I am so sorry for the delay, everyone! I was at a standstill on how to write this chapter and to include so much in it. Thank you so much for your patience. We're almost to the end!

For a time, life was hectic for Garry once he and Ib returned home with Raelyn. With Ib still not to her full health, it was up to him to take care of her and his daughter. Luckily, Roy and Mary were there to give aid while he was teaching until Ib was back on her feet. At times, he felt like he could sleep for a month straight and barely catch back up on his sleep; his leg also hurt him tremendously, but he never complained. It was terrifying at first, being new parents. Ib's mother and father would come over and offer guidance, to which the two were very grateful for. From hygiene to feeding, Ib and Garry learned and adapted quickly, but soon they discovered that they did not have much chances for one-on-one time for each other, which proved to be hard.

There was one thing that was certain: they loved that little girl more than anything in the world. All they had to do was look at her, and a smile would spread across their faces. Months passed, and they soon discovered that she inherited Garry's likelihood most of all, even the purple-tinted hair. Her smile was contagious, and whenever she got the giggles, it spread like wildfire.

When they first brought home Raelyn, they were faced with learning how to be gentle and how to handle their fears of failing. For Garry, merely holding her instilled the utmost fear inside his chest; he did not want to drop her or hurt her. To alleviate some of his fears, Ib advised him that he hold Raelyn just as tenderly, if not more, than he had held her countless times. Bathing brought fear into both of them, but with the help of Ib's mother and father (who were elated to be new grandparents), they learned quickly. Ib's biggest frustration was diaper changing. It never failed that as soon as she took off the diaper, before she could even grab a fresh one, Raelyn would wet herself and whatever she was lying on. At one instance, not only did Raelyn pee on herself, but she also spit up, which got all over her hair and face. Garry could not help but laugh at this, but Ib ended up crying, and she found herself to be angry at Garry for laughing. For the first time, they had an argument that was intense.

"Why did you laugh at me?" Ib asked, her arms crossed.

Garry raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You heard me."

Garry sighed. "Ib, I wasn't laughing at you. It was just funny, is all."

Ib clenched her fists. "My frustration and tears were funny to you?"

At this, Garry sighed again and put his hands on his hips. "Ib, come on, now. You're being ridiculous. Of course not. It was just sort of funny to see that happen at the same time. It was as if she was just mad at the world, you know?"

"You weren't the one changing her."

"I know, but I've learned to just have the diaper ready in hand, that way I can just cover her before she does it."

Ib made a short, incredulous laugh. "So you're saying you're a better parent than I?"

"Ib, stop. I'm not saying that. I've just learned quickly. If you want, I can show you how I do it."

"Are you serious? Garry, you're being so insulting!"

Garry scoffed. "How in the world am I insulting you? I'm just trying to help. But you won't listen to anything I say, will you?"

Ib clicked her tongue. "I listen to advice when it's softly given, not when it's rubbed in my face of what a terrible job I'm doing as a parent."

This time, it was Garry who laughed in disbelief. "Are we really doing this right now? Really?"

"Yes, we are. You're always trying to show everyone how much better of a parent you are than I am. When you show me how to do something, you act as though you're stooping below your level to do so."

"Ib, do you realize how preposterous you are?" Garry lashed. "We've been married for almost four years. If you really think I'm 'stooping to your level', do you think I would have married you if I thought you were below me?" At this, Garry slammed the palm of his hand to his forehead; Ib's mouth hung open. "Dammit, Ib, that's not… that came out wrong."

"You're so pompous!" Ib snapped. "I can't believe you!"

Garry bit his lip. "Stop. I didn't mean to say that, and you know it."

"Oh, and that is supposed to just make it as though it never left your lips, huh?"

Garry took a step back. The argument was so silly, but it was somehow becoming more heated by the minute. The stress, the sleepless nights, the lack of personal time- it had taken its toll, and now, they were using it as fuel for the fire. "Okay, listen to me. We have to let this go."

"Let what go? The fact that you're condescending, or that you're just –"

His eyes flash an intense look at his wife. "Stop. I don't want to fight anymore."

"You started this! Be a man and own up to your mistakes!" Ib shouted.

With a grunt of desperation and temperance, Garry threw his hands in the air. "I'm being a man and stopping this before this gets worse! Can't you see that?!"

"You just can't handle criticism!"

"Oh, you're one to talk, Ib."

Ib laughed in bewilderment. "See what I mean? You're being such a child, Garry!"

