Chapter 26! Woo! I'm going to make Holly 5'2" for all you who care. Please review me though, I'm feeling a bit neglected...
Holly watched him for a moment before her face broke out in a grin. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"Of course I will!"
Artemis hugged her back before she let go of him. He took the ring carefully out of the box and slid it onto her third finger on her left hand. It fit perfectly, of course.
"I'm kind of hoping that it will grow with you, but if it doesn't, it will have to be resized. Until then though..."
Holly held up her hand, inspecting the ring. "It's so beautiful."
"I'm glad you like it. I figured that twenty diamonds would be nineteen too many for you." Artemis smiled, not having to think too hard to come up with the reaction he would have gotten if he had given Holly said twenty diamond ring.
Holly nodded. "Absolutely. I would have thrown it out the window…or maybe just refused it, although I wouldn't have refused the proposal. By the way, Foaly, No. 1 and Qwan have all insisted that they're coming to the wedding."
Artemis sighed. "They might be a tad difficult to disguise, but I guess they'd crash it or something if they weren't invited."
"Yeah, probably," Holly agreed, moving her left hand back and fourth, watching the reflections from the diamond sparkle off the ceiling.
Artemis smiled. "I really am glad you like it. I was a bit worried that you wouldn't."
Holly kissed his cheek. "Even if I had hated it, I wouldn't have said anything. I'm never going to hurt you again Artemis, even over something as trivial as a ring."
"As am I not going to hurt you," Artemis replied.
Holly nodded. "It's a good thing we've come to an agreement." She laughed suddenly. "I can't believe it Artemis. I'm free from the LEP, from their ridiculous rules and regulations. I'm free of recycled air and artificial sun. And I'm free from being without you."
Artemis kissed her. "That is a cause for celebration, isn't it?" he murmured against her lips.
Holly nodded, suddenly overwhelmed by emotion. Sure she would miss the People and the Lower Elements, but this solution had more upsides than drawbacks. She pushed all rational thoughts out of her mind and kissed Artemis back.
They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Holly groaned as they broke apart yet again.
"You really need to put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on your door or something," she muttered, hopping off his lap reluctantly so he could get the door.
Artemis nodded in agreement and stood, pacing over to the door. He opened it swiftly only to find Finn standing in front of it.
The boy hugged Artemis's leg and looked up at him.
"Can we go back to the beach now Daddy?"
Artemis glanced back at Holly who stood in a spot that wasn't visible from where Finn stood.
"Um…" Artemis was horrified that he had said 'um', but that would have to wait for later.
"Please Daddy?" Finn begged.
"I think there's someone that I need to formally introduce you to first." Artemis led Finn into the room and closed the door behind him.
Holly sat on a black leather chair in the corner. Finn looked at her curiously.
"You again!" he exclaimed. He appeared to be thinking very hard. "Holly," he said, suddenly remembering. "You're my mommy."
Holly looked at Artemis with surprise. He shrugged.
Holly jumped off the chair and went over to Finn. She stood only two inches taller than him. She nodded.
"Yes, I'm your mom."
"I'm almost as tall as you," Finn stated.
Holly laughed. "Yes, you are, but that will be fixed soon."
Finn nodded, accepting this piece of information as if it wasn't the most ridiculous thing someone could say.
Artemis looked down at Finn.
"You're mother and I are going to get married and the fairies will use magic to make her taller," he explained.
Finn smiled. "So now I'll have a mommy and a daddy!" He seemed pleased with this information. Apparently talk of fairies and weddings didn't disconcert him like it might some people.
Holly nodded and blinked in surprise when Finn suddenly hugged her. She hugged him back, smiling, and looked up at Artemis.
"Thank you," she mouthed, without actually saying the words.
Artemis nodded, thrilled that their little family was soon to be complete.