Sometimes, in life, we are stuck with the family that we are given. Other times, we are blessed with the family that we have chosen. For Ryan, he was thankful that he had a strong combination of both, the loving support of his parents and the strong connection of Kelly and his child. While things had not turned out like he had planned, he had the chance at a life that could turn out to be even better. With the support of that family and the strange group of friends he had made at Dunder Mifflin, he was beginning to feel like anything was possible.

He realized that his newfound sense of optimism had turned him into a person completely unlike the man he had long been. However, with all the changes that surrounded him, change was unavoidable. He was beginning to grow up and come into his own as a man. Finding out that you are going to be a father is bound to do that to someone. Now, as he watched Pam and Kelly giggle like school girls at the reception desk, he was at peace with who he had become. He might not be the sarcastic, disconnected cynic that came into the office as a temp three years ago that Kelly had originally fallen in love with, but he liked to think that she loved this man much more.

Looking around the room, he allowed his gaze to rest comfortably on each person he had shared this office with. There was Stanley, the quiet and unimposing salesman who had once scared the life out of Ryan after unwanted advances from his daughter. A devoted husband and protective father, he lived each day for the life that he had beyond this office. Paper sales were just a job to him, a means to an end. He enjoyed the simple pleasures in life, things like Pretzel Day and perfectly completing the crossword puzzle. There wasn't any apology to the way he lived his life for he was comfortable with whom he was as a man.

Across the desk from him, Phyllis smiled sweetly up at Ryan. She was quiet as well but in a completely different way. Phyllis always seemed to care the most about the people around her, often serving as a confidant in times of need. In her own unassuming way, she had the uncanny knack of getting people to open up about their feelings. They had ice skated once together on Michael's birthday, circling the rink a few times when he was trying to escape from Kelly's clenches. Although she had suspected that Ryan secretly loved the young woman's hold on him, she had saved him for a few minutes because she knew that is what he wanted.

Phyllis' eyes fell back to her computer as Dwight stood up to make some sort of an announcement. To Ryan, the man seemed to be the most contradictory. Everything was by the book for him except the rare times when it called in question his loyalty to Michael. Dwight was careful about the people that he chose to love, and Michael Scott seemed to be one of the few that he held above all others. Giving up something he loved as much as being a volunteer deputy to help save Michael during the drug testing had shown Ryan just that. Then again, his slight respect for Dwight could also be the fact that the joint was Ryan's and somehow he had also managed to save him.

Over Dwight's shoulder, Ryan watched as Angela shook her head sadly and rolled her eyes before turning back to her desk. The icy, stringent blonde pretended not to listen but Ryan could see the way her ears seemed to perk up at the sound of his voice. He recognized all the signs as well as anyone, the distant way you can fool yourself into pretending not to care. He had perfected the technique with Kelly, and now, he could see Angela forcing herself into the same routine with Dwight. Even if he didn't particularly care for either of them, he hoped that they could find their way back together. He suspected that it may be the only way either of them would ever be happy.

Until then, Angela had Andy and his incessant attempts to make her smile. It was crazy to believe, but sometimes they even seemed to work. Ryan hadn't witnessed the impromptu concert between his a cappella friends, but Kelly had definitely filled him in. Underneath it all, Andy just wanted other people to like him. Sure, his attempts were sometimes awkward and weak, but he was still a good guy. After all, anyone who could penetrate Angela's icy veneer and convince her to let her hair down was alright in Ryan's book.

Two guys that were also alright by Ryan were Oscar and Kevin. He had long considered them the Odd Couple of the office. They had become friends by circumstance, forced to unite over the power struggle that had always defined the accounting office with Angela at the helm. Kevin was sloppy, slow and apathetic at times. He loved to make lewd comments about women with his sly, slightly creepy smile and became almost overly intense when it came time to perform on stage. Oscar was meticulous in his appearance, had a dry wit and appreciated the finer things in life. He was quick on the uptake, especially when it came to Michael, and always had an answer for everything when it came to getting out of work. Perfect opposites, they supported each other's strengths and made up for their shortfalls.

Someone who didn't care about shortfalls was Meredith. Ryan had always appreciated the brazen way she didn't care what anyone thought of her. As long as there was vodka, she was always down for a good time. Hell, with the clear liquor in her overly large mug, she even managed to make her job fun. He loved to watch her all day, the way she could keep the constant buzz without ever really being caught. She had always been kind to him and never really asked for much. That was probably the thing he appreciated most about her. She was just happy as she was.

