Hello everyone!

This is it, the final chapter! I'm so happy to finally upload this and finish this monster. I first started posting this eleven years ago, when I randomly found episodes of this online and rediscovered the fandom.

I hope I managed to close this story well, I always planned to end it like this. I hope you like one of the new characters that I think you wanted to meet.

Thank you again for sticking with this and enjoy!

TFG

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The day of the wedding dawned bright and beautiful. And, as everything had been so well organised and had gone so smoothly, there was very little to do. There were the usually last-minute preparations, such as reorganising the seating charts due to last minute cancellations, and a last minute change of decorations due to the florist running out of one particular flower. But otherwise it was a relatively calm day.

Getting out of bed, Ella was excited to get the day started. She had been looking forward to this wedding for months, if not years. She had a lot of things to do before she began to get ready for the evenings events and she figured she had better get started on them.

She had gotten dressed in simple leggings and an oversized sweater, after so many years it was still her staple wardrobe. She didn't need to shower yet, as she would be having a very thorough cleaning later to get ready.

She walked down the hall and stairs barefooted and came to kitchen, hoping to be the first one up so that she could get breakfast ready. Unfortunately, Magda was already up and at the stove, with Cal sitting at the kitchen table.

"Maggie, you shouldn't be making breakfast today, I told you I was going to make it," Ella said, trying to get the older hen to move away from the stove.

"I tried to tell her, but she insisted," Cal chimed up from his place at the kitchen table, drinking from his favourite coffee mug. It was an awfully garish thing, that was completely lopsided, but it had been made out of love for him, so he drank from it every morning.

"I wanted to make breakfast today. It helps me relax," Magda replied, her short blond mane pushed back by a fabric headband.

"But, you've done it once before, surely your not nervous," Ella said, having finally gotten to the oven to pull out the fresh raisin cinnamon loaf of bread that had been baking.

"Yeah, Maggie, why are you so nervous?" asked Cal, swivelling around to look at Magda.

Fortunately for Magda, she was prevented from answering by the stomping of tiny feet coming down the stairs and launching herself through the kitchen door. She was still dressed in her nightgown, with her light brown and silver mane a tangle of knots rather than curls and her feet covered in a pair of fluffy pink slippers.

"Hey there, Ari-parry!" Cal said, the little duckling launching herself at him, then sitting on his lap.

"Good morning, Grandpa! Good morning Grandma! Good morning mama!" little Ariana exclaimed, looking around the room with her big green eyes, that were still a little crusted over in sleep.

"Good morning, mon amour, how are you feeling today?" Ella said as she came over with her daughter's breakfast plate, that contained fruit, yoghurt and the fresh baked bread.

Ella had always thought her daughter was a complete marvel. After everything they all went through during the occupation, Ariana Flashblade had come into the world as the biggest bundle of happiness and joy. She had the beautiful green eyes of her mother, but the lighter colouring of her father, giving her a beautiful appearance. She was little darker coloured than her father, more of a cream colour rather than white, but in the right light you would swear she had white plumage.

She had been born at the height of the Saurian Occupation, when many ducklings had been killed and many ducks were dying. They were all in mortal danger all the time, and yet all that vanished when Ella looked into her daughters' eyes. It had been that happy little duckling that had given her the strength to keep fighting the invading aggressors.

It had been her daughters smile that had made Ella pull herself together during the reconstruction of the cities around the planet. She needed to make sure her daughter had a home that was finally safe, and not a secret underground base. Her daughter needed to see the sun and the sky everyday, and feel fresh air on her face.

And it was her love for her daughter that made her get up every morning after General McMallard had informed her that the love of her life was part of the Strike Force that had caused the liberation of the planet. The Strike Force that was missing in action, assumed dead.

It was only her motherly love for her daughter that made her try to live her life again. Plus, Magda and Cal's determination to make sure that she survived her grief. They had all grown closer during the occupation, they were all in the same Resistance Base, and both of the older ducks were unwilling to lose another one of their children because of the evil Saurian invaders. They had already lost their biological children; they could stand to lose Ella as well.

It took a lot for Ella to climb out of her grief, especially since Wildwing was only assumed dead. She felt she might have had more closure if they had found a body. If she had her way, she would have stayed in bed, crying, until she starved herself to death. The gaping black hole of loss seemed too large to ever get over.

Magda had sat down with her every day, making her eat a meagre breakfast and forcing her to get dressed and care for her child. Cal had taken through all the exercises that she had perfected during the occupation while Magda cared for Ariana. They had also both talked to her about their experiences losing their loved ones over the years.

It had been a lot of work, but eventually, Ella had begun to get herself up in the morning. She had then managed to feed herself. Magda kept on telling her it was the small victories that mattered when dealing with grief.

Every year though, on anniversaries, she did regress back a little. Luckily, she had begun to celebrate most of those anniversaries with Ari as she was now beginning to understand just why her mother got so sad. This had turned these days of mourning into days of celebrating what she had had, and what she had now.

Now, after six years, Ella could get through the day of her and Wildwing's anniversary with a smile at the happy memories. Cal kept on telling her that this was the first step in fully moving on, and that she might actually start dating soon. He had added that she was still young, only twenty-seven and could easily find a new partner, just like he and Magda.

