Four and a half years later

"Do you, Lucas Friar, take Riley Matthews to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold from this day forward until death do you part?"

"I do," his eyes shine.

"Do you, Riley Matthews, take Lucas Friar to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold from this day forward until death do you part?"

"I do," my eyes well up with tears.

"The bride and groom have decided to write their own vows. Lucas," the minister gestures to him.

His green glossy eyes meet my brown ones, "Riley, I have dreamt of this day more than I can count, to be the person standing here next to you, makes me feel like the luckiest person alive. This journey with you started when you were pushed into my lap that day on the subway, and I was instantly drawn to you," he has the smile that makes me go weak in my knees. "That day is the day the light inside me sparked, and loving you more and more each day is what keeps in burning inside of me. I promise to always love you." He stares into my eyes, "You are my best friend, my soul mate and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you." I quickly wipe the tears that are sliding down my face.

"Now the bride."

I take a deep breath, "One thing that I have learned while being with you is that love is patient. You waited until I was ready for this journey with you." I laugh through my tears, "I'm sorry I took so long," he mouths it's okay. "I remember the day I realized I love you. You had sunk into my room the night that I had confronted my bully in the 7thgrade. I vented to you about how the words still hurt, and you held me as I cried," tears fall and his hands reach to lightly brush them away and I smile. "It was the first night that I fell asleep in your arms. The first time I truly felt safe with someone other than my parents, and that's when I knew. I never had to hide who I was from you, you accepted me the way I am. Lucas, I relive that moment with you every single day, but the love that I felt that night for you has only multiplied and intensified every single day I've spent with you and the days we spent apart. I love you, Lucas."

I hear someone clear their throat and I pause the DVD, I face the direction of the sound and I see my handsome husband staring at me as he walks down from the last step. "Shouldn't you finish packing? You don't want to miss our flight to New York."

I sigh, "I still can't believe Auggie is graduating from NYU. It feels like it was just yesterday that we were telling mom that he wanted to study photography."

Lucas laughs, "That must've went well," I hear the presents of sarcasm in his voice as he makes his way towards me taking a seat on the couch.

"It surprising did, and now he already has a job waiting for him with the same company that Shawn works for. He's going to do amazing things." I gasp, "And there is Farkle and Smackle's wedding next weekend. It's about time those two are finally tying the knot, and they talk about us," Lucas and I both laugh.

I lay my head on his shoulder and he sighs, "I think this is the first time in weeks that we've been able to sit and enjoy each other's company," he says he pulls me closer to him.

"Well with your clinic finally picking up-"

"And your blog," he takes the words right out of my mouth. "I'm still so amazed by that. I read everything you write." A blush makes its way to my cheeks.

"And-"

"Mommy!" a little brown eyed blonde boy yells slowing making his way down the stairs. We both smile at the sound of his voice, and watch as his carefully makes his way to the bottom.

"And this little boy," I say as he runs and jumps on the both of us and we erupt in laughter.

"Did you finish picking up all the toys in your room, Theo?" Lucas ask a little sternly and his little eyes lock with my matching ones. He knows what he is doing; he has me wrapped around his little finger. I pull my gaze from this hypnotizing eyes and look at the other pair of eyes that hypnotize me. Lucas gives me a lock, telling me to be strong.

I look back at Theo, "Daddy asked you question."

He looks at Lucas and then back at his hands, "No."

"No, sir," Lucas corrects him.

"No, sir," Theo repeats.

"Well you hurry right up those stairs and finish."

"Okay daddy," Theo gives Lucas a tight hug. He tears himself away from Lucas and launches himself at me. He wraps his arms around me and squeezes me. I love his hugs; he always squeezes so hard you can feel the love.

"I love you, Theo," I whisper.

"I love mommy!" he exclaims and a small chuckle escapes from my lips. I look at Lucas and he is gazing at the both of us with a smile that swallows his face. "And daddy!"

