Hi everyone! I know it's been forever, but I have written at least 5 full versions of this epilogue and none had the right ring for ending this story, that is, until now. Phew! Thank you once again for supporting me in this crazy, little fic. I'm forever in your debt. I love you all.

I own nothing.

Two years later…

Erin slowly descends the stairs and follows the rise and fall of clatter and laughter coming from the kitchen. It's the sweetest sound and sometimes she wonders how her life was before all this – before Jay, before Lucy, and now, before Ben. She quietly watches them from the kitchen's threshold, not wanting to disturb the moment, wanting to memorize every detail, every smile, and every fleeting look.

Not surprisingly, she sees Lucy sitting on her time-out chair – arms crossed over her chest, brow furrowed. With her short honey brown hair, blue eyes, and a powerhouse of a personality, Lucy is definitely a force to be reckoned with. If Lucy has been wrong, if the object of her love has been besmirched, this little spark plug will rise up and strike you down with the fury of one thousand Disney princesses. Jay always says their little girl came into this world doused with an extra dose of indomitability (like her mom).

But Lucy is not all mischief and mayhem. Lucy has a sweet, silly heart and her goofiness is as heartwarming as is her big beautiful smile. Erin used to worry about their similar nature and how much heartbreak that caused when she was growing up. But unlike Erin, Lucy has an amazing, present dad to help her put her large parcel of personality into good use. Jay is really good with her. He always knows how to love her, how to interact with her, and how to teach, discipline, and nurture this crazy little force that is Lucy.

Erin watches Jay stand near the sink cutting some bananas while keeping an eye on their little girl out of his periphery. "Are you ready to say sorry?" Jay asks.

"But daddy, he took my star," Lucy retorts, pointing at the little boy nonchalantly playing with a stack of Tupperware.

"Luce, why did daddy put you on time-out?" Jay asks.

"I dunno," Lucy shrugs.

"Oh, okay." Jay nods nonchalantly. "Maybe you should sit there a little longer and think—"

"No daddy!" Lucy cuts him off. "It's cause I push'ed Ben," she says woefully.

"That's right." Jay walks over to where Lucy is seated and kneels in front of her."It's not nice to push people. When Ben or anyone does something you don't like you tell me or mom, okay?"

Lucy nods with a melodramatic pout drooping her lips. "Sorry, daddy."

"C'mere," Jay says and pulls Lucy into a hug. He kisses her head and says, "Now go tell Ben you're sorry."

Erin watches her four year old drag her feet across the kitchen floor to where her little brother is. Lucy bends down and kisses Ben's rosy cheek and says, "Sorry, Benny."

"Good girl," Erin says, and all eyes turns to her.

"Mommy!" Lucy chirps and runs to Erin. Ben flashes a smile, showing off his bottom two front teeth.

Erin kisses Lucy and goes to scoops Ben off the floor. She then walks up to Jay and gives him a peck on the lips. "Rough morning?"

"Nah…" He says and takes the plates with food to the table. "Someone got a little handsy today," he says and motions his head towards Lucy. "But it's all good now."

Jay lifts Lucy up and places her in her booster seat on the table, while Erin settles Ben in his high chair. Erin smiles at her nine month old baby boy who is just cool, calm, and collected. While the rest of their world swirls about at the pace of a headless chicken on crystal meth, Ben doesn't seem to notice, or care for that matter. He is as content as content can be. But just like his father, Ben can sometimes be as smooth as days old coffee.

It's a Saturday, so they eat breakfast unhurriedly. Erin is thankful that Jay let her sleep in and woke up with the kids because she doesn't think she would have been able to manage them after working until the wee hours of the night.

Erin yawns and Jay asks, "Did you catch any break last night?"

Erin feeds Ben a spoonful of mashed bananas and says, "Not exactly. We put in a rush order for a warrant, but I'm not sure we'll find anything at this point. They probably cleared house by now."

Jay nods. "Well, look at it this way. At least there's no paperwork and for the first time in longer than I can remember, we have absolutely nothing on schedule. No work, no birthday parties, and no play dates…I'm not leaving the house today."

"True, but," she says and sips her coffee. "We actually have to go to the grocery store."

Jay sighs and makes a goofy face at Lucy, who giggles. "Daddy can never have his way."

Erin raises an eyebrow. "Daddy had his way and that's why we have both of you," Erin says smiling at her kids who are innocently eating their breakfast.

"Okay. This conversation is no longer kid-appropriate."

Erin laughs. "Seriously, we need to go and we should probably get there before the afternoon rush."

Jay hangs his head. "Okay, okay…" He surrenders.

"But since you woke up with the kids, I will get them ready. Just... take the boy up and I will be right there."

Jay stands up and plucks Ben from his high chair. He plants a loud kiss on his full belly and the kid giggles. "C'mon bud, we're out of here."

In the last two years, Erin learned that there are more kinds of love then there are stars in the sky. Love, she learned, isn't nice. Or pretty. Love is stunning and destructive and world-shaking and heartbreakingly sweet, fragile and strong as diamonds. When she miscarried, love was the force that cracked open her suffocated lips in a moment of total loss, and breathed life back in despite the thorns coating her thoughts and heart. Love is Jay. Love is Lucy. And Love is Ben.

After Erin's miscarriage they decided not to try again. Jay took what Hank said to heart – that he should focus on what he had—and that's what they did. With time (and effort), life returned to being simple, easy, and sweet. But after a late night date night, coupled with a few drinks, Erin found herself pregnant again. The news was exciting, and at the same time, terrifying. They kept it a secret, tucked away in the most protective part of their heart. They knew their anxiety stemmed from the notion of history repeating itself. Whether it was irrational or not, they decided to not say anything.

