"And we had cake!"

"We were going to surprise you," Jayden said to his sister as they sat in the hospital waiting room. Emily had gone into labour, and the doctors had recommended she deliver the babies via C-section, so the whole Samurai clan would stick around and wait for the announcement of their newest family members.

The wait wasn't too exciting, so Jayden and the others passed the time by telling Lauren how they had planned on making her birthday special.

"And we had cake!" Riley continued to pipe in every chance she got. She wanted everyone to remember that there was a big cake at home waiting to be eaten. Of course, that couldn't happen until Lauren blew out the candles. If they all sat around at the hospital, itwould never happen.

"We had Emily keep you busy for the day," Jayden ignored Riley and looked to his sister. "We set up the Shiba house with everything we needed to make your birthday special.

Ally wrapped one arm around her girlfriend and nodded to agree with Jayden, "It was going to be amazing. I'm sure you would have loved it."

"And there was cake!" Riley finally threw her hands up in defeat and turned to her father, "No one cares about the cake!"

Kevin sat Riley on his lap and hugged her while he shook his head, "We'll eat it, Riles, I promise."

Lauren leaned into Ally and took her brother's hand. She looked out to everyone.

"You guys are acting like my birthday's ruined."

"It's your first birthday back home," Antonio shrugged and then quickly turned to Ally, "You know, because she's been in Japan for a few years studying."

"I know the story," Ally smiled and kissed the side of Lauren's head, "She and I do talk, you know."

"Just… making sure."

Lauren looked out to her whole family with a smile, "Guys, this birthday is, by far, the best I've had. Even if I'm going to have to share it with two more little monsters. I'm surrounded by family. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"We still bought you something," Jayden said. "Once we go home, you can open your gift."

"Supize!" Terran cried out and threw his hands in the air. Lauren chuckled and took the little boy from his father.

"Aw, thank you."

-Samurai-

Serena nervously paced back and forth in the hallway. Only Mike had been allowed in the operating room while the doctors delivered the twins, so Serena and Mia were forced to wait just like the others, only in a different part of the hospital.

"Will you relax?" Mia looked up from chewing her nails. Serena glared at her. Mia put her hands behind her back. "It's going to be fine. They're going to be fine. All of them."

"I know," Serena nodded, "I just… this is tough. It's… it's… I'm nervous."

"Yeah, I know, but the doctors know…"

"No," Serena shook her head, "What if I'm a shitty aunt?"

"What?" Mia stifled her laugh and tried to look serious. "You're amazing with Riley. It's just like being a mother, only fun. You're going to be great."

"What if I screw up these kids?" Serena started to pace again, "Oh my god, what if I'm just as shitty with them as I was with Emily?"

"You were great with Emily."

"I mean, if I screw up my own kid, well, at least it was my kid," Serena paced and chewed on her thumb nervously. "What if I give her kids bad advice? What if they don't like me? What if they don't like Terran or…?"

"Mrs. Smith," a doctor called and Serena and Mia both turned. Serena saw the blood on his smock and instantly she started to panic, assuming the worst.

"What happened? Are they okay? If you did anything, doc, I'll rip your…"

"A girl and a boy," the doctor smiled to Serena, "Both are strong and healthy. Mom's resting, but she's ready for a couple of visitors. Congratulations."

Serena smiled brightly and turned to Mia. She grabbed her friend's arms and started to bounce excitedly. "A boy and a girl! A boy and a girl! Mia! Mia, I'm an aunt! Mia! Mia!"

Suddenly, she let go and raced down to find Emily's room with the twins. Mia frowned and followed the excited aunt.

"So Riley's just chopped liver?" she called.

-Samurai-

The gathering to celebrate Lauren's and the twin's birthdays took place at the Shiba House, where there was more than enough room to accommodate everyone and their families. All were excited to celebrate Lauren's birthday, and all were excited to see the newest additions to the family.

