A/N: Don't kill me. I know this is so late but I got a job right after I posted chapter 3 and it's been so hectic… Seriously, with the exception of the first 2 paragraphs, this whole chapter was written at work. I hope you enjoy it!

They worked on him for three hours. At least that's what she faintly heard Shizune say by the time they began stitching him up. Itachi's wounds weren't necessarily too deep, but they were too many. The poison in his body didn't help, either. They'd started sealing them as soon as they received him, only for them to open up again and bleed all over the place. It didn't take them long to realise that the poison was making him haemorrhage, making his internal organs bleed as well, and it was way too late for an antidote.

They spent those three hours dividing their efforts, Sakura and Shizune in charge of extracting the poison, three other medics scrambling to control the internal bleeding and the constantly reopening wounds. By the time they got him under control and felt his organs stabilise enough, they were all on the verge of chakra exhaustion and had no other choice but to leave some junior medics to stitch his wounds closed instead of mending his flesh with chakra.

Sakura had almost burned herself out completely. They'd tried to get her to rest multiple times; Shizune even tried to pry her off of him more than once but Sakura only attached herself to Itachi more, muttering an absent 'not yet' whenever Shizune approached her. She pushed her chakra into him even harder, just kept pushing and pushing and pushing till she felt him stabilise under her, felt herself calm down, and finally allowed herself to be pulled away from him.

She stumbled out of the OR, trailing after Shizune, and barely registered as Mikoto snapped out of her chair as soon as she saw them, or Fugaku's hand almost painfully clutching his wife's shoulder, or even why Hanabi was there, her arm wrapped securely around Sasuke's, fingers entangled with his. She left them to Shizune to update them on Itachi's condition and made a beeline for the bathroom, barely managing to make it to the toilet before the bile in her throat forced itself out.

Sakura didn't even realise she was crying until a saltiness broke through the bitter taste of vomit in her mouth. She didn't know whether it was the chakra exhaustion or seeing Itachi like this, practically feeling him slip away from her, that caused her to empty the contents of her stomach completely, but she sat there on the floor, shaking and in tears until her stomach calmed down and her eyes dried out.

Managing to pull herself up, she slowly swayed towards the sink to wash her face and mouth, leaning with her hands on doors and walls the whole way lest she collapse again, then made her way back out into the corridor.

As soon as she was out of the door, Sakura found herself accosted by Sasuke, his arms wrapping around her so tightly that for a moment, she couldn't breathe.

"He's okay," Sasuke panted into her ear, "he's okay."

She nodded, her hands clutching his shirt and bunching it up in her palms, listening to him repeat the words over and over.

It felt like he was comforting himself more than he was comforting her, but Sakura knew that Sasuke could feel her distress, that he didn't care about its implications, only that his brother was alive and that Sakura herself was okay.

As they held each other in the corridor for more time than she felt pass, Sakura felt the tears spring up in her eyes again, and Sasuke dutifully held her through it.

Surprisingly enough, it didn't take much for Sasuke to convince his parents to go home and leave him with Itachi. His mother had raised an eyebrow at him when he requested for Sakura to be in charge of monitoring Itachi's recovery.

"She's the best." He felt the need to explain himself. His mother just shot him a long look before letting out a breath. They stayed for a while longer, checking up on Shisui as well, who was awake but under strict orders of bed rest, until they were sure that Itachi was stable but not going to awake anytime soon, and went home to rest at Sasuke's insistence.

Three days had passed since that day, and Sakura and Sasuke were almost glued to the chairs in Itachi's room by then. Itachi had woken up briefly a few times but was always too disoriented and slipped back into unconsciousness as quickly as he'd slipped out of it. Sakura made sure to avoid being in the room longer than necessary when anyone other than Sasuke was around but jumped back into the room at the earliest opportunity. She and Sasuke hadn't talked about her reaction after the surgery, but now Sakura could feel him almost burst with questions.

"I can hear you think, you know," she said finally. "I'm not going to break down, Sasuke, you can tell me whatever you need to say."

He didn't reply for a long time. Sakura thought for a moment that he had drifted off and hadn't heard her in the first place, but then he let out a resigned sigh and turned to her in his chair.

"I thought…," Sasuke started hesitantly, searching for the right words, "I thought that you were better… I'm not naive enough to think that you're over him with the way you were so attached to him, but just better."

