Author's Note: After not having watched TN regularly in years, I caught the wedding on TV Land. It took less than five minutes for me to get a story out of it. This is dedicated Melinda (samanddianefan10) for her constant encouragement of my writing, esp. for TN and Fran/Max. :)
Max looked around. He still couldn't believe it. He was here on a cruise, with Fran. His wife. For so long, he'd run from the commitment Fran so desperately wanted from him. He'd had plenty of reasons. The children. His own blue-blood family. The business Fran's obsession with celebrities could easily ruin. But love outweighed them all.
She was simply stunning, in her light pink wedding gown. The interfaith ceremony itself had been a miracle. Their two families had gotten together, and there was no bloodshed. For the most part, everyone had had a lovely time. But now, the newlyweds were alone in their cabin on this luxury cruise. "Fran, you have no idea how happy I am right now." Max caressed her cheek.
"You can't be half as happy as Ma!" Fran replied. "I mean, her daughter got married, and she got to eat an expensive meal. That's pretty much Ma's dream come true."
Max laughed. Before Fran, there hadn't been much laughter in his life. Every time he looked at her, he was reminded of all she'd done for his children. And for him. He thought of the conversation he'd had last night. He knew no one would believe him if he told them about it. Even Niles hadn't understood, and he'd been right there when it happened. But in his heart, Max knew it was very real. He couldn't keep it a secret. "There's something I have to tell you."
Fran narrowed her eyes at him. "If it involves you and another woman, I don't wanna hear it. You are not going to ruin my honeymoon before it starts!" She poked him in the chest repeatedly, punctuating each word.
Max smiled slightly. "It does involve another woman, but not the way you think. I saw my wife last night." A look of confusion came on Fran's face. "Sarah," he explained. "She...came to me. She told me it was OK to marry you. As much as I love you, Fran, I still love her, too."
Now Fran smiled. "Of course you do, Max. I don't the kids to forget their mother, and I don't want you to, either."
Relief washed over Max. Fran had always encouraged the kids to talk about their mother, but still, he felt slightly ashamed of the way he held onto the memories. "Sarah gave me an incredible gift. Three incredible gifts, actually."
The emotion in his voice touched Fran. "You love your kids," she said. It wasn't really a surprise. She'd known since the beginning that Maxwell wanted to be a good father. He just didn't have a clue how.
"Yes, Fran, I do. Before I met you, I thought the best way I could love my children was to provide for them, send them to the best private schools, make sure they had everything they wanted. But you taught me that what children want most from their parents isn't something that can be bought. Sarah may have given birth to my children, but you taught me how to love them."
"Max, don't be so hard on yourself. You were doing the best you could. All you needed was a little help. I guess it was lucky for both of us that I wound up on your doorstep!"
"Actually, I don't think it was luck," Max said, thinking again of what Sarah had told him.
"What do you mean?" Fran asked, in her trademark nasal voice.
That same voice that used to annoy Max now made him smile. "Well, according to Sarah, you didn't come to me by accident. I think she sent you."
Fran had always believed in fate. Looking back on it now, being fired by Danny Imperiali had actually been the best thing that had ever happened to her. Her decision to sell make-up door-to-door led her to find three kids who needed her, and a man who needed her even more. But this, finding out that Max's late wife had had a hand in bringing her to the Sheffields, well, it was just astonishing. It was the sort of thing that only happened in movies. Those sappy, romantic ones that she and Val used to watch over and over, praying that they would find true love. "She sent me?" Fran finally asked in disbelief.
Max nodded. "She must have known how badly we needed you. I just couldn't see it, Fran. For five years, I pushed you away. I gave you so many reasons to leave, and yet you never did."
Fran pulled him close, rubbing his back. "Sh, Max. It's OK. I showed up on your doorstep out of nowhere. I didn't really have a clue how to raise your kids any more than you did. I just knew they needed love. Thanks to Ma, I have plenty of that to give. Maybe we made a few wrong turns along the way. But the point is, we're here. And, even now, I sometimes wonder what a guy like you could see in a poor schlub like me."
"Fran, do you honestly not know how much I love you by now?"
"Well, a few examples wouldn't hurt," Fran teased, repeating what she'd told him when she refused to walk down the aisle.
"Oh, I could give you plenty. You know, I've done countless revivals of The Sound of Music over the years. Sure, everybody loves the show, all the songs, Julie Andrews. But to me, it was just another Broadway production. A way to finally make Sheffield-Babcock Productions famous. Now, I think about that story in a whole different way. That's us, Fran. Even in my work, you've changed everything. I've spent years denying my feelings, running from them every chance I could. But no more. I'm going to to spend the rest of my life making it all up to you."
Fran kissed him for a long moment. "There's nothing to be made up. I forgave you for everything a long time ago. You made mistakes, but you don't have to go around punishing yourself for the rest of your life."
In that moment, Max realized that he hadn't scratched the surface of the reasons to love her. How lucky was he? He'd fallen in love once and had three wonderful children. That would be enough for any man's life. But here he stood, ready to begin a new chapter. For a moment, he allowed himself to look out into the future. One day, he and Fran would be watching their children – because, no matter the genetics, Maggie, Brighton and Grace were truly theirs – raise children of their own. And somehow, he knew, he and Fran wouldn't be the only ones enjoying the moment. Sarah would be there, just as she'd been for the past five years.
The End