A/N: I don't own what you recognize. I hope you enjoy this! Thanks for all of the reviews.

June flew by us in a flash. Elinor started crawling towards the end of the month, which left George and I scrambling frantically to baby-proof our new house. My little baby was starting to grow up. "She's only eight months old," George told me blandly when I complained one evening.

"But she's becoming more independent," I sighed.

He looked at me. "Are you telling me that you really want to go back to living with your parents?"

"What do you mean?"

George smiled. "You're sad because Elinor is becoming more independent from us, and that is hard to see. But it's also part of the natural flow of life. You used to need your parents for everything, but you grew up. You don't need them to feed you anymore. To be honest, you don't really need anything in the way of material goods from them anymore. You gradually became more and more independent, and now Elinor is doing that. You wouldn't want to undo your own independence, would you?"

I looked up into his blue-green eyes and shook my head. "When you put it like that, I'm glad that she's growing up."

Hannah contacted me about two weeks before my wedding claiming that she "desperately" needed to talk to me. I knew from George, who was still speaking to West, that Hannah and Hattie had fallen out. "Everyone's a mess," George had sighed one afternoon. "Except for me, I'm not a mess."

I looked at him. "Are you calling me a mess?"

"No," he said. "You're not a mess either. Everyone else is a mess though. We're lucky that we're us."

I shook my head. "You're ridiculous."

George shrugged. "It happens to the best of us, but in my case, I think that it stems from my relationship with you. I was perfectly normal before you were born."

I snorted. "You were a little boy. You probably ate worms and dirt. That is not normal."

"I was a British little boy. I ate only noble worms and aristocratic dirt."

I laughed. "Be serious now, George. Should I meet with Hannah?"

"If you want," he replied. "It's up to you. She's been your friend for years, but she hasn't been a good friend to you of late. If you want to continue that friendship, that's your choice."

"I have to give her a chance."

"Em, you've given her dozens of chances. You've been too kind to her. She's been awful to you. No one would look down on you if you walked away from the friendship."

"But we've been friends forever."

"It's your decision. I'm still friends with West."

I sighed and looked up at my husband. "I just don't want to lose one of my oldest friends over something stupid like Paul."

"But is Hannah willing to see things your way?"

"I don't know," I replied flatly. "But she said that this is desperate, so I want to know what's going on."

"Then go and talk to her. It can't kill you."

George was right. Meeting with Hannah couldn't kill me. But the things that I learned over lunch that day startled me.

We met at Hannah's house because she didn't want to have the conversation we "needed" to have in public. I brought Elinor along because Hannah was begging to see my daughter. And Hannah was thrilled to see my little darling. "She is so cute," my friend enthused when she greeted us at the door. "She looks just like you. If I didn't know better, I'd say that she's just your clone and there's no father involved at all."

I laughed as I followed her into the house. "George says that she acts just like I did at that age. He says that she's just my perfect little mini-me."

Hannah beamed. "You know, I'm glad that you and George ended up together. He really is the best possible guy for you. I always wanted you to marry Paul because he's my husband's brother and I wanted us to be related. But over the past few months, I've realized that Paul isn't what I wanted him to be, and I shouldn't have kept shoving him in your face even when you had made it unavoidably clear that you had chosen George."

I looked at her. "Do you understand what it did to me when you kept shoving Paul at me even when both of us had told you that we didn't want to be together?"

"I thought I was helping!" she protested as we reached the living room. I sat down on the seat nearest the door. I wasn't entirely sure that I trusted her.

"And instead, you hurt me over and over again."

Hannah sighed. "I know that now. I know that I should have listened to you. And I shouldn't have pushed Hattie towards him. I should have listened to my friends instead of trying to control the situation."

"Is that an apology?" I asked as I adjusted Elinor on my lap.

Hannah blushed and looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry about what I did. I was wrong, and you were right. Are you happy now?"

I nodded. "I am. But that's more because of the life that George has given me than because of your apology."

"You really love him, don't you?"

I looked at her firmly. "I think I always have. I think that I've known for years that he was exactly what I wanted, but I never really realized what I knew until last summer."

"And you're happy with him."

"Completely," I replied. "He is able to be the kind of husband and father that Paul never could be."

"I wish I could have seen that sooner."

I shrugged. "What's done is done. I forgive you, and I still want to be your friend. But," I cautioned seeing the enthusiastic grin on my friend's face. "I need you to trust my opinions. Don't try to control my life or tell me what to do. That didn't work as well as you thought it would."