That was something she wished Wildwing and Canard had lived to see, that she was right about Magda and Cal. The two older ducks had gotten together in the last days of the occupation, even though Cal was going out with Ella in the coordinated attack to aid the Strike Force attack. It would have tickled them both to realise that, after years of almost being brothers, they would official be brothers this evening. It was something that the three adults' ducks were very aware of.

"Right, everyone, let's get this eaten and then we'll head over to the memorial site," Magda said, putting down the last of the breakfast plates.

It was a very lively breakfast, as Ariana loved staying over at her grandparents' house. She was spoiled rotten, and would often do arts and crafts with them. Which was how Cal had ended up with brightly coloured, lopsided mug. It wasn't very usual for Ella to stay over though, but they had decided to stay the night together as a family before the wedding.

This house wasn't the exact same house that Magda had lived in before. That house had been a shell, having been partly destroyed and looted during the occupation. The wedding band that Magda had given to Wildwing had gone missing, as well as some other knickknacks. A strange thing to have been looted from a destroyed house.

The residential streets had taken a while to rebuild, most ducks lived in large dormitories for a prolonged period of time as they rebuilt. When they finally moved back into the house, it had been completely bare. The three adults had spent years decorating it again, as there were few resources to be frivolously used for decoration.

Then, after three years, Ella had moved out into her own home with her daughter. It was only a few streets away, completely within walking distance, so that Ella and Ari could actually come over for breakfast every day. But Ella had felt the need for her own space, so that she could start her life properly.

She could not have moved back to Bardon though, for many reasons. The city had been hit really hard by the Saurians, being almost completely razed to the ground. Like many University cities and the United Nations compounds. She had tried to go back to see her apartment, and it had literally not been there anymore.

It was also too hard to move back to Bardon, even if it was able to be lived in any time soon. Every place she went, even though the buildings were no longer there, sparked a memory of those who were no longer there. Especially memories of Wildwing.

Once breakfast was finished, everyone got ready to go and Ella got Ariana ready. Which was incredibly difficult due to all the knots in her daughter's mane. The little girl had cried all the way through her mother brushing her mane and only calmed done when her grandfather came in to hold her.

Getting her daughter dressed was never a problem, after her mane was tamed. Ari liked to pick out her own clothes and dress herself. She never really wore anything too ridiculous either, just a lot of bright colours. That was why she appeared downstairs in a bright yellow skirt with a luminous pink sweater and boots.

Considering they were all going to get changed into their wedding outfits later that afternoon, it really didn't matter what Ari was wearing. There might be a few members of the press around the memorial site, as the wedding of three members of the Strike Force was big news. But Ella didn't really mind the comments about how her child was dressed brightly in a sombre place, she had always encouraged Ari to celebrate her father and be herself. She wasn't going to change that based on some old hens' thoughts on mourning. They had all be in mourning for long enough.

The drive to the memorial site wasn't that long, they city had decided to make the site in the centre of the city where the old city hall had been. It had been the first-place hit, as well as the hardest hit. It felt right to turn that into a place to remember those who died.

The city had changed a lot over the years. The once dense streets had now made way to wider streets and few houses. The population had taken such a hit that they did not need to have as many residential properties as they once had. The extra space had been turned into large areas of parkland, with thick forests of trees. There were also trees on the top of every building, making the city greener than it had once been.

It was the same all over the planet. When the Saurians invaded they had polluted the atmosphere to change the climate. The seasons had completely changed, and a planet once almost covered yearlong in snow and ice now had summer heat waves. The climate of the Southern Isles was now common the world over.

That was why they had grown as many trees as they could, in any area they could. They were trying to clean up the atmosphere again, so that the climate would begin to return to normal. The government had had to ask some of their intergalactic allies for some of the seeds and seedlings needed for such a large-scale forestation, and now there were many species of plants and animals that were not native to the planet.

It seemed to be paying off though. The sky was now blue again, with fluffy white clouds, and they were beginning to have mild snow storms during the spring and summer. It was still quite warm in summer and would take years to return to normal, but at least the entire planet was taking it very seriously.

The Memorial Site was a beautiful place that had been created four years ago, once they had finished the global and city censuses. It had also taken two years to clear out all of the debris and organise everything was length. In the Site there were several trees, but only species that had been common on Puckworld before the Occupation, along with flowers and other plants.

There were large, flat marble pillars that had been recycled from the various destroyed buildings around the city. On these pillars were the names of all the citizens from Central City that had either died or were still missing. Each city had created a Site like this, so they could honour the citizens of their cities. The one that was in Bardon contained all the students that had been attending the university as well.

Next to each name there was a small pot for a small plant to be planted on behalf of the person. If they had relatives that were still living, they could decide what plant or cutting that would be in that pot. If not, then the city governors could decide, and it was common for entire families to have been wiped out during the Occupation.

One of the pillars was the same in every city though. It was a pillar dedicated to the seven members of the Strike Team. This pillar was in the centre of the Site, and not only contained their names, but also carved pictures and obituaries of each member. They were not arranged as one on top of the other, but each picture was on the same level with the information underneath, and a plant pot next to the photo.

When these pillars had been designed, as they were going to be places around the world, a surviving family member had been asked for input. It had been a very sombre day when they were all put in a room and asked for information about their departed loved ones. And, since Wildwing and Ella had not been married, she had not been asked to help with Wildwing's obituary.