That same carefree reverie was something that had defined Creed as long as he had known him. Creed was someone that didn't make sense to anyone, least of all Ryan. He loved to take useless junk, and no one really knew why. He always came up with these totally random comments that no one could ever understand. Even his age was something that no one could ever really tell. He had tried once to pretend to be younger to save his job, an image that still makes Ryan laugh to this day. If everyone in the office had a stereotype to fill, Creed was definitely the unknown factor.

Someone else who defined their role completely was Toby, the softhearted guy who cared the most but really didn't want to care at all. Forever trying to fulfill his position as the human resources guy, Toby tried to listen to problems without getting involved. Whether it was the way that Michael had always made him feel as if he didn't quite belong or the quiet feelings he held at bay for Pam, he didn't want to care about these people, but he couldn't help himself. Like Ryan, he had let them work their way into his heart to a point where you couldn't help but love them all.

And like Ryan had falsely thought himself at one point, Pam stood above the rest. She was funny, beautiful and kind. Always there to lend a helping hand, one look at her and everyone knew that she would make an amazing mother. She had one said that she wasn't good with kids, but Toby, Ryan and Jim had all seen the way she handled them one by one. Meredith's kid seemed to like her, which Ryan seemed to think probably had something to do with the cleavage factor of her shirt. Still, she had made him smile, just as she had done with so many other men that had come into the office. Above all else, Ryan thought that was her true gift – the ability to elicit the unknowing smile.

Of course, the man that she made smile most was Jim. Tall and lanky, he was the epitome of sarcasm and honesty. You didn't want to like him, but you couldn't help it. If he was a woman, Ryan had no doubt that he would have a crush on him as most girls seemed to. He was the guy that all girls wanted to be with and all guys wanted to be like. They had definitely had their differences over the year, but Ryan was glad that they were now friends. He had seen the wrath of Jim many times on Dwight firsthand, and to be honest, he didn't ever want to be the one on the receiving end.

However, there are some wraths that you can't escape, and for Ryan, that would always mean Michael Scott. There were so many times when he had made him incredibly uncomfortable and awkward, convincing Ryan to the point of hating him. But underneath it all, Ryan knew that Michael was just a lonely and scared little boy desperate for someone to be his friend. He wasn't an easy person to have in your life with a personality that was incredibly hard to swallow. Yet, he had a good heart and the best of intentions, and he deserved a break. Once in awhile, his employees got a rare glance into the man that Michael really is and the person he could have become if things had been different. Both versions of Michael were people that Ryan could have liked, and for that alone, he had to respect him at least a little.

Still, above all others, his affections were highest for the love of his short life and the long one that was to follow. He had lamented privately for hours on why he cared about her and the life-changing woman she had become. He still wasn't sure about so many things, including what had brought them to this particular moment in time. However, every time he saw her hand graze over her stomach or her smile at him from across the room, it didn't really seem to matter that much anymore. It had just happened. They had just changed. That was the way life went sometimes, and he didn't feel the need to define the why and how of it all. She had seen him grow, let him grow. She had accepted who he was and who he was to become. Maybe others wouldn't think that this was the real Ryan, but she saw just as she had seen all along.

Watching her walk toward him, Ryan knew that this day was just another turning point in the life that they had begun. They would find a way to reconcile with her parents if it was at all possible, and if not, he would make sure that he surrounded her with enough love that it wouldn't seem as hard to overcome. They would grow together as a family, the couple and their child. With the love of his parents and their best friends, he knew that he could give her life that she had always dreamt of. He'd be there when he could and felt at peace knowing that the others in this room would be there when he couldn't. Even now, he was beginning to suspect that the time lapses between their trips would become shorter and shorter until they didn't exist at all. Her patience would give him the time he needed to make sure that one day no one would have to leave and they could just be together.

"The party is soon. I think I heard Michael say something about making sure that they found an interracial baby for the top of the cake," she laughed as she slipped her arm through his. The fluid motion was easy and in the middle of public, but Ryan didn't flinch at all. "You've been quiet since we told everyone. Any regrets?"

Smiling at her, he shook his head confidently and pulled her closer to him. Given the chance to go back and change anything, Ryan knew that he wouldn't. The wrong turns, stumbles and falls had led him here, led them both here. It was a scary place to be at times, but he knew that it was the right one. There would be ups and downs, highs and lows, fights and makeups, rises and falls. Still, he didn't want to miss a single moment of it because this was not only the life and family he had been given, it was the family and life he had chosen. "I don't have any regrets," he promised her. "None at all."

El Fin.