Hi there everyone,

It's been a little while, I know, and my apologies for that. I got caught in a haze of exams and revision, and haven't really peered out until this last day or two. I recieved a message from a member, asking me to continue my fic... so thank you for that! :) It gave me something to smile about, and allowed me to rediscover my love for writing this story.

So here it is, the final chapter! I'm writing the epilogue this very minute, and hope to have that up super soon!

I hope you enjoy it :) Please review and let me know what you think.

DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely NONE of Private Practice, it all belongs to Shonda Rhimes (who is a far more talented woman than myself).

"Divorced?" Charlotte asked wide eyed, pausing momentarily as she repacked her increasingly full suitcase.

"They said it's a possibility," Cooper affirmed, messily folding four or five sweaters to the best of his ability.

"But they're in their sixties!" Charlotte drawled, somewhat taken aback. "People don't get divorced at that age, I'm sure they'll work things out just fine."

"They have 'marital issues' remember? You've seen it yourself."

"Of course I did, you'd be blind not to, but that doesn't mean it's not something they can't work through. Honestly, Coop, they've been together all these years, it might take them a while but they'll get to the other end of it."

"When did you become such an optimist?" Cooper mused.

"About the same time as I realised we're goin' back to L.A today," she quipped, a small smirk gracing her lips.

"Happy about that, huh?" he joked, tossing the now- haphazardly- folded sweaters messily into the depths of the suitcase.

"You betcha," she affirmed. "No offence to your parents, but I can't wait to get the hell out of here."

"It's been an intense trip," Cooper nodded, "I'm sorry babe, I didn't think it would be anything like this."

"You couldn't have anticipated things would turn out the way they did, Coop. Besides, my family's worse, I don't exactly have the right to start makin' assumptions about yours."

Cooper smirked, "I only met your brothers briefly that one time in Alabama, maybe we're due another trip?"

"Bite your tongue," Charlotte chided. "I get dragged back there kickin' and screamin' once in a blue moon when I'm summoned for this, that or the other. I sure as hell won't be goin' there off my own back any time soon."

"It was just a suggestion," he mumbled, a sparkle in his eyes. "We'll have to see them at the wedding anyway, may as well be prepared..."

"The answer's 'No', Cooper."

"Okay," he replied, raising both hands in the air. "Message received."

Charlotte blew the hair out of her face, scanning Cooper's suitcase with eagle eyes.

"Cooper."

"Yeah?"

"For my sanity," she began, "please just get the heck away from that suitcase."

It was 1 o'clock in the afternoon: Charlotte was having a cup of coffee in the kitchen, nattering away to Ted about the trials and tribulations of running a hospital; while Cooper and Angie sat in strained silence in the living room, each suppressing the notion of talking their problems through, for fear of further drama.

The doorbell rang and all four adults heard a persistent, light knocking at the door. Before any of them had the chance to reach the hallway, sticky fingers that belonged to a tiny hand pried open the letterbox, yelling through it with great gusto: "Charlotte, I brought my glitter pens with me, Mommy told me not to but I know you like glitter too, and I 'ave pink ones!"

Charlotte grinned as she unlocked the door, being greeted by a flustered Rebecca who gave her a lop-sided smile, while attempting to chastise her over-exuberant daughter.

"Look, look," Emma demanded, thrusting a glitter pen into Charlotte's hand, "I told you there was a pink one!"

"Well, ain't that just lovely?" Charlotte said, in amusement.

"Hi there Charlotte," Rebecca smiled, reaching over her four year old to give the blonde woman a hug. "I'm so sorry about Emma, she's been hyped up all morning about seeing you and Cooper, I haven't been able to calm her down."

Charlotte shrugged, shaking her head. "Little kids are meant to be full of beans, don't worry about it."

Looking down at Emma, she continued: "It's good to see you again, lil' miss! What other colours do you have then? Just the pink one?"

"No I have purple and green and-" Emma stopped her sentence midway, skipping over to Cooper who seemed to have materialised into the hallway.

"Cooper!" She squealed, taking a run and jump towards him, forcing him to catch her for fear of having the wind knocked out of him.