Except for Mike, who passed off his newborn baby daughter to his father in-law. The tall, the strong, the big Jack took the very tiny, very fragile, and very precious baby girl in his strong, rough arms and Mike was worried he would watch his daughter break.

Fortunately, Jack knew how to be gentle.

Terran stared at the carrier that was holding his new boy cousin, Felix. He wasn't sure what to do with the new baby, or why everyone who used to want to hug and cuddle him suddenly wanted to hug and cuddle the new baby. Terran didn't like it. He grabbed his little back of cheerios and threw one at the baby. Felix didn't wake, fortunately, but Terran was snatched up by Lauren and cuddled.

"He gets his self-defence skills from his aunt Emily, I see," Lauren tickled Terran's stomach, "In a couple of years, you might upgrade to a whole cookie. Then you'll show Felix whose boss."

Emily lay on the couch, trying to sleep in spite of all the noise. She wanted to celebrate with everyone, but she was still so tired. Motherhood was hard.

Antonio took a seat beside her and offered her a small slice of cake, "If it's any consolation, your students are doing well."

For the last couple of months of her pregnancy, Emily had been forced to take maternity leave. Her stomach had gotten too big for her to be of any use as a martial arts teacher, and she was normally too tired to deal with a class full of young kids. Antonio volunteered to take over for her until she was ready to come back and as it turned out, he was also great with kids.

Emily sat up, took the plate of cake and then smiled at Antonio, "Thanks, but I'm sure you can't wait to get back to work on the fishing cart."

"Can I tell you something?" Antonio looked around and then leaned into Emily, "I want a restaurant."

"You… really? Antonio, that's pretty cool."

"It's pretty hard, though," Antonio said, "I don't know if I can do it. And Lauren and Jayden were nice enough to let me open up a little kitchen in the dojo…"

"So? They can find someone else to work in the kitchen. You'll do great in a restaurant. You should talk to them."

"I don't know…"

"You need to do what you love," Emily encouraged him, "If you want to open up a restaurant, I support you completely. How about, you think about it until I come back for my job. If you still really want to do it, I'll help you talk to Jayden and Lauren."

"You really believe in me."

"You'll do great," Emily nodded and then noticed her father teasing Mike. She groaned loudly and rolled her eyes, "Be right back. Dad! Quinn's not ammunition for you to use against Mike!"

From her spot at the coffee table, Riley watched her aunt get up to rescue the new baby and then turned her attention over to the kitchen. She had waited two days for the cake to be served and was still waiting. She decided she would just get up and help herself.

"Terran," she whispered to her ally and waved him over. He climbed down from Lauren's lap as she and Ally talked and walked over to his cousin. Riley took his hand, "Forget those cheerios. We're going after the cake."

"Yum," Terran answered as he walked with her into the kitchen. He then waited by the counter as Riley grabbed a chair and pushed it over. They both climbed up and looked down at the delicious cake.

Just as Riley was about to put her hands in the cake, she heard a voice.

"Stop it. What do you two think you're doing?"

Riley turned around and saw her great-grandmother standing in the doorway. She acted innocent.

"Nothing."

"Cake!" Terran cried and pointed to the cake.

Mako looked over her shoulder, saw the party was busy socializing and then walked to the counter. She pulled out a knife, cut off three pieces of cake. She put them on three different plates and then walked off. Riley and Terran followed her down to the bedrooms.

"When someone asks, we say nothing," Mako instructed the kids, "Do you understand."

"Yeah," Riley nodded excitedly and received her piece. Terran looked up. All he wanted was cake.

"You keep your trap shut, young man," Mako offered him his plate and they all ate their pieces in secret.

Down the hallway, Serena pulled James to their old bedroom, stealing him from the party for just a moment. After she shut the door, she jumped into his arms and kissed him.

"I have news."

"I know, I know," James chuckled and hugged his wife, "It's kind of hard not to know about Felix and Quinn after you've changed one of their diapers. They definitely take after Mike…"

"I'm pregnant."

James' jaw dropped, "You're… you… I'm sorry, repeat."

