A/N: Well one day short of two years later, I've finally finished my first fic. This was the first fic I ever started and the only fic that was not a one-shot I have ever finished. Thank you to all my friends who first got me started writing this, and to my readers and reviewers who encouraged me to start writing again the many times I stopped. All final reviews are greatly apreciated and constructive for me, so please take the time. Without further ado, the finale of this journey:

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Epilogue: Two years later

Meg shifted uncomfortably in her carriage seat next to her fiancée Félix. It had been nearly five months since she last saw Christine, and the ride to Provence was painfully long. At first, she had enjoyed the ride. Félix was engaging and worldly, and even her mother enjoyed his company; however, after nearly a week with the same three people in the same black carriage, there was really nothing left for them to talk about without new subject matter.

"What's the matter, dear?" Félix asked, having noticed her discomfort.

Meg forced a smile and said, "Just anxious to see her again." This was true, but Meg was also nervous for Félix to meet them both, especially Erik. Since they hadn't started dating until after Christine had left, Félix new nothing of the entire fiasco surrounding their romance, and she had told Félix and abridged story that included Erik's, less than perfect facial features. Félix seemed compassionate enough, but he might still be taken aback and offend someone. Also even Christine had to agree that Erik could be rash from time to time, but she wanted Félix to like the both of them, because they had become her closest friends in the past two years. She felt she had long outgrown the follies of the ballet girls, and was anxious to be wed, and away from the opera house. She and Félix were going to have the most wonderful life in Lyon, and they would be much closer to Christine. Only three more months…

Meg looked out the window, and allowed her thoughts to wander, gradually feeling calmer. Her surroundings were beginning to feel very familiar, and she realized they were getting close. As they came over what Meg knew to be the final hill, her breath caught in her throat. The entire countryside was beautiful, but today the farm was stunning. The sun was setting behind them as they came down the hill to where the farm nestled in the valley. The lavender colored the fields the softest purple and the evening sun glinted off the water collected on the leaves of the orchard from the day's rains. Christine had to be the luckiest woman alive.

As they came up to the door, Meg could hear a dog barking, which was new. She could see the housekeeper, Maude, poke her head through the curtains, and then shout back towards the interior of the house. Erik was first to emerge at the door, which was different, but Meg thought nothing of it. Her eyes were on Félix's face, gauging his reaction to Erik. He seemed to be holding his face firm to make sure he would not react. Erik opened the carriage door and held his arm out to help her mother down, and then Félix climbed out and helped her down. When she looked back up at the door, Christine was standing there, her empire waist peach dress flowing over her obviously bulging belly. At this sight, Meg hauled up her skirts and ran over to her friend.

For a moment, she was two ecstatic for words and the two women merely grinned at each other. This gave the rest of the party time to catch up, and soon everyone was smiling broadly; except for Félix, who hardly knew Christine, but managed a small smile to conform to the atmosphere. Mme Giry was the one who finally spoke.

"How long until it's due?" she asked.

"About four months," replied Christine, rather excitedly.

"And you waited this long to tell us!" Meg raised her voice in a rather accusatory manner.

"Well, we knew just two weeks after you were here last. So, we waited to tell you until we were more certain nothing would go wrong, and by that time you had already written to tell us about your visit, and I figured it would be much more fun to tell you in person." Meg felt an odd mix of cross and excited, and couldn't form a reply, so she hugged Christine instead.

Mme Giry hugged her as well, and Félix was shaking Erik's hand in congratulations when Maude called out the door, "Dinner is served!"

"Come," said Erik, "we've a great deal of catching up to do."

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