AN: So much to say, so little time as you all probably want to start reading, but i think it's only fair that I thank all you wonderful readers and reviewers! This has been my ultimate favorite to write and I am glad some enjoyed it. However, I finished this last chapter weeks ago but was reluctant in posting because I did not want it to end, so thanks to those who persuaded me to get over myself, you know you are! For the last time -Enjoy!

Epilogue

Her eyes gazed over the white dress that skimmed along her body, her skin radiated in the sunlight through the bedroom window and her eyes distinctively landed on the small, barely visible baby bump along her attire. If someone had told her a year ago, that this was her life, she would have laughed and referred to it as being impossible.

Now two months pregnant with their first child, it was still on the down low, hardly noticeable with her still slim body but the only ones privy to it were members of their personal relatives.

Her attention was grasped as Will's mother in all her beauty walked into the room, holding a diamond pin in her hand. "I found it!" she exclaimed.

Seating herself in front of the mirror, Nora played with finalising the final details of Alicia's hair before staring at her through the mirror. "This was Will's grandmothers, I want you to keep it."

She shook her head, "I can't…"

"Yes you can." She stated sternly, pinning the small token in the edge of Alicia's tight bun, she smiled. "Something old, something blue and something new."

It had been a month after the day she chose Will, the day she allowed her fiancé to leave without a glance back and the day where she finally allowed herself to enjoy life with the man she loved. She had fitted right back into Chicago, and applied for a job for a law firm not far from the main city, her résumé was large of course, she had been expected to apply at a top notch law firm much like her fathers, but that wasn't much of her covet at the moment; the ethics of the ties between her boyfriend and her father in that firm were too far stretched, she refused to be judged under her name and so politely declined her father's invitation and searched otherwise.

Working on Mondays though meant long hours, and she usually arrived home later than Will. The scent of his cooking hit her nostrils the moment she slipped out of the car. She couldn't wait to slip out of her tight black dress and heels into Will's favourite outfit of hers, jeans and another one of his hoodies. Her heels clicked against the porch as she made her way towards the door, the dim lights inside the large antique house radiated, and the warmth of it hit her skin. She set her briefcase down once she entered, and began to unbutton her coat.

"Hey Will? You'll never guess who I saw today at work, you remember Kylie from school? The one who was in our biology class…." As she rounded the corner, she could see him from a far as he stared at her through the corner, the sight of his face, which wore a look of warning, horror and a hint of happiness alarmed her. She furrowed her brow and allowed her heels to echo the entire house as she made her way towards him. The moment she rounded towards the kitchen, she understood –clear as day- his anxiety.

His family, -mother and sisters, stood in the kitchen, complete and utter shock waving across their features as their eyes met hers. It was obvious that they weren't under the knowledge that she was back in town, nor did they have any idea she and Will were together again. The three pair of eyes surveyed her, from head to toe whilst her heartbeat began to thicken. Three seconds of silence passed, until Sara muttered "Oh my god."

Alicia's gaze met Will's briefly, and watched as he swallowed tensely before allowing his gaze to return back to the three woman. He seemed hesitant, visibly shaking actually, but spoke. "You guys remember Leesh?..."

Aubrey smiled, brightly. "Remember?" she gaped, "Of course we do!" She launched forward and bolted forth, wrapping her arms around Alicia causing her to stumble lightly on her feet. Alicia smiled softly and patted Aubrey's back, pulling away, she gazed over her. "Look at you!" she smiled, "All grown up!"

Alicia was tall now, so much more taller than before, and so Aubrey's height just ended below Alicia's shoulder length as the youngest of Will's sisters stared up at her. "Wow Leesh!" Aubrey said, "You've really changed."

"Is that a good thing?"

"I think it is," she nodded. "But you look really really different." She allowed her eyes to overtake her once again before adding, "and pretty."

"Not as pretty as you princess." She played with her hair. "I always said your hair would look amazing natural."

"not all natural" Sara said, walking towards them. "She went through a Goth period several years ago, died her hair all sorts of colors."

Alicia smiled lightly, before allowing herself to wrap her arms around the older sibling of Will's. "My little brother never mentioned to us that you two were…." She failed to continue as she pulled back.

Alicia laughed lightly as she made eye contact with Will for a brief moment. "It's only just recent." She responded.

"Well," Nora spoke up, "I'm glad we decided to visit."