"I thought I was, too." She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, finding the pattern of the floor tiles particularly interesting at that moment.

"I think I was distracted enough to forget how much I wanted him in my life. Especially with how I didn't really run into him as much anymore. We were doing a good job of avoiding each other."

"What changed?" Sasuke's tone was gentle. As if he was scared that saying the wrong thing will turn her into a crying mess again.

"I…" She hesitated, her gaze sliding over to Itachi's resting form, then back to the floor.

"I felt him, Sasuke," she whispered. "I felt him slip away from me. I felt his heart slow down and almost stop, and I could feel my heart stopping with him. And it wasn't just because of how scary the whole thing was," Sakura added hurriedly when she saw Sasuke open his mouth to interrupt her.

"It's just..." she continued, slowly, "it wasn't clinical this time, somehow. It was as if I felt his heartbeat in my chest, and every time I felt it stutter, he suddenly got worse and we had to scramble to stabilise him again before we lost him. And I had to try so hard and keep it together because I felt like I was losing myself with him too…"

"Maybe you were just too emotional, Sakura-"

"I was not," Sakura interrupted firmly, raising her head to look him straight in the eye. "It was not because I was emotional. It was different. I can't explain it, but it was different."

Sasuke stared at her with curious, scrutinising eyes. She held his gaze evenly, staring at him with eyes vibrant with defiance. He sighed.

"All of this past year," Sasuke started, "everything I've done- everything Shisui has done, was to make sure that you don't get hurt." His eyes shifted over to Itachi. "Neither of you."

"It hurt long before you knew, Sasuke," she muttered, "and it would've continued to hurt later. No matter how distracted we are, or who we are with. Even if we find ourselves with other people someday, there will still be something missing."

"You don't know that, though," he replied.

"I do know that," Sakura retorted. "And don't ask me how I know that either, because I just do. Itachi is…" she hesitated for a moment, "he's… different. Special. And I think even if I do find my soulmate one day, a piece of Itachi and the connection that we have would remain inside me."

Sasuke sighed, running his hand over his face.

"What were you going to do?" he asked, his tone resigned.

Sakura shrugged. "He'll have to wake up and tell me."

He groaned.

"Soulmates are troublesome," he muttered, resting his head on the back of his chair, eyes closed.

"I thought things were better with Hanabi." Sakura cocked her head to the side. "Wasn't she here with you a few times? You seemed less awkward the few times I passed by you."

Sasuke cracked one of his eyes open, only slightly. Looked at her from the corner of his eye. "It's complicated."

"Complicated how?"

"Just complicated," he mumbled and turned his head away from her direction.

"Oh no you're not." Sakura got up, grabbed his face in her hands and turned back towards her, squishing his cheeks a little.

"Complicated ho- are you blushing?"

He turned his face and attempted to bite at her fingers. She flicked him on the nose.

"You're blushing!"

"I'm not blushing, Sakura." Sasuke swatted her hand away when she tried to flick his forehead this time.

"Yes, you are. What happened?"

"Stop it, Sakura," Sasuke sighed, "Itachi's sleeping."

"Oh, don't be a child." Sasuke shot her a look. "What happened? Did you kiss her?"

His eyes widened and Sakura almost jumped with glee. "You did kiss her!"

"She kissed me, just so you know," Sasuke grumbled.

"Too flustered from a kiss, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura teased. He snorted.

"I might have been if I hadn't already kissed you when we were sixteen."

"Yes, that was quite a mess, wasn't it?" Sakura laughed and Sasuke rolled his eyes, though he was grinning at her still.

"Well, at least you liked it. Kami help you if you'd been stuck with an awful kisser." Sakura sighed dramatically.

"You kinda helped me lower my expectations, Haruno-" she elbowed him in the stomach, "so thank you." he continued, grunting slightly.

"I hate you." Sakura was pouting. He ruffled her hair, aggravating her further.

"Not after I get you that cup of coffee that you desperately need but have been too lazy to get." Sasuke got up, poking her one more time for good measure, and slipped quietly through the door.

Sakura shot a grateful look at his back, running a hand through her bubble gum locks to smooth them over. Itachi was still resting peacefully on the hospital bed, his chest rising and falling evenly with deep, healthy breaths.

