Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to Richelle Mead.

The original content, ideas and intellectual property of this story are owned by Ms. Belikov. Please do not copy, reproduce, or translate without express written permission.

A/N: This is the last chapter! There will be NO SEQUEL :( I would be lying if I said I wasn't sad to see this story go. But I am glad to be moving on to work on my other stories and possibly future ones I might create. I had a blast writing this story, and I'm so happy that you guys had a blast reading it! I want to thank everyone who has read/reviewed/favorited/alerted this story, it means the world to me and I couldn't have finished this fic if it wasn't for all of you!

~Bree

4 years later…

RPOV:

"Niko! Getcha booty back here and clean up this mess!" I hollered. "Don't make me get your father up here."

"Whoa! Whoa, mom. No need to pull out the big guns." The closet door opened and my daughter came out, dressed in her one piece red, white, and blue bathing suit and flip flops.

Instantly, my heart and anger melted at the sight of her. Not that I was biased or anything, but my daughter was a true beauty. Nikolia had inherited the same intense, bottomless eyes from her father. Her hair was outrageous, too. So thick and long and curly. And her face? Forget about it.

"Where were you hiding?" I asked, kicking back into mom mode.

"In the closet," she giggled, but her face dropped when I shot her a murderous look. "Don't worry, though. I didn't mess up your clothes, mommy."

"Good. Now clean up your Lego's." I said. "You can come down when you're done."

Downstairs, I rummaged through the fridge for a soda and had to laugh as I overheard Darius's conversation with his children.

"See, my sons. When you're getting down to business with a female, you want to know what you're doing so she doesn't look at you like you're stupid and you don't get embarrassed. I'm going to teach you a few crucial keys to succeeding in life." Darius paused. "Number one: Unfastening a bra. You've got to use these three fingers right here—no, son, these three. There you go. Now, this only works for bras that unlock in the back. If you've got a woman with one in the front, you're on your own. Now, I'm going to show you what I call The Twist. It's how I got your mommy's bra undone, and how ultimately, it led to your conceiving—"

"All right," Mia fought off her giggles. "Isaac and Lucas are three, babe. This talk is about fifteen years short."

"I only want our sons prepared for the world."

Rolling my eyes, I pushed the kitchen doors open. "Oh, look at you three." I grinned at Darius and his identical twin boys in their star shorts. "You are matching."

"Just trying to be patriotic." Darius draped an arm over Mia's shoulder. "I tried to get ma' wife to dress as the Statue of Liberty—I even bought her the costume. But she refused."

"Imagine that. It's a hundred and four degrees out and she doesn't want to be covered in robes and a big hat." I said.

"I'm not saying that I mind," his eyes traveled over her bikini-clad body. "This is actually a lot better—"

Mia put a hand over his mouth. "I'm going to stop you right there, because I'm positive you were going to lead to something extremely inappropriate."

"You know me too well, Tesoro."

I picked up Issac when he tapped my leg. He smiled brilliantly at me and kissed my cheek. "You look boo-ti-full, Aunty Rose."

"Well, aren't you a charmer. Thank you, sweetie." I ruffled his black hair. "Hey! Nikolia! Are you coming down?"

"Sheesh. Don't have a cow, mom." my daughter descended the grand stair case.

I gave her the evil eye. "You need to stop talking to me like that."

Nikolia pressed her hands together and smile angelically, batting her long eyelashes.

I snorted. "That may work on your father. But not on me. Now, let's go enjoy our Fourth of July."

Outside, the kids—and Darius—eagerly enjoyed the swimming pool while Mia and I sunbathed and sipped our strawberry daiquiris'.

"Cannonball!" Darius boomed, springing off the diving board, flipping gracefully in the air, and dropping into the pool, creating a massive splash that sent huge waves crashing in the water.

Nikolia, Isaac, and Lucas fought against the waves, laughing their butts off. Thankfully, they were great swimmers and used the extra added fun to their advantage.

"Dun-duh…dun-duh…dun-duh…dun-duh…" Darius hummed the Jaws theme song.

"Daddy is a shark!" Lucas yelled as Darius pursued him.

Mia and I laughed as we watched the kids scramble and scream to get away from Darius.

"He really is a child at heart, isn't he?"

Mia straightened her sun hat and big oval glasses. "You bet'cha."

I took a sip from my drink and nearly chocked on it as Darius held Isaac high in the air, made a dramatic fierce expression, and roared in victory.

"Did you ever think you'd end up here?" Mia asked, face heartbreakingly fond and loving as she stared at her husband and their children.

Dimitri came out of the mansion, body and face amazing as ever. Nikolia hopped out of the pool and ran over to her father. "Daddy!" she screamed. My husband picked Nikolia up and twirled her around in the air, getting that affectionate and tender glint in his eyes that only his daughter could bring out.

After giving her a kiss to the cheek, he gently lowered her in the water and glided towards me. Dimitri's smile was sly and slightly predatory as he slipped a bottle of tanning oil out of his swimming trunks and poured some in his palms, rubbing them together, preparing them for my skin.

"No, I didn't." I told Mia with a smile as Dimitri leaned down to give me a lingering kiss. "But I can't see myself anywhere else."