Epilogue:

Thanksgiving Day

"Maria! Philip! I'm so glad you guys could make it!" Sandy Lucas greeted the happy couple and then she turned towards their daughter and greeted her as well. "And how are you Macy? You look so grown up already! How's Rutgers?"

"It's great, Mrs. Lucas. My journalism classes are very interesting and the professors are really cool" she said happily. "I'm really enjoying my time there. But it's so great to be back with my family. Anyway is Nick home?"

"Yup. He's up in his room."

"Mom, Dad, would you mind if I go see him?" she asked her parents hopefully.

"No, sweetie. Go right ahead," her mom told her. Her dad gave her a slight nod.

"Thanks," Macy said happily.

She took the stairs two at a time and she could hear Sandy still talking with her mom.

"So when is the baby due?" Nick's mom asked.

"Anytime now," Mrs. Misa replied.

"Yeah, we have the whole room set up with the crib and everything," her dad added. "Except we haven't painted the walls."

"Phil thinks its another girl…" was the last thing Macy heard when she knocked on Nick's door.

"Come in!" she heard him say.

"Nick!" Macy said excitedly when she saw her boyfriend for the first time in two months.

The boy immediately leapt from his seat when he saw who it was.

'MACY!" he rushed over to her and embraced her tightly. "I MISS YOU SO MUCH!"

She beamed up at him and placed a heartwarming kiss on his lips. And for a few minutes they just stood close to each other as Nick planted light kisses on her lips.

"When did you get back?"

"Late last night. I wanted to call you but I figured you were probably asleep. So what are you up to?" she asked him as she took off her coat.

"Just finishing up some homework," Nick said while he closed his lap top. He didn't want to think about school work, not when his girlfriend who he missed so much was there with him. They talked a lot over the phone because they both attended different colleges now so he was super excited to see Macy in person. He couldn't help but stare at her and it was only then that he got a good look at what she was wearing. And because it looked as if a sewing machine threw up on her sweater, Nick couldn't help but laugh loudly.

"Nice sweater, Mace. Did you throw up on it?"

Macy narrowed her eyes at him because it's not like she chose to wear the sweater which had a big picture of a turkey with sequined feathers. It was utterly childish and a bit grotesque especially with the brown and orange mixture that resembled the very shade of vomit. Actually, it looked like a burnt-orange potato sac since it was two sizes too big on her.

"Haha. Very funny Nick," Macy said while sticking her tongue out at him. "My dad got this for me. Apparently, he's trying to become a better dad by reliving my childhood so he started buying clothes like this for me to wear. I mean it's a nice gesture. He's trying at least."

Nick nodded his head, "So the therapy is going well?"

"Yeah, it is," Macy said as she walked over to him and hugged him because it was impossible for her to not touch him at all times. "They're sorting out their problems and it's going great. I mean I'm going to have a baby brother or sister any day now."

"That's true," Nick agreed happily. He was so glad her family was able to stay together. The accident Macy was in last year helped them realize that there was still love left in their marriage. "And now that you're going to have another sibling maybe your dad can buy him or her clothes instead of dressing you up as an overgrown five-year-old."

Macy rolled her eyes at him because she could tell that Nick was having a field day by making fun of her but then she wrapped her arms around his neck and said in a rather sultry voice, "That's true and I can't wait to take this hideous sweater off, Nick. Can you help me out of it?"

She said the last part as she gently nibbled his ear. He knew Macy wanted him and he wanted her as well since it's been SO LONG but he had to break apart from her.

"Macy, we can't do that right now. I mean everyone's downstairs," Nick pointed out.

Letting out a sigh of great aggravation, Macy nodded her head.

"You're right," Macy agreed sounding a bit depressed but then she looked over at the stuff she brought with her and realized she forgot to give him some things. "OH I almost forgot! I have presents for you!"

"What is it?"

"I bought you more Rutgers apparel!" Macy said excitedly as she took out a hoodie and sweatpants both with the big red 'R' emblem which represented Rutgers University. "You'll look so cute in these!"

"Thanks, Macy," he said as he took the clothes from her. "But you really didn't have to get me more stuff. I already got the pajamas, sweatshirt, and shorts that you sent in September. People at Northwestern think I transferred in with all the Rutgers clothes I'm wearing."