It scared her to think about what would happen when he woke up. She might have been confident while talking to Sasuke about it, but inside, she was terrified. She didn't know what Itachi planned to do, and how accepting their friends and families might be of them. How supportive. Or what they had to give up… Sakura knew it would be hard, maybe even too hard for them to handle.

But it was worth it. He was worth it, or at least that was how Sakura felt. She was not going to let a tattoo dictate her choices or her feelings, not anymore.

Sakura might have been scared of what was to come. But she couldn't wait.

The first thing Itachi felt when he started coming to was a strange commotion. The last thing he remembered was his breath leaving him on a hospital gurney, so the weirdly cheerful voices were a little strange to him. Although, they were too dimmed and far away for him to judge if they really were cheerful, so far away as if he was listening to them from under water.

As suddenly as the voices came to him, they disappeared, drawing him back into silence, leaving him to try and gauge his surroundings.

His eyelids were still too heavy, but he was slowly peeling them open. He tried to call out to whoever it was that stayed behind in his room but could barely produce a groan. Apparently though, that was enough to alert the other occupant of the room to him rousing, and he could feel them cross the room hurriedly to his bed.

"Itachi?" he heard a soft voice murmur, gentle fingers brushing his forearm.

Sakura

He managed to groan again, a little louder this time, letting her know that he was awake, and felt the mattress dip beside him, her hand moving over to his chest.

"Can you open your eyes?" Sakura whispered, and Itachi managed to open them a crack, glimpsing her hazy face hovering above him before he had to close his eyes again.

She was patient, slowly encouraging him to keep in blinking until his vision became clearer. Tired, but more focused.

The first thing Itachi really saw when he came to was Sakura's bright smile, her emerald orbs shining with relief. He tried to sit up, only to have Sakura lay her hand on his chest and push him back down.

"You still need to lie down a bit, or you might throw up," she explained, "does your throat feel dry?"

He nodded weakly, and she got up to fill a cup of water for him, then helped him tilt his head up and drink slowly, wiping away a few drops that managed to escape to his chin.

"Better?" He nodded again and she grinned at him, and Itachi found himself trying to smile in return. Her smile only got warmer.

"You'll probably feel groggy for a few more hours- your body hasn't gotten enough rest yet." He saw her slip into 'Doctor Mode', like he would sometimes when he'd hear her talk to Sasuke when she healed him after missions.

"The bleeding was too extensive, but we got it under control, thank Kami," she continued, "but we'll still have to put you on electrolyte replacement therapy for a little longer to replenish all the fluid and nutrients you lost. And maybe blood transfusion if your haemoglobin or platelet count is too low, but I think the chakra treatment did a good job of that so far and oh hell, why am I even rambling about all of this now."

Itachi had to grin -as much as he physically could- at that. Sakura was out of her clinical persona just as suddenly as she'd jumped into it, now looking so adorably flustered, her cheeks dusted a rosy pink and her hand busy twirling her hair nervously around her finger.

He wanted to kiss her.

"You really scared me, you know," she spoke quietly. "For a moment there I thought that I lost you and I didn't know what I would do…"

Her lips had curved down as she remembered, a sad frown growing on her face. Itachi slid his hand over to where hers rested, ran his thumb in small circles around the back of her hand. Her expression immediately brightened.

"I am… very happy that you are awake, Itachi," Sakura breathed, taking his hand in hers and squeezing lightly, letting out a small laugh when he squeezed back in reassurance.

"Sasuke's getting coffee, I'll go tell him." She shifted, getting up. "He'll be so relieved-"

His hand remained attached to hers, pulling her back lightly. She looked quizzically at him.

"Do you need something?"

'You', he thought.

"I can get Shisui too! He's a few rooms down, and we just gave him the okay to wander about a little-"

Itachi pulled at her hand again, cutting her off. Making her sit back down on the edge of his bed.

"Itachi?"

He tried to push himself up again, grunted when she tried to voice her disapproval until she sighed in resignation and adjusted the back of the bed so he could sit up properly. As soon as he did, Itachi grabbed her shirt, pulling her down onto him abruptly.

She fell onto him with a surprised grunt, letting out a soft 'oh' once he drew her into his arms. Itachi felt her stiffen for a moment, then his fingers were rubbing soothingly at her back, and she relaxed into his embrace.

