This particular ending was inspired by the ends of two of my favorite Harlequin romance novels, "The Snow-Kissed Bride" by Linda Goodnight as well as "The Earl's Forbidden Ward" by Bronwyn Scott. :) Chapter was also named after a song by one of my favorite country artists, Sara Evans. Enjoy the last of this great story. No regrets.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I Could Not Ask For More

They were married near the end of October that year, when the autumn leaves were falling, and the Temple of Love at the edge of the garden had been set up for the two of them, the pillars crawling with vines of roses of eye-catching beauty - deep velvety red striking silvery reverses amid lush, shimmering green foliage, drenching the air with the smell of their perfume. The trees around them shielded them with more protection than any mountains in the world, and the pond before the temple shimmered to the point of the gold of Midas under the cloudless sky. Who could ask for anything more than this very same place which was part of him and Iris?

Edward and Jervis were his best men in the trim-cut, black suits, and ties, given he hated the bowties, and crisp white shirts, which was the same thing he wore. A red rose with small black ribbons was pinned to their left breast pockets. And there were the bridesmaids, Alice and the near-the-end-of-her-pregnancy Joan, whose dress had been altered to fit her eight-month growth - in short, fun dresses of shimmering red satin with a peplum, all holding bouquets of wildflowers and irises in blues and yellows. Alice's hair was in a curled bun behind her head, and Joan's was in a curly ponytail.

Their guest list was limited to Drew and his family, Jim Gordon and his family, as well as Jim Farnsworth who had brought forth his beautiful bride to him. There were also Pamela and Harley, fresh out of Arkham together. The affair was to be kept intimate and between family and friends.

And there was Iris, his beautiful goddess he could very well associate with Artemis.

Her mother's dress had been remodeled to fit her style - much of the lace and crystals as well as the straps had been removed so that the silhouette was now fitted and flaring in a mermaid cut, black lace florals now covering the bodice and waist as well as the entire hem and train. For a fresh and fun look, her hair was in breezy and luscious curly locks of pure ebony flowing down her back, some over her shoulders, her forehead accented with a simple and graceful ruby circlet that adorned her forehead. Adding a touch of drama to the ensemble were the black onyx and Swarovski crystal chandelier earrings. The bouquet of blue irises in both hands was around a single glowing red rose with a heart so dark it was almost black, and the black diamond lotus waiting for its companion to be placed upon her finger. Last of all, there was the black diamond ring from her grandmother and the opal above her heart that he gave her so long ago, that she'd never taken off as long as they'd lived. He could prolong this moment forever, just looking at her.

"How long have we waited for this day?" she whispered to him.

"Long enough, my little flower." He never got tired of looking into those vivid sapphire eyes that matched his own, excited to spend the rest of his life always waking to them and them being the last thing he saw at night.

How did it all happen and they got to be here? He spent his entire life alone before he met her, never thought he could love a woman after what he went through - but then she walked into his life and washed away those fears altogether as he had erased hers, and now they were both free from years of pain and discouragement.

Her lips did not once tremble as she looked him on, speaking her vows. "Jonathan William Crane, you've always been the one man in my life who actually cared about me, who didn't treat me like a freak as everyone else in school did - or anyone else in general. You are the one man who ever loved me, who took me home all those years ago when I came to your office, barely conscious after what was done to me on campus grounds. You took care of me…kept me safe and protected me at all costs, and in return, I did the same for you after you lost everything you had at Arkham."

Jonathan's hand shook in hers as he smiled down at her, both pairs of eyes as blue as the Caribbean waters perfectly matched. His voice trembled only slightly. "Iris Mara DeLaine, I have never told you this often because you know it in the way I look at you and touch you…but I love you with every fiber of my being. I tremble with your beauty, your passion, your intelligence and wit…and your strength. As the years passed from the day you walked into my classroom, I watched as you grew from a lovely, terrified girl to a strong, beautiful woman who's a hundred times more than I ever could be."

As the last vow was taken by the wind to be heard by the whole world, the minister asked, "Please place the rings on each other's hands, to represent the love that you share."

The circle of marriage signifies what the Celtic Trinity knot does...eternity, no beginning, and absolutely no end… Jonathan's breath caught in his throat as he watched the simple silver band slide up her dainty finger to meet its more elaborate companion. After he received his own, the black steel, he was free to kiss the bride and complete the long circle they spun around for so long to get to this day which began the rest of their lives.

The reception had been set off on the other side of the bridge, near the pond itself, overlooking the Sunken Gardens across the dark, shimmering disk. Tables and chairs of simple black wood were covered with beautiful black-and-white damask print tablecloths with centerpieces of realistic-looking white tree branches draped with red roses and glittering crystals. The dishware was effortlessly chic, stylish black-banded with accents of platinum. And there was the cake, pure white with satiny black ribbons around the bases of each of the four tiers, scrolling with damask patterns in black frosting, and topped with red and white roses.

Since the guests were the first ones to enjoy themselves for the first portion of the time of the reception, the bride had time to change into her reception dress. Jonathan had wanted to "spend some time" with her in the bedroom before they went back out to the party, but they didn't have much time and didn't want to keep them waiting. Not to mention, early on in her pregnancy, Iris had been afraid she would lose the baby in the early trimester, so there had been limited intercourse to none, due to the small possibility that miscarriage was possible. But she was into the fourth month, and he missed "bonding" with her.

