A/N: My apologies for the delay in posting this last chapter--I moved to a different city this week, and it took me a while to find my computer in all the mess. But all is now well, and the finale of Hanging By A Moment awaits your reading eyes ;-)

Good news, too, for all you Maddie/Danny fans out there. I've decided to write the third story in the series because there is so much more story to tell, and I feel compelled to tell it. I'm planning on taking a little break here to organize my new apartment and collect my thoughts, but keep your eyes peeled for Baby, One More Time, coming soon to a computer near you :-P

Maddie stood in front of the mirror trying to pull the zipper up the back of her dress, sighing with frustration when her latest attempt failed.

"What's wrong, babe?" Danny asked, sliding his arms around her and kissing her neck.

She smiled at his attention, but quickly switched back to aggravation. "I don't think I can fit into this dress yet," she told her husband. "It's been three months and I still haven't lost all my pregnancy weight."

"Here, let me…" He pulled his hands from her waist, keeping contact with her body until the last possible second before reaching for the zipper. It went up, catching halfway, but eventually reaching the top of the dress. "See? It's fine. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

She squinted at her reflection in the mirror. "It wasn't a big deal when I was pregnant, because, well, I was pregnant. But now Carrie's here…and I'm just fat."

"First of all," Danny replied sternly, resting his hands on her hips again, "you are not fat. Secondly, in spite of what you think—and I can see it in your eyes—you're absolutely gorgeous. You think I would have married an ugly woman?"

He winked at her in the mirror and she cracked a smile. "I hear ya there…I certainly didn't marry an ugly man. I just wish I could get rid of this extra weight."

"You will," he soothed, pulling her against him. "I know you will because you take good care of yourself. But you have to give your body time, babe. You were pregnant for nine months…give yourself at least that long before you start getting upset."

Maddie sighed again, leaning back against him. "You're right, I know. It's just hard going back to school every day still wearing maternity clothes after the baby's been born." She studied the image of the two of them in the mirror and smiled. No matter what she thought of her still-present pregnancy weight, she had to admit they looked like they fit together. That's because we do.

"What's that smile for?" Danny asked, turning her in his arms.

She laced her fingers together behind his neck and drew him close to her. "Because I love you."

"I'm good with that," he grinned, leaning down to kiss her.

"Okay, we're ready!" Shayla called, carrying her little sister around the apartment in search of their parents.

Danny's eyes met Maddie's as he pulled away and they exchanged thoughts before the girls found them.

Now?

Now.

"In here, sweetheart," Maddie answered her daughter. "There's one more thing we have to take care of before we go."

Shayla appeared in the doorway, her pale blue graduation dress flowing around her knees. "No, not one more thing…we're gonna be late…"

"This can't wait," Danny insisted, his eyes twinkling as he took his youngest daughter from his oldest.

"We have something for you," Maddie added, taking a small velvet box from her dresser drawer. "There were a couple of times when we wanted to give this to you, but we decided to wait until graduation when it made the most sense." She showed Shayla the box and grinned. "Danny gave this to me when I was pregnant with Adam," she told the girl, her smile taking on a more serious quality. "It was a time in our lives where a lot was going on and we didn't know how any of it was going to turn out. All we knew was that we had each other."

Maddie handed Shayla the box, smiling at Danny as he continued, "You're at a point like that now. You don't know what's gonna happen, but we wanted to make sure you knew that no matter what, your family is always here for you."

Puzzled, Shayla cracked open the box and found a simple polished gold ring inside, with a flowing Latin script all the way around.

"It says 'amor vincit omnia'," Maddie explained softly, remembering the love in Danny's voice when he spoke the same words to her two and a half years ago. "It means…"

"…'love conquers all'," Danny finished with a smile.

"It's beautiful," Shayla breathed.

"It's true," her father told her. "Always."

Shayla slipped the band onto the third finger of her right hand, her eyes shining brightly. "I don't know what to say…"

Carrie piped up and gurgled happily, clapping her hands in Danny's arms.

Shayla laughed. "That works, yeah." She flung her arms around her family, hugging them tightly. "And I'd like to add an 'I love you' to that, too."

"You know how much we love you," her mother told her, kissing her cheek.

Danny planted one on her forehead, too. "Happy graduation, sweetheart," he whispered.



They all sat in the stands together at Eastside High School, filling up parts of two rows as they quietly pretended to pay attention to the graduation ceremony taking place on the football field below.

Mac glanced over at Stella, the shy smile she always brought out in him forming on his lips. He knew he was lucky to have her in his life, luckier than he had realized until that moment. Most people pray to find their one true love…and I found two He allowed his eyes to sweep lovingly over her, squeezing her hand as he held it tenderly in his own. She met his gaze and smiled back, her soft, sweet, for-his-eyes-only smile, and his heart fluttered. And Claire would definitely approve.

