A/N: This is going to be a disgustingly long author's note because I am so emotional that this fic has come to an end. But I am really happy because I have had everything finished for sometime now, and waiting to share it with you guys has been eating at me. I almost got impatient and posted them closer together but I really wanted to make it last a little longer. I don't think I have ever connected to a story as much as I did with this one, and that's funny because in the beginning I didn't even want to write it. Also I have never written a story with more than ten chapters or nearly as many words as this one had, so it proves how much fun it was to write. A huge part of my enjoyment was seeing how much you guys loved it, and how you supported every part of it. I know there are barely any readers left in the Bates world, but each review I got for this story was worth more to me than a bunch of them. They were all so kind, so detailed and so meaningful that anyone would say something I created made them happy. So thank you to everyone who came along for the ride and all those who will find this in the future and decide to stick it out the same way. Let me know what you think, and enjoy!

Changing their past had always been one of the most wished for things for Norma and Alex back before they knew each other. They had thought that if only they could tell their younger selves what choices to make or if they had the shot to do it all over again they would change everything, that they could have made things easier for themselves and everyone around them. Neither of them thought like that anymore. If everything would have worked out the way they wanted it to back then Norma never would have been running from an abusive husband and getting stranded on a stretch of road only to be found by Alex. Who at the time was struggling to get the town to take him and his friend seriously after he put his father away, showing up on his day off to get stuff done and prove to them and himself that he could be better than everyone had expected. Sure their lives had been awful most the time, but without all those things they would have never been led together, and that would have been the real tragedy.

"Getaway Motel." Norma said, picking up the phone in her office.

"Could I speak with Alex Romero, please?" The woman over the phone said.

"This is his wife." Norma said, looking over at the office door as it opened and Alex walked inside.

"I have to talk to him specifically."

Norma held the phone out to Alex and he gave her an unsure look. "Your secret girlfriend is on the phone, she's being very conspicuous."

"I told her not to call me at the motel number." He said, taking it from her.

"And on our anniversary no less."

"Such a shame there isn't any considerate mistresses these days." Alex said with a smirk, lifting the phone to his face. "Hello.. Ah, yeah. That should work.. Okay, see you then." He said then reached over past her and hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Norma asked.

Alex shrugged. "Just a work call."

"You are a terrible liar, you know that right?"

"I'm a great liar."

"Maybe to other people who don't know you like I do, to me it's obvious." Norma said then watched him smirk as he ignored her question still. "So what are you planning?"

"You will have to wait and see."

"Please tell me it's not the Wildlife Safari again. I love you but if I can go the rest of my life without seeing another Wildebeest I'll be happy."

"That was more for the boys than for us. And I fixed the taillight he headbutted."

"Just promise me nothing with wild animals."

"I better call back and tell them it's a no on the goats they were sending over." Alex said, pretending to reach for the phone then she slapped his hand away. "So what time are you and Amanda leaving?"

"Our appointments at three, she called this morning and tried again to change the day but they wouldn't allow it."

"That's okay, she didn't realize today was our anniversary."

"Still, I know how you like to spend the day together."

"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine on my own for awhile. You have been talking about using those massage vouchers since you won them at the last fall festival."

"Well it's only an hour then I can come home and see whatever it is you have planned."

"What makes you think I have anything planned?"

"Like I said, I know you."

"That you do." Alex said, leaning in to give her a kiss. "I should get back up to the house with the boys."

"They probably have Oliver handcuffed again by now."

"Actually they were pirates when I left, so it's more likely they have him walking the plank." Alex said as he walked out of her office and headed back up to the house.

When he got inside he could hear voices and clicking sounds from the kitchen, walking over and standing in the hallway as he watched what was going on. Standing in the middle of the kitchen was Norman and a four year old Randy battling each other with play swords while Oliver and a three year old boy and girl sat at the dining chairs with their hands tied loosely behind their backs with rope.

"You will never get them back." Norman said, using his best pirate voice. "They will be perfect food for my parrot." He said then Randy jumped as he swung his sword again, trying to reach up higher on a much taller Norman.

