The One Where Everyone Has a Happy Ending
December 2015
Central Perk Café New York.
Sipping from a huge mug of coffee Emily reflected on the past year. It had been a busy year since Daniels death and Emily had begun to question her takedowns. She did love Daniel and one of her biggest regrets was his death but she learnt a lot from it. She knew that her relationships were now the most important things and she needed to protect them at all costs. Her mission had to end but first her father needed help in something that he was not informing her of. After following him one day she discovered that he planned to kill Victoria, unfortunately she was not quick enough to stop him and Victoria had died. Not before however giving a full confession to everything her family had ever done starting from the flight 197 framing to deceiving David of Emily's real identity and putting her in harm's way when tipping of Kate. Victoria dies ashamed and most importantly disgraced adding on top of her pain of losing her son in the same way David lost his daughter. The police blamed her death on suicide after losing her son so no more was to be done about it. Victoria had no one who loved or cared for her anymore so no one would question it. It wasn't what Emily had planned but it meant that her father could feel retribution and they could begin to move on with their lives. The stress of Daniel's death caused Margaux to miscarry, something Emily was truly regretful of but that next year Margaux moved back to France where she married a rich business man and had a new family of her own.
Jack final made it to Haiti. After so many years Jack was finally free of the people who made his life hell. Perhaps Emily was included in that list. Emily was always important to Jack and him to her resulting in them moving apart for each other's own good. Emily had brought about so much destruction to Jack's life; Amanda, Declan but she also brought Carl into his life and for that she would always be important to him. Jack knew he needed a new start and so put his caring nature to good use by finally sailing with Carl to help the people in Haiti. Emily knew it was the perfect job for him and so their goodbyes were amicable. Six months after moving there Jack met a woman and they fell in love. She was kind natured like Jack and most importantly she was who she said she was and both Jack and Carl loved her to bits. Their wedding will be in three months and another baby will be due a month after. Carl will have a mother once again as well as a sibling to love and protect and Jack will finally be happy. This was all Emily cared about after what she had put him through and was thankful that he had found a new life for himself.
Emily had been to visit Charlotte in rehab a few times and went along with her father to deliver the news of her mother's death.
'I'm sorry to tell you Charlotte but Victoria is dead, she killed herself after your brother died' Emily explained.
Charlotte cried for a few minutes. She then cleared her eyes and said 'My mother was a very bad person who did horrible things to so many people but she was my mother and she did love me to. If it's okay I would like to go lay down'. After Charlotte went back to her room David and Emily went to visit her doctor and managed to find a way, with the help of Nolan, they managed to get the doctor into releasing Charlotte to David and Emily's care after she had an observation to make sure she was okay. Emily knew she was no longer on drink or drugs and so changing her records a bit would not do her any harm. The next day Emily drove to pick up her sister. Charlotte got into the car and just sat there in silence for a while until she asked 'Emily, where do I live now?'
'Well that's up to you Charlotte. You have a dad and sister who love you very much but we thought it may be good for you, for all of us really, if we moved out of the Hamptons for good and found somewhere else to live. Any ideas?'
'I know the perfect place' said Charlotte with a smile that Emily had not seen in a long while.
New York was the perfect place for them all to live. Charlotte had been offered a job at one of the top fashion studios in the world where she was working as the main creative director of the company after working her way up from pouring coffee for people who worked in the industry her talents were finally noticed and she was offered a job. It was the perfect job for Charlotte and she was finally happy. Charlotte was creating her own life and her own name for herself. David and Emily could not have been prouder. Emily also thought it was a good idea if they downsized a bit. While New York was an expensive place to live keeping a low profile was this family's new plan. To not be living a flashy lifestyle where anyone could know there business and so they bought a flat above a small coffee house called Central Perk.
Across the hall from David and Charlotte lived Emily and Nolan. After waving off Jack and Carl, Emily and Nolan knew where they stood with each other. They had been best friends for many years now and never thought of anything more until the moment where it was all over. Emily realised what she wanted and what she wanted was Nolan by her side always. She loved him.
'Nolan, now that this is all over, would you like to go on a date with me?'
Nolan was taken aback by this startling realisation but he was more taken aback by the feeling that there was nothing on earth he would rather do and that he loved her. Their first date was a simple picnic on the beach. Not Nolan's usual flashy style but he knew that simple was what Emily wanted and he would do anything to make her happy. By April 2015 they were engaged to be married. It was Emily who proposed to Nolan. Nolan had been planning on doing it for weeks but he didn't want Emily to know and so kept it a secret from her, not something that was easy to do and so often mislead her into believing that he never ever wanted to get married as he wasn't the marrying type. Emily loved Nolan but she couldn't help feeling upset by this, unknowing to that fact that Nolan was secretly planning everything with Louise. Louise being a gossip and sloppy at lying Emily found out and so when Nolan was coming home one day Emily had filled the entire flat with candles and proposed to him;
'Nolan, I never thought that I would fall in love with my best friend but you are my prince, my soul mate and I love you, will you marry me?'
