Title: You Are The Reason

Author: Sita Moonlight

Rating: M

Summary: Deb/Dexter post season 8/season 9 story. Deb has survived the end of season 8. "She doesn't know where they're going or what she plans to do to find Dexter. She doesn't even know if he is still alive. She just knows she has to try."

A/N: For the epilogue we're going back to Deb's POV. Hope you enjoy!

Epilogue: You Are The Reason

If I could turn back the clock

I'd make sure the light defeated the dark

I'd spend every hour of every day keeping you safe

I'd climb every mountain

And swim every ocean

Just to be with you

And fix what I've broken

Oh, 'cause I need you to see

You are the reason – Calum Scott

Debra makes it to Montenegro on a Tuesday. She and Harrison disembark the plane, and as she looks out at the landscape of an unfamiliar country, she can't help but wonder how her life has led her to this.

They rent a small apartment using her new identity in a part of the country that uses the English language, and although it's a touristy area, Debra is grateful she can at least understand what the other occupants are telling her.

She tries to avoid the news in the United States at first, but curiosity eventually gets the best of her. At first the name James Lindsay and small-town murderer are printed across the page. Eventually though, the name changes. Dexter Morgan appears on the internet news sites she scours. The words faked own death start to appear, and soon serial murderer follows along with The Real Bay Harbor Butcher. Florida and New York get in a battle over who should be the one to punish him. Florida ultimately wins. When the words lethal injection start appearing on the pages, she decides she can't handle it anymore and tries to stay away from the news.

Considering she was in Iron Lake and disappeared from her position at the police department, her name appears in some news forums as well. They look for her for a while, but ultimately the focus stays on Dexter. Dexter takes the blame for everything. When questioned about Angela's death and the fact she was shot with Debra's police-issued gun, Dexter claims to have stolen it from Deb. She reads his truth and his lies on these websites. Eventually, they stop looking for her and the focus remains on Dexter. Dexter becomes international news and although she tries to avoid it, she sees his name on the newsstands and in the news in Montenegro.

When Harrison starts disappearing some nights, she never asks him where he goes. Dexter was the expert when it comes to handling blood and murder and urges. She just hopes he's only killing animals. The cycle, she realizes, is doomed to repeat itself.

She's in Montenegro for exactly two weeks when she finds out she's pregnant. It's a rainy Tuesday, and she stares at the two pink lines on the little white stick in her hand as if she's hallucinating. She's in her forties, she didn't even know it was still possible to get pregnant. She's never been pregnant before.

She thinks about getting an abortion. She toys with the idea for a week before she realizes she can't. She can't let go of the last part of Dexter she may ever have; a part of him that is now growing inside of her, and this little being isn't just Dexter, it's them, both of them. It's Debra and Dexter.

She doesn't tell Harrison until she starts showing. He doesn't ask who the father is. He knows.

She's exactly six months pregnant when Quinn shows up at her doorstep. She stares at him for a few minutes before opening the door wider and letting him inside. She doesn't greet him, instead she asks, "How did you find me?"

"Your brother." Quinn answers, taking in her apartment and her swollen belly.

"You've seen my brother?" She asks, as he follows her into the living room.

"He's on death row down in Miami and I'm a cop. I went to see him, Deb." He pauses. "He wanted me to check on you."

She closes her eyes at the words death row, trying to will away the pain they bring. Even though Dexter never trusted Quinn when it came to himself, she knows Quinn has always had a soft spot when it came to her. Dexter must've realized that. Her stupid, stupid brother.

"How did you find my address?" She pushes when they both take a seat on the couch.

"He gave me the name you would be living under." He pauses, examining her. "You knew about him, huh?"

She squeezes her eyes shut, before they flutter open again and she meets Quinn's questioning gaze. "You won't tell anyone?"

He sighs and shakes his head, "I've done some dirty stuff in my time as a cop as well, although I have to say I've never protected a murderer." His eyes hold hers. "I won't tell anyone, Deb." His hand finds hers and he squeezes it. "I just came to see if you were okay." His eyes move to her protruding belly again before back up to her eyes. "Who's the father?" He asks.

