A/N: Sorry it took me so long to write the conclusion! I've had homework like you wouldn't believe... well, here's the end; I hope you like it. Bon voyage!

Chapter 12:

Shaggy sat by the pond, staring at his reflection.

Beside him was the bush of roses-- orange roses. Orange roses that always reminded him of Velma.

He reflected as the pool reflected.

He reflected on that day, years ago. That day when Dr. Georgis had told him Velma wasn't going to live, that day when Shaggy saw the doctor himself cry. That day when Shaggy had watched as the hospital team had systematically prepared to remove her life support, had lifted the phone to call her parents...

Shaggy shivered at the memory, despite this being a ninety-degree June day. In the middle of this backyard garden of life, he remembered that day when all he could think about were death and sorrow.

"Shaggy? There you are!"

Shaggy turned to face the voice, laughed, and scooted over to make room for Velma on the stone bench.

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"Way to sneak up behind me, Velms!"

The brunette simply giggled and hugged Shaggy. Shaggy put his arms around his wife and kissed her.

His wife...

"Five years now." Velma nodded at Shaggy's statement. Five years. To think that for so long the two words were merely synonymous with cured. Today, however, they had another meaning. Velma had never thought that when this day finally came, she would almost not remember it because she was celebrating something happier.

"We certainly didn't waste any time, did we?"

It was true. The very day Velma had been pronounced "in remission" had been the day she and Shaggy were married. Now they were celebrating their five-year anniversary.

"I have a present for you," Shaggy told Velma, standing up. He walked over behind the shed, Velma following him curiously.

Her husband pulled out a sapling, still in its little black pot, waiting to be planted. The tree was so young Velma wasn't quite sure, but she thought it looked like a dogwood.

"Oh, right... I get it." Velma kissed Shaggy on the cheek. "Fifth anniversary... that's wood."

"Actually, it's for new life." Shaggy seemed to remember the significance of his wife's being cured better than she did. "You're free, now. You're really alive."

"Jinkies, I was alive as soon as you told me why I should be," Velma whispered, placing her arms on his shoulders. The couple experienced a brief flashback to that day back at the hospital...

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Shaggy sat alone in the waiting room, refusing to leave despite Dr. Georgis's prognosis. He tried to put the ideas together.

Dead... Velma. Was she already?

He didn't even notice the six-foot man as he raced into the room.

"Mr. Rogers--"

Now Shaggy noticed but said nothing. He only stared up at the doctor's ruddy face.

The face wasn't crying anymore. The face was... smiling. Almost.

"Mr. Rogers... you should be made aware that Miss Dinkley has awakened."

"Zoinks!" Shaggy yelled the word, probably awakening every last one of the hospital's thousands of patients.

The doctor motioned with his hands for Shaggy to calm down, but he did not comment. Instead, he continued as the two raced down the hall.

"Mr. Rogers, you are a miraculous man. You should have studied medicine."

"Excuse me?" Shaggy didn't fully understand; he was making little effort to process the doctor's story.

"There is no doubt in my mind that it was you whose words gave our patient the will... the will to come back," Dr. Georgis panted.

"How come?" Shaggy hoped he didn't ask too rudely.

"By what she said immediately after waking up."

"What did she say?"

They had reached the room now. Dr. Georgis began to open the door.

"Only one word. But from what you were saying to her I'm positive I know what she meant..."

"What did she say?" Shaggy asked again, slightly annoyed at the suspense.

"She said yes."

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The memory once again passed as the couple finished putting their shovels away after planting the tree next to the rose garden. They washed their hands at the spigot and paused for a minute to admire their work.

Finally Velma spoke. "New life..."

"In ways more than one." Shaggy placed a hand on his wife's stomach. Velma blushed.

"Speaking of which... we should probably get the kids ready, huh?"

Shaggy nodded as they climbed the back steps into the house. Shaggy began brushing the hair of Christina, the four-year-old daughter they had adopted. That was one respect in which Velma now saw the cancer that had tortured herself, her family, and her friends for years as a blessing. Were it not for the fact that Dr. Georgis had explained to the couple that Velma's cancer treatments had impaired her ability to have children, they probably never would have even met this creative girl who now brought so much happiness to their lives.

Velma, meanwhile, went upstairs to awaken two-year-old Derrick from his nap. Derrick, the son who had proven Dr. Georgis wrong. He's about to be wrong again, Velma thought with a happy sort of mischief.

Finally, the children were ready to go. The family and Scooby all climbed into the car. They were going to meet Fred, Daphne, and their kids at their all-time favorite haunt, the Malt Shop. Where else? The celebration of not one but two couples' anniversaries called for a place that was very near and dear to everyone involved. That day five years ago, the wedding that joined two couples had sealed the fact that two things truly would last forever: Love and friendship. Velma and Shaggy smiled at each other as Shaggy started the engine.

"Happy anniversary, honey." They kissed once more as Velma fastened her seatbelt. The setting sun spilled through the windshield, glittering merrily on Velma's ring.

The ring she had never taken off her finger.