"Well, can you blame me for wanting me to dress my boyfriend up in clothes that'll remind him of me?" Macy asked now sounding a a bit hurt because Nick wasn't as enthusiastic as she hoped he'd be.

He didn't want to upset her because he really did appreciate the stuff she got for him.

"I love them, Macy," he said tenderly. "And I do wear them when I can't stand being away from you. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied happily and she tiptoed to give him a kiss which he gladly returned. Their kiss began to deepen into something more.

"Bed…now…" she ordered him.

"Okay," he replied breathlessly as he steadily led her to his bed and he was about to take her grotesque sweater off her body until they were interrupted…

DING DONG DING DONG.

"Great…that's one thing I didn't miss,"Macy said quite annoyed because it was always their luck that they were interrupted by someone ringing the bell. They straightened out their appearance before heading down.

"That must be Kevin," Nick announced. "I heard he's bringing over a girl."

"A girl?" Macy repeated now sounding really interested. "Is it the same girl from last year?"

"I think so," he answered. "They're getting pretty serious now. It's been almost a year already."

"Wow. That does sound serious," Macy said. She was so happy for Kevin. "I'm really excited to finally meet her."

"All of us are," Nick replied.

Hurriedly, the two of them made their way downstairs to greet the new visitors.

"Mom, Dad, this is Danielle," Kevin introduced his girlfriend who was smiling sweetly at everyone. "Danielle, this is my family."

Everyone crowded around them, waiting to be introduced.

"Danielle, this is Joe and his fiancé, Stella," Kevin said as he made his way around the crowd.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Joe said while shaking her hand.

"We heard so many great things about you," Stella said as she gave her a hug.

"It's nice meeting you guys," Danielle said sweetly.

Kevin introduced the adults who were all glad to finally meet Kevin's longtime girlfriend. Nick and Macy were at the end of the line so they patiently waited to meet her.

"Danielle, this is my other brother Nick."

"It's nice to meet you," Nick said as he shook her hand.

Danielle smiled sweetly at him and said, "It's nice to meet you, too."

For some reason, Macy got nervous because she wasn't sure how Kevin would introduce her to his girlfriend. Will he say she was his ex? Or his friend? Or just a plain acquaintance? She saw Kevin face her and she noticed him momentarily hesitate before he gave her a big smile.

"And Dani, this is Macy," Kevin started off to say. "She's…um…Nick's girlfriend."

Nick's girlfriend. He was finally comfortable in calling her that.

"It's really nice to meet you, Dani," Macy said as she smiled at the beautiful tall, slim girl.

"You, too," Danielle replied as she smiled warmly at her.

And the Lucas' Thanksgiving dinner went really well. Everyone was talking and sharing stories. Macy was thankful that this year was less dramatic than last year. Kevin seemed to be pleased and satisfied with his life. She watched him spoon-feed Dani some of his mother's garlic mashed potatoes. He was so in love. Dani was his perfect girl. She shared his sense of humor. And they had the same likes and dislikes and Macy noticed that not once did the oldest Lucas boy let go of her hand. Kevin was now telling everyone how they met and Danielle interjected here and there to correct some of his details. At one point, she saw Kevin make a quick glance at her and Macy smiled at him and for a second, she thought he was going to ignore her but she was relieved when he flashed her his charming smile. However, he quickly turned to Dani and gave her a quick peck on the cheek while she was now telling them her half of the story on how she won Kevin over. Macy couldn't stop smiling because she was so happy for them. Kevin got his wish. He found his true love.

After everyone finished their turkey meal, the girls helped Mrs. Lucas with the dishes. It truly was a team effort because the dishes for the twenty guests that the Lucas household invited for Thanksgiving dinner were now piled so high in the sink. But Macy didn't mind because she was excited to be reunited with everyone especially her best friend, Stella Malone, who could not stop talking about her engagement. Of course, the brunette girl was named the maid-of-honor so she was getting the full details on how Stella wanted everything exactly to be on her big day. As much as she loved Stella, Macy was relieved when Joe finally took her away. She was starting to get really stressed out talking about flower arrangements and dresses that she needed to buy. But when she left the kitchen, she couldn't find the one person she was dying to talk to all night. Where could he be? She was about to head upstairs to his room before she spotted him sitting outside in the back porch. It was just like Nick to be a loner in a house full of people.

"Nick! What are you doing out here in the cold?" she asked him as she took a blanket from the sofa and wrapped it around him and herself.

