A/N: Thank you all for your lovely reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this last chapter :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 19: Epilogue - The Q&A

~15 Years Later~

Lucy Grey sat in front of her bedroom vanity, staring at her reflection as she lightly ran a makeup brush along her cheeks - normally, her overlarge brown eyes and pale skin caused her to feel a bit insecure, but today she couldn't help but admit she looked a bit better than normal, mostly due to all the makeup she had just put on. There was a little bit of blush on the apples of her cheeks, dark black eyeliner along her lids ending in an attractive cat eye, and her lips a dark ruby red color, contrasting sharply with her complexion. It was a very chic look, but it felt a bit much for Lucy.

Today was filming day, however, and Lucy knew she needed to look her best.

A loud shifting sound and a heavy clunk sounded from behind her, and she set her brush down while glaring at her brother through the vanity's mirror.

"Are you done yet?"

"Almost," Ted Grey rearranged one of the tall professional-looking ring lights standing in the corner of his sister's bedroom, trying to cast as much light toward the center of the room as possible. He tilted his head to the side slightly in order to try to see it at a different angle, making sure everything looked perfect.

"Luce, could you shift your Play Button down like a quarter of an inch? It's casting a glare," he said, pointing toward the back of the room and squinting slightly to block the reflection.

Lucy stood up from her vanity and walked over to the shelf toward the back of her bedroom wall. Perched on top of the shelf and in plain view of everyone was a large framed glass case with a giant solid gold YouTube Play Button glittering beautifully inside of it. At the base of the glass case towards the center of the frame read:

CONGRATULATIONS
For surpassing
One Million Subscribers

Below that was the red and white YouTube insignia, and on top of it, in large bolded white letters was the name of her channel and internet persona: Lucy Lamb

"Is that better?" Lucy asked Ted after moving the case back a little bit and stepping away to see it more clearly.

"Yeah, way better," Ted said, finally stepping away from the light and moving to the center of the room. He grinned at his sister. "I think we're finally ready to shoot your video now."

Lucy grimaced back slightly before taking a deep breath through her nose and exhaling it all out from her mouth, trying to calm her nerves. While she had honestly been looking forward to making this video for months, she couldn't help but feel a bit anxious now that she was meant to be shooting it. She had never made a video quite like this before, and she very much wanted it to go well.

"This feels so weird," Lucy couldn't help but giggle nervously, walking over to take a seat in the chair Ted had placed in the center of her room. "Usually I'm sitting at a piano and not talking when we're doing these things."

"You're not backing out on me now, Luce," Ted said sternly, moving over to her Mac computer and typing something on it. "It took me all morning to move all your shit from the piano room and set up in here - you owe me this."

"Dad said he would do it," Lucy argued back, reaching over to the bed and grabbing her iPad which she was going to be reading off of.

"Sure he did," Ted snorted derisively.

Lucy didn't respond other than to flip her brother the bird while looking down on her iPad, and Ted laughed, causing Lucy to grin. She knew as well as anyone that Ted loved being an integral part of her YouTube career, and despite the fact he was only fifteen years old, he was one of the smartest and most tech-savvy people she knew. He was definitely an invaluable asset to her work, and she was honestly thankful he was there for her.

"Ready?" Ted asked now, finishing up typing on the computer before moving over to the tripod which was set up directly in front of Lucy.

"One second," Lucy quickly reached behind her head and tightened her ponytail, brushing her hand along the back to make sure it looked decent without any flyaway hairs. She once again took a deep breath before letting it all out. "Alright, let's do it."

Ted finally pressed a button on the digital camera sitting atop the tripod, and the recording light turned red.

"Hello everyone!" Lucy smiled brightly, waving to the camera. "Lucy Lamb here, with a very special video for you all today. As you can probably tell, this isn't going to be like one of my normal music videos. Obviously, 'cause there's no piano in sight…"

Lucy gestured to the area around her, which was mostly empty save for her bed behind her and the shelf containing her YouTube Play Button easily visible on the back wall. "For those of you who follow me on Twitter, I tweeted out a few months ago that I would do a special Question & Answer video for you guys once I finally reached one million subscribers. Well…"

She slowly lifted her hand to point to the Play Button displayed behind her, shrugging in faux-modesty. The smile which spread across her face spoke volumes, and when she raised her eyebrows suggestively at the camera, Ted let out a laugh. Lucy couldn't help but giggle as well before bringing down her hand.

