Hey there! So so sorry we haven't updated in a while :( We've been too busy over the past couple of months and yeah...stuff has happened. Would you guys like a sequel to this or not? This is the last chapter of this story! Sorry! Peace Out! TG101 :-D x

Mercedes frowned as she spotted the small red dot on the calender next to the bathroom mirror. The dot was supposed to be the day she got her period and that was ten days ago.

It had been sixteen years since Sam had died. Sixteen long years in which she learned how to love again without feeling guilty.

Besides, it's what Sam would've wanted...right?

Sighing, she dismissed the thought and headed towards her son's bedroom where Jaden laid sprawled out on the bed which he was clearly getting too big for, his old Lorax toy tossed to one side.

"Come on Jaden get up." she said, shaking her son's shoulder.

Jaden groaned and swatted her hand away before turning over onto the floor "OW!" he mumbled, rubbing his shoulder.

Laughing, Mercedes made her way to her youngest and only daughter's room. Dolly was eight and was usually the quietest in the family. She rarely spoke and only held real conversation with her close family and her best friend.

Knocking on the door gently,Mercedes chuckled to herself as the door opened slightly and two small bundles of fur came running out.

"Dolly, it's time to get up."

"I am up Mom!" she called, brushing the hair of her favourite Jessie doll "There! You need to go to the dance with Buzz now Jessie."

"Breakfast in..." Mercedes started to say before she was met with her son's armpit "Smell...the love." Jaden grinned, stopping when he realised it was his Mom "Mom! Sorry, I thought you were Matt."

"Seriously Jay,and then you wonder why your relationships never last more than a month." she chided,rolling her eyes before making her way downstairs to her husband.

"Dolly honey, don't play with your food." Matthew instructed, taking a swig of orange juice "I need to leave in twenty minutes so Jaden, if you want a ride that's when I'll be leaving."

"No thanks, I don't mind driving." Jaden shrugged,his mouth full of cereal.

"I'm still not happy with you driving Jaden, 'specially after last week." Mercedes said,motioning towards the stitches on her son's forehead .

"Mom, that was one time! And besides, that was my first time after my test."

"That's why I'm worried." she muttered dryly, wiping her daughter's face much to her dismay.

"Mom, I'm not a baby!" she pouted, wriggling away from her mother's grasp.

"You've got...syrup on your face." Mercedes mumbled "Keep still!"

"Not my fault! Daddy's pancakes are too dry!" the seven year old protested,frowning at Mercedes with her deep chocolate eyes.

"Now come on, you know how hard daddy's trying. At least he doesn't burn them anymore." she said, earning a hurtful look from Matthew "What? You know it's true!"

"Well...that's me done." Jaden yawned, standing up from the table, only for his little sister to run after him, begging to watch the Swan Princess.

Once the kids had left,Mercedes shuffled towards her husband,nibbling on his ear as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Ce? What's up? You only nibble on my ear when something's up. What's wrong?" Matt asked,frowning.

"I think I could be pregnant again..."

Matthew choked, coughing on his drink "Wait, what? Again?"

She nodded, clearing away the breakfast things "Possibly,I highly doubt it though, but I feel nauseous and bloated and...just shit basically." she added as she started to put everything into the dishwasher.

"But how do you know for sure? I mean it could just be -"

"I'm late."

Matt silenced. "You're late?"

Mercedes nodded, her head in her hands "10 days late. I-I don't understand, I mean, I'm usually punctual and..."

"Hey," Matt smiled, taking her hands into his "If we are pregnant, we'll get through this...I promise."

"...well?"

Mercedes sighed, flopping on the couch next to Matthew."All we do is wait ten minutes. I swear Matt, I'm completely drained out."

The phone rang sharply, making Mercedes jump. Grabbing it, Matt pressed the receiver to his ear.

"Hello, Matthew Westwood here...uhuh...yep...okay...I'll be right there...thank you."

"What's happened?" Mercedes asked,concerned. As Matthew rubbed the back of his neck, Mercedes knew this was serious.

"Dolly got in a fight." he mumbled.

"What?" she gasped, standing up quickly. Jaden, she could sort of understand but Dolly? It couldn't be...

"Apparently, a fifth grader made a comment on how Jaden wasn't her real brother and how he has a different dad.."

That was enough for Mercedes. Fuming, she grabbed her coat and car keys before heading out the door.

"Hey, is Dolly Westwood here?" Matthew asked,keeping an eye on an angry Mercedes.

"...I swear when I get my hands on the fuckers responsible, they'll regret the day they were born." she muttered,waiting for her husband to finish.

As the receptionist led them towards the nurses station, there were three girls standing outside the principal's office, one of them sporting a pretty impressive black eye.

Making a right at the end of the corridor, they entered the nurse's office where Dolly was, sitting on the bed, looking guilty.

"Dolly!"Mercedes breathed a sigh of relief,scooping her daughter up,earning a slight grunt of discomfort. "Oh,sorry baby, I'm just glad you're okay! What happened?"

Lifting her chin, Mercedes gasped as she saw the black eye "Dolly Janine Westwood, what did you do?" she demanded, trying to get a closer look. Dolly squirmed away, hanging her head again.

"What happened?" she asked the nurse who was tending to Dolly's knee, spraying it with some iodine.

"She got into a fight with some fifth graders. I don't understand it though, usually she's the one taking the younger ones to the nurse's office but today it seems the other way around." the nurse shrugged,getting some steri - strips out of the cupboard.