After some complaints from Magda, both she and Ella wrote Wildwing's obituary, with most of the input coming from Ella. The reason Ella had been invited had been to write an obituary for her brother, which she declined. She called Lex, who had also been on the same Resistance base as she had and had escaped the initial onslaught with them, to write Duke's obituary.

That was another fight, with both Magda and Cal suggesting that she write it herself to finally have closure on that part of her life. Eventually she did, with the help of both Duiken and Lex. She only contributed some stories about their childhood and had final say over what the obituary said.

The family had some more plants to put around the pillar, though it was difficult. The Strike Force pillar had many tokens of admiration and gratitude around it. There were toys, medication crystals, pucks, sticks, masks, plants, balloons, stuffed animals, photos and written notes. Once a month the grounds keeper would come along and clear it out a little, sending some of these tokens to the family members of the Strike Force members.

"Hi Daddy! Hi Uncle Dive! Hi Uncle Canard! Bonjour Oncle Duke!" Ari called out, walking around the pillar and waving to each picture as she said their name.

That had also been a huge argument, whether Ella would actually tell her daughter about her brother. She would happily tell stories about Wildwing, Canard and Nosedive, keeping their memory alive and allowing her daughter to feel like she knew those drakes.

Duke was something different though, as Ella had never really wanted him to be part of her life. If he had survived the Occupation, she wasn't sure that she would have forgiven him. He had spent his whole life in selfish pursuits of his own happiness, stepping over and onto others to achieve it, including her.

Jesh had managed to persuade her of Duke's change of heart. He had told her that he planned to give himself in to save her from any consequences of the theft. He told Ella that Duke had raced to the Downtown Police Station to try and save her. And when he couldn't find her, that he had joined the Resistance in hopes of finding her. That she had been the last thing that he had thought of before he left to attack Dragaunus's Master Tower with the Strike Force.

So, Ella had told her daughter some stories about her brother. Not as many as her uncle Nosedive or Canard, but still some that did have her brother in a positive light. And it did help her have closure on what her brother had done to her. It helped her see him as a person, instead of ghost that he had become.

"So, grandma and grandpa are getting married today! It's gonna be a big wedding and I get a really pretty dress for it. Mama said that I can have some sparkly eyeshadow on during the wedding and I can wear some sparkly shoes too! Grandma's dress is really pretty too, so is mama's. I think she is going to be the prettiest duck there. I think you would like it, daddy, grandpa said that you liked it when mama wore swishy skirt dresses," Ari said, directly speaking to the pictures of her father.

She often talked to the photos of her father and uncles as if they were in the room with her. It was something that everyone encouraged, as a way to have this bond with people she would never meet but would always be asked about.

When the news that one of the Strike Force members had fathered a child before the Occupation and then had no knowledge of, broke several ducks hearts. Especially, when the ceremony for the Strike Forces medals for bravery was organised, they had Ariana accept the medal for Wildwing. She had only been two years old at the time and looked entirely confused at the whole process.

"Thank you for updating them, do you mind if I speak now, sweetie?" Magda asked, kneeling next to Ariana on the grass. The young duckling smiled and nodded at her only grandma, hugging her for good measure.

"Hello, Wildwing, Nosedive, Canard. Sorry we haven't been by in a while, we've just been very busy, with the wedding and all. I'm very sorry that you all won't be there. I would have loved to have one of you give me away, but that would have caused a huge fight, wouldn't it? I hope that we have your blessings though, I know I said I'd never remarry, but I think this is right. I love you all, my boys."

"Don't think I can add anything significant to that. Only that I promise I'll take care of her, and I hope you all have peace knowing that we're happy now."

The two older ducks then looked towards Ella, who had been sitting in silence next to her daughter looking up at the obituary of Wildwing. The one that said 'loving partner' and 'survived by one daughter'. They obviously wanted her to say something to the memorial, updating their loved ones on what had happened.

Ella had never admitted that she actually spoke to a photo of Wildwing most nights. It was one that she had taken during one of their skating lessons. He fallen trying to save her from falling, and she demanded that he stay down on the ice so she could take a photo as evidence that he did fall too.

She has something to say though. So, she looked up at the photos of Wildwing and Canard specifically, dusted off her jeans as she stood up. Then she cleared her throat and simply said.

"Told you so."

All the adult ducks burst out laughing, while Ariana looked up completely confused by the levity. They spent a little more time at the pillar, just talking to the pictures. Before they left, Magda and Ella stepped over the tributes to attach some ribbons and colourful plant cuttings to the picture of Canard, Wildwing and Nosedive. These were small arrangements that were similar to the ones tat were going to be worn during the wedding.

After leaving the Memorial Site, the small family walked towards a restaurant that was just down the street. Restaurants had only opened last year for people to patron. It was another sign that the world was returning to some degree of normal.

The one close to the Memorial Site had been the first restaurant they had visited as a family. And, about once a year, the restaurant would host a reunion for the various relations of the Strike Force. It would be free for them, as it was the owner's way of saying thank you to the ducks that had freed the world.

The lunch was lovely, as it always was. Most of the conversation as dominated by Ari, who loved to talk and be the centre of attention. She was talking to everyone about the wedding as if they would not be going to it. She didn't seem to realise that they all knew all the details as they were the ones that had planned the wedding.

After lunch, all the hens went back to the house while Cal decided to go to the house of one of his friends. He didn't want to get in the way as they got ready. The last time they had had to go to a fancier party, he had knocked over perfume and make up which had stained Magda's dress. It was probably better for Cal to not have a repeat of that instance, or else he would not survive to have the ceremony.

