NOTE: And so, it is with these two chapters that "Dawn of a New Sunrise" comes to an end. I truly enjoyed writing this story and am sad to see it go after thinking about it for over seven years. Thank you to all who read the story and especially to those who also left reviews. It was nice knowing that people are as fond of it as I am.
(See first part for disclaimer, notes, spoilers, etc.)

Chapter 57
Gregory tips the room service porter and closes the door behind him. He turns around to find Olivia furiously attacking her plate of pasta.

"Hungry?" he asks with a smirk.

Olivia freezes with a fork full of pasta in midair and lowers her eyes. Gregory can't help but chuckle at her expression and that evolves into full laughter as she glares at him and shoves the laded fork in her mouth.

"I'm glad," she says in between chewing, "that you find me so entertaining."

Gregory reaches for her free hand. "I'm just glad I found you again."

She swallows quickly and places the fork and plate on the room service cart before throwing herself into his arms. As he pulls her deeper into his embrace, she smiles tenderly and tucks her head underneath his chin.

Gregory rubs her back and frowns at the tension he feels. "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about Sean," she admits as she sits up, "and I'm worried about people will say when we get back to Sunset Beach."

He reaches out and tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear. "To hell with other people…They've always gossiped. As for Sean," he says with a small sigh, "he'll come around."

"Do you really think so?" Olivia's hopeful eyes meet Gregory's and his heart twists at the sight of them.

"Yes," he says softly. He strokes her ring finger and smiles mysteriously. "I have something for you."

"What?"

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bunched up silk scarf, smiling internally as her face falls in disappointment.

"You brought me…a scarf? And, one that I already own?"

"Well, technically," he says as he holds it out to her, "you left it behind…and that makes it mine." He places the scarf in her hand.

Olivia examines the scarf and eyes him suspiciously. "There's something in here." She frowns when his face doesn't change, revealing nothing. With delicacy, she unwraps the bundle and gasps at what she finds inside. "Gregory…" she whispers breathlessly as she looks up with tears in her eyes.

Gregory leans forward and carefully picks up the engagement and wedding rings. As he slides them back onto her finger, he says softly, "They never belonged on anyone's finger but yours." He gently brushes away the tear that rolls down Olivia's cheek. He then picks up her hand and gently kisses it, silently rejoicing at the sight of his mother's rings back on Olivia. "They never should've come off in the first place."

Olivia marvels at the familiar weight of the rings and holds out her hand to examine her newly adorned finger.

Watching her, a nearly forgotten memory explodes into his consciousness...

"Oh Gregory," she had sighed. She stared down at her hand and angled it differently as the light caught the stone, causing it to sparkle. "It's beautiful and I love it. I'll never take it off." She allowed him to pull her up and he held her close. "I love you. But now I'll have to tell our children that you proposed to me in the living room of your apartment while I was wearing a string bikini."

"What are you smiling at?" Olivia asks, interrupting his memory.

"Nothing," he replies as he pulls her to him. He holds her close and resumes rubbing her back. "Just remembering that little string bikini you used to have."

Olivia snorts. "I doubt I could wear something like that now."

"And why not?"

"I'm too old and my figure isn't what it used to be."

Gregory lets his hand drift down over the swell of Olivia's hip. "Things prosper with age, Liv."

Olivia sits up and kisses Gregory's lips softly. "You aren't comparing me to a fine wine, are you?"

He chuckles. "You are much better and more intoxicating than any wine could ever be," he states seriously. "Your body has changed because you've borne my children…How could I not love what that's done to your figure?"

Her smile suggests a faint embarrassment. "You're a very sweet man, do you know that?"

"Only with you."

The door to the suite opens and Caitlin walks in. "Sean isn't coming home."

"What!" Olivia exclaims as she stands up.

Gregory stands behind Olivia and squeezes her hand supportively. "Where did you see him, Cait?" he asks quietly.

"I went to look for him and found him at his dorm. He was packing his room up. He said he is going with his roommate's family to their home in Manhattan tomorrow and then to Europe," Caitlin says as she plops down in the armchair.

"Damn," Olivia sighs as she sits back down on the couch

"It's alright," Gregory says as he sits next to Olivia. He takes her hand and looks at Caitlin. "You said he was planning on spending the summer in Europe, right?" Caitlin nods. "Alright, so nothing has changed. He'll spend the summer in Europe and then he'll come back before the fall semester starts at…" Gregory trails off as he realizes he doesn't know what, if any plans, Sean has for college.

