Epilogue:

"Do you, Louise Anna Marie McCloud, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband…"

The words blended together. All she saw was him. All she felt was him. All she knew was a life, a future with Jimmy. She didn't know how one body could hold so much emotion and not just… burst.

Her throat thickened with overwhelming emotion, she rasped into the silence, "I do."

The golden brown eyes of her friend, lover, partner, and companion seemed to glow with eager certainty.

"And do you, James-"

The groom cleared his throat, catching the pastor's attention. The clergyman glossed over the mistake without a hitch and read the remaining words more carefully.

"Jimmy James," Jimmy nodded imperceptibly, "take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and obey," the pastor glanced twice at that line quickly before continuing, "in sickness and in health…"

Jimmy lost track of the rest of the vows. He knew Lou had a hand in the equalizing of their vows. He chuckled to himself as he watched her, that most becoming blush infusing her face as she stared back at him, proudly.

Of course he would be obeying her. He was glad she put it in the vows. He'd announce it to all the world to hear, if need be. He was marrying the only person in the world that made him feel whole. Complete. Like a new man. A different man. A better man.

The only sacrifice was loving Lou, and if that was the case, call him a saint, because he'd make that sacrifice as easily as his body took air. With every breath his body took, he'd be praising Who or Whatever was out there making life happen, because there was no other way for him to exist except for with Lou and in Lou.

She was his life.

His breath.

The blood rushing through his veins.

The thumping of his nervous and excited heart reassured him that it would continue to beat for Lou endlessly. He would protect her, love her, serve her, just as she had, time and again, shown she would do the exact same thing for him.

The pastor clearing his throat caught Jimmy's attention, and he stared at the cleric for a moment before remembering where he was.

"Oh. Yeah." He smiled crookedly at Lou. "I do," he growled hoarsely, his love in his eyes for Lou to see; his heart in his throat, crowding out his strong voice.

Her face, shining with a glow he had never seen before, lit up, as though a thousand candles were burning, all at once, inside her. His stomach fluttered in excitement and anticipation. Something whispered in the back of his mind that he had, in fact, seen her glow this brightly before, but the thought escaped him before he could ponder on it further.

Lou had his hand in hers and was putting on his ring. It would be his turn momentarily. He needed to remember. His turn. He would make her his. He would officially be her partner, her lover, her friend, her confidant. He blinked rapidly and cleared his throat gently. Her knowing smile and bright eyes told him she wasn't any better at controlling her emotions at this moment than he was.

Movement at the back of the church caught her attention, but she ignored it. People could come and go, life could pass on by, but it didn't matter. She had the person that mattered the most to her heart, right here. Theresa, Jeremiah, heck, even Elias would come and go as they grew and matured and moved on, but, Jimmy would be here, in her heart and soul, forever.

Life could and would happen to them, she knew. And expected it.

But with Jimmy by her side, she knew they'd be good. Better than good.

They'd be amazing.

~~THE END~~