A/N: FINALLY! This thing is almost done! WOOT! Ahem. Sorry. This one's a lot more upbeat than the other chapters. The last chapter will be sort of sad, but mostly happy. All of the characters I write about will have happy endings. I'm like Jane Austen with a better haircut. ;D As you can see, I'm in a much better mood now. I blame kittens and Metro Station. Anyhoo, here we go!

Disclaimer: Read the last one! Seriously! You'd think they'd understand that I don't own it after you tell them one time! Sheesh! (And as for the last disclaimer, I was just joking about President Obama. It would be really cool to know him.)

Warnings: OOC, language, and a miniscule amount of fluff (it's back!)


After her little incident with the gun, she had curled up on the couch and tried to sleep. She soon gave up and instead dragged a chair to the window. She sat down and looked at the street below, waiting for his familiar car to pull up. She knew it would eventually.

She fell asleep, of course.

Her dreams were of him: some were memories, others were what she wished could have happened.

In one – a memory – he was carving their names in a tree. Then they had walked to the nearby beach and watched the sunset and the moonrise. That had been so long ago…

A different, more recent memory came to her: when she had first found out that she was pregnant. They had both cried. It had been one of the last times she had seen him smile.

In another, she was cradling a baby in her arms. At first, she thought it was Leslie, but it was a boy. He had dark hair, and his eyes were deep blue. She knew his name was Gavin. He was so tiny… But where was their daughter?

"Leslie!" she called. "Where are you?"

"Here, Mommy!" A beautiful little girl came into view, pulling her father behind her. She was blonde with green eyes. An angel. A perfect angel.

She looked into his eyes as he came closer. He was the happiest she'd ever seen him. He took her into his arms, being careful of Gavin, and hugged her.

"I love you," he murmured.

"I love you more," she answered. She kissed him, making Leslie laugh in delight.

She woke up suddenly, coughing and choking on her tears. She wanted that in real life. She wanted a family to care for and to love. The chances of that happening now were slim to none. But she still had hope. As long as he came back, it was possible.

Soon she was asleep again. But this sleep had no dreams, for which she was thankful. After an hour or so, she woke up once more. She didn't know why, but she thought she'd heard something. A sound made her jump.

Someone was in her apartment.

A second before she was going to grab her gun from the coffee table, she saw who it was and nearly fainted. She stood up on wobbly legs. "Patrick?"

He smiled at her. The cold anger that had been in his eyes the last time she'd seen him was gone.

"Why did you come back?" she whispered.

"I had to. I'm sorry I put you through this."

"You should be." She found her strength and ran to him, embracing him and burying her face in his chest. "Don't ever leave me again. Ever. Do you understand me?" She was crying now; they both were.

"Yes, ma'am," he murmured, laughing breathlessly. "I'm not leaving again." Then he was serious. "Have the police been here?"

"Yes. I told them everything."

He stared at her in shock. "What…?"

"I told them what you told me." She smiled up at him. "You were at your house in Malibu, cleaning it up a bit, and he walked in. He was an intruder. He tried to harm you, so you killed him in self-defense. You ran because you were scared that this was exactly what would happen. They believed every single word."

"But I didn't…"

"They don't have to know that."

"I'm not going to court."

"Neither am I."

He looked confused. "You're running?"

"With you."

His smile could have lit up the universe. "I love you." He kissed her. "So where are we going?" he asked her.

"Anywhere but here."

"Sounds good to me. But can I sleep first?"

She sighed dramatically. "I suppose."

They both went upstairs. He didn't bother to undress. He wouldn't have been able to, anyway, as he collapsed on the bed immediately. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. She covered him up and turned out the light. She kissed his forehead before she left the room.

When he woke up, they would pack their things and leave. They would finally be able to start over again. They would be leaving a lot behind. They wouldn't be able to say goodbye to everyone at CBI. But they would be together.

Before, she had thought that this whole mess was the beginning of the end of everything. She was finding out now that it was simply the beginning of everything. There was no end unless you made one.

She went downstairs and found a map of the United States and a pen. She sat on the couch and began circling cities. When she finished that, she went online and found maps of other countries: Canada; Mexico; Ireland; France.

As she did this, she thought about the only place she really wanted to go. Her mother had told her about it when she was very young. She scanned the map and found it, drawing a star over it. For the first time in a long time, she wondered about her mother: if she was watching her daughter, and, if she was, if she approved of what she was doing. She smiled at nothing in particular.

"I love you, Mommy," she whispered, using the term of endearment she hadn't uttered since she had been six years old. She looked at the map, at the star she had made, and felt a single tear slide down her cheek. "And you, too, Dad." No matter how much her father had messed up, he had always apologized. And he meant it every time.

An hour passed, and she was still sitting there, waiting for him. Another hour, then two. Finally, when she was about to go check on him, he came downstairs, rubbing his eyes.

"Ready?" she asked him.

He nodded, smiling warmly.

She got up and tried to walk past him, but he caught her and hugged her tightly. "I love you more than you will ever know," he breathed.

She answered him by kissing him. "Now are you ready?" she asked when she pulled away.

"When you say, 'ready,' what exactly do you mean?" He grinned wickedly. "Ready for what?"

"You know exactly what I mean. That can wait."

"That's your outlook on it."

"Therefore, that's how it's going to be."

"You haven't changed a bit, my dear." He kissed her.

"I could say the same to you, darling," she retorted. "Let's go." She pulled on his hand.

"Where?"

She sighed as she muttered, "The bedroom. There, happy now?"

"No."

She pulled harder, but he didn't move. "Don't you ever quit?" she asked in exasperation, secretly pleased that he was himself again.

With one light tug, she was back in his arms. "Not if you don't want me to," he said in a low voice.

"Patrick, please. Later, I promise."

Grumbling, he followed her. They began to pack, and not just the necessities: pictures and other keepsakes were included. They didn't want to leave anything behind that didn't have to be.

They didn't have a plan. They didn't bother making one. They simply wanted to make their own choices when the time came to do so.

And they did.


A/N: Next is the epilogue and this baby's done! Please gimme more lovely reviews! I love you! Please?

Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.

P.S. I didn't come up with that^ awesome quote. Idk who did. I blame the Internet for my slight ignorance.

P.P.S I tried to submit chapter another chapter of Jalousie, and I got it up and I was editing it, and then I realized: IT ONLY HAD 516 WORDS! I FINISHED IT LAST NIGHT! ARGH!