It wasn't hard to see that she seemed a little disappointed in the fact that they had failed to inform her on the new piece of information, but overall, her features wore relief, both for her son and herself. Walking over, Alicia smiled and returned the hug, she had forgotten how fond Will's mother was of hugs, and how warm the embrace seemed to be.

Once the three woman had descended off into the dining room to set the table –all anticipating a firm explanation – she smiled at Will as she made her way to him, and pressed her lips against his cheek. His warm hand slid around her waist as he allowed himself to entwine her lips with his. She felt him smile into the kiss, and pulled back to gaze into his eyes. "Hey baby, Dinner smells good."

He hummed in agreement and kissed the tip of her nose, "Not as good as you do."

She laughed and pressed her lips against his once again, too enamoured by the warmth of their bodies closed in together, they hadn't heard Sara walk in. She protested immediately."Oh god! You guys are still the same!"

Her attention was drawn back to the sound of Sara and Aubrey giggling among the staircase, her eyes gazed to her mother through the mirror who sat on the edge of the bed, Veronica had a few tears streaming down her face, trying desperately to refrain from ruining her mascara. Alicia stood up from her seat just in time to see Sara and Aubrey walk in.

Once their eyes landed on her, Aubrey gaped and Sara's eyes widened in amazement. "Oh leesh, you look beautiful."

She smiled before resting her gaze on the door, "You ready?" Nora asked. Nodding her head, she gestured for them to head out. "I'll be down in a minute, I need a moment with dad." The four woman nodded understandably and descended out of the room, her father sat in the hall outside her bedroom, nervous with sweat beading on his forehead, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

The moment he walked in, she smiled and gradually walked towards him. They had grown so much more closer in the last five months, Will had convinced her to overlook the past and focus on the future, she still had her differences with her parents, and she still fought to challenge their opinions, but since rekindling her life with the man she loved, he had convinced her to accept her parents for who they were, what they did, and how they chose to live their life.

He smiled down at her, his breath caught in his throat and handed her the flowers. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and allowed herself to savour the moment.

"I'm really proud of you sweetheart." He whispered in her ear, she couldn't deny the tears that brimmed in her eyes.

Will

His heart began to race so much more faster than he had ever experienced, standing out next to the lake with his family and extended friends seated in the area, he slipped his hands into his pockets and jumped on his toes. As soon as his eyes rested on his mothers, who wore the same knowing, stern look as she pointed towards his pockets, he immediately pulled them out and rolled his eyes grinning.

It was happening, there was no going back now, it was much of a small wedding, they were both reluctant in having the large, oversized and ostentatious one, so they went for small, beside the lake with the reception held inside. They weren't interested in making a big deal out of it, they wanted to get married, that was all they desired, nothing supplementary and he felt more of the same, though he would have went for otherwise if that was what she desired, he would have taken her as well as their family to mount Everest under Alicia's request.

The past five months had been no less than amazing, they had their ups and downs, disagreements and challengers much like a decade ago, but one thing they both had in common –which was their main pivoting point- was that they loved each other endlessly, their love ran deep, none of it could be broken, it was similar to a brick wall, and they couldn't be away from each other no less than seven hours before the need to rush back home from work and hold each other once again. That was enough to prove to him that everything they had been through and would go through, was worth it.

As the music began to play, his breathing kicked up a notch, and the moment he saw Emily make her way down the trail followed by Liz, he knew there was no going back and he couldn't deny that once the moment Alicia emerged, with her father by her side, his heart stopped for a good three seconds.

She was breath-taking, every doubt he had in his mind was discarded in the matter of a half a second, left in a pile of dust. Her dress was a halter neck, which accentuated her perfect collarbones, and the rest of the dress skimmed across her body perfectly, bright and eloquent, with pods of shiny material placed above the chest area. He could only see from a far the back of her dress was bear, the silky material of the gown flowed up her body from the back but ended just above her bottom, displaying her spine and the white ribbon that tied the dress on the back of her neck. Her hair was tied in a bun, silky curls hanging behind her ears and her green eyes radiated.

What had caught his attention the most though, was of course her belly, it was hardly noticeable that there was an actual human being growing inside, nor could he believe it himself, but as he gazed deeper, he could see the small bump. There was never a moment he doubted his love towards her, loving her was like breathing for him as well, it just came natural, he couldn't imagine a time where he didn't, and in this moment, he wanted her above all else.

