A few hours later, the Girardi kitchen was emitting intoxicating aromas. Will was cooking some of his best Italian dishes. No one was allowed to enter the kitchen while he was in there – in these cases, Luke, Joan and Kevin used to call him the Kitchen Nazi.

Heidi and the Rove family had both accepted their invitations, so Helen was busy setting the table for thirteen. Joan was running around tidying the house, and Kevin was in the shower, getting ready.

Grace and Luke arrived home at five o'clock. At seven o'clock, Heidi arrived. Kevin became very jittery as soon as she entered the house. It wasn't like him to be nervous around women. Adam and his family arrived twenty minutes later. Hilary, to Joan's disgust, was perfectly polite, pretty and poised. The two children were also adorable. Deep down, Joan was hoping for a flaw, any flaw, which might show signs of Hilary and Adam's relationship becoming weak, but there were none.

They finally started eating at eight o'clock. The two children, Eliza and Michael had already eaten, and this was the reason for their lateness to the Girardi house. After Will's fantastic meal, they tucked into a rich creamy cheesecake. To everybody's surprise, Will wasn't the cook of the marvelous dessert, but it was Ken. He used to be a baker 'back in his day'. But what was most amazing was the fact that Will had let someone into the kitchen while he was cooking.

When they had finished dessert, Luke looked over to Grace, and she nodded. Luke cleared his throat, and got the attention of the small audience.

"Um, excuse me…everyone?"

At these words, Helen sat up a little straighter, and Will and Judy snapped out of a deep conversation. Grace got up and stood with Luke.

"Well, me and Grace have been doing a lot of talking," said Luke, although he knew it was a bit of a lie, "and we have decided that we don't want to live without each other. We have realised that we are true sole mates. We're getting married…" he finished.

At first, both Will and Helen looked as if they would scream at him for making a stupid decision, but then Will's expression softened, and he jumped up and gave the couple a hug. Helen just burst into tears and was muttering something about 'about time, I want grandkids,'

Grace and Luke eventually pulled away from their proud father and sobbing mother. They settled down at the table again, and happy babble broke out. Joan was asking about wedding dresses, already, and Will and Helen were muttering to themselves and occasionally looking over at Luke. The Rove family was busy entertaining each other.

Luke joined Joan and Grace's conversation. It had turned to bridesmaid dresses. He was shocked at how quickly everything was moving. He was expecting a bit more shock, or even reluctance, not complete happiness. But then again, he knew his family would be supporting of him in whatever he did.

Suddenly, Helen rose from the table and cleared her voice.

"Uh, excuse me," she said.

"I just wanted to say how proud I am of my three children. Since moving back to Arcadia, I feel you have all fought your fears. Joan, you have come to peace with your self and others. Kevin, you have kept your head held high in the face of possible humiliation, defeat and feeling of lack of purpose. And Luke, I know that you will make the best husband in the world to this lovely woman here with us.

"So, before I cry, I just want to say how much I love you. Not just my children, but their friends, and, of course, my husband. Thanks, that's all…"

Not a single person sitting around the table had a dry eye. There was silence, until Kevin said weakly, "I love you too mum," and then an echo of agreement sounded. Helen let a slippery silver droplet slip from her eye, and whispered, "Thankyou,"

Then, Helen's body went stiff. Her eyes were glued open, and she then began to slip off her chair. Everyone sat in dumbstruck silence, with open mouths.

"She's having another stroke!" cried Will.

Everyone ran to where Helen was lying, except Luke who rang an ambulance. From the phone, he could see Will draped over his wife's still body, Kevin crying into Heidi's tummy, Joan tryoing to and put her mother in the recovery position by pulling Will away, and the Rove's were ushering their children into another room.

Once Luke had finished on the phone he ran back to his frantic family. Will was still crying and stroking Helen's hair, whispering, "I love you, I love you, I love you…"