So, this is the end (: I am so sorry this took so long. I wrote this so differently, so many times, and none satisfied me, none felt good enough. At last, I feel this version is the best I can do without taking more months to get it perfectly.

Thank you to all you lovely people, who have shared with me in our love for this couple, and this attempt to give them the happy ending they deserve.

I hope it was all you imagined.

I am humbled by the response, and support this story garnered throughout the last year, I can't thank you all enough for the encouragement you provided, helping me give my best to the story, whether you've been following it from its early start, or if you only found it a few chapters ago.

And a special thanks to all who have been so patient, and so generous with your reviews chapter after chapter, providing feedback, optimism, and helpful suggestions.

I really, really, REALLY, could not have done it without you guys.

Good bye, for now!

Epilogue

"You look absolutely beautiful" Will said as he laid on the white sheets.

"Funny" I said, though I didn't feel like laughing.

"Come here" he said. "Right up next to me."

The fear that had been bubbling inside me reached its peak, and I felt I might have a panic attack. This couldn't be right. The time couldn't be here already.

I gave a him a kiss, and another, and another. No number of kisses were enough when I thought of the fact that one of them would be the last.

"How is it you have the right to destroy my life, but I'm not allowed a say in yours?" I asked, wanting to shake his body to get a reaction.

The sobs were rising out of my throat desperately, but he remained calm, and decidedly unmoved.

Why wasn't my love enough? Why wasn't it good enough?

I cried out in a final sob, shaking my body to the core, jumping into a sitting position.

Where was Will?

I felt my chest rise and fall violently, my cheeks wet with tears.

"Will?" I called out in distress.

I looked next to me on the bed, but he wasn't there.

The room was different, and it was dark outside.

"Will!"

I got up and ran. His mother had insisted he sleep in another bedroom tonight.

The door to his room couldn't come fast enough.

I burst in it forcefully, perhaps loud enough to wake others in the house. I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Will!" I cried out in relief, as I saw him lying there, fast asleep, his face in complete peace. He had looked at peace in my dream, too.

"Lou?" he asked, as his eyes adjusted, and looked to the source of the uproar that had roused him.

I fell on my knees beside his bed, took his hand and kissed it.

"I'm sorry, I had to see you. I…" I began to explain, and felt sorry I had woken him up. We had a long day ahead of us tomorrow. "It was only a bad dream" I explained embarrassed, as I felt the tears drying on my cheeks.

"Want to climb on?" he asked, lifting the covers he was under.

Yes, please, I said in my thoughts, but my emotional turmoil was too much, and I couldn't utter the words.

I just slid under the offered blankets, and pressed my back to his chest, bringing his arms around my body, and holding them in place with mine.

I felt his breathing on my neck, and I could tell he was slipping back into sleep.

"I'm right here with you, Clark" he said with a deep breath as he shifted to hold me as close as he could.

Just the feeling of his body lining up with mine, the heavy feel of his arm over my torso, the familiar warmth emanating from him, it was all I needed for peace to fall over me again, and to make the awful dream disappear from my thoughts.

It was only a dream, after all. Not the real thing.

The real thing was right here, next to me, holding me close, ready to marry me tomorrow.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

My heels clicked on the marble staircase, as Treena helped me every step of the way down. My dress was so large, I couldn't see where I was stepping next.

I wanted to look at Dad, and smile back at him, to enjoy his proud face, as he watched me descend the stairs. I couldn't believe I was missing it, but I really had to focus on making each step the exact same length, so I wouldn't trip down the stairs.

Once I felt his old, calloused hand take mine, I knew I could look up. There he was, every familiar wrinkle, his thinning hair carefully combed back, and his suit looking three times pricier than anything he had bought in his entire life.

I hugged him, softly, so as not to smear my make up on his pristinely clean jacket, and I felt his lips tentatively kiss my elaborate hair.

"You look so beautiful, lamb" he said, trying to tuck a strand of hair that had been purposely left down.

The gesture was so sweet and gentle that I couldn't bring myself to correct it, and let my hair be damned.

"I'll miss you, Dad" I said, unable to reject the thought that after today, all would be different.

"Nothing will change, sweet pea. Your sister and you have been living in London and us here for a few months now. We'll still visit each other, just as often" he assured me as he squeezed my hand between his much larger ones.

