Last chapter, folks. And if any of the last two chapters seems familiar, I borrowed the ideas from the movie Fireproof (If you haven't seen it, I encourage you to. It's beautiful!)

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SIX YEARS LATER

"Are you sure you want to hear this story again, Kaya?" I asked, sighing as I looked at the worn cover of the book titled "The Moose who Drank Pink Lemonade".

"Yes, Mommy, please?" Big brown eyes looked up at me from underneath brown strands of thick hair.

"Alright honey," I replied, trying not to seem as annoyed at the book as I really was. My daughter sat cross legged on the bed with her blanket wrapped around her, leaning forward as she prepared to listen. Every time I looked at her, I was amazed at how much she looked like her father! She had his eyes, coffee colored and filled with expression, but she had my skin which looked very pale underneath her hair which was a perfect blend of Johnny's pure black and my light brown.

I blinked a few times and then opened the book to the first page.

"Hamilton the Moose had been hiking in the hills all day long and was feeling very thirsty indeed!" I read, "He came upon a mouse who was drinking the dewdrops off the blades of grass. 'Mr. Mouse, may I trouble you for a drink?' Hamilton asked politely, for Hamilton was always taught to be polite! 'I'm sorry, Hamilton, but there simply isn't enough dew in this patch of grass to satisfy you!' the little mouse replied…"

"Mommy?"

I stopped reading and looked up.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"You're not doing the voices," my five year old stated, matter of fact.

"Voices?"

"Daddy always makes their voices," Kaya explained.

I smiled and sighed.

"Well, I'm sorry, Kaya, but Daddy has to work tonight," I explained. "But he'll be back tomorrow night and the next. You know he works very hard at the fire station."

"Yeah…" Kaya's face looked thoughtful, "Daddy's very strong, isn't he mommy?"

"Yes, Ky," I replied with a smile, "He's the strongest man I know."

"And he's nice?"

"Yes he is, very nice!"

"And he saves people from fires?"

"That's right. All the time."

Kaya fell silent and I almost went back to reading, but then she gave a little sigh.

"Mommy, when I grow up I want to marry Daddy," her statement was so unexpected that I had to try not to laugh because she looked dead serious!

"Well, Kaya, you can't marry Daddy," I reasoned, "I'm married to Daddy and that means no other girl can marry him but me."

Kaya looked genuinely disappointed and she looked almost ready to cry.

"But I love Daddy!" she said quietly.

I smiled at her and pulled her into a warm embrace.

"And Daddy loves you too," I soothed, "Very, VERY much!"

She nodded into me and I pushed her back a little to look in her eyes.

"But I'll tell you what," I whispered to her as if I was sharing a precious secret, "If you're very careful with your heart, you can marry someone like your daddy. Maybe even a fireman like him."

"Just like him mommy?" Kaya looked hopeful again, "Will he be as cute as daddy?"

"Yes, KY-bear," I replied with a laugh, "He'll be just as cute as daddy."

Kaya seemed appeased and she sat back into her previous position to hear the rest of the story.

"Good," she said, with a nod, "I guess you can have Daddy then."

"Well thank you for your generosity," I said, grinning like mad. I picked the book back up and continued from where we let off, making sure to 'do the voices' as I went.

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TADA! The End. Let me know what you all thought of the story! Keep posted for more in the future!

Once again, a hearty thank you to everyone who stuck with this story to the end and I hope it was all satisfyingly wrapped up. God Bless!