Chapter Thirty: Heaven Is Here

Naked and tangled, twisted in love…

Tonight we are the only ones who feel it, so let it last all night.

Jay

I held Sophie in my arms. She was getting so big, and I could hardly believe that she would be four months old in a few days. My daughter.

I tickled her under her chin and she giggled, moving her arms around to block my hand. Placing a small kiss on her forehead, I remembered back to the day she had her surgery.

"Here's everything we need," I said, holding a check out to Ellie. It was from Degrassi, and signed by Ms. Hatzilakos. Ellie was speechless as she sat next to Sophie's bed in the NICU.

"How did you get this?" she finally asked. "And how did it only take a week." Her voice was laced with doubt, as if she thought the check was fake or that I'd rip it out of her hands any second.

"Fundraisers," I answered. "Everyone came up with their own event and, well, here we are. There's even some extra money to put in Sophie's account."

Ellie started to cry then and I knew they were tears of relief. I showed the check to her doctor, made the appointment for her surgery, and returned to Ellie to hold her in my arms.

"I love you," she whispered, kissing my cheek.

"I love you too. And I love our daughter," I added, looking over to her. It was almost over. I couldn't wait for her to be okay enough to go back home.

"Tell me more about the fundraising," Ellie requested. It was two days later, we were in the waiting room, and Sophie was in surgery.

"Well, I went to Ms. H and told her our problem, and she let me make an announcement on TV in the morning. I asked for anyone who could help to meet me after school on Monday, and a lot of people showed up.

"We talked about a bunch of different ideas for fundraising, and people started to take charge of the events. I wanted to surprise you, and that was easy since you were here all day, every day.

"Liberty and JT set aside their differences and put together a play. They raised $550. Paige got the Spirit Squad to have a car wash, even though it's not that warm out and they raised $300. Spinner set up some concert in the park and asked for ten dollar donations. They got $500. Emma cleaned up people's yards or something and got $200. Manny did a bake sale and raised $250. Marco made t-shirts. I never saw one, so I don't know what he put on them, but he made $100. Tim went door to door, asking for donations, and collected $50. Craig took photos of people—really nice ones—and made $450. Alex walked dogs and made $50. And I threw a party at Craig's house. We charged people fifteen bucks to get in and made $750.

"So there you have it. We collected $3,200. So, Sophie's account has $700 in her account. It's a lot less than what she used to have, but we'll manage…"

She cut me off right there when she pressed her lips against mine. I wrapped my arms around her and we stayed like that, completely silent, for hours. Finally…

"Ellie, Jay…" the doctors referred to us by our first names since they knew us so well by then. Ellie and I both jumped up as soon as we heard Dr. Hill's voice.

"How did it go? How is she? Is she okay?" Ellie started shooting questions at the doctor before he could even open his mouth. I put a hand on her arm to stop her. She felt my touch and instantly shrank back, closer to me.

"The surgery went extremely well. Sophie will be fine. She may vomit for a few more days, but that is to be expected. We'll monitor her here for three days, and then she can go home," he explained, smiling.

I was overwhelmed with such happiness that it took all the energy I had to keep myself from screaming right there. I wanted to yell that my daughter was fine. I wanted everyone to know. Ellie started to cry again and I knew they were tears of joy and relief. A few minutes later, I found that I was crying too. I didn't care who saw me.

"Can we see her?" I asked. Dr. Hill nodded, and we followed him back to the NICU.

She was asleep, but she was fine. There was still an IV hooked up to her, but other than that, she looked like she always had. For some reason, a reason I couldn't explain, she looked more beautiful than she ever had. She looked better than the first time I saw her. I could tell that Ellie thought the same way too.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked me. I finally came back to reality—I'd been staring off into space as I thought about Sophie's surgery, and how different everything was since that day. I went to school every day, and worked every night, even though I wanted to be there with my daughter. But I knew that we needed money and I needed a diploma.

"Just thinking," I replied. I stood up and kissed Ellie on the cheek. She looked gorgeous even though she didn't have any makeup on. I liked her better that way.