A tear sneaks its way out of the corner of her eye, and she pulls her hand from his grasp. Quinn asked that question like he knows. "Joey…"

"It's Dexter, isn't it?"

She covers her face with her hands, "Fucking Christ, Joey. Do you really want to know?" She moves her hands after a moment, his eyes studying her.

"I knew you were in love with him. When you were convinced he wasn't dead, and you left me, I knew." He places his hand over hers again. "I'm not judging you." He's grown a lot in the years they've been apart, and for the first time she notices a band on his ring finger. "Just let me be your friend."

She glances at him as another tear escapes, "Thank you." She whispers.

She has a little girl. She's born on a warm morning in early September. As she looks into the eyes of her daughter, she sees Dexter's eyes staring back at her. She cries, joy and despair overwhelming her all at once. She names her Laura after Dexter's birth mother

Harrison is a good big brother. He helps Debra with Laura, even going so far as to assist with late night feedings. She doesn't know what she would have done if he wouldn't have come with her. She tells him this often. Although he looks sad, he promises that she'll always have him; he'll never leave her. Some nights, she stays up and wonders if that's a good thing. Would Harrison's life be better if he left her? Probably. But would hers? Definitely not.

Her daughter is nine months old when the knock on the door comes. She's been struggling all morning with a fussy infant, and she's just managed to get the child dressed when she rips open the door.

What she sees stops her dead in her tracks, and she almost drops her daughter in the process.

Dexter.

He's scruffier, he looks older and tired, and he has an ugly ginger beard, but it's him.

Her words die her throat and tears start to form in her eyes as she stares.

"Well, are you going to let me in?" He questions and she stumbles back a few steps.

"What the fuck?" Are the first words that manage to escape her lips and Dexter laughs. If she wasn't holding her daughter, she's pretty sure she'd punch him in the face for the smirk that's coloring his beautiful features. Instead, she throws herself into his arms, Laura pressed between them as they hold onto each other. Her tears come faster and she feels Dexter placing a kiss to the side of her head as she sobs. "How…?" She manages when her sobs start to die down.

"A friend owed me a favor." He answers cryptically, and she realizes quickly that he's not going to tell her the whole story. She hasn't checked the U.S. news in ages, but she assumes word of his disappearance is coloring the front pages right now. He steps further inside her place, eyes finally finding the baby Deb clutches in her arms, "Who's this?" He asks.

Her eyes find his again, and a tear slips out. "This is Laura." She answers before taking a deep breath and dropping the bombshell. "Your daughter."

"My…?" He closes the distance between them again, staring at the child in wonderment as he places his hand on the back of the curious infant who is staring at him now with matching hazel eyes.

He leans forward and places a kiss on the top of the baby's head before turning to Debra, his lips finding hers in a deep kiss.

She doesn't know what's in store for them in the future. She doesn't know how Harrison will handle the news of his father being back, or how they'll deal if he is killing. She doesn't know how they'll raise their daughter, or if she'll grow up unaffected by the trauma that surrounds them. She doesn't even know how they'll deal with the fact that Dexter is an escaped convict on the run, or that they'll never be able to return to the United States again.

There is one thing Deb knows, however. She doesn't believe in happy endings. She never has. But if she could picture a happy ending, she's pretty sure it would look like this.

Oh 'cause I need you to see

You are the reason

THE END

A/N: Wow… can't believe this journey is over. I started this story with absolutely NO idea where it was going. I just really wasn't satisfied with Ghost and wanted to make up for it. I struggled with the ending for this, wondering if I should give them a sad or happy ending. Happy ultimately won since they got such a sad one on the show. I'm still not 100% sure of the ending I gave them in this story, but I hope you all are satisfied. I left it open-ended, so some of it is up to your interpretation. I've always wanted Debster to have a happy ending, even though they are a very toxic and codependent pair. That's probably why I love exploring their relationship so much though!

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review or will review in the future. Honestly, reviews are what motivates me. It makes me kind of sad the Dexter fandom isn't as active as it once was, hence less reviews… but I appreciate those of you who took the time to review one chapter or review all of them.

Sorry for the long-winded author's note! Thank you again!