She'd been cancer-free for three years and Annabel was celebrating by having a party. She was throwing it in Roanoke so Morgan had made the four-hour drive down for the weekend. He was staying at her place and planning on taking her out for a fancy dinner afterwards. Aurelia was old enough to stay home alone at night for a few hours.

The party went well. They had an elaborate three-tiered cake with a different flavor for each tier (red velvet, chocolate, and confetti) with lemon-flavoured purple icing and a big number-three candle on top. Aurelia had had her friends from school over, Annabel had had her friends from work over, Mr. Vermont had come in from the nursing home and there was music and laughter and happiness.

Everyone went home around three o' clock and it was four hours later that Morgan and Annabel sat in a swanky restaurant, Annabel in a gorgeous teal silk dress and Morgan in a suit jacket with a ring in his pocket.

Garcia had helped him choose the ring. It was a circular diamond on a silver band with another tiny diamond on either side of it. She'd convinced him to get it from Kay jewelers because she thought their motto ("Every kiss begins with Kay,") was, "beyond adorable, deserving major props and not for a moment to be passed up for Zales or People's or Tiffany's or any other sort of store dealing with diamonds and likesuch designs!"

He waited until dessert. She ordered crème brûlée, he ordered strawberry mousse, and they were sharing both. It came to a point where she was giggling and he was chuckling and he paused, leaned over, and kissed a bit of whipped cream off her chin.

"You know what would make this night even better?" he asked her.

"What?" she replied, a little breathless.

He pulled out the case, popped it open and held out to her the ring – "If you married me."

"Oh my gosh!"

Her hands clapped to her mouth, but they couldn't hide the smile that seemed to be growing bigger and bigger and bigger.

"I know one of us would have to relocate," Morgan continued at a rapid speed, so afraid of things going wrong that he felt the need to explain it all out, "And one of us would have to find a new job. But we'd work things out. It'd be worth it. This thing between us, I felt it from the very beginning. I –"

"Derek," Annabel stopped him, looking into his eyes and bring her hands down from her mouth to show off the full extent of her smile, "Stop talking. Put the ring on my finger."

She paused, then smiled more, if that were possible.

"My answer is yes."

[XYZ]

So Brian Matloff's story had a solid conclusion. And now Derek Morgan's did too.

Everything was looking good. He had a job he loved. A fiancée he loved. A soon-to-be-step-niece whom he loved. Friends he loved. He had a life he loved.

His story went like this:

His father had been shot. He'd been molested. He'd become a cop, worked his way up to FBI. He had been unit chief at one point, and then stepped down so the rightful man could own it once more. He had a fiancée.

And unlike Matloff, he was going to live happily ever after.

"How does the Meadow flower its bloom unfold? Because the lovely little flower is free down to its root, and in that freedom, bold." ~ William Wordsworth

~~~ Short and sweet and I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading! :) ~~~