The final chapter is finally here!

Wishes, Dreams, and Memories

Chapter 40 – Gratitude

The right castle door was slammed open as the panicked Earthmate carried his wife in his arms. He ran towards the clinic, shoving anyone in his way with the ghost girl trying to keep up with his speed. While it was still early in the morning, the town square was crowded enough for Lest to shove the people away in panic. Pico followed behind with a quick apologize to the people Lest had pushed, but the fact that she was flying and half transparent had scared the town's newcomers instead.

As soon as they had arrived, Dolce was taken in by Nancy for the delivery while Lest and Pico waited on the other side of the clinic with Jones. As much as he wanted to help Nancy, his fear of blood could only cause more work for her. The doctor could only watch Lest and Pico pacing around the room restlessly as they were waiting.

The sound of a crying baby in the room had turned the attention of the three in the room. Instead of Nancy coming out with his new bundle of joy, it was only her voice heard from the other side of the clinic partition, "Don't come in yet! There's still another one coming!"

"Huh?" Lest and Pico turned to each other, still processing the new information they heard, "Did she say…"

"There's another one?" Lest and Pico turned to Jones for an explanation.

"This is a rare case of having twins," Jones explained the confused duo, "Lest having a twin sister isn't a factor in this case, so this is a rare occurrence."

The sound of baby crying was heard once more before Nancy moved the partition to reveal the tiny babies Dolce was holding as she was lying in bed. She tiredly turned to her husband with a smile, "Sweetie, aren't they cute?"

"Yes…" Lest gave a kiss on her forehead, "They're lovely children."

"Well," Nancy's voice gained the couple's attention, "Dolly just gave to a pair of twins, just like how you and Frey are! A cute little boy and girl!"

"Sweetie, do you have any good names in mind?" Dolce asked, "For our little boy and little girl?"

"Hm… how about Noel?" Lest suggested, "Noel is our son and Luna is our daughter. Do you like them?"

"Yeah, I like them," Dolce turned to the two new lives she just risked her life for, "Do you want to hold them?"

"Yes!" Lest answered excitedly before taking the newborns in his arms, "Noel, Luna! I'm your daddy!" Lest showed the newborns to Dolce, "Look! There's your mommy!"

"Hey, aren't you forgetting someone?" Pico appeared on top of Lest's shoulder, taking a peek at the babies as Lest handed them back to Dolce, "Hey! Your good aunt Pico is here!"

"Pico," Dolce called out with a smile, "Do you want to hold their hands? Just like how you hold mine?"

"I-Is that okay?" Pico asked in excitement, getting a nod from Dolce, "Okay!" Pico held out her hand for the twins to hold, which they did, "Their hands are so warm… just like yours, Dolly…"

The joy of the two new lives born in Selphia soon spread throughout the whole town and eventually, the whole kingdom as well. The king of Norad was smiling as he read the letter Arthur had sent him about the news, which was also one of the few letters from him which wasn't work-related. The king stayed in his room and wrote a response letter immediately, wishing the new parents good luck and gratitude for the help before.

Halwell had also received the same letter from Arthur and was reading it with his friend and newly-appointed advisor Kane. The old and strict Sechs Empire was no more and it was evident when the emperor suddenly decided on a party to celebrate a birth from another country. After what he had done for Halwell, Kane, and Sechs itself, the emperor had no reason for not being happy for Lest's new family.

A few seasons had passed since Noel and Luna was born and a thin layer of hair had grown from the twins' head, making it easier for their parents to tell the difference. Noel had his father's hazel hair with his mother's eyes and Luna had her mother's hair and her father's eyes. Even after growing up a little, they were still too little for Lest and Dolce to tell which of their behavior each of the twins would take after.

It was already night time, but Dolce spent her night out in the balcony while carrying Noel in her arms and Pico hovering behind her.

"Aren't you feeling tired yet, my little Noel?" Dolce asked as she slightly rocked her son in her arms, "Or are you waiting for Daddy to finish his bath?"

"Um… Dolly? You're baby talking again…" Pico reminded, but she was being completely ignored, "Dolly, he's going to come out anytime now!"

"Maybe next time you can take a bath with Daddy, okay?" Dolce's attention was completely into Noel, who was laughing at the sight for Lest behind her, "Now be Mommy's good boy and go to…"

Dolce turned to head for the bedroom, only to see that Lest was standing there with a sleeping Luna in his arms. Lest gave her a smile, "If you're having trouble putting Noel to sleep, we can switch next time. Luna went to sleep almost immediately after I gave her a bath."

Dolce didn't give him a reply, but instead glared at him as a blush appeared on her face, "You… didn't hear anything, right?"

"Uh… no, not at all!" Lest let out a nervous laugh.

"I know you heard something!" Dolce protested, "I-If you don't then why are you laughing?"

"Well, I'm just… feeling happy with everything," Lest answered as he joined his wife on the balcony, "A lot has happened from the past few decades until it comes to this, when Venti is well and you Guardians are back to your lives, even when they're no longer the same."

"Yes," Dolce nodded, "And I didn't regret my decision to become a Guardian. If it wasn't for my parents letting me do it, I wouldn't be here now…" Dolce turned to Lest with a smile before noticing that Lest was looking up at the sky with his eyes closed, "Sweetie, what are you doing?"

"Me?" Lest opened his eyes, "I'm letting your parents know that I'm grateful for them," Lest turned to look at Dolce, "Grateful to them for letting me meet you and build a family together."

"O-Oh…" a quiet response came from her mouth as a blush appeared from her face. Noel suddenly pulled the charm hanging on her neck, making her remember of the charm's original owner, "I suppose I owe someone else too for this time."

Lest watched as Dolce held her charm, "Yeah… It's been a year since then, hasn't it?"

"Yes," Dolce looked up at the sky with a smile, "If it wasn't for her, you might not even be here right now…"

Lest smiled sadly, "True…"

"Hey, you lovebirds!" Pico called out suddenly, "It's getting late already, so don't you think you should put the twins to bed by now? Even Noel looks sleepy now."

As if on cue, Noel let out a yawn and made his mother's shoulder as a pillow. Dolce let out a smile as she gently patted his back, "Yes. The wind is getting colder at this time of the night, especially when winter is only a few days away."

"Yeah," Lest nodded in agreement, "Come on, let's get inside and turn in for the night."

Lest and Pico went ahead with Dolce following slowly behind, but not before she took another glance at the sky and smiled.

"Dolce," a familiar voice called out to her, making her stop in her tracks.

The tired Noel moved his hands as if he was pointing at something behind Dolce. She turned around and saw a familiar figure standing at the edge of the balcony. The green-haired figure was smiling at her and so was Noel, who could possibly sense her as well.

"Take care of Lest for me," the image of Frey said before she waved her hands in goodbye and disappeared.

Dolce smiled once more hugging her son closer to her as a single tear dropped from her face when she walked away.

'Thank you, Frey. For these happiest moments of my life.'

YES! I finally finished this before I hit one year since this story's release! I really hope you all enjoy it and thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts. To be honest, I got a little emotional when I hit save for the last time in this story.

A lot has happened since the start of writing this, especially the part that most of the earliest chapters were actually written when I was in my second term for working on my thesis (usually they're finished in 2-3 terms, geniuses/nerds can finish them in 1 term sometimes). So... thank you all once again!