They remained like this for a few short moments, awkwardly embracing before Sakura adjusted herself slightly and tentatively raised her hands to wrap around his chest. Her face tucked into his neck, the soft puffs of air from her breath warm on his skin.

Itachi held on to her as tightly as he could. He'd waited for so long just to catch a glimpse of her, to steal a touch, just a rushed brush of skin. But he didn't have to anymore. Because Sakura was his to touch and hold and love for as long as he lived.

The notion was still overwhelming.

He kept an arm wrapped around her torso, running his other hand through her soft tresses. Tugged on them gently. She pulled back a little and his fingers were instantly on her face, caressing her cheeks, thumb running over her nose, across her lips. Sakura watched him from beneath hooded eyes, unconsciously inching her face closer to his.

"Itachi," she sighed, nuzzling his palm, and he tightened his arm around her. He didn't think he'd ever tire from hearing his name on her lips.

He could feel her breath on his face now, tickling his mouth and pulling him to her as if by some invisible magnetic force. Cupping her face in his hands, he tilted her face up slightly and slowly pulled her closer, running smooth circles with his thumbs over her cheeks. She sighed again.

"May I kiss you?" he rasped out, his lips barely brushing against hers when he spoke.

"Hmm?" she mumbled, seemingly too intoxicated by his proximity to her to be fully aware of her surroundings.

Itachi kissed her cheek, planting a soft trail of kisses from her cheek to the corner of her mouth, lingering there expectantly.

"May I kiss you, Sakura?" he asked again, his voice clearer this time. He felt her nod absently then suddenly freeze, a soft 'what' escaping her mouth in a surprised whimper.

Then as abruptly as she'd fallen into his arms, she was pushing off of him, scrambling to stand beside the bed. He tried to reach for her, but she took a step back, her eyes wide in shock and fingers frozen over her mouth.

"Sakura-"

"I… what did you-" She gave a tiny shake of her head, backing off and almost bumping into Sasuke, who chose that moment to walk in with two cups of coffee in his hands. He smoothly stepped around her, nimbly placing the cups on a nearby table and approaching his friend slowly.

"Sakura, what-"

"Sakura, please," Itachi interrupted, extending his arm towards her. "We'll just talk."

But Sakura wouldn't listen. She just shook her head again and turned around, almost running out of the room.

Itachi's shoulders dropped as he watched his brother close the door after her, the younger man sighing tiredly.

"What did you do, Itachi?"

He could clearly read Sasuke's expression; torn between relief at his brother's awakening and exhausted exasperation at his relationship with his best friend.

Itachi gulped.

"She's mine, Sasuke…"

"I guessed as much," Sasuke snapped, "but what did you do? She was perfectly willing to comply with whatever you had planned before you woke up. That didn't look like willing to me."

"No, Sasuke, you don't understand, she…" Itachi took a breath, quelling down the butterflies fluttering aggressively in his chest lest he start grinning like an idiot in front of his brother.

"Sakura's mine," he finally admitted. "She's my soulmate."

Sasuke froze, his eyes bugging out of their sockets. Itachi almost laughed.

"What did you tell her?" Sasuke asked hesitantly. Itachi looked down at his lap.

"Itachi, what did you say?" Sasuke urged.

"I asked for permission to kiss her," he replied quickly. His face was getting warm. He resisted the urge to press it into a pillow like a bashful teenager. In front of his younger brother, no less…

The same brother that let out a short, incredulous laugh. Itachi looked up to find him grinning disbelievingly.

"Shit," Sasuke laughed again, running a hand through his hair.

"Shit."

It was Sasuke who eventually explained the whole thing to both of them. Or at least he told Sakura that he talked with his brother about it.

"Okay, so let me try to understand this one more time," Naruto began. "He came over behind you after you finished sparring with Sasuke and picked on him because of his genjutsu, yes?"

"Yes, Naruto," Sakura sighed.

"And you thought he was actually teasing you and his words were all wrong, yes?"

"Yes, Naruto."

"And then you babbled an excuse to Sasuke-"

"To no one in particular."

"-to no one in particular," he continued, paying no mind to the interruption, "and ran off and he thought you were also talking to him then?"

"For the fifth time, yes, Naruto!" Sakura snapped, her patience running thin. "Why do you keep on asking over and over?!"