"Mommy, this hurts." Dolly mumbled, wincing as the wound stung. "Ow!"

"Sorry honey." the nurse apologised putting a bandage round it "That'll do. Just get your mom to put some ice on your eye and rest the knee for a few days. You were lucky,any deeper and it would have reached the bone."

1 month later

"...don't worry,we'll get through this." Matthew whispered,stroking away Mercedes' tears with his thumb.

Mercedes couldn't help but let out a small sigh,her breath wavering as she glanced at the small familiar blob on the screen.

"Alright Mercedes, you're three months along and doing well." the doctor smiled, handing her a tissue to wipe the gel off her stomach.

She nodded understandingly,closing her eyes as Matt kissed her temple. She was doing well she just...wasn't so sure on how Dolly and Jaden would , she stood up,thanked the doctor and walked out.

Jaden looked at his mom and stepdad skeptically. They never usually got Ben and Jerry's unless there was an important discussion or it was on special offer and he couldn't remember it being any cheaper than usual. If anything,he could have sworn it increased in price.

They even got a Disney movie for Dolly, which never happened before, except on birthdays and Christmas. "Okay. What's up?" he asked, folding his arms.

Looking up at her big brother, Dolly did the same, pouting a little "Daddy, you KNOW I don't like this flavour."

"Sorry princess,it's all they had. Now,your Mom and I want to talk to you two about something." Matt explained,looking at his wife. "Ce?"

Mercedes sighed,working up the courage to say what she needed to. "Well...I'm going to have a baby."

"Wait...what?" Jaden asked, sounding surprised "A baby? Seriously Mom? A baby...as in a little version of a human baby?"

"Well it's not gonna be a llama is it?" Dolly said, rolling her eyes.

"Dolly,remember what we said about attitude?" Matthew warned glancing at his daughter.

"Sorry Daddy." she mumbled,staring at the floor "But I was only saying, it can't be a llama because you and Mom aren't llamas and so it wouldn't make sense!"

"She has a point there Matt." Jaden pointed out "Tell you what Doll,how's about I take you to the park for a bit? How's that sound?"

"Okay!"she squealed,climbing down from the chair and rushing out the room.

Later that night, Mercedes frowned as she heard footsteps in the kitchen. Probably Jaden satisfying his midnight food cravings yet again. Rolling her eyes, she made her way downstairs,only to find no one there.

"Hey." she heard a voice whisper. Gasping, she thought she felt a presence come up behind her and it wasn't until she turned around that she saw it. A silver figure leaning against the door frame. With its tall frame,muscular build, and a bit more silver around the mouth, Mercedes recognised it instantly.

"Sam?" she asked, laughing a little "What're you doing here?" she asked again, shaking her head.

"Come to see you silly." he chuckled, making his way over to her "I see you've got another kid."

Mercedes smiled, nodding "Yeah, that's Dolly. She was thirteen weeks premature so she was tiny. Even now,she's quite small for her age and at one point, we almost lost her. As a result,she's now on medication for life but she's gotten used to it." she shrugged,unable to take this all in.

Sam nodded understandingly,before letting out a small sigh and allowing his hands to slide into his jeans pockets.

"How's Jaden?" he asked softly,wanting to know.

"He's fine. I swear Samuel, he is exactly like you,so much so that he's practically your clone. He's also got a girlfriend although there was a slight experimental faze last year and yes,I did make sure he was protected." she added with a slight chuckle.

Sam nodded once "That's good...as long as he was protected I mea.n" he sighed "I miss you Ce...I mean, I miss you, I miss Jaden...heck, I even miss Stevie. Is everyone okay though?"

"Yep,everyone is absolutely fine and I believe that Stacey just became a mom a few weeks ago." Mercedes smiled as Sam's facial expression looked surprised.

"I'm an Uncle?"

"Mhhm." she confirmed "Stevie's got two kids of his own and Stacey's just had hers. We're all fine though. I managed to convince Matt to get some cats and now we've got Ludo and Kingsley. There was Thor and Loki but they both died last year."

"Ah, a Harry Potter fan."

"Dolly is, and so's Matt. I think Jaden's a closeted fan but he still enjoys it."

"That's good." Sam grinned,resting his chin on Mercedes' shoulder,making her shiver.

"Sorry 'bout that." he mumbled sheepishly,backing off slightly.

"It's fine...Sam?" Mercedes started tentatively,not wanting to offend her ghost husband.

"Yeah?"

"What was it like? Y'know,dying?"

The ghost breathed through his nose. He knew that this question was coming but how to answer it was another thing entirely.

"It actually wasn't all that bad. I mean, yeah it was scary, but in a good way. It was like there was nothing to be scared of as I knew what was coming. I would say though, it was definitely weird. I mean, one moment I was lying on a bed and the next, I was looking at my own body and you being ushered out the room." he admitted with a slight shrug.

Mercedes gave a brief smile before bursting into tears. Matt entered the kitchen to find his wife crying, mumbling "Sorry." over and over.

"Hey babe, what's up?" he asked, making his way over to her. Putting his arms around her, he consoled her, rocking back and forth "Babe?" he asked again "What's up?"

Mercedes sniffed,wiping away her tears.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Stupid hormones." she muttered, finally relaxing in his embrace.

"That's my dynamite gal." he whispered,placing a kiss on her forehead.

Sam sighed,before giving a little bow of his head and leaving.

"Bye 'Cedes."