Author's Note: Here's the final chapter! I hope none of it seems too rushed, as I've been balancing this and school lately, hence the delay. Again, for those who want to avoid the smut, same as last time: first set of asterisks is the beginning, the second set denotes the end.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around me tight and kissed my head.

"I'm so sorry, baby," Shifty buried his face into my temple, his body quivering. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

I didn't say anything. I think I was still in shock from everything.

I looked up from the grass when I didn't feel his body heat surrounding me anymore.

"I'm still here, darlin'," he wrapped his Army jacket around me and rubbed my arm, holding me tighter and kissing my head. "I'm still here."

We gave our statements to the police and walked home soon after.

Once we got in the house, Shifty closed the door and turned to me.

I threw myself into him and cried again.

He pulled me away and put his hand on my cheek, using his thumb to swipe the salty droplets away.

I looked away and held onto the flaps of his jacket still around me.

"Y/F/N, I'm sorry," he said guiltily.

"For what?" I sniffed.

"I'm sorry for not being there for you. I'm sorry for not seeing early on how much pain I caused. I'm sorry... f-for letting you go."

I stared at the holster on his hip that held the pistol he used to defend me.

"Funny, I thought I was being self-absorbed," I slipped his jacket off and hugged it to my stomach.

"Baby, I didn't mean any of that," Shifty said apologetically. "Please look at me?"

I did and he tossed his jacket on the couch. He held my hands and kissed them, still not breaking eye contact.

"Y/F/N... my, you're irreplaceable. Now that... that I'm sure of!" he told me, kissing up my arm.

"I was afraid of losing you," I looked to the side again. "I knew I should've just listened to Popeye when—"

Shifty lifted his head up to look at my face, his eyes slightly squinting. "Wait a minute. Now when did Popeye come over?"

I did a double take. "Oh... I went to see Popeye earlier today."

"Why?" Shifty searched my face for answers.

"It's stupid," I shook my head and covered my face with my hands.

"Hey...," he held my hands again and put his forehead to mine. "Just tell me, darlin'."

"I went to see Popeye, because... I wanted to learn how to shoot," I confessed and finally met eyes with him. "I wanted to learn how to shoot so I could keep you. But we ended up talking... about you. I needed to know that you weren't going to leave me."

I squeezed my eyes shut and prepared for his response.

After a minute or two, I felt his lips over mine, his hands cupping my jawline.

I broke the kiss, my head about to drop again, but he caught my chin and held it up.

"Y/F/N, you always had me. You always had and you always will, baby. I promise," the ends of his mouth perked up.

I stood on the tip of my toes and hugged him. "I love you so much."

He snaked his arms around my waist and lifted me on to the armrest of the couch.

"You know what Popeye told me before I left?" I dragged my fingertip down his chest.

"What?" he wondered, partly amused, as he puts his hand over mine.

"He said to me that if I really wanted to learn how to shoot, I should learn from the best," I gave him a cheery grin.

The happiness started fading into confusion. "Me? Oh no, baby. I'm not the best. Now, you know who an excellent shot i—"

I leaned in and kissed him hard, which he seemed to enjoy since his grip around me tightened.

"You," I blushed. "You're an excellent shot."

He bit his lip and caressed my thighs. "Well I... I suppose I won't argue with that."

"Good," I pecked his cheek.

"And you're an excellent wife," he declared.

I suddenly remembered what he said about me not being around. "Even if I can't be available all the time?"

His face dropped a little.

Getting on the defensive, I explained. "I just wanted to help, Shifty. I don't want you to be the only one making money for us."

He lifted my hand and put it against his heart. "Everything you do, I love. I love that you care about me—about us—and that you're trying despite all the other things you already have to do."

It was nice to finally have that acknowledged.

"So should I take extra hours at the coal company?" he asked.

"What? No!" I shook my head. "Why would you do that?"

"I want you to focus on your dreams, sweetheart," Shifty put his hand on my shoulder. "I... I don't want you to be even more stressed, you know?"

"Are you sure?" I played with the lace on the hem of my dress. "I don't want you to be stressed either."

He kissed my cheek. "Nothing I can't handle after... well... you know."

I nodded and put on a sad smile. "Yeah, I do."

Maybe I'll reconsider working after this semester in the near future.

Shifty kissed me hard, nearly pushing me back onto the couch. I grabbed at his sleeves to anchor myself and melted into him.

He pulled away, his eyes on my lips and then mine.

"I'm sorry, Y/F/N. It's just... I can't think about it again," he grabbed my hands and held them close to his chin.