"Because I'm trying to look for a scenario in which two of the smartest people in our village are not complete idiots!" He cried in return, just as irritated. "Because I thought I was the pea-brain in this group, but honestly, Mr. and Mrs. Moron here take the cake!"

"Naruto!" Sakura spluttered, unsure whether she should be amused or offended. Beside her, Sasuke tried -and failed- to conceal a snort of mirth.

"And you spent a whole year after without saying one word to each other? How do you even do that? For a whole freaking year? I would've thought you at least had a half-decent discussion regarding your feelings. But nooo," he waved his arms around dramatically, "you just spent a year making googly eyes at each other and being all angsty because of it."

Sakura looked irked. "It wasn't just googly eyes, okay? We had a connection."

"That you did absolutely nothing about except cry and brood." Naruto pointed out. "Assuming you really didn't turn out to be soulmates, you didn't even get proper closure.

"Do you have any idea how badly Teme here has been moping?" he continued, "this really affected him too, you know."

"I do not mope." Sasuke interjected. Naruto ignored him.

"He'll never admit it, but he's been hurting a lot because both of you were in so much pain, two people who are very important to him." Sasuke shot him a dirty look. Naruto ignored him again. "And he's been really supportive through all of it too."

"Yeah, he's a good Teme." Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, mumbling a soft apology into his shoulder.

"Don't call me that," Sasuke muttered, though half-heartedly, but didn't push her away.

"Well what are you going to do about it now?" the blond asked. Sakura sighed.

"Well, I should probably offer you guys a better apology for this past year. I can treat you to some ramen. And I really need to apologise to Ino too-"

"Not about this," Naruto moaned in exasperation. He looked just about ready to punch her in the face.

"About Itachi? You know, the one who's finally your soulmate?"

"Oh," Sakura muttered, "umm… I don't… know."

The blond looked scandalised.

"She ran out when he said the words," Sasuke explained. Their friend looked ready to cry.

"You've been so desperate for him then you run out on the poor man as soon as you find out you can have him?" Naruto wailed. "What is wrong with you?! Now he's even more confused!"

"Actually, he knows," Sasuke cut in. "He knew before he passed out at the hospital."

"He did?" Sakura blinked in surprise. Sasuke nodded.

"He says you told him to stay with you?"

"Huh?" She wracked her brain for that specific memory, seemingly having no recollection of it. Then it suddenly clicked.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "I was just… I was just trying to keep him from losing consciousness."

"Well, that was it," Sasuke shrugged. "He just didn't get a chance to tell you after he said… you know," he finished lamely.

Sakura was silent after that, and the boys didn't push her. Though she could feel their expectant eyes on her the whole time.

"Is he mad?" she asked quietly. Sasuke sighed.

"He's not mad. And he's not upset either. He understands that it was a bit of a shock to you and is giving you some space," he explained.

"But," he continued before she could respond, "you should talk to him. It's been a week, and he won't push you or come find you, but I know he's starting to feel anxious."

When she didn't respond again, she felt Sasuke nudge her with his elbow.

"He's home now. Shizune discharged him last night. My father's not home and my mother will only be too glad to let you two talk this out. So, go to him," he encouraged and Sakura felt herself nod.

They watched her silently as she got up, shuffling out of Naruto's living room. She heard Naruto sigh behind her, muttering something under his breath that made Sasuke kick him -or at least she thought he did- and tell him to stop being too annoying.

She paid them no mind, closing the door to the apartment behind her and taking a deep breath, her feet already moving in the direction of the Uchiha compound.

Sakura reached the main house about half an hour later, choosing to walk there instead of sprinting across the rooftops.

It took less than a minute for Uchiha Mikoto to open the door for her, the woman not seeming surprised at all to see her. In fact, it appeared as if the Uchiha Matriarch had even been expecting her.

"He's in the garden," was what the older woman said before she turned and headed to the kitchen, a tiny smile playing on her lips.

Sakura hesitated a little, rolling her shoulders. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't shaking nervously on the inside. But she was here now, and her walk here had given her ample time to calm down.

She found him near the edge of the garden, sitting cross-legged in a meditative pose, seemingly basking in the warm spring sunlight.

Sakura forced herself to keep her balance. In a mesh shirt and loose black pants, looking so serene, he was absolutely breathtaking.

Before she could let some of her chakra seep out to alert him of her presence, he opened one eye and his lips stretched into a small smile.

