A/N: Here it is, the final chapter. It's been almost four years in the making. I'm kind of sad that it's all over. I had a blast writing this and I'm going to miss working on this story now.I have big huge thanks to everyone who reviewed and if you'll go to the bottom, I have a special message for those who reviewed. I meant to say last chapter by the way, that the last bit was shamelessly stolen from the Doctor Who "Doomsday" episode.

I have a new project in the works for WOWP. IT's called "All I Want For Christmas". Justin is passed over for a promotion at work because he's not a 'family man'. Alex is dying to make her coworker jealous. Justin's boss makes the mistaken assumption that Alex is Justin's new fiance and the two decide to pretend to be engaged over the Holiday season to get what they want. It's going to be a totally cheesy rom-com fest with minimal angst and drama. It'll be in the style of all those overdone Christmas movies on Lifetime and ABC Family and will be ridiculously cute and sappy and wonderfuly fun. Please please check it out because I've worked hard to get it written in time for the Christmas season and frankly I think it's kind of brilliant.

And now without further ado, here's the last chapter of "A Love to Last". I don't own Wizards of Waverly Place.

New York City, 5011

The dead city glowed with the light of a thousand dying embers. Trashcan fires all over the place were dying out for the night. In a world where danger was literally on every corner, the best thing to do every night was keep the lights away. Nothing to see, nothing to hurt, was the thought.

"Girls, we've gotta get movin'," Lex huffed, looking out from her ledge at the sprawling, abandoned city around them. "This place ain't safe. Get movin'. NOW!" Her girls begrudgingly began to pack their scare supplies into a few packs and started shuffling together.

Lex dangled her feet as she watched her girls get to it. It was a hard life, their world. After the rebellion, then the war, then the three plagues and the second and third wars...one hundred years of darkness, some had called it.

"Yo, Lex, Gee-Gee's mouthin' off again!" She looked down where her Second was grabbing the arm of a blonde girl. At least, Lex thought she was blonde. It was hard to tell with the faded grey skullcap covering the dirty hair.

"You got somethin' to say?" Lex jumped off the ledge and landed in a crouch in front of Gee-Gee.

"N-no," the girl shook her head, looking down at the cracked asphalt.

"Good. Get moving!" she shouted. She grabbed her own pack and slung it on her shoulder, over her worn army coat. She'd nicked it off a dead Commando last week, just before the Bruisers got there. Lucky, she knew.

"You scabs heard Lex. Get moving!" Fink jeered. Fink and Lex were best friends. Fink had been dumped at the Orphanage and Lex vaguely remembered something of her family. But her parents had died in the plague or the war, one or the other. That was all she remembered. She remembered a dark haired boy and a baby who might have been her brothers. That was all she knew of her own family. Lex had rescued Fink from the Orphanage and they took off together, heading for the streets.

And once you were on the streets it was join or die round these parts. Now Lex was the leader of their gang and Fink was her Second. They were the only ones each other trusted.

"Hey, you wanna see if the Drug Store's got anything?" Fink asked in a low voice as they headed for a safer part of town. The Drug Store was once called CVS but now stood abandoned and broken near their usual night spot. It had been nearly picked clean of supplies but sometimes a mysterious shipment would arrive in the back and they could score.

"Nah, it's like, Tuesday I think. At least, according to Z." Z was a 'customer' of Lex'a. He traded information for supplies. "Weird shipment only comes on Saturdays."

"Gotcha," Fink pulled out her switchblade, flicking it open and shut absentmindedly. "Some guy was askin' about you yesterday."

"Who?" Lex demanded. She hitched her pack up on her shoulder, trying to take the weight off her recent burn. Someone had lit a fire in their old night spot. Lex had been lucky to escape.

"Dunno. Some guy. All he asked was who you was. I told him he'd better mind his own if he didn't want to be rearranged like a puzzle."

"Cools," Lex nodded. She reached down to scratch at her other, older burn injury that was healing and flaking. It was itchy and Fink always slapped her hand so she tried to be surreptitious. Her hand felt the knife tucked into her boot and she patted it fondly.

"Stop scratchin' or I'll slap ya," Fink declared. Lex frowned and gave her friend a glare but ceased her ministrations. The air was cold and Lex estimated it to be around early winter. Z said it was December, whatever that meant. Lex had no formal education and knew almost nothing except basic reading, writing and arithmetic.

But she knew how to fight. And she knew how to survive and to stay safe, and how to keep her girls safe. She knew how to find supplies and how to take care of her unconventional family. The one thing she did not know how to do was love. The word was a foreign concept to her. She knew of affection and the idea of feeling bonded, as she did with Fink but love escaped her.

