Ok, guys. So this is the last chapter. Im kind of tearing up right now, to be honest. And

And not just because it's the last chapter...it's a sad chapter as well.

Disclaimer: Ok, so I didnt do one of these for every chapter, so sue me. ;)

Six Months After:

After Artemis returned with Holly after he let her go, things turned back to almost normal. However, that normal meant that Artemis was spending his time on various "Save The World" Projects. Not that Holly was complaining about Artemis trying to protect the environment...but she rarely saw him anymore.

Holly just spent her time either in her bedroom or in the gym. Artemis barely left his study anymore, and any time the elf bumped into him, it was just a small smile and then back to work.

Of course, Artemis spent the nights with Holly. But after a while, he was so tired it was like he had just ran a marathon; falling asleep right when his head hit the pillow next to hers. Now, Holly had woken up in the middle of the night to find the spot behind her empty. Going to his study, she peeked into the room and found him either typing or asleep at his desk. Either way, Holly just turned the other way, back to her room sadly...and alone.

Was it suppose to be like this? Holly often thought. Did we really come this far, and fight this hard for each other, to just drift apart because of some stupid projects?

And that's exactly what they were: stupid. At least, they were to her. They may have been environmentally friendly, and he may have been trying to save the world, but he was driving her crazy in the process.

These were the thoughts in her head as she drifted off to sleep again.

The next morning, she woke up again to find Artemis laying beside her. She could tell he was there because she rolled over and hit him.

"Arty?" she muttered groggily, her eyes fluttering. For a minute, she forgot that he'd been gone during the night... and then he said something that triggered her memory.

"I'm right here, Holly," she heard him say.

"Mm," Holly murmured, opening her eyes slightly to look up at him. She rolled over and put her arms around his waist and tried to lay on his shoulder, but he sighed and gently pried her off.

"No, Holly. That's putting your arm in the way of my laptop, and I'm trying to work," he scolded, putting her down against the bed.

Suddenly the memories of the night before came back to her, and getting up and finding him gone. Her voice filled with hurt, and she said, "why don't you go back to your study and work then? Get out of here. Just pretend like I don't exist like you have been since we came back." By the end, her voice was cracked and muffled, because she'd rolled over and buried her face in the pillow, hiding from him.

Artemis sighed, putting his laptop to the side as he reached over and gently rubbed the elf's back. "Holly, you-"

Holly cut him off by jerking out from under his hand, saying, "don't touch me."

"Why not? Maybe I want to touch you," Artemis said, scowling.

"Yeah, maybe you would, if you weren't so obsessed with your stupid projects," Holly growled. "Go touch your stupid laptop or something."

Artemis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and taking several breaths before speaking again. "Captain, you're being ridiculous, and I'm not in the mood for it. You wanted me to be a better person, and do things that benefit others, and now I'm trying, and it's obviously not good enough for you. What do you want me to do?"

Holly froze. She didn't even really hear the last part of the sentence, instead, she just started crying. It was involuntary, and she didn't want to, but as soon as he used her formal title like that, she couldn't stop it.

Not wanting him to see, she caught her breath and quickly jumped out of the bed, almost running to the other side of the room, to the bay window. Artemis sat bolt upright at this, frowning as he called, "Holly? Are you okay?" There was no answer, so he got up and followed her.

She was sitting on the window seat, her head in her hands. He walked over and sat beside her, concern etched into his features. "Why are you crying?" he asked softly, pushing a strand of auburn hair out of her face. She flinched away from his touch as if it were physically painful for her. "Holly, honey, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's the matter."

"Forget it. Just leave me alone," Holly muttered, wiping her eyes and turning away from him so she was facing the wall. He moved with her, sighing again as he jumped up next to her and put his arms around her. "Let me go," Holly protested, though she didn't fight him or struggle to get away. It would have been a fruitless effort anyhow. "I don't want you to hold me. It hurts..."