"…All kidding aside, though," she continued. "I am so incredibly grateful to all of you guys for subscribing to me and liking my videos. I never thought that sitting at a piano and playing music in front of a camera would eventually lead to this kind of success, and it's all thanks to you guys! And so, as my special way of saying thank you to everyone, I promise to answer all your guys' questions you send to me. No matter how weird or random they may be."

Ted snickered, and Lucy grinned as she tapped on her iPad, reading the first question:

Jcoolz24: When did you start learning the piano?

"I started playing when I was about four years old," Lucy said, looking back up at the camera. "My dad was the one who started teaching me, and he's sort of been my mentor ever since."

Peanut_ButterJelly: Where did you come up with the name Lucy Lamb? It's so cute! And I love ur videos btw!

"Thank you," Lucy giggled. "I got 'Lucy' from my name, obviously - well, 'Lucia' is my full name, but I go by Lucy for short. And as for the Lamb part, that's also because of my dad. The first song he ever taught me to play on the piano was 'Mary Had a Little Lamb', and ever since then he's just called me Lamb as sort of his pet name for me. That's how I came up with my channel's name."

From behind the camera, Ted made a pouty face and mouthed the word 'awww'. Lucy giggled.

"Love you, Dad," she waved at the camera, grinning, and Ted rolled his eyes with a smirk.

GrumPie333: What's ur favorite food?

"Probably sushi," Lucy said, glancing up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Definitely sashimi, or anything with nori. California rolls are pretty great too."

Playerrz747: What's your fav song cover you've ever performed?

"That's a tough one," Lucy said, scratching her head as she frowned in contemplation. "I think my cover of Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On turned out really good, and the theme from Lord of the Rings was a lot of fun to do too. However, I think my favorite song I ever did was the Super Smash Bros. theme song since my brother and I play video games, like, all the time."

Lucy grinned up at Ted, who was smiling widely and nodding his head in agreement.

MalfoyLuvr66: What's ur Starbucks order?

"Um, it's usually just a venti iced coffee with sweetener," Lucy said, shrugging as she grimaced up at the camera. "Super exciting I know."

The Anonymoose: Is it true you didn't graduate high school?

"No," Lucy said firmly. "That's absolutely not true. That's a stupid rumor that's been going around about me on the internet for a few months now, and I would like to clarify that I did in fact graduate from high school last May. However, I had made the decision not to attend university right after high school, and a lot of people interpreted that as me being a dropout. I wanted to address this rumor and just clear the air about it, since I know it's just going to get worse from here if I don't address it at all. I have absolutely nothing against higher education, and I have a ton of respect for people who do pursue college after high school, but it just isn't something I feel I need to do right now. I would like to continue to focus on music for the foreseeable future, and I don't think I need a college degree in order to do that, at least right now. Also, my family is 100% supportive of my decision, which is all that really matters to me."

Malificent_45: How many brothers and sisters do you have?

"I have one brother and one sister," Lucy said, grinning up at Ted offscreen. She pointed at him. "My brother Ted is right over here… say hi, Ted."

Ted walked forward and stuck his hand out so that it was visible to the camera. "Hi."

Lucy laughed. "We also have a little sister named Phoebe, who's not here at the moment. She's eleven, Ted's fifteen, and I'm nineteen. However, even though I'm the oldest, I was actually adopted into the Grey family when I was four, and Ted and Phoebe are biological children who came a bit later. So technically, Ted is the oldest, and he so often likes to remind me."

Lucy made a snarky face at her brother, and Ted shot her a smug smirk from behind the camera.

TrudyTooty: What's your fav place you've ever been to?

"Oh, that's easy," Lucy grinned excitedly. "Last summer, my Auntie Mia took me on a trip to Paris for about three weeks. It was the first time I had ever gone there, and it was amazing - she and I visited a bunch of landmarks, like the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe, and she also took me shopping to a bunch of high-end fashion stores. It was so cool, and I'd love to go there again sometime."

I_Heart_LucyLamb: What kind of music do you generally listen to?

"As lame as it sounds, I pretty much only listen to Top 40 music," Lucy said, shrugging embarrassedly. "I know a lot of you out there hate that type of music with a passion, and you think it's all processed garbage, but I actually disagree. I mean, a lot of it definitely is bad, but as I've gotten older I've really come to appreciate how important a role music plays in our culture. Knowing which songs and artists get big at which time really says a lot about where we're at as a culture and as a generation of music-listeners. Growing up, my dad would always play me and my siblings classic songs from older bands, so I'm pretty well-versed in music from past generations. However, I still prefer to keep up with the latest music - it's sort of more for anthropological reasons, though." Lucy laughed.