At the house, one of Magda's friends had arrived to help the two hens with their manes. Magda had decided to have hers partly pinned with bright blue pins that would match her dress. She put on a little make-up and shimmer powder onto Magda's beak, which made her look very beautiful. Or, it might be that Magda was just glowing with excitement to be marrying someone she loved after around ten years of skirting around the issue.

Ella had decided to keep her mane mostly down, she had always preferred it that way. She still had the long length and the waves that she had in her teens and early twenties. She was given a headband that was created with some decorative vines and bright ribbons to jazz it up a little. She also put on a light dusting of eye shadow.

When the older hens were done, it was Ariana's turn. She sat stiller than she ever did when Ella combed her mane, causing both her mother and grandmother to giggle. The young duckling tried to engage the stylist in conversation as well, as if she was a middle-aged duck going to have her mane curled at a salon. The poor stylist was trying her hardest to complete her work with a straight face.

The little duckling's mane was brushed back and was put half up with a bright blue ribbon, similar to her mother's and grandmother's. The natural curls of Ariana's mane bounced with each movement of her head. The stylist then let the little girl choose her sparkly eyeshadow, which was the sprakliest the stylist had, and she happily closed her eyes waiting for it to be applied. The stylist did a light coating of it, not that Ariana cared. She had her sparkly eye shadow and she was happier than she had ever been.

"Do you remember a time when you could just be happy with a light coat of sparkly eye shadow? Kids have completely gotten us through the reconstruction. They just, they're just so innocent," the stylist said as she put away all her beauty items.

"What do you think got us through being trapped, underground in the base? She was such a happy, giggly baby," Magda answered, going into proud grandma mood.

As common with grandmother's the world, if not the universe over, she could talk for hours about how wonderful her grandchild was. She would speak about how the little girl would go around and hug the other family members of the Strike Force when they were sad during their meet-ups. She constantly told anyone who would listen that Ariana would sit with all the older ducks at the hospital who had lost all their own family and read her own books to them. And, she would always talk about how she exactly like each of her boys, despite all three being so different.

"You must be really proud, Ella. It must help, as well, to have some part of Wildwing still with you," the stylist said, as she left the house. She would have to go home and get ready for the wedding herself.

Ella was proud of her daughter. She was absolutely perfect, and Ella had no idea how she had been gifted with such a perfect child when others had lost so much. Ariana rarely cried, or tantrumed, she was always thinking of others and was a bright ray of sunshine during their darkest times. It was unfair that she even existed when others, like Magda, had lost all her children.

Trying to push away her gloomy thoughts on a day that should be joyous, Ella corralled her daughter. They had to get dressed and make their way across the city to Bailey Park, where the wedding was taking place.

It had taken a long time before the regular open-air weddings could resume. The climate had not allowed the tradition to continue. For the last few years, many ducks had had to get married indoors, at whatever building was acting as a city hall and they had to forgo the ceremony first skate. It was only last winter that outdoor weddings were allowed.

Weddings that were taking place in the summer were also having to take place in parks with chilled rinks. The summer was still a little too hot to have ponds and lakes that were frozen over with natural ice. It was still a little disappointing, but people were adapting.

The synthetic pond that the wedding was going to take place next to, was on the south side of Bailey Park. It had a beautiful forest of leafy green trees, that flowered with giant white flowers. There was a very large marquee next to the pond that had a glass covering with fairy lights twisted over every beam, so that they could see the bright night sky.

It could easily accommodate around a hundred ducks. And, since Cal and Magda were now very well known, the problem would be keeping their wedding from gate crashers. The journalists of Puckworld would be clambering to see the parents of three members of the Strike Force joined together in matrimony.

As Cal was now the Chief of Central City Police Department, they were able to get a few officers to volunteer to guard their wedding. The Police had become such an essential force around the world, as they had many different departments that were there for support of the recovering society. These were the people that would protect them against any of the Saurian allies that had escaped punishment, brigands and thief's looking to take advantage, and off-worlders' who were looking to dominate.

Plus, many of the officers had retrained as something else to support their communities in any way they could. They could build, organise, console and manage, as well as running a lot of community projects.

These officers were mostly the Ducks that were in the Resistance. and, as the government and society needed to be reorganised it was easier to keep the Resistance together until other branches of society were formed and voted on. The first few elections had taken place last year, and now the police were relinquishing their power to the parts of society that should be taking on those responsibilities that they had been acting in. But, it was a slow process, as they were building everything from the ground up.

For her second wedding, Magda had chosen a tea length strapless dress in bright, glacial blue with a matching light jacket to protect against the slight summer chill. It looked great against her snowy white plumage. She would have the traditional white, sequin sash over her waist to denote her as the bride. She would also be wearing a small veil over her face that was pinned in place by her maid of honour.

As the maid of honour, Ella was also going to wear a blue dress. Hers was not as bright as Magda's, as she was not the bride. Ella's dress was more of a sky-blue colour with a waist belt of bright glacial blue, showing who she was. It had a V-neck neckline, and was also tea length, showing off her shapely legs. Both Magda and Ella were wearing the same type of shoes, silver, sparkly heels, that were comfy enough for dancing. Magda would also have a pair of matching skates so that she could change for the traditional first skate.