"Well, all of your thinking is going to make us be late," she said, sounding a little irritated. But she smiled, so I knew she wasn't really all that angry. "The ceremony starts in two hours, and I'm supposed to be there, getting my hair and makeup done," she lectured.

"You don't need any makeup," I told her. She smiled again and kissed my lips so softly that I almost didn't feel it."

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too." We shared one more kiss before she started to take Sophie from me.

"Now, go grab your tux and I'll get her dressed."

"Yes ma'am!" I joked, saluting her. She laughed—I loved that sound—and walked away.

Spinner

"Do you, Gavin Mason, take Emma to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"What do you think they'll say?" I asked Emma as I followed her down to her room. We'd just told her parents that we wanted to get married. Emma stopped me just as she closed the door.

"Why don't we just stay right here and find out?" she suggested.

So we huddled there, ears pressed to the door, as we listened to her parents argue.

"What do you think?" Mr. Simpson asked Emma's mom.

"What do you mean? This isn't even something to think about Snake! Emma is only seventeen! She does not need to get married!"

My stomach flopped. With Emma's mom so against our idea, I didn't think we stood a chance at all. But, to my surprise, Mr. Simpson kept going.

"Spike, she's old enough to make her own decisions. Emma is extremely responsible. She's also just as stubborn as you, and if she's made this decision, there won't be any stopping her. If we say no, and don't sign the paper, she'll just marry him as soon as she's eighteen. And she'll probably hold a grudge if we don't support her," he explained.

Emma nodded next to me. I knew they were right too. She was known to hold a grudge.

"So you think we should just give her what she wants? What if this boy breaks her heart? What if he cheats on her, or leaves her?" she asked him.

I frowned and looked over at Emma.

"I would never do that," I whispered, kissing her softly.

"I know."

There was a long pause in the kitchen, and we exchanged furtive glances.

"She'll just have to learn that hard way if that's what's going to happen," Mr. Simpson finally said.

"Snake, you don't think she's pregnant, do you? I mean, she's not just getting married because they're having a baby, right?"

Emma got angry. I could feel the heat radiating around her. She didn't even think about what she was doing next. She burst through the door, leaving me standing on the stairs.

"Do you honestly think that I'm that stupid?" she yelled. I did not see this going well. Her mom had her hands on her hips, and Mr. Simpson was frowning. Then, a few seconds later, they both burst out laughing.

"We honestly knew you were on the other side of that door," Mr. Simpson explained.

Emma's mom picked up the paper we'd needed one of them to sign. We found not only one, but two signatures at the bottom. Emma instantly threw her arms around her mother and Mr. Simpson motioned for me to join them. I walked over and shook his hand.

"Hey Dad," I joked.

"Very funny Gavin," he said, patting my shoulder. "Once you two are married, you can call me Snake. Maybe," he added.

"And you can call me Spinner."

I grinned and pulled Emma to me, who was finished hugging her mom. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her right in front of her parents. Their eyes were on us, but we didn't care. We were getting married.

My eyes scanned the area. We picked a small wedding, considering neither of us had very much money. Mr. Simpson insisted on paying for it. We chose to have it in the park. Emma and I stood under a beautiful archway that her mom put together, with everyone sitting behind us in white folding chairs.

Emma chose her maid of honor to be her mother, and since Jay was my best man, he was also her mom's date. Next to Mrs. Nelson-Simpson, stood the rest of the bridesmaids, Ellie, holding Sophie, Manny, and Alex. Their dates stood next to Jay. They were Marco, JT, and Craig. We'd all hoped that Jimmy would be there with the other guys, but he wasn't.

All of our other friends from Degrassi came, as well as Mrs. Hatzilakos, Ms. Kwan, Mr. Armstrong, and even Mr. Radditch. I invited my whole family, but my father didn't come. I saw my mom and Kendra, sitting together and crying. Jay's little sister and her new family were there too. Joey and Angela sat by my mom.

