It was a simple wedding.

Wanda had wanted it that way. Cosmo hadn't cared either way—just so long as it was a wedding. Of course, even if they had wanted a big wedding, it would have been downright impossible—neither of them had any family left, except obviously Castle. And Castle, for her part, completely reveled in being both the flower girl and the ring bearer. Cosmo had suggested that Monkey be the ring bearer, but Wanda shot that idea down like a ton of bricks. Monkey could watch, but he couldn't be part of the wedding party.

"Aw, Monkey, I know you wanted to be part of the wedding, but Wanda said—"

"I don't want a dog peeing on my shoes when I'm saying 'I do'," said Wanda gently but firmly, adjusting Cosmo's tie. "Cosmo—your tie's a bit crooked. Put Monkey down so I can fix it."

"I thought you liked Monkey!" Cosmo protested, clinging to his Chihuahua defiantly.

"I do like him, but don't you want to look good for your wedding day?" Wanda made the finishing adjustment on Cosmo's forest green tie. "There. You look perfect."

"So do you," said Cosmo in quiet awe. Wanda wasn't wearing your typical wedding dress—she was wearing a light, off-white summer dress—but Cosmo couldn't imagine her wearing anything else on their wedding day—she looked absolutely gorgeous.

Wanda blushed. "I'm not trying to look flashy—"

"I didn't say you were flashy, I said you were perfect."

Wanda smiled, the type of smile that one only gives when they are feeling completely and uninhibitedly loved. "Would it be completely unorthodox of me to kiss you before the actual ceremony?" she asked.

"Uh…" Cosmo hesitated. "I don't know. Actually, I don't even know what unorthodox means, so…"

Wanda smiled. "It can wait, dear."

Cosmo smiled and nodded, part of him wondering what could wait, the meaning of the word "unorthodox" or the kiss; and the other part of him not really caring. There was one fact and one fact alone this day that made everything else meaningless—when the day was done, Wanda would be his wife, and he would be her husband. He was going take care of Wanda as well as he possibly could—he would do everything in his power—and then some!—to make her get well again. If Wanda suffered under his care he'd never forgive himself. Cosmo wasn't sure how, but he just somehow had to get rid of her virus! He just—

Wanda's head turned and looked at the front gate. "Who's that?" she asked.

Cosmo turned his gaze to be parallel with Wanda's… and gasped.

"Lieutenant Denzel!"

Frozen with surprise, Cosmo only managed to take a few steps forward. The fact that Crocker had come at all was surprising in itself, but he was doing something that he hadn't for years.

He was walking.

"Hello, Cosmo," said Crocker, with that strange calmness in his voice.

"Hello… Lieutenant Denzel…" Cosmo could still hardly believe his eyes. "You… you've got legs again!"

"That's right!" Crocker grinned. "I had them custom made." He pulled up his pant leg and showed one of his new legs—a black metal joint. "Titanium alloy," he said, batting it with his cane. "That's what they make the space shuttle out of! And damn, they did a good job on me! A FAIRY GODPARENT couldn't have done better!"

Cosmo, enraptured with joy, continued to stare. "You can walk again…" he breathed.

Crocker smiled. "Yep. Oh yes…" He motioned to the woman who was with him. "This is Geraldine, my fiancé."

"I'm going to marry a loony," Geraldine moaned to herself.

"I'm not a loony!" Crocker cried defiantly.

"Yes you are!" Geraldine retorted. "But I love you that way… loony!"

"Hooray!" Crocker cried like a little kid.

"This—" Cosmo took Wanda's arm and pulled her up to Crocker, as she had taken a few steps forward as well to examine the newcomers—"this is my Wanda!"

"It's nice to finally meet you—" both Crocker and Wanda said in unison.

Then they both laughed, and Wanda gave Crocker a quick hug.

"You're sure that you're not a FAIRY GODPARENT, right?" Crocker asked.

"Pretty sure," Wanda grinned.

"You could be!" said Crocker. "Because do you know what FAIRY GODPARENTS do?"

"They… fly?"

"They grant wishes!" Crocker cried with exuberance. "And you're definitely granting Cosmo's wish today! Trust me on this one, a guy doesn't name twelve boats after a girl and not want to marry her!"

And Wanda laughed again, and Cosmo couldn't stop smiling from bliss.

