There are some slight changes in this chapter compared to episode 13. I thought it odd that Sammy's family was not at the inaugural ceremony for his memorial on the show, so I have them listed as guests here. Patrick's character also shows up. He taught Sammy too and it made sense for him to be there. I toyed with the idea of bringing in Ethan as well, but thought it would create clutter.

Also, I would like to thank all of you who have taken the time to read this story and leave reviews. A special thanks to cassie, Mello, goodgirl21 and AC.

And lastly, I wanted to wish "Happy birthday" to Ilovereadingtoomuch. Hope this chapter has the fluff you are looking for!

The official inauguration was finally here! The Center was bustling with activity. Christian was ushering a part of the crowd that had showed up. Some of his old classmates were helping him as well. He stopped for a moment and looked at the commotion around him. He could see silent Luke guiding some of the parents to their chairs. How funny was it that they had all thought of him as mute, while apparently he could speak! Ollie was seen chatting with Jaden and some of his other students. He was probably making sure they knew the chory well enough. Christian smiled at the scene. He could remember a time when Ollie had wanted nothing to do with Jaden. Ben seemed to be in a serious conversation with Zach whereas Grace and Abigail were giggling like schoolgirls. Ms. Raine was talking to Patrick, all the while checking and smiling at her goddaughter.

As he looked at the entrance and wondered where Tara and Kat were, his thoughts materialized. He had eyes only for Tara though. She looked beautiful and ethereal to him even garbed in a simple floral dress cinched at her waist with a belt. Her eyes seemed to be searching for someone as well as she looked around the place. As they came to rest on him, he saw her face light up. He could feel an answering smile on his own.

His feet couldn't get him to her fast enough. "Hi Beautiful!" he gushed. She reddened and he made a mental note to tell her more often how lovely she was. He memorized everything about her. About how her eyes were bright and her cheeks pink with anticipation, her lips trembling with apprehension, and a small v between her brows indicating worry. He wanted to hold her close, smooth her brows, and tell her everything was going to be ok. Before he could voice his thoughts, someone called out to him. It was Ben, pointing towards Sammy's parents and younger brother. He was showing Dr. Leiberman, his wife and Ari to their seats. Christian gave an apologetic glance towards Tara and headed over to greet them. Shortly, they were joined by all of Sammy's friends.

All too soon, it was time for the ceremony to begin. All conversation stopped as the former Academy students took their seats. Zach stepped up to the stage and announced Tara in. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to welcome you to the official opening of the new Samuel Lieberman Memorial Studio. I'd like to introduce former student and Sammy's close friend Tara Webster to make the commencement speech."

Tara stepped on the dais with her hand clutching her diary as if it was her lifeline. Despite all her preparations, she still felt anxious. As she took a deep breath and looked at her friends in the audience, Kat gave her an encouraging smile. Tara looked at all the people waiting for her to speak. She realized they were all here because they loved Sammy. And they loved dancing. Her nervousness slowly left her and she smiled at the crowd as she began. "The irony is, out of all of us, Sammy is the one you want making this sort of speech. Because he truly got the bigger picture….that dance shouldn't be about chasing accolades or even perfection. It is about bringing people together. I have been thinking a lot about that since I left the academy. And in third year, we missed his Sammyesque wisdom every day."

She presented an insight into their lives as third year students at the Academy. She talked about how great a dancer and an even greater person Sammy had been, and how she had depended on him. She regaled the crowd with some funny incidents that had occurred during their first two years together there. As she talked about her injury and rehab she could see several people tearing up, including Abby and Ms. Raine.

"So even though I had decided I wouldn't feel sorry for myself, rehab wasn't a walk in the park. In fact, I'd never take a walk in the park for granted again, much less dancing. I am going to fight as hard as I can to get back to where I was. But if that doesn't happen, I don't dance professionally, I know I'll be okay. I came to the Academy to be the best ballerina I could be. What I took away was courage; to stop and wonder at a blank page, the open road; to dream big but also wide, allowing room for new dreams, unexpected ones. Because the point was never achieving the dream, it was about having one… and pouring everything into it."

