A/N: I figured since the show ended, it was time I finished this story. Thanks everyone for following along and all the nice feedback! xxx

occasus: end

After lunch, Elizabeth had asked Blake and the others to come over. She was both excited and nervous to see them again. She was aware she was no longer the fierce women they once knew. A lot had happened, things they didn't know about.

When the doorbell rang, she knew it would be Blake. He was always on time and so she got up to let him in. Henry had locked himself in the office to give her time with her old staff but stayed in the house to be there if she needed him.

"Hi Blake, common in." Elizabeth stepped aside and let him.

"Hi, sorry I'm late." Elizabeth let out a laugh. He was still five minutes early, but she knew Blake liked to be places at least ten minutes in advance.

"You're the first to arrive." They walked to the kitchen and she grabbed a mug. "Coffee?"

"Yes, please but I can do it." Blake offered. He was so used to making coffee for them both, it felt weird to see her do it.

"You're my guest." She smiled and as she finished up, the doorbell rang, and Blake already shot up and walked towards the door. She could hear Jay's voice as he greeted Blake.

"Hi." Jay said stunned as he lingered in the doorway. It felt immensely surreal to have his former boss, who was declared dead, stand in front of him.

"It is really good to see you." She told him and wrapped an arm around the still visibly confused man.

"You- you too." Jay replied. "Sorry I'm just a bit-"

"Confused? Surprised?" Elizabeth finished and Jay nodded. "Yeah me too."

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." He spoke, still stunned by the return of his former boss.

"Coffee?" Blake interrupted. He jumped into action when Jay nodded and set three cups of coffee on the table.

"No coffee for me." Elizabeth declined. The doctors had advised her to cut out caffeine, at least for a little while.

"Really?" Blake asked surprised. He had always thought she had a bit of a coffee addiction, but then again, the job was made for it. "Alright."

"So, what have you been up to the last year?" She asked Jay. She had already spoken to Blake and was curious what her former policy advisor was doing.

"I'm the new chief of Staff."

"That's amazing." Elizabeth smiled. "I heard you and Abby are back together."

"Yes." Jay frowned for a moment, wondering how she knew. One look at Blake gave him the answer to that question. "We still fight but we know how to communicate better."

"How's Chloe doing? She must have gotten so big the past y-" She started but was interrupted by the doorbell. Before she could move, Blake had already gotten up to open the door.

Both her and Jay waited for Matt and Daisy to arrive and see their reaction. As soon as they came into sight, Daisy stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh my God." She whispered stunned whereas Matt's face simply lit up. He walked over to her and Elizabeth had just barely gotten up before being pulled into a tight hug.

"Hi Matt. Good to see you, too." She laughed and he loosened his grip.

"This is so weird." Matt blurted out before shooting her an apologetic look.

"Do you want to come in or should I bring you a chair?" She asked Daisy who was still standing in the doorway. It seemed to get her out of whatever trance she was in and step forwards.

Elizabeth noticed the little girl in her arms and tried not to hurt her while she gave the other woman a quick hug. "This must be Joanna."

Daisy nodded and handed her daughter to her former boss. She watched them interact and smiled as she moved to stand next to Matt. As she sat back down, the little girl sat on her lap and played with Alison's hairbrush that lay on the table.

"She's already so big." Elizabeth noticed and tried to hide the sadness due to the fact that she had missed out on nearly the entire first year of the girl.

"I can't believe how fast she's growing." Daisy sighed. "She's trying to walk although she hasn't managed to actually do so yet."

"She'll get there." Elizabeth bounced the girl on her lap.

"She likes you." Matt stated when the girl giggled a little.

"She better." Daisy cut in. "She was named after you."

"Yeah, I heard." Elizabeth looked up to her former staff member and waited for an explanation.

"I gave birth a little while after you- after what happened. We already had a name picked out, but I remember holding her after she was born and Matt and I started talking. We had each other to process what happened to you and we were saying how it was almost scary how determent you sometimes were. Strong minded and independent. That's what I want her to grow up and become."

"So, we figured the best way to do that was by naming her after you." Matt finished.

"And now she gets to grow up knowing who she was named after." Jay cut in and Elizabeth swallowed back her tears.

"I- I don't know what to say."

"I'm just thankful you got to meet her." Daisy spoke.

"Me too."

The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up. Joanna was crawling around the living room while the adults talked to each other and filled Elizabeth in on what she had missed.

It almost felt like normal and it scared her a bit.

When dinner time rolled around, Henry joined them in the kitchen. She felt bad he had spent the entire afternoon in his office, but he was determent to give her time with her former colleagues.

"That's our queue to go." Jay noticed and got up, followed by the others.

They put on their jackets and Henry moved to stand next to his wife. He put an arm loosely around her waist and she leaned against him ever so slightly. This, to him, indicated she was exhausted.

"It is really good to see you." Matt told her even though he had mentioned it several times throughout the afternoon.

"You too, Matt."

"Say bye-bye Joanna." Daisy said as she waved at Elizabeth.

"Bye guys." She smiled and closed the door behind them.

"You okay?" Henry asked and she nodded.

"I keep thinking I will wake up and this will all be a dream." She admitted as she bit her lip. She avoided his gaze until his hand gently lifted up her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"It's not a dream. You're really home and I'm never letting you out of my sight."

"Well, that should be fun." She joked. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I love you." He just needed her to know.

"I love you." She leaned forwards and kissed him, before deepening the kiss.

They hadn't done more than a quick peck on the lips and Henry decided to let her take the lead. He was surprised she managed as long as she did before pulling away.

"Henry?" Her voice petrified, causing Henry to frown with worry, "What if this feeling is all there is? What if I never feel okay again. I don't want to feel this way."

For once Henry wasn't sure how to respond. His heart was torn from seeing his wife this broken. He had tried to tell her he wouldn't leave. He had tried to tell her she was all he wanted and needed. He had tried to convince her that she would need time, that this would be a slow process.

What else was there to do?

"I wish I could take this pain away from you. I wish I could make it all better, but I can't. I will be by your side no matter what." He rubbed his hand up and down her arm and she sighed.

"I can't even say his name out loud."

"The thing at scares you most is the thing that sets you free." Henry quoted and Elizabeth looked up at him. How could he hold so much love for her?

"Marry me."

"What?" Henry frowned. They were already married.

"Marry me," Elizabeth repeated before adding, "again."

Henry smiled as he pulled her close to his chest. "Yes, always yes."

They might not be what they were before and they might never get there, but whatever happened, they were together. She was back home with her family. Back in his arms.

Back where she was meant to be.

The end.