The final member of the bridal party was little Ariana. She would be acting as the close family who would be giving consent for the families joining. They had all sat down to try and decide who would be doing this important job, as they all had very few family members left. Most had been killed either during the initial onslaught or had died in the work camps. But they all felt happy about having one of the few surviving children of their family taking an important role in the wedding.

When they explained this to Ariana, the little girl had been utterly ecstatic. She had desperately wanted to be part of her beloved grandparents wedding, as she had had a prominent role in Cal's proposal to Magda. She had been the one to bring Magda a 'special present' from grandpa, which had been a very simple wedding band. Then Cal had sung a song he had written for Magda, accompanied by Ella on her small keyboard at one of the parties they had regularly for some of the members of their Resistance base.

It had been both ridiculously sweet and over the top, making Magda both laugh and cry at the same time. Especially, as Cal had done it before, declaring things in song with Ella accompany him. The two were so close, as they had often worked together on reconnaissance missions and hits against the Saurians.

For Ariana's outfit, she was going to be wearing a very light blue dress. Most girls under ten who were part of the wedding party usually wore the inverse of the bride, a white dress with a colourful sash. But since Ariana wasn't taking the usual role that children had during a wedding, they had decided to keep her dress blue, but still have it be very light. The light colours were meant to symbolise their sweetness and innocence, like fresh snow. The dress had the same glacial blue sash as her grandmother's dress, and was also tea length, but had a high neckline and an overlay of lace.

The little girl also got her sparkly shoes. Though, they weren't heels, they were flat shoes that had a lovely sparkly blue bow on each. Ariana wanted to wear these shoes every day, and she would have if her mother had not intervened. As they were still in a recovery period, they didn't have a lot of resources for things that you could only wear once. These shoes would have to be worn to several events until they were too small.

Just as the girls had finished getting ready there was a knock on their front door. This was odd as the only one they were expecting was Cal, who would just walk into the house, much like Ella did when she came over.

Ella went over to open the door, so that Magda and Ariana could sit and take some selfies of the two together, they looked too happy to disturb. So, she opened the door to Tackle Crosscut, who was a police captain and was acting as Cal's best drake.

The drake was around thirty years old, only a few years older than herself. He had once gone to high school with Wildwing and Canard, though he had been a few years above them. He had started in the Central City Police Force the year that Saurians invaded and had been in the police station during their escape. He had then been in the same base as Ella, Magda and Cal, and had often worked with Cal and Ella, especially when Ella had given birth.

He was quite tall, and quite broad. He had brown plumage with a darker brown mane, and brown eyes. Those eyes had finally started to look happier over the years, as his wife had died during the initial onslaught. They had only been married for three months. And it was Ella and Cal who had found her body.

Despite that heartbreak, Ella had been slightly envious of this. As Tackle had closure, he knew that his wife had died and had even had a body to bury. She was not that lucky, she was constantly thinking that one day she might be reunited and it stopped her from moving on.

"Hey, Ella, you look really pretty. You guys ready to go?" Tackle asked, stepping into the house. He was also wearing his suit with a tie that matched Ella's dress.

"Tack!" came the high pitched squeal of Ariana as she jumped into the drake's arms. Luckily, Tackle had been a very good defence-drake and was able to catch the flying duckling.

"Hi there, Ari-parry! Wow, you look so pretty today! You know that your grandma is supposed to be the prettiest duck at her wedding, you and your mother aren't being fair to her!" Tackle joked to the small girl, who then looked very worried that she was spoiling her grandmother's special day.

"Don't worry, Ariana, there is more than enough room for other beautiful ducks today. And, I could never look more beautiful than you or your mother, that Rouenin beauty!" Magda reassured her granddaughter, causing Ella to roll her eyes.

Even after all this time she was still constantly being told how beautiful she looked. Her body was full of scars of wars, and the scars of carrying a child. She was sure that she did not look anything like she had before the Occupation. And those were only the visible scars, the mental scars were even worse.

During the war they had had too many awful things for their survival. She always justified them, saying that they were in the middle of a war and they were a necessary evil for their freedom. That did not help her when she thought about the traitors she had execute, or the ducks from the work camps that she had euthanized. Their faces forever haunted her thoughts.

"You do look really nice today, Mags. I had no idea you could clean up so well. I'm pretty sure I've only seen you in scrubs for most of my life," Tackle said, taking the bags from Ella who had collected everything to go.

"Thank you, Tackle. Why are you here though? Where's Cal?" Magda asked, looking behind the drake to see a larger car waiting and another drake standing next to it.

"Oh, him and Baucane have to deal with something that happened in the north of the city today. Apparently, some of the free-riders have hit a supply centre again," came the voice of the drake next to the car as he tried to open the door with his one hand.

"You driving us today, Rick? Thought we were just going to drive ourselves?" Ella asked, walking down the steps to stand next to the drake who had once been in the Brotherhood, but now worked as a driver for the Governor of the district.

"Thought I'd make myself useful today, kiddo," Rick answered with a smile, handing in the hens to the backseat of the car.

During the Occupation, many of the members of the Brotherhood had joined the Resistance. Rick had joined as a hit and run driver, making several hits against the Saurian supply chains. He had lost his hand during the initial onslaught and, if he had not joined the Resistance, he was sure that he would have just died during the Occupation.