Alex walked into the kitchen and picked up Randy, lifting him to his height. "Get him in the neck." He whispered and Randy took his sword and swiped it across his throat, making Norman dramatically drop to the floor as if he had just been killed.

"I did it!" Randy said happily then looked back at the hostages still in the chairs. "We have to untie them, the water is up to their heads."

"You get your sister, I'll get Xander." Alex said then grabbed the sword Norman had been using off the floor and hurried over to the young boy with dark hair, pretending to cut the ropes off as he untied them from his hands while Randy did the same for the girl with brown hair like his own.

"You saved me daddy!" Xander said as he turned to Alex, standing on the chair as he wrapped his small arms around him.

Alex hugged him back tightly, lifting him into his arms. "I always will."

"Um, you're forgetting about me here." Oliver said, still tied to the chair.

"I'll help you daddy." The little girl said, taking the sword from her brother and going over to untie him.

"Thank you Renee." Oliver said, wrapping his arm around her after his hands were free.

"How long you gonna lay on the floor there Norman?" Alex asked as he set his son back down, looking over at the teen still playing dead.

"I like to commit to my roll." Norman said, sitting up and pulling off the eye patch he had been wearing. "And the sword fight wore me out."

Alex walked over and held out his hand, helping him off the floor. "You know if you tried out for your school plays instead of building sets I bet you would get the lead."

"I'd rather keep working with my hands, I like building things. Besides all the theater kids get made fun of."

"Not by you I hope."

"I would never do that, those kind of people are jerks who will never amount to anything. I did yell at this girl who's on the tech crew for teasing them though, I felt bad about it after but I don't like people who act like that."

"Your mother sure taught you well."

"I think you had a hand in that too."

Alex smiled. "So where's your brother at?"

"Down in his room. We asked him if he wanted to play but he said he was busy. But he says that every time, he's been acting different lately."

"Well he's getting older, that's what happens."

"I know. It just feels like something changed the last few weeks."

"I'll go talk to him, see what's up." Alex said, grabbing the eye patch from him and throwing it at Oliver. "Oliver's the new bad pirate, go get 'em." He said then all the little kids grabbed a sword and ran toward him.

"Thanks." Oliver called out sarcastic as Alex left the room, already being beaten with the plastic swords.

Alex walked over to the basement door, opening it and walking down the stairs. He looked around the basement that they had decided on finishing not long after they learned about Xander being on the way, making it into a little living space for the oldest boy. He walked over to the bedroom door and knocked on the frame, looking in at Dylan sitting at his desk.

"Can I come in?" Alex asked as he turned around, looking at him.

"Yeah." Dylan said, putting down his pencil and turning his chair so he could face Alex who sat down on his bed.

"What are you working on?" Alex asked, glancing at the paper on his desk.

"Essay for English class."

"It's spring break, you aren't supposed to be working on homework."

"It's due the first Friday back, and I'm going to be too busy helping Will out at the University after school to do it any other time."

"I'm glad you offered to help, but are you sure you have time for everything? You are going to be a senior next year, you should be using your free time to keep your grades up and relax while you still can."

"It's only a couple hours a day. And it's just a little grunt work, I won't be doing anything too tiring."

"As long as you're sure you can handle it."

"I am." Dylan said with a nod.

"It will definitely look good on your college applications that you were volunteering."

"Ah, yeah, I guess." Dylan said, getting a little awkward suddenly.

"What?" Alex asked, noticing his shift in mood.

"I kinda wanted to talk to you about that." Dylan said, setting his hand on his legs and rubbing them nervously. "I've been thinking about it a lot lately and I decided I don't want to go to college."

"What?" Alex asked, surprised. "Why not?"

"When I was talking to Will the other day he brought up that Emma's lung capacity has decreased a lot, she needs to start carrying her oxygen tank with her everywhere. That's why he wants me to help so he can get home more to spend time with her. I asked him about the chances of her getting new lungs in time and he said it isn't likely, but he knows of a hospital in Portland that will bump her up the transplant list if he gives a big enough donation."