In conclusion, she stated, "It's funny. I have no idea what happens next, but I am excited about finding my own way to make it count. The way Sammy did. He would have loved this space, where anyone can dream and dance… I now declare it officially open." The spectators burst into applause, and her face broke out into a wide smile. She had done it!

Soon after, the crowd dispersed onto the floor. There was chatter and laughter all around as people socialized. As Tara stood there watching them, she was approached by her former mentor. "That was very moving, Tara! Sammy would be so proud!"

"Thanks Ms. Raine!"

"So, do you have any plans for your future? Other than trying to get back into the Academy?"

"During my time in rehab, I discovered that I really enjoy writing. So, I have enrolled myself in an online course for English literature."

"It's probably tough for you, but I am glad you are thinking beyond dancing."

"There is something I need your opinion about," Tara handed over her novel to her. "It's not a book yet and, I'm pretty sure it won't get published but, it's about us…at the academy."

Meanwhile, Tara noticed Christian walk up to the center of the space and announce, "This place is about dancing. So, how about we do some?" A corner of her brain registered he appeared confident, a turnaround from when he had strained to give a speech during their graduation. He had apparently trained his students to perform a contemporary piece. But to Tara's surprise, their other friends Ollie, Ben, Grace, Abby and Kat joined Christian and his students. As she watched them twirl in the air in unison, she realized that it was not a spur of the moment thing, and that someone had carefully planned this.

She slowly leaned against one of the pillars and massaged her back. It wasn't really hurting, but was a reminder of why she wasn't dancing with her friends. She watched each of her friends in turn and realized how much they had changed over the course of almost four years. She herself wasn't that wide-eyed bambi anymore. They had all turned into mature adults. Ben's words from the day before came back to her as she saw how content Christian looked. Abigail smiled more too, now that she thought about it.

She was sad to not be able to partake in the dance, yet oddly happy at the choice of the song. The lyrics felt strangely similar to how she felt about dancing, about how she equated dancing with flying. She beamed as she saw Ben lift Grace up high and whirl around. It was hard not to feel joy at the beauty of it all!

As the others continued to dance, Christian walked over to her side. She asked him in amazement, "I can't believe…how did you all organize this?"

"This is the Thank You dance. Better late than never!" Christian said. It had been his attempt to do that something special for her. He had choreographed the song, trained his students and sent a video to all the other involved to ensure there were no mess-ups. He was glad that she recognized his effort. The smile on her face made everything worth it.

"Come on," he said. "It was your idea."

Tara was alarmed. "You know that I had my first class only a month ago!"

It was now or never, Christian told himself. Taking a deep breath, he took her hands in his and said, "We'll take it slow. We'll figure it out together." As he saw her glance down at their hands, a part of him worried that she might refuse him. He willed her to understand what he was trying to convey.

Tara had heard those words before. As she looked into his eyes, she knew that this time he referred not just to dancing. She understood that he was telling her that he wanted to be with her. She was overwhelmed as she thought of how hard he must have worked, to make her thank you dance happen. She thought her heart was going to burst with joy! She smiled and nodded at him. Kat rushed to her side and hugged her. Tara knew then that Kat had been a part of Christian's plan all along. She wasn't mad at her friend in the least. How could she be!

Christian felt delighted at her response. He gently pulled her onto the dance floor. With his hands at her waist, he guided her to her position. Tara felt all the blood rush to her face as she was overcome with a million different emotions. She tried to cover her cheeks to calm herself down. But as she picked up on the moves of her fellow dancers, she could feel her tension draining away. She realized there was nowhere else she would rather be at that moment.

As the dance concluded, all the dancers raised their hands upwards in tribute to Sammy. They would all still miss him, but time had managed to take the edge away off their sorrow. They had all finally healed.