The three hens and Tackle all climbed into the backseat of the car, with Arianna sitting next to Tackle telling him everything that she had done that day. While Ella sat on the other side of her daughter, next to Magda, both giggling at Ariana's exuberance over the days events.

"And, now we're going to see grandma and grandpa finally get married! It's going to be really, really, really beautiful! Grandpa told me that weddings are really special things. That it's a way for everyone to see how much you love each other. Mama, what was yours and daddy's wedding like?" Ariana asked Ella, her big green innocent eyes practically staring into her soul.

"Daddy and I never got married, mon amour," Ella replied with a sad smile, thinking of all the things that she and Wildwing never got to do.

"Why not?"

"Me and daddy did love each other very, very much, but before we could show everyone how much we loved each other the Occupation took him away from us," Ella explained as simply as she could.

They had never tried to keep anything from Ariana. The three had always tried to be as honest as they could, even with some difficult subjects. Such as when Ariana walked in on her grandparents having sex, Ella had had to explain as simply as she could what she had seen. But, it was difficult to explain some of the sadder things to the young duckling.

Luckily, Ariana took the explanation and started talking about the passing scenery. Her mother and grandmother felt great relief at this, as explaining the difficult subject of her father always upset both of them. And, considering the day was meant to be a celebration, they didn't want to be too depressed.

When they arrived at the Bailey Park, the group could already see several guests had already arrived. They were all dressed in their best clothes and were milling around the marquee. But the group didn't go to the marquee, they went to a small structure, that was to act as dressing room and waiting area.

"This is it," Ella said as she helped Magda with the final touches.

"I know. After Soarin, well, I didn't think I'd be doing this again. I thought the next wedding I'd be attending is the wedding of, of my son," Magda replied, her eyes suddenly tearing up.

"Hey now, none of that. You Don't want to ruin your make up, do you?" Ella said softly, handing the older hen a square of cotton.

"You know he was going to ask you, right? He had his grandmother's band with him when, when they came. He wanted you to be his wife and if, if he knew about, your condition, he would have asked you that summer," Magda said, dabbing the tears from her eyes. She had had to be discrete about talking about Ella's pregnancy. They had never told Ariana that her father didn't even know she existed before he disappeared. They just told her that he would have loved her.

"And I would have said yes, without hesitation, I would have said yes. I loved him, so much. I wish I could have told him that more in those last few weeks. I really wished I had told my brother to take a flying leap so nothing came between us. I wish I had figured out I was, you know, before I did, so that he could have had some of that terror and joy. And, I really wish he was here to spend your special day with you, Maggie."

The two hens, who were once unable to be in each other's presence for very different reasons, embraced each other tightly. Each feeling the loss of the same people, and finding comfort in each other's grief and also each others joy.

"Why are you crying?" little Ariana asked, completely confused as she was so happy that day.

"These are happy tears, sweetie pie, only happy tears," Magda responded, wiping her eyes and trying not to smudge any of her make up.

The knock on the door managed to break the weird tension in room. Ariana ran across the room to open the door to the very large, one legged glossy black drake. He was dressed in a very fine suit with the Puckworld flag on an enamel pin on his lapel.

"Hi, Uncle Bucky!" Ariana cried, jumping into the drake's arms and almost toppling him over.

Chief Bucky Baucane, who had once been chief of police for Central City, was now the Governor of Central City, and the Central District of Mallar. When they had had the election last year he had almost ninety percent of the votes, due to his heroic efforts during the Occupation and his unwavering dedication during the Reconstruction.

During the initial onslaught, Baucane had been in his office in the police station, which was hit hard. The roof had collapsed onto him, trapping his leg under debris. While screaming at them to just leave him there, Cal and Abacot had gotten him free and helped him from the building. When they had reached what had once been the Central Hub, he had immediately taken control and helped to build the Resistance.

And, the day of Magda and Cal's wedding, he would be acting as the officiant to the nuptials. The betrothed couple could think of no one better, and Baucane had agreed. He had cleared his schedule almost immediately and told them that if they dared consider anyone else he would never speak to them again.

It was an over exaggeration, but everyone knew how strongly Baucane felt about every duck that had been under his command at the Central Hub. He had actually officiated on several weddings, and had been at every one of the babies born in the base's naming ceremony.

"Hi there, little Ari-Parry, hi Ella, Magda. We're about reading to get started now, everyone's here, including the groom. When you guys are ready to go, we can get this show no the road and finally get you two married. And soon, little Ari-Parry, you'll be the one and only Flashblade!" Baucane said with a smile. He then turned around and hobbled away on his walking stick.

"Maggie, I would like you to wear this. It was my mother's and, I think, well, I think it's given me luck over the years, keeping me safe from the Saurians. I would be honoured if you would wear it during your wedding," Ella said, taking off the pearl necklace that she always wore and handing it over to her companion.

Magda graciously accepted the necklace, noticing the simple chain that she wore on her neck that carried the skating charm that Wildwing had first given her. With tears in her eyes, Magda put the pearl necklace on, which matched her wedding outfit beautifully.

"Well, you ready to finally get married?" Ella asked, with a smile

"Beyond ready," Magda answered at which her little granddaughter whooped with joy and ran out. Only to come back a few seconds later, looking bashful that she had forgotten the other two ducks, much to their amusement.

Walking out to the marquee, Ella could see so many of the ducks that had become a large part of her life over the last few years. She could also see the police officers patrolling the area, trying to keep out some of the journalists. They had invited a few members of the press, so that photos could be released as a way to stop more from clambering for photos.