"I have had it!" Garry yelled. "I asked you to stop several times, but you kept going!" He stormed to the door and opened it. "Seriously, Ib! Grow up!" With this, he walked out and slammed the door behind him, leaving Ib in the room with a stunned look on her face.

When Garry walked outside, he was startled to see Shane standing at the banisters, his back to him. As usual, he had a cigarette in his mouth. Shane stared up at the nighttime sky as he blew out a puff of smoke and held the cigarette between his index and middle fingers. It was not unexpected to see Shane; he had started to visit more often now that he had graduated college to be a lawyer. Garry stood beside him, to which Shane held out his box of cigarettes.

"If there was ever a time I could use one, Shane, it's now. But, I can't."

"Just figured I'd offer," Shane smirked.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"Pretty much the whole thing," Shane replied. "That kind of environment isn't healthy for little Rae, just so you know."

Garry clenched the banister. "You think I don't know that?"

Shane took another draw off his cigarette then exhaled the smoke. He then flicked it out into the parking lot; Garry hated when he did that. "Relax, Garry. I'm just trying to help. Look, I may not know much about kids, but you two are new parents. And what is important is that you work things out. I know that you both have probably held things in that needed to be addressed in efforts to not put stress on Raelyn, but the fact is, that itself is putting stress on her. Little ones can feel when something is wrong."

Garry exhaled a long, exasperated sigh. "I don't know what else to do, Shane…"

"Just work things out. It's that simple. Talk to each other. I know that for the baby, you want to be there for her and give her the best, but that includes you two being happy with each other. Okay?" Shane then leaned on the banister and took out another cigarette. "Now, go talk to her."

"What? No, come inside. We can work it-"

"I'm waiting on someone, anyway," Shane interrupted. "Now, go."

Garry nodded and walked to the door. Before he opened it, he glanced back and said, "Thanks, Shane." Shane nodded in return as he heard the door open and close behind him.

The moment Garry walked inside, he was greeted with Ib running up to him and latching her arms around his waist, tears rolling down her face. Repeatedly, she apologized for the cruel words she had said and asked for his forgiveness. In turn, Garry apologized as well and asked for her forgiveness as well. Both agreed that they held each other at no fault, and that they would work issues out and talk to each other more so as not to let circumstances get that heated again. Once they were through, they heard a knock on their door. Garry let Shane and his girlfriend, Penelope (they had met her several times before), into the apartment. They, with Garry holding Raelyn, sat down in the living room and began to talk; about thirty minutes passed by when Shane took hold of Penelope's hands.

"So, we'll be needing some advice from you two not too long from now," he spoke.

"Huh? On what?" Ib asked, confused.

Penelope smiled and placed her hand on her stomach. "We're having a baby."

Ib laughed, and Garry put his arm around his cousin and gave him a squeeze.

"Way to go, man! I'm happy for you!" he beamed.

From that day on, things began to improve between Garry and Ib. They learned to not make a huge deal about small stuff and to take things in strides. Raelyn was their pride and joy, and they found themselves making sacrifices for her that at first seemed a little frustrating, but over time just got easier and easier.

The next day, Roy returned with Mary by his side. They moved in her belongings into his apartment, and Roy selflessly allowed her to sleep in his bed while he slept on his couch. Garry and Ib were elated that Mary had decided to come back with him and to give him another chance. Indeed, she was not the Mary they once knew, but she was still kind and had a big heart. It was different for Mary to be around people, let alone people who actually cared about her and wanted to be her friend. Her heart began to heal and to renew itself with each rising sun, and soon her bitter days of loneliness were just a distant memory best forgotten. As time passed, the closer she and Roy became, and it was clear that the two loved each other very much. For Roy, this was a vast change, and he found it odd that he fell for her since he had loved the Mary from the painting. The two were different, but he knew that the Mary he had loved before would be happy that he found another chance at happiness. Often, the two came over to play with the growing Raelyn, who made people smile and laugh without even realizing it.

Summer passed, and when the fall semester rolled around, Roy and Mary both enrolled in the same college. Roy was so close to finishing, and by December, he would graduate with a degree in culinary arts. Mary was about a year away from getting her degree in high school education, and she dove into her studies head-on. Ib took courses online so she could stay home with Raelyn while Garry taught during the day. By Christmas, Raelyn would be a year old, and it was so hard to believe that a year had already passed.

