A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews,follows, and favorites, I love you all! Here is the final chapter of Forever and Always, I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans
Chapter 62: Epilogue
*5 years later
"Mommy! Wake up! Wake up! It's time for school!", Mar'i yells as she jumps on the bed.
I groan, "Ugh Richard your daughter needs you to help her get ready", I groan and pull the blanket over my head.
"She's your daughter in the morning", Richard protest and puts a pillow over his head.
"School! School! Get up mommy!", Mar'i yells and begins hitting my shoulder.
I groan, "Alright, I'm up", I say and sit up in bed.
I get out of bed and pick Mar'i up, "Are you excited for your first day of kindergarten?" I ask.
"Yes! its gunna be so much fun, mommy", Mar'i says.
I help Mar'i brush her teeth and give her a bath; I wrap her in her towel and carry her to her room.
"I picked out my own clothes today", Mar'i says proudly.
I smile, "I see", I say as I notice the fairy princess outfit placed neatly on her bed.
"You did a great job sweetie, but you can't dress up as a fairy princess on your first day of school", I say.
Mar'i frowns, "Why not?" she asks.
"Because this is your Halloween costume and it's not Halloween yet sweetie", I say.
"Fine", Mar'i pouts.
"Hey stop that pouting missy", I say and tickle her sides and she giggles, "It's your first day of school", I say.
After 5 outfit changes, we finally settle on a pink and purple polka dot skit with purple leggings. Mar'i was insistent on wearing her purple tutu skirt. She so stubborn like her dad sometimes, It's cute. I brush her hair and clip a purple bow in her hair. As soon as I slip on her flats, Mar'i runs downstairs for breakfast. I take this time to take a quick shower and change into my hospital scrubs. I grab my bag and head downstairs
"Daddy, daddy, daddy!" she yells as she runs into the kitchen.
"Hi princess!" Richard says and he picks her up, "Don't you look pretty today", he says.
"Thank you daddy", Mar'i says and kisses his cheek as before Richard sits her down
"Morning beautiful", he says and gives me a kiss.
"Don't think I'm not still mad at you for not helping this morning", I say.
Richard grins, "Will zoraberry pancakes change your mind?" he ask.
I smile, "Maybe", I say and take a plate and sit at the kitchen table.
I notice Mar'i gobbling her food down, "Slow down and chew your food Mar'i", I say.
Richard joins us at the table and we all enjoy breakfast together. After breakfast, I help Richard clean the table and discus of plans for the day.
"I'll pick up Mar'i after work and then get some grocery dinner later", I say.
"Sounds good", Richard says, "I better get to the office", Richard says and grabs his briefcase.
"One last thing", Richard says and turns around to face me.
"What-", my sentence is cut off as his lips press to mine. The smell of his cologne fills my nose and his mouth taste like mint as I deepen the kiss.
I break away the kiss, "Do you really have to leave? I'm really turned on now", I say.
Richard grins and pulls me closer to him so that I can feel his erection, "You're not the only one", he says.
Mar'i comes running toward us, "let's go, It's time for school!" she yells and tries to push Richard leg out the door.
Richard laughs, "Alright alright, I'm leaving", he bends down and gives Mar'i a quick kiss on the forehead.
"Be good sweetie, I love you", Richard says and gives Mar'i a hug.
"I love you too daddy, now shoo", Mar'i says.
Richard stands back up and gives me a quick kiss, "Can't wait for tonight", he says in a whisper sending chills down my spine. He gives me one last wink before leaving for work.
"C'mon sweetie let's get you to school", I say.
"Finally!" Mar'i yells and I laugh.
"We're here", I say as I park the car and turn it off. I get out and open the back door. I unbuckle Mar'i from her seatbelt, I pick her up and g and sit her down on the ground, and I quickly grab her bag and lunchbox and shut the car door.
"Are you ready?" I say and grab her hand.
"Yep!" she says and skips excitedly next to me.
We walk up the steps and entire the school, I all the kindergarten classes lining up.
"There's my teacher!" Mar'i yells.
I realize that I still haven't let go of her hand, I kneel down, "Now you know you can call me our you dad if you need anything, I gave the teacher and the office all the emergency numbers", I say.
"Yes mommy", she says.
I hand her lunchbox, "I packed you an extra snack just in case", I say and give her a hug.
"I love you", I say.
"I love you too mommy", she says and I hug her tighter.
I finally let her go; Mar'i waves and blows me a kiss before running over to join the rest of her class.
