Author's Note: Well, we made it. The epilogue for the final story in the Human Series. I really can't believe I'm typing this, but I am. This series has been my life for nearly two years and it feels so strange to know next time I sit down at my computer to write, I'll be moving on to a completely new project.

My goal is to write an original novel, but we'll see. I love fan fiction.

While there definitely won't be a part five to Samus's story, I may go back and do a few one-shots or short stories. Just for fun. I don't know when that will be.

Thank you, one final time, to everyone who has read, reviewed, and supported this series through the past two years, whether you were here from the beginning or just started. You've all given me the motivation to make this happen, and I am so, so happy you did. I never thought, when I started Human in 2015 that it would get past the first couple of chapters, let alone have a sequel. Let alone have three sequels in over 400k words of the quadrilogy.

If you want to get in contact with me to ask any questions or talk about this story or my future word, feel free to inbox me on here or on my eevee-nicks tumblr page. I'll still be around.

So without further ado, here we go. The epilogue to the final installment in the Human Series.

See you next mission!

Epilogue

Snow fell for the first time that year, early enough that the white powder dusted over the amber leaves still on their branches. It was a crisp afternoon with a bit of bite in the air, and the small New England town was mostly quiet. Most of its residents had traveled elsewhere for work hours ago, but a small group remained.

Nestled into a small thicket of forest, away from the main roads and thoroughfares stood a small nondenominational chapel. It looked like it was hewn from the same wood as the maples around it and blended almost perfectly into the natural backdrop. It might have camouflaged out of sight except for the stained glass windows that adorned its outer walls and the long hover limousines parked out in front. The drivers waited patiently for the people gathered inside.

It had been nearly four years since the Galactic Civil War had ended, and while there were still many rifts in need of mending, none of that seemed to matter on this day. Within the small chapel, there was no lack of Federation officials, some from the highest offices of the government, and they were gathered together for one special event.

The wedding of the daughter of the late General Adam Malkovich to the son of the legendary war hero Samus Aran.

Within the chapel, the two young lovers stood beneath the chuppah, hand in hand as the State representative read his part of the ceremony. Hector smiled as he and Abby locked eyes with one another, listening to the vows they had written and waiting for their cues to respond.

Hector's sandy hair was neatly trimmed and styled, and he looked absolutely dashing in his finely tailored tuxedo. Before him, Abridgette stood in her long white gown and veil. The dress was an elaborate garment adorned with lace that began just above her breasts and extended over her collarbone and down both arms and the entirety of her back. At the bottom, the dress scalloped slightly in the front, transitioning to a long train in the back.

It was the most ornate outfit Hector has ever seen his bride wear, and he thought she looked like a princess. Adoration filled his eyes and Abby could see he shared her feelings. At that moment, they felt like the two luckiest people in the galaxy.

"Do you, Hector Aran Fields," the representative began, "take Corporal Abridgette Jane Malkovich to be your lawfully wedded wife in this Galactic Federation sanctioned union?"

"I do," Hector said, practically beaming as he gave Abby's hand a small squeeze.

"And do you, Corporal Abridgette Jane Malkovich, take Hector Aran Fields to be your lawfully wedded husband in this Galactic Federation sanctioned union?"

"I do," she replied, staring eagerly into her partner's eyes.

"All right then, by the power vested in me by the Galactic Federation Grand Council of Daiban, I now pronounce you legally wedded partners of a domestic union."

Hector pulled Abby close to him as their lips met in a deep kiss, the first of many more to come in their married life. When they finished, they stood locked arm in arm, just holding one another and grinning as though there were no one else around them. There was no one and nothing else in the galaxy but the two of them as they stomped together on the napkin-wrapped glass at their feet.

The wedding reception was certainly not the most elaborate one there ever was, but it was far larger than the actual ceremony. It was held in a banquet hall they had rented out, and many of the attendees were current or former military. Given that the fathers of both the bride and the groom had served in the Federation Army and Abby was now a corporal in the Army, it only made sense.

The reception itself was fairly modest. There was a long buffet of food, a dance floor, and an open bar. The newlyweds could have afforded something fancier, but they had opted to save their money for a down payment on the house they would be moving into after they returned from the honeymoon.

Abby sighed happily as she sat at the elevated spot at the head of the table beside her husband. It felt wonderful to be finished with the stress of planning the wedding and to be finally starting their lives together. She smiled as she noticed a few latecomers arriving, some of the soldiers who had served under her father during the Space Pirate War. It broke her heart that he could not be there to see the wedding, and she knew that his old Army friends knew that.

The new bride dismissed herself from the table as she made her way over to the door. A few people tried to get her attention, but she brushed by them pretending not to notice and hoping they wouldn't be offended. If she stopped for everyone who wanted to speak to her, she'd never get a chance to talk to the person she wanted to.

"Uncle Anthony!" she called as she made her way through to the group of new people.

