Here is the final chapter of my story. :)

"I missed you," Cooper grinned as he met Charlotte in the office parking-lot. He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I saw something," Charlotte grinned as they walked to the office. "But I shouldn't be the one to tell you."

"Does it have anything to do with us?" Cooper asked.

Charlotte shook her head. "A mutual friend," she assured him as they headed down the hall.

"How would you like to take an early lunch today?" Cooper asked as they got to the elevator.

"I'd love to," Charlotte grinned, sealing the date. They held hands as they rode the elevator car together. The final bell dinged as they parted ways to start the morning.

In the lobby Addison paced back and forth on the carpet. Pete hadn't come home last night, and she had a pretty clear idea of where he had been. She crossed her fingers that last night hadn't turned ugly between Pete and Violet. Ideally Addison had wanted to talk to Violet herself, but she didn't know when or where to begin. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Pete and Violet walk in together. Violet offered her a small wave as she headed to her office.

Pete gave Addison a hug. "I'm sure you're wondering about last night."

"A little bit," she joked lightly as they walked to the open conference room.

"You'll be happy to know that Violet is calling off the lawyer."

Addison clapped her hands together. "That's wonderful," she grinned, wondering why Pete did not seem happier. Pete closed the door to the room and gestured for Addison to have a seat.

"There's something that I need to tell you, and it won't be easy, so I'm just going to do it now." Addison was silent as she listened to Pete talk.


Charlotte distractedly scrolled through her emails one last time before she met Cooper for lunch. She struggled to keep her mind on her work as she thought about the current object of her affection.

A knock on the door made her smile as she stood up and brushed off her skirt. Opening the door she beamed as Cooper extended a red rose to her. "You're sweet," she said as she kissed him on the mouth. She pulled him inside as she placed the flower in a glass of water.

Cooper offered her his arm as they walked to the parking lot. They drove to a local outdoor bistro and grabbed an outdoor table. As they ordered their drinks, Cooper patted his pocket, making sure that he had what he needed for the afternoon. He had something important to do today, something that he wanted to get out of the way so that he could move on with his relationship with Charlotte.

"You look serious," Charlotte said lightly as she sipped her first martini.

He pulled the paper out of his pocket. "There's something that I've wanted to tell you for a while, I just haven't had the right opportunity."

Charlotte tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and beckoned for Cooper to continue.

He pushed the paper towards Charlotte. "I hope you're proud of how far I've come this last year….since you joined the practice."

"I know you've curved your impulse purchases," Charlotte commented as she opened the paper. "Bought fewer little toys for your bachelor pad." Her eyes widened as she looked at a crisp $50,000 check. "Oh Cooper," she breathed. "You didn't have to…"

"I wanted to," he insisted. "I wanted to pay my debt to you."

"You were never indebted to me," she said softly, slightly offended. "I never asked for the money."

"I want us to start over," Cooper reasoned. "And you know that I was going to pay you back at some point."

"I guess I didn't think that it would be so soon."

"You didn't think I could do it," he countered with a raised eyebrow.

"You know that's not true," she insisted, a little taken aback. "I don't want to fight."

"Me neither," Cooper reasoned. "Which is why I wanted to put the money issue behind us."

Charlotte let out a sigh. "I'm very proud of you." She gave Cooper a small smile. "Does this change anything about our relationship?"

"Only if we let it," Cooper promised. "I want to move on with you."

"Then we're agreed," she smiled as the food arrived.

"While we're on the subject of moving on," Cooper segued, "How would you like to move back in with me?"

"We just got back together," Charlotte laughed. "You want me to move in this weekend?"

"Why not?" he grinned. "You're going to move in at some point, why not sooner?"

"Violet for one," Charlotte reasoned. "I don't know if she's ready to be alone yet."

Cooper nodded his head. "But you will move in again someday," he prodded.

"Yes," she promised. Charlotte and Cooper continued to talk over lunch as they caught up on months of being apart.


Violet Turner buried her nose in one of her text books. She hadn't seen Pete or Addison at all that morning and was beginning to wonder how things were going. She had told Pete this morning that she wasn't in too much of a hurry for him to break the news to Addison, not wanting to deal with the fallout from a friend. Taking a deep breath, she stood up to stretch her legs, and nearly collided with Pete as he came into her office.

"It's handled," he told her, pushing her back into the office.

"How is she?" Violet asked.

"I think she understands," Pete conceded. "She knew that our relationship was more about Lucas than us."

"I don't want to cut her out of his life….she can see him whenever she wants."

Pete grinned at her; "A baby-sitter," he smiled.

Violet kissed him on the cheek, telling him that she wanted to talk to Addison on her own and make sure that she was feeling okay with everything. Pete patted her on the side, knowing that his old Violet, the one who cared about others feelings more than her own, was finally back.


Addison was holding another one of her barbeques on her beachfront property. The barbeques had become a bit of Oceanside Wellness tradition when Addison unceremoniously joined the practice a few years back. The family had grown since then to include new members and colleagues.

Sam helped Addison work the grill as Charlotte and Cooper cuddled under a blanket on the beach. Pete and Violet rocked baby Lucas in his bouncy seat while Naomi and Sheldon poured drinks for everyone.

Charlotte snuggled closer to Cooper, content to feel his warmth. "I like this," she said softly. Looking at Cooper she added, "I never had this as a little girl."

Cooper smiled at Charlotte; after hearing all of the horrible stories about her childhood, he was amazed at how adjusted she seemed as an adult. "You'll never lose this feeling," he promised, entwining their hands together.

As Charlotte breathed in the outside air she hoped that Cooper was right; one of the biggest lessons that Big Daddy had taught her before he died was to never walk alone. He wasn't a touchy-feeling man, but he knew the importance of family, and instilled it in his only daughter. Looking up at the stars, she imagined him smiling at her tonight, proud of the woman she had become and for all of the wonderful opportunities that awaited her.