"How much does he need?"

"Twenty thousand."

"But what does this have to do with you not going to college?"

"I want to give him the money to do it."

"Twenty thousand isn't just something you can scrape together by working a couple jobs."

"I know. I thought we could use the savings mom and you set aside for my tuition, it would be more than enough."

"Dylan, I love Emma, we all do. But you can't sacrifice your future because of something that you aren't even sure will work."

"It is a sure thing, they said they will move her up the list. And it's not only because I care about her, although you did teach me that should be reason enough to do it."

"What is it then?"

"I don't want that life. I don't want to go to college and spend the rest of my life at a job I hate with no one to come home to."

"Where is this all coming from? Up until now you were set on going to business school."

"I was never set on it, it was my default option. The only reason I was going to do it was because that's what everyone said I should do. All my teachers act like it's what's necessary after you finish high school but it's not the only thing, I want to do something better."

"What do you want to do then?"

"I'm going to enlist."

"Enlist?" Alex asked, shock in his tone.

"To the Marines, just like you did."

"Do you know what that entails? It isn't all running drills and target practice."

"I've been looking into it for about a year now."

"Why didn't you bring this up before?"

"Because I didn't want you to try and talk me out of it."

"I wouldn't have." Alex said and Dylan looked at him, not fully believing it. "I can't be so sure about your mother though, she might try and lock you in here when she hears word of it."

Dylan chuckled. "I wouldn't doubt it."

"You're sure about this?" Alex asked seriously.

"I'm sure. And they will cover most college tuition's, so if I end up changing my mind about going when I get back there won't be a problem."

"That will help to say when you are trying to convince Norma this."

"Actually I was hoping you could talk to her about it."

"Brave enough to join the Marines, but you are too scared to talk to your mom?"

"Can you blame me?"

"I guess not." Alex said with a laugh. "I will try. And no matter how she reacts just know that I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." Dylan said as the both of them stood up, giving each other a quick hug. When they pulled apart they heard the sound of footsteps coming down the basement stairs, looking out to see Norman coming down.

"Did they banish you from the ship?" Alex asked him as he walked into Dylan's room.

"No." Norman said. "I snuck off while they were in the middle of attacking Oliver with the stuffed parrot."

"I hope you mean a beanie baby and not one of the ones from Emma's house." Dylan said.

"It's a fake one. Last time we played with a real one Oliver said Renee got creeped out and wouldn't walk past the birds outside for weeks."

"Well if you're done playing with the kids I could use your help getting everything ready." Alex said.

"Yeah, sure." Norman said. "What time is mom leaving at?"

"The appointments at three and Amanda said she'd pull a few interference's to make it longer. So we only have a couple hours."

"Not a whole lot of time to set up a party." Norman said.

"We should have just rented an event room." Dylan added.

"An event room is not where we got married, there's nothing special about that." Alex explained.

"And there is something special about having it in the same spot Chevy poops everyday?"

"He never goes on the patio, and I cleaned up the rest of the yard yesterday." Norman said, still proud to be the one taking care of the dog.

"And I hired a few people to set up the lighting and music. Then Oliver and Stanley agreed to be the grill men and Maggie is picking up the order for salads and condiments at the market, so food is covered. We will only have to put out the tables and chairs then set everything up."

"She's going to like this a whole lot more than the safari." Dylan said.

"Maybe I will finally hear the end of that after this party." Alex joked.

"I know it's kinda last minute but is it okay if I invite someone?" Norman asked.

"Yeah, that should be fine." Alex said. "Who?"

"Bradley."

"Is that a new friend? I never heard you mention him before."

"Bradley's a girl." Norman said nervously. "She's ah- we're kinda dating, I think."

"Dude, you got your first girlfriend?" Dylan asked.

"We haven't made it official yet, but she said she really likes me."

Dylan smirked. "Mom is going to freak out."

"I figure it can't be any worse than when she caught you and Emma snuggling up together on the couch."

"We were watching a horror movie, she was scared." Dylan said defensively.

