Alright so... I very much consider this a filler chapter but like many others, there is progress. Sorry for any confusion on the timeline for this first part but I promise you it's important. Always thankful for your patience and enjoy!

Cindy's POV

"You're aware this is one of the last times we'll all see each other before the baby is born? Before my whole life changes? You get that right?" My best friend tried reasoning with me over the phone.

"Yeah, Libby, I do. I just really have to finish up these internship hours. There's really no way out of it. You'd know I'd be there if I could, but I'm going to see you guys at the shower in a couple of weeks."

"I know, I know... I just... I could really use a friend right now. This pregnancy is driving me crazy."

I looked over to Jimmy, who was sitting in the poolside lounge chair next to me, sympathetically. His expression was hard to read through his sunglasses.

A twinge of guilt, the same one that I've had for the past few weeks, ran through me. I couldn't help but feel like a bad friend, especially since I wasn't even paying attention to what Libby was saying.

"...I'll let you go. Have a good Christmas. Love you girl."

"You too Libs. Hang in there okay? Love you too." I ended the call and placed the phone at the end of my chair. I reached for my glass of sangria on the table to my right.

With his unforgettable "I told you so" smirk, he turned to me.

"I told you not to wait until the last minute to tell her."

"I couldn't find the right time. And I figured if I made it sound like a last minute work thing, she'd understand. We don't want her finding out the truth."

He shrugged, understanding, and turned back to his laptop.

It's been a little over a month since Jimmy and I got back together and as great as it's been, there is something more stressful about it this time around. Not telling anyone about it turned out to be harder than expected now that we're facing some of the consequences. As Libby said, though it had been on my mind for a while, she was weeks away from having her baby and starting a new era of her life. Logically, she wanted to indulge in everything she could before that major change and having one last, adult-orientated holiday party was a part of it.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that Jimmy and I were vacationing in Napa Valley over the holidays meant we could not be in attendance.

We each gave our friends and families valid reasons for not even going back home. I had said I needed to wrap up my internship into the New Year, which had actually been done two weeks ago. Jimmy, ironically, said he wasn't going to be able to afford a flight during that time and that he was planning on working on his thesis anyway, taking advantage of a nearly empty campus, which really is the most like him excuse he could have provided. Given our faux full schedules, we figured that even if there was any suspicion that we had gotten back together, there is no way we would be seeing one another.

All this resulted in our biggest example of sneaking around yet.

But apart from the wine tours and super romantic setting, there is a very important reason we decided to come here of all places.

This week, Jimmy has a few job interviews lined up with some pretty big tech companies. He's been on their radar for some time, but now that he's only one semester away from graduating, it's time to fully grab their attention.

While spending time together may not be the sole focus and reason for this trip, this time, I couldn't deny how crucial it was that his other plans go well. I like to think I've done a good job in encouraging him even though there really isn't much I could do.

Jimmy has always been confident and sure of what he's doing.

But truthfully, I've never seen him more nervous.

It was an interesting juxtaposition: Here we are in a beautiful resort, relaxing and enjoying each other while Jimmy is immensely stressed over something that hasn't even happened yet.

"Not going in right?" I nodded in the direction of the pool before swinging my legs over the side of my chair, preparing to stand up.

"Umm, maybe later. I have to finish up a couple of things."

"Okay."

I removed my cover-up and placed it on the chair before walking over to the pool's stairs. I had no doubt, given that I was his eternal distraction, that Jimmy would be joining me momentarily. Despite us currently being in the adult-only pool of the resort, I couldn't give him as much of a show as I wanted, since there were still other people around. Quickly adjusting to the water's temperature, I turned to float on my back and the smell of chlorine wafted around me.

It couldn't have been more than a minute that I heard splashing besides me.

"You came faster than expected."

"Haha."

He waded over and pulled his arms around me, bringing me close.

"Are you having fun?" he asked.

"Definitely." I replied. "This is one of the most normal places we've been to but I absolutely love it." I looked around at our surrounding landscape, unable to get enough.

"Normal?"

"I just mean, like... we're not chasing eclipses or anything like that."

"Oh," he laughed. "Well, if I recall correctly, that didn't go so well the last time."

"That's true." It was one of the things we, now that we're determined to strengthen our relationship, have been doing. We don't dwell on the mistakes we've made in the past, but we don't ignore them either. After all, everything that's happened has led to where we are today.

"I'm having fun too." He leaned in to whisper into my ear. "Not as much fun as last night, but we can fix that later." My face quickly turned red at the memory of us in our room's hot tub as I knew that was exactly what he was talking about.

He kissed me then and I could instantly tell he wished no one else was here.

"I love you." He said as he pulled away. When I didn't repeat it or say anything else back, he spoke again. "You okay?"

"There's something I need to tell you."

SEVEN MONTHS LATER

Jimmy's POV

"Okay, I think that's everything." I declared as I put down the last of our moving boxes onto the floor.

