Epilogue: In the Heat of the Fight

~~~~~So here's the epilogue guys! As promised, it is the last day of this school year for me. And here's my celebration for it. I really want to thank everyone for the amazing reviews and views in general. You all are such an inspiration! So, thanks for being a part of this story guys, and don't forget to always remain Brave! Also, keeping checking back because I'll be doing a few in between scenes from this story. Details are in the previous chapter, so you'll be hearing from me soon! Love you all!~~~~~

Beth POV

The alarm clock blaring in my eye awoke me, and I rolled over in bed, reaching to turn the annoying sound off. A small note stuck on the edge of my night stand caught my attention, and I attempted to fully wake myself up so I could at least try to make out what it says.

Happy Birthday Baby! I love you! Always. -Mom

I smiled to myself, sticking the note back on the night stand and hurrying off the bed. Down stairs, I could hear the fain noise of voices, and I quietly made my way down to the bottom level, rubbing my eyes one last time.

Before I could even reach the bottom step, Dad and Quinn had me wrapped up in their arms, squeezing slightly. Happy Birthdays were announced by both of them.

I laughed a little, wrapping an arm around them both. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you two, but why are you doing here?"

Dad stepped back, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Your mother invited us. It's the first year that we've all been able to be in the same room with each other and not end up fighting."

I rolled my eyes. "Dad."

We both smiled and I turned to Quinn off to my left. "Hi."

She smiled weakly at me. "Hey."

"Thanks for coming."

She nodded quickly. "Anything for you."

Dad announced that he was going to help Mom with something, leaving me and Quinn alone. The first time I had been alone with her my entire life.

"Beth?"

I glanced up from the spot on the floor where I had been staring, meeting her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Here." She held out a box, a purple bow on top. I raised an eyebrow as I took it and opened it, revealing the small B charm. One that matched my necklace perfectly.

I smiled, taking it out of the box and unclasping the necklace from around my neck. I carefully placed it between the star and heart, letting it settle on my fingers before putting it back around my neck. "I love it. Thank you."

She returned the smile, starting off towards the other room. "No problem."

I bit my bottom lip, catching her before she could get away. "Quinn?"

She didn't turn back to me. I understood why. Within the past six months, I had been trying to deal with this thing with Quinn. I would see her every once in a while, and this would be a little awkward, but it was nothing compared to how it was now. "Yeah?"

I walked in front of her, smiling to myself. "It really means a lot to me that you came."

A few tears clouded her vision, and she smiled. "Thanks."

I shook my head. "Shouldn't I be thanking you? Considering that you're the one who brought me into this world?"

She laughed, wiping at her face. "I don't know. You'll have to talk to Shelby on that one."

Before I could think otherwise, I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her for the first time in a while. The first hug that I gave voluntary to her. "I love you, Quinn."

She tensed at first, but hugged me back eventually. "I love you too, Beth."

I pulled away from her, excusing myself to go change. I ran up the stairs, quickly throwing on some jeans and a tee shirt. I had yet to see my mother this morning, and I couldn't help it as curiosity took over and I walked into the kitchen, my eyes searching everywhere for her.

My eyes froze on the figure in front of me, a small spreading over my face. The one person that had told me they wouldn't be able to make it to my birthday was sitting at my kitchen table, smiling as I walked in.

"What are you doing here?! I thought you said you couldn't get a flight in?!"

My sister stood up, opening her arms. "Like I would miss your birthday? Come here."

I ran into her arms, squeezing her slightly. "I've missed you."

She patted my back. "Yes, I know. Everyone does."

I shook my head as I pulled away from her, and my brain registered what I had came in here to do in the first place. My eyes quickly searched the room, but there was still no sign of my mother anywhere.

"She's outside on the deck."

I eyes Rachel, wondering how she knew I was looking for Mom. "Thanks."

She shoved me out of the kitchen. "Go, I need to finish your birthday surprise anyway. And don't come back in this kitchen unless I tell you that you can!"

I rolled my eyes, walking to the deck doors, turning slightly to stick my tongue out at Rachel, who stuck hers out back. I was still smiling to myself when I slid out onto the deck, closing the door behind me and walking up to my mother, who was sitting on a chair, staring up at the sky.

I stepped out past her, smiling. "Hi."

She jumped slightly, scowling at me and covering her chest with one hand. Drama queen. "God, give me a heart attack why don't you? Next time, make yourself known, please."

I laughed, sitting on the edge of her chair, near her feet. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

She sat up, smiling. "It's okay. So have you seen everyone?"

I nodded, playing with the bottom of her pant leg, refusing her meet her eyes. She reached forward and tucked some hair behind my ear. "Happy Birthday by the way."

I smiled, finally meeting her gaze. "Thanks for inviting them. All of them."

"It's not going to be too much on you is it?"

I shook my head. "No. I'll be okay. Will you be okay?"

She hesitated, but nodded. "Yeah, but all that really matters is that you're happy and comfortable. This is your day."

I sighed, lifting my legs so that I was sitting cross legged in front of her. "You know what?"

She shook her head, smiling a little. "Well, I can't your mind, so, no."

"You honestly are the best mother in the world," I scooted farther up, hugging her while practically laying on top of her. "And I love you so much, Mom."

She didn't complain about me laying on her. In fact she wrapped her arms around me, letting her chin rest on the top of my head. "I love you too."

Shelby POV

I waited until everyone was set at the table before standing up and smiling. Everyone turned their attention to me, and I cleared my throat. "Alright, I wanted to be the first to give the birthday girl a little speech or something."

I heard Beth groan next to me, and I happened to glance down long enough to watch her shake her head with her face in her hands. I put my hand on her shoulder and she dropped her hands, staring up at me with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Poor kid...and I hadn't even said anything yet.

"I just wanted to say that this year has been an interesting one. It was both inspiring and heartbreaking, and I don't think I could of gotten through it if it wasn't for Beth. She actually gets me through a lot more than I ever let her know or anyone else know. It sounds corny, but," I smiled at Rachel across from me. "Both of my girls are my reason for getting up in the morning. For taking each step and each breath, and I truly. Don't know where I'd be without either of them. So, Happy Birthday, Beth. I love you."

I bent down quickly, kissing her forehead before stepping out of my chair and walking over to Rachel. She smiled, looking up at me. "And I love you too."

Of course Rachel and I had never been as close as I wanted us to, but we were close enough that we could put the past behind us. I never though, did anything motherly towards her unless it was calling her by a term of endearment or by introducing her as my daughter. So I surprised myself when I bent down again, and gave her a soft kiss to her forehead.

By the time I had pulled back, Rachel had a few tears slipping down her cheeks. I wiped them away, giving her another kiss before returning back to my seat. As I sat down, I glanced around the table, smiling at our little mess of a family.

Noah and Quinn were talking about something while Rachel and Beth playfully argued about who was a better character in Wicked, Elphaba or Galinda.

"I also wanted to say thank you to Noah and Quinn, for bring her into this world all those years ago. I understand things were a little...bumpy between all of us, but I feel like we've really put a lot of it behind us. I want you two to know that I will always thank you for bringing this light into my life," I paused, brushing some of Beth's hair back.

Noah and Quinn gave me a small smile before we all returned to eating dinner together. As a family. My family.

And it was then that I realized, as my eyes passed over both of my girls again, that even in the heat of the fight, I would always have them with me. In my heart. And that, I wold spend forever being thankful for.