And who really had time for love in this world they lived in? Not she. A sound startled her and she pulled out her own switchblade, ever on alert.

"S'me," a hoarse voice said.

"Z!" Fink lept forward, seeing the sandy-haired boy stumble into the alley entrance before them. He was clutching a hand to his side and staggering.

"The Bruisers got me," he whispered.

"Fink, stay back!" Lex snapped. "MJ, gimme your bandana," she ordered. The girl came forward and handed her head wrap over. "Bus Stop, you carry Z, we need to get 'im to safety." She indicated a larger girl. "Fink, you got the med s'pplies still?"

"Just bandage wrap and a few feet of tape. Oh, and I got some of that White Candy," she referred to hert bottle of aspirin.

"Good," Lex said, pushing her cap up so she could see better in the falling light. "Hurry. Let's get to the Warehouse." They moved quicker and the group made it to the Warehouse before the last of the embers had died out.

"Okay, someone throw down some blankets. Who's got blankets?" she demanded. A few girls came forward and arranged some blankets that they laid Z out on. Fink worked some quick nursing on Z and they patched his wound up with the bandana, bandage wrap and tape.

Z was unconscious when they arrived but slowly came to on the makeshift bed.

He moaned and tried to sit up but Lex gave Fink a look and she gently pushed Z back down.

"Tell us what happened," Lex asked, crouching down to Z. Fink had the other girls scatter to give the trio some privacy.

"I was in the park. The Old Central Park. There was this boy. He was saying all this stuff about how he could build a better future. It was amazing! He had all these amazing ideas about how we can go back to being a country again. How to get out of..." he coughed. "Out of the darkness. He's our new hope!"

Lex felt a spark of something flicker inside her. It would be great to not have to fight for her food, to hide from danger at every turn...

"So how did you get hurt?" Fink asked.

"After...after the rally in the park I went up to talk to the speaker. But it was getting...ugh it was getting dark and I got jumped by the Bruisers."

"God damn those boys!" Fink spat.

"I had to hide, I had to find shelter but there was no one to turn to. Lasso-Man over by the abandoned school was killed last week. He was the only protection on this side of town. I knew you guys would help me."

"Yeah well don't make it a habit," Lex said. "But you was right to come. 'Kay, now you rest and I'll find a way to take care of ya."

Z nodded and closed his eyes. His breathing evened out and he drifted off. Fink watched over him with the aid of Bus-Stop and Lex paced nervously around the warehouse, trying to figure out what to do. She had to find more medical supplies for Z and for her girls. There was no way he would make it trough the night without the bandages being changed. Infection was just as much a killer anymore as violence.

"I gotta go out," Lex said, looking determinedly at Fink. Fink stood up.

"No, I can't let ya go out on your own!"

"Z will die without help. I need more supplies."

"You can't risk your neck for 'im," Fink said. "You're too valuable."

"I gotta go. I can't send one of my girls out there. I'm the only one who might be able to take on the Bruisers." She grabbed a few things, gathering them in her pack. "Fink, gimme your switchblade. I'll take both with me. Bus-Stop, gimme your brass knuckles." The bigger girl handed over the cold metallic object, which Lex slipped on over her fingerless gloves. She pulled her cap on tighter and patted her boot, where her dagger rested.

"I'll go over to the Old Hospital," Lex said. "it's only eight blocks away."

"You can't do this," Fink protested.

"I've gotta. We need supplies." Lex pulled her dark curls into a low ponytail. "If I'm not back by mornin;,,,keep 'em safe Fink," she said, looking over at her best friend. She took quick strides out of the Warehouse and headed North.

The walk was frightening but she made it there without incident. She gathered up as much as she could carry in her pack and headed back. It was so late that she decided to cut through the Park to save time.

That was a mistake. On the gravel path in the park, she was suddenly surrounded by a group of rough looking boys, older than her by a few years.

"Lemme through," she growled, trying to sound brave.

"Whatcha got there?" A tall, blonde haired boy asked. Lex flicked open her switchblade, holding it out.

"Just lemme pass, 'kay?" she tried to keep her voice steady and calm.

"Why should we?" Another one asked. He was black with a scar running under his left eye. A third boy with dark hair stepped towards her.

"Get this bitch," he commanded. Lex felt her fear increase as they moved towards her. She grabbed her knife in the other hand and held it out, ready to defend herself. She was attacked by two boys and she managed to nick one and send the other reeling with a punch to the jaw. Just as she as getting ready to launch an attack on a third, someone struck from behind and she got hit in the back with something heavy, probably someone's boot. She staggered forwards, flailing her knife wildly around.

