Three weeks and four surgeries later, Nikolas Cassadine stood behind a wheelchair, watching as Brook Lynn successfully maneuvered herself out of her hospital bed for the last time so that she could finally return home with him to Wyndamere. Appointment after appointment, consultation after consultation, treatment after treatment, she had put in the long hours necessary before she could talk at full volume. Her vocal chords were still healing and would be for weeks. She was instructed not to sing unless she was working with her music therapist, who seemed fully confident that she was headed for a complete recovery. Nikolas had been the first person to get to hear her sing again and the recipient of the first full sentence she said after she woke up from her final surgery. It was then and only then that she finally said, "Yes, of course, I can't wait to marry you, Nikolas."

And now, they were finally going home, back to the dark castle that seemed a lot lighter when she was home. Spencer had been working with Alfred all morning to set up for her welcome home party, a private affair that would be reserved solely for the three of them. In the mean time, her room was bursting with the rest of her family. Brook Lynn had purposely waited until she was ready to go home before she wanted to announce their engagement. Her parents had even flown in from Sydney, though she didn't seem all that excited about having them there.

"Edward, please, calm down!" Lois pleaded, all the while hugging her daughter. Edward was upset that no one from the hospital staff was there to push her out, not that Brook would have wanted it. Nikolas was perfectly happy to do it. It gave him something to focus on so that he didn't have to think about how her great-grandfather was going to react to losing another of his grandchildren to the likes of a Cassadine. "Nikolas is perfectly capable of pushing a wheel chair."

"Daddy, come on, this is supposed to be some kind of a celebration," Tracey sighed, standing next to Luke near the doorway. She wasn't exactly thrilled to see Lois and Ned there either. It seemed just like them to swoop in at the last minute. Lois had tried to fawn over her daughter, and both Brook Lynn and Tracey were not at all interested in the feigned maternal love that seemed to be going around. If she couldn't be bothered before now, Brook wasn't exactly sure why she bothered to show up now. "Brook is finally going home and is actually doing quite well. Just be happy and quit getting belligerent."

Edward looked sharply at his daughter but quietened. "Actually, we have something else to celebrate besides me just going home," Brook announced, looking up over her shoulder at Nikolas.

"Please do not tell me that you are pregnant!" Edward bellowed, earning a surprised gasp from Tracey and wide-eyed stare from Lois. "The last thing this family needs is a Cassadine spawn."

"No, I'm not pregnant. Though, I suppose that's a preview of what I can look forward to some day," Brook Lynn replied tiredly. "Nikolas asked me to marry him. I accepted. Let the chaos commence."

The next several minutes were filled with the usual Quartermaine arguing. Nikolas stood politely and stoically next to Brook's side, listening to Edward rant about how he was going to ruin another of his granddaughter's lives and Lois worry about what was going to happen to Brook's career and Ned threatened emptily if something was to happen to his daughter. Finally, surprisingly, it was Tracey who held up her hand and ended to ridiculously public display.

"Brook is an adult and has made her intentions clear," Tracey announced, looking first at her father and then at her son. She didn't even bother regarding Lois. She had never had use for the loudmouth from Bensonhurst, and today was no different. "I've made no qualms about my opinion of Nikolas in the past, but one thing had become abundantly clear to me over the past few weeks. My granddaughter loves him." She looked at her son. "You weren't here to see it, so you can just keep your opinion to yourself. If it wasn't important enough to show up when she was in a coma, I don't think it's important enough to pipe up now." She carefully moved her gaze over to her father. "She loves him, Daddy. You can accept it and have her in your life, or you can push her away. You know how Brook Lynn is. She's not going to back down from something she wants."

Edward looked at her with all the love in the world evident in his eyes. "Does he really make you happy, Sweetheart?"

Brook Lynn smiled at him affectionately. "More than anything in the world, Grandfather, even singing," she answered as Nikolas reached down to clasp her hand. "I'm not just getting a husband. I get to be a mother to Spencer. He already thinks the world of you, Grandfather, and I have it on pretty good authority that the feeling is mutual. Won't it be fun to have a kid running around the mansion again? It's a chance we haven't had in awhile."

Lost memories of Michael and Jake danced in his head. "Alright," Edward nodded firmly, "you have my blessing."

"Good job, Daddy," Tracey whispered before hugging her father. Edward smiled proudly before puffing his chest out proudly. "And, Nikolas, if you break her heart, I'll make sure you regret it."

"I have no doubt, Tracey," Nikolas replied before rolling Brook out of the room. The family stayed nearby until she was tucked safely in the backseat of the waiting town car. He invited everyone to come out in the morning for brunch and waited patiently as his fiancee said her goodbyes. Fifteen minutes later, they were headed across the harbor toward Spoon Island. Spencer was waiting for them on the other side.

"Brook!" he exclaimed, dancing happily on the docks between Alfred and Mrs. Landsbury. Only when Nikolas was on the stone path leading up toward the house did the little boy take off, launching himself into his father's arms. Nikolas hugged him tightly before setting him down and leading over to greet Brook. He hugged her carefully before grabbing onto her hand. He reached for Nikolas' other hand and walked happily between them toward Wyndamere. "Daddy said I get to be the Bestest Man at the wedding."

"Best Man," Nikolas corrected him with a smile. "Yes, we're even going to get him a new suit."

"Ooh, fancy!" Brook Lynn grinned down at Spencer. "I bet you'll look even more handsome than your father."

The little boy giggled as they came into the house. The study had been transformed with a hand-painted banner, balloons and platters of freshly baked cookies. "Surprise!" Spencer called, turning around in a circle in the middle of the room. "Do you like it?"