"Of course," Hannah said quickly. She looked at me with an odd expression on her face, as if she didn't know what to do. She seemed almost lost.

"So what was so important that you had to talk to me in private?" I asked her, deciding that I ought to simply cut to the chase.

My friend bit her lip. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

Hannah looked around the room, almost as if she was trying to avoid my eyes. After a quick intake of breath, she asked an odd question. "Have you heard about the new professor in the English department at Michigan?"

"You mean have I heard about the new professor in my department?" I queried. "Of course, her name is Jane Fairfax. Her office is right by mine. I've met her in passing once or twice. She seems sweet."

"And you probably know that she got her doctorate at UNC, which is where Paul also got his doctorate."

I nodded. "Yeah, I heard that. But Paul finished his a few years back, and his is in chemistry, so it's not terribly likely that they would have known each other."

Hannah sighed. "But they did. Or they do. They know each other."

"Okay," I said softly. "So they knew each other. What's the big deal?"

"They're married," she spat out as if those words were a disgusting food she couldn't bear to have in her mouth anymore.

"They're married?" I repeated. "Paul is married to Jane Fairfax?"

"And they've been married for five years."

I raised my eyebrows and unintentionally tightened my grip on Elinor. "Paul Churchill has been married for five years?"

Hannah nodded.

"And he was married the whole time I was dating him?"

She nodded again.

"And he was married when I got pregnant with his baby and he rejected me?"

A third nod came from Hannah.

"Doesn't she have a baby?" I asked. "I think she said he was about three. His name is Oliver?"

"Oliver Paul Churchill," Hannah said softly. "He's Paul's son. Now you see why I feel so terrible about all of this. I pushed you two together and he was married the whole time. And he had a kid. I feel terrible about making you the other woman."

I wasn't completely paying attention to her. "He told me that he never wanted kids. He told me that he hated kids. He told me that babies were disgusting. And he had a baby the whole time. He just didn't want to make a commitment to me."

"They had to be apart while she was finishing her doctorate. Michigan was the only school that offered him a tenure-track professorship, so he had to come here. But Jane had to stay at UNC to finish up her doctorate. So they decided to live apart until she finished her doctorate. And then they would do everything they could to live in the same place once she was done so that they could live together as a married couple. But they lived apart for most of the past three years. She's been almost completely on her own with Oliver."

"And he's been dating other women, claiming to be unattached. Does she know about that?"

"I don't know," Hannah said. "I don't know what he's told her. All I know is what they told West and me about two days ago when they came over for dinner. I figured she was just his new girlfriend, but then they told us that they were married and they introduced us to their son, Oliver. It was overwhelming. I was so shocked that I didn't know what to say or how to ask him about his relationships with you and with Hattie."

"He was a married man who was dating other women."

"I know that it's awful. And I'm so sorry."

"He never told West? He didn't tell his own brother?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Paul said that his parents would have approved of them being married while living apart, so they decided to keep it secret. I suspect that his parents probably wouldn't have liked it or agreed with it. But I don't see the point in lying to everyone. He lied to his parents, to us, to you, to so many people."

"He's a scumbag," I said, flatly. "That's all I can say about him in front of my daughter. He's a scumbag."

Hannah smiled slightly. "I'm really sorry, Emma. I wish that I had known. I wish I could have helped you."

I shook my head. "How could you have known? I mean, okay, he was the wrong guy for me, and you shouldn't have pushed him at me. I can see that. But how could you have known that he was married and that he had a kid already? He was lying to everyone. You couldn't have known. It's not your fault."

She still looked distressed. "West and I just feel so bad about it. We wish we could have protected you."

"I appreciate that, but you didn't know. You couldn't have. And George took care of me and of Elinor when the time came for that." I kissed the top of my daughter's head. "George took wonderful care of both of us."

"You're so lucky to have him, Emma. I hope you know that."

I smiled. "I know. I wonder how I got so much to have someone like him love someone like me."

"Paul Churchill is married," George said flatly. "Paul Fucking Churchill who told you that he didn't want kids and didn't want to get married; he's married and has a kid?"

I nodded.

"There is something seriously wrong with this world," my husband sighed. "That jerk can get any girl he wants even after he got married, and I had to sit by and watch him mess with my best friend with no hope of ever actually getting the girl I wanted."