"Get the fuck away from her, now," a deep, dangerous voice said. Lex looked wildly around but didn't see anyone in the darkness, besides her assailants.

"Why, whatcha gonna do gringo?" someone taunted. Lex took the opportunity to escape but one of the boys grabbed her, pressing a knife to her throat.

"Don't think so, mija," he whispered into her ear. His breath stank and she recoiled but he pressed the knife harder and she stilled. There was a sudden flurry of activity and Lex tried not to look as someone came out of the trees and attacked the group. They were strong and powerful, whoever they were. They took on the Bruisers like it was nothing, dispatching them left and right. Finally, the only one left was the one holding his knife to Lex's throat and as the figure approached, the boy had enough sense to release his captor and take off running.

"I owe ya," Lex coughed, massaging her throat from where the knife had touched. She grabbed her pack from where it had fallen. "Name's Lex."

"I know who you are," the figure said. "I know everything that goes on in this city."

"Who are you?" Lex asked, trying to see the figure properly.

"Just call me J," he said. "Your friend Z was watching my speech tonight."

"You're the Rebel?" Lex asked. The figure stepped forward and Lex could see him properly now. He had dark, wavy hair that seemed to glow in the moonlight. His brow was strong and he was tall but not beefy like the Bruisers tended to be. He was well-defined though and Lex found herself appreciating his figure.

"So J, ya really think you can change this shitty world we live in?" she asked. His dark eyes sought hers and she was surprised by the intensity in them.

"I do," he nodded She felt strange, that same warm flicker was in her chest again. She actually believed him.

"So tell me. How you gonna do that?"

They started talking and ended up talking the whole way back to the Warehouse. Lex invited J to stay with her group for the night and he accepted her offer. The two stayed up talking until the sun began to rise in the sky. Lex believed in J's plans to change the future of their world and was eager to hear all he had to say.

Lex grew to like the Rebel J, with his strange, exciting ideas and passionate way of speaking. He stayed with Lex and her gang sometimes, but always seemed to be on the move. He asked her to come with him a few times but she declined. She had no time for that, not with her girls to look after.

"Hey, you gonna come with me to get supplies. It's Saturday, accordin' to Z anyway," Lex asked Fink one day, a few weeks after Z's attack. He was still recovering with them and they were staying in the warehouse for now. It was safe enough during the day and with J's protection, they were now safer at night too.

"Nah, Z asked me to help him. He's got a few errands for people and I volunteered to take his place. Hey, what's goin' on with you and J?"

"Nothing," Lex said. "That's all there's gonna be too. 'Kay?" she narrowed her eyes at Fink and dared the girl to challenge her. "Anyway, I'll take MJ and Bus-Stop then." The girls parted ways and Lex headed out with MJ and Bus-Stop over to the Drug Store. The shipment had arrived and they picked through it, leaving enough for whoever else might need to pass through but taking as much as they could carry with them. Not for the first time Lex wondered where all the shipments had been coming from.

"You guys head back," Lex said. "I'll be along. I gotta go somewhere." The girls nodded and left with their packs full to bursting.

Lex wandered along the cracked streets to Old Central Park. The once neat forests of the park were long overgrown with vegetation which seeped into the area around the park as well, making it a big, wild forest more than a park now. There were still a few open areas though, where the concret had stubbornly refused to give way to wild growth. She headed for one of the open areas now, meandering along the path.

"I believe that the world needs hope!" she heard what sounded like J's voice and a crowd of people cheering him on. She followed the sound to the open clearing where a large crowd had gathered to hear J speak.

"Don't you want to go a day without having to scrounge for food and water?" The crowd cheered him on. "Don't you want to live without fear of being attacked?" They cheered in agreement again. Lex studied him as he spoke, noticing the way his eyes got large with excitement and he seemed to stand even more erect and glow with confidence. Maybe it was time to give into her 'urges'. One night with J wouldn't change anything.

She waited around after he finished for the crowd to disperse and approached him.

"Lex," he acknowledged her and stepped down from the concrete platform he'd been standing on. "You're here." His voice sounded odd, she thought. Sort of...excited.

"Yeah, just thought I'd stop by," she shrugged. "So, listen, are you comin' around tonight?" She suddenly felt shy and fiddled with her fingerless gloves. He stared at her for several seconds before answering.

"I could," he said carefully. She nodded and they continued to chat casually. J promised to arrive before the last trashcan fires were doused and Lex took off for the Warehouse.