"Think about what, Shifty?" I went in to kiss him again.

Our lips reconnected as he pulled me to my feet.

"I can't... I can't think about how I nearly lost you," his eyes turned soft, almost desperate.

I kissed him more. Harder, longer.

I felt my face warm up when his hands roamed down my back all the way over my ass.

Letting the moment take me, I took a fistful of his shirt, my other hand running up the back of his neck, into his hair.

We stopped for air and looked at each other, our hands staying where they were. High on endorphins and allowing ourselves to drown in the others' eyes, we laughed awkwardly.

"I need to take a shower," I stepped away shyly.

As I walked away, his arms pulled me close to him again.

"I wanna come with you," he mumbled into my neck.

(***)

I put the water to the perfect balance of warmth and stood up straight to start undressing, but Shifty whirled me around with his hands on my hips.

He pressed his mouth over mine hungrily, his hands sneaking up to the middle of my back where he unbuttoned my dress.

"Shifty," I sighed, his teeth nipping at my neck.

Halfway through, he got impatient and pulled the fabrics apart in an eager attempt to hasten the process.

I giggled when I heard a clink on the bathroom tiles.

He didn't pay it any mind and hastily pulled the front of my dress out of the armholes and pulled it down my form, letting it fall to the floor.

While I drowned in more kisses on my neck and face, I slid the hem of his t-shirt up his torso, my palm brushing lightly over his abs.

"Darlin'..." he crooned by my ear.

He put some space between us, grabbed the back of his collar, and pulled his t-shirt over his head while I undid the button on his pants and pulled the zipper down.

I got on my knees and took his pants down along with his boxers. Without a second thought, I spit on his erection and started stroking it slowly.

Shifty let out a satisfied hum and closed his eyes.

From the base, I slid my tongue against the veiny surface. I swirled the tip around the head while watching his reaction.

He half-moaned, half-chuckled. "Oh, Y/F/N."

Stroking his cock in a circular motion, I focused on the head and massaged his balls.

"Y/F/N," his voice spiked. "You still have some clothes on."

I got up from the floor, feeling his body on the way up.

Shifty moved me against the wall and took my bra off.

He kissed my breasts and started getting down on one knee, kissing me all over.

As he pulled my panties down, he kissed my sides where the waistline covered.

"Mmm, babe," I moaned as he felt up my thighs. "We better get in before the warm water runs out."

His face lit up as if he'd just remembered the water was on and stood back up.

I went in and let myself get soaked, pushing my hair back and turning to face the showerhead so it could wet the front of me.

Shifty, following me in and closing the shower door behind him, already had his arms around my waist.

He kissed my neck from behind and slithered one hand down my stomach, the tips of his fingers over the hood of my clit.

I leaned my head back and opened my legs.

Seemingly pleased with his granted access, he nipped at my neck with his teeth.

"Oh...," I moaned as he rubbed my clit.

My breasts were getting perky and my peak was rolling in.

"Shifty, yes... oh..." I closed my eyes as he brought me over the edge. "Oh!"

He gripped my breasts and left more kisses along my neck.

I reached behind me and started jerking him off.

His breathing got heavier when I circled my thumb over the head.

I turned around and pushed him against the wall. I got on my knees, and sat on my heels to bring my ass up.

With the water trickling down my face, I took him between my lips and started bobbing my head up and down.

"Oh fuck...," he breathed.

I kept stroking his shaft and looked up at him, batting my eyelashes when he watched me.

"Mm... mm... mm... mmmmh," I moaned with his hardened member going in and out of my throat.

His hand on the side of my neck, he tipped my head back and pecked my lips and head.

"I need to taste you," he told me with a lustful glint in his eye.

He took my hand and helped me up. I backed up against one of the tile walls.

Shifty got down on the shower floor, looped his hands around my thighs, and buried his face between my legs.

I gasped and curled my toes as he dragged his flattened tongue over my slit, starting at the bottom. He narrowed it when he reached the very top.

Looking up at me rubbing with my breasts, his right hand disappeared from my leg. It had almost gone unnoticed that his arm was not only to his side, but slightly shaking.

"Ohhh..." I moaned, pinched my nipples, and raked the hair of one side of my head up.

For some reason, he liked when I did this. The thing with my hair, I mean. He also liked when I gave my breasts a lift by crossing my arms underneath.

I did that and licked my lips when his arm moved faster.

He parted my lips and drew a zigzag with the very tip of his tongue over my clit before sucking on it.

On the verge of my second orgasm, he quickened his pace and finished me off.