"What? Why?" Artemis said quickly, sitting back but not releasing her completely. "I wasn't trying to squeeze you or anything..."

"That's not what I meant!" Holly snapped. "Look, if you're too blind to see it, then obviously it's not that important."

"If it's making you this upset, then obviously it is." Artemis countered. "Tell me."

"No. Just go back to work." She looked away again.

Artemis cocked his head and raised his eyebrows. "I'm starting to sense a pattern here," he announced, although he'd honestly figured out what was the issue was as soon as she'd started getting mad a few minutes ago. He just wanted to get her to say it. "What do you have against my projects?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask them, since you don't really have time to ask me..." she told him, still not meeting his eyes.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Holly, please. If you wanted me to take a break from work, why didn't you tell me?"

"How am I supposed to tell you when I'm not allowed to see you?"

"I never said you couldn't see me. I just said I didn't want you constantly interrupting my projects."

"Yeah. Cause that's all I am any more: a constant interruption," Holly said sulkily. "You just admitted it. Now will you leave me alone?"

He ignored this, pulling the elf over to him and lifting her up to kiss her gently, deeply. She put a hand on his chest and pushed him back. "Artemis. Seriously. Stop trying to make me feel better, and stop acting like you care about me anymore. It's not going to do anything if I know it's acting."

"If I was only acting like I cared," Artemis murmured, breathing into her ear, "then would I spend €10,000 on this?"

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small golden box, holding it out between them. Holly glanced down. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him pop the top of the box and hand it to her. Inside the box sat a small golden engagement ring, looking like it was sized perfectly for a tiny hand... a fairy sized hand. It gleamed brightly in the morning's first rays of sun as the genius said, "That's the real reason I was in there this morning, Holly. And the reason I disappeared for so long last night; I forgot it in my desk drawer. I've been divulging in more projects because I wasn't sure how to ask you." He looked at her, taking the hand that wasn't holding the box and sliding down to the floor on one knee. "Say you'll marry me, Holly. Please?"

Holly's hands were shaking. She dropped the box on the floor, dissolving into tears as she slid down off the seat into her lover's lap. "Yes," she sobbed. "I will. I'll marry you... I will." She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in it, crying so hard she couldn't see straight.

Artemis was crying too, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight, kissing her neck repeatedly. "Frond, Holly... I love you so much. Thank you..."

"I love you too, Artemis Fowl," Holly murmured into his neck. "I love you too. I really do." She rested her head on his shoulder, still crying. Artemis laid there, holding her until she calmed down.

It was to be at least another hour before he finally managed to get over to get the ring from where she had dropped it and slid it on her hand, but eventually he did. And then the woman he loved was finally, officially, completely...his.

The siege was finally over, for both of them.

Ok, so BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TIME! (There's 4 and I promise you will like all of them)

1.) I'm giving out WRITING LESSONS! I already PMed a few people. It's a fun way to learn about writing and in the end you create an actual story. PM me if you're interested.

2.) CaptainS10 and I are writing an ORIGINAL STORY! We aren't sure if we re posting it on FictionPress or not, so look out for updates on our...

3.) CO-AUTHORING ACCOUNT: THE MASKED AUTHORS! We had one story up, but we took it down because of a major rewrite. Anyway, it's fun and it's going to have a lot of stories like this one. (Evil Arty ;)) So go and follow us now for upcoming stories!

And now, for the most exciting...drumroll please...

4.) We are creating a BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: DELETED SCENES! It's everything that CaptainS10 and I wanted to put in, but it either too OOC, didnt fit the plot, or we were just too lazy to write it at the time. Anyway, we're writing them now...so, yeah. They will come out maybe the beginning of next week on CAPTAINS10's PROFILE! So look out for that!

I want to thank you guys so much, and I'm sure CaptainS10 would to, but given the fact it's 3 in the morning, I dont feel like waking her up. Anyway, thanks so much from BOTH of us...hope to see you all real soon!