"It's perfect," she smiled, looking from father to son. "Absolutely perfect."

"Welcome home," Nikolas whispered, kissing her behind the ear as he helped her onto the couch. The three of them enjoyed cookies and talked animatedly until Brook started to yawn. They eventually settled down in front of the television to one of Spencer's favorite movies. A half-hour later, Brook was asleep on his shoulder and Spencer's head was in his lap. Brook only woke up when Nikolas slipped away to put Spencer down for his nap. She was curled up on the couch when he got back downstairs.

"He down for the count?"

"For awhile, at least," Nikolas smiled. He slipped back next to her, wrapping his arm around her and just enjoying being with her without the sounds of the hospital, constant interruptions from nurses and a very large observation window that prevented them from having any real privacy. "I really am happy that you're home."

"Me too," she replied. "This is home now, you know? You, Spencer, you guys are my family."

Nikolas looked at her fondly, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "And you're ours."

They were married two months later in front of a packed cathedral in New York City, halfway between both their worlds. Spencer and Lucky stood up with Nikolas, and Brook Lynn could barely keep herself together long enough to say her vows. Later, at the reception, everyone agrees that they are like a fairytale. Nikolas dances with Tracey and promises to take good care of her only grandchild. Brook Lynn laughs as Spencer steps all over her toes nearby. And just before they leave for their honeymoon with Spencer in tow because Brook can't imagine being away from him for even a week, she sings in public for the first time to her new husband. There's not a single dry eye in the house when she sings the final words of a power rendition of "Till There Was You."

Kristina was one of those crying from her table, Ethan's arm wrapped around her as she dabbed at her eyes with a monogrammed napkin. She had stood up with Brook Lynn and still looked beautiful in her deep crimson bridesmaid dress. Ethan had whispered in her ear later that it was sinful how she outshone the bride at her own wedding. Kristina had only smiled devilishly and reminded him that he would be rewarded for that later.

It had been an interesting few months for the two of them. It had taken quite awhile before her parents had come to accept Ethan, and there were still days where she was sure her father was two steps away from killing him. Sonny made sure that they came over for regular family dinners, questioning Ethan relentlessly until she stole her boyfriend away with some feigned excuse about doing homework at home. Alexis was only slightly less intimidating, though she had relaxed a little after she had seen Kristina's perfect grade card last month.

Her siblings were a little more supportive for their part. Sam made sure to invite Ethan around to her house for a dinner here and there, wanting to put in the effort to include him in family things since he would probably be around for some time to come. Molly worshiped the ground that he walked on and was still wrapped up in the romanticism of it all. Michael still thought that he was a little old for his younger sister but knew that he didn't have room to talk given the difference between in Abby. It was just different when the younger counterpart in a relationship was his little sister.

They're dancing when Sonny asked to cut in, beaming like a proud father. She laughed and giggled as he told her how beautiful she looked and watched as Ethan swept Carly effortlessly across the floor. "I'm really proud of you," Sonny told Kristina. He still seems so amazed that she turned out so well. "You've come so far since the accident and since last year. I have to admit it. Ethan has been good for you."

"Yes, he has," she agreed proudly, stopping to clap as the music ended. Sonny wished her a good evening before heading off to find Michael. Ethan is soon back at her side. "You and Carly looked quite good out there."

"She's a good dancer," he retorted with a shrug. "But I had a better teacher." The tease is a reminder of the classes that she had given him in the weeks leading up to the ceremony. "Speaking of which, does this mean no more lessons?"

"You keep teaching me poker, I'll teach you to dance," she replied with a giggle. It was an arrangement they made the week she came home from the hospital, just a few days before she found out that she got into Yale. She would head there next fall, and Ethan had already found a job nearby. Although Edward had wanted to groom him and Carly had generously offered him a job at the hotel, he had actually ended up finding something else he loved. While he would always be a Spencer and appreciate a good heist, his heart was a little more tethered to the ground.

Ethan is there when they take off the casts the next week and then again a few weeks later when they finally let her get off the crutches. They celebrate by taking a long but slow walk in the park, stopping to taste all the different flavors of early summer. They end up in the gazebo at Rice Park, resting on a bench while butterflies float through the air and flowers bloom nearby. Ethan hands her a little box, this tiny square black velvet thing that makes her breath catch and her throat go dry.

"Ethan...um...yeah," she stutters nervously. "I can't even open this."

He laughs and shakes his head. "No, it's not that."

"Oh," she replies, sounding almost disappointed for a moment before brightening. "Well, good."

"But someday," he promises her, reaching over to kiss her forehead. "When you're done kicking ass at Yale and you're ready to put up with me for the rest of your life."

"I got that part down already," she promises before opening the box. She finds a silver locket inside, their initials engraved on the front and the date of the accident – their official anniversary, she decided – on the back. "Oh, Ethan, this is beautiful."

"Just a little token to celebrate."

And so they do, finishing their walk and then heading back to the lake house for dinner with Molly and her mom. She is surprised to find Jax there as well, along with her brother and father. Sam and an uncomfortable Jason are there, him only looking happy when Carly comes over with Josslyn to distract him from a surprisingly present Edward, Tracey and Luke. Even Brook Lynn is there with Nikolas and Spencer, looking fresh and tan after a month-long vacation in Bora Bora. And later, when everyone else is gone and Kristina walks Ethan out to his car to say goodnight, he holds her for a moment longer than usual and whispers, "Someday," to her one more time again.

Fin.