"Do you, Emma Nelson, take Gavin to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

Cheers erupted from behind us.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Before I could move, Emma was in my arms, pressing her lips to mine. I felt a rush of exhilaration, and kissed her back for quite a long time.

I would never forget this moment for the rest of my life.

Ellie

After the wedding, the reception was held in the Degrassi cafeteria, with nice little tables set up, and a dance floor sectioned off. The party only lasted for a few hours because we all had somewhere else to go afterwards. We all hugged Emma and Spinner, then watched as they got into the limo that we chipped in to pay for. They were headed to a nice hotel on the beach for their honeymoon.

Once they were gone, almost everyone at the party hurried to the auditorium. It was almost time for the graduation ceremony to start.

Jay and I were separated at the entrance. He kissed Sophie and I on our foreheads and left us to find a seat on our own. I sat as close to the front as I could with Sophie in my lap, propped up against my stomach. I wanted her to see her dad graduate.

My heart dropped when my class walked through the auditorium and onto the stage. Everyone looked so prestigious in their caps and gowns, heads held high, while I sat in the audience. The only thing I could do was watch.

My stomach turned as I thought of how I'd only had three months left of school. If I could have held out for three more months, I would be up there with them. But where would my daughter be?

I looked down at Sophie. As soon as I saw the top of her head with her fuzzy red hair, all of my regrets dissolved. I lifted her up and kissed the tip of her nose. She smiled at me and kicked her legs out. I instantly knew that I'd made the right choice.

"She's beautiful," an all too familiar voice said. I felt someone sit down in the chair next to me. I didn't have to look to see who it was.

"Why are you back? Again," I added.

"I came to apologize. To you, to Jay…to everyone. Ellie, I'm sorry that I left again. I should have stayed, but I got scared again. And I was an a…"

"Watch your mouth," I snapped, motioning towards the baby.

"Sorry. I was a jerk. I just feel terrible, especially for leaving before we found out who…"

"You're not her father Sean."

"I know, I heard. I'm glad that you kept her though. You look really happy," he told me.

"I am." I finally looked over at him. For the first time since Sean went back to Wasaga over a year ago, I didn't feel a surge of anger when I saw him. He actually looked like he was sorry, and that he knew he was missing out.

"Will you forgive me Ellie? For leaving you when you needed me, and for coming back and screwing everything up for you. I truly am sorry. I want to stay for good this time. I'm going to summer school this summer and back to Degrassi when the year starts again. I want to graduate; no matter how long it might take. But I won't stay if you don't want me to. I won't stay if you can't forgive me. I'll go back to Wasaga and stay there for good this time."

"Sean, I can forgive you because I'm happy. What you did had a huge effect on me a long time ago. But to tell you the truth, I don't even think about you anymore. Jay and Sophie mean everything to me. I love them both, and I don't need you at all. Sophie is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I won't stop you from going back to Degrassi, especially since I won't be there. But it's not really up to me. It's up to…" he interrupted me this time.

"Emma."

I nodded.

"Sean, if you screw things up for her, I will come after you. Not Jay; me. Emma and Spinner just got married. I will kill you if you mess with her again," I warned him.

"I know. I saw the wedding." I opened my mouth to say something but he cut me off. "Don't worry, no one saw me. And I won't go after her again. I promise. She kicked the crap out of me enough to make me leave her alone. Besides, I have a girlfriend. We've been together for three months, ever since I went home that second time," he explained.

"Anyone I know?" I asked him.

"Actually, yeah. He turned around and looked towards the back of the room. He motioned for someone to join us, but I couldn't see who it was. "Here she comes now," he said. She walked over and my mouth dropped. Sitting down next to Sean, she forced a smile onto her face. The last time we'd seen each other, we didn't exactly have a happy chat.

"Ashley?" I asked, completely surprised.

"Hi Ellie."

"When did you move to Wasaga?" I asked. I wasn't sure if she was still mad that I called her a bitch. She didn't really have a reason to, since she called me one first. She must have let it go. It had been over a year since I saw her last. There wasn't really a reason for either of us to be mad at each other.