"The only thing she probably had nightmares about that night was mom lecturing you about how Emma's body was not mature enough for a boyfriend."

"Give her nightmares? That still haunts me to this day." Dylan said with a shiver.

They all stopped talking when they heard the sound of one of the kids crying upstairs, not being able to tell who it was through the floors. "Crying kid, I think that's my cue to get back up there." Alex said, the three of them heading upstairs and into the kitchen.

"It's okay sweetie." Oliver said, comforting his daughter who was sitting in his lap balling her eyes out.

"What happened?" Alex asked in a worried tone, going over to them.

"Xander hit me!" Renee said, talking through her sobs.

"What?" Alex asked, looking over at his son. "Why would you hit her?"

"She wouldn't let me play with the parrot." Xander said.

Alex walked over to the chair he was sitting in and kneeled down in front of him. "That is no excuse, you are never allowed to hit another person. She is your friend. You are supposed to protect her, not hurt her."

"I'm sorry." Xander said sadly, his own eyes filling with tears.

"Don't tell me, tell her." Alex said, nodding toward Renee.

Xander stood up and Alex moved aside so he could walk past, going over to Renee. "I'm sorry I hit you." He said then leaned in and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "There, it's all better now."

Alex went over and put his hands on the young boy's shoulders, looking at Oliver. "Is she okay? He didn't hurt her too bad, did he?"

"No, it was just a little slap luckily. I think she's really tired so it seems a lot worse."

"It probably wasn't a good thing to skip their naps today." Alex said, looking at the tired girl in Oliver's arms. "How about we set them all up in Xander's room." He said then turned to Dylan and Norman. "Can you bring them all upstairs and put them to bed? And make sure there is no more fighting."

"Yeah, we got it." Dylan said, looking over at Xander. "Come on bud, I'll carry you."

"I want Norman to carry me." Xander said, holding his arms out to him.

"If you are going to pick favorites could you at least not do it in front of me, it hurts my feelings." Dylan said as Norman lifted their little brother into his arms.

"Uncle Dylan, you can carry me." Renee said, reaching for him.

"Finally someone who knows how to make a guy feel wanted." Dylan said, taking her from Oliver.

"And you're in charge Randy, make sure Dylan and Norman aren't starting pillow fights up there." Alex said as he passed him, high fiving him like they always did.

"Got it dad." Randy said as he followed the other kids out of the room.

"I thought you were going to talk to him about that." Alex said, looking over at Oliver.

"I haven't had the heart to tell him that you don't actually call your godfather dad." Oliver said, smirking. "Plus I like all the odd looks we get when he calls both of us dad in public."

"You're the only one who enjoys that." Alex said, sitting down at the table. "Sorry about all that, I thought he knew better than to hit someone."

"Well it makes sense our kids would fight, we did our fair share of that. Although I think it would be best if we keep them out of the tree house together, if he's anything like his father."

"Hey, you were asking for that."

"By saying don't you dare push me out of it?"

"I guess you did tell me not to." Alex said, grinning at his friend. "We should get started, Norma's gonna be leaving soon and we don't have much time." He said, standing back up.

"You know, most husbands take their wives out to a fancy dinner for their anniversary, not throw a party." Oliver joked, teasing him in the same way Alex had in the past about his anniversary parties.

"The difference is I'm not going to make my wife do all the work like you do." Alex said with a smirk.

"If that is a crack at my love making it's a low blow." Oliver said as he followed Alex downstairs to gather up the things they were hiding down there for the party.

Nearly three hours later everything was set up perfectly. Alex stood by the front door, waiting for Norma to come inside after he had watched for her out the window. The inside door opened up and Norma and Amanda walked in, looking at Alex.

"I didn't realize you hired a doorman Norma." Amanda said.

"I didn't either." Norma said, grinning over at her husband.

Alex walked over and gave her a quick kiss, staying by her when she kept an arm around him. "How was you massage?"

"Very relaxing." She said then leaned in next to his ear to whisper. "Not nearly as good as yours though."