But they couldn't keep something as big and wonderful a secret for long. So when the pants stopped fitting and the shirts became too tight, the news slowly trickled from their protective bubble and everyone reveled in their happiness. Their smiles were bight and broad, and love seemed to overflow between them. The turbulent months prior had been so downright awful that this invigorated their appreciation not only for each other, but for life.

Benjamin Henry Halstead came in the quiet of the night, without any fuss or commotion. Jay remembers holding his little boy for the first time, looking into his little eyes and feeling his heart tighten another notch. They were no longer a party of three, but a party of four. Three beings that completed his life in ways he didn't think he needed.

Jay walks down the hospital corridors hand in hand with Lucy. Her steps are hesitant and she keeps looking up at her dad for reassurance. Once they reach the door, Jay kneels before her and says, "Lucy, are you ready to meet you little brother?"

"Da one in momma's belly, daddy?"

"Yes." Jay tucks a stray hair from one of her pigtails behind her ear. "Remember how mommy and daddy had to go to the hospital to get the baby? Well, he is here."

Lucy's eyes sparkled. "I wanna see him, daddy."

"Okay," Jay says standing up and slowly ushering her inside Erin's hospital room.

Lucy's reaction is both amazing and comical. When her eyes first locks on the little baby wrapped in blue, her expression softens and for the first time their little girl is at a loss for words, though it only lasts a second.

"Oh mama! Can I hold'em?"

"Yes, baby. But you have to be really careful, okay?"

"Yes mama, Imma be cah-ful."

Jay sits her down next to Erin, and Erin slowly lowers the baby into Lucy's awaiting arms, keeping a strong hold on him.

"Lucy, meet your little brother, Ben."

"Oh hi, Ben," Lucy says, running a careful little finger over her brother's fuzzy head. "Imma your big sistah."

It was love at first sight for Lucy. And even now, despite a spike in Ben's curiosity towards her toys (in particularly a shiny police star), she still takes everything in stride.

Later that night, after an adventurous trip to the grocery store, a short visit to grandpa's house, and an impromptu playdate with Will and Nat's kids, the Halsteads were finally home – kids tucked in and parents lounging on the couch with two cold beers in hand.

"So much for my lazy Saturday," Jay retorts.

Erin chuckles. "It was a good day. Meltdowns were to a minimum and I only had to tell Lucy twice to put her tongue back in her mouth."

Jay smiles. "From the moment she woke up she was all Lindsay."

Pulling slightly away from Jay, Erin says, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Jay beams an easy smile, drapes an arm over her shoulders, and pulls her back to him. "It's not a bad thing. I fell you love with a Lindsay."

Erin rolls her eyes. Typical, cheesy Jay.

"Let's just hope the boy takes a little more after me. You know, cool, calm and collected."

Erin laughs. "You? Cool? Collected? C'mon, between the both of us, I just hope these kids don't overthrow our reign in a well plan coup in their teenage years."

Jay smiles. Their kids were going to be great.

They sip their beers and revel in the cool, tart liquid sliding down their throats. Life hasn't been this quiet and good and effortless in longer than they care to remember. Here sits, two people whom life had nearly crushed, but managed to turn their lives around – together. Are they perfect? No. But perfect is a relative term. Despite everything, their imperfect world is perfect to them.

"So, I know you might not remember. But, do you know what today is?" Jay asks.

Erin racks her mind, but comes up empty. "I have no idea what today is."

"Well," Jay says. "Two years ago today, was the day you came back to me."

Erin frowns for only a moment, before it dawns on her what Jay is referring to. "Oh." It's all she can say.

"I thought I had lost you," Jay says pensively. "But you woke up after the surgery, called me Babe, and everything was good again."

Erin looks up at the man she loves. She pulls him down by his neck and slowly they kiss. It's soft and warm and all kinds of sweet.

Jay pulls back slightly and says, "I have something for you."

"What?" Erin asks as Jay stands up from the couch and disappears through the living room door. Minutes later he comes back with a small, velvet black box in hand.

"Here," Jay says, handing Erin the box.

She takes it from him slowly, still in awe that he got her something.

"I know I'm bringing up the past here, and I'm only doing it because it makes me appreciate the present that much more."

Erin slowly opens the velvet box and pulls out a beautiful, silver necklace. "This is beautiful."

"Look," he points to the charm pendants. "This little girl is Lucy and the little boy is Ben."

Erin smiles touching the girl and boy pendants. There's a third pendant and Erin examines it carefully. "A wing?" she asks.

Jay smiles, but it's laced with a sad tinge. "It's an angel's wing," he clarifies.

As soon as he says angel's wing, Erin's eyes fill with tears. She looks at Jay and there is so much she wants to say, but the words vaporize on her tongue. This kind of love she is experiencing right now is world-shaking and heartbreakingly painful all at once.

"I know we don't talk about it that much anymore. But it doesn't mean we have forgotten about it."

Their baby. Now, their angel.

"This is uh, this is so thoughtful." Erin pulls Jay for another kiss. This one more ardent, deeper, more passionate. After all these years, this guy still could make her heart skip a beat. He is her rock – forever her champion.

"I love you," Erin says against his lips.

"I love you too," Jay replies. "Always."

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.

Fin

I wish you guys all the happiness and love. Surround yourself with kind humans and coffee. Until next time. Cheers!