His gaze rested on her from a far, it was late at night, and she had arrived to the firm to pick him up, though he ended stuck in the conference room with Diane and another one of their clients. She sat in her father's office on the couch, tapping her finger against her knee as she stared off into space. David was talking to her from his desk, though Will could see that she wasn't paying any attention as her gaze rested on the ground. She was beautiful at night, the moon through her father's office window reflected back on her skin, he still had to get used to this sight, two months after she had officially settled back into Chicago, it was still sinking into him that this was his life now.

He wondered if her odd behaviour had anything to do with their discussions in the last couple of weeks, Sara had just recently married, and after the wedding, he had asked her out of the blue, if one day, they could possibly have the same thing, she had naturally smiled, kissed his cheek and whispered 'of course'. Afterwards, they had talked about it, mostly in bed at night, but were reluctant to make the actual step, though he knew that one day it would definitely happen.

He sighed once the meeting was over, and immediately picked up his briefcase. "Heading home?" Diane asked.

"Yea, I think Alicia's pissed." Diane laughed in response. Making his way down the hall, he walked into David's office and grasped her attention by pressing a soft kiss against her cheek. "Sorry for the wait, I promise not to let it happen again."

She smiled lightly, her attention still detected someplace else and stood up. "Bye dad," she waved out to him.

"Bye sweetheart." He responded,

"I'll see you tomorrow." He saluted a nod to his colleague and father in-law before following her footsteps, as he reached her side, she allowed him to entwine his hand with hers. He assumed it was a good thing, though he couldn't deny that even when she waved to Kalinda and Diane, she seemed to be in a totally different universe.

His gaze rested on her for the tenth time that night as he drove them home, he ran circles along the palm of her hand as she had hers entwined with his. Her attention had been focused outside the window for the last five minutes.

"Hey Leesh?" he said softly, he received no response, and brought her hand up to his lips.

"Leesh, I know you're pissed, but I can't help it if my client is a pain, I promise, I'll make it up to you." He said softly.

"I'm late." She blurted out, her gaze still focused outside the window.

He furrowed his brow confused, "Late? Late for what?" he wondered if there was an event, or a place she had to attend that had been discarded under his busy schedule. He refused to be one of those men that put his and his career before his girlfriend. Before he could continue though, she interrupted.

"Late for my period."

His brows clicked into place, and it all suddenly became clear to him, by now, he could feel her gaze on him as he turned his towards the road. .Period. That could mean anything right? He rebuffed the need to raise his hopes, it could only be a false positive.

"How late?" he was surprised himself to see how calm he was at the moment.

"Three weeks."

Three weeks. That definitely was not a false positive. Unless there was something physically wrong with her abdominal system which was highly unlikely.

"Should we maybe buy a pregnancy test then?"

"I already purchased one, before I came in earlier."

"Good.." he nodded to himself, "good."

"Should we try it when we get home?" she asked hesitantly, as he glanced over at her, he noticed for the first time a wave of anxiety and horror mixed through her features, she held his hand tight, to the point where it was starting to leave bruises.

Pulling the car over to the side of the road, he switched the gear into park and gradually cupped her face and brought his lips to hers. The kiss was soft and reassuring, he placed his hand on hers and smiled. "Whatever the outcome is, we'll be fine okay? No need to worry."

"Promise?" she whispered, he enjoyed moments like these, when she was completely vulnerable in his arms and open just for him. He nodded, and kissed away the tears, smothered her entire face with them and enjoyed the smile that appeared once again on her face.

As soon as they reached the house, she made her way onto the porch and allowed herself to open the door into her home, it always warmed his heart to see her become so accustomed to this place.

She held his hand tightly as she sat on the bathroom sink, the test faced downwards, Will's arms were wrapped around her as they waited for the minutes to pass.

"I don't wanna be like my parents Will." She whispered, gazing down at her, he furrowed his brows.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm scared." She said, "What if I end up like my mother?" It was difficult for him to understand where she was coming from, but he understood it, Veronica was a great mother, but he understood the differences, and that she often chose her happiness above all else.

He shook his head, firmly. "You won't."

"How do you know that?" she whispered,

"Because, we're not our parents Leesh, I love my father but I'd hate myself if I turned out like him. I know, for certain, that you're going to be a great mother, you have it in your heart."