Inside the Warehouse, the girls were busy unloading their score into boxes, sorting out food, medical and any other things. As the sun went down and the trashcan fires were put out, Lex and J talked in Lex's room which was the supervisor's office at one point.

"What do you want from me?" J asked, sitting in a busted up chair and running one hand through his wavy dark hair.

Lex gave him a quizzical look. "What is it you want?" J asked again. Lex shrugged.

"Just...some fun," she said. J shook his head.

"That's not what you want. You wouldn't have sought me out if that's all you wanted. You wouldn't let me stay here all the time."

"Dunno what you're talkin' about." Lex shrugged, standing up. "But if you're gonna get all...weird I'm leavin'."

"Stop," J stood up as well and held out a hand towards her. He stepped closer to her and she felt her heart pound. His dark eyes sought hers and she felt a blush creep into her cheeks.

"Stop lookin' at me like that," she mumbled.

"Like what?" J asked.

"Like that, like you wanna kiss me or somethin'!" Lex exclaimed. J just smiled at her, making her more angry. "And stop being all...smart and cute and..." J stopped her tirade by stepping forward and giving her a kiss.

It was amazing even as brief as it was. Lex felt her lips stinging when he pulled away and she touched them unconsciously.

"I can't love you," Lex said. "I don't know how to love!"

"Yes you do," J tugged on her hand and pulled her towards him. "Just open yourself up to it, Lexy-girl." Lex felt a rush of emotions at the nickname. It reminded her of something. She thought she remembered someone from her past calling her that.

"Wait a minute," Lex pushed away from him. "Someone else used to call me that. Someone from my past." She felt the memory come surging back. "My brother used to call me that!" She accused him.

"Uh..." J looked guilty but Lex folded her arms together and pursed her lips.

"Are you my brother?" her eyes narrowed.

"Does it matter?" J asked.

"Yes, it does matter," Lex said, breathing slowly in and out, staring into his dark eyes.

"I am," J said finally. He pushed back, closing his eyes and turning away from her. "I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry for leading you on, I understand...its wrong and everyone..."

"Everyone. Can. Go. Fuck. Themselves." Lex swore. "I don't care! Hang the world! It doesn't matter what they think anyway because nothing in this whole place is normal! I for one don't care to start caring." She stopped ranting, her cheeks flush and hot from her excitement. "So tell me what you have to say, OK?"

"I love you!" J burst out. "I've loved you for so long, I've watched you from afar, I've looked after you as best I could. When I saw you in danger I wanted to tear those beasts limb from limb. I couldn't stand not being close to you so I finally allowed myself to speak to Fink about you but she wouldn't hear of it. She wouldn't let me close so I had to get to know you. I knew Z had come to see my speech and I knew you would be curious enough to meet me. I wanted to make this world a better place for you, just for you, only you!" He paused and took a breath.

"You're everything in the world to me. I knew I loved you when I first saw you, even though I recognized you as my sister. It didn't matter to me though, you're my everything. You make the sun burn hotter and the stars shine brighter. Just by smiling. I love you Lex and I will keep on loving you from this moment until the moment I take my last breath on this earth. And nothing and no one can stop me from loving you!" He finished his speech and sank down in front of her, grasping her hands in his.

"Oh Lex, please tell me you'll find it in yourself to open up and love me too."

"I'm not sure I know what love is. But something about you makes me keep coming back. The past few weeks, I've wanted to open up but I was scared. But then I realized the truth. You had me at 'Just call me J'," Lex said. She pulled J up and into a deep, passionate kiss.

The End

Epilogue:

Justin stood on the soft grass, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Any minute now. He wished she would hurry.

"Sorry I'm late," her melodic voice called out and his heart leapt. After their last eighty years on Earth and the countless times they'd loved and lost, their time was well overdue.

"By about five lifetimes," he teased gently. She gazed into his eyes and smiled, grasping his hands with her smaller ones.

"I'll find a way to make it up to you," Alex murmured. She squeezed his hands gently. "After all, we have forever now."

The two figures turned, walking across the sweet-smelling grassy meadow together towards the orange-burst sunset in the distance.

Towards eternity.

For my reviewers:

iwannabethefirstme: Thanks for your review!

Explainations: I love Egyptian stuff personally. What scares you exactly?

ff-kh-luvrgrl: Thanks for your review!

the-potter-punk: Funny story, the working filename is Jalex through the ages. What good is knowing history if you can't use artistic license lol?

Sweetwater Gal: I think the most important part of being a writer is first, to be correct, then to be creative. It's kind of silly but I felt swept away by my writing too. I think it's good that you as the author can get caught up in what you wrote. It's like the old saying for comedians. "If it isn't funny to you, it won't be funny to them".