Cooper laughed and ruffled Emma's hair. "Still want a girl?" He whispered at Charlotte, a smirk playing over his lips. "'Cause we could just pack this one into a suitcase, I bet no-one would even know that she's missing..."

"Hey," Emma giggled, throwing her arms around Cooper's leg, "people would too know!"

"Mm hmm," Rebecca smiled, "people would finally know what quiet sounds like. They'd realise straight away."

"Mommy" Emma laughed, sticking her tongue out.

Charlotte and Emma had spent around twenty minutes making pictures of glittery fairy castles, with Charlotte trying her best to keep up with both Emma's ramblings, and the conversation taking place amongst the adults in the room. Her ears now exhausted, Charlotte had given up on fairy castles, opting instead to lean against the worktop and converse with grown-up voices, leaving Emma to conjure up her new fairy queen picture in peace.

"So have you finished the wedding planning yet?" Rebecca asked the happy couple, whilst trying to keep a watchful eye on her mischievous daughter.

"We've actually decided to move the wedding forward," Cooper announced, glancing over at Charlotte.

"Oh really?" Angie chirped in, making an effort to keep a positive demeanour in Charlotte's presence.

"Mm," Charlotte nodded, "we decided that a spring wedding was more up our alley, only bringin' it forward about a month, but we didn't want to put it off any longer if we could help it. Feels like we've waited forever as it is..."

Cooper grinned, "I want to be Mr Charlotte King before she has the chance to change her mind."

Charlotte laughed, "You've got no chance of shaking me off now, Freedman."

"Always good to hear," he replied, enjoying the camaraderie in the room.

"Oh that's so lovely," Rebecca stated, "you two are just a match made in heaven, don't you think so Uncle Ted?"

"I was actually thinking this one here is too good for my clown of a son," he said with a chortle, nudging Charlotte with his shoulder. "But they make a pretty good partnership, I'll give you that."

Charlotte laughed along with the group, accidentally catching Angie's eye, feeling awkward she immediately turned away.

"I'd like to say something," Angie cut in, glancing back over at Charlotte. "I've not-" she sighed, "well, to be honest, I've not been in the best frame of mind during your stay here, and I just want to let it be known that after all that has taken place over the course of this week... I've learned that you are a woman filled with class, elegance and far more emotional maturity than I've managed to display over these past few days-"

"Angie," Charlotte interrupted, "you don't have to do this. Honestly, it's not necessary."

"It is." Angie said, sincerity in her voice. "I've not treated you with the respect you deserve, and I've spent my time with you judging your past, when what I should have been seeing was your integrity and how unbelievably happy you seem to make my son. I hope that you can both forgive me, and that you'll allow me to attend your wedding..."

"Of course you're comin' to the wedding," Charlotte relented, moving over towards the woman, placing her hand lightly on Angie's upper arm. "We're family now, of course you're comin'."

Cooper frowned, running his hands once more through his hair. "Look, Mom, thing's happen, okay? Let's just move on... Forget all about it."

"I'd like that," Angie agreed, looking skyward in an attempt not to let her emotions get the better of her.

"Well, that's settled then." Charlotte smiled.

"Did I miss something?" Rebecca whispered at Ted, utterly confused by the display in front of her.

"Yes, Rebecca, you did," he affirmed with a nod. "Hell freezing over."

"Since we're talkin' about weddings," Charlotte stated, relieved that the situation with Angie had been resolved, "I have somethin' to ask lil' miss over there."

"Me?" Emma piped up, brown ringlets swinging as she craned her neck to look over at Charlotte.

"Well, only if it's somethin' you wanna do..." She grinned, watching the little girl's eyes sparkle in anticipation.

"What is it?" Emma asked, bouncing over to stand in front of the blonde woman she'd grown so fond of.

"I have a very special job for you to do at the wedding, one that should be lots an' lots of fun" Charlotte began. "Have you ever heard of a flower girl?"

A/N: So there we go, the final chapter :) Please review! I love to hear your thoughts. Also, if you haven't checked it out yet, have a glance over my new fic 'Rogue' (which is another tale regarding Charlotte and Cooper), which is something I plan on continuing with.