"I'm just thinking about everything," Nick simply replied. "It was getting a bit noisy inside to even think."

"Yeah, that's true," Macy agreed as she scooted even closer to her boyfriend. "However, Kevin seems really happy. Did you hear him call me your girlfriend?"

"Yes, I did hear that. It's great that he officially moved on now," Nick said. "I think it's safe to say that things are starting to come back to normal."

"That's good to hear. I'm happy to see everyone back," she said as she wrapped an arm around his waist.

"I know. Me too,"Nick said and then he let out a content sigh. "I feel so blessed right now."

Copying Macy, he placed an arm around her and kissed her lightly on her forehead. She smiled at him and asked, "Nick, what are you thankful for?"

"Hm…" he leaned back and placed his elbows on the step above. "My family and friends. They make life worth living."

"That's nice. What else?"

"Music. If I didn't have that I don't know what I'd be doing with my life."

"You're an amazing musician, Nick," Macy agreed but she was still waiting for him to say one thing in particular. "But what else are you thankful for?"

Nick gave her an impish smile and said, "Hm…this is hard...OH YEAH! I'm thankful for the Yankees winning the World Series. That was awesome."

"Okay, that's great and all. But is that it?" Macy asked him impatiently because he was definitely forgetting something or rather someone very, VERY important.

"Am I missing something?" Nick asked her playfully. "Oh I know! I forgot about Mrs. Wilson! If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be able to get into Northwestern University. She really helped me with my application."

"MRS. WILSON? She's the one you're most thankful for!" Macy cried out obviously appalled. "Hmph! Some boyfriend you are, Nicholas!"

She got up and hastily took the blanket away from him. She was about to head back inside but Nick abruptly embraced her from behind to stop her. He whispered into her ear, "But the one person I'm most thankful for is the beautiful girl I'm holding onto right now."

Macy turned her head to face him and said, "You mean extra-beautiful girl."

"I stand corrected," Nick agreed as he tightened his arms around her. Resting his head on top of hers, he continued. "I'm thankful for this EXTRA-BEAUTIFUL girl who I consider to be my better half. She's the sweetest and most sincere girl I've ever met. And I love her to death."

"Nick…" Macy said sounding clearly touched. She turned around to hug him properly. Then, she placed a tender kiss on his lips and when they broke apart she said, "I love you, too."

"Macy, now why don't you tell me what you're thankful for."

"I'm thankful for this one particular boy…"

"Oh?"

"Yes. He's the cutest boy I've ever met," she started off to say. "And he has the voice of an angel. He's the most polite, considerate, and caring boy I know. And oh my goodness, he is so handsome. He has the softest hair and kindest eyes. And when he smiles, you can't help but feel good inside. He knows just how to make me happy when I'm feeling down. And just seeing him up close and personal makes my heart melt inside."

Nick was flattered and kissed her on top of her head.

"Thanks, Ma—

"OH! I forgot to mention that he has killer dance moves," she interrupted Nick with a devilish glint in her eye. Macy wanted to get back at him for making her get upset with him earlier.

Nick pulled away from her and looked at Macy with a confused expression on his face because they both knew that Nick Lucas was no dancer. He couldn't dance to save his life.

So he repeated completely shocked, "Killer moves...?"

"Yeah," she simply said. "The boy I'm thinking of can dance so smooth like Michael Jackson…Hm…What's his name again? Oh yeah! I'm thankful for Justin Bieb—

"MACY!" Nick interrupted her quite disturbed that she would mention him out of all people. It's not like he had anything against the teen pop-star. He just wasn't sure how he felt about his girlfriend being thankful for the boy the media labeled as his musical rival.

"I'm joking of course," Macy said as she planted a long kiss on his lips. "I'm thankful for you, Nicholas Lucas. Because you're so sweet and caring."

"Thanks," he answered placing a kiss on her forehead.

"And I'm thankful that you love me for who I am."

He kissed her cheek.

"And I'm thankful that you're always there for me when I need you the most."

He kissed her lips and whispered into her ear, "I'll always be there for you, Mace. Always."

She smiled happily at him and said teasingly, "And I'm thankful for when Nick Lucas makes love to me."

After she said this, Macy noticed that Nick was blushing a lot. So she continued and said, "And I'm thankful that Nick Lucas knows exactly how to drive me wild with desire."