Lynne102: Thanks for your review!

Princess dogooder: Since royalty prefers boys for whatever reason, they just assumed he'd be a boy and they were of course, right but they would have never known it. That's the sad part.

Jackie: I finished it just for you, lol. J/k but thanks for the review

liquidlights: I wasn't really thinking it at first but then I decided that Maximus was Max. And I know a bit about Ancient Egypt because my sister was obsessed and got me hooked growing up.

Porkchop Sandwiches:I wasn't really thinking it at first but then I decided that Maximus was Max. And I know a bit about Ancient Egypt because my sister was obsessed and got me hooked growing up.

liquidlights: That's why I love fanfiction. You can delve into your favorite shows and do whatever you want with the characters, which they can't do on TV sometimes. Especially with Disney because it's so much for kids but lends itself sometimes to so much more.

oh one: I'm sorry I didn't update quickly but thanks!

Sexydreamer: I'm like a druggie. Get you hooked then disappear for 2 years so you'll have to have more when I return. Or not so much a drug dealer as a horrible author.

Jak4: Dude, thanks for saying my plot was unique, dude! Lol

ajkidfs: Sadness makes the happiness all the better, does it not?

Princesakarlita411: Thank you so much for being a loyal reviewer. I know it was kind of a sad piece so I appreciate you sticking it out to the happy ending.

Not Just A Nerd: I love your stories! Rebirth is awesome, isn't it? I love the idea of seeing two people in different times and how they react to those times.

Tupperwarethecat: I try to be different and original and it means a lot that people see that.

Baku babe: You so seriously rock for saying I have unlimited talent. I can't even begin to describe how that makes me feel. Thanks for being a loyal reviewer too, I know I lost a few reviewers by not updating in a couple years so it's so freaking cool to have people that read it be so excited to read more that they come back even years later.

anonymous: History is a second love to me after writing/literature. I think they go together so much anyway.

: Hopefully it was epic enough for you!

The-Dark-Love-Writer: Since they're related on the show I couldn't not make them related. But I think that the ending shows that they had to accept within themselves that it didn't matter that they were related and they had to see each other as people before siblings.

Mejhiren: Just for you I'm thinking of writing small drabbly one shots of Jalex in historical settings. It would be so cute!

aww-shucks: It's my favorite pasttime, torturing characters. What can I say. I love that people love the idea even though it's super different and kind of out there as far as fanfiction stories.

Evident-Rust: It makes perfect sense. It's like peanut butter and chocolate, just goes perfect together. Where do I recognize your username from?

iheartdisney128: I LOVE YOUR STORIES! Sorry I haven't reviewed yet. I can't believe you read what I've written.

paintinglies: Back when I first started this, Jalex wasn't as popular so I had to come up with something to justify it to myself and to get people to read it. But now it's common fact and I feel comfortable with just saying 'screw it' now about the incest thing.

Violation-Battery: OMG You made me so happy. I have told anyone who will listen what you told me about my ability to write depth. It makes me feel like my dream of being a successful author might really, really happen. You'd buy my book, right? Haha

squirtlee16: I'm so glad you liked it! It makes me happy when people review even just to tell me they liked what I wrote.

Kanani/Jazzy Kanani: I really love the characters of Justin and Alex because they actually have fun personalities to write and have aspects of my own. I'm smart and clever but super lazy like Alex haha.

13AnimePrincess13: Bittersweet is the best though, isn't it? Like dark chocolate. So delicious and satisfying.

Unknown: You make me feel like I am actually a good writer, which is so awesome of you.

Smithsbabe65: I love you. Seriously, you are so awesome. Not many people review every chapter they read. Also, we have a lot of the same fandom faves in common, that's so cool! You make me feel awesome as a writer that you pick up what I'm dropping down so you seriously rock.

.: Doctor Who forever indeed! I can't believe someone caught that! I absolutely love Doctor Who so much. Also, why do I recognize your username? If I know you, please smack me for my stupidity but it's been so long since I've been around online communities that I can't remember.

LaPlacesDemon: Thanks. Hopefully not so bad now, right?

jalex-forever-and-beyond: It's so not stupid. What's stupid is that every time I read chapter our's ending I start crying. That's stupidity lol.

maria-fall: Good guess, very close to the truth.

Hastur: God isn't really the cruel one, I am haha. Plus, the powers that be gave them 5 chances so it's their fault for sucking. Lol

Shosie19: I tried to make each setting evoke a different atmosphere both with plot and what happens. Also, hopefully this is better than waiting till 2524