"I love you, too, buddy. Now your room," Lucas says pointing to the stairs with a smile that he is trying to hide.

"But-" I look at Lucas, but he give me a look. "You have to listen daddy," he slowly pulls away. "But if you do a good job, maybe you can have a cookie," I whisper and Theo smiles.

Lucas and I both watch as he makes his way up the stairs. We watch as he disappears out of view, and Lucas pulls out the screen monitor from his pocket and holds it so the both of us can watch. We see Theo move around his shark themed room picking up all his toys and putting them in his toy chest. I can't help the tears that well up in my eyes and I sniffle a little.

"What's wrong?" Lucas' voice is soft.

"I just, it doesn't hurt anymore. I miss her every single day but it doesn't hurt. We have a beautiful 3-year-old little boy. We're a family; I'm happy." I take a deep breath, "Does that make me awful?"

He shakes his head, "Not at all. It's okay to be happy." He lifts my head so I'm looking at him, "Hope will always be with us every day in here," he places his other hand on my chest. He dries my stray tears and we both turn our attention to the monitor.

We watch as Theo runs around his room, some toys still out of place, with his stuffed shark pretending to eat everything in sight. Lucas and I both laugh. I snuggle closer to Lucas.

"To think he was made the night of Maya and Zay's wedding," Lucas laugh. "Or sometime that week. We agreed to take everything slow between us, but it was hard to keep my hands off you after being apart for so long." He runs his finger up my arm and I giggle.

"And it only took me a little over a year after having Theo to finally say yes to marrying you," I tease.

"We were trying to put him to sleep, but he was being extremely fussy fighting to stay awake. We were weaning him off the pacifier, and we were both exhausted and weak and decided to give in."

Lucas laughs, "You said that you threw them all out, but you had really hidden them in the kitchen."

"I had gone to go get one and wash it, and that's when I heard your voice. I thought you had come downstairs, but it was the baby monitor. I listened to you talk to him, sooth him. You told-"

"I told him the story of how you and I met," he cuts me of and we smile at each other. "I told him that I'd wait for you for forever to agree to marry me, but I didn't have to wait that much longer."

"I walked in and you were walking around the room with Theo in your arms, and I fell in love all over again. All I was able to muster out was a yes, but-"

"I knew exactly what you were talking about." He starts laughing and so do I at the memory, "It took everything inside me not to jump with joy because I didn't want to wake up our little boy, but that was one of the happiest moments in my life."

I place both of my hands on the sides of his face, "I love you, Lucas."

"I love you, Riley Frair," I blush. I will never get tired of hearing that, especially coming from his lips.

He presses his lips against mine and electricity is all I feel. I deepen the kiss and before I know it I'm straddling him. He starts to kiss my neck, and a soft moan escapes.

"Daddy!" Theo shouts and I immediately jump off. "I finished!"

Lucas groans, "We really do need some alone time." I laugh as he pulls himself off the couch. He starts to walk towards to stairs, but turns around, "Let's have another baby." A smile exudes from his lips.

I bite my lip, "Really? You want another one?"

"Of course I do! We need more of you in this world," he locks eyes with me and I smile. "So is that a yes?" I nod my head and I can see excitement wash over his face. "Do you want me to finish packing for you?"

"No. I just want to finish watching our wedding video and then I'll be up there."

"Okay, but we have to leave here in an hour," he continues up the stairs and one last time he turns around when he is half way up, "You know I asked you dad for permission once our senior year and he said yes, and I called him the day Farkle told me I was coming to see you. I didn't hesitate to ask and he didn't' hesitate to give me permission. I always knew you were the one."

"So did I, and apparently, my dad did too."

"Well, yeah he knows the story," he laughs and so do I. Lucas finishes the last few steps before he is at the top and I press play.

"As you place this ring on the bride's finger please repeat after me: I give you this ring to wear as a symbol of my abiding love. My eternal faith, and my undying devotion. It is an outward reminder of our inner unity." the minster says.