Serena smiled brightly, took James' hands and looked him in the eyes, "I'm pregnant."

"Like… like, with a baby."

"No," Serena rolled her eyes and shook her head, "No, I'll be giving birth to a penguin. You know, I thought it was kind of strange at first too, but penguins are really cute, so we might be able to make this work. Terran might have a lot of questions when he's older, but not the penguin, he can't talk."

James frowned at his wife, "You could be a little nicer. I am in shock."

Serena smirked playfully, "Good shock, or should I help you pack your bags…"

"Good shock," James pulled Serena into his arms, "Of course, good shock. We're… we're going to have another baby?"

"Number two," Serena nodded her head and rested it on James' chest.

"How are we going to tell Terran? Do we even have to tell him or…"

"I already told him," Serena looked up and bit her lip, "You weren't home when I found out and… well, yeah."

"What happened?" James chuckled. Serena shrugged her shoulders.

"He threw pasta at me. I don't think it was intentional, but it hit my stomach… do you think he's already jealous?"

"He's been throwing cheerios at Felix and Quinn all day. If he's not jealous now, he's going to be."

Serena sighed and leaned back into James. He took her in his arms and couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"I love you."

Back in the common room, Jayden and Kevin got their hands on their newest nephew and already they were teaching him to punch.

"Hiya, just like that, Felix. You cry out and hiya…"

"Dudes, really?" Mike stood over his friends, "and I thought you were hard on me."

He took his son from Kevin's arms, "Rule number one: no being hard-asses around my son or daughter. Not until they need a hard-ass in their lives. Got it."

"He's a natural," Jayden said and gestured to Felix, who squirmed in his father's arms and held out his little hands, "See, he's showing the air around him he's the boss. I think we've got a great Samurai in our midst."

Mike looked down at his son and then nodded his head, "Hey, you know what, I think we do. I mean, Felix and Quinn are both the first Samurai to be born from two families."

"Technically, firstborns get all the perks," Kevin reminded Mike and then got up from the couch, "Whose got Quinn? If we're teaching anyone, it should be her."

"Hey, no!" Mike put Felix in Jayden's arms and ran after his best friend, "No way, Kevin. My daughter's never going to be a Samurai! She's too precious and… No! No, no, no!"

The End

Epilogue

Eventually, Jayden finished earning his business degree, but by then, the dojo was already doing so well, all that was left for him to do was keep up with his paperwork, make sure everything stayed in order, and that, at the end of the day, his students left having learned something of value. He loved his job and he loved working alongside his sister.

His relationship with Antonio continued to be strong. They didn't yet have a date for their wedding, but they were positive they would one day be able to walk down the aisle in front of their friends and family and celebrate their love. Fortunately, they were also content with everything they already had. Fortunately, they knew their love didn't need to be "legal" to know it was true and pure.

Antonio did tell Jayden and Lauren about his idea to open up a restaurant and he earned their full support. It took a little extra work getting his dream to come true, but plans were starting to come together, and a few of Antonio's loyal customers from his cart business had already pledged their loyalty to his new restaurant. Antonio was confident he was going to be a great success.

Kevin continued working at the pool teaching kids to swim. He loved his job and couldn't imagine doing anything else with his life. His passion showed at work, as he quickly became known as the best swimming instructor anyone could get. People were signing up for lessons and asking for him specifically. He knew what he was doing, and he had learned how to make it fun.

From time to time Mia picked up shifts at the local day care, but for the most part she stayed at home. She loved looking after Riley before and after school. When Kevin came home from work, sometimes exhausted from having been swimming all day, Mia enjoyed making dinner while he told her about his day.

Their jobs did have something in common. Kevin did teach an older crowd, but both Mia and Kevin spent their days with kids. So much so, that coming home to Riley, though very rewarding, didn't feel like it was enough. Mia had always said she wanted two kids and now Kevin couldn't help but agree. They decided to adopt once more. When Riley heard she was getting a little sibling she had made it clear she wanted a girl.