"I didn't." She relaxed, so she must have felt the same way I did. My dad actually went to see an old friend, so I decided to go with him. The day we got there, I saw Sean. We got to talking about a certain party I wanted to forget about that happened years ago. The same party where we had a 'moment,'" she explained, smiling. "And I decided to stay with Sean. My dad sent me my stuff and I'm back at my mom's."

"I bet she's glad to have you back," I said.

"She is."

There was an awkward silence because we were all thinking about the same thing. Ashley's step-brother. Toby. That subject was completely avoided, thanks to the clapping that started on the stage. We'd talked through the guest speaker and the student speeches. Marco would kill me if he found out I missed his.

While I waited to hear my friends' names, I turned back to Sophie. She was looking around at all of the people in the room. She still had a smile on her face. She was a quiet baby, aside from all of the times she woke up during the night.

"Can I hold her?" Ashley asked. I hadn't realized she was watching me until then.

"Sure."

I handed her over and watched Ashley hold her carefully. She tickled her under her chin and let her grasp her fingers.

"She's adorable. Congratulations," she told me.

"Thanks."

A few minutes later, she handed Sophie back to me. Sean looked at me but didn't say anything. I let him hold her for a minute. By the time I got her back again, I heard Marco's name called. I stood up and screamed his name. When I sat, I started to clap.

"That's your uncle Marco," I told Sophie. "He likes boys," I added. She smiled and made a little noise.

I spaced out and waited.

"Jason Hogart," I heard Ms. Hatzilakos announce.

"Jay!" I screamed, holding Sophie up. He saw us and smiled, then started to wave. "There's your Daddy," I told our daughter. She smiled and laughed. It was the first time she'd ever laughed, and it was an amazing sound. I sat back down and clapped and whistled for Jay. I was so unbelievably proud of him.

He stopped at the microphone as he walked by. No one knew what he was doing. He was so close to walking off the stage with his diploma, but he stopped.

"I just have to say that I wouldn't be here without my amazing girlfriend, Ellie Nash, and our beautiful daughter, Sophie."

I felt my cheeks flush as almost everyone in the auditorium turned to look at me. I grinned and waved.

"I love you both," he said into the mic.

"We love you too!" I shouted.

Everyone started to clap again. Jay blew us a kiss and finally walked off the stage.

Jay

I graduated. I can't believe it. I held the diploma in my hands and kept opening and closing it.

Ellie and I went to the graduation party. She was allowed in even though she didn't graduate; I made sure of that. Ellie's dad had gone to the graduation without either of us knowing. He congratulated me and offered to take Sophie home so we could go to the party. With a lot of persuasion, I finally got Ellie to agree.

We stayed for a little while, congratulating our friends and talking with teachers. Ellie didn't feel left out because everyone was asking her about the baby. I found it so strange that we all got along now. A year ago, none of us would have been talking to each other. If the shooting hadn't happened, we wouldn't be brought together like this. If it hadn't happened, everything would be different.

I probably wouldn't have graduated. I'd be at the ravine right now, making fun of the graduates. Ellie would have graduated, and she'd have been at the party with Marco, Craig, Jimmy, and Spinner. Sean would have still been her boyfriend. Ashley and Craig would still be together, along with Hazel and Jimmy. Manny and Spinner would be dating. Emma wouldn't have married Spinner. Paige would definitely not be dating JT. Alex would still be living at home, being hurt every day. Sophie would have never been born.

I like things just the way they are.

"I'm so proud of you," Ellie said, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

"I'm proud of you too," I told her, placing my diploma on the nightstand.

"For what?"

"For being such a great mother and for making me stay in school. I meant what I said up on that stage. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for you. I love you Ellie."

"I love you too Jay."

We sat there in silence for a few moments, on our bed, listening to each other breathe. I felt Ellie start to pull my shirt off from behind. She kissed my shoulder, and wrapped her arms around me tighter. I felt her rest her head on my shoulder, at the base of my neck.

