Wow, now this is really the end. Author's note is at the end. Enjoy!

Epilogue: Fated

So, that is my cousin's whole story, the one that most people will not tell you. This is not because the general populace does not like to talk about it, or even because we wanted to keep it quiet for publicity reasons (to be honest, I really don't remember even considering that). The truth is that we never found any reason to tell anyone. Besides, who would believe us anyway?

In the end, I guess everything worked out for the best. It is now ten years later, and we're all happy and healthy. Life goes on. Life's funny that way, I guess. One moment your world seems to be crashing down around you and the next…

|-0-0-0-|

"What are you writing?"

I closed my notebook quickly once I heard the smooth voice of my cousin next to me. I didn't want him finding out what I was doing, mainly because I knew that he would protest it vehemently, and I didn't want to deal with his objections yet.

"Nothing that you need to worry about," I answered coolly. "What are you doing here anyway, aren't spending the day with Sam and the kids?"

"Yeah, I am. It's the first nice day since that huge rainstorm last week, so Sam thought it would be a good idea to take Mel and Jay to the park. So when I saw you here, I sent them ahead so that I could come and annoy you." Danny had that smirk on his face, the one he always gets when he tries to be annoying. It's amazing how some people never change, no matter how old they get.

"Gee, I feel so honored," I answered back sarcastically.

"So, how's Tuck doing?" He asked almost immediately.

"You guys are best friends. You talk to each other every day. You work with each other every day over at Axion. Why are you asking me?" I asked incredulously. Seriously, I think Danny sees Tucker more than I do, and I'm his girlfriend!

"Um, mainly because I don't live with him," he stated as if it was completely obvious.

"Whatever. He's doing well. Still snores like a pig, though." We both started laughing, reveling in our mirth.

"So, how is Sam?" I asked once our laughter calmed down.

"She's good. She's trying to run her eco-supply company from home so that she could spend more time with Melanie and James. So far it's doing well, so everything's good. Oh, by the way, you're coming to Jay's birthday party next week, right?"

"Of course I am! I wouldn't miss his first birthday for anything," I said enthusiastically. "I especially want to see what your parents get him." I added with a mischievous smile.

I laughed quietly as Danny shuddered at the last gift his parents had given to his kids. It was a ghost-proof doll they had made for Melanie for her third birthday that would automatically attack any ghost that came near her. It worked too well apparently, as it happened to have attacked Danny when he came home late that night after a particularly nasty fight with Skulker, who still has the sick desire to hang Danny's pelt on his wall.

"Anyway," Danny said, breaking the silence, "disturbing memories aside, I really should go. Sam's probably thinks that you killed me or something."

"Oh ha ha, very funny," was my sarcastic reply as I got up to send him off. "Tell Sam I said hi, and give everyone a big hug for me, alright?"

"Sure I'll tell her. I'll see you around." Danny and I hugged before finally letting him go on his own way.

As I watched him walk away, I thought about how much we all had grown and matured. Danny's married with kids, Jazz has her own psychiatric office, Tucker's running the research and development team at Axion, Sam has her own business, I run the linguistics department at the Amity Museum of Natural History, my brother and sister are out of college; we're all adults now. It's kind of weird to know that we have been through so much. It seems like just yesterday I was excitedly writing an email to Danny about moving back here, yet it was over a decade ago.

"Thinking hard about something?" An ancient voice spoke suddenly, startling me out of my musings.

"Geeze, Clockwork, give me some warning next time!" The ghost, currently in the form of a toddler, simply snickered at my surprise. "I was just thinking about how much everything has changed over the past few years. How all of this never came to be."

"Almost never came to be? There was never any doubt of this happening. See for yourself." He handed me a familiar thick leather book with gold hieroglyphics on the cover which were just as bright as that Christmas morning when I first received it. Once I had the book in my hands, he opened it to a page covered with notes. This was the prophecy that whose meaning had intrigued for so long, the reason why I had an obsession with that one temple my parents were researching.

"Read" the now middle age ghost commanded. Thus, I began to read aloud what was written on the page before me, translated, of course.