"Hey, Abby!" a tall black man replied. He grinned with the most infectious smile that lit up his face all the way to his eyes. His head was shaved clean, and he was dressed in a loose-fitting but still perfectly pressed gray suit.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" She smiled back at him, genuinely pleased to see him. Anthony Higgs had been a soldier in her father's unit back when Adam had been a lieutenant colonel. Abby had seen him many times growing up, including after moving to Earth, but she had not seen him since the General's funeral.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He gave her one of his big bear hugs that radiated with the same warmth he did. "I'm really happy for you and Hector."

Abby nodded as she pulled away. "I still can't believe it's really happening, but here we are."

"Your father would have been so proud if he were here right now. He used to talk about you and your sister a lot. Well… a lot considering how rarely he spoke about anything other than business."

"Thank you." Abby smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes as her father's old friend mentioned what had been on her mind the entire night. "Even though he can't be here, I'm sure he's glad you came. I know I am."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Abby stood up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on Anthony's cheek, but he was too tall and had to lean over so she could reach.

"Say," Anthony said with an impish look in his eyes. "You wouldn't happen to know where the Colonel is at right now, would you?"

"Over there," Abby said as she grinned and gestured toward a quieter corner near the buffet. "Over with the rest of the Marines."

Anthony grinned. "I hope you don't mind if I head over that way and say hello."

"Not at all. I'll be here all night. It's kind of my wedding and all."

Anthony chuckled as he and Abby hugged again. Once they separated, he made his way over toward the group of Marines in the back. He had his eyes on one Marine in particular, the tall blonde Colonel dressed in the black tuxedo.

"Colonel Aran?" he called out, and she turned to look at him. It took her a second to recognize him, but when she did, she grinned from ear to ear.

"Anthony!" Samus looked him up and down as though she could not believe he was really there. "Long time no see!"

"I could say the same thing to you. I'm not even sure what to call you now. Princess Colonel Aran? Colonel Princess? Or just stick with Princess by itself?"

Samus snickered as she punched him in the arm. "Still going on about that after all this time? What's it been now, twenty-six years?"

Anthony laughed in his whole-hearted jovial way. "Can't say I've been willing to count that far back so I'll take your word for it. You still look good as ever."

The Marine Colonel grunted and ran a hand through her long hair. She was wearing make-up in her best attempt to conceal some of her facial scarring, but it was still obvious. "I look like I've been through thirty years of war."

"I know," Anthony said with a gentler smile. "You look like the warrior queen you are, and it looks good on you."

Samus's face turned slightly red as she turned to the three Marines she had been speaking to before he arrived. "Anthony, these are Leslie, Tom, and Andy. They're my friends."

Anthony raised his eyebrows in disbelief and laughed. "Oh my goodness! You finally made friends!"

Samus's face turned redder as the redheaded Marine named Leslie reached out and shook Anthony's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Anthony. Any friend of Sam's has got to be a pretty great guy."

"The pleasure's all mine," he said with a smile. "You watch out for her and don't let her go blowing up anymore planets."

"Hey!" Samus yelled in mock-anger. "You know I don't normally blow up planets! They just kind of explode on their own for some reason or another while I'm there!"

"Mmhmm…" Anthony raised an eyebrow. "All just a lot of coincidences." He shook his head. "Almost forgot to congratulate you on being the mother of the groom. Of course, I only just found out a month ago that you had a kid at all… Any other surprises I should know about? He got a twin or anything?"

"Well…" Samus wore a guilty half-smile as she looked over to see Elisa walking toward them.

"Samus?" Elisa asked, looking between her wife and Anthony. "Who's your new friend?"

Anthony looked between Samus and a very pregnant Elisa as his grin doubled in size. "No way!"

"Heh." Samus flashed the simple titanium wedding band on her left hand. "Semi-humans can marry now, so we finally did it for real."

"And…?"

Samus smirked and shrugged. "Yeah."

"I'm due next month," Elisa said with a playful smile. "A little girl."

"Her name is Xiomara," Samus said, placing her hands lovingly on her wife's shoulders. "Xiomara Virginia Aran."

"Hey Anthony," Leslie said, snapping everyone's attention away from Samus and Elisa's intimate moment. "Sam and the rest of us are going out to the shooting range tomorrow. If you're still gonna be planetside by then, do you wanna join us?"

"Well," the tall man said in his jovial tone, "I guess that depends. It's been a long time since Sam and I have been shooting together, and I wouldn't want to infringe on her time, especially considering she's a big shot Marine Colonel now."

Samus rolled her eyes. "Anthony, you dork. I'm still the same person I always was."

"So that settles it then. I should just call you Princess then like when we were in the Army together?"

Samus glared at him. "That's Colonel Princess."

10 years later

"October nineteenth, twenty-two fifty-three," Abridgette said as she looked down at the small fidgeting bundle in her arms. Her long brown hair was caked with sweat as she sat up in her hospital bed. She looked exhausted, but her face was glowing. "Ten pounds. Seven ounces."

"He's a big boy," Hector said as he tried to sit as best he could on the bed beside her. He wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders as they looked down at their newborn son. His eyes were closed, and his hands were balled into tiny fists.

"Absolutely massive," Abby said with a tired grown. "Two pounds bigger than the last one. And they said labor with the second one was supposed to be easier. Easier my ass!"

Hector laughed. "Easy, Dear. You don't want that to be his first word!"