Alex smiled at his wives seductive tone, somehow making him wish he hadn't made plans so that they could be alone. "So, how many mimosas did you have there?"

"None." Amanda said. "She refused to have any."

"I wanted to be sober when I saw your surprise." Norma said, smiling over at Alex.

"I don't know why you keep bringing up a surprise, I have nothing planned." Alex said as he put his hand on the small of her back and led her through the house.

"Alex, my shoes are still on." She said, laughing at his eagerness.

"You are going to need them." He said as they all got to the back door of the house. "I thought we could have a nice calm night out on the patio."

"If there is a kangaroo or some other hairy mammal out there I swear to god I will divorce you." Norma said as he reached for the doorknob, opening it and stepping outside with her.

Norma looked around at the yard full of their family and close friends, all of them smiling at the happy couple. Along the fences and hanging from the trees were beautiful lights, making the whole backyard visible in the darkening evening. There were several tables set with table cloths and flower centerpieces, and other longer one lined with food, beverages, and dining ware. Her favorite oldies music was playing from the speakers set up around the patio. "You did all this?" She asked, looking at Alex.

"I had a little help." Alex said, smiling over at their kids as they all walked up to them.

"Happy anniversary mom." Norman said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Happy anniversary." Dylan said, doing the same.

"Happy married day mommy." Xander said, climbing from Norman's arms into hers.

"We weren't able to teach him how to say it." Norman said with a chuckle.

"Thank you, this is beautiful you guys." Norma said, admiring it more. "You were in on this too?" She asked, looking back at Amanda.

"Well it was either get you out of the house and do something fun to keep your attention, or help set all this up. The massages sounded like the better option to me." Amanda said.

"I got to set up the kids table mommy." Xander said proudly, all of them trying not to laugh as she glanced over at the small picnic table with the cloth placed sloppy on top of it and a centerpiece that couldn't have been further from the middle of the table.

"It looks great honey." Norma said, smiling at the young boy in her arms. "I suppose I should say hello to everyone instead of standing here staring at them." She said, walking with everyone into the yard.

After a good hour of mingling Norma and Alex were settled at a table, their hands intertwined together as they sat. Everyone else had gone off on their own to talk and the kids were playing at their table.

"Those boys look so grown up, don't they?" Norma said, looking across the yard at her older sons talking to Emma and Bradley.

"They really do." Alex said, smiling as he watched them grin at whatever the girls were saying. "I'm gonna tell you something, but try not to freak out."

"That's always a great opening line with women."

"I spoke with Dylan earlier and he told me that he has decided he doesn't want to go to college."

"What?" Norma asked loudly, looking as though she was ready to hop up and go scold him for it that second.

"Remember we are trying not to freak out." Alex whispered, glancing awkwardly around at a few people who had heard her..

"Why would he decide that? He has to go to college."

"He wants to use the savings we have set aside for it to get Emma the lung transplant she needs, he's worried she won't make it long enough to get them on her own."

"You can pay for that kind of thing?" Norma asked, slightly disturbed.

"If Will makes a donation to a hospital in Portland they will move her to the top of the list."

"I'm fine with using the savings to help her, she's like family so anything we can do to keep her around I'll do. But there is no reason he needs to give up on college. We can get him a student loan, or he can use from Norman's. He still has four years till he needs it anyways, we can keep saving more before then."

"That's not the only reason he doesn't want to go."

"What is it then?"

"He's going to enlist in the Marines."

"No." Norma said immediately after the words left his mouth.

"Norma-"

"No." She said again, more sternly. "No, we are not allowing him to do that."

"It's not something we can ban him from doing. He's going to be an adult next year."

"Well then we'll tell him if he goes he won't get to use his college money, Emma won't be able to get her transplant."

"There is no way he will believe that you aren't going to help her no matter what, he'll catch onto your bluff." Alex said then watched as Norma racked her brain for something else they could use to get him to stay. "Norma, I know it's scary to think about him doing, but we need to support him."

"How can you be okay with this? You went, you know what happens there."

"Things were different when I went."