"What?" I asked. "What did you just say?"

"Paul was married, and he still managed to win first your heart and then Hattie's heart. And I know he's had other girlfriends besides the pair of you. He's been able to get any girl he wants with the snap of his fingers. And meanwhile, I sat by for nearly five years waiting for you to see me as something more than your best friend."

"You had a crush on me for five years?" I asked. "You were interested in me for five years before I got married?"

"Didn't you ever wonder why I was always single?" he asked gently. "Didn't you ever wonder why I hated Paul so much and why I was so willing to agree to our marriage pact?"

"I just figured it was because we were best friends." Even as I said that, I knew how lame it sounded.

"We were best friends," he replied. "But Emma, I wanted more. I've known that since you were twenty-four, when we both spent the summer at my parents' house. It was the first time that I'd properly spent time with you since you were a teenager. And I saw how much you had grown up and changed. You weren't my little sister anymore. You weren't the annoying little girl I'd watch grow up. You were a woman. And you were a smart, beautiful woman. You were funny and strong and good-hearted. After that summer, I knew that you were what I wanted."

I stared at me as if I was seeing him for the first time. So many things were making so much more sense as he spoke. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"I knew that you wouldn't listen to me. You were dating someone that summer. And then we were on opposite sides of the Atlantic for a few years. And then even when we moved in together, you always had someone. And I was just your old friend, your best friend. And I decided that had to be enough for me. I decided to fit myself into whatever hole was available in your life."

I stepped towards him and took his hands in mine. "Oh, George, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he replied, squeezing my hands. "Over the five years I spent waiting, I got to watch you become an incredible woman. I got to be your friend, and while that wasn't always the happiest thing, it worked. The waiting sucked at times, and I hated Paul like I have never hated anyone in my life. But now, I have you and Elinor."

"I just wish I had known sooner."

"But you fell in love with me naturally. It wasn't out of guilt or a feeling of obligation," he said. "Don't you see? That's what I wanted for you. I didn't want you to feel obligated to love me. Instead, you fell in love with me on your own."

"How did I get so lucky?" I asked.

"You were born under a dancing star," George said with a teasing glint in his eye.

I kissed him. "You are ridiculous, George Knightley."

"And you love it, Emma Clare Knightley."

"All the days of my life," I replied firmly before kissing him again.

We celebrated our marriage on a hot July day, the Saturday of the hottest week of the year. I wore a knee-length strapless gold/cream lace dress with gold flip-flops while George wore beige dress pants and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. And he complained that was too warm for the day. He was probably right, but he didn't change clothes. And he looked so handsome.

"You two really are perfect for one another," Betsy told us.

"And I'm really lucky to have him," I told her.

"We're both really lucky to have one another," George said.

"I know I told you this before," Hannah told me. "But I was wrong about so many things. I'm so glad that you two finally found your way to one another."

"Do you know how things are going with Paul and his wife?" George asked.

"West accidentally let a few things slip in front of Jane," Hannah admitted. "And it might not have been as accidentally as he might want his brother to believe."

"So she knows about his extracurricular relationships?" I asked.

Hannah nodded. "And I don't know how things are going to work out for them, but I think that Paul is finally being forced to face the music. I wouldn't be surprised if he finds himself as single as he was pretending to be."

"Poor thing," I said sarcastically.

"I suppose," George said lightly. "Sometimes things work out just the way that they ought to. Sometimes, the good do end well, and the bad really do end badly."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Things could not have ended better for me than they have."

"I love you," he replied. "I could not have imagined a better ending to our silly marriage pact."

"The best but most ridiculous decision of our lives," I said.

"The pact and Elinor brought us together."

"Then, I'd like to propose a toast to your stupid marriage pact and to your wonderful daughter, " Mark Williamson said. "Without those two, we never would have made it to where we are today."

"Hear, hear," Betsy said. "That's a toast I'll gladly second. Congratulations to all three of you."

"May you have many happy and healthy years together," Mark continued. "And may you always be surrounded by loving family and friends."

"I'll drink to that," George said. Then he took a sip from my glass as I took a sip from his. Then he kissed the top of Elinor's head, and she giggled, reaching out for him. He took her in his arms and kissed her head again. Then, he kissed me.

After we pulled apart, I looked into his green-gray eyes and smiled. "I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you."

A/N: Please review! This is the end except for an epilogue, which should be posted in the next week or two.