A/N: Final chapter

Seven years later

Fourteen-year-old Leah took a good look at herself in the mirror. She had just brushed out her long, dark, curly hair. It gently framed her delicate features. She thought she looked pretty. That was good. Tonight was her farewell dinner. Tomorrow, she would be leaving Texas to go to New Haven, Connecticut. Next week, she would be starting her freshman year at Yale on a full scholarship.

Cristina and Ian always knew that Leah was smart. They didn't know that she was super-intelligent. She had skipped the third, fifth and seventh grade. When she entered her senior year of high school at the age of 13, her then 14-year-old brother was now starting high school as a freshman. It was always hard for Matt, when Leah started to leave him behind in school. Owen always told him that he was a smart kid. He always brought home A's and B+'s but that Leah was just one of those people, who was exceedingly smart. She was a prodigy.

When Leah applied to Yale and got a full scholarship, Cristina was reluctant to send her to the East Coast. She wanted her baby girl to stay in Texas, especially since she was only 14 years old. But it was an opportunity that should not be passed up. Ian and Cristina discussed it and it was decided that Ian would move to New Haven and Leah would live with him, while she attended Yale. Leah was and always will be the apple of Ian's eye and he would do anything for her.

Ian had since re-married to a woman named Monique. She was the only one, who finally got Leah's approval. It was also probably because Leah realized that her dad needed to be with somebody. After Miranda, Ian had three other girlfriends before Monique. Leah had effectively managed to chase each one of them away because she knew her father would always choose her first.

Monique was different. She didn't try to mother Leah because she knew that Leah already had a mother. Instead, she became a friend. Monique was a violinist, an instrument that Leah also enjoyed. They would often play their violins together. Thus, a friendship was born through common interests. Ian was very happy that Leah was getting along with his girlfriend.

Monique married Ian when Leah was 10. They had a son named Cullen, who was now three. Ian had bought a house in New Haven and had already moved to Connecticut, so he and his family would not be attending Leah's farewell dinner.

Attending the dinner would be Nina, Grandpa and Grandma Yang, Grandpa and Grandma Murphy, Grandpa and Grandma Hunt, Owen's siblings, their spouses and all of their kids. There was going to be a lot of people in the house, plus her own family – Papa, Mom, Matt, Elyse, Jakob, Lukas and the most recent surprise, two-year-old Amélie. The toddler had corrected all imbalances in the house. As a blonde girl, she evened out the gender disparity as well as the blonde/brunette ratio. There were now four males and four females in the house, as well as four blondes and four brunettes. The toddler had the sunniest disposition and was always ready with a smile for anyone.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Leah said. It was her sister, Elyse, who had just turned nine earlier that month. She and Leah shared the same long, dark curly hair like their mother. They were very similar in looks, except Leah had hazel eyes and Elyse had blue eyes.

"Hey, Leah, Mom wants to know if you are ready," Elyse asked. Owen had originally worried that Elyse would have been a giant compared to her older sister and her mother but his fears were for naught. She was an average-sized girl, even though her older sister was definitely considered petite. At 14, Leah was only four foot eleven and weighed 90 pounds. It was her desperate hope that she made it to at least five foot two in the next few years. She looked younger than her 14 years and people would mistake her for being 11 or 12. This was one of the reasons that Cristina was initially reluctant to send Leah across the country, afraid that people would take advantage of Leah's small size.

"Yeah, I am ready. Is anyone here as yet?" Leah asked.

"Yeah, everyone is here. The whole Hunt side, Nina, Grandpa and Grandma Yang and your daddy's parents. We're just waiting on you. Plus they all brought going away presents," Elyse said, excitedly. "Everyone is just waiting for you."

They decided to have the dining arrangements out on their back patio with a very long, continuous table (made up of several tables) so that everyone could sit together. In all, it was 24 people at the table. The oldest person was Grandpa Hunt and the youngest person was Amélie, who was happily sitting in a high chair.

Everyone was already seated out in the patio. When Leah and Elyse came out, they all broke out in applause.

"Thank you, thank you," Elyse said, taking a bow, even though she knew the applause was not for her. She was such a joker. Everyone laughed.

"Thanks for the applause," Leah said. "I am not doing much to warrant it."

"Come on, Leah," Grandpa Murphy said. "It is rare that a Murphy gets into Yale on full scholarship, let alone at the age of 14. We tell everybody we have the brightest granddaughter ever."

Leah took her seat between her seven-year-old twin brothers, Jakob and Lukas, while Elyse sat down next to Matt, who was now 15.

"Well, we're all proud of our little Leah," Owen said. "And I do mean 'little.'" Leah made a face at him. "You know, folks, if it weren't for Leah, I wouldn't have my family, right now. Elyse, Jakob, Lukas and Amélie wouldn't have existed if it weren't for her."

"What do you mean?" Grandma Yang asked.

"Well, when Leah was four years old, she had a fascination for tropical fish. I badly wanted to introduce myself to Cristina," he said, reaching over and squeezing his wife's hand. "So I persuaded my five-year-old son to make friends with the tiny girl. Matt, of course, boasted to Leah, of the beautiful fish tank we had at home. Leah really wanted to see it, so there was my opening to get to know the future Mrs. Hunt. Yup, if it weren't for Leah."

"Hey, hey, I had a part in it, too," Matt said. "Dad, you used me to get to Mom."

"Yes, Matt, you were a vital part in it, too," Cristina told her son. "I guess we can all agree that everything turned out well in the end."