"And how quickly can things take a turn for the worst?"

"He wants this, I can understand the need to enlist."

"You did it to prove to yourself that you weren't like your father, why does he need to do it?"

"Because he's got a good heart, he wants to do this to help people." Alex said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "You raised an amazing kid, and he's going to make a great man. You just have to let him."

Norma looked over at her oldest son as he helped Emma lift her oxygen tank up the steps on the patio, walking with her to the table her father was sitting at and pulling out a chair for her. "I know I do." She said, standing up when she saw him heading for the drink table. "I'm gonna go talk to him."

"Be nice, he was already scared senseless about me bringing it up to you." Alex said and she gave him a reassuring smile as she walked off.

"Better not be grabbing any booze." Norma said, walking up beside him.

Dylan looked over at her and smiled. "Just sodas." He said, holding a couple cans up.

"So, Alex just talked to me about your plans for after school."

"Oh no." Dylan said, mentally preparing for her reaction.

"I think it is an unbelievably stupid decision. It's risky, and you even considering it makes me what to have your head examined." Norma ranted, pausing a moment. "But I'm not going to try and stop you from enlisting, although I hope you know that I have the power to."

Dylan smiled. "I know you do."

"As much as I hate the idea of it I am proud of you. I always knew you were going to change the world, strong men always do."

Dylan set down his sodas on the table then pulled her into a hug. "Thank you mom." He whispered, trying not to let himself get choked up.

"I'm still making you a doctors appointment for a cat scan." Norma said, making him laugh as they let go of each other.

"Seems fair enough." He said, wiping away the tears that had lined his eyes. "So does this mean we can give Will the money for Emma's transplant?"

"You going to college or not was never a factor for that, they can have the money."

Dylan smiled lightly. "It's times like this you make me feel really crappy for how I use to treat you. You gave us the best life you could, and I never should have doubted you."

"You're a huge part of the reason why I have the best life I could too." Norma said, turning and grabbing the sodas he had set on the table and holding them out to him. "Now go enjoy the party while you can because you will be cleaning it up later when I take Alex to one of the motel rooms."

"You had to go and ruin our moment with that." Dylan said as he winced, taking the sodas from her. "Thank you." He said, walking back to his table.

"What took you so long?" Emma asked, smiling at him as he handed her one of the sodas.

"Sorry, I was talking to my mom." Dylan said, setting his hand on the top of her back and glancing over at her father. "Hey Will, do you mind if I borrow her from you for a little while?"

"No, of course." Will said. "Go ahead."

"Where are we going?" Emma asked as he took her hand and helped her out of her chair.

"To our kingdom." Dylan said, smiling at her as they walked through the yard toward the back woods. He pulled out his phone to use for a flashlight, making sure they wouldn't fall in any holes on their way.

Emma looked up on the porch of the tree house, noticing Norman and Bradley standing by the railing. "I thought you still had that fire breathing dragon guarding the place?" She joked, making Dylan look up and see his younger brother kissing the girl he had invited to the party.

Dylan smirked and cleared his throat, getting both of their attentions. "Right next to the no girls allowed sign."

Norman looked down at them shamefully, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. "Like you never broke that rule."

"Technically it says 'except Emma'." Emma said then glanced over at Dylan. "So you better not have broken that rule."

"What are you doing out here?" Norman asked.

"Well we weren't coming out here to do that." Dylan said. "We were going to sit and talk."

"You dragged me all the way out here just to talk?" Emma said. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time."

"We were just going back to the party anyways, it's all yours." Bradley said, walking over to the ladder and the both of them climbing down.

"Sorry to crash your little side party." Dylan whispered to Norman as they passed by them.

Emma watched as they got out of earshot then looked at Dylan. "So, now that they're gone what did you really bring me out here for?" She asked, smiling at him.

"Like I said, to talk."

"No fun." Emma said, holding her tank as she walked over to the ladder and started to climb up.

Dylan went up right behind her to make sure she got up it safely, the both of them walking over and sitting with their legs hanging off the sides once they were on it. "You good?" He asked, noticing she was a little out of breath from the climb up.

