A/N: Apologies for the hiatus! I actually had this finished months ago, but alas, life took some twists and turns, and I'm finally able to take a little bit of a breather. Thank you all who have stuck through this (rather crappy) story, that spawned out of my grieving brain.

I had about three different endings for this, all sprinting in wildly different directions. After carefully deciding which one was the least shitty, I have settled on this one. (Who knows. The others might make an appearance one day as one-shots or somethin').

EPILOGUE

(Wait! There's one of those typical, annoying end credits scene? I hate those! I'm already out of my chair, and I'm putting on my jacket! Ugh. Producers are so-o annoying. Now I have to stand here for five more minutes? Gosh.)

Players:

The Fam - Nora, George, Marti, Liz, Ed, and Simon

The Newlyweds - you know who

LONDON ONTARIO - MCDONALD-VENTURI HOUSEHOLD: Evening.

The McDonald-Venturis settle down for the evening. Nora and Marti curl up on the couch, braiding hair, Edwin reclines in Derek's easy chair, Lizzie is studying at the dining table, and George is reading a story to preschooler Simon, across from her.

The phone rings.

"Would you get that, honey?" Nora asks, hair pins sticking out of her mouth, and hair laced through her fingers. Even though she's brought up two other girls successfully, Marti's hair is surprisingly silky, and very difficult to braid evenly.

George huffs (because can't she see his hands are full of 'The Little Engine'?)

So he turns to Lizzie, and (perceptive as she is) she gets up and answers after the fourth ring.

"Casey!" She squeals. It's been ages since they've seen each other. (Ages, as in two months. Two months of summer break, with two more to go).

And everyone's ears perk when they realize who it is. Edwin leaps from the chair, and Nora drops Marti's hair, because they're both scrambling off the couch to crowd around Lizzie, who sets the phone to speaker and sets it on the table.

"Casey! Honey! How are you?" Nora shouts (as if raising her voice might make her more understandable).

"I'm great," Casey replies.

"Where are you now?" Edwin asks, pulling out a map from the bookshelf, and unfolding it over the dining table. They all lean over it.

"Rotterdam."

"Netherlands, nice," Ed replies, and then marks the city with a big red 'X'. "How long you there?"

Casey takes a moment to respond. "Don't know yet. Until we get sick of it, I guess."

"Bring me back some tulip bulbs!" Lizzie requests. "If it's legal."

"Sure thing."

"And gingerbread!" Marti exclaims.

"Gingerbread for Smarti," Derek's voice chimes in (but he sounds more distant than Casey, like he's on the opposite side of the room). "Already got it."

"Thanks, Smerek."

"Are you going to England next?" George asks, examining the map. It would be the next logical step in their journey.

Because they are on a journey, alright. A long, tangled, interwoven journey that they managed to untangle. Together. (It just needed some special care and attention, and about seven bottles of conditioner).

It took them a while to finally brush it all out, and lay it out end-to-end. It started with two years of (not-so-innocent) bliss, one mangled year in between that they spent apart (for petty reasons, and there was a lot of name-calling and darts being thrown at certain pictures on the wall), and then six more months of figuring out if they were both heading in the same direction.

Turns out, they had always been heading in the same direction. Since day one.

And by the time they came to this conclusion, Casey finally had a (new-and-improved, updated) plan. A plan for the future. A fool-proof plan.

"Yep," Derek says, and his voice is louder now, like he's now sitting beside Casey on their end of the call. "Although I don't find it all that appealing."

"De-rek, England is very appealing. All the history, and not to mention our Queen lives there."

"History? Lord, kill me now." (Ew. Me too).

They all laugh, even Simon (who barely knows what's going on).

"What's the plan after England?" Nora asks.

What is their plan? They're not too sure. The way this honeymoon trip has been going, they could go anywhere. (Oh yeah, forgot to mention they ran off and exchanged vows rather impetuously in the middle of the night a few months back. All very spur-of-the-moment with lots of nail-biting from Casey, but Derek finally convinced her that life is more exciting if you don't overthink things. Like marriage, for instance).

It's kind of like Casey's new life plan. It's pretty simple, now that Derek is a permanent fixture in her life. It has one step, and every once in a while, she pulls it out of safe keeping and reminds herself of it.

Every day, in every way, life is unpredictable. Derek taught her that, and she's sticking to it. You might think you want a regular life with a regular guy, with kids and a dog and a weekend house in Victoria.

And it turns out, you still want those things. It's exactly what Casey wants.

Just this time, it includes room for life's twists and turns. Life can deal you a strange hand sometimes, and you just have to keep exchanging cards until you finally have a royal flush.

(So, yeah). Her plan for her future is pretty simple (now).

Step one:

1. Make no plans.

Fin.