"Macy, stop it. You're making me blush," Nick confessed but his knees felt weak because Macy was now gently nibbling his earlobe.

"Oh, I'm making you blush, Nick?" she asked him with a highly amused expression on her face. "Then you're going to love what I'm going to say next. Because, Nick Lucas, I'm so thankful when you stick your tongue…"

She whispered the rest of her sentence in his ear just in case someone overheard her. When she was done saying the last thing she was thankful for, Nick Lucas who was already a dark shade of red became an even darker shade because what she said was enough to make him both embarrassed and excited at the same time.

"Macy…" he whispered back clearly turned on. He really wanted to kiss her especially after what she said last. And they both leaned in for a kiss but then-

"HEY YOU TWO LOVEBIRDS! IF YOU WANT THE LAST SLICE OF PUMPKIN PIE YOU BETTER HURRY UP OR ELSE I'LL EAT IT!" Kevin called out to them.

Nick let go of Macy right away because if there was one thing he craved the most in Thanksgiving it was his Aunt Milly's homemade pumpkin pie. It tasted like heaven on earth and Nick would be crazy to not have a slice of this exquisite dessert.

"KEVIN! YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH THAT!" Nick yelled at him. "THAT'S MY PIECE. I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO EAT ANY YET!"

"TOO LATE, NICK! YOU'RE TOO SLOW! I ALREADY CALLED DIBS!" Kevin called back and Macy could now see him taking a bite of a thick slice of pie to taunt Nick.

"MOM! KEVIN IS EATING MY SLICE! " Nick said as he now ran into the house.

Things were definitely back to normal between Kevin and Nick. And that was one of the greatest things Macy was thankful for. They had enough drama between them. It was a new beginning. Macy smiled to herself before following Nick inside. It was good to have the gang all back together.

"Don't forget to save me a slice of the cheesecake!" Macy called out to them but when she entered the house, no one seemed to be listening to her. Stella and Joe were sitting at the dining table deep in conversation. They were most likely planning their upcoming wedding. Frankie was busy playing video games with his cousins. Her mom was talking to Mrs. Lucas, Aunt Milly, and Mrs. Malone. Her dad was busy talking to the rest of the adults about politics and whatever topic that was in the news. And sitting by the kitchen counter were Kevin and Nick, who were now arm-wrestling for the last piece of pumpkin pie while Dani served as the referee. There was so much chatter going on inside the Lucas household that no one seemed to notice that she was standing alone by the back door observing everything. But Macy didn't mind because this was the greatest Thanksgiving she ever had with all the people she loved deeply in her heart.

Her life was definitely worth something especially because of the people who were part of it.

She went over to Nick and noticed that he wasn't playing fair.

"Nick! You're cheating! Your elbow is not even on the table," Macy pointed out.

"Macy! You're supposed to be on my side!" Nick retorted as he fixed the situation.

"Listen to your girlfriend, Nick," Kevin said while he finally got the edge he needed and because his younger brother no longer had an advantage, Kevin easily pinned his arm down. "And that's how it's done! Now give me the slice that I rightfully deserve!"

Reveling in his glory, Kevin took a big bite of pumpkin pie right in front of Nick who was now narrowing his eyes at him. The oldest Lucas boy laughed out loud before following Danielle into the living room leaving Macy and Nick by themselves in the kitchen.

"Macy! I can't believe you made me lose! I really wanted that slice," Nick said while pouting his lips.

She could sense his sadness so she wrapped her arms around him from behind and said, "I'm sorry, honey but you weren't playing fair. Besides, I have a better dessert to offer you."

And because everyone was busy minding their own business, Nick and Macy snuck upstairs into his room and had a very intimate Thanksgiving celebration. He even did the thing that Macy told him she was most thankful for.

"Oh…yes…Nick…right there…OH NICHOLAS…"she moaned in ecstasy when she felt his lips touch her most sensitive region.

And their little "reunion" continued on. Thirty minutes must have passed until their absence was finally noticed.

Little Frankie was told by his mother to go look for his older brother. And the young boy wasn't too happy about this because he hated being interrupted when he was playing video games. He was on the verge of destroying his cousin's alien kingdom after all.

"Nick!" he called impatiently from the up-stair hallway. "Mom's looking for you!"

There was no response. He lightly knocked on his bedroom door because he didn't want Nick to be angry with him if he just barged in. "Nick?"