O.o.O

The months that followed were a bittersweet blur for Cosmo. Spring grew into summer and the mornings were filled with long walks with Wanda and Castle, exploring the woods around the house, Cosmo and Wanda talking, while Castle picked up various rocks and started a rock collection. In the afternoons they'd watch TV—Castle liked to pick the show, thus it was often either Sesame Street or something completely violent—and in the evenings either Cosmo or Wanda would read Castle a book, put her to bed, and then spend an hour or more by themselves, just talking. Cosmo was the housekeeper of the trio—he cooked meals, he made sure the house was tidied up, everything.

Pretty soon, Wanda began just want to sleep through the morning walks… then she would be too tired, too sick to watch TV in the afternoons… and soon the only way she could read to Castle at night was if Cosmo brought Castle into Wanda's room.

Cosmo tried to not let Wanda know, but he was panicking.

One morning, after opening the door, holding a breakfast tray for Wanda, he stopped short—Wanda was usually awake at this time of day, but her eyes were shut, and she was laying nearly motionless on the bed—she couldn't be—

Wanda's eyes fluttered open. "Hey," she said weakly.

Somewhat relieved, Cosmo managed a "Hey" in return and sat down at her bedside, setting the tray on her lap. Wanda smiled at it.

"Mm, oranges. Thanks Cosmo, these'll really hit the spot." She picked up an orange slice and bit it contemplatively.

Cosmo watched her, trying to remember things that the doctor said when he came, nearly every day now—"She's just weak, her strength should be coming up soon. It's just pneumonia, that rarely kills anymore. She's got the best medical treatment available. In a few days she should be coming around."

Cosmo knew next to nothing about medical procedures, but Wanda certainly didn't seem to be getting better. In fact, despite Cosmo bringing her all of her meals (and carefully consulting the food guide pyramid to make sure that she was getting the exact amount of servings that she needed), getting her anything she asked for, doing anything, ANYTHING he could do…

…she looked like she was getting worse.

"Wanda?" he suddenly asked.

"What?" Wanda replied, noting Cosmo's worry.

"I… I don't want you to lie to me, not like I think the doctor is. …I need you to tell me the truth."

Wanda bit her lip.

"Okay," she finally whispered.

But Cosmo couldn't speak again—he was just staring at her weak body, her body that was failing despite everything that Cosmo was doing for her. She wasn't getting any better, and it was all Cosmo's fault, in fact it would be his fault if she…

"Are you dying?" he finally blurted out.

Wanda took a deep breath; gulped; her eyes fluttered to the door, away from Cosmo… but finally she looked at him again. "I think so."

Her voice was a bit firmer there, more sure of herself, but it brought tears to Cosmo's eyes, even though he was trying desperately not to cry. "…I tried," Cosmo finally managed to squeak out through his now heavy sobbing, "I tried to make you better but I must have done something wrong, I'm too stupid to take care of you… You're going to die and it's all my fault…"

"Cosmo, I've been dying for years now," said Wanda. "There's nothing you could have done to stop it now… there's nothing anyone could have done…"

"No, if you had a smarter husband he would have helped you get better!" Cosmo insisted, now shaking with tears.

"How many times do I have to tell you this?" With great effort, Wanda sat up in her bed and grabbed Cosmo's hand, holding it tightly. "You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Cosmo, if it weren't for you, I would probably already be dead by now. I probably would have killed myself. I would have felt that nobody loved me, because nobody ever did besides you. Are you listening to me?" she asked gently, as Cosmo stared at her in shock. "I'm dying right now because of what I did—my death is going to be my doing and nobody else's. I'm dying because I was stupid—but I've lived this long because you were smart, you knew what I needed, even when I didn't know."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Cosmo stammered.

"Love was so absent from my life that I didn't know that's what I needed—I thought my life was just destined to be a living hell, and there was nothing that could be done about it—but you knew what I needed! You loved me, no questions asked, and that saved me. Somehow, Cosmo, you're able to see past all the terrible things I've done and become, and still see something beautiful, and I love you for that—oh Cosmo…" For the first time, Wanda's voice broke. "You'll never know how completely, how wholly, how madly I am in love with you—and with everything you've done for me! I don't deserve even a tenth of it, but I don't care anymore—and I know it's not fair to you," she added quietly. "You're doing everything for me, while I just sit in bed and sleep all day and wait to die. I'm a terrible wife," she whispered.

"No you're not," Cosmo said quickly. "It's not your fault you're…" Somehow, he couldn't get the word "dying" out.

"It is my fault," said Wanda. "Cosmo… promise me that you'll make sure Castle doesn't make the same stupid choices I made."

"How… how do I do that?" Cosmo asked, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it without even realizing it.