"I give you this ring to wear as a symbol of my abiding love. My eternal faith, and my undying devotion. It is an outward reminder of our inner unity," Lucas says as he slides the ring on my finger and tears make an appearance as does a smile on the both of us.

The minster turns to me, "As you place this ring on the groom's finger please repeat after me: I give you this ring to wear as a symbol of my abiding love. My eternal faith, and my undying devotion. It is an outward reminder of our inner unity."

I sniffle, "I give you this ring to wear as a symbol of my abiding love. My eternal faith, and my undying devotion. It is an outward reminder of our inner unity." I slide the ring on his finger and we are both have smiles on our faces.

"I now pronounce husband and wife; you may kiss the bride." Lucas engulfs me into his arms and slams his lips against mine. We reluctantly pull apart and face the crowd. Everyone is standing and clapping.

My eyes move to Theo, who is in Lucas' mom arm, who is helping him clap. Lucas grabs my hand and we start to walk down the few steps. We stop once we reach the bottom and Lucas takes Theo, and we walk down the aisle hand and hand with Theo on Lucas' hip.

I pause the video as it shows the three of us at the end of the aisle. The three of us smiling and my eyes become glossed over. It's everything I ever wanted, years that I spent telling myself I didn't deserve, but now I know better.

When I get upstairs, I hear my two favorite boys laughing in the room. I hurry to mine and Lucas' room to finish packing. I had more done than I had thought. There is only a few more things I need to put into our suitcases.

I grab the clothes I'm going to change into when I'm finished, and maneuver into our bathroom.

"Riley, are you in here?" Lucas's voice echoes.

"Yeah I'm changing. I'll be out right now." I quickly get dress and walk out. His eyes move over my body, and I love it every single time he does it. It makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Why do you have a shirt that says no sushi, no martini, no latte. Didn't you have that exact shirt when you were pregnant with Theo? I thought you got rid of all that clothes."

I smile, "I did."

"Why did you go and, oh!" realization takes over his face and his eyes widen. "Riley, are you pregnant?!" I nod as I smile. He lifts me up and spins me, "I'm going to be a dad again! Oh, my god, you're pregnant! How far along are you?"

I laugh, "I'm nine weeks."

"I can't believe this!" he touches his lips to mine and we are both smiling as he pepper kisses all over my face.

Theo runs through the door, "Why you yelling?!" he shouts.

Lucas squats down to his level and I do the same, "Mommy and daddy have really good news we want to share with you."

"What is?" Theo asks.

"I'm going to have a baby, and that mean you are going to be a big brother," I say as I poke his stomach. "You're going to have a brother or sister."

"Where is baby?"

Lucas and I both touch my stomach, "In here for now," I say, "but soon the baby will be out."

"Can I-I-I touch?" Lucas and I both nod and his little hand finds his way to my stomach. He moves his hand all around my stomach and my heart warms by the joy that is on his face, on both their faces.

His smile drops, "Y-you love me a-and baby or baby more?"

I stand up, take his hand, and walk over to my bed. I sit on the edge and pull him up onto my lap and Lucas follows suit. "I will always love you. You and the baby the same."

"When the baby comes, it just mean you get to love another person but it also means another person will love you," Lucas adds.

"Me, daddy, mommy, and baby a family."

I smile, "Yes, sweetheart." He jumps off my lap and onto the floor and runs out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Lucas yells after him.

"To make room for baby," he shouts back and we both chuckle.

Lucas take my hand in his, "We are going to have a baby."

"We are."

He leans his forehead against mine and I can stay in this moment forever, but that is sort lived when my phone starts ringing. I pull myself off the bed and move to the dresser where my phone is at. I look down to see Maya's name flashing at me.

"It's Maya."

"Are you going to tell her?"