"In order for the world to be renewed, Death will unintentionally and unknowingly create the Protector, the one who can cross between this life and the next. The Protector will be tried and tested in many ways, until finally the evil he accidentally created and captured is released once more. When this comes, the Protector will succeed, but at a great price. He will evade his creator by submitting himself to Death. Thus this is how the Protector will come to take on his true role." When I had finished I looked up at Clockwork, hoping for a clue as to the meaning behind this.

"Okay, so there's a prophecy that says something similar to what happened. While that's nice and all, what does it have to do with anything? There are thousands of these 'Protector' legends all over the ancient world. Besides, I didn't 'create' Danny as a Protector in any way shape or form. It's not like I caused him to get his powers or anything." I was firm in my statement. My arms were crossed, my expression slightly confused.

"Are you sure you did nothing, not even adjust the settings on the portal to emit just enough energy to force ectoplasm to combine with human DNA without killing an individual?" I stared at Clockwork in disbelief. He was alluding to the last time I had stayed with my cousin before moving back. It was the week before his school started, and my aunt and uncle had just finished building the portal.

"But you told me to do that! You said that it was of the utmost importance, and that only I could do it! You told me it was my duty to…" That is when the figurative light bulb went off in my head.

"You had this all planed out, didn't you? You knew this was going to happen, all of it, from the very beginning. You asked me to adjust the portal setting, knowing that Danny would later go in and turn it on. You gave him a second chance with the CATs, knowing that he would need the experience to fight Dan, because you knew he would have been created anyway. Every step, every fight, every small event, was planned, wasn't it?"

"No, Katherine, I didn't plan anything," was his reply to my accusation. "I just made sure Time followed certain paths in order for the right events to occur."

"That's planning," I replied acidly.

"No, it's mere opportunistic manipulation," he responded cooly. I skeptically raised my eyebrow.

"Before the opportunity presented itself?"

"You know that for me, time is not linear, nor circular, nor has any particular shape. Time is ambiguous and constant, so the opportunity is always present. Time never changes." As he said this, he gazed up toward the sky. Following his gaze, I realized what he meant, and I gave a small smile.

Up above us, or rather above the clearing where I knew my cousin and his family was, was us; decade younger versions of us, to be exact. Here, at this very moment, was the past mingling with the present, even if it is for such a miniscule amount of time.

I turned to Clockwork to thank him, but he had already gone. I heaved a small sigh, a smile still on my lips, and returned to my bench to continue working.

At least, my intention was to continue working, but I got a little distracted when I saw a small piece of paper fall from my notebook. Picking it up, I found that it was an old photograph.

I smiled as I looked at the four smiling kids in the picture. There was Tucker, smiling as if he had just one a million bucks. Danny was next to him, pride evident on his features as he and Sam held each other blissfully, determined to not let go. Then, at the other side of Tucker, was me, smiling like a fool, happy to just be there. To the casual observer, it looks like we are four teenagers simply celebrating our high school graduation, happy to finally get out of here and go to college.

But we know that there is more to it than just that. We weren't just celebrating the fact that we made it through high school. We were celebrating that we made it here, to this very moment. We were celebrating that life goes on, that we still had life. Those smiles didn't show just our pride. They showed relief, love, and a determination to go on.

I stared at that picture for a long time, thinking about where we were then and where we are now. I don't think we had any idea of where we were going that day, but we charged ahead anywhere, and took on whatever life threw at us. I think that, just maybe, that's what's meant by fate. It's not where you end up, but the journey you took to get there that matters.

I finally realized that I wasn't going to get any work done, so, having given up, and I got up, and walked through the park. I followed various twists and turns, not really thinking about where I was going, until finally I came upon a small meadow. Now before you ask, this isn't some random Walden reference, I'm not that deep.

Anyway, this small meadow happened to be the one my cousin and his family were playing in. I smiled joyfully as I watched them merrily play. I observed them quietly, pondering all the years that have passed, everything that had led to this moment.

Through everything that has happened, both the good and the bad, I think everything has turned out for the best. Everything has happened just as it was fated to be.

So this is it. I just want to thank everyone who has joined me for the ride. Thank you for 77 reviews, over 4,000 hits, 12 favorites, and 14 alerts. I hope you enjoyed this little fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's taken me a year and five months, but I finally finished this, and boy what a ride it was! Thank you again to everyone who has thought Fated worthy of their time.