"Dartmouth," Olivia interjects quietly.

Gregory looks up in surprise. "He's going Ivy League? I didn't know," he says as Olivia nods. "Well," he starts after a moment, "then he'll be back. We'll let him have the summer…and we'll see where we go from there." He stands up and smiles broadly. "Dartmouth, huh?"

Olivia smiles back. Oh, Sean, she thinks, if only you were here to see how proud you've made your father!

"-orrow. What do you think, Liv?"

"Sorry, darling. You were saying?"

"We'll fly home tomorrow morning? How do you feel about that?"

"Wonderful. The sooner the better."

"I agree," Caitlin pipes up.

"Good," Gregory says. "You two eat and I'm going to excuse myself to make the arrangements. Watch your mother, Cait," he calls over his shoulder. "Don't let her eat all the pasta." He smiles as Olivia mutters something under her breath and he closes the bedroom door behind himself. He takes his cell phone out of his pocket and keys in a phone number. The drapes are open and the silver moonlight beams into the room, casting odd-shaped shadows in the corners of the room.

"Stanton?…The matter we discussed this afternoon; is everyone in place?…Very good…Take him now…Yes, I want no trace of this problem after you and your boys are done." Gregory ends the call and sits down on the bed. If she knew, he thinks to himself. No, that's not even worth thinking about. He calls the pilot and arranges for the travel arrangements back to Sunset Beach.

When finished, he tosses the phone back onto the bed and opens the door to the sitting room, standing in the doorway watching Olivia and Caitlin. Their heads are bent together and they are speaking in hushed tones. After a moment, Caitlin giggles and Olivia throws her head back with a laugh.

Why did it take Olivia leaving for me to realize what I was missing all along, he wonders. He shakes off his feelings of regret as he walks out of the darkness of the bedroom and into the light of the sitting room.

Chapter 58
Gregory directs the bellhop to store the luggage in the back of the limousine.

"I'm sleeping on the plane," Caitlin grumbles as she slides into the backseat. "Next time, let's make sure the plane leaves in the afternoon."

Gregory shakes his head in amusement. "Where's your mother?" he asks, bending down to look in the backseat.

"Front desk," Caitlin answers as she stretches out on the side seat cushions and closes her eyes.

He tips the bellhop and follows him back into the lobby, where he sees Olivia in discussion with the porter behind the front desk.

"And he just checked out?" he hears Olivia ask as he nears her.

"What's the problem?"

Olivia turns around and smiles at Gregory. "Nothing darling. The porter stopped me because Del left my luggage here. He checked out late last night, apparently."

"Well, at least he had the decency to leave your belongings," Gregory says as he beckons the eager-to-please bellhop over. "Take these out to the car, as well." He turns back to Olivia and extends his hand. "Let's go, Liv."

Taking his hand, Olivia follows Gregory out of the lobby and into the quiet sunshine. She stops suddenly and Gregory turns around in confusion.

"Gregory…"

"What?"

She removes her sunglasses and looks closely into Gregory's eyes. "You didn't do…"

Gregory steps closer to Olivia. "Do what?" he asks nonchalantly.

"You didn't do anything to Del, did you?" she whispers.

Gregory stares at Olivia and sees the desperate hope in her eyes. "Of course not," he says after a moment. "He's probably thirty thousand miles above us on his way back to Europe." He pulls Olivia into an embrace and closes his eyes against her sigh of relief. "Let's go home."

Olivia pulls back and smiles as she puts on her sunglasses. "Let's."

Gregory walks Olivia to the limousine and helps her into the backseat. "I'm just going to make a quick phone call," he says as Olivia sinks into the leather seat. He walks a few feet from the car as he pulls out his cell phone.

"Stanton," the voice on the other end of the line answers.

"Is our rodent problem taken care of?" Gregory asks quietly.

"Yes sir. The rodent is now twenty thousand leagues under the sea off the coast of Massachusetts."

"And at the end?"

"Death was a blessing at that point."

Gregory clicks the phone off and walks back to the limousine.

Olivia looks up from running her hand gently through the sleeping Caitlin's hair. "Everything alright?"

"It is now," he replies. "Now that you're coming home, it is. Just you wait, Liv…Everything will be wonderful again." He wraps his arm around her shoulder as she leans against him.

As the limousine pulls away from the curb of the New Hampshire hotel, each person lay wrapped in his or her own thoughts. Though one member of the family remained absent, each member of the Richards family remained convinced that maybe, just maybe, everything could be wonderful again.