"Why don't we start our dinner?" Owen said. He signaled the servers to start bringing out the dishes, as the evening had been catered. There was a lot of "oohs" and "aahs" as the dishes came out.

As Leah looked around, she was going to miss these family get-togethers, she thought. She looked at her brother, Matt, who was sitting across the table from her. She was going to miss Matt the most of all of her siblings. Even though Matt was not her biological sibling like the rest of the brothers and sisters, she was closest to him. They were only six months apart in age. They were always the older siblings, who had to help take care of their younger ones. In looks, they provided a sharp contrast to each other. Matt was like his father, blonde and tall. Leah was like her mother, brunette and small. No one would ever mistake them for even being related but while they shared no familial blood, they were true brother and sister. He was the one who protected her from bullies and who always picked her up, whenever she fell down. He looked up at her and gave her a smile.

He, too, was going to miss his sister. When Leah started excelling in school and started skipping grades, it made him feel like he was stupid. But his mom and dad said he was a very smart kid. His grades had proved that. Dad had said, "I am probably sure that Leah is smarter than me, too, Matt. She is just exceptionally gifted." Leah always treated him the same, even though she was always in a higher grade than he was, plus she always helped him out with his homework. In high school, it was kind of weird, since he was a freshman and his little sister was a senior. But no matter, he was still proud of her, especially when she graduated as class valedictorian and had to deliver the speech at her graduation. She was the smallest kid on stage, both by age and size but she stood taller than all of them, when she received her trophies for the Most Outstanding Student and Highest GPA. His heart burst with pride for her that day. Yes, he was going to miss his sister.

After dinner, when everyone had left, it was time for Leah to open her presents. The rest of the Hunt children gathered around, eagerly, even though they all knew that the presents were not for them. The first present was a Mac Pro computer from Mom and Papa.

"Oh, my God, the new Mac Book Pro," Leah said. "I have been wanting this so badly, since it came out."

"Yeah," Cristina said. "I don't think Papa and I could have missed the picture of the computer that you slipped under our bedroom door."

"Well, it was just a hint," Leah said, shrugging her shoulders.

"I am just so glad that you like it," Owen said.

"I am so envious," Matt said, feeling the smoothness of the computer under his fingers.

"Don't worry, Matt," Owen said. "When you're ready to go to college, you will get a new laptop, too, with all of the bells and whistles."

"I will remember that," Matt said.

The grandparents (all three sets) were wise and had all decided to give her checks. It all came up to a grand total of $6,000. Leah had never had so much money in her life, before.

"Spend it wisely," Cristina said. "Your dad will be taking care of your living expenses but you shouldn't spend what your grandparents gave you, frivolously."

"I won't," Leah promised. There were a lot of other small presents from her Hunt cousins. The younger children – Elyse, Jakob and Lukas - had worked on a picture collage of the entire family and had put it in a large frame, decorated with seashells. "Thank you," she said, as she hugged her younger brothers and sister. The last present was from Matt. He handed it to her.

She opened it and gasped. It was a gold charm bracelet with several charms. "Each charm represents something in our lives. I had to look all over to get some of these. There is a small tropical fish because that is how we met. There is a princess and a Batman from our first Halloween. There is a flower basket from Mom and Dad's wedding because you fell down on the aisle and I picked you up. There is a violin because you used to play it for me, all of the time. There is a book because everyone knows you're the smartest girl. Finally, there is a graduation cap for when you graduate from college," Matt said. Leah burst into tears and hugged her brother. Cristina immediately started tearing up. She loved her kids so much.

"That's a wonderful present, Matt," Owen said, as he sniffled. He hugged his wife. They had raised such good kids.

"Thank you, everyone, for your presents," Leah said. "I am going to miss you so much." With the grown-ups, Leah and Matt all crying, the three younger ones started to cry, too. Only Amélie had no idea what was going on and wondered what was happening. Usually, she was the only one who was crying but today, it seemed like everyone else was crying. She just hugged her mother's legs.

The next day, everyone was at the airport to say goodbye to Leah. "Now, remember, Leah, read all of the signs carefully," Cristina said. "Ask questions if you get lost in the airport."

"Yes, mom, I know," Leah said.

"I already called your dad," Owen said. "He will be there at the airport, even before your plane arrives."

"Yes, papa, I know," Leah said. "I think I better go in. The security lines look long." First, she hugged her younger siblings, then Owen, then Matt.

"You better come home for Christmas," Matt said. He hugged his sister, tightly. They were going to miss each other so much.

"Yes, I am," Leah said. "You can bet on that."

Finally, she hugged her mother. Cristina was crying, freely. "My baby is leaving me. I never thought it would come this early. I thought I would have a couple more years."

Leah let her mother cry, as she wiped away her own tears.

"I gotta go, now, mom. I will be back for the holidays," Leah said. "That's just in a couple of months."

"Yes, yes," Cristina said, finally releasing her daughter. They watched as the small girl joined the security line. They watched until they could see her no more.

Everyone was quiet when they went home. Cristina was the saddest. She went to her bedroom and cried. Owen lay next to her and hugged her, close.

"Our first one, gone to college," Owen said. "Just think, we will have to do this, five more times."

"Oh, God," Cristina said. She could not bear the thought.

"It's okay, baby," Owen said. "They will leave us but we will always have each other."

Cristina looked up at him with love in her eyes.

THE END

A/N: So we have come to the end of another story. I hope you enjoyed reading about my AU CO family with lots of kids. Please leave your comments and tell me what you liked best about the story.