*Five*Years*Later*

Rose has never been a person who worries and stresses over things. She has always been a person who's in control; she knows where she's going, and what she's doing. She knows how to handle things and, if something unknown comes up, she always knows that she can handle it. She's more ferocious than anything else out there.

Right now, in this moment, however, Rose is nervous as hell.

She looked up as Haley came in. Sweet, beautiful Haley who had grown into one of the most confident young women Rose had ever known; Haley, who forgave Rose, even though Rose would never forgive herself. Haley, who understood the fluttering in Rose's stomach and how sick she felt in this moment, though Haley hadn't gone through it yet.

"You're not allowed to have cold feet," Haley said, not bothering with catering to Rose's fears. Rose did better with tough love. "You're marrying my brother today whether you like it or not."

"I love him. I'm just worried everyone else will think it's a mistake," Rose breathed.

"No one else matters. If it's a mistake – which it's not, mind you – it's a mistake for the two of you to make."

Haley came to Rose's side, adjusting the veil over her arm.

"You look beautiful," Haley complimented her again.

Rose glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. "You don't think it's too much, do you?"

"No, it's perfect."

Rose had gone with a white strapless gown. The tight fitting bodice was covered in silver bling; the design almost reminded her of a snowflake. Her breasts were covered in shiny silver jewels, which had rays extended down her stomach. At her waist, there was another set of silver gems, making a belt-like structure. The gown then became full, widening around her legs. There was a shining sheer material over the white skirt of the dress. At the bottom of the dress there were more silver jewels and intricate beading, swirling up from the hem toward her knees. The same design was echoed on Rose's long veil.

She studied herself in the mirror. She looked like a bride; she never thought she would be one.

"You look lovely too," Rose said suddenly, looking at one of her two bridesmaids.

Haley had on a deep teal one-shoulder short dress. It looked great on Haley and on Trixie, the other of her two bridesmaids. Despite all that she had done, it was Haley and Trixie (though Trixie was much more hesitant than Haley had been) who had accepted her back the most. They knew all of her – not the little bits of her that her strictly human friends and acquaintances knew – and they still loved her.

She loved them too.

"And I look fabulous," Trixie trilled, sashaying into the room in time to hear the sentence.

"I'm glad we added that bit of fabric do your dress," Rose commented critically. "Otherwise the baby would have you flashing everyone."

"I'll have you know I'm wearing fabulous underwear," Trixie joked, rubbing her extremely rounded stomach. "Oh well, in the next month or so there will be no baby to cause dresses to suddenly lose length."

"Not that you wear dresses often," Haley laughed.

"Well, no," Trixie conceded. Then, she looked to Rose. "Why are you nervous?"

Rose shrugged, resisting the urge to bit her lip – it would cover her teeth in lipstick

"I don't know," she lowered her eyes. "I just … it's scary. Wouldn't you be scared if you were about to marry Spud?"

Trixie thought about it before saying, with finality, "Nope. I've got this theory the boy would be more terrified than I was. Besides, I don't want to be married. It's not something that we need."

Rose shrugged, the veil ghosting against her bare shoulders.

"Why don't you tell us the engagement story again?" Haley begged. "Maybe that will distract you."

"You must have heard that story a thousand times by now," Trixie accused.

"Jake always tells it," Haley retorted. "I've only heard Rose tell it once and that's when they came over for dinner to tell us and even then Jake told most of it!"

"So, really," Trixie said smarmily, lowering herself into Rose's vanity chair. "Jake's much more excited about this than you'll ever be, Rose."

"Ignore her," Haley encouraged. "Just tell the story."

Rose sighed and thought back.

(-.-)

"Now, tell me this, if you could have anything in the world, what would you want?"

Jake shifted, running his fingers along her bare ribs. She twisted a little so that she could face him, his other arm trapped underneath of her.

"I don't need anything else," he rumbled, tracing the outline of her still sensitive tattoo.

