Epilogue

"YOU WANT TO WHAT?" Shiva's yell reverberated around the open training grounds of the coliseum. A cluster of birds took flight from a tree overhead, leaving dark, moving shadows to wash over the pair.

"Move back to the real world," Tai repeated calmly; his voice was surprisingly steady for someone who was swinging around a sword. Shiva could only stare at him with wide, disbelieving eyes as she tried to process the sentence in her brain.

"But why?" she asked, her voice sounding pained, "What's wrong with here? This is our home, isn't it? "

Tai sighed and straitened his stance; his sword held limply by his side.

"Of course it is. And you know I don't honestly want to go back there but the digital world isn't in any immediate danger and I really want Chelsea to grow up and go to school with other children her age."

"Tai," Shiva started deprecatingly, "I think she's going to have a hard time fitting in with a bunch of human kids."

Tai chucked and pulled her up against his sweaty body.

"Ewww..." she sniggered in a half-assed attempt to get away from him. He kissed her temple and pulled away to look at her face.

"I've thought this through, ok? I've sent Piximon on an errand to create a bracelet that will work much the same way our rings do. I can rent an apartment and get a job with that inner complex of the government—you know the one that's always studying the digital world and how to access it? They'll need me. Shouldn't be too hard since they already know who I am after all the times Digimon have wreaked havoc in the real world."

"You'll become like...an ambassador?" The young woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tai pouted at her seemingly lack of faith.

"What? You think I can't do it?"

"Actually...I can see that...but..." she trailed off looking a bit unsure of herself. She fidgeted and watched her fingers twist around themselves. Tai's brow creased and he lifted her chin a bit so that he could look her in the eye.

"But what?" he asked softly, sensing her faintly distressed condition.

"But what about me?" she asked. Tai looked at her as though she were stupid.

"You're coming with me, of course!"

Shiva's eyes widened.

"Eh? Really?"

Tai smiled warmly at her and she felt her knees weaken.

"Yes, really. You're going wherever I go. We're a family now remember? What would Chelsea do without her mother?"

Shiva felt like she had swallowed a large, rough ball and it had lodged itself in her throat. Her eyes were stinging and she was aware that her face felt damp. Was it raining? It took the warm fingers of Tai brushing away the wetness to realize she was crying.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. She wasn't able to speak so she just nodded and hugged him tightly. She thought it was strange how it was never sadness or anger that could make her cry, but happiness.

"Come on," he said, pulling her with him into the coliseum, "We have some plans to make."

Indeed they did. There were guardians to be informed, negotiations to be made with the government, real-estate to acquire, and family members to reconcile with.

0o0o0o0o

0o0o0o0o

2 Months Later...

"So you're really going huh?" Griff asked with soft, dark eyes as he took in the pile of packed bags besides the feet of the couple. He and Tai had spent the last couple of weeks moving furniture into the apartment Tai purchased not long ago.

Shiva stood nearby Tai holding Chelsea who was too occupied with the shiny silver bracelet clasped securely onto her pudgy wrist to notice that her fangs were dull and human and the wings on her back were absent.

"Hey. I've got a computer you know." Tai grinned, clapping a hand on the taller boy's broad shoulder, "It will be on twenty-four seven, so I'll be here half the time anyway. You won't even miss me."

"I don't know..." Angela said, "This whole place just for the two of us? What are we going to do?"

There was a brief silence as the four stared at each other before they all burst out laughing.

"Hey," Shiva warned, "stay out of our room. We'll still be sleeping there when we come back here."

"Sure, sure," Angela said unconvincingly. Tai smiled at his 'family' and put a hand on Shiva's shoulder.

"Ready to go?" he asked. Shiva nodded, saying her goodbyes to the other two.

"Bye. I'll visit tomorrow, alright?" Shiva said, giving Angela a one-armed hug with her other arm being occupied with Chelsea who was happily sucking her thumb.

"You better," the blonde said with a weary smile. She was going to miss that sassy bitch. She loved Griff, she did, but she sometimes she just really needed another woman around.

"I'll get the bags, you hold onto her," Tai instructed while nodding to his daughter and grabbing all the handles of their suitcases. The pair of guardians cast one last farewell before stepping into the portal Ace provided.

The first thing Shiva noted upon landing was the hardwood floors. She liked hardwood floors. She took in her surroundings while bouncing her adoptive daughter on her hip. She was in a sparsely furnished living room that was lit by the large window over looking the city. She could see the open kitchen from where she stood. To her left was the door exiting the apartment and to her right was a hallway that led down to a bathroom and two bedrooms.

"Wow..." Shiva breathed. "This is ours?"

"Yep." Tai grinned, releasing the bags and allowing them to tumble all over the floor.

"How did you afford it?" she asked her green eyes large and wondering.

"Trust me," he winked, "my salary is nothing to scoff at."

Shiva gasped, ignoring Chelsea's fingers that were tugging at her ponytail.

"You really got the job?"

"I really got the job."

Shiva's face started to brighten before her expression froze, and a more contemplative look took over. She gave him a hard stare.

"It's the government. It shouldn't have been that easy to get a job that deep into it. You knew something beforehand, didn't you?"

Tai closed his eyes and grinned. She was a pervert, but a very astute pervert, and he loved her for it.

"Myotismon was the first digimon who publicly tried to destroy the world. The news captured all of us digidestined fighting him, and openly depicted me as the leader. The government had known about the digital world for years but couldn't access it and our existence just proved to them that it was possible for humans to travel there. That was when the government first approached me about working with them. Every other time a digimon threatened the world in the face of the public they would approach me again and again, with higher and higher bribes." He chuckled a little at this. "Anyway, let's just say they were more than happy to accept me into their firm when I offered to work for them."

"Why did you wait until now to take the job?" Shiva asked, impressed by his story, "Sounds like it pays well."

"I was just a kid. All I wanted was to play soccer. That, and I was afraid that I didn't have the diplomatic aptitude to keep them from taking advantage of me and putting the digital world in more danger."

"And that's changed?" she asked wryly.

"Well I'm older now...and I have more confidence in my leadership abilities. I know what I'm doing," he said with assurance.

"Hmmm," she said, pursing her lips before smiling at him lazily.

"What?" Tai asked. He glared at the expression on her face; there was something familiar about it. Shiva smirked at him. She kissed Chelsea on the cheek and set her down in her play pen that was already set up.

She turned to her boyfriend with her hands on her hips, leering.

"Well, don't you think we should christen our new home?"

The brown-haired boy stared blankly at her for approximately 1.8 seconds before his eyes widened and a silly grin spread across his face. The two raced to their new bedroom, pushing and giggling all the way down the hall.

He knew it wouldn't be easy to live two lives: that of the politician of the real world, and that of the guardian of the digital world. But he also knew the support of his family and friends, and his love and his child, would help him over come any obstacles that got in his way.

But despite having the crest of courage, but it wouldn't be until a couple of more years until he would manage to ask Shiva to marry him, and be his mate.

0o0o0o0o

0o0o0o0o

THE END

It's short, happy, and to the point. Not really imaginative, I know, but I really have no interest in digimon anymore so forgive me for neglecting this story so much. I won't be doing any more digimon stuff, but all the original characters are yours to use, so is the plot line, so feel free to help your self.

Thank you to all those who reviewed, and all those who gave your secret support, however you may have done that, and thanks for putting up with those looong looong waits.