At the entrance of the marquee was Cal, Tackle and Charlie Abacot, who had some of the important pieces of the ceremony. It should have been Ariana caring for them, as she was the one presenting the two to be united, but she was only six. So, Abacot was going to act as a 'helper' for the little girl, which he was very happy about.

"Hey there boss! We're all ready to get this going," Abacot said with a huge smile. He had been referring to Ariana as his 'boss' for weeks now, which made everyone smile.

"You look beautiful, Maggie, as always," Cal said, smiling at the hen who was his best friend and love.

"Thank you, you look rather handsome yourself," Magda replied.

"Yeah, well, I try," Cal said with a smile.

Cal was dressed very similarly to Tackle, except that his tie was glacial blue to match Magda, rather than the blue that matches Ella. He was also wearing a boutonniere that contained material that was in Magda's veil and head dress. Showing that they were the matching pair, the bride and groom, equal to everyone.

After a few moments, the music struck up signalling the start of the ceremony. The first person to make his way down the aisle to the simple arch was Abacot, as he was not officially part of the wedding. He did wear a tie that matched little Ariana's dress though, making everyone there giggle at the old drake. Not that he minded, he simply happy to be part of the day.

The next person down the aisle was Tackle, followed by Cal, who stood to the right side of Baucane. When they arrived at the podium they shook the commanding drakes hand and smiled at the assembled ducks.

Next down the aisle was Ella, who was carrying a small bouquet of bright creeping vines and ribbons, with a few bright blue flowers thrown in. As she walked she could hear the whispers that followed her, about how sad that someone so young had lost so much. Or, how she was sister of an infamous thief, how strange was it that she was part of such an upstanding family. These were the whispers that always followed her, which she ignored. She had more than proven her worth, and did not need to hear anyone who thought that she should give more.

The next down the aisle were Magda and Ariana together. The little girl held her grandmother's hand, as she couldn't quite reach her arm. She smiled at everyone assembled, much to the delight of the assembled mass. While Magda switched between looking lovingly at her granddaughter and at her future husband.

When they arrived at the podium, Ariana shook Baucane's hand, causing everyone to laugh as she stood right in front of the podium while Ella and Magda stood to the left side. Baucane then cleared his throat and began the ceremony with a large smile.

"Who presents these two ducks to be joined together?" Baucane said loudly.

"Me, it's me, I present grandma and grandpa so that they can be grandma and grandpa properly!" Ariana yelled, sticking her hand in the air as if she was at school and desperate to answer the teacher's question.

"Um, Ari, you only need to say 'I do'," Baucane whispered down to the excited duckling while the entire crowd burst into laughter.

"Oh, sorry, um, I do!" Ariana said, still sticking her hand in the air to give the answer, making Baucane chuckle. The little girl stepped back and was then handed a glass and a bottle of wine by Abacot. She toddled up and gave the bottle to Cal and the glass to Magda.

The glass was then filled by Cal, and Magda gave the first sip to Cal, holding the glass herself. It was then handed over to Cal, so that he could have Magda take a sip. The glass was then placed on the podium with Baucane. The vows were then exchanged, which were written themselves.

"Cal, I had resigned myself to never having love again. I never thought that I would find love with someone who I considered to be my best friend. But, looking back, that's why we fell in love. You have been my rock in the darkest times of my life. You have helped me through both grief and joy, always making me laugh and smile, or holding me and letting me cry. You always know what I need and you've not been afraid to do it. Even when it was mortifying, like when you sang at the top of your lungs your love for me. I've still not forgiven you for that, by the way. I can't imagine my life without you now though. I promise to always love you and to continue to let you embarrass me in public. Thank you for making these years something that was worthwhile."

"Maggie, I never thought that I would find someone who I loved as much as I love you. You have been amazing. You are the strongest hen I have ever met in my life, meeting every adversity with grace and dignity, something that I would have never believed possible. And, despite everything that has happened, you are still so sweet and caring, giving me the heart and strength needed to keep us all going. Maggie, I love you, I love you so much, and I will continue loving you until my last breath."

With a slight nudge from Abacot, Ariana stepped forward carrying a glacial blue ribbon, matching the colour scheme. She took the right of her grandmother and the left hand of her grandfather and held them up as far as she could. Baucane then took the ribbon and begun to wrap it around the two joined hands, telling the assembled crowd that the two souls will be bound together forever.

The old drake then held the two hands up for everyone to see the bound ribbon. And, at last, he declared that in the eyes of the assembled ducks that he declared them bound together forever. The two ducks then leaned in and nuzzled their beaks in a sweet kiss.

The entire group of assembled ducks then stood up and applauded the happy couple. Everyone cheering and whooping to finally see the two married. That was when Ella finally looked across to three empty chairs in the front row, each with a blue ribbon to match the colour of her dress.

These chairs were meant to represent the three drakes that were not present, but should have been. It was a very sweet tribute to Wildwing, Canard and Nosedive. But, looking at those empty chairs, Ella's heart sank.

Shaking her thoughts away from such gloom, Ella took hold of Magda's bouquet as the two ducks moved towards the ice. The rest of the ducks also moved to around the ice. They changed into the skates that had been set out near the podium. And, holding the ribbon that had bound their hands, they skated out onto the ice while the other ducks threw light paper cuttings over their heads, cheering them along.

