Here's the next and FINAL chapter of The Fall of House Tyler. I had a blast writing this story. It's been a long time since I've physically written down a story in a notebook. I may write more Wonderfuall fanfics in the future...it all depends on the story idea. This wonderful show truly deserves more recognition!

I truly appreciate all the support ya'll have given this story!

I'd greatly appreciate your constructive feedback! Enjoy! R&R!

Chapter 2: The Aftermath

Aaron cautiously drove on the snow covered road while listening to his sister tell fascinating stories about her quirky neighbors in her trailer park community. Quite colorful personalities within this small community. Sometimes he envied how Jaye had her own personal life away from the scrutiny of their overbearing parents. She didn't need to be paranoid when they snooped around her living space. His mother would frequently go through her son's belongings in his bedroom when Aaron wasn't at home. Talk about major invasion of privacy within the confines of his own room. Aaron tolerated his parents prying into personal life and living space to an extent. It would take too much effort to move out of his parents' house.

Darrin knew his son fabricated an excuse to leave the house. Most people have nervous habits when they're blatantly lying about something. Aaron's eye slightly twitches when he isn't telling the truth. Darrin never told his son this, so he could have an upper-hand and element of surprise. He decided to let it slide this time. Darrin was in no mood to pick a fight with him. Refocusing his attention to the medical journal on the table, he resumed reading about the latest technological advances in neurosurgery. There was no sound coming from the kitchen. He was starting to become seriously concerned about his wife. Karen hadn't left the kitchen for the past hour and a half. No longer able to focus on the article in front of him, Darrin closed the New England Journal of Medicine and put it down on the dining table. He hesitantly walked into the kitchen. There was a good reason why silence emanated from the kitchen. Karen wasn't there. The only sound was the howling wind gently blowing against the window. Karen must have gone upstairs to their bedroom. It was past eleven o'clock. He decided to call it a night. Darrin promised to play golf with his buddies at the country club tomorrow around noon. He needed to do some things before that so the next day was going to be very busy. He headed upstairs to the extra guest bedroom. Darrin was going to give his wife some space tonight.

Aaron pulled up to the front of Jaye's small trailer park. She gathered her belongings and slide on her gloves. Thankfully the ground was covered with wet snow not snow mixed slick sleet. "I assume you're not going back home tonight. I don't blame you," his sister remarked.

"After the chaotic events of tonight, I don't feel comfortable spending another minute in the house. I'm staying at Mahandra's apartment tonight," he explained while shutting off the car engine.

"That's understandable. Thanks for giving me a ride home. I didn't want to call Sharon to come back to the house just to drive me back to my place. Tell Mahandra I really appreciate her defending my relationship with Eric." Jaye pushed the passenger door open as icy cold wind momentarily blew into the car. Shutting the door behind her, Jaye Tyler walked towards her trailer with the keys in her gloved hand. She waved to her brother. Aaron waved back and started up the engine slowly driving out of the trailer park community. New stop: his girlfriend's apartment.

Delicately cradling a mug of hot chocolate in her hands, Mahandra plopped down on the cushy couch in her living room. Immediately upon returning back to her tiny apartment, she changed out of her street clothes into comfortable pajamas and fuzzy slippers. Mahandra didn't feel sleepy yet. The television provided some entertainment for the past couple of hours. There was a marathon of Friends re-runs. It was her guilty pleasure. She lightly dozed off at some point after drinking the hot chocolate. Loud knocking on her front door startled her. Rubbing her eyes, she uncurled her body from her snug sleeping position. Mahandra reluctantly got off the couch with the flannel blanket tightly around her. "Seriously? Who the hell is knocking on my door now! I swear if those rascal college boys from across the hall are playing a prank I'm reporting their asses tomorrow to the landlord," she muttered with inflections of irritation in her voice.

"I've had it with your childish pranks guys..." Mahandra began to say but trailed off upon seeing the person standing right in front of her. With the door partially ajar, she instantly recognized the person. Her lanky boyfriend affectionately gazed down at her as few strands of hair fell into his blue eyes. "Aaron? I thought you were one of my neighbors from down the hall who think it's hilarious to knock on my door at ungodly hours of the night."