Still no response. He turned the doorknob but it was locked. Was he sleeping? He was about to leave until he distinctively heard his brother say, somewhat out of breath, "Macy...harder...do it harder..."

If there was one innocent soul in this whole story it would be Frankie Lucas. He was only eight-years-old and he knew nothing about the birds and the bees. However, he was aware that Nick and Macy would often engage in a rather unusual activity. Every time Nick had to babysit him when their parents were out of town, his older brother would always invite Macy over. And the beginning of the night was usually fine but when it got late at night after they put him to bed, Frankie started to hear strange noises coming from his older brother's room. He wondered what they could be doing. But Frankie never saw them until one day when the strange noises came from downstairs in the living room and when he looked, he saw Nick on top of Macy while she laid helplessly on the couch. They were still fully clothed except Nick whose shirt was now fully unbuttoned and he was moving quite a lot. When Frankie confronted them about what he saw, the two teens turned a bright shade of red and claimed that they were only wrestling. It was a good form of exercise, Nick proclaimed. And Frankie believed him because he didn't know any better. Thus, when he heard Nick tell Macy 'to do it harder', the young and innocent child dismissed this as yet another wrestling match between his brother and his girlfriend. Why must they exercise so much? But it made sense to him that they would exercise now. Frankie needed to exercise too if he wanted to also lose the ten pounds that he must have gained from their Thanksgiving feast.

And so Frankie went back downstairs and told his mother, "Nick can't come down right now because he's busy at the moment."

"Oh, he is?" Mrs. Lucas said as she was about to place the last cocktail glass in her cupboard. "What exactly is your brother doing that he can't come downstairs for a few seconds to say good-bye to his aunt and uncle who drove all the way from Michigan to see us?"

And so the young boy, without realizing how much trouble he could get his brother and Macy into especially with their parents, casually said, "He's busy wrestling with Macy."

His mother immediately dropped the glass she was holding which shattered completely once it hit the floor, "HE'S DOING WHAT?"

"He's-um- wrestling with Macy. It's really no big deal. They do that all the time for exercise, " Frankie explained quickly because he didn't understand why his mother was freaking out.

Mrs. Lucas started heading up the stairs and yelled angrily, "NICHOLAS LUCAS! YOU BETTER COME OUT OF YOUR ROOM THIS INSTANT IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!"

Frankie was completely clueless about what he just did. He didn't know that he just ratted his brother out because since when is wrestling such a bad thing?

However, one thing is sure: This was definitely going to be one memorable Thanksgiving.

THE END.

Closing Remarks:

LOL...You gotta love Frankie! He made his appearance right at the very end for -um- comedic relief. HAHA...Anyway that's it! This story was definitely interesting to write because Nick and Macy were-um- pretty active to say the least. This was definitely a more dramatic and more passionate story than anything I've ever written. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Now I can start concentrating on 'Trust Me'. Like I mentioned to one of my readers, I delayed writing Trust Me because first of all, I lost the outline for that story when I was cleaning out my hard-drive and second of all, I was able to think up of a plot for this story and I wanted to stay with this project first. I can't write two stories at once because as I mentioned many times before, the Nick and Macy in each of my stories are usually all very different. For example the Nick and Macy in this story will certainly not fit in with the Nick and Macy in 'The Great Pretenders'. The Nacy relationship there is MUCH MORE innocent than the the Nacy relationship here. Speaking of innocent and not so innocent Nick and Macy, go to my page because I uploaded a new poll that asks you guys (not including Trust Me) what kind of pairing would you like me to write for Nick and Macy for my next story. Would you like innocent Nick and Macy or racy/ sensual Nick and Macy? Or maybe a combo of both? My story 'Trust Me' will fall in the last category.

SO READ, REVIEW, AND VOTE! Remember this story is for you guys! I didn't intend to write this one-shot into a full story but many of you asked for it so I'd love to hear what you guys have to say! Hopefully I lived up to your expectations. If you loved it, great! If you hated it, then you hated it. Just tell me what you guys think! And I find it amusing when reviewers apologize for long reviews but frankly I LOVE LONG REVIEWS! They're usually very detailed and I like to hear what your favorite parts were! So don't apologize if you write a long review :-) In fact I encourage all of you guys to write as much as possible! It's great to hear your feed back.

REVIEW! (POSSIBLY WRITE A LONG ONE! LOL) AND VOTE!

-Penelope36