Prettyinpinkgal: Now for the real final installment. Woo-hoo! I'm fairly certain you guys are going to appreciate this one more, considering this one is WinniexJesse. It's funny; looking back, I wrote in the disclaimer in one of the early chapters"If I owned Tuck Everlasting, I would have Winnie and Jesse end up together!" but this story did not end up being a JessexWinnie story. Too much happened between them that resulted in Winnie's subtle distrust in Jesse, and he would not have easily swung from one girl to the next, for he truly does love Natasha, although perhaps not as much as he presently loves Winnie. I've learned to appreciate the beauty of the bittersweet, although I still adore happy endings. I wouldn't call the official ending of "Foster" a sad one, though. It's full of promise. Jesse and Winnie will both be happy in the end. But for those of you who don't prefer it, here's this one (which is admittedly much more sloppily done). Reviews make my day, so please drop a line as to how you enjoyed either ending, and how you enjoyed the story overall!

Disclaimer: I don't own "Tuck Everlasting". One line from the movie is used.

FOSTER EVERLASTING

ALTERNATIVE ENDING

While James and Winnie held their secret conference, Jesse fairly glared at his cup of coffee, as if trying to accuse it of some wrongdoing, or, more likely, trying to find an answer in its murky contents.

"Jesse. Let's call of the wedding."

This comment did not come mystically from his drink, but from his fiancee.

He slowly turned to her and realized that they were the only two in the room. Either the others had things they needed to take care of, or...they knew this was coming.

"I know you're trying to keep your distance from Winnie," she said, her voice steady despite the glittering droplets in her eyes. "I don't know if it's for your sake or hers or mine, but I can see it killing you. Jesse, I...I'm used to being alone. Winnie's so fragile right now. Maybe it's best if you two stay together."

"Tasha," he murmured, unable to say much else. What could he say, anyway? "Phew, thanks!" and "That's not true!" would be cruel and a lie, respectively.

As seemed to be the new norm for him, he could say nothing. And he loathed himself for it.

"Just hurry up and decide. I don't want to be strung around, and neither does Winnie. I know you're not intentionally trying to hurt us, so I don't loathe you for this. But just be honest with yourself, Jesse Tuck. Decide once and for all. Unless your decision is to come back to me, the wedding is cancelled."

Natasha finished her speech with nary a deceitful shake in the lip or zealous blinking of the eye. She strode out of the room like a queen. But as soon as she was sure Jesse, nor any other soul, could see her, she sank down and covered her face with her hands.

Jesse sat numbly in his seat. He supposed he was a free man now. That was good, if he wanted to pursue Winnie, but...

But Natasha still had a piece of his heart.

"I'm so stuuuuupiiiiid," he groaned, thumping his head onto the table.

"What're you doing?"

His head whipped up and he barked, "I really don't need your sarcastic commentary right now, James!"

"Touchy," he replied, with one brow raised. But he was grinning deeply, which made Jesse even more on edge.

"What happened between you and Winnie?" he choked out.

His grin deepened alarmingly. "She's letting me tag along."

Jesse's heart cracked. "Oh, well, congratulations. I hope you two are very happy together."

Jesse's giddy smile faded. "All right. What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, I'm peachy, thanks."

"Apparently not, if you're going to rub it in everyone's faces like this."

Jesse took a large gulp of his coffee like it was brandy, then slammed it down. "Well, Natasha canceled our wedding, for starters."

James's eyes widened. "Really."

The lack of shock or compassion in his voice ground Jesse's gears. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I can't believe she was such a selfless person as to let you go like that. And it means I'm a little surprised she didn't do it earlier," he answered bluntly.

Within seconds, Jesse's hand was around Jesse's collar. "Really, so just because you won Winnie doesn't mean you need to be so cocky! You feel you can gloat now? I have nothing now!"

James's punch felt as if it had broken Jesse's nose. The latter stared at the gushing blood, while the former delivered another blow to his stomach.

As Jesse tried to catch his breath, James shouted, "You b-! Do you realize how long I've been holding that in? Winnie told me everything right before we met the first time. Ever since, I wanted to kill you-do whatever it takes to kill you-to punish you for what you did to her. Do you realize how much she suffered! Now that Natasha was angelically generous and gave you the option to choose, but Winnie agreed to go to Europe with me, you think 'woe is me'? Are you joking? You have everything, Jesse Tuck! You have a family, a friend, had a fiancee and a childhood friend yearning after your heart, and you have the nerve to be so selfish that you can't let anyone else partake in a happiness that might narrow down yours? The thing is, Jesse...Who would you have picked, now that you had your freedom?"

Jesse gaped at him. "I-I hadn't decided yet-"

He was ashamed at how horrible he sounded.