Magda and Cal did two laps of the ice, around the floating bowls before they climbed off the ice and changed back into their good shoes. All the other ducks had moved to their tables, taking their seats. Then the happy couple moved around each table, filling their glasses with the bottles of wine that were being carried by Ella and Tackle. Every table then cheers the happy couple and drank from their glass.

Once the happy couple had toasted every table, they sat down and the meal began. It was still a fairly simple meal, as some of the luxury foods were still rather difficult to come by. But it was still a lovely meal. There was even a dessert, something that no one had really indulged in over the last six years.

When the meal was over the speeches began. Each member of the wedding party, plus Baucane gave very heartfelt speeches. Little Ariana managed to have the entire crowd doubled over in laughter as she recounted several stories about her grandparents with Abacot acting as her comedic partner. It was the oddest double act anyone had ever seen, but the sweet little girl and semi-gruff old cop seemed to work.

Ella tried to make it through her speech without crying, but she couldn't. As soon as she mentioned their time together during the Occupation, or how she had learned to be a mother from Magda she broke. The two had to have a very long, familial embrace before she could calm down and continue.

As soon as the speeches were done the band struck up. But the first song was sung by Cal and accompanied by Ella. The two laughing when Magda started to blush and hide her face in embarrassment. luckily, it was only one song before Cal jumped down to dance with his bride.

The party was absolutely jiving, when an old acquaintance sat down next to Ella. She had spent most of the night avoiding the dance floor, only dancing with her daughter, or Cal, or Magda. Instead she sat at the table, laughing at her daughters' antics and drinking from her glass.

Looking over the old drake Ella couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of pity, Duiken had lost a lot more than she had. He had lost all three of his children and all seven of his grandchildren. This left him alone in the world, and since his beloved Brotherhood had broken, he had very little left to live for.

"Arrière-grand-père Duiken!" Ariana cried when she caught sight of Duiken. Since the death of his whole family, Ella had allowed the older drake to have the title of great-grandfather to her daughter. She could not hold onto her anger for him after so much loss.

"That was a beautiful ceremony, and a lovely speech, my dear. You know, I never thought I'd be sitting at the Chief of Police's wedding. Life, it's sometimes not what we expect. You've done well, but I believe that young drake there, would like you to dance with him," Duiken said pointing towards Tackle, who was indeed coming towards them.

With a very deep sigh and a roll of her eyes at Duiken, Ella got up and took Tackle's hand. Which was when the song ended and changed into a slow song. Looking up at Cal, Ella couldn't help but think that this was planned, he had dropped several hints recently of Ella possibly moving on.

"How you enjoying the wedding?" Tackle asked after several moments of silent swaying to the music.

"It's lovely. Was your wedding similar to this?"

"A little bit. Not as many people. Couldn't really afford it at the time."

"Do you miss her?"

"Every day. But, it's been getting easier over the years. And I know that she wouldn't have wanted me to give up, and I know that Wildwing wouldn't have wanted you to give up. Look at Cal and Magda, they both lost loved ones, and now they have found another person to love. It's, well, it's something worth thinking about, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I do have someone else to consider though. Thanks for the dance, Tack, but I think I might need a moment or two alone," Ella aid, dropping Tackle's embrace and turning away before he could protest.

Walking out of the marquee, Ella found herself on one of the seats next to the ice. She had a bottle of wine and a large glass with her, taking sips from the glass as she looked out on the ice and imagined what her first skate would have been like with Wildwing.

She was fingerings the skate charm around her neck, as she enjoyed her misery when she was disturbed by a little voice. Her daughter had decided to join her, curling up next to her and laying her head on her mother's lap as they both stared out onto the ice.

"Daddy would have really liked this party, wouldn't he?" Ariana said after a few moments of silence.

"He really would have. He would have loved to dance with you."

"Mary, in my class, her mommy got married. She said that now she had a new daddy. Do you think you would get married again, and then I would have a new daddy?" Ariana said, looking up into her mother's face.

"I don't know, mon amour. Sometimes it's hard to open your heart to someone new. And I gave your daddy my whole heart so long ago, I don't know if it's whole enough to give to another person. But I promise you, that if it I do, you can help me chose the best drake ever. Though, no one will ever be as good as daddy, or grandpa," Ella said with a sad smile, trying not to think too much about the future.

As her daughter feel asleep curled up against her, Ella took another sip of wine. She looked out at the floating bowls, twinkling in the moonlight. She tried to think of more cheerful thoughts, like the unconditional love of her daughter instead of the love she lost, while the sounds of merriment and joy filled the air.

Thank you to everyone who read this, and who took the time to review, it made me feel great!

masharfky: there is going to be a continuation of the Earth story, but I'm not sure when I'll be starting it. It's been planned, but I go off my plans so often.

palacegirl: thanks, I know, I felt rather sorry for Duke in that chapter and Roxie. I'm finishing up One More Night, so you could see a little more of their relationship there.

randomreviewer: first, fab name! And thanks for the praise, I was really annoyed with myself for not finishing this and I'm glad to finally finish something, it's giving me hope that I can finish my actual novels.

I should be finishing my Duke/Roxie story soon, and I'm going to start to post my Puckworld Occupation story soon, as well as a few one shots that don't fit into the stories that well. So, keep an eye out!

Thank you again to everyone who stuck with me.

TFG