Author's Note: Well, this is the final chapter. I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you all enjoyed reading it;-)

Chapter 39

Two months had passed and Deja was finally getting settled into her apartment. She found that it wasn't the nicest apartment complex in the area, but her lease would be up in another year and hopefully by then she could purchase a house.

She loved this part of New York. The weather was perfect and living this close to the famous West Point academy allowed her to visit the many historical plots. She found a job working as a secretary for an attorney's office and would begin take nightly college courses when the fall semester began.

Since working at the law firm, she had taken a real interest in the inner workings of the law. She even considered going to law school. She knew it would be hard, but this was a goal she knew she could attain.

Coming home from a rather stressful day at work, she put on something comfortable, popped a bag of popcorn and put in a movie she'd just rented. She had run out of juice, and made her way into the kitchen to refill her glass.

Sitting her glass down by phone she spotted Brian's card. She decided to keep it on hand in case she was ever ready to give him a call. She picked the card up and examined it. "Brian Barber," she whispered softly.

For another five minutes she glared at the card. She missed the touch of a man, the company of a man's conversation. Brian had seemed like a nice enough guy and he was certainly attractive. She decided she'd go out on a limb and give him a call.

Blocking her home number, she called him. As the phone began to ring, sweat formed around her temples. Her hand was shaking as it held the receiver to her ear. She couldn't believe she was actually calling him. He probably wouldn't even remember who she was.

After six rings, Deja readied to hang the phone up. "Hello? Hello?" she heard on the opposite end. She could've easily hung up and pretended the call never happened, but she was actually excited about talking to Brian.

"Hi? Brian?" she said into the receiver.

"Yes, this is Brian."

"Brian, it's Deja. The woman you met on the plane..."

"Deja? Really?" he asked, his voice full of surprise.

"You remember me?"

"Of course! I was gonna give you eight more months to call and then I was moving on," he laughed. His laugh was infectious.

"Well, I didn't want you holding out that long."

Over the next two hours, they had an amazing conversation. They talked about everything imaginable. One thing Deja purposely left out was her stay at the mental hospitals. She felt this was too early to let Brian in on something so personal. She hoped that over time it would be something she could share with him and that he could accept.

"Well, it's getting late," she yawned into the phone.

"Yeah, it is," Brian agreed.

"I guess we'll talk some other time?"

"How about tomorrow?" he asked.

"What about tomorrow?"

"Well, you indicated you were off so I thought maybe we could get together. I could pick you up?" he suggested.

"I'm still not too comfortable with that. Seeing as how this is just our first conversation. How about we meet somewhere?"

"There's lots of beautiful parks in West Point, I hear. Never actually been myself."

"What! You've never been to West Point? Oh, we have to go there then. I could pack us a lunch and we could have good conversation in the park."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Brian said.

"How about...2 pm tomorrow afternoon?"

"Great. Give me your number so I can call you."

"Hahaha. You think you're slick. I'm not giving you my number yet. We'll see how you do tomorrow and based off of that we'll see if you're worth receiving it."

"Ouch! I guess that's fair enough though. Call me tomorrow around 1 pm or so?"

"Sounds good."

"And if I don't hear from you, I'll take it as you changed your mind," he laughed.

"Yeah, take it like that," she said, laughing back. "Good night."

"Good night."

Deja hung up and made her way to her bedroom. She was excited about seeing Brian again. She felt as though this could be a great new beginning for her.

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It was 12 o'clock in the afternoon and Deja was trying to decide on what to wear for her first date with Brian. She had to look appealing, but didn't want to overdo it with the sexiness.

The day was beautiful and she was glad they would be spending it outside. Hearing laughter from the garden outside she looked out the window to see the small children playing on the swingset.

She decided her clothes could wait. She enjoyed the laughter of children, but it saddened her because she often thought of Anthony and Alexis. Had she still been unstable they would've been about three now. Maybe two and a half.

Deja slipped her flip flops on and headed down the stairs. She made her way to the playground and saw that the two children were all alone. She had never seen them there before, but it wasn't strange to see children that didn't live in the complex playing there.

Deja looked around and saw no sign of adults. Deja made her way to the little girl on the swingset, the boy had moved to the sand lot. "Hi, sweetie. How are you?"

"Good," the little girl said in a small voice.