I shake my head, "No I'm going to wait till we are there, and I'll tell everyone individually. I kind of want to tell our parents first." Lucas nods in agreement.

I hit accept.

Hey Peaches.

Honey! When is your flight? Emily here keeps asking about Theo.

I laugh. I'm surprised Theo hasn't mentioned Emily.

"He did," Lucas chimes in. "When he and I were playing, he kept saying that he missed her."

So, I stand corrected. I laugh. We are going to leave here in about fifteen minutes our flight leaves in a few hours.

How long are you guys staying?

Just two weeks. Auggie's graduation and the wedding. And a little good news. I mumble the last part.

We can't wait to see you all. You have the missing pieces to my husband and daughter all the way in Seattle. She laughs, as do I. You said you have news? Is that an invitation for me to ask?

So, you heard me, and no. I promise I'll tell you by the end of the end.

You better! New York can't wait to welcome back, my riles and her family even if it is just for two weeks. You all have a safe flight. I love you.

Love you too. I'll call you when we're all settled in at my parents' apartment. Bye Peaches.

I hand up the phone and Lucas instantly starts laughing, "What's so funny?"

"I thought for sure you were going to tell her."

"I wanted to! But no, she was the first to know with Theo well besides you, and that meant Zay knew; he told everyone before we could." Lucas breaks into a heap of laughter. "It's not funny! Your mother and mine were heart broken, and let's not get started on the theatrics of my dad. They have to hear it from us."

"Whoever meets us at the airport, you are going to blow. You are itching to tell someone."

"I am!" I exclaim.

He starts to stand up, "If you don't want anyone to guess, I suggest maybe a different shirt," he says as he walks out of the room to go check on Theo.

I quickly pull the shirt off and grab an olive green v-neck to match with my black leggings. I look in the mirror and hold my hand over my stomach. I'm filled with a mixture of emotions. I'm excited to be pregnant, but I can't help the pitch of emptiness that surfaces. I close my eyes, and place my hand over my chest.

"You'll always be here baby girl. You'll always be my Hope." I keep my eye shut and I can feel her all around me, and I'm filled with bliss.

"Mommy," Theo says running back in. I open my eyes and look at him. He smiles at me, and it makes every negative feeling fade away. "Daddy says we need to go."

"Okay, I'll be right out there."

"I get to see Emily," he chants as he runs out and I smile at his adorableness.

Lucas helps me carry the suitcases down the stairs. Just as he gets the last one down a horn honks from outside.

"That's the taxi," Lucas says. "You just take care of you and Theo, and I'll take care of the luggage."

"Are you sure? I can help."

He shakes his head, "I'm sure, plus you have a sugar active little boy on your hands." I look and see Theo running around the living room. "It was your idea to give him a cookie before a flight, and I might have given him another one," he says the last bit under his breath.

"Lucas!"

He grabs two of the suitcases and walks right past me, "He asked and I was weak. I mean look at him, how can I say no to him," he kisses me on the cheek and moves out the door.

"You are supposed to be the strong one here," I call out after him.

After few minutes of chasing Theo around, I manage to settle him down just enough to get him into the taxi. Lucas is done loading up before we are even, and the whole-time Lucas is laughing.

When we finally get situated in the taxi, Lucas tells the driver where to go. Twenty minutes into the drive, and our little boy is sound asleep in Lucas' lap. I can't help but admire the view. He catches my gaze and smiles at me and my heart beat fastens. I lean to place a soft kiss on cheek, but he turns his head slightly so my lips touch his. I pull away, and we lock eyes. He is everything that I've ever wanted. We both look down at our son, and Lucas reaches to touch my stomach.

"You have a lovely family," the taxi driver says.

"Thank you, Ma'am," I look in the rearview mirror and she's smiling at me. I return my gaze back to my little family. "They are my whole world," I say as I look down at Theo and back up at Lucas who is already looking at me. My heart races, and all I can think is how happy I am at this exact moment and that's all that matters.