"Finally. Now comes the fun part." Cindy said before tightening up her ponytail and opening up a box containing our limited kitchenware. I chuckled, both of us knowing that even though we had come so far, we still had much more to go.

After Libby had her baby, it seemed like time started moving impossibly fast. Cindy and I flew back to school to start our final semester of undergrad which, given that it also represented a countdown for when real life would start, was incredibly stressful.

As I did when we were finishing up high school, I would have loved to keep my future plans private for as long as I could. But seeing as this set of plans is a lot more serious and Cindy is playing a major part in it, I knew that wouldn't be possible.

I've known since early junior year that, after graduation, I wanted to get a job in tech and one of the best places for that is on the West Coast. Since we had gotten back together, I wanted Cindy to be involved in my future, no matter what. This was one of the first things we talked about once our relationship was back on. Specifically, it was while she was in my old apartment in Boston since I figured it was important to be as transparent as possible as early as possible. I had asked about her own plans of course, and she had told me that she was in the process of applying to law schools all over the country. With her plans being more flexible, since it would depend on where she ends up going to school, we weren't able to make a plan at that time.

But at least we knew to prioritize and think about each other more than before.

It turned out our vacation to Napa Valley served as more than a romantic trip for us and my job interviews. With some unexpected hesitation, she revealed to me that a couple of weeks prior, she found out she had gotten into Stanford Law School.

I was elated. I don't think I've ever been prouder of her.

At one point she had said that, like Columbia, Stanford was her top choice. Maybe it was her saying that, along with the news of her actual acceptance, that became extra motivation for me to do really well in my interviews over the following days.

Enough to where I was offered a job.

It was both exciting and scary for several reasons. But once we realized that life was taking us to the same place, it became the biggest sign that we were ready to start our futures together.

So after spending some of the summer in Retroville, seeing our friends and family and reminiscing, we packed our belongings and road-tripped our move to California. After several stops and nearly two thousand miles, we finally arrived at our small but sensible apartment. Where, and I am probably speaking for the two of us, it all finally became real.

Fighting through our exhaustion and hoping that our bed did in fact arrive by tonight, we tried to unpack as much as we could now, knowing it was best to get it over with before the tiredness set in.

Cindy wasn't set to start school until later this summer, but my first day of work was at the end of the week, which added on to the reasons to establish ourselves as soon as we can.

"So when do you think we can start having people over?" I spoke.

She looked over at me quizzically.

"You think you'll make friends at work quickly?"

"No," I chuckled. "I meant like our families and friends."

"Oh. I hadn't really thought about it. Definitely when we're settled in. And know the area more so we know where to take them and all."

"Yeah, that makes sense. My mom is already so excited. She's probably looking up flights already." I smiled as I emptied out one of the crates.

"My mom is happy for us too." Cindy answered. "Nervous, of course, since I'm moving in with my boyfriend halfway across the country. But I'm sure my parents now feel comfortable turning my room into a gym or office or whatever they plan to."

"Yeah, probably." I replied, hoping she wouldn't notice my tone shift.

"What? What is it?"

"No, I just... thought I packed something in here but I guess it's somewhere else."

"Hey," She stopped me from reaching for a new box. "We talked about this, remember? My parents are fine with us. They like you. And if they didn't, too bad. I'm an adult who is perfectly able to choose who I want to be with."

She said that often. She'll probably be saying it the rest of our lives. are nice enough to me and I've always been courteous with them. While I do worry that they don't like me or think I'm good enough for Cindy, that wasn't what I was referring to when I replied to her comment about what they'll do to her bedroom.

It actually didn't have anything to do with me.

"Err, hi, ." I approached them cautiously and gave a weak wave. We stood under a large, identifiable tree where we were instructed by Cindy to wait for her after the graduation ceremony let out so she could meet up with us. While there were a lot of people apart from the graduates present, there is something about Cindy's parents that makes them stand out and it's not just Sasha's tight bun hairstyle. Finding them was easy. Approaching them, even though they knew I was there too, was not.

Anyone could see how deep into an argument they was nothing subtle about it. I couldn't make out what they were saying or what they were fighting about but as I got closer, I could see Sasha's eyes were red and puffy, a clear sign that she had been crying. But I had a feeling it was from more than just her daughter's major accomplishment.

"Jimmy. Hello. Good to see you." Cindy's dad stuck out his hand for me to shake while Sasha put her sunglasses back on.

"Thank you. You as well." She gave me a smile, a wider, brighter one that I still wasn't used to. I haven't seen her since the night of Libby's baby shower/day she gave birth after Cindy, Carl, and I went back to the house to eat and I was, I guess one could say, formally re-introduced to Sasha as Cindy's boyfriend.

But similarly to then, she looked... tense. Back then of course, I thought it was because of the day's events and finding out her daughter was back together with the guy who broke her heart.