Stella's smile widened a bit as she noted the expression on Mac's face. It was a look of love for her that was no longer tortured by the love of his past. He was at peace now, free to give himself completely to her, and to accept when she gave herself completely to him. I never imaged we'd be together like this, she thought. We're so happy where things are at right now, but I wonder what happens next for us…

Seated next to Stella, Don was wondering the same thing. Aiden sat beside him, her arm almost brushing against his. It had been a year and a half since she had fled New York, leaving him devastated and bitter. But the time apart seemed to have done them some good, and while there were still sometimes awkward silences between them, they were growing closer together, re-building the bond they had once shared. I think she trusts me more now than she did when we were in the field together, he mused, and our lives were at stake then. He reached over and looped his arm through hers, running his hand over the silky material of her sleeve, content to be near her again.

Aiden grinned sheepishly when Don touched her, knowing what he was thinking without even reading his face. He loved her—he had always loved her, even after the way she had abandoned him. She forced herself to look at him, to meet head on the pain in his eyes that she had caused. But when her brown eyes met his blue ones she discovered that much of the hurt and anguish that had once been a permanent fixture had bled away. He understands now, really truly understands. He gets why I had to leave…and he's forgiven me for the way I did it. Her smile softened and she patted his knee, leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sheldon saw Aiden's dark head lay on Don's shoulder and sighed internally. He and Sarah used to sit like that, arms entwined, leaning against each other, satisfied just to be together for a few moments without worrying about the rest of the world. But he had screwed up, and not just at the end of their relationship. He knew he should have made more time for her, knew that work was not the only thing—or even the most important thing—in life. But he had brushed those thoughts away, always telling himself that he would make time later. And now there is no later with Sarah. Can I live without her? Sure, if I want to be a miserable wretch of a man for the rest of my life. I wonder if she'll ever forgive me…

One row below the former Medical Examiner, Dantrell was reminiscing as well, remembering that only three years ago it was he who sat down on the field at his own graduation. He chuckled to himself as he recalled how bored he had been, how he had amused himself by wondering what the rest of his family would think of his newly-earned diploma. I was the first Baker to finish high school, he smiled to himself, and next year I'll be the first Baker to graduate from college. Shayla's the first in her biological family through high school, too, and I'm going to do everything in my power to help her make it through college. His gaze fell on his grandmother and sister sitting beside him, and his smile widened at the pride and love he saw on their faces. She's part of my family now, and family has to stick together.

On the other side of Dantrell, three-month-old Carrie sat on Maddie's lap, clapping her hands together playfully and grinning up at her parents. Maddie smiled brightly at her youngest daughter, giggling when the little girl poked her tongue out of her mouth to lick her lips. She's growing up so fast, Maddie thought. It seems like only yesterday that I was looking for crackers to fend off the morning sickness before our wedding, and here she is sitting on my lap, beautiful and healthy. Of course, it was only yesterday that Shayla was a scared freshman, curled up on the couch in my old apartment watching movies and eating Italian food with Danny and me. And it was only yesterday, too, that Danny was lying in a hospital bed with a bullet hole in his shoulder. But here we all are, celebrating together.

Danny noticed the tears forming in Maddie's eyes and grinned. He could read his wife like a book and knew that she could read him just as well. It was part of the bond they shared, part of their lines of communication, part of what made their marriage work. My wife, he thought with awe, and my daughters. Four years ago I was just some scientist-cop running from my past, trying to atone for all the bad things I'd done. But now I have a wife and kids that I love more than anything else in the world, and I stood up to the Mafia with their help. We had some rough times, but maybe that's all behind us now. For their sake, I hope it is.

Down on the football field, the principal came to the podium. "Next I'd like to introduce Tyanne Marshall, one of the most beautiful voices at Eastside High School, to sing this year's class song, 'Hanging By A Moment', accompanied by Joshua Brennan on guitar."

The young woman rose from her seat among the graduates and made her way to the stage, followed by her classmate who retrieved his guitar and tuned it quickly before plugging it in to the amplifier.

Shayla watched them move across the field. She, like her contingent of family and friends in the bleachers, was pondering the future and remembering the past, gently twisting the 'love conquers all' ring on her right hand. She knew it was only by the grace of God and the love of her new parents that she sat in her cap and gown awaiting her turn to cross the stage and receive her diploma. Josh began strumming his guitar and Shayla smiled. I told Dantrell months ago that this song was the theme for my life. But even with everything that's changed, I'm still just hanging by a moment.

Tyanne's sweet voice ran out over the field and into the stands.

"I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm tapping into
Just hanging by a moment here with you…"

Shayla looked up into the crowd and found her parents sitting with the CSIs and Dantrell's family. They all noticed that her attention had shifted to them, and every one of them raised a hand and waved cheerfully.

She laughed gently, happiness swelling in her heart until she thought it might burst. I might be hanging by a moment, but I'm not alone anymore. Now I'm hanging by a moment here with them