"Yup, I'm good." She said, looking over at him. "So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"You know how I told you about me joining the Marines?"

"Yes, which I still think is stupid."

"You and Norma both."

"You finally told them?" She asked and he nodded. "How did they react?"

"Better than I expected."

"Does that mean you are going to enlist?"

"Yeah. I was going to either way, but having their blessing is so much better."

"I know you wanna go, but I can't believe that you are going to make me wait all that time for you to come back." Emma joked.

"Chances are by the time I get back I'm going to be the last guy on your mind."

"If I haven't changed my mind while you've played this whole 'we have to wait till we're adults' game I don't think I'm ever going to."

"Well when I get home you will be eighteen and I can finally take you on that proper date." Dylan said with a smile. "And by then you will be healthier than ever. We'll have our whole lives to spend together."

"If I can even get a transplant by then."

"You will." Dylan said, taking her hand into his.

A couple hours later the whole family was sitting at their table, just having finished their supper as the party seemed to be winding down to an end. Xander had snuck over from the kids table and sat in Alex's lap, still working on a little box of raisins they had gotten him from inside when he didn't want any of the salads.

Dylan stood up from his chair and lifted his soda can, clicking on the side of it with a plastic knife. It made a sad excuse for a toast sound making Norma and Alex laugh. "That isn't working." He said, setting it down. "Hey everyone, can you listen up a minute." He said loudly, getting the parties attention. "I know this isn't a reception or anything but I wanted to say something about my mom and her husband, a man who I fought to keep out of my life over five years ago that turned into my family." He said, looking at the both of them. "I want to say thank you for everything you have done for me, and the strength you have given me to do anything in life. Without either of you I would not have become the man standing here today."

"Thank you." Norma mouthed to him as he sat back down, her eyes already filled with tears again.

Norman stood up from his chair and looked around. "I wish Dylan would have told me we were giving speeches tonight, I would have came up with something beforehand. So sorry if I start to ramble." He said, looking over at his mother and Alex. "When my family first met Alex years ago we were off on the side of the road with a broke down car. He came right up to the window and he took his time to help us, not only towing the car for us but taking us all out for dinner and bringing us right here to this motel so we had a place to stay. My father was never a good guy so a man being that kind to us was something I wasn't use to seeing. For awhile I didn't think about what a gift it was that he had come into our lives, I mostly just thought of him as the man who helped me win a little stuffed owl out of a toy crane machine."

"A toy he slept with for four years afterwards." Dylan added.

"Thank you for that." Norman said to his brother sarcastically before going back into his speech. "But now when I think back to everything that happened since that day I realize this is the family we were meant to have all along. That without each other things wouldn't have turned out this amazingly."

Dylan raised his drink back up and everyone else did the same, Xander lifting his empty box of raisins to mimic them. "To family and friends."

"To family and friends." The whole group said in unison.

Over the next half an hour people said all their goodbyes, the whole family walking the guests to their cars. When the last of them were gone they walked over to the motel's patio and took a seat at the furniture out there, Xander taking his favorite place in his dads lap again.

"Those were some beautiful speeches you boys did." Norma said, looking at her two older sons.

"Well you know we were just trying to get brownie points with the ladies, they like the sensitive guys." Dylan joked.

"We do at that." Norma said, glancing over at Alex.

"Don't look at me when you say that, I'm not sensitive." Alex said, rubbing circles on his sons back.

"You're right, you look like a monster right now."

"Daddy isn't a monster." Xander said. "Renee said he's your prince." He said, looking at his mom.

"She's right about that." Norma said, smiling over at Alex before looking back at her little boy. "And she's a sweet girl, so no more hitting her Alexander."

"I won't, I promise." Xander said. "I said I'm sorry, and I gave her a kiss like you do when I get a boo boo."

"Hey Norman, you realize you and Xander got your first kiss on the same day?" Dylan joked, slapping him on his arm.

"You got your first kiss?" Norma asked in a surprised tone. "With that cute girl you were hanging around with all night?"

