Disclaimer: I don't own them.

A/N: Okay, so I decided to just post them together. :) They're both short, but I didn't want to add more just to have more, you know? Substance and all that…

Anyway, this is the first fan fiction I've actually completed, and I don't know whether to cry or be ecstatic. I know that I could not have done it without all of your wonderful support, whether in the form of reviews or simply reading. It made me so happy.

And, as I love Halle too much, there will be short, one-chapter stories from this world, because we have some holes to fill in. :) I did a little bit of hinting in this epilogue, so there's definitely good things to come…

Let me know what you think, and thanks again for everything!! (And now I can start another one… hehe.)

Epilogue: The end, The beginning.

I opened my eyes slowly, and though my reflection should have been clear in front of me, it was blurry. I blinked back the tears, focusing on the picture tucked into the frame of the large mirror, half-way up. The woman was beaming, her short, dark hair fanned out around her face, her arms wrapped around a auburn-haired child, beside a more sedate-looking man, with thin glasses and light brown hair. He had a hesitant smile, but love for the two girls beside him shone clearly in his eyes. It was unmistakable.

The tears escaped down my cheeks as I heard the door behind me open and close softly. I didn't turn, but I knew who it was.

Her soft hand fell on my shoulder and I turned, hugging her tightly and burying my face in her chest as I had since I was nine years old. "I… I wish they were here, today."

She crouches down in front of me and pulls out a cloth handkerchief, wiping at the tears. "Oh, Halle, baby, I know. I wish they were too…" She wraps her arms around me and squeezes. "I know that they would have wanted to be… and, baby… if there's anything beyond this world... heaven or ghosts or anything like it, honey, then nothing could keep them from being here. You know that. They loved you more than anything."

I nod, wiping at my eyes too, and finally glancing into the mirror. "…I ruined my make-up…" I add miserably, with the implication of salt being rubbed into my wounds. She smiles softly.

"But your dress is beautiful. Let's give you a quick touch-up, okay?"

I nod, sniffling. "Thanks, Mom."

She drags my make-up bag across the vanity in front of me and within minutes I'm leaning close to the mirror, unable to pick out a sign that I'd been crying. "…You think I look okay?"

She beams at me. "Halle, honey, there has never been a more beautiful bride in the whole world. I can't wait until Jeffrey sees you in this dress…"

I hug her tightly again, and sniffle. There's a knock at the door, and then my dad peeks around the corner, the blue eyes I inherited twinkling. "Ready, Halle-Bally?"

I grin at the childhood nickname and both of my biological parents guide me downstairs, where Jeff's sister is grinning like a fool in her emerald green dress, bouquet in hand. My mom hugs me tightly, kisses my cheek, and hurries out to let the ushers seat her and Jeff's parents.

My dad squeezes the arm that's linked through his. "I can't believe my baby is all grown up…"

I blush, nudging him, blinking back the tears that are brimming again. "Daaad..."

He chuckles. "Did you see Andy?"

I shake my head. "No… does he look good in his tux?" My teenage brother was Jeff's groomsman. We had wanted a small, intimate wedding.

"Oh yeah. And he's been eyeing all of your friends already, so you might want to warn them of his overly-healthy ego. A ten year age difference won't discourage him…"

I giggle, and then Audrey turns to me, her eyes sparkling. "The music is starting, let's go!"

We move out into the bright Las Vegas sunlight and through an arch of real flowers—my mom had insisted—and my eyes take in the rows of white chairs.

I see my Aunt Catherine, next to Lindsey, and my Uncles Nick, Greg, and Warrick, with their dates. Eli waved exuberantly at me—I'd been babysitting him since he was a couple months old. My gramma is in the front, tears already sliding down her cheeks, and my Uncle Andrew—my brother's namesake—grins cheesily. When my gramma had insisted on running my parents engagement announcement in the L.A. papers, he'd come to reconnect with my mom. He'd been one of my best friends growing up.

There were other family friends, my friends, Jeff's friends and family… an inordinate amount of officers of the LVPD, and nearly half the staff of UNLV… and then, with Audrey half-way down the aisle, my dad and I stepped forward, and Jeffrey and Andy came into my sight.

With a mop of brown curls on his head, my brother looks devilishly handsome—every inch the bad boy your parents wouldn't approve of, but with a heart of gold. I glance at my dad, and he winks at me. I had a feeling it would be my friends approaching him…

And then there's Jeffrey—the most amazing man I'd ever known. He had light brown hair and freckles on his nose and a romantic soul… and he was looking at me as if he'd never seen beauty—never known love—before this moment. My dad squeezes my arm a final time, and we start down the aisle.