Nolan by this point was sobbing like a baby which of course sent Emily off until they were both a pair of sobbing blondes until they heard a knock on the door where David, Charlotte, Louise were waiting outside to congratulate them. Everyone knew that one day it what happen and while David was very protective over his daughter he could not think of anyone better for Emily to spend the rest of her life with. He would have warned Nolan to protect her but everyone knew that Emily would do the protecting in this marriage. That night they all went out for a family meal to celebrate where Nolan announced that he had been offered a new job working as an inventor that creates gadgets to help make the FBI give more thorough investigations. The money was no way near as much as he was earning before but Nolan could say he was doing honest work and helping make sure that what happened to David and his family would never happen again.
It was that morning after where Emily was sat in Central Perk, lounging on sofa with a book in one hand and a hot chocolate in the other. Emily was now in charge of several charities that helped all sorts of people her main role was making sure that the money went to the people it deserved to and raising money and awareness for all. Every day was now filled with happiness and love but this morning Emily felt like there was something different. She had been feeling ill for a few days and so assumed it was that but it was not until a rudimentary trip to the doctor's that Emily felt all that disappear and a new feeling replaced everything negative that had ever happened. At 4pm Nolan came through the door of the café, loosening his tie as he entered.
'Hey babe' he said kissing Emily on the cheek as he sat down next to her, 'how was your day?'
'Nolan, I'm not sure I understand how but, I'm pregnant.'
'What, how? I thought after the shooting you were infertile?'
'I was at the doctors this morning, I thought it was the flew but…' with this Emily burst into tears. These were not the same tears that she had shed over Aiden's or Amanda's death but tears of relief and happiness. Nolan cupped her face into his large hands,
'We are going to be parents?'
'We are going to be parents!' she said grinning from one ear to the other.
Three years later it was Christmas again and they were sat in Central Perk once more sipping hot drinks with jolly Christmas music playing in the background and the smell of mince pies coming from the café's kitchen. On one side of Emily sat little David wearing a much too big for him Christmas jumper and hat playing with his new Christmas presents, on the other was Nolan (wearing a matching Christmas hat and jumper to his sons) holding his hand protectively over Emily's stomach, now swollen with baby Amanda who was due in the next few weeks. Charlotte had never felt more fulfilled. Now an aunt to three, she was also the CEO of her own fashion company and engaged to the most caring man who worked at the museum. She was no longer the spoilt petty teenage girl but a strong woman who had nothing but love for her family and friends. This was something everyone was so proud of her for accomplishing. David had moved out of the apartment to make room for Charlotte and her new husband and was now retired, spending most of his time volunteering making sure people got what they deserved. Emily hoped one day that David would meet someone new and settle down again but she could tell that right now he was happy on his own, spending time with his grandchildren and making sure they never got the upbringing that his Amanda got. Louise and Nolan remained firm friends, it took a while for Emily to like her but now she could not imagine Louise and her not being good friends. Louise got into acting and had just starred in her first major film after years of only getting crummy plays and adverts (and picking up lots of men in the process) she had finally landed her big break. Emily was happy for her, Nolan was ecstatic, even if she was not the best role model to have around the children, and they all loved 'Aunt Louise'. Jack and his wife had moved to New York after the Haiti project finished and now was running the charity from New York and his wife ran her own massaging business. Their family was ever growing now with a fourth one on the way they couple sat round the table enjoying their last few minutes of peace before picking up the children from day care. Nearly every day they all sit on sofas around the coffee table now; Nolan, Emily and their children, her father, her sister and her sister's fiancé, the Porters and Louise swapping stories of love, their jobs and parenthood, none of them ever talking about their old life because here now in the moment everybody was happy. It was a place full of such love and joy, the past seeming like a million years ago. During the midst of conversation of who was holding Christmas lunch Emily turned to Nolan, looked him in his eyes and smiled. This was met by a kiss from Nolan on Emily's head to which she announced,
'Merry Christmas Nolan, I love you'
'I love you too Ems, I am so proud of us'
Emily snuggled into Nolan's chest she was so proud of them too. They had truly created a new life for themselves and she could finally say that everything was perfect. She was surrounded by the people she loved and who loved her. There had never been a more perfect moment in any of their lives.