I wipe my tears and wave back; I leave the school and pull out my phone. I get in the car and stair sadly at Mar'i now empty car seat. I crank the car up and start the drive to work. After Mar'i first birthday, I decided to go back to school and finish my degree. I was finally able to focus on school since Mar'i was a
bit older and that I didn't have any more enemies to worry about. Xavier had died in prison and Slade was killed in a drug deal gone wrong. Richard, Mar'i and I were finally able to live our lives in peace. I got my bachelor's degree and I was now working as an x-ray technician at Gotham Hospital.
"Hey babe", Richard answers on the first ring, "Did everything go ok with the school?" he asks.
"Yea everything went fine", I say and sniff.
"What's wrong?" Richard asks.
I sigh, "I didn't want to let her go, She hasn't even been gone for 10 minutes and I miss her already", I say.
"I know babe, I miss her too, and your mom said the first day will always be the hardest but it will get easier. Soon you'll be like Bruce, I swear the first day of school was a holiday for him", Richard says and I laugh.
"I'm at work now so I'll call you later", I say.
"Ok, I love you", Richard says.
"I love you too", I say and hang up the phone.
I walk to the radiology department of the physician's building and put my things in my locker and clip on my badge, I grab my patient chart and begin working.
I walk out to the waiting area, "Katie Jones", I say, A girl stands up and follows me to the back.
After about 6 patients, It's time for my lunch break; I clock out and grab my phone from my locker. I get a text from Rachel and decide to stop by and see her real quick.
"Hey Rachel", I say as I walk into the sonography part of the hospital.
"Hey Kori", Rachel says and rubs her 7-month pregnant belly, "When you were pregnant with Mar'i, how often did she kick?" she asks.
I sit down next to her, "I don't really remember an exact number but it was quite often, probably because you're having twins it feels like more", I say.
"These kids feel like they're doing karate in there", she says and I laugh.
"Where's Gar?" I ask.
"He went to get the camera, he wants to document every moment of the twins lives", she says.
"Richard was the same way, he turned every sonogram we got into a collage", I say.
Rachel laughs, "Why did we marry such idiots?" she asks.
"Because we love them", I say.
"I found it!" Gar yells as he walks into the waiting room, "Kori! What's up?" Gar asks and gives me a hug.
I giggle, "Hey Gar, and nothing I'm on my lunch break and just thought I would stop by and say hi", I say.
"Cool, did Rachel tell you we thought of names for the twins? I was thinking Gar Jr. for the boy and Rae Rae for the girl", Gar says.
I glance at Rachel, "Help me", she mouths and I laugh.
"Rachel Logan", the nurse calls.
"That's us", Gar says and presses the record button on the camera/
I help Rachel get up out of the chair and give her a hug, "I'll see you later this week, I know this great buffet we can go too and we can go shopping at Bee's new boutique her and Vic just got back from their honeymoon", I say.
"And this is why your my best friend", she says and I laugh.
I wave goodbye to Gar and Rachel and head toward the parking lot, I notice a familiar figure leaned up against my car holding a dozen roses, "Richard what are you doing here?" I ask.
Richard smiles, "Can't a husband surprise his wife for lunch?" he says and kisses me and I blush.
We eat and a local café and chat about our day, "I saw Rachel today", I say as I take a bit of my pasta.
"How she doing?" he asks.
"She's good, Gar is insistent on naming the twins Rae Rae and Gar Jr", I say.
Richard shakes his head, "I told him Rae Rae was a bad name", he says and I laugh.
After lunch Richard drops me back off at work, I stop by the nursing station to see Donna.
"Hey Kori, you look very chipper today", Donna says.
I smile, "Today was Mar'i first day of school, Richard knew I was still a bit sad so he took me out to lunch to cheer me up", I say.
"Aww that's so sweet! How's Mar'i doing?" she asks.
"Good, she was so happy to go to school this morning", I say and pull out my phone to show her the picture I took of Mar'i this morning.
"Aww she looks so cute! I love the tutu", Donna says, " I can't wait for me and Terry to have kids!", she says.
I laugh, "Me either", I say and check my watch, "Anyway I got to get back to work, I'll see you later Donna", I say.
"Kay, bye Kori", Donna says.
After a long day at work, it's finally time for me to get Mar'i for school. I drive to the school excitedly to see my baby.
I drive to the parent pick up/drop off area and get out the car. I glance around for Mar'i.
"MOMMY!" Mar'i yells and runs toward me.