Roy graduated, and they celebrated Raelyn's birthday along with his graduation. He was given a raise at the restaurant he worked as the head chef in. Everything seemed to be going so well that it came as quite a shock when Roy got news that his father was sick. He called his mother that night to get the full details, and what he was told was not what he wanted to hear: his father had terminal cancer, and it was in its final stages. His father was one of the best people he knew, and for this to happen to him did not make sense. Anger boiled inside of Roy's chest, but he decided to hurry home to see his father perhaps one last time. Without a word, Mary went with Roy to be by his side during this heartbreaking moment. When they got there, his father was a former shell of a man that he once was, but he was still there. Roy introduced Mary as his girlfriend, which both shocked and elated her; she did not know that they were even dating. With a weak hug, Roy's father accepted Mary and was happy to have her with them.

Two days after arriving, Roy's father passed away. Right before he died, he took Mary's hand into his and whispered, "Take care of him," to her. Ib and Garry, with little Raelyn, made their way to the place to be there for their friend. Although devastated, Roy held in his tears to be there for his mother and younger sisters. When the funeral was over, and they returned home, Roy still held a smile on his face despite the emptiness he felt within his heart. Sometimes, he would just go out in the car his father had given him and just sit in it for an hour or so, but he never shed tears. Mary did her best to give him distance during this time to let him mourn, but she worried for him. One day, he went missing again, and when she found him, he was going over the restaurant's new menu in his father's car. She opened the door and kneeled down next to him.

"Roy? What are you doing?" she asked.

"Homework."

"I know that, but you seem flustered. What's wrong?"

Roy exhaled and closed his books. "Since we came back, I've not been able to catch up. It's like my mind is somewhere else. The restaurant has completely changed, and with the remodel, we also have a whole new menu that I just can't grasp... The manager is being really nice and giving me more time to go over it, but if I can't get this…"

Mary looked down at Roy's hands to see that they clenched his pants tightly. She reached out and took them into her own. "You're worried you're failing him, aren't you?" At this, Roy jerked and looked into Mary's eyes. She had a gentle, reassuring smile on her face as she stared at his hands. "I know he was very proud of you, and that he supported your love for cooking. Your mind is still with your family and their wellbeing, but you really need to think about yourself and your wellbeing, too. You've held on for so long, and now it's time for you to let it go." He unclenched his pants, and she could immediately feel the tension release in his body. "No matter what, he'll always be proud of you, Roy. So, just do your best, okay? And I'm here to help you through this. I won't go anywhere. I promise."

At this, tears filled Roy's eyes as he reached out and took Mary into his arms. He held onto her tightly, and he felt her hand gently rest on his back. Regardless of everything, she had done so much for him and had gone the extra mile… and had never asked for anything in return. She knew that she could never be the Mary he once loved, and she did not try; she simply was herself. Roy loved her, and she loved him.

"…Mary… you're really something, you know it?" he whimpered as tears rolled down his cheeks. "You've shown me that I can be happy, and that I can find love again. You've been so patient with me, and I can't thank you enough."

Mary closed her eyes and smiled. "You don't have to thank me, Roy."

After a moment of silence between them, Roy held her closer to him. "Mary?"

"Hmm?"

"Let's get married." Stunned, she was unable to say anything since all the breath in her lungs was gone. "I don't want to make the same mistake last time and miss out… I want us to be together forever."

A smile spread on her face again as she rubbed his back with her hand. "Okay."

He let go of her and looked into her eyes. "You mean it?"

"Of course I mean it," she giggled. "I want the same thing as you do. I want us to be happy together, forever. So, let's do it. Let's get married."

Unable to hide his joy, Roy hugged her so tightly, she made a small squeak. "Haha, sorry. I'm just... thank you, Mary! I'll make you the happiest woman ever!"

Two weeks later, they were wed. Their wedding was simple. It was held at the courthouse, with Shane, Ib, Garry, and Raelyn there. Their life as one was starting, and they could not have been happier. They knew that they would face hardships, but they also knew that together, they could overcome whatever life threw at them. Later that night, in their apartment, for the first time, Roy climbed in bed with Mary. Mary turned over on her side and looked at her husband, a smile on her face.

"This is it," she spoke.

"Are you scared?" Roy asked.

"Maybe a little," she giggled, "but I'm excited, too."

Roy held her left hand and looked at the wedding band that was on it. Simple silver was all it was, as was his, but it looked beautiful on her hand. He was so proud and happy to have her as his wife. That night, they made love for the first time as well. For Mary, it was all new, but she trusted Roy knew what he was doing. Together, not only did they become one in name, but in body and soul as well.

Anything the future held, they would face it together.