"I know I should have called you first. I'm sorry to show up unannounced so late at night. I can't stay in my house tonight not with the heavy tension suffocating me. Mind if I stay here tonight?" He brushed off the snow from his parka then removed his gloves and scarf.

"Of course not," she responded. "Come on in." Mahandra quickly glanced in the hallway to ensure none of her noisy neighbors were eavesdropping. They were always prying into her private life to find any juicy tidbits of gossip. She wasn't too close with any of her neighbors. Mahandra McGinty mainly kept to herself not caring what they thought of her. Some would call that paranoia but she considered it a preservation of her privacy. There was a huge difference.

Aaron put his bulky parka in the coat closet. This was the third time he had been to her apartment in the two months they'd been dating. She usually came over to see him at his parents' house. Mahandra had learned to stealthily sneak out in the morning without being caught by his parents.

Aaron strolled into the tiny living room as he slowly regained feeling in his hands and face. Friends re-run episodes were playing back-to-back on the television screen. He patiently waited for Mahandra to return. Aaron skimmed his text message inbox checking for any new texts. Nothing. Mahandra entered the room ten minutes later and sat down next to her boyfriend on the couch. "Hot chocolate will help you warm up," she said extending a hot ceramic mug to Aaron. He happily accepted the mug of hot chocolate from his girlfriend. Warm sensations spread throughout his hands while holding the toasty mug. Aaron savored every sip of the delicious hot beverage which was warming up his shivering body. Mahandra offered her fleece blanket to him yet he politely refused. She glanced back at the television screen. After finishing the hot chocolate, Aaron placed the ceramic mug on the round side table next to him. Mahandra affectionately nuzzled against his chest. The fleece blanket now covered them both of their bodies.

During the commercial break, Aaron said, "Jaye really appreciated how you defended her tonight." This almost slipped from his thoughts, but he suddenly remembered his sister telling him to thank Mahandra on her behalf.

"Jaye and I have always had each other's back," Mahandra started to explain while her eyes attentively fixated on the television. "Love works in mysterious ways. Jaye had no control in how complicated her relationship with Eric would get especially when Heidi came into the picture. True love prevailed in the end. Now there are no major obstacles preventing them to be together." Their close body contact kept them warm while cocooned under the fleece blanket.

"Love definitely flourishes in mysterious ways," he affirmed. Aaron Tyler could personally attest to this. "It led me to you." Aaron tenderly held her hand. Mahandra amorously gazed up at him grinning from ear to ear. Lovingly kissing her forehead, she snuggled closer to him.

An hour later, Mahandra switched off the television after the Friends marathon ended. There was nothing else on despite flipping through all the available cable channels twice. Both of them were still wide awake in spite it was nearly 2 am. Aaron and Mahandra were night owls. Neither didn't knew the last time either of them had gone to bed before two o'clock in the morning. They'd gotten used to 4-6 hours of sleep every night.

"My body is physically exhausted yet I don't feel sleepy," she stated. Frustration was laced into each word. Her mind was still very much awake. It was very difficult to force her body to fall asleep. Her bizarre work schedule shifts at The Barrel didn't help establish a normal sleep cycle. The struggle was real.

"I don't see what's wrong with that. We can use it to our advantage. The night is still young," Aaron seductively whispered in her ear.

"While that sounds very tempting, I have an early morning shift at The Barrel unfortunately," she replied with a subtle flirty smirk. "I'm done with my shift at one o'clock in the afternoon. After that I'm all yours since I don't have to work on Sunday."

"Excellent! I look forward to that," Aaron said then lightly kissed her lips. "We should probably head to bed since it has been a long day for us."

Mahandra nodded her head in full agreement. Fatigue seeped through her entire body accompanied with muscle soreness. It had drained almost all the energy out of her. Aaron noticed how little strength she had from the way his girlfriend was sprawled across the couch. Sliding off the couch and rising to his feet, he gently scooped up her lithe body into his arms. People were surprised how much upper body strength he had despite his lanky body build. Mahandra draped her arms around his neck for stability. Aaron proceed up the stairs slowly so not to rouse his girlfriend awake. She had dozed off in his arms. He managed to open her bedroom door without losing balance and quietly shut the door behind them.

