Broken, Epilogue.

One Year Later

"Burton?" As he climbed out of his blue Yaris, Gus turned his head back to where Madeline was exiting her car. "Burton, do you have any Kleenex in your car?" She glanced back lovingly as Henry sheepishly slipped from the driver's side of the same car that she had been in. "Henry's allergies are acting up. And we didn't have any."

Gus smiled at Henry, and spared him the joke that otherwise he and Shawn would have been all over. "Of course," He ducked back into the Yaris to grab a couple of tissues from his glove compartment before he handed them to Maddie. "I never go anywhere without a few." Truth be told, he had a traveler pack in his back pocket.

"Thanks," Henry mumbled as he took them from his wife, wiping at his nose, and when Gus wasn't looking, the corners of his eyes. Gus was retrieving a large gift bag from his backseat, whereas Maddie was juggling a pile of presents. When they were all ready, Henry took half of them and looped his arm through hers before they all made the trek up to the house.

"So, Shawn didn't come with you guys?"

"He said he was going to get a ride early with Veronica," Maddie responded. "To help set up. I think he just came to play with Cody while she did all the dirty work." Both Gus and Henry chuckled at that, knowing how right she probably was. None of them had a chance to knock at the door before it swung open and a butler took their things and showed them inside.

At this point, all of them had been inside of Logan's home many times to see Cody, but it was still amazing to them. And today it was done up in balloons and crepe paper and looked a lot like the average six year old's birthday party. The h'ors d'ouvres were cheeseburger empanadas and pigs in a blanket, and the only adult thing there was a tray of champagne.

"Guys!" They all turned from staring at everything to see Logan hurrying over from having been outside, and he had a giant plate of burgers, hot dogs and ribs. Stains from cooking on the grill all over his shirt. Maddie smiled and hurried over to hug him once he had set the food down, and Henry and Gus both shook his hand. "Glad you made it!"

"We'd never miss it," Henry said with a smile. "Place looks great."

"It was a battle not to go too overboard. I keep forgetting that one year olds really have no use for strippers and Mercedes…" He and Henry shared a briefly stern glance before they both burst into laughter. In the course of a year, Henry had quickly come to see what Tess had grown to love about him, and learned to accept the parts of him that he didn't really understand. There wasn't any choice in that, he was his grandson's father, and with Tess gone, things had to be different.

Madeline clasped her hands, glancing around with wild eyes that they all knew too well. "So! Where is he?"

Logan glanced around the small groups of guests that littered the house, and leaned to look out the back patio door. "Uh, well Shawn was just here about ten minutes ago…I think he had him la…"

"Oh, Shawnie, come here!" She had already spotted her prey, and was hurrying over to pounce. Shawn laughed heartily as he passed his nephew over to his mom. Cody was decked out in miniature Calvin Klein jeans, and a t-shirt that said "First Birthday Boy." Something Veronica had gotten him for the big day, and Maddie was in love with it already. "Oooooh here he is, here's my big boy…my, you're growing so fast!"

Henry scooted over to join her, with his arm around her shoulders as they peered down at him and Cody laughed with glee. "Ama. Pappa!" They all took a moment to cuddle and kiss, and bury the sadness in their hearts that also came with this day.

Shawn, meanwhile moved to pound Gus' fist and watched them with a sigh as Logan joined them. "You know I was really against it at first but I think Tess would have been thrilled to see them get married again," He and Logan exchanged sad smiles. "She'd have been planning the hell out of that wedding."

Logan nodded. "She was there. You could feel her. The air was so thick."

Shawn hated to admit such a thing, but he was right. He nodded his agreement as the patio door slid open and he smiled as Veronica came in with toasted buns on a new plate. "All righty, I think everything is just about ready for lunch." She paused to stand on tip-toe to kiss Shawn lightly, and Logan rolled his eyes, moving over to his in-laws. "All right, you nasty fools, not in front of the baby!"

Maddie relinquished him with a sigh but smiled as Logan transferred him to Gus. Shawn's best friend smiled and bounced him slightly as he shifted his grasp on the tot. "Hey dude, you're a year old today." Shawn smiled to himself as he helped Veronica set up food. Gus wasn't always too comfortable with kids. Hell, he wasn't always himself. But he had made a serious effort with Cody from the beginning, and they had their own little bond now. Gus would talk to him about a bunch of smart stuff, and he swore it must have made the kid smarter by every minute.