Libby Loo 17: When did you realize music was your passion?

"Pretty much the first time I ever sat down at a piano," Lucy grinned. "Music has always just come so easily to me, and I absolutely love it… I don't think I could imagine my life without it."

BellaGirl12: You've mentioned before that you're adopted - have you ever met your biological parents? And if not, is it something you've ever wanted to do?

Lucy read the last question, and paused, staring down at her iPad. She had deliberately picked this question to read last, and now she was ready to answer it. This felt like the moment of truth.

For the first time, Lucy was going to talk about her early childhood.

"…In my case, no," Lucy finally spoke, looking back up at the camera after a few seconds. "I wouldn't want to meet my biological parents. I've only seen pictures of my mother before she died, and I think a man came forward at one point when I was younger falsely claiming to be my father, but aside from that, those are pretty much all the memories I have of them."

Lucy looked down at her lap again, feeling tears build up in the backs of her eyes. She cleared her throat and, after a moment, looked up at the camera again. "I, uh… I know a lot of adopted children out there have a strong desire to know who they are and where they come from… but I actually do remember bits and pieces of where I had come from before I was adopted, and I can tell you with absolute certainty do not want to revisit that. I was… abused and neglected quite a bit as a young child." Lucy swallowed, her heart pounding in her ribcage. "I, um… I remember being cold and hungry most of the time, and I was terrified of everyone hurting me… and it was only when a couple police officers found me alone in an alleyway, stuck behind a dumpster, when I was finally taken away into the foster system and given a new life."

Tears began trickling down Lucy's face, most likely smudging her makeup, though she hardly cared at the moment. Through her blurred vision, she saw Ted staring at her with a shocked expression on his face - she knew he and Phoebe had never been told in detail the terrible conditions in which she had been found before she was adopted, so this was as much news to him as it was going to be to the rest of the world.

Lucy sniffed, wiping away a stray tear on her cheek. "The day my mother and father took me into their home was the best day of my life," she stated, her voice quivering slightly due to emotion. "They are the most amazing parents a girl could ever ask for, and as far as I'm concerned, they, Ted and Phoebe are my real family. And I don't know what I'd do without them."

Lucy closed her eyes, allowing another tear or two to slip down her cheeks. She could feel Ted's eyes still on her as the seconds ticked by, and after a moment where neither of them said anything, Lucy heard the door to her bedroom creaking open before snapping shut. She opened her eyes again to see that Ted had up and left the room.

Lucy let out a shaky sigh, closing her eyes once again. She knew that was probably a tough thing for her brother to hear come from her mouth, but she knew she needed to say it - she had kept that information bottled up inside her for years. She really did remember most of it happening to her, and when she spoke to her parents about it and they had finally confided with her the details of her life before them, it had become very difficult for her to talk about. She knew she needed to do this, though - if not for herself, then for the millions of children out there who were currently going through the same ordeal.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again, looking back into the camera. She still had a video to finish, after all.

"Hey baby - have you seen the kids at all?"

Ana walked into the living room, glancing around only to see Christian sitting in his usual armchair, reading something on his iPad. He looked up at his wife.

"I think Phoebe is playing outside with the dog, and Lucy and Ted went to go shoot a video," he said, looking out the large French glass doors toward the meadow. He could just make out Phoebe running around while playing fetch with their golden retriever. "Did you need them for something?"

"No," Ana sighed. "It just seemed a bit quiet in here, that's all." She walked over to her husband and perched herself on the arm of his chair. He immediately placed his hand against her lower back, a naturally intimate gesture he'd practiced over years of marriage. "The last few days have felt so crazy, I don't know what to do with all this peace and quiet."

Christian chuckled. It was true, the last few days had been pretty hectic, what with the gala they had thrown for Coping Together a couple nights ago. The last few weeks had been spent preparing for everything, so now that it was over, things felt a bit too quiet.

"You can always start planning for next year's gala," Christian smiled humorously, running his hand along his wife's back, and Ana chuckled humorlessly, giving a small smile.

"Yeah, maybe," she conceded. She was silent for a few seconds before glancing toward the hallway leading to the staircase. "Did you say Lucy's filming a video right now? I don't hear her playing the piano or anything."