~A Month Later~

Sharon sulked around her girlfriend's house almost never venturing outside except to head to work. Her mother had frequently called and left numerous voicemail messages the past three weeks. Yet, she never called her mother back. Sharon still wasn't ready to face her parents. They were obviously worried about her even resorted to bribing information out of Jaye. Her sister was the one person she remained in contact with since the uproarious confrontation with her parents especially her overbearing mom. Her little sister never pressured her to meet unrealistically high expectations. That's what she loved about Jaye. Sharon Tyler could be herself around Jaye without being constantly fearful of falling short of people's high expectations of her. Sharon had retreated to her inner shell of introverted solace. Not even Beth had managed to pull Sharon out of her cocooned shell. She found deep comfort in her heavily fortified shell. It protected Sharon from the brutal realities of life.

Karen and Darrin resumed their normal activities. Karen masked her distraught emotional state over Sharon behind a semi-convincing smile. She had given her eldest daughter time and space hoping they could have a civil conversation. She had no inkling Sharon was a lesbian. Her daughter gave not even the slightest insinuation towards it. Karen and her husband had no problem with her sexual orientation. Sharon's happiness was all the mattered in the end. They just wanted their three children to have true happiness in their lives. The shocking discovery of Sharon's secret had initially startled them. Karen spent the past couple of weeks wrapping her mind around this new piece of information. Her three children had thrown many surprising curveballs at them this past year.

Sharon skimmed through a court case coming up later that week while leisurely cradling a glass of red wine in her freehand. Beth didn't share her appreciate for wine. Sharon had grown up her life in a household with parents who were passionate wine connoisseurs. Unfortunately this appreciation only got passed onto Sharon not her two younger siblings. One glass of wine helped her relax after a stressful day at work. Her girlfriend respected her taste for fine wines despite her biased preference to beer. Sharon had temporarily moved in with Beth for almost a month. Beth had no problem with this living arrangement. It wasn't difficult to arrange time with one another since they were under the same roof together. Practically nobody in their small town was aware of their romantic relationship. Only few people close to them knew Beth and Sharon were dating. They wanted to keep it like that. Things between them couldn't be any better. At least that's what Sharon thought before Beth dropped a bombshell on her that same night.

Deeply buried in the court case, Sharon had a huge stack of papers scattered around the living room. Beth had been working very late hours for almost two weeks. She was finalizing a construction project on the outskirt of town. Sharon and Beth both had demanding careers that paid very well. Sharon had done her fair share of late nights at the office over the years. Sometimes her girlfriend only came home after midnight. She had never given Beth crap about being a workaholic. That would be basically calling the kettle black.

Beth slammed the front door behind her which snapped Sharon back to reality. Beth assessed the messy state of the living room with piles of paper dispersed along the floor, couch, and coffee table. She didn't mind since Sharon would tidy up afterwards. Perks of living with a compulsive neat freak.

"Big court case coming up soon?" Beth casually inquired. Lethargy had sapped almost all the energy out of her body. Her arduous job as regional manager for a local construction company was simultaneously mentally and physically demanding. The stress of her current project seriously was screwing with her immune system. Intense migraines and random dizzy spells made it more difficult to get through her grueling work day. To make it worse, she suspected a stomach bug going around might finally have gotten to her.

Without moving her eyes from the papers sprawled across her lap, Sharon tersely replied, "More or less. I'm closing up one case and prepping for a new case later this week." Sharon was an immigration lawyer for a prominent firm, Kolken & Kolken. She was almost always at her office when not at the court houses. "Some unforeseen complications have risen in my current case. It wasn't an open and shut case as I'd hope it would be." Sharon was still wearing her business pant suit ensemble while stretched out on the couch.

"I won't disturb you from you work," her girlfriend began to say before a powerful wave of nausea washed over her. Beth immediately covered her mouth and sprinted towards the bathroom. Sharon glanced up to see an empty hallway. Loud retching sounds came from the bathroom. She had become very concerned about Beth's ill-health. Flu-like symptoms had been going on for nearly two weeks. Also, Sharon couldn't afford to become sick especially with her overwhelming caseload right now.