Abby rolled her eyes. "I think we've got some time before we have to worry about all that. He's basically a squishy little potato boy right now."

"True." Hector kissed her on the cheek. "But Mom and Elisa are bringing Morrigan by in a bit to meet her new brother, and I don't want her to hear you talking like that."

"Please." Abby laughed. "You left her with your mother. I can guarantee she's already heard more from Samus today than she's heard from me in three years."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door, and Hector jumped off the bed to let their visitors in.

"Where is he?" a ten-year-old girl screamed as she ran into the room excitedly. She had long black hair that went all the way down her back, and she was dressed in a pink blouse with a butterfly on it and a pair of jeans. She froze as she saw Abby in bed with the baby and stared up at her with her round blue eyes. "Is that him?"

Abby laughed as she looked at the girl. She was practically trembling with excitement. "Yes, Xiomara. This is your nephew."

"Can I hold him?" she asked eagerly.

"Not yet, kid," Samus called from where she was standing in the doorway, smirking in amusement at the scene before her. Though she was a Marine General now, the former bounty hunter still looked much the same as she always had. In addition to her signature leather jacket, however, she was now sporting an ornate dragon-headed cane. Her face showed her fifty-two years much like a human's would aside from its alien markings, but her long blonde hair was now streaked with a silvery iridescent blue in place of a human's normal gray. "Wait until you're both a little bigger, okay? He's too new right now."

Xiomara looked crestfallen, but she backed down. "Okay, Sammy. I'll wait. I can be patient."

"Good girl, Xo," Elisa said as she walked into the room holding the hand of a toddler girl with short-clipped light brown hair. She turned to Hector and Abby. "Congrats on baby number two. You're braver than I am."

Samus nodded from where she stood in the doorway. "Yes. Much braver. One was… quite the challenge."

Abby laughed nervously. "That means a lot coming from you."

Samus took a few steps into the room and grimaced. She tried to hide it, but Abby caught it before you could.

"Bad pain day, Samus?" she asked.

"Heh," the Marine General grunted as she made her way over to a chair and sat down. "A lot less painful than childbirth, but yeah."

"I keep telling her," Elisa said, shooting Samus a look. "Two years in the Army. Twenty years as a bounty hunter. And fourteen years in the Marines. There's no shame in taking something to make herself feel better. But she insists on enduring this."

Samus made a noise. "I don't have that many bad days anymore. Once in a blue moon. It just happened to be today."

"Are you trying to say it's a coincidence," Elisa teased, "and it had nothing to do with the fact that you were pacing in a circle for close to eight hours while Abby was in labor?"

"They might be connected. Tangentially."

"Uh huh…" Elisa gave Samus a look and was about to say something when another visitor came through the door followed by a massive fluffy black and white Malamute.

"Sorry I'm late!" Chance called as he and the dog ran into the room. The canine bounded excitedly over to Samus as it rested its giant head in her lap as she stroked it. "I had a bit of a hard time getting Fluff past security."

"You brought a dog into a hospital, Chance!" Abby said as she watched the huge animal's tail wagging rapidly from side to side. "That's gotta be against some kind of health code or something that I can't remember because I just pushed a whole human out of me…"

"Hey, Fluff," Samus said softly as she smiled at the dog and he looked up to lick her face. "How's my good boy doing?"

"How's the baby doing?" Chance asked as he looked over to the tiny sleeping bundle in Abby's arms.

"Quiet." Abby smiled tiredly. "Finally."

"Can I hold him?" Chance asked, his ears perking up.

Abby shook her head. "His grandma hasn't even had the chance to do that yet."

Samus shot a murderous glare at her daughter-in-law. "Abridgette Jane, you know you are forbidden from ever calling me that."

Abby rolled her eyes as Hector carefully took the baby from her and carried him to where Samus was sitting.

"Get outta here, Fluff," he said, gently nudging the dog away. "Don't worry, Mom. I won't call you that word you hate. You're still Sammy to Morrigan, and you'll be Sammy to Adam too."

Samus smiled as she took the tiny child into her arms and cradled him in the way she had never cradled his father. As she looked down at him, he opened his eyes to stare up at her. He had the same blue eyes she had had when she was fully human.

A small coo escaped from the baby as he flailed one arm and tried to reach up at her. Samus took his tiny hand in two of her fingers and smiled.

"Elisa," Chance called, holding his camera. "Hector, stand around Samus and Adam. Xiomara and Morrigan, you girls get in the picture, too!"

The others shuffled by, but Samus paid them no mind as she looked down at her son's son. A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks as her chest filled with more emotion than she could easily process. It was part fear of what the child would encounter in the world and part joy for what he would bring to the world, and she just sat quietly and let herself feel it as she held the tiny new life in her arms.

She knew that for all she had done, he would be safer here than the world she had been born into. There were no wars going on, no more than the typical amount of political strife. He had two parents who would love him dearly as well as other family who would be there every step of the way. And she would protect him, as she did for all those she loved, with her life.

As she looked down at little Adam, the rest of the world fell away, and she smiled. For this one moment, Samus Aran and the galaxy were completely at peace.

The End