In the end, Mia and Kevin adopted a baby boy. Riley wasn't happy with a stinky brother at first, but grew to love Jesse.

Ji and Kate eventually tied the knot and had agreed they weren't going to have any kids. They spent most of their time in the Shiba House and living with Lauren, but some weekends, they travelled up to Kate's family's farm. It was a slow and simple life but Ji especially loved it. In his lifetime, he had seen three wars and was happy that his life was finally slowing down and he could be a normal, married man.

Lauren and Ally's relationship got stronger and Lauren seemed a lot happier now that she had a partner to rely on. She still spent a lot of time with her brother and working at the dojo, but with Ally she was comfortable getting away from the Samurai life and exploring something new. The relationship was fun, and as far as her family was concerned, it was a great thing for her. Ally had been welcomed with open arms.

The Shiba's Dojo had been a dream come true for Lauren. She had students who were very eager to not only learn martial arts, but who were also very interested in learning the way of the Samurai. Though it was hard to do, many of her students brought in facts that had learned from school or the internet to try and get Lauren to hear something she didn't already know. Some students were so passionate they even walked into a library and looked up Samurai history in a book for facts that could stump Lauren. None had to this point, but the kids were getting smarter. And their martial arts was improving. They were nowhere near the level of the Samurai Rangers, but Lauren and Jayden were very proud of their students.

A few months into their pregnancy, Serena finally came out and announced it to the rest of the family. Everyone was glad to hear the news and once again, help was offered from everyone. Serena worked in the school until the end of her maternity leave while James stayed home to care for Terran.

They kept the gender of the baby a secret to everyone after finding out for themselves. They wanted it to be a surprise. When the baby did come, they were proud to announce the birth of their daughter Sammie. Serena was even more proud to announce she had taken all the drugs offered and she had given birth in a hospital and not the snow.

Terran wasn't happy with his new sister at first, and did throw cheerios at her while she was sleeping. He did get used to having her around the house, and as she got a little older, she was easier to play with. Instead of being jealous of her, Terran grew protective. Sammie was his baby sister, and no one could throw cheerios at her but him.

Finally, Mike and Emily were very happy with their twins. Though two babies at once was a handful, they found there was no greater joy. They continued to rent out the house Patrick and Christina had offered them, and would be doing so for the next few years. Mike kept his job at the school, and worked hard to make sure he stayed there long term. Emily, eventually, took her job back at the Shiba's dojo. Fortunately, working for family meant she didn't need to pay for babysitting. She could take both her twins to work with her, and could usually convince Lauren and Ally to watch them while she was busy teaching.

Everyone was happy. The war against the Nighlok was long over and the Samurai Rangers, their families, and their descendants could finally move on and live their lives in peace.

Author's Note: Though I loved writing Samurai, all good things must come to an end eventually. I hope you guys loved reading this series as much as I loved writing it (though I doubt that's possible :) ).

With every end comes a new beginning. I've gotten started with my work on Megaforce (if you haven't seen it, check out my profile) and I plan on committing myself to that for what looks like the next two years. If you've loved the Samurai Series please give the Megaforce Series a try and let me know what you think. Your comments/reviews are very appreciated. For those of you who haven't yet seen my Megaforce Series and would like to get started, the order of the stories is: No To Date Nights – The Party Night – Project Partners.

I hope to bring the Samurai Rangers back into the Megaforce Series for a team-up and possibly earlier in cameos. As many of you have noticed, the two series do cross over and take place in the same universe. Hopefully I'll get the chance to write in some if not all of the Samurai.

And I wanted to give a big thank you to those who've left their reviews/comments/helpful criticism. Your support means the world to me and I'm so thankful for all your help and support! You guys are the best! A project this big couldn't have been so successful without you!

Well, that's all! Thanks for reading everyone, and I hope to see you reading the Megaforce series!

Lily Hanson

PS: This whole series is 1,124 chapters in length.