"I know, Dad. I just… I won't be your girl anymore" I said, as my eyes got dangerously watery.

"Don't cry, you'll ruin your look. Besides, you've been Will's girl for a long time now. Longer than you realize, lamb" he said, softly lifting my chin to make me look up. "Now, cheer up. Your fiancée will think you're getting cold feet" he added gently, his eyes almost disappearing with his smile, in that way that I was always proud to resemble him.

He took my hand and placed it in the hook of his arm, allowing for Treena to walk out of the house, and into where the lawn had been decorated for the ceremony.

She looked absolutely stunning, as she walked slowly down the long white cloth spread out in the grass.

I took a deep breath, and matched my dad's slow step, as we began walking down the aisle.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Move closer, you smell fantastic" Will whispered near my face as we danced slowly under the white tent.

I obliged him happily, feeling his cleanly shaven face against my own, smelling his intoxicating scent, and wishing we were enjoying this moment alone, rather than being stared at by dozens of people.

I tried to forget them, and just enjoy the feeling of being in Will's arms, knowing he was my husband, and I his wife, and that unlike my horrid dream, we were both privileged to be well and together, for as long as life allowed it.

My Will, he was mine and I was his.

If I thought of the day we met, it seemed impossible that that man and I had promised ourselves to each other for life today.

When I remembered of the night we confessed our feelings for each other… the euphoria of the moment, the height of my feelings… it had seemed inconceivable that I could feel anything more wonderful.

Was life like this? Learning new ways in which to love each other, thinking our attachment to be impossibly strong, only for time to pass, and realize that it has morphed into something even more beautiful?

I thought I would be scared for this day to end, but now that it's here, I just can't wait… to live out the rest of my life with him.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Months later…

.

"I can't do it. I can't do it" I repeat, over and over, as my mind tries to figure out why Will is smiling so much when I am under such stress.

"Just do it already!" Nathan yells from the water.

"YOU!" I scream back at him from the top of the cliff, with more anger than I've ever used while talking to him. "Stop encouraging him!" I screech, and hear Will laugh out loud.

"It's been my idea from the beginning, Lou. Would I be telling you to do something if I wasn't sure you would enjoy it?" he asked me, and my rational mind told me he was right, but my emotions were rejecting the idea of yielding to that charming smile, and sparkly eyes.

His body was shimmering so lovely under the Mediterranean sun, every muscle from his abs to his biceps, to his well-toned legs, making him look an awful lot like a Greek god.

And making me weaker in my resolve to refuse.

"I'll be with you the whole time" he said softly to me, as his fingers played with mine. "We'll jump together."

"How are you sure there aren't any rocks, or… or sharks?" I asked anxiously.

"I've done it a million times, Clark. You were so excited to do it before, what happened?" he asked close to my face.

"It's higher than I thought" I said shifting nervously.

"Close your eyes" he instructed me.

"No! You'll push me off!" I said, taking two steps back.

"I won't, Clark. I promise" he said amused.

I let out a defeated breath, and closed them.

I felt his hands cup my face, followed by the familiar touch of his lips on mine, if only a little more chapped from the sun.

The kiss was as reassuring as he meant it to be, making me feel calm and guarded, all at once.

"I vowed to protect you, remember? I intend to keep my promise" he said, after he broke the kiss. "We'll jump together, you'll hold my hand" he said, lifting my chin to look at him.

He looked so sure, so genuinely incontestable, I couldn't help but yield.

A small whimper left my lips as I turned towards the precipice, the figures of Nathan and his girlfriend so small at the bottom in the clear ocean water.

And in a second, our feet were in the air, and our bodies falling. I felt my stomach lift to my chest, the air leaving my lungs. The sensation of free falling being equally exhilarating, and terrifying.

Within seconds, our feet crashed with the surface of the water, and the rest of us immersed instantly.

My instincts kicked in, my feet shuffling to take me above water, and I took a breath as large as I could when I reached the surface.

I felt Will's hand reattach to mine, the crash into the water having broken the bond for a moment.

"How was that?" he asked, breathless.

It took me a second to answer, still catching up with the rollercoaster of emotions within me.

I breathed out heavily twice, my heart wanting to jump out of my chest.

"Why didn't you make me do that before?" I demanded with a laugh, as I brought Will's face to mine, rewarding him with an astounding kiss.

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FIN