Lucas from making a habit of sleeping in their bed. Their goal had been some much needed privacy because, with their boy growing up, uninterrupted late-night activities had become a luxury.

This time, however, Jack decided to make an exception. Charlotte had started to whimper and it wouldn't be long before she unleashed another mighty cry upon their innocent ears and he wanted to take her to Elsa before that happened.

Elsa yawned and lazily turned around to look at the alarm clock on Jack's night stand. It seemed he had another three hours until he would have to wake up, prepare breakfast and get Lucas ready for school, enabling her to sleep for a while longer or at least until Charlotte would wake up needing to be changed and fed. Following the birth of their daughter, he'd taken charge of nearly all tasks relating to their son which had allowed her to focus on herself and Charlotte, who currently depended almost entirely on her. It went without saying that she appreciated every little thing he did to make it easy on her. Yet what really warmed her heart was that taking care of her and their children made him the happiest man alive.

After The Guardians had been named National Champion for the first time, Jack had retired from hockey. To many it had come as a shock to see one of the team's star players leave so suddenly, especially after such a successful season and with no previously shown intent. It hadn't helped that he had made the unexpected announcement at the post-match press conference and had replied to the swarm of questions with little to no detail. To those closest to him, however, the reason had been clear – his career hadn't been worth the risk.

Once he'd left the world of professional hockey, he'd invested his efforts into growing his and Bunny's skating school. In just one year they had managed to expand it, doubling the number of courses they offered and attracting more kids from different age groups. His success had not once come at hers or their son's expense and, despite his busy schedule, Jack had remained a devoted husband and father, always putting her and Lucas first.

When Lucas had turned two, Jack had encouraged her to continue her education just as she had always wanted. At first, she had been opposed to the idea, saying it would be better to wait until Lucas was a bit older, but he'd quickly dodged her reluctance by telling her he'd wanted to try being a stay-at-home dad. Given they could also afford it, she had had no reason to object so she had enrolled in a Master's program and a year later she had earned a degree in Applied Arts. Following graduation, she had started making small clay sculptures, decorations and jewelry which she would sell in an artisan shop in central Arendelle. Once a week she would teach a beginners class in figure skating at the skating school and during winter she would participate in ice sculpture competitions. Quite a few trophies already adorned the shelves in the spare room which Jack had converted into a workshop for her.

Somewhere along the way, she had seen how immensely happy she was. Nothing - from the unexpected pregnancy to her career path – had worked out according to her plans. Yet she couldn't have been more satisfied with her life so far. Jack had been supporting her in every way he could, and Lucas… well, he had been a delightful surprise. His looks he had inherited from Jack but many of his personality traits he had gotten from her. That had turned out as an interesting combination, which only made her wonder how Charlotte would grow up to be.

Unlike Lucas, Charlotte had been no accident. There was no doubt that bringing up a child was no easy task. She and Jack had faced many challenges in that respect and sometimes, during the sleepless nights filled with crying and dirty diapers, they had questioned their ability to manage it all. What had given them strength had been all those joy-filled moments like Lucas' first smile, his first word or his first steps. At some point during those moments they had realized they both wanted one more baby. Only, the second time around, the right timing for conception had been thoroughly discussed and planned. The only detail they had failed to take into account had been Anna and Kristoff's wedding and as a result Anna had ended up with a heavily pregnant maid of honor.

The sound of the door opening distracted her from her thoughts and she turned around to see Jack bringing in some unexpected company. Pushing herself into a half-sitting position, she reached to turn on the bedside lamp and watched him let go of Lucas' hand before closing the door.

"Get in bed," Jack said softly and gently nudged Lucas as he stepped further into the room.

Lucas needed no further encouragement. He quickly crossed the room and climbed onto the king sized bed, settling in Elsa's open arms. She hugged him tightly and planted a kiss to his forehead, before she gave Jack a curious look.

"He had a nightmare," Jack explained in an answer to her silent question.

"Awww, you poor baby," Elsa cooed, running her hand soothingly up and down Lucas' back.

Jack chuckled, noting with amusement that their son had once again managed to weasel his way into their bed and was now comfortably settling next to Elsa… on his pillow no less. He shook his head and approached the bed.

"And little princess Charlotte is hungry," he added and bent down to carefully pass the whimpering baby girl into Elsa's arms.

Elsa cradled Charlotte and leaned back, resting against the padded headboard of the bed. "Let's take care of that, shall we?" she murmured and pulled the strap of her nightgown down her shoulder. Then she moved the cotton fabric to the side and let the baby latch onto her exposed breast.

Jack walked to the other side of the bed and climbed under the covers. He shuffled closer to Elsa and pulled an already snoozing Lucas to himself. Wrapping his arms around his son's small body, he kissed the top of his head and smiled when Lucas subconsciously snuggled closer to him.

"Elsa," he said quietly after a few moments spent in silence.

"Mmm?" she muttered, glancing at him.

He hesitated briefly as he studied her features. The six years that had passed since Lucas' birth barely showed on her face. She remained as youthful and beautiful as ever and her body exhibited almost no signs of the fact that she had carried and given birth to two children. Her personality, however, was a different story. Many changes had come with motherhood. The most prominent one had been that the distant, ambitious and career driven girl had given way to a loving and caring mother who had reinvented herself and found new joys in life. As far as he was concerned though, deep down inside she was the same little girl who had reignited his love for life, given him a new start and, later on, had grown into the gorgeous woman who had gifted him his own family.

Realizing he'd been staring at her for the past minute, he cleared his throat and spoke. "If you could go back in time and re-live your life until now," he began, slowly stroking Lucas' hair, "would you do anything differently?"

Elsa cocked an eyebrow. It was too much of an existential question for a three-in-the-morning conversation but she knew exactly what he was asking. He was trying to sound casual, as if keeping her company while she was breastfeeding, but his eyes betrayed the real meaning of his question – after all these years and everything he had done for her, he still wanted to make sure she was truly happy.

She looked at him – the man who had proven to be the most amazing friend, husband and father – and smiled. At thirty-four he hadn't changed one bit. He retained his boyish charm and the mischievous glint in his eyes and, instead of changing, over time he had simply revealed more of himself. For all the years she had known him, he had perfectly fulfilled every single role life had thrown at him which had only served as proof of how special he really was. Day by day she fell more and more in love with him.

Sighing softly, she shifted her eyes to Charlotte, who was still suckling peacefully, and caressed her small face. "Perhaps," she replied truthfully. "But… no matter how many options I would be given," she continued as her gaze settled on him again, "I would still choose to visit that playground on that gloomy winter day." She watched as his trademark lop-sided grin spread across his lips and gave him a smile of her own. "What about you?"

Jack's eyes softened, as he glanced down at the sleeping boy in his arms, then at the baby girl she was holding, and finally at her. His smile widened.

"I wouldn't change a thing."

A/N: The End.

Before I say my final remarks, I would like to clarify that Lucas and Charlotte are mine and WickedgreenPhantom's OCs. We've created them together and they're our version of the Jelsa kids. And in case you were wondering, Charlotte grows up to look like Elsa but with Jack's eyes.

Just like that the story is over and I still can't believe it. It took me such a long time to finish it and it feels strange that I will never write another chapter for it. I still have another on-going story and I might write more one-shots and even another chaptered story, but Give It a Chance will forever hold a special place in my heart.

I would like to give special thanks to all of you who were patient enough to stick with this story till the end! It means a lot :)

Thanks also to everybody who has ever reviewed, followed or favorited this story!

That said, it's been a real pleasure :)

Oni out.