"Mar'i!" I yell and spin her around in my arms.
"I missed you so much, how was your first day?" I ask as I buckle her in her car seat.
"It was so much fun mommy we did finger painting, and coloring—"Mar'i continues talking about her day excitedly.
I stop by the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner, as I check out and leave Mar'i notices a pet store nearby.
"Can we go please?" she asks and gives me a puppy dog stare.
I sigh, "I guess but let's put the groceries in the car first", I say.
After putting the groceries in the car, I take Mar'i hand as we walk in the pet store.
"Hello", one of the sales associates great us, "We having puppy adoptions today", he says.
"Oh no we are just looking", I say.
"Puppies!" Mar'i says and runs over to the cages.
"Mommy look at this one", Mar'i says and points to a small white poodle.
"Would you like to hold him?" the sales associate asks.
"Yes please", Mar'i says.
The sales associate opens the cage and carefully and hands the puppy to Mar'i.
"He's so cute!" Mar'i says and the puppy licks her face and she giggles, "Can we keep him?" she asks.
"I don't know.., he is awfully cute", I say, "I'm going to text your dad and see what he says"; I say and pull out my phone.
I sat down next to Mar'i and turn on my front face camera, "Remember that puppy dog pout I taught you? I want to send a picture like that to your dad", I say.
Mar'i and I both have matching puppy dog pouts for the camera; I take the photo and text it to Richard with the caption, 'Can we keep him?', and send it.
After a few seconds my phone buzzes,
'A puppy? Are you kidding me?' Richard's text reads.
I grin 'It would make us so happy', I text back and resend the picture.
My phone buzzes again, 'I hate when you use the puppy dog pout against me, it's not fair, get the puppy -_-, Richard's text reads.
I giggle, "Looks like we're getting the puppy", I say.
"Yay! I will call him Silkie", Mar'i says and Silkie licks her face in approval.
We finally reach home and Richard is their before us. At first he wasn't too happy about the puppy, but after a while he begins to warm up to Silkie.
Mar'i fills in Richard all about her first day of school while having a tea party as I start cooking dinner.
"Dinner's ready!" I yell as I place the lasagna on the table.
Mar'i comes running toward the table with Richard behind her.
"Nice tiara", I say and giggle.
Richard takes it off, "Mar'i instead I wear it, we were having a tea party with the queen", he says.
I sit down at the table and enjoy dinner with my family. After we finish eating, we all bake cookies and have another tea party with Mar'i.
"Alright Mar'i, it's time for bed", I say.
"But mommy, I'm not even tired", She says in between a yawn.
"I'm sure you not", Richard says and picks her up and carries her upstairs.
I walk upstairs with them and help Richard get Mar'i ready for bed, Richard reads her a bedtime story until she falls asleep.
"Goodnight princess", I say and kiss her forehead as we tuck her in. Silkie quickly runs in the room and curls up in the doggie bed in Mari's room.
Richard gently shuts the door; he reaches for my hand as we walk to our bedroom.
"I'm exhausted", I say.
"Me too, want some wine?" he asks.
"Sure", I say as Richard grabs a bottle from the wine cooler in our room and pours 2 glasses. He joins me on the balcony.
"Here's to family", he says.
"Cheers", I say and clink glasses with him.
I curl up next to him on the lounge chair and he starts rubbing small circles on my back.
I sigh, "This is nice", I say.
"It is", Richard says and kisses my forehead.
"Oh I got you something", I say and get up and walk back in the bedroom.
When I walk back to the balcony Richard is sitting up in the chair.
"Here", I say and hand the present to him.
Richard tears open the package; "Is this what I think it is?" he asks and smiles.
"Yep it's from our first day, It took me forever to find it and I had the frame made myself", I say.
"I love it", Richard says, "It seems like yesterday when you ran into my in the hallway", he says reminiscing about the first time we met, "I knew you were the one I wanted to be for the rest of my life", he says.
I smile, "And here we are almost 10 years later", I say.
Richard pulls me into his lap, "I'm looking forward to an eternity with you and Mar'i", he says.
I kiss him, "I love you", I say.
"I love you too", he says.
"Forever and Always", I say and kiss him again.
A/N: Soooo what do you think? I would like to thank all my readers for their never ending support! As this story ends a new one begins, my new story is up it's called Gotham Academy and I hope you enjoy this new story as much as you enjoyed this one. Once again, I thank you all for reviewing, following, and adding this story to your favorites, I love you all!
Happy Reading!-TriniPrincess