As a final farewell, I'm giving this chapter a cliche title. Tada! Here's our last chapter, guys. I tried to send it out with a bang.

Also, this needs to be said: you are all amazing. Every one of you who has added this to your favorites or alerts or has reviewed makes me so happy. Even knowing people are just reading this is incredible to me. Your praise is so...so...inspiring, and I feel like I don't deserve it, since it's you guys who compel me to write the best that I can. You little spirit users, you :) So what do you say, one last chapter together?

EPILOGUE: Three and a half years later

"Finally," I sighed as I unlocked my front door and slipped inside. I shut it gently and leaned against it, closing my eyes, imagining I was shutting out all of the court and its royal drama. Guarding Lissa of course meant some heavy political crap, and I'd had just about all I could take of the smoozing and flattery for one day. It makes me feel gross all over. I shook my head, refusing to let my work bother me in my home. Don't get me wrong, I loved guarding Lissa, but my favorite part of the day was coming home to my family. My family. the word never ceased to amaze me.

"Mia," I called out as I draped my coat over the comfy blue couch, tossing my blazer over it as well. "I'm home!" A little brown eyed beauty came tearing out of her bedroom, rocketing right towards me. I laughed and crouched down, extending my arms to catch my daughter.

"Hey, sweetie," I said cheerily as I peppered her face in kisses. She shook her head, cackling as she did so, and her luxurious brown locks hit me in the face. "Umph," I spluttered, trying to clear her hair out of my mouth.

"You're so silly, mommy," she giggled, burying her head in my neck. I kissed the top of her head. I looked up to see Mia leaning against the wall, grinning. I smiled and set my daughter down on the floor.

"Why don't you go show mommy what you did today, Riley?" Mia asked, laughter bubbling underneath her words. Riley clapped in excitement.

"Pirates!" She shrieked before catapulting around the corner into her purple bedroom. I laughed.

"How was she?" I asked Mia as I bent down to take my shoes off.

"Very excited. Though I guess she is every day, huh?" Mia chuckled, shaking her blonde curls. "She can't wait to go on vacation next week.

"Dimitri either. He's been dying to get away," I explained as I threw myself on the couch. Mia sat across from me in Dimitri's favorite recliner. I looked at my watch. He should be home within the hour, giving me plenty of time to get supper started. Ever since he'd taken the job as head of Court security, leaving Eddie as Lissa's permanent second guardian, his hours were much more regular and easier to plan around since he no longer revolved around Lissa like I couldn't. And there was the added bonus of the opportunity for vacations every now and then, I thought with a smile.

"Arghhh!" came a cry from the hallway. I looked over and saw Riley with a paper eye patch, scribbled black with marker and held together by elastic bands and paper clips, and a paper pirate hat. I couldn't hold the hysteric giggle back.

"Did you do this?" I asked Mia. As Riley's babysitter (or nanny, rather, but I hated saying it. It sounded too pretentious for the familial situation it really was) she had the difficult task of constantly keeping her entertained on the days when Dimitri and I were both working. The things Mia came up with always seemed to top everything else she'd done.

"Guilty as charged," Mia grinned as she stood up.

"Mommy, look! I have a sword!" Riley cried, brandishing her stackable markers at me.

"Next thing you know, you'll be pillaging the villages," I said affectionately as I walked over to her and ruffled her hair. She took off around the room, pointing her weapon at imaginary foes and fighting them off with her sheer strength.

"So I'll see you bright and early tomorrow?" Mia asked as I walked her to the door.

"You got it. Thank you so much," I told her.

"Anytime, Rose. You know that," Mia said warmly. "Bye Riley," she called, but Riley didn't look up. Mia and I both chuckled. She'd been such a big help to me these past years, stopping by to subtly clean the house when Lissa happened to mention how stressed I was, even bringing dinner by every now and then in the early months when I'd been struggling with everything. I'd finally hired her when it was time for me to get back into the swing of guardian things, and she'd fallen into our crazy family puzzle as an indispensable center piece. I don't know what I would have done without her.

I closed the front door after her and headed to the fridge to start laying things out for that night's meal. Riley ran up to me and hugged my leg.

"What do you think about tacos?" I asked her as I shifted things inside the fridge, searching for dinner fixings. I looked down to see her sticking her tongue out. "No? What would you suggest?"

"Maccaroni!" Riley shrieked, bouncing up and down. I looked at her in exasperation.

"We have that almost every day," I told her. It was Riley's latest thing, and I was trying to get her interested in some other food. So far it wasn't working. "Tell you what. How about we make a pizza? You and me?" Riley thought for a minute and then nodded enthusiastically.

"I get to help mommy!" She yelled, running into her room to get the little apron Lissa had given her a few months ago after Riley tried to help her bake brownies and instead ended up wearing them. Since then, Riley wore it whenever she "helped" me in the kitchen.

