I'm sorry for the small wait with this chapter. I've been dealing with some personal things, as well as trying to write a Christmas themed story, which is up now. And the busy holiday season hasn't given me much time to really sit down and write.

This chapter does mark the end of this story. My attention is going to be moved onto Hart of a Kinsella, before I start to post a new story, as I want to get that one wrapped up for everyone.

Italics means flashback. And do remember that everyone does feel insecure at times and that is no different for Aria. Enjoy!

6 months later

"Are you sure about this?" Wade questioned, standing in the house Zoe grew up in, the house she called home, surrounded by boxes taped up ready to be moved out, boxes that were sitting half full and unfolded boxes tossed off in a corner waiting to be folded so they could hold things that belonged to Zoe or her father.

"Very sure," she responded, taping a box up writing in bold black sharpie it was her clothes. "This place will always hold memories dear to my heart, but I've outgrown my childhood home, Wade. I have no reason to keep this house. It's time for it to bring happy memories to a new family," she told him, walking up to him wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you and I love Aria, so making this move is the right step in the right direction. Do you not want me moving in with you now?" She asked, hurt seeping out with the words.

For the past month, it felt as if she already lived there. He asked her to move in two days ago when they drove to the school together, Aria more excited about it than either of the adults. It took very little thought to say yes. She wanted to live with them and build a family with them. For him to be questioning her now, it frightened her to think he changed his mind and didn't want her to be in his life any longer, that he simply didn't want her.

"I want that greatly," he quickly told her, keeping a tight hold on her waist, not letting her get away from his tight embrace. "This is where you grew up, Zoe. I don't want you to sell this place if you're not ready to part with it," he explained to her. She didn't have to put the house on the market until she felt comfortable in doing so. He didn't want her to have any regret on seeing her childhood home being sold to a new family. He needed to make sure Zoe was more than okay in saying good-bye to the house, that she is ready to part with what she called home.

"I'm ready. It's sad, but I'm leaving this home for a better home, for a home that is filled with love, a home with the family I want to spend my forever with."

"What if we moved that family into this home?" He questioned quickly. Zoe gave him a funny look not knowing what was going on. She led him to the couch, moving items that needed to be packed away.

"What is going on with you, Wade?" She asked, once they were situated on the couch, her hands holding onto one of his. Wade sighed, scrubbing his free hand over his face.

"This is the place where you grew up with your dad. I can't take that away from you," he told her softly. Zoe smiled, kissing his jaw, finding his words to be sweet, but that was an offer she needed to refuse, the thought of why made her giddy for the future.

"Just because I don't have my dad doesn't mean I need to be in this house as a reminder of the love he gave me, of the good times we had and the bad times. I will forever have those memories in my heart where I hold him dearly, Wade. It's sweet of you to think like that," she told him, looking around the house. "This house may have been big enough for two people, but not three people. Not if we want to add to this family. There are only two rooms," she told him.

"What are you saying?" He asked, looking bug eyed, going a bit pale. "Are you saying that you're pregnant?"

"Rest easy, big guy," she laughed, curling into his side, placing his arm around her. "I'm not saying that. What I am saying is that the home you created with Aria is a home where we have room if we decide to expand our family. Give Aria the little sibling she has not so subtly been hinting at."

"The when are you giving me the gift to have a brother or sister to boss around comments?" He laughed. "I do want that with you sooner rather than later, Zo." He smiled at the idea of having kids with her some day. "Can we for now focus on moving you home and then maybe focus on a wedding?" He asked her.

"What wedding?" She asked sharply, snapping her head up to look at him.

"Our wedding silly," he replied, poking her nose.

"In order to get married, a person needs to actually ask the other person. And I haven't asked you, and you haven't asked me," she commented. Wade thinking she looked cute as ever looking a bit bewildered.

"I'm asking you now," he told her, holding up a ring. "Will you marry me, Zoe?" She smiled, kissing him.

"Without a doubt yes I will," she whispered against his lips. "Your grandma's ring huh?" She questioned, getting a better look at the ring Wade slipped on her finger.

"I've had it for years, before we broke up," he told her. The ring always belonged to Zoe. He bought a ring for his ex-wife, that should have told him all he needed to know. The woman of his dreams belonged to the now owner of this ring, always had. That should have been sign enough for him.

"I love it; I always did though," she smiled, remembering the times she adored the ring when she was at Wade's place when they were kids.

"That is why it belongs to you and no one else," he replied, kissing her left hand.

When they make it home with Aria, they would inform her first, wanting her to know about the engagement as it would impact her the most, before they made a bigger announcement to their family and friends.