He couldn't help but continue to glance at Veronica as she worked, her skin and hair sun-kissed. Her eyes glowing with happiness. The small glint of gold on her left hand. Logan and Gus took Cody out for a dip in the kiddie pool, and he took the opportunity to step closer to her. "So. My parents said they wanted to do like a Christmas thing with us and Logan tonight when everyone leaves."

"My dad will be here too." She promised with a smile.

He nodded and picked up her hand to kiss the back. "I can't believe she's been gone a year, Vee."

Veronica was quiet, family pain and grief and all that were still a little touchy for her, but she smiled up into his face. "I can't believe Cody has been in this world for a year."

They smiled at one another and he sighed. "Oh, wifey, wifey. What am I ever going to do with your optimism?"

Veronica snorted as she fixed a plate. "Is there anything you haven't done with it?"

Shawn feigned a hurt face, and went to eat too. As the hours went on, the party slowed down until they had seen the last few people off with party favors. Their parents, Logan and Gus and Cody were all in the living room by the tree, and they joined them after making sure the house was locked up and the alarm was on. Plopping down with Cody on the rug near the presents, Veronica pulled him into her lap with a kiss to the top of his head. They all exchanged gifts and nearly the entire pile went to the toddler, before it came down to what Shawn and Veronica were passing out.

Everyone got a small envelope. And they all looked at one another suspiciously before Veronica laughed. "Well go on, you guys, open them!"

Madeline was first, covering her mouth as she read the contents. Then Henry, with tears forming in his eyes again and Logan and Gus, who both smiled warmly, and both teared up a little, but quickly wiped it on their respective sleeves. Shawn glanced over at his bride, and picked up Henry's card to read it aloud.

"You are all cordially invited to be a part of a new life, in June. When we, Shawn and Veronica, will be welcoming out first baby into the world."

Logan was the first to speak, sitting back in his chair with a grin. "I knew she was spending an awful lot of time in the bathroom today…"

Veronica laughed. "Shut up! I was barely in there."

Gus shot Shawn a look that was halfway between a glare and a smile before he shook his head. "Guys, this is great. Congratulations."

Henry was the first to stand and Shawn followed suit, and they met in a long hug. He smiled at his son once he pulled back, and then at his wife as she joined them. "This is really fantastic Shawn. I'm really proud of you. Of everything you've done this year."

"We both are," Maddie said as she pulled him close to kiss his cheek. "And your sister would be, too."

"I know," Shawn said softly, his throat tightening up a little. "If it's a girl, we really want to name her Tesla."

They all hugged Veronica gently. And she smiled, wiping her own tears away. "It's the least we can do, if it weren't for her we never would have met."

Maddie smiled at them as tears began to overwhelm her, and she managed to squeak out. "She…she would have hated it…" And she laughed, breaking past her sadness. "But she would have been terribly flattered."

The others laughed too, knowing how much she had hated the name. As they celebrated with champagne and cake, Logan scooped up Cody and blew a raspberry on his tummy as he carried him outside. He took a flashlight and shone the way down the property some until he reached Tess's grave site. They'd bought the land before her death, but the house hadn't been finished. Now it was. And she would always be here, where she belonged. Logan plopped down on the glass with Cody in his lap and smiled at the etched photo of his late wife on the stone.

"Hey, Momma." It was upright, and surrounded by flowers and the statue of an angel. Logan had tried not to come out a lot, mostly because when Cody had been tinier and floppier it hadn't seemed like a safe place for him, but in the last few weeks, he had come more and more. "Party was nice. Cody got a lot of cool stuff…and your brother and Veronica, they're gonna have a baby this coming summer."

"Ama, 'ama…" Cody sighed as he swayed around his Dad's lap, and Logan kissed his temple. "We're doing okay. We're gonna be all right but we both miss you tons." He smiled down at Cody when he yawned. "You wanna go NiNi?"

"Nini." Cody agreed, giving his father his best grumpy face. Logan nodded and lifted his arms form him.

"Say Nini to Momma."

Cody stood on wobbly legs and took a few, unsteady steps to his mother's stone before he bent and kissed her face. "Nini 'ama."