"Just love her," said Wanda gently. "If she feels loved, then she won't do what I did."

"Oh… no problem then… I already love her just as much as I love you!" Cosmo tried to smile, but turning the corners of his mouth up hurt so bad under the circumstances that he gave up and let his face fall into heartbroken sorrow. Wanda looked at his face and her own face bunched up, ready to cry.

"Cosmo… were you scared in Vietnam?"

"I… yeah, sometimes," Cosmo admitted, leaning in on Wanda's bed and gazing into her illness dimmed eyes, stroking her face. "But it wasn't all bad. Sometimes it would stop raining for a few moments, and the moon would come out, and it was nice then. It was pretty.

"So's the sunset out on the shrimping boat," he continued. "It's so beautiful, when the sun goes down underneath the water and the water sparkles with all the different colors.

"And this mountain lake that I unicycled by… I'd never seen anything so fantastic, Wanda! It was so clear, the reflection, that it looked like there were two different mountains, one upside down and the other rightside up—it was like two different skies!

"But one of the prettiest skies I've ever seen is in the desert, at sunrise… with all the blues and the pinks in the sky, with the gold and brown of the desert… oh, Wanda, it was so beautiful! I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the earth began!"

Wanda lifted up an almost limp arm and ran her fingers through Cosmo's hair. "I wish I could have been there with you," she murmured.

"You were," said Cosmo simply.

Wanda smiled. "I love you."

Cosmo returned the smile, but felt it suddenly fade. "You know… you know I've done everything for you, Wanda… if I could have saved you, I would have, even if that meant me dying… I love you too…"

"I know." Wanda took Cosmo's hand, the one that had been caressing her face, and kissed it, and then picked up her orange slice, eating it quietly.

O.o.O

Autumn was nearly upon the trees now—everything was still green, but a rather washed-out green, a tired green—the leaves were just waiting to break free and splatter color on the ground.

One particular tree, with its tired green leaves, reflected the evening sun off of them, and the leaves danced, as if they knew what was to come.

Standing underneath that tree, Cosmo watched the leaves dance, he watched them reflect their light on the biggest, widest branch of the tree, a branch where, many years ago, a pink-haired angel had taught him how to read.

Cosmo closed his eyes and turned his head away from the tree, as if it were too painful to look at. With effort, he opened his eyes, and put on a smile.

"Hi, Wanda!" he said, nearly cheerfully. "I'm sorry that I… oh, cheese pudding!" His face contorted and his body collapsed, as if in pain. "I… knew I couldn't do this!" he cried, constricted tears running down his face, as if they were a slow leak. "But I have to—I know I do—it's been two months…"

He was holding a single flower—a zinnia—and reverently, he placed it on Wanda's tombstone, which sat alone under the tree.

"Yeah… you never really said where you wanted to be buried," said Cosmo, with a half-chuckle. "So I thought you'd like to be under our tree… the cemetery was too… sad." Cosmo sniffed, then continued.

"Anyway… I have lots I have to tell you. That house of your uncle's—I had it bulldozed!" Cosmo laughed again, although this time it was almost a crazed laugh. "Castle was with me—we watched it fall to the ground—it was great! I should have been a construction worker!" He cleared his throat. "Anyway… Castle starts kindergarten tomorrow. And I've been taking good care of her, just like you said. In fact, I've even been teaching her ping pong!"

O.o.O

"Alright, Castle, I'll hit the ball to you and then you bounce it back with your paddle, alright?" Cosmo served a small, slow serve to his daughter.

"Like this, Daddy?" With a fierce swing, Castle sent the ping pong ball flying back at Cosmo. Desperately, Cosmo tried to reach for it, but wound up diving to the right and falling flat on his face.

O.o.O

"She's really good, but I'm going to have scars on my face for years!" Cosmo laughed again. "And I've been fixing her hair a lot lately—she says that I don't ponytail as well as you did, but since I'm a boy and you're a girl she says that's alright. And I read to her every night—and she's so smart!" Despite himself, Cosmo was crying again. "You'd be so proud of her, Wanda… well, I know I am, anyway…" Suddenly remembering something, Cosmo reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope with the word "MOMMY" painstakingly written on the front. "She told me to give you this, but she told me I can't read it… so here, I'll just put it by this flower."

Cosmo set the letter at the foot of the tombstone, then stood up and took a few steps back, staring at the grave in almost disbelief. "You know," he finally said, with effort, "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, about destiny—I don't know if it's what Lieutenant Denzel says, and that we've each got a specific one, or if it's what Mama said and we're all just floating accidentally on the breeze… but I think… I think it's maybe sort of both."