"It was a great ceremony." I said to both of them and hoped Cindy wasn't going to take too long.

"It was." Sasha spoke first, her tone nothing like it was before she noticed I was around. "Did you get any pictures of Cindy? She looked great up there."

"She really did. I got a couple, yeah. I can send them to you if you'd like."

"Oh yes, I'd love th-."

"So Jimmy-. James?" Cindy's dad interrupted.

"'Jimmy' is fine."

"Jimmy," he nodded. "You've finished up at MIT then?"

"Yes sir. Graduation is in a couple of days, but I told Cindy I'd make it here for hers. So here I am."

"That's wonderful. I'm glad everything is going well. I know Cindy is excited for... your big move."

"Absolutely. Yes. I can't wait to-."

"Hey!" Cindy's familiar voice chimed from behind me. I turned just as she reached for my arm, our hands instinctively linking. Cindy too looked like she had done a bit of crying and the day's breeze was apparent on her hair, which she had styled into waves. Her decorated graduation cap was on her head and her light blue gown unzipped.

"Cindy..." Her mom spoke as she approached to hug her, and Cindy dropped her hand from mine to complete the gesture. "My sweet girl. Congratulations! I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you mom! Hi, daddy! I'm so glad you guys are here." She moved to hug and kiss her dad on the cheek. "Hope the ceremony wasn't too boring." We all laughed, knowing it didn't matter since she was so important to us.

"Thank you for coming." She spoke to me as she walked back to stand next to me.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it." And because I wasn't entirely sure how we should act at this moment, right in front of her parents, I didn't try to kiss her. Fortunately, Cindy seemed to feel the same.

"Okay, I wanted to get some pictures." Sasha said as she pulled out her camera from her purse.

"Yeah! There's a couple good spots over here. Follow me." Taking my hand, she led us into the Columbia University campus for a final time.

After about forty-five minutes and countless pictures of various combinations, the campus was noticeably clearing out and I knew it was a good time to excuse myself.

"So meet us at the hotel lobby at 5:30 and we'll head to the restaurant from there." Sasha instructed Cindy about their celebratory dinner plans before I could say anything.

"Sounds good. I'll see you then."

"Jimmy, would you like to join us? I can call the restaurant to change our reservation." Cindy's dad spoke.

Trying to hold back my surprise as best I could, I replied.

"Oh, um thank you, but I can't. I have to get back to Boston. My parents are flying in tonight and I have to pick them up from the airport."

"Ahh, that's too bad. I was looking forward to talking more. Well, tell your parents we said 'hello'."

"I will sir. It was good to see you." I repeated his words from earlier as I stuck my hand out first this time. After we shook, I gave Mrs. Vortex a polite, departure smile and small nod, unsure if I should do anything else.

To Cindy, I said, "I'll see you in a couple days." And while there was nothing out of the ordinary in my voice, I knew my face gave something away. Cindy nodded, a noticeably smirk on her lips. "Congratulations again. Love you."

"Love you too." She gave me a quick kiss before I turned to leave.

I'd seen Cindy's parents a couple of times since then. But there wasn't much chatting nor was it for long periods of time. When we left for California, both my parents and Sasha were present to see us off. Despite leaving very early in the morning, Cindy's dad wasn't able to be there due to a work obligation. I didn't think much about what I saw between them at Cindy's graduation, since I knew it was none of my business. With planning for the move, it seemed I always had something on my mind anyway.

Cindy hasn't mentioned anything about her parents' acting oddly, so it's likely they aren't doing it in front of or around her. And of course, I knew better than to say anything. I did hope, though, that whatever was going on -if something was going on- could be resolved.

"I'm going to take our stuff to our room." I spoke as I walked towards the group of suitcases.

"Okay. I was gonna tackle the bathroom next." I nodded as I rolled my two luggages into our unfurnished bedroom. I closed the door behind me, but left a gap to be able to hear should Cindy start coming this way. Laying the smaller bag in front of me, I opened it and unzipped the mesh pocket on the interior. As I reached for what I was looking for, I glanced back to make sure Cindy's wasn't coming this way.

Taking out some belongings, I finally pulled out a pair of shorts. After unrolling them, what was perhaps the most valuable item I had packed, was revealed. For obvious reasons, I couldn't check on this the entire drive over here. So seeing it, especially now that we've arrived at our new home to begin our new life, will give me a peace of mind.

Opening up the lid of the small, velvet box, I beamed as brightly as the jewelry nestled inside it, glad it made the journey safely.

I did this with the first Rules story and it broke my heart then as much as it's breaking now, but this is my formal announcement that the story is coming to an end. I don't know the exact number of chapters remaining, but with this last scene, it shouldn't be too surprising to hear that the story is wrapping up. Honestly this might be a big reason why the gaps between these past few chapters have been long: because it makes me so sad to let this saga go and I don't want it to come too quickly.

Hope you guys enjoyed and please review!