She left the bedroom and found him still standing outside, now in a cute, short black number with a V-neck and the same strappy heels. Her circlet was gone, letting her hair run wilder, but kept the other jewelry pieces. Smiling down at her, he held out his hand to her and led the way.

It took them a while to head down the terrace, and after taking a laughing stroll down the stairs of the Sunken Gardens until they reached the boat that took them across the pond, they announced their arrival that way to the guests, who cheered them on, and pretty soon the band Iris had hired to play for them began a song of Celtic influence and marital excitement for the bridal couple entering. Afterward, Now We Are Free was played in dedication to their first dance.

The rest of the dance was hard to describe as Jonathan had been lost in a haze as he spun his new wife around without going too hard on her and giving her sickness. But in the end, they were laughing it off with everyone else who'd joined in, except the others were too preoccupied with the fun that they didn't notice the new Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Crane sneak off and into the woods - not too far away from the party, though, in case anybody wondered where they were. Iris had been the one to lead them away.

"Iris, what -?" Jonathan laughed when she silenced him with a steamy lip-lock. "What's gotten into you? Our guests -"

"Won't need us for the next few minutes." Before he knew it, she was dropping her dress, starting from the shoulder straps and to the ground, leaving her clad in a black lace-over-creamy white lingerie set, her four-months growth protruding in the sexiest way he'd ever seen in his life. Already, he'd remembered just now - after having been too preoccupied with the fun and happiness of today to remember when they'd last made love. Now she wanted to do it out here, just distances away from the reception party, and out in open nature. Except the dense trees would surely hide them away from the public. Where was the harm in that?

The passion that had been hidden away for the past four months was unleashed from its cage like a wild beast ready to satiate its uncontrollable hunger. Jonathan's arousal flared within the confines of his trousers, and soon had himself and Iris on the ground beneath them, naked with their clothes neatly folded on a clean, grassy area beside them. Arms on either side of her shoulders, body slightly elevated so that he wasn't applying too much abdominal pressure against her baby bump - he would rather die than risk injury to both her and their child - he entered her slowly, gently as they'd gone for weeks without intimacy, and began to rock himself up and down, building them both up against the earth and beginning their "honeymoon" early.

~o~

A year and a half later…

Jonathan Crane, head librarian of the Gotham Memorial, put down the book he was reading to give his full attention to his toddler daughter, Ravyn Aurora. Beside him, Iris laughed and reached over to offer the little girl a sweet treat as they waited in the sitting room of DeLaine Manor. Beside them, Edward and Joan waited with their daughter, Andromeda Divine, almost two years old, who hated sitting too long as per custom for a toddler. Right next to them, Dinah Liddell, Alice and Jervis' daughter who was the same age as Ravyn, was sitting beside her father, constantly asking him what her mother was doing - in few-word syllables - that she wanted everyone waiting here. Jervis would gently assure her that "Mommy will be fine," given the little blonde girl with both her parents' blue eyes and mother's rosy mouth had a slight feeling for the worse despite her age.

Andromeda was quite the little devil - something she'd gotten from Daddy - and unable to listen to her parents trying to get her to settle down in her seat, which was a normal thing for a two-year-old. Not to mention, she had her father's dark hair and emerald eyes in a face much like his.

Jonathan could not have asked for anything more than to be surrounded by these people who were his friends and family all the same. Ravyn was a blessed little angel with her small, straight mane of ebony hair flowing down to the middle of her back and vivid sapphire eyes…just like her mother. He reached beside him and squeezed Iris' hand, that simple gesture making her look up at him and smirk, eyes glinting with the same mischief as their little child.

Alice then appeared in the doorway of the sitting room. Her face was pale, but it wasn't the sickly type. She was glowing with happiness. "It's positive. I'm pregnant again. Which means Dinah…" She smiled over at her daughter sitting on her husband's lap. "…is going to be a big sister."

Dinah squealed with joy and jumped off Jervis' lap and ran over to hug her mother's leg, whilst Alice received a kiss and an embrace. Jonathan smiled at the scene before glancing over to Eddie, who was leaning in to whisper something in his wife's ear, perhaps asking her if she was ready for baby number two, and from the way her lips were moving, she was responding with "Someday," while little Andromeda was getting their attention by poking her head in between them and saying she wanted to be a big sister herself. Jonathan laughed at everyone around him before looking over at his beautiful, raven-haired wife in her simple white dress that graced her like snow - ironic that she could easily then be called Snow White - and smirked at her.

"How would you feel about offspring number two?" he asked, even though he knew the answer.

"I'd rather know if she…" Iris nodded at little Ravyn. "…would approve."

Ironically enough, Ravyn shook her head madly. "Nope! No, no, no!" she cried, making both her parents laugh, and her father patting her head tenderly.

"No more children it is," he said, then leaned in to kiss his wife soundly on the mouth, not caring if their poor daughter saw them. She was the one who made his life complete after a year and a half of marriage, having a little girl who had been excelling with her first words, and Jonathan Crane could not ask for more.

Vytina was also known to make artworks and biographies of the children conceived by these wonderful couples, names and all. :) Each is unique and in a relationship of their own. I thought what better way to end these peoples' lives positively.