Shaking himself out of it, Cosmo shrugged. "But what would I know, I'm just a moron… I guess you really can't know, can you? I mean, were you destined to die like that? Or… or…" Cosmo heaved a heavy sigh. "I miss you," he finally whispered, his voice falling dead in the air.

He turned and walked away, not attempting to blink away his tears, just letting them flow.

O.o.O

"Aw, are you sure I can't take Monkey with me?"

Cosmo gave an apologetic shrug to Castle. "I remember that my school said that we couldn't have any pets with us."

"But you went to school a billion years ago!" cried Castle. "Things are different!"

Monkey whined, as if pleading Castle's case.

"But I need Monkey here to keep me company while you're gone!" said Cosmo. "You'll have your classmates—and Dog—"

"That's right." Castle grinned and hugged Dog, the plush monkey. "And I'm taking your Curious George book with me too." She yanked it out of her bookbag and showed it to her father.

"Where did you get this?" asked Cosmo, opening the book. The feather fell out and onto the ground.

"You have it in your room, silly," said Castle. The bus pulled up. "I gotta go." She took the book, gently pushed it into her bookbag, and skipped up to the door.

"Castle, wait!" cried Cosmo.

Castle turned around. "Yes, Daddy?"

Cosmo hesitated. There were a million things he wanted to tell her—like if you happen to see an angel of your own on the bus, you'd better love him and not be afraid to, if kids don't let you sit next with them they're lousy doo-doo headed meanies and you'll find a real friend to sit with anyway, a friend who will sit in trees with you and read and teach you how to jump off, if you're ever sad just hug Dog, and…

"I just wanted to tell you that I love you," Cosmo finally said, which basically encompassed everything else.

Castle smiled. "I love you too, Daddy."

She climbed up on the bus, the door closed, and the bus pulled away.

Cosmo reached down, picked up Monkey, and sat on a stump by the side of the road, stroking Monkey's ears. "She's gonna do so great in school, Monkey," said Cosmo with a smile. Monkey wagged his tiny tail in agreement.

"I wonder… I wonder what's happening to her right now, on that bus?" Cosmo said quietly, remembering his first trip on a school bus, how much that had changed his life.

What would Castle's life bring her?

The wind unexpectedly blew strongly, picking up the feather—and it danced on the breeze, free, and uninhibited, whether it was meant to or if it just wanted to go that way—

Either way, it just did.

O.o.O

(And now the really sappy ending author's note.)

Wow, I can't believe I'm done with this! As I mentioned in chapter one, this was really a labor of love—blending one of my favorite TV shows with one of my favorite movies. I think other authors could have done a far better job than I did, but I gave it a good run, and coming from me, for the most part I'm pretty pleased with the overall outcome. (Right now, anyway. Wait a year and I'll hate it.)

I want to thank you all again for reviewing—you're all just plain awesome, you know that? I've loved reading your reviews—like most human beings I like praise, but I also feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing that my writing has made YOU feel all warm and fuzzy inside! You all deserve a shout out:

Skyhiatrist, Shizzle, WLiiAfanatic, Fairy1234, Trixie21, Band Geek 727, Ronna-chan, Live2Write4Ever, Faye Lunacorn, (no name), Lilylynn, almostinsane, Sasha Jay, dArkliTe-sPirit, Aerinsoul, EvilspyAchacia, Growly Genet, Amras Felagund, MistressMoonDemon, Spiritual Magic, Wanda Wish, Lara Luna, Horses4Ever, and timesofdarkness.

If I ever rule the world, I will divide up the world into twenty-four chunks and make you the governors of each chunk.

…I have some more bad news here… well, I don't really consider it bad news, but you might. I don't watch TV anymore, and I've been drifting away from FOP for a very long time now. That means, you guessed it, I have no new ideas for an FOP story. One stupid one-shot idea, and that's it. Now, I'll always love FOP, don't take that the wrong way. It's just that my interests wax and wane repeatedly. FOP has been waning for quite some time now. If we ever get season boxed sets on DVD however (hint hint Nickelodeon!) I will probably be re-obsessed and re-inspired.

But if you guys like Disney and SpongeBob, then stay tuned, because those are probably the fandoms that I'll be tackling next! Muah ha ha!

I've rambled on far enough—again, thanks to you all times a million for all your support. I've loved writing this, and I hope you've loved reading this. Cheers to you all and God bless. :)

-Commander