Rose couldn't help but blush as he looked at her, gaze adoring. She kissed under his new tattoo; 'I love you' written in her handwriting, as she had 'I love you' written in his.

"But anything; think of all the possibilities. Anything at all that you could think of. Even including time travel. Come on. Give me a real answer."

Jake smirked, shaking his head as he kissed her temple. "You answer first," he insisted. "And then I swear I'll tell you."

She offered him her pinkie finger. "Swear."

Jake looped his smallest finger around hers. "I swear."

"Well," Rose mused. "There's the obvious answers: I'd change all of my mistakes or I would meet you earlier but those don't seem right … I can see why you would find this question hard. Okay, I've got it. If I could have anything in the entire world" – here she dramatically splayed herself across his chest so that she was looking him in the eye – "it would be to be happy like I am right now, forever."

Jake grinned and leaned forward, stealing a kiss from her lips. "I think I could make that happen."

She nestled her head against his chest. "So, if you could have anything in the world, what would you want?" She repeated.

He shifted under her and then lifted his hand so that it was eye-level with her. She could barely breathe as she registered that little green box that she had discovered years ago but hadn't seen since. He popped it open with easy grace and the little ring that had nearly brought her to tears ages ago reappeared before her eyes.

"If I could have anything in the world," Jake whispered, "I would have you marry me."

"I think I could make that happen," Rose repeated his early words in a low tone, moisture filling her eyes.

"So, then, Rose Dawson, will you marry me?"

"Yes," she breathed, and then excitement swirled with in her. "A thousand times, yes!"

Jake laughed and plucked the ring from its velvet seat, sliding it onto her finger. Her heartbeat picked up again as the cold metal rested against her flesh.

"I love you," she cried. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and anchoring her to him. "I love you so much more."

(-.-)

As Rose left her memory, there came a knock on the door. Her heart leapt into her throat as Kyle stuck his head around the side of the door.

"Everyone's ready, Rose. We're just waiting on you."

Haley hauled Trixie out of her chair, and the slipped out the door. Kyle politely stepped out of the way, letting them by. When they were out and getting into position for the procession, Kyle and Nicholas stepped into the room where Rose was waiting.

"You're beautiful," Nicholas complimented.

"Thanks," Rose blushed, hugging him. "You two look so grown up in your tuxes."

They shrugged.

"We're not fifteen anymore," they reminded her.

"I know," Rose swallowed, not understanding why she was suddenly feeling so sentimental. "But it doesn't seem like very long since you were."

"Aww," Nicholas joked. "We love you too, Huntsmistress."

"Now," Kyle interrupted gruffly, "Are you ready?"

"Absolutely."

They filed out of the room, into the wings behind Haley and Trixie. The music began to play and, slowly, people from the wedding party began to disappear until it was just Rose's little trio. Finally, Rose slipped a hand into the crook of Kyle and Nicholas' elbows, respectively.

Then, they headed through the double doors to the aisle.

(-.-)

Jake was fidgeting.

It was slowly driving Spud insane.

"Stop," he groaned. "Jake, stop."

"Sorry," Jake retorted automatically.

Before he could say anything else, Fu stumbled in, returning from his dressing appointment with Fu's mother.

"I don't know who thought this up," Fu groaned, tugging at the doggy tux that he'd been stuffed into, "but whichever one of you decided that it was a good idea for me to be your ring bearer … I wish a series of curses on you."

"It was Rose," Jake said automatically, knowing that Fu was much more likely to forgive her than Fu was to forgive him.

Though it wasn't entirely true that it was Rose's idea. Rose had suggested it, jokingly, when they had been tossing around ideas for a ring bearer and a flower girl (who ended up being a nature fairy Jake had saved from certain doom when she had been just an infant), and Jake had been the one who had run with it, wanting to see Fu in a doggy tux. And now, here they were.

"You look adorable, Fu," Spud laughed.

"Shut up," Fu hissed, before focusing on Jake. "How you feeling, kid? You ready for this?"