Two weeks. That was all it took for Jackie to plan an engagement party for her youngest son and the woman that would officially become a daughter to her. She even got ahold of Candice and invited her. Jackie wanted Candice to take a good look at how happy being home made her daughter. It was important to Zoe to have her mom there, and that alone was enough for Candice to accept an invite.

"What has you down sweetie?" Jackie asked her granddaughter, sitting outside on the porch swing, getting a tiny glimpse of the stars starting to litter the night sky.

"Nothing really," Aria said, glancing at her grandma. Jackie didn't believe that for a second, giving her granddaughter a disbelieving look. "I'm happy dad has Zoe, and that I get her too," she started to say.

"Things are changing, and you have a feeling that things with your dad will be different now that Zoe is in the picture permanently?" Jackie questioned, with an all-knowing look.

"Grandma must you always be scary right?" Aria asked with a small smile. "It hasn't changed anything yet, but it could, and I like how things are with my dad," she shrugged. Her dad could be a bit annoying when he would worm his way into her personal business, but she liked that he cared enough to do so, and if he stopped doing so, it would hurt, because not only is he her father, but in many ways he is her best friend.

"We both know Zoe won't let things change between you and your dad, sweetie. Having been raised by a single father she knows what it's like and how important your relationship is with your dad. She will encourage it," Jackie explained, giving her granddaughter a side hug.

"I can't help but think that they'll have a baby of their own, and I won't be that important anymore, because I'm not Zoe's daughter," she said softly, her eyes trained on the night sky.

"Oh sweetie," Jackie replied, feeling bad for her only granddaughter. That is for another two months when the adoption of a girl is made final for Jesse and Becky. "I've known Zoe almost as long as I've known that annoying man you call a father," she teased, getting a smile from the girl in her arms. " And I know for a fact that would never be the case. You will always be important and matter to them both, no matter the number of kids they have, if they have any."

"I can understand that and I feel like at times that she wouldn't toss me aside, but it's hard to fully accept that because it was so easy for my own my mom to leave me," she confessed sadly, tugging at her grandmother's heart strings.

"I hate that you feel that way, Aria," Zoe said, joining the two of them. "I don't want you to feel like that, it's not my intention to make you feel like you're ever unwanted, because I want you in my life, I want you as a daughter, Aria. No amount of kids could ever sway me from the love I have for you. You're not my blood, but I like to think that we are family, more than just me being your step-mom, or the woman who married your dad," she went on to explain.

"We are family, Zoe," Aria told her with a smile, moving from her grandmas embrace to hug Zoe tight.

"If you ever have concerns about how I feel for you, please don't hesitate to talk to me about it, because I don't want you to feel like this, Aria," Zoe whispered, holding her tightly. "That open communication system that you have with your dad, I want you to know that we can have that too," she informed her.

"I would like that," Aria smiled, pulling away from Zoe. "A lot."

"It seems that I am missing all the fun," Wade smirked, standing behind the three most important woman in his life.

"As you should," Aria piped up, looking behind her. "We are the life of the party," she teased.

"Fair enough," Wade laughed. "You're mom is here, thought you might want to say hi," Wade told her. Aria nodded, giving her dad a small hug on her way past him. "We can have any amount of time together just us, sweetie," he told her softly, holding her a bit longer, placing a fatherly kiss to her head. Aria smiled at her father, slipping from his embrace to find her mom, feeling better about her insecurities.

"I best be getting back in there," Jackie smiled, disappearing inside the house, leaving the engaged couple to it.

"Are you okay?" Wade asked, sitting next to Zoe, who wasted no time in wrapping herself around her soon to be husband. He heard the last bit of the conversation.

"I am fine," Zoe told him. "Aria is having a bit of fear about things concerning future plans; I don't want her to feel that way," Zoe told him.

"I trust that you worked it out with her. And she will come to us or anyone else for that matter, and tell them what she is feeling. We can't stop her from feeling any certain way. We just have to be there for her," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Zoe nodded, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Silly me, here I thought this party was for the two of you, and yet you two are sitting out here like some outcasts," Jesse said, sticking his head out the door.

"It's called privacy," Wade told him, getting to his feet, holding his hands out for Zoe to help her up.

"Wade, do you mind if I talk to Zoe for a moment?" Amiya asked, stepping outside with the couple before they could retreat back inside.

"It's fine," Zoe assured him. Wade nodded, walking inside the house staying close to where he could hear what was being said, just in case something was said to break out into a fight, he didn't want a repeat of before.