"Sophie's asleep," she whispered in my ear. I turned around and kissed her again, pulling off her shirt as I went. My fingertips grazed her skin as she reached for the button on my jeans.

Those were the last words either of us spoke that night.

Emma

I didn't know what hotel we were going to because Spinner wouldn't tell me. All he said was that it was far enough away so we could relax and enjoy ourselves, and that we were staying for a week.

During the whole ride to wherever it was, Spinner held me close to him and kissed my neck. I giggled like crazy and drank a little champagne (Jay managed to sneak it in before we left). I definitely wasn't going to get drunk on my wedding night; I only drank about half a glass.

"Come here!"

"Nope!" I squealed. "You'll have to catch me!"

As soon as we got out of the limo, I ran from Spinner. I knew what he was going to try to do. And it's really hard to run in a wedding dress. He caught me a minute later when I stopped because I realized where we were.

"Aww Spinner! The beach where we had our first date!" I turned around and kissed him.

"Well, if you don't count our night in the van," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. I smacked his shoulder and he grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. We kissed for another minute before I tried to run away from him again. I wasn't successful. He grabbed me around my waist and lifted me up into his arms; one arm behind my neck, and the other under my legs.

"Spinner, this is so corny!" I said, laughing.

"I'm trying to be cute," he said, stopping in his tracks. "I could drop you right here." He quickly lowered his arms and I screamed.

"Okay, fine. You're being cute," I said.

I let him carry me through the door that the limo driver opened when he put our bags in the room. He dropped me on the bed and climbed up next to me. Within seconds, I was on top of him, kissing him and pulling his jacket off. I felt his hands grab mine to stop me.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Em, we don't have to get right into this. I didn't marry you just for sex."

"I know Spinner. But I think I've waited long enough. I love you and I know you won't hurt me. I want to be with you."

"I love you too, and I want to be with you too. But you're my wife now, so we have all the time in the world. I just thought we could have dinner on the beach first."

"You are just full of surprises," I said, kissing him softly. "I would love to have dinner with you."

He smiled and kissed me again.

"Why don't we change before we go?" he suggested.

"Good idea."

"Oh and don't forget your bathing suit," he added.

As soon as I'd changed into a shirt and a tank top with my bikini underneath, I walked over to the bed. While I'd been in the bathroom, Spinner left. I found a note on my pillow:

To my beautiful wife:

Meet me on the beach in our spot. I love you.

I walked down the beach until I found our spot—I'd never forget it, even though we only went once. I found Spinner standing by a little table that he set up. There were candles lit on the table and food already on it. The sun was just starting to set, and the sky was beautiful.

Spinner pulled my chair out for me and I sat. Once he took his place across form me, I reached for his hand.

"This is so romantic Spinner," I told him, squeezing his hand. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I can't believe we're married!" I squealed. I looked over and saw a blanket spread out in the sand. "What's that for?" I asked.

"So we can look up at the stars after we swim."

"I am so lucky to have you," I told him. I really meant it.

"No, I'm lucky to have you Emma."

Once dinner was done, I pulled my skirt and tank top off and dragged Spinner to the water, just like on our first date. By the time we were in the water, it was just about dark. The water was a little cold, so we only stayed in it for a few minutes. We ran back to the blanket. Spinner had set torches up around us, enough to light up our little area, and give off a little warmth.

As we looked up at the stars, Spinner wrapped his arms around me to help warm me up. I kept turning my head and kissing him. After a few minutes of that, I was on top of him. I was completely warm by then. I lay there for a long time while he just watched the stars. I kept myself close to him.

"Forget the stars," I said finally. I sat up; straddling his legs, and began to untie my bikini top. Spinner didn't say a word; he just watched. Suddenly I wasn't self-conscious or scared at all. I was with my husband, and I knew he loved me. I let my top fall to the ground. Spinner ran his hands up my sides and back down again, stopping at the top of my bottoms and slowly pulling them down a little. He looked up to me for approval and I nodded.