"You don't need to do that," he said in that smooth tenor that almost made Sakura run back into the house to collect herself, "I could feel you as soon as you entered the compound."

Sakura smiled wryly. "Is that an ANBU captain thing?"

Itachi opened his other eye, smiled at her more fully. "More like a soulmate thing."

Her smile faltered somewhat. Itachi got up and reached his hand out to her.

"Come here," he asked gently, and Sakura could feel her legs carry her over to where he stood. He took her hand in his and led her to a shaded spot by the small pond. Itachi sat with his back to the wall, his legs spread out in front of him. Sakura plopped down in front of him, her legs tucked underneath her.

"I'm…" she started hesitantly, running a nervous hand through her hair, "I'm sorry that I left like this. And that I didn't come back after, that…" She took a breath. Exhaled shakily. "That wasn't very pleasant of me. Or considerate. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologise," he assured. "I know it was quite the surprise for you."

"Yeah, I didn't really expect this to be the way my soulmate gets revealed to me."

"Oh really?" Itachi's eyes glinted with amusement. "Your soulmate's first words are a request to kiss you and you didn't expect them while he was actually in an intimate position with you?"

A laugh bubbled out of her before she could stop herself. She felt her face flame up and covered it with her hands.

"Oh Kami," she laughed, her voice muffled by her hands. She rubbed her forehead, looking over at him.

"When you put it like that…" she blushed harder when she saw his chest vibrate with laughter, a low chuckle that sounded like music to her ears.

"I guess I was too preoccupied to think of that properly," Sakura threw back at him, saw his eyes widen briefly before he laughed again.

She missed that happy smile on his face.

Their laughter subsided shortly after, and they found themselves staring back at each other. Their gazes nervous, slightly curious. But full of tenderness, and a hint of longing.

"I don't want to rush," Itachi spoke first. "I know we've both been wanting this for a long time, and maybe we were fated to wait…"

He sighed softly, then continued, "fate might have been immensely cruel, but perhaps this was the only way for us to say the right words. And while I was willing to do whatever it took to be with you regardless, I'm glad we did."

"I'm really happy that you're my soulmate," Sakura admitted weakly, "because I knew that this was more than just passing attraction, and I'm happy that we can start building up on what we have now… freely."

Somehow, her hand had found its way to his leg while she was speaking, and it now rested on his knee, her fingers unconsciously rubbing circles over it. He reached over and tangled his fingers with hers.

"We'll take our time," Itachi promised squeezing her hand, "I'll get to know you. All of you. So I can love all of you properly."

"Yes…" Sakura's voice was breathy even to her own ears. Itachi tugged her hand forward and she got up on her knees, crawling over to him.

He drew her onto his lap, bending his knees so he could envelop her body completely. Sakura happily snuggled into him.

A few minutes of him cuddling her close to his chest and playing with her hair had her huffing out a laugh.

"This feels just…" she trailed off.

"Just right?" Itachi finished for her.

"Yes!" She nodded happily, her voice full of wonder.

Itachi's hands trailed up her back and neck to hold her face, drawing her back from him. Just a little bit.

His features were arranged into that smile that made her insides melt. And he watched her for a few long moments, his fingers lightly caressing her face.

"You're so beautiful when you smile," he murmured, grazing the skin right above her lips with his thumb. Sakura felt her lips stretch as she beamed at him. Itachi pulled her close once more, nuzzling her forehead with his nose. Then tilting her face up to be in line with his.

"May I?" he whispered and Sakura felt her heart stutter.

She sat up on her knees, her hand finding their way up to rest on his chest, leaning closer.

When her lips touched his, Sakura could almost swear that she felt his heartbeat inside of her, beating perfectly in tandem with hers, fluttering and quickening in pace as their lips met over and over.

Itachi buried his fingers in her hair again, his other hand stroking her back as his lips moved slowly against hers, soft and smooth and perfect.

Sakura pecked his lips one more time, then lightly pressed a kiss to his cheek, leaning back an inch so she could look into his eyes.

"Always."

A/N: Well that's the end of it folks… Not really, there's an epilogue. This is too cheesy of a note to end the story on. Not too cheesy to end the chapter on, though. I'm not too happy about this chapter, but if I'd kept on overthinking, it would never get posted. So I'll do better in the epilogue (hopefully) Please Review! ^_^