"So you're the woman who thinks that she can step in and play the role of mother to my daughter," Amiya stated, stopping Zoe from leaving the spot she stood by the front door, to get Aria. Wade was out running a quick errand, thinking it would be okay to do so, with Amiya not coming until later in the afternoon. It seemed someone showed up early then said. Not that Zoe minded. As she encouraged Aria to get to know her mom, a girl would always need her mom, just like a girl would always need her dad. Zoe, herself, wished she had her own mom growing up, as amazing as Jackie was, it wasn't the same.

"I don't think I am doing anything of the sort," Zoe retorted. "If Aria wants to look at me as another mother figure in her life, I can accept that, because I love that girl," Zoe stated.

"Just like you loved her father once upon a time, before you left him in a broken mess that I had to clean up?" Amiya questioned with a smirk, hitting Zoe where it hurt.

"You can't talk, as you not only did you break Wade, but you broke your family up, in one of the worst ways a person can," Zoe snapped back, not going to stand there and take any of the crap that Wade's ex had to say to her. "When I broke up with Wade, it was the right thing to do for the both of us, trying harder wouldn't have worked out for many different reasons. And not only did it break him, but it broke me as well. Do you even have any remorse for what you did to your family?" Zoe asked, stopping on the first stair. "Before you walk into this house and judge anyone else, you need to take a good look at the mess you caused the ones that care about you, Amiya." With that being said, Zoe headed upstairs to get Aria.

When Zoe returned downstairs, Wade was there in a heated conversation with his ex-wife.

"Aria will be down shortly," Zoe said, heading for the kitchen, not in the mood to deal with Amiya for quite some time, if ever again.

"Mind telling me what that was all about?" Wade asked, entering the kitchen, sitting at the kitchen table with Zoe.

"Other than her walking in here and stating point blank that I can't replace her as Aria's mother, and then called me out on breaking you way back when, it was a pleasant little time," Zoe sarcastically told him, taking a drink of her tea.

"I know it means very little, but Zo; I am sorry for the way she talked to you. You didn't deserve it at all," Wade told her, moving closer to her, pulling her into his embrace. "It is up to Aria on who you are in her life and no one else's."

"I want to say I am sorry for what I said to you a few months back," Amiya apologized. "I was out of line for everything that I said."

"Thank you," Zoe told her. "And I am sorry for what I said, as it was out of line as well," Zoe said.

"It was the truth," Amiya laughed. "Aria is lucky to have you in her life as a mother figure."

"That is very nice of you to say," Zoe smiled. "I enjoy being a part of her life. And Amiya if you give her sometimes she will come around and want to share everything in her life with you," Zoe promised. Zoe felt the same when it came to her own mother. And so much from Zoe's life is parallel with Aria's life.

"Congratulations on the upcoming nuptials with Wade. I don't think I have ever seen him as happy as you make him, not even when we were married," Amiya shared.

"Thank you and for what it's worth, Amiya, you and Meatball make such a lovely couple," Zoe told her. "Let's get back inside, before that fiancée of mine starts to freak out more than he already is," Zoe smiled.

Her life was no where near prefect, but to Zoe, her life was pretty close to being perfect. She never thought she would reunite with not only her best friend from her childhood who happened to be her high-school sweetheart, nor did she ever think that she would end up marrying him after everything she has been through. She didn't know what her future held for her, but with Wade and Aria there for the ride, she knew it wouldn't be the worst experience of her life. And everything that comes their way, they could take it on together.

As for Wade, he never imagined reconnecting with his high school sweet heart, and wanting to rebuild a better partnership with her, after one failed marriage. As he was more than content to have his life revolve around his daughter and her needs. Zoe entering his life once more, it was truly for the best, as was his failed marriage, as it was only meant to be for a short amount of time, to give him the best gift, anyone can be given in the form of his daughter. With Zoe and Aria, with him, life was for them to take, head on.

Aria, she was happy to not only have her mother back in her life, slowly rebuilding the bond with her, but to have Zoe in her life as a mother to her. It made her happy to see how happy her dad is. She couldn't pick a better person for her dad to be with than Zoe. It did help that he eased up on her dating life and let her have bit more of a private life. Her dad would always be her best friend, but a person can have more than one best friend. Her insecurities would always be there in the back of her mind, about not only her life at home but about everything from home to school, to the pressures that being a teen brings along with it. With her dad, Zoe, and even her mom, to the rest of her family, she would make it out just fine, and turn into the adult her dad wants her to be. The adult she knows she can be wherever her life may take her. It is her life to figure out.