"It might be false though."

"We can only know if we look at the test." Grasping the small stick, she nodded in agreement and they both let their gazes fall on the two lines that played, visibly, along the icon.

Two lines.

Standing before him, her eyes never left his and she tried to stifle a laugh as she witnessed a few tears spill down his cheeks, though she couldn't deny that her own were probably worse.

His vows had only increased the tears though, his words were memorable, he talked, briefly, about how much his life had changed since he met her, how much she had made him a better man in high school; that she was the reason he had grown so fast out of his teenage years, and that she was his first love, he talked about the moment she had walked back into his life and that she was already engaged to another man, though the loss of time during the years hadn't decreased his love towards her. He talked about how much of a pain she was, and that she frustrated him to the point of no return, but ultimately wouldn't have it any other way.

She cleared her throat before allowing herself to voice the words that she had so nervously been playing out in her mind for what felt like years.

"My love. You weren't what I had expected when we met, you were polite, and we had grown close afterwards, I remember when you carried me home drunk, it was then I realised I could trust you no matter what. There aren't words to describe how truly fortunate I am to have you in my life Will, I fell in love with you because you were the sweetest boy I had ever met, you were there in all the good times as well as the bad, and you never gave up us, even when I repeatedly pushed you away, you were there. Allowing our bad timing to interfere between us was the biggest mistake I had ever made, but then again, there's always an advantage to it; it gave us a chance to experience life without one another, and ten years is a long time, but I think if it were the alternative, we wouldn't have lasted." She laughed through her on-going tears. "I'm glad it has worked out this way, because now, we know how it feels to live without each other, and we now know how to avoid it. You were my first love, and I value you in my life above all else, I will love and cherish you forever, till death do us part, for richer or poorer, I will always be by your side, support and love you unconditionally. If life has taught me anything, it's that the road is never easy, but you mean more to me than my own life, and that element outweighs everything."

By now, the tears were on-going, and she was sure she could vaguely hear light sniffles coming from the crowed, but her attention seemed to focus, fully and only on him. She couldn't deny or ignore the light tear that escaped his eye and fell on his collar. He brought his hand up to wipe the tears off her cheeks and she took it as an advantage to brush up against his hand.

She had two rings, and there was a purpose to it. One was her own wedding ring, which Will had brought with a ridiculous amount of money, it was an oval designed antique model, with pods of delicate small diamonds were placed inside the small oval with a simple silver band that fitted her finger perfectly. The other, sat perfectly on her outside, pinkie finger, and there was a reason to her persistence on wearing it for this small occasion, only Will understood it, and he admired, cherished the fact that she had kept it for all these years.

They sat under the same tree with their –still- carved initials from over a decade ago. It was his suggestion they travel out here for a picnic at-least once a month, and she agreed to it of course without much hesitation. The wedding planning was still on-going and both Veronica and Nora seemed to be taking over, which was a relief for both of them. Her attention reared off the sky as a silver shine crossed her eye under the strong sun's reflection, she laid curled up in Will's arms as he held her ring in his finger, holding it up towards the sky for his eyes to take in its full form.

"I can't believe you kept it." He murmured.

"Before I left for Georgetown, I left it in my mother's jewellery box, I think she took the hint and stored it away. Last week, when she called, I asked her if she still had it, I received it in the post office at work yesterday."

"It still looks the same," he laughed, "There isn't a single scratch on it."

"Well, it hasn't been touched in over a decade."

The engraving of the word 'love' was still there, which meant more to her than any previous token of Will's, and her left finger may have outgrown it, but it refused to lessen the meaning behind it.

"I remember the day you first gave it to me." She began again, "It was the day Liz told me she was pregnant with Emily."

"Things happen for a reason right?" he grinned.

She kissed his jaw, "They definitely do."

"I remember the night before." He said, suddenly grinning foolishly as he entwined his hand with hers. "It was our first time."

She smiled into his neck as she cuddled into him and tried to stifle a giggle. "Yeah."

He brought her hand up to his lips as he guided her out to the dance-floor. Once they met in the middle, he intertwined his fingers with hers and rested the other on her waist, gazing into her green eyes, he smiled. "We're married."

She reached up to plant a kiss against his lips, "That's right. Forever."

"Forever is a long time." He chuckled,

"Not long enough."

THE END