"How old are you?" The little girl held up three small fingers. A smile crossed Deja's face. "Is that your brother?" Deja asked pointing to the little boy. The girl nodded.

"Is your mommy and daddy here?" Again the girl nodded. "Your mommy?" Deja asked. She shook her head. "Your daddy?" The girl nodded.

"Good," Deja mumbled. "So what's your name?"

"Lexi."

Deja's eyes intensified on the little girl's. Coincidence, she thought to herself. "And your brother?" she asked, almost afraid of what the answer might be.

"Tony. He's my..." She put her finger to her chin, as if deep in thought. "My twin."

Deja wasn't sure of what overcame her, but all of a sudden tears of joy and fear streamed down her face. "Where's your daddy?" she asked.

"There," the little girl pointed behind Deja.

Deja stood up and turned and looked into the eyes of the only man she ever truly loved. It was Mort. He looked almost the same, but had grown a little more facial hair and he no longer had the highlights in his hair. It was a dark brown color that Deja found suited him well.

"This can't be," she mumbled, repeatedly.

Mort made his way over to her. "You're not real," she said.

He took Deja's hand in his and placed it over his heart. "How can you tell me this isn't real?" he asked.

"But the doctors, the institution," she shook her head, as if trying to wake herself from a dream, "they told me it was all my imagination."

"They wanted to keep us apart Deja."

"That's not true Mort. If the doctors were lying then you'd be dead."

"You killed Shooter. Not me," he whispered into her ear. "Look at your children. We're here to be with you. Forever."

Deja looked at Lexi and Tony who were now both in the sandbox. She walked over to them and placed them both in her arms. She hugged them tightly and didn't want to ever let go.

"Kids, this is the lady we came all the way here to see. This is...your mom," Mort said.

"We missed you mommy," Tony said. Then they both gave her a kiss on each of her cheeks.

Deja was overcome with emotion. Mort crouched down beside his family and placed a loving kiss on her lips. He tasted her salty tears. "Why don't we go inside and talk things out," Mort suggested.

Mort and the kids followed Deja up to her apartment and got comfortable. "Mort, do you mind if I lie down for a while? I'm really drained."

"No, take all the time you need. We're not going anywhere."

Deja walked into the bedroom and closed the door. She knew this was just a relapse and hoped it would be over when she woke up. She thought about her date with Brian. She knew that wouldn't happen today. She'd call him later and apologize, maybe reschedule.

She picked up her cell phone, preparing to call Paula, but decided against it. She knew if she took a small nap, Mort, Alexis and Anthony would all be gone. Turning onto her side she slept for the next hour.

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She awoke to singing coming from the living room. She got up and saw Lexi and Tony on the floor singing along to a Sesame Street program. Yawning, she turned to Mort who was seated on a kitchen stool. "How long was I out for?"

"About an hour or so," he said.

She rubbed her eyes. "Have you all eaten?"

"Not since you made that great breakfast this morning."

Deja thought back on the cold cereal they'd all eaten for breakfast. "HaHa, very funny," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "Well, I'll try to whip us up something better for lunch."

"Sounds good to me," he said.

Something didn't feel quite right to Deja. She felt that during her nap, time had somehow slipped away from her. She shrugged it off and began pulling things out of the fridge. Mort snuck up from behind, and placed his arms lovingly around her.

He placed small kisses on her neck and shoulder. "Careful there Mort, that's how we got those two," she said, leaning her head towards the kids.

"I found something," he whispered into her ear.

"What?" she asked.

"Remember about a month ago, when you couldn't find your wedding or engagement ring?"

"Yeah," she said, turning around to look him directly in the eye.

"Well...Tada!" He opened his hand revealing both rings. "I found them in the bottom of my gym bag. You must've taken them off when you went to work out."

"I'm so glad you found them! I was driving myself crazy looking for them." Mort took the rings and placed them both on her finger. Pulling her closer to him, he gave her a long, passionate kiss. It was as though they were both exploring each other for the first time.

Mort, breaking the kiss, made his way into the living room and began to interact with the children. Deja, taking a second before going back to her cooking, looked at the family before her. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. She had the perfect life, with the perfect husband and kids. Pictures of all their happy times, including a trip to Ocho Rios to see her mom, decorated the house. She felt she was truly blessed. No one could ever take this feeling away from her...ever.

THE END