"Been ready since before I asked her," Jake assured Fu, thinking back to that very day.

(-.-)

"Now, tell me this," Rose began, "if you could have anything in the world, what would you want?"

Immediately, his mind jumped. Without using his words, activating his dragon tail, which was long enough to stretch across the room. Running his fingers along her naked flesh to distract her from any noises he might make, Jake slid open the drawer where he was keeping the ring. He'd been thinking about how to ask her for so long now and, if he played his cards right, he could get it right tonight.

Oh hell; was he ever ready to get it right.

Rose shifted in his arms and he forced himself not to jump and knock off the precarious game his tail was playing. She peeked up at him, awaiting his answer.

"I don't need anything else," he told her, because it was true. He touched her tattoo; his own handwriting glaring back at him, his promise of love written on her the skin of her ribs forever while hers was written on his chest.

"But anything; think of all the possibilities," Rose insisted, face eager. He wondered where this line of questioning had come from. "Anything at all that you could think of. Even including time travel. Come on. Give me a real answer."

Not yet. He couldn't give her a real answer yet. His tail was bad for grasping and he was still working on getting the ring box where he needed it.

"You answer first. And then I swear I'll tell you."

As he expected she would, she decided she would, though she made him pinkie promise that he would, in fact, give her an answer.

"Well," Rose started, launching into a ramble which, thankful, gave Jake time to give what he needed to. "There's the obvious answers: I'd change all of my mistakes or I would meet you earlier but those don't see right … I can see why you would find this question hard. Okay, I've got it. If I could have anything in the entire world, it would be to be happy like I am right now, forever."

She'd moved positions so that she was lying on his chest, noses nearly touching.

"I think I could make that happen," Jake promised, stealing a kiss from her.

"So," she pressed as Jake covertly slid the ring box into his waiting hand, making his tail disappear, "if you could have anything in the world, what would you want?"

Heart racing, body full of nerves, he brought his hand up to her face so that she could see what he was holding. He watched her face carefully, knowing that she recognized it. He opened the ring box, revealing his grandmother's ring to her, so that she could see it for the second time.

"If I could have anything in the world," he told her, knowing it was imperative that he get the words right, "I would have you marry me."

And, like it had been scripted, like they had been designed to turn out from the very start, Rose said to him, "I think I could make that happen.

"So then, Rose Dawson," he used her full name for the first time in his life, "will you marry me?"

"Yes," she squealed, giggling. "A thousand times, yes!"

Excitement building within him by the minute, Jake put his ring on her finger, just like he had been dreaming of since Gramps had given him the ring, years ago.

"I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too," he answered, curling around her, keeping her to him. She was never floating away again; she never had the desire to. "I love you so much more."

(-.-)

Jake looked critically around the church, brimming with formally robed Clan members and an assortment of odd magical creatures. Even his still-oblivious father was waving at the odd-looking "relatives" which he'd been informed were suffering from an unknown condition caused by severe pollution in their town.

(A pact, however, had been made in the Long family regarding Jonothan's obliviousness. If Jake or Haley produced a child with dragon abilities, Jonothan would be told. Jake wasn't looking forward to it.)

The music began to play and he knew, in a moment, that he would be seeing her.

The nature fairy tripped down the hallway, flower petals literally spewing from her fingertips. The young girl spun around in the aisle, followed closely by Fu, who was pretending to be a real dog for the sake of Jonothan. Fu was followed by Haley and a slightly-waddling Trixie. And then, there she was. Soft blonde curls, glittering white dress; she was everything he'd dreamed of and more.

When she reached his side, and he took her hands, he couldn't think of anything else but her.

"I love you," he mouthed.

"I love you more," she answered.

Because, really, there was nothing else to say.

Except, of course, I do.

And that's all folks! It's been a great ride. Forever Am Dragon was published on May 11th 2012. That's over two years together. Thanks for everything!

~TLL~