Christian strained his ears, and realized she was right - there was no piano music wafting from upstairs as it so often did when Lucy and Ted were filming a video. He frowned in confusion.

"That's odd."

At that moment, however, they heard a door from upstairs slam shut, and a few seconds later Ted came rushing down the second floor hallway, visible to Christian and Ana from the indoor balcony. They didn't get a good look at his face, but the way he disappeared into his room and slammed the door shut behind him told them everything they needed to know.

Ana let out a sighed, resignedly getting to her feet. "Looks like I got my wish to putting an end to all this peace and quiet."

"You sure did," Christian chuckled, also getting to his feet. "You want to try talking to Ted? I'll have a word with Lucy - she might know why her brother's so pissed off."

"Sounds good," Ana nodded, and the two of them went off to talk to their respective children.

Christian went upstairs and went over to Lucy's closed bedroom door. He knocked.

"Lucy?"

He slowly opened the door and stepped inside. He immediately noticed Lucy standing in front of a tripod set up near her bed, fiddling with the camera on it.

"Hey Lamb," Christian stepped inside and shut the door behind him, watching her. "What are you doing?"

Lucy didn't answer, and when Christian got a good look at her face, he noticed her eyes were red and tears were clinging to her cheeks. His heart plummeted.

"Hey," he said softly, immediately moving toward his daughter and putting a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Lucy didn't answer, but instead turned and buried her face into her father's chest, wrapping her arms around his torso in a tight hug. Christian hugged her back, hoping that whatever was bothering her he could help by giving her some semblance of comfort.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly after a moment, moving his head down and kissing her over her hair.

Lucy sniffled and finally pulled her face away from his shirt. "…I told Ted about my early childhood," she admitted quietly after a moment, wiping her eyes. "He and I were shooting a Q&A video for my channel, and one of the questions was about my adoption." She swallowed. "I was completely honest, and I got a bit emotional. Ted got upset and ran off."

"Ah," Christian nodded in comprehension. "That would explain why your mother and I saw him stomp to his room in a huff."

Lucy pressed her lips together before moving over to the bed and sitting down. "He's never gonna look at me the same way again," she murmured sadly, looking down at her hands.

"Oh, that's not true," Christian said, moving over to join her on the bed. "He's just a little in shock right now, that's all. He and Phoebe always knew you were adopted, so it's not as if he's learning that fact for the first time."

"I guess," Lucy mumbled, still gazing down at the floor.

Christian stared at his daughter for a moment before putting a comforting arm around her. "Your mother and I are really proud of you, you know."

Lucy merely picked at a fingernail, having heard that type of praise from her father before, but Christian still continued: "I know you've heard it all before, but it's true - your mother and I are very proud of what you've accomplished, both with moving on from your past and also with you pursuing a music career online. Believe me, you're doing a lot better than me when I was your age."

Lucy glanced up at her father and gave him a disbelieving look. "Weren't you starting your company when you were my age?"

Christian chuckled. "I was, yes, but that's not what I mean… I was letting my past as an abused adopted orphan shape and define me. The decisions I made, both professional and personal, when I was your age were always in some way related with how I saw myself. As a result, I had a hard time accepting what I always could have been."

Lucy gazed up at him. "What could you have been?" she asked curiously.

"Happy," Christian said simply.

Lucy didn't say anything, other than to shift her gaze down to her feet once again, looking contemplative.

"I would have never been brave enough to do what you just did," Christian said honestly, and he nodded to the camera in front of them. "Talking about that in front of a camera and admitting the truth to your own brother? All that would have terrified me. But not you, Lamb… and that's why your mother and I are so proud of you."

Lucy didn't say anything, but instead turned her face into her father's shoulder and began to cry. Christian kept his arm wrapped securely around her shoulders, rubbing up and down her arm in comfort. He pressed his lips into her hair and closed his eyes.

No matter how old she got or how brave she was, Christian knew he would always be there to hold Lucia during her most vulnerable moments. He loved all of his children equally, but Lucia had always held a special place in his heart - she would always be his first child, and his first love apart from Ana.

Lucia was, and would always be, his.

His Lamb

THE END

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading my story! If you enjoyed it, please leave a review :)

I do have an idea for a new FSOG story, but I'm not sure when exactly I'll get around to writing it. Real life has been incredibly busy for me, and it only seems to be getting busier… I plan to be back soon, though! Don't you worry.

If you haven't already, make sure you check out my Pinterest board for this story at www dot pinterest dot com/strawpaj/this-life-of-ours