Fifteen minutes later, Beth re-emerged from the bathroom. Sharon took a short break from her case files to make chamomile tea for her girlfriend. Chamomile tea always helped to soothe an upset stomach. Beth walked into the kitchen. Sharon placed the ceramic mug into Beth's hands. She quizzically examined the liquid in the mug. "Chamomile tea," Sharon clarified with a sympathetic smile. "It will help settle down your stomach."

Beth maintained a neutral facial expression. Sharon had no clue of the real reason why she had been very ill the past few weeks. She didn't want to destroy their amazing relationship by telling the truth. It was better Sharon heard the truth directly from her.

"I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now," her girlfriend said. "You may want to sit down for what I'm about to tell you."

This made Sharon very nervous. She sat down on the closest chair within her reach. "I've overstayed my welcome haven't I?" she bluntly asked her girlfriend. Her worst nightmare was coming alive. Her excessive emotional vulnerability had pushed Beth away instead of bringing them closer together.

"Wait what?!" Beth exclaimed with a baffled facial expression. Clearly there was a huge misunderstanding.

"I really appreciate you letting me stay with you for the past month. This was supposed to be a temporary living arrangement until this complicated situation with my parents subsided. I've imposed too much into your life. I can't avoid my parents forever. I'll pack up my stuff and leave tomorrow." Sharon prattled. Verbal diarrhea uncontrollably spewed out of her mouth.

"Shut up for one moment, Sharon," Beth impatiently barked. "I'm not kicking you out. You can stay as long as you need to. You are in no way a burden to me. I have thoroughly enjoyed your company these past few weeks. You have done nothing wrong."

Sharon was now thoroughly confused. "That's good to hear. I thought I'd pushed you away by wearing out my welcome—"

"My God!" her girlfriend abruptly interjected. "I just need you to listen to me. No further interruptions!" Beth almost never snapped at her in frustration. She immediately shut her mouth and turned her full attention to Beth. She hardly lost her temper at anyone. Sharon nodded her head signaling her girlfriend to get off whatever was weighing heavily on her chest.

Sharon stared at Beth too flabbergasted for words. She had no idea how to react Beth's announcement. Few moments of awkward silence hung in the air.

When Sharon could form coherent sentences, she regained her composure. "How long have you known you were pregnant?" she asked while tenderly holding her girlfriend's hand. For some unbeknownst reason, this surprising announcement didn't change how she felt about Beth. The prospect of motherhood clearly gave Beth conflicted emotions. She needed support through this unexpected pregnancy not harsh judgement.

"Almost two weeks when I went to the doctor to find out why I was violently sick," she began. "I expected it to be a mere stomach bug that was going around my workplace. Doctor Harrison explained it could also be intense morning sickness. She made me do additional tests to confirm whether or not her assumption was correct."

"Is Thomas the father of your baby?" The few months she'd been dating Beth there was only one guy Beth cheated on her with. Thomas was Beth's ex-husband. This seemed to be the most logical conclusion.

Her girlfriend nodded her head affirming Sharon's conclusion. "A couple of months ago on the same day as the hostage situation, Thomas dropped by a few hours earlier that day. My emotions were still reeling from our intense fight. Thomas stopped by looking to be comforted. His fiancée had broken off their engagement a few days earlier offering no further explanation. I couldn't be cruel and turn him away. My emotional instability unfortunately led me down a path I couldn't turn back from. Now I'm stuck in this complicated predicament."

"We'll get through this together," Sharon soothingly asserted. She gave her girlfriend's hand a comforting squeeze.

Beth gave a weak smile trying to figure out the best way to respond. She hadn't expected Sharon to react to her bombshell announcement so calmly. Let alone offering her full support. Majority of people would have completely freaked out. A horrible thought popped into her head. What if Sharon was only expressing her support towards Beth's complicated predicament merely as a polite gesture? She would never intentionally be cruel towards her girlfriend. A part of Beth knew this line of logic was absolutely nonsense. Her fear and anxiety of becoming a mother was starting to poison her other thoughts swirling around in her head.

"I know when you agreed to our unconventional relationship you never expected things to become this complex. I understand if you want to disentangle yourself from this mess. You are already taking a huge risk covertly dating me. There's no need to surround you in anymore scandal. You deserve to be with someone who isn't a complete screw-up like me—" Beth said trailing off towards the end while staring down her hands folded in her lap unable to directly look at Sharon.