Once my bottoms were off, I was completely naked. Spinner stared at me for a few minutes, and I didn't care at all. He smiled just before I leaned down and kissed him. Then, he started to pull off his own bathing suit but I stopped him. He didn't question anything I did; he just let me do what I wanted to do.

I kissed his neck for awhile, and his hands found my breasts in the process. I moved my way down his chest, and reached a hand down to run it over his crotch. I could feel him move beneath my hand, so I teased him for a few more minutes.

I finally, ever so slowly, pulled his suit off. I laid on top of him and we started to kiss again. Our tongues met as our naked bodies pressed against each other's and started to move together in a rhythmic fashion. It didn't take long for us to start moaning and for our breathing to become heavy.

It was the perfect ending to the perfect night.

When I woke up, the sky was light. The sun hadn't risen yet, but it would soon. Spinner and I were tangled together, somehow under the blanket now, still naked and lying in the sand. I kissed him to wake him up, and it worked.

"Good morning," I said as he opened one eye.

"Yes, it is good."

"And last night was…"

"Amazing," he finished.

"Really? It wasn't disappointing?"

"Of course not. That was so much better than sex," he assured me.

He held me in his arms and we watched the sun rise, bringing a new day with it.

Manny

After Emma's wedding, I went straight to the hospital. I sat in the chair by Jimmy's bed, as I had been doing every night for the past three months. I usually told Jimmy all about my day, and about everyone that was waiting for him to wake up. But I was just too tired.

I sat there in the chair, in my bridesmaids dress, and cried. I was happy for my best friend. I was happy that she found someone she loved enough to marry. I only wished the same happened for me. I found the man I want to marry. But I didn't know if it would ever happen. I started to drift off as I thought about what a wedding with Jimmy would be like.

A hand touching my cheek forced me to jump awake. I looked around but there was no one there. I started to freak out, but I heard a voice.

"Manny…"

I turned back to Jimmy's bed. His eyes were closed. He was still in a coma. I was about to close my eyes again when I saw his lips move.

"Manny."

"Jimmy?"

Tears came to my eyes as his eyelids fluttered. He finally opened them all the way and squeezed my hand. I yelled for the doctor, who came right away, accompanied by two nurses. They checked Jimmy's vitals and talked to him for a few minutes while I just sat and stared and prayed that I wasn't dreaming. They finally left the room and Jimmy motioned for me to come closer. I got right into his bed next to him.

"You're here," he said. "I thought you hated me."

"I've been here every day Jimmy. I never hated you. You really scared me. You scared all of us," I said, laying my head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Manny."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I should have never suggested that we take a break. I should have been with you. None of this would have happened."

"Don't say that. It's not your fault. I know that I hurt you, and I want to explain."

"You don't have to explain. We're here together now, and that's enough for me," I told him.

"But I want to. That girl…the woman that was on my couch when you came by…that was my nurse. We didn't do anything at all. I was just using her to make you jealous and I never should have. I love you Manny."

Fresh tears came to my eyes as I heard those three words that I'd been waiting to hear. I didn't even think that Jimmy would wake up. I didn't think I'd ever hear those words.

"I love you too."

I kissing him softly and buried my head in his chest. We lay there for almost an hour; just being close to each other.

"Nice dress," he said, breaking the silence. "What did I miss?"

"Emma and Spinner got married!" I squealed.

"No way! I'm sorry I missed it."

"Don't be sorry. I'm just glad that you won't miss anything else."

A/N: This chapter took place three months after the last one. The title and lyrics are from the song "Heaven Here" by Dashboard Confessional and they own it. Okay people, the next chapter is the last one. It is the Epilogue, and it takes place 10 years from now. I want predictions! Will Jay and Ellie still be together? Will Emma and Spinner still be married? Will Jimmy and Manny ever get married? Review and let me know what you're hoping for and what you think will happen.

Trejon: Thanks for your review; it's always nice to see new reviewers. I'm glad you like the story. There is only one chapter left!