"Let me tell you something, Jesse." James's voice was as cold as a winter in Siberia. "I saw your face when I walked in here. It wasn't the face of a man who had lost his fiancee. It was the face of a man angry at himself and upset over the loss and hurt of a friend. You love Natasha, but not romantically. The question is, do you love Winnie? Because I'm starting to, and once I'm completely devoted to her, I'll never stop. And Winnie doesn't need to be thrown through another loop if she doesn't need to be. Consider this a friendly warning. I'm heading over to see Marion."

The door slammed behind James, and gentle footsteps made Jesse cry, "For heaven's sake, what now?"

It was Winnie, who looked smaller than usual from her lack of appetite over the week and her sinking into herself at his harsh words, which he immediately regreted.

"I'm sorry. It's just a stressful day," he said, looking carefully to make sure he hadn't disturbed her.

He hadn't looked that hard at Natasha when she was calling off the engagement.

"I heard," Winnie confessed, almost shyly.

Jesse flushed deeply. "Uh, do you want some coffee? Are you sure you're fine with standing up?" he suddenly demanded, seeing her stumble for a moment.

"I'm fine. I'm just tired, and I'm not really used to walking." Her flash of a smile was painful at best, and he winced.

He gentlemanly pulled out a chair for her, and she sat while he ran and got that cup of coffee for her.

"I'm not seeing James."

His hand stopped before he reached for the cup.

"I told him I only wanted to be friends. For now, at least. We don't know what the future will bring, right?"

"...Guess not."

"So don't let some bout of jealousy sway your decision. See Natasha and me as people, not possessions."

He sighed heavily, feeling the truth of her words. "Everyone seems to know my mind better than I do."

"It's because you've been basically a child for a hundred years, and the rest of us are a little bit more experienced in the ways of adulthood."

"You've been seventeen for a while, yourself," he retorted.

"I was ladylike when I was ten," she shot back smilingly. "I'm quite mature, thank you."

"Yeah. You are. That's one of the things I really respect about you."

Their eyes locked.

"Sorry I wasn't the one who rescued you," he said quietly. "And who messed up your life."

"Sorry I can't get over you," she replied softly. "And who messed up your future marriage maybe."

"It wasn't your fault. That was all me."

Winnie's gaze faltered. "Don't give your answer until the day I leave, all right? Take your time and decide. Never mind about the coffee. I'd better go get some rest."

"Do you need help?" he asked, rushing to her side. He ignored her protests and helped her up the steps, even tucking her in. "Do you need an extra blanket or anything? A new pillow, maybe?"

"Jesse, stop it," she said with surprising sternness. "I don't want to get my hopes up, and I don't want you tricking yourself into thinking you like me better. Treat me normally for the next week. If you do choose me, there's no need to rush. We'll have eternity. Now good night and get out of here," she snapped, abruptly turning on her side away from him.

Winnie said goodbye to everyone with a heavy but cheerful heart. The only member of her acquaintance missing was Natasha, who said goodbye the day before. She claimed she was feeling restless and wanted to see more of the world, but Winnie knew she was hurting deeply.

But despite the feeling of guilt she carried inside her, she still anxiously awaited Jesse's decision.

Yet all he did was shake her hand and give her a quick hug and tell her to have a nice trip.

She sat now with James, him going on about how London was a remarkable city and how she would adore seeing Westminster Abbey. She appreciated his company, but her mind was elsewhere.

And she realized now that she would never be able to see James as anything more than a good friend.

Her heart filled with misery as great as when she learned her parents were dead, for she knew now that she would always be Winnie Foster and never Winnie Tuck.

She hid the tears from James's view by looking out the window. It was in this motion that she noticed Jesse was not present.

Her heart disappeared. He hadn't even bothered to watch the train depart. That was how little he meant to her.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her hand.

She was dragged off the train, although she was too dazed to really try and fight.

"You can't go with him," her captor said unreasonably and pleadingly. "We promised to travel the world together, the two of us."

Jesse had made his choice.

She burst into tears and launched herself into his arms and he spun her round and round and round, holding her tightly and whispering sweet everythings into her ear.

"Winnie Foster, I'll love you till the day I die," he whispered into her ear, and they both laughed joyfully and lovingly.

But James...

The train was departing. Winnie looked quickly at the window she had been on the other side of just minutes before. James was waving contentedly, although of course not too happily. Upon her waving back with vigor, though, he seemed to be more satisfied with the situation.

Jesse caught her attention again as the train drove past, this time to greet her with a warm kiss thirty years overdue.

Prettyinpinkgal: Yes, I completely lost motivation on this last piece. And I had a long day today, which means my 1 AM writing is worse than usual. Hopefully it made the WinniexJesse shippers in you happy, though. :) I must say I much prefer the first ending, both for technical reasons and romantic ones, but I'm glad these two had a chance to be together in an alternate ending to this story. Now, off to work on my original novel! Ciao!