I had just given Riley a little piece of dough and her plastic rolling pin from her kitchen set to start making her pizza when the house phone rang. I quickly dried my hands on a dish towel and answered it.

"Hello?" I asked, watching Riley smush her dough and try to form it into a perfect circle.

"Rose!" My mother exclaimed. "Is now a bad time?"

"Hey mom. It's fine; I'm just making pizza with Riley." I said as I cradled the phone between my ear and my shoulder and set to work rolling out the dough.

"Tell her I said hello," Janine said eagerly, and I heard Abe shout something in the background. "And Abe too."

"Riley, want to say hello to grandma and grandpa?" I asked. Riley looked up from her craftmanship and grinned.

"Hi gramma, hi grampa!" She called. My mom chuckled.

"So what's going on?" I asked as I coated the rolling pin in flour.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that your father and I will be at court in the beginning of next month," she said happily. I smiled. Ever since my graduation I could tell that something had been brewing between the two, and apparently I'd been right. Abe and my mother were back together, though she still guarded her Moroi acorss the globe. Abe had moved his mysterious business to be with her. It was nice to hear her so happy, and even nicer to know I'd get to see her again. I hadn't seen her since Christmas, almost four months ago.

"Really? That's great!" I enthused. "For how long?"

"About two weeks. We miss you all," My mom said affectionately.

"Awe, mom, I miss you too." I started to spread the tomato sauce around the crust, giving Riley a few spoonfuls for hers. She patted it happily.

"And how's Dimitri?" She asked.

"Great. He really loves his new job. In fact," I said, looking at the clock on the microwave, "he should be here any minute. Oh, that's him!" I said as the front door opened. My mother laughed.

"Alright, I won't keep you. I'll talk to you later, Rose," she said.

"Bye," I said a little hurriedly. I wasn't too worried; she usually called every now and then to check in anyway. I'd talk to her soon enough.

Riley hopped down from the chair she'd been standing on and ran out into the living room.

"Daddy!" She called exuberantly.

"Hey, kiddo!" I could hear Dimitri's amused voice as he took in the sight of his decked- out daughter. "Are we a pirate now?" He asked. I peeked around the corner of the open doorway to see him picking her up and tickling her. "Did you find any gold?" Riley screamed and writhed in his arms.

"Yes! And it's mine!" Dimitri twirled her around in his arms before setting her down lightly and tapping her on the nose playfully. She laughed and ran into her room, peaking out from behind the corner and ducking back in when she saw Dimitri still standing there. I smiled to myself and returned to my cheese spreading, sprinkling the shredded mozerella over the sauce just as I felt Dimitri come up behind me and slide his hands around my waist. I turned my head and he met my lips with a slow kiss.

"Hello," he murmured when we parted. I turned around to face him and slipped my hands behind his neck.

"Hello yourself, Comrade," I said softly. He smiled and leaned down for another kiss, letting his fingers twirl my hair gently. "How was your day?" I asked when he let me go. I carelessly tossed some more cheese on the sauce.

"Not too bad. Better now," he sighed contentedly, watching me drizzle the olive oil on top. "Just another week and we'll be at the beach," he said dreamily. I smiled. He'd been working so hard lately, and he absolutely deserved a break. I couldn't wait to spend some quality time with him and Riley.

"Next week, that reminds me..." I said slowly as I slid both the big pizza and Riley's mini one into the oven and closed the door. "Lissa had to cancel our weekly cookout. Christian is taking her out to a fancy restaurant," I said, trying and failing to wiggle my eyebrows. Dimitri laughed.

"You think he's going to propose?" He questioned.

"I'm pretty sure. It took him long enough," I said, rolling my eyes and turning back to the table to clean up the flour-y mess.

"Well, you'll be able to give her some good married woman advice, Mrs. Belikov," Dimitri said seductively. He gently took my left hand from where it rested on the table, bringing it to his lips and kissing the gold band that signified our marriage. I flipped my hand over to stroke my husband's face and was about to kiss him again when Riley appeared, tugging on Dimitri's leg.

"Daddy, can we play pony? Please?" She begged. Dimitri gave me a last lingering look before swinging down and swooping our daughter up, carrying her to the living room where they could play without making a mess. I laughed out loud as my strong, muscular Russian god pranced around on all fours with Riley hanging onto the back of his shirt. I leaned happily against the door frame, wondering for the thousandth time how I'd ended up with so many impossible miracles. But oh, hell I thought as my family laughed and galloped around the coffee table-if I hadn't learned by now I never would. You can't take impossibilities for granted-you'll end up with more than you could ever hope for.

This was so painful, yet so much fun to write. I hate closing this up, but it's time. It's been real guys. I hope you liked this story, and that I ended it well enough! I love you all. **gross sobbing**.