While I was still recovering, he tugged at the folds with his lips before getting up.

His hands grabbed my ass and pulled me up.

I put my arms around his neck and wrapped my legs around his waist.

Holding me up against the wall, he reached down to adjust the head of his cock into my entrance.

I kissed him hard when his entire length had slipped between my walls slowly.

My lips still connected to his, he moved himself in and out of me.

"Baby..." he murmured as he kept penetrating me, his hold on me tensing up.

I brushed some wet strands of hair from his forehead and bit down on my lip, my back rubbing against the cold tiles as I bounced myself on him.

God, he felt so fucking good.

"Oh, Shifty..." I breathlessly moaned.

He buried his face into my neck and thrusted his hips faster and harder inside me.

"Fuck, darlin'," his voice sounded more strained now.

With my fingers through the hair on the back of his head, I arched my back and hopped erratically up and down his manhood.

"I've been waiting to do this for so long, Y/F/N," he confessed, our heads touching and our lips less than an inch apart. "There's no one in this world I think of more than you, darlin'."

I blushed and left kisses on his cheek and neck.

My walls were squeezing around his erection and my heels were digging deeper above his ass.

"Shifty, I'm gonna cum," I purred. "Fuck, I'm gonna cum all over you!"

"Cum with me, darlin'," he grunted. "Baby, I'm so close."

"Oh! Ohhh! OHHH!" I screamed and shook against his body while my movements slowed down.

At the same time, I felt his warm cum seeping into me.

(***)

He left soft kisses along my neck and shoulder. "You're so beautiful, Y/F/N."

Coming down from the wave of bliss that washed over me, I felt my eyes dot with tears. I got on my feet again and ran my hands over his pecs. I looked up at him and kissed him passionately as he held my hips.

"You're... everything," I looked away as the tears fell down my cheeks.

He brought my chin up and kissed my lips for a long time before kissing my cheek, nose, and head. After a few minutes spent staring into each other's eyes, he spoke.

"Let's get ourselves cleaned up," he smiled sweetly and reached for his shampoo.

"Right..." I nodded and started with my hair.

We lathered up each other's bodies and stood under the water, giving the other kisses over the newly washed areas.

Once we were done, I turned the water off and squeezed my hair.

"Thanks, babe," I accepted the towel he handed me and dried myself before covering myself with it.

He ruffled his hair with his towel wrapped hand and looked over at me, smiling big.

"What?" I wondered when I saw this.

"You're so gorgeous, darlin'," he chuckled as if it was silly that I hadn't guessed that.

I followed him into our bedroom and changed into a red and black babydoll with matching panties.

"You look like a princess," he told me from our bed.

I stood by my side of the bed and spun around to show it off to him.

He gave me his wide grin and took my hand when I crawled under the sheets next to him.

"I've... I've never felt so much love for someone like I do with you," he told me before kissing my hand.

I moved closer to him and rested my head on his chest. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I ask myself that every night when I watch you sleepin', lookin' like an angel," he put his chin over the top of my head and traced a heart on my bare back. "Sleep tight, Y/F/N."

"Goodnight, Shifty," I yawned and closed my eyes.

One Year Later

I watched fondly at the baby in front of me.

He had a tan complexion, dark brown hair, and grey eyes.

I giggled when the little one cooed with glee after he put one building block over another.

"What's so funny?" Shifty came into the room and sat behind me, his arms snaked around my waist.

"Robert being adorable," I turned to kiss my husband on the lips and looked back at the baby. "Just like his father."

"You mean his mother?" he corrected.

I smiled to myself. "Yeah... like me."

Yes, we named him after Popeye. I used to joke that he saved our marriage, after all.

Robert crawled to one of our dressers and pulled the wooden knob.

I laughed amusedly and got up from my spot on the floor.

"Come on, sweetie," I swept him into my arms and kneeled to close the drawer.

I stopped when I saw what was lying there.

It was Shifty's uniform, neatly folded with his jump wings pinned above the right breast pocket.

I came back to reality when I felt Robert try to climb out of my arms.

I smiled and kissed his head before toeing the drawer shut and bringing him back to Shifty.

Later that night, after we'd tucked Robert in, I brought the subject up when we were lying in bed.

"When do you think we should tell him?" I held Shifty's hand, which was on my cheek.

He took some time to process this and looked at me again. "I think we'll know when the time's right."

I thought it through and agreed. "Yeah. He's still young. Plus, we're not that old yet."

Shifty kissed my cheek. "Don't worry, darlin'. We're still figuring this out together."

I closed my eyes and smiled. "Together."