"Maybe." Norman said shyly.

"Is she nice?"

"Yeah, she's a nice girl." Norman said then looked over at Alex. "She said her dad hates you though, she isn't sure why."

"What did you do to him?" Dylan asked with a smirk.

"That's a story for another time when there aren't younger kids around." Alex said, looking at the sleepy boy in his lap. "You ready for bed bud?" He asked, earning a nod from him.

"We'll bring him up to bed." Dylan said, him and Norman both standing up.

"I want Dylan to carry me this time." Xander said, holding out his arms to him.

"Sure, you want me to carry you now that there are twice as many stairs to go up." Dylan said, picking him up.

"Night mommy, night daddy." Xander said as Dylan held him down to their level so he could give them both a goodnight kiss. Dylan and Norman both said night to their mom and Alex, wishing them a happy anniversary again before walking off toward the house.

"Should I take it personally that all your kids run off when I show up?" Amanda asked, walking up to Norma and Alex.

"They offered to put Xander to bed." Norma said.

"How sweet of them."

"You ditch Stanley?" Alex asked, looking around for him.

"He's still cleaning the grill, and I wanted to say bye to you before you ran off somewhere to fool around."

"You should have told him he didn't have to do that, we will clean up later." Norma said.

"It's your anniversary, just enjoy it."

"It's technically you're anniversary too, it's been five years since I introduced the two of you. When you took one look at him and whispered to me that I could keep Alex."

"You gave me up for Stanley?" Alex joked.

"Don't take it personally, I knew you loved Norma too much to ever give me a shot." Amanda joked back. "And the day we met doesn't really count as an anniversary."

"Yeah, maybe it wouldn't have if you didn't sleep together that night." Norma said.

"Really?" Alex asked.

"Don't judge me, I get lonely at weddings." Amanda said as Stanley walked over to them, hooking his arm around her.

"Lucky for me." Stanley said, only having caught the tail end of the conversation.

"Thank you both for helping clean up." Norma said.

"Truthfully I'm just trying to trick Romero into giving me a raise."

"If you really want one you better be prepared to come back and mow the lawn this weekend." Alex said then he looked around at the lot.

"On second thought, I don't need it."

"You ready to head out and leave these kids alone?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah." Stanley said then they said their goodbyes before they left.

"I thought all those people would never leave." Norma said, scooting next to him on the bench and his arm went up to wrap around her.

"Not a fan of the big party?" Alex asked.

"I loved the party. But I was ready to be alone with my husband." Norma said, reaching her hand up to hold the one he had resting on her shoulder. "Can you believe that all those years ago we use to sit in this very spot and talk, never knowing we'd end up together?"

"Oh, I knew we would."

"You did not." Norma said with a chuckle. "I annoyed the hell out of you."

"Well that's true." Alex jokingly agreed. "But I still knew."

"I guess I knew too." Norma said, smiling to herself as she thought back to all their early interactions. "Thank you for the party."

"Thank you for the best five years of my life."

"What about all that time we were together before we were married?"

"Well like you said I found you kind of annoying back then." Alex said, earning a playful shove from her before getting serious again. "It's always been the best time of my life with you around."

Norma ran her hand up to his cheek then leaned in to give him a kiss, when she pulled back she looked at him and smiled. "Sometimes I can't believe how far we've come."

"Me either." Alex said, running his other hand through her hair.

"We got pretty lucky, didn't we?" Norma said, thinking about the family they had created together.

"We definitely did."

"For years my biggest fear was that my kids would grow up unhappy the way I had. Now look at them, almost all grown up and happy as ever."

"You did good with them."

"We did good with them." Norma corrected. "Although I'm not sure how I feel about them kissing all those girls and joining the marines."

"Well they are boys, they will do stupid things sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

Alex chuckled. "Okay, most the time."

Norma smiled and laid back in his arms again, letting her free hand fall to her stomach. "As much as I love our sons, I hope this baby is a girl."

Alex turned his face to hers and stared, a smile forming on his lips. "This baby?"