Sharon rose to her feet. She gently lifted her girlfriend's chin up. Fiercely gazing into Beth's brown eyes, Sharon firmly asserted, "Don't you dare call yourself a screw-up! I was the reason all this chaos unraveled. You were never afraid to express your feelings right from the start. I couldn't express how I truly felt about. I was unsure if you'd accept me for who I truly was. My own fear made me internalize and not open up to you. I basically pushed you back into the arms of your ex-husband."

Beth, who was learning against the kitchen table, pulled a chair and sat right across her girlfriend. "It was my emotional instability that led me to sleep with Thomas even as my logical reason bucked wildly in rebellion. I don't want to implicate you in anymore infamy. You don't need to loyally stay by my side through this messy ordeal. It's my own personal affair not yours. It won't be long before my scandalous secret spreads like raging wildfire in our small town." Their unconventional relationship would be heavily scrutinized once she could no longer hide her baby bump in a couple months. Beth didn't want to be the reason Sharon's well-respected reputation was sullied with iniquitous infamy. It would only negatively impact her prestigiously ambitious career accomplishments.

"I'm done with living my life in constant fear. So what if I don't always live up to my parents' unrealistic expectations? Screw society's norms! It's all conformist bullshit!" Sharon brazenly proclaimed. "I've denied myself true happiness for so long I was merely going through the motions lifelessly. You made me fell alive as I began to see the world in beautifully vibrant colors. The townspeople can spread malicious gossip but it will never change how I feel about you, Beth! Jaye recently told me the best things in life are never simple. There are always fascinating complexities when love is involved. There is nowhere I'd rather be than right beside you. I cannot imagine my life without you, Beth." Sharon Tyler didn't care how ridiculously cheesy or cliché her passionate proclamation sounded. It was the whole truth and nothing but the truth! She loved Beth.

Beth's surprised facial expression was still slowly digesting Sharon's boldly profound declaration. She had no idea when her girlfriend had pulled her out of the chair. Sharon gently grasped Beth's shoulders and drew her closer. Their faces were a few inches apart. Sharon could feel Beth's warm breath caress her cheek. She entirely closed the gap between them and firmly kissed her girlfriend's lips. A soft gasp escaped from Beth, who was still slightly startled by Sharon's intense display of affection. She was seeing an entirely new side to Sharon Tyler. It would definitely take some time to get used to it. Beth enthusiastically kissed back before pulling back to deeply stare into Sharon's piercing blue eyes. Sharon was unabashedly grinning from ear to ear.

Beth inquired in a very serious tone, "Are you sure about this, Sharon?"

"I've never seen things as clearly as I do right now. We will get through this together," she affirmed confidently. Beth broke out into a wide grin and pulled her girlfriend into a bear hug. Despite her tiny body stature, Beth was quite strong.

No matter what would happen they always had each other's love to uplift and encourage one another. Love flourishes in mysterious ways. Love prevails in the end despite all the tumultuous ups and downs of life.

Living in the blissful moment, Sharon Tyler refused to dwell on her family problems. Nothing was going to ruin this beautiful moment. She was delightfully drowning in true happiness she severely lacked from her life for the longest time. Her prestigious career and well-respected reputation only provided an artificially temporary happiness. Sharon Tyler was no longer going through the motions of life nor experiencing the world with her eyes closed completely blind to life's marvelous splendor.

Back at the Tyler house, silence echoed throughout the entire home. The only prominent sounds were the footsteps of Darrin and Karen. Karen's distraught emotional state was skillfully hidden behind a wide beaming smile. No words were exchanged only passing glances between husband and wife. Darrin helped his wife prepare for that evening's weekly dinner with their two children, Jaye and Aaron. Karen was putting the finishing garnishes on the delectable food dishes. She optimistically hoped to see her eldest daughter at tonight's family dinner.

The same night the Tylers had their weekly family dinner without one family member. Karen and Darrin even allowed Jaye and Aaron to extend the dinner invitation to their significant others. For many years, weekly dinners had been restricted to only the five of them. This was a huge change for Darrin and his wife. The past few months had made them realize change wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They all needed to accept a change was inevitable regardless if it was anticipated or not.