Alrighty then, this isn't the last chapter, but rather second to last, if you don't count the epilogue. It's really short; less than 1000 words, but I think you'll find that it's very significant.

Marron kissed me good and hard for a few moments, and then pulled away. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, and they made her big blue eyes sparkle even more than usual.

"Goten," she whispered lightly, "why did you do that?"

I smirked a little, not moving from the place where I was standing; merely inches away from Marron's pale face. "I'm trying to show you exactly how much I love you. I couldn't get you to listen to me any other way. So I decided it would be easier to show you instead." I gently stroked a strand of hair away from her face.

Marron opened her mouth, as to say something, but then shut it. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I forgot how wonderful it feels to kiss you. I missed that. I missed you."

"I doesn't have to be that way," I breathed. "It can be like it was before; all about us. We can go back to that. Remember that last day? Remember being so pacified just sitting on the couch and doing absolutely nothing? Don't you want that again?" I asked.

She nodded and my heart leapt.

"But--"

My heart stopped.

"--it can't be that way anymore, 'Ten. We both lead very different lives now. We can't stop time just for us. Things can't be the way they were before. I'm not the same person you fell in love with all those years ago. I had to change."

"Change for who?" I asked.

Marron looked straight into my eyes. "For me. If I had stayed the same person all these years, I would have gone insane. For Kira. What kind of mother would I be if I was still so hung up on you I couldn't think? For you. I needed to prove that I move on without you," she whispered.

I raised an eyebrow. "I never asked you to change."

"I know. You would never ask me to change. It was my decision to change for you. You have no idea who I am anymore. How can you want to be with someone you don't even know?" she questioned, raising her eyebrow to mock mine.

I chuckled softly. "So tell me, Marron. Tell me exactly who you are."

Gathering up as much height as she possibly could, (which still wasn't enough) Mar opened her beautiful lips and began to spin her not-so-beautiful tale.

"I am the woman who made a mistake. I hurt the one person that I loved more than life itself, and I ended up alone and very pregnant. My life suddenly had no meaning to it, and I found myself having to prepare for motherhood alone. And finally I was going to have my baby, which honestly was the only thing I had left to live for. But I went to the hospital that day and I gave birth alone. Okay, I wasn't exactly alone, but the only person I wanted to be there wasn't. And to this day I still don't know exactly why. I continued to live life for my daughter and my daughter alone. My husband was gone, my baby had no father. But my daughter grows up anyway. The one day, my daughter asks who her father is. What am I supposed to say? I cry and cry until my husband walks back into my life. And I find this fair to no one. Why should he get to know the joy that is my child when he has not contributed a single thing to her life? My husband insists that he loves me and wants to be with me again. But should I trust him? Should I trust myself to not make another mistake? I am at a crossroads. Part of me wants to be with my husband so bad it hurts. And the other part thinks that I should leave things the way they are."

I stroke her cheek lightly. "You don't have to feel that way. You can have faith in yourself, in us. What about all those plans we made? Don't you remember? Our grandchildren running around by the lake, chasing each other, and then we'd sit down and have a picnic? And the house. Do you remember the house? Big and white, with a huge backyard and a swing set. And a big bed with lots of pillows and a big, comfy blanket. Is it just me, or do you want all that too?" I asked, remembering the conversation we'd had years ago like it was only yesterday.

"I did want it. But now, now I'm afraid. You broke my heart once. How will I know that you won't do it again?"

I kissed her forehead. "This is me, Marron. I would never hurt you on purpose. I want to be with you more than I want to live. And if I can't be with you, I don't know what I'll do."

A tear slid down her cheek. "What if we-- sort of try something? Like, we spend some time together and then see what happens? You know what I'm saying?"

I froze. It was too good to be true. She wanted to give us another chance. And I cried.

I gathered her into my arms and held her against me, rocking back and forth. "I love you so much," I whispered.

"I love you too, Goten."