A/N: This is the final chapter apart from an epilogue, and in honor of that you get a much longer one:) The epilogue will hopefully be out soon(ish), but I can't promise it for next weekend, as I still need to get it out of my head and into a document, and work is quite busy at the moment. But I will try to get it to you as soon as I can. Thank you for sticking with me!

Scotty was discharged from the hospital on Saturday afternoon following some more tests, the doctor allowing him return to work on Monday but sternly telling him to take things easy for a while, so his lungs could fully recuperate; he was just relieved to be able to leave, wanted nothing more than to snuggle on the couch with Lilly, to be close to her following the events which could very well have taken his life. He wasn't able to fully wrap his head around that fact yet, his thoughts regularly returning to the previous evening; he'd been in a third floor storage room of the bookstore, going through some employment records when a banging on the door had startled him out of his intense concentration. It had been one of agents, calling his name, and it wasn't until Scotty had opened the door that the blaring of the fire alarm from the main floor had registered, the corridor already engulfed in so much smoke. He would forever be grateful to the agent who had come look for him; they had managed to make it down to the ground floor, but then dizziness and weakness had overcome them both, and the next thing to enter his consciousness had been his fiancée's voice, her terrified face swimming above him when he'd managed to open his eyes. The love he felt towards her for what she had done could not be expressed in words, even when he was a little annoyed too, horrified she'd risked her own life like that without any gear; still, that was Lilly, through and through, and his amazement and admiration for her had absolutely gone through the roof.

She'd refused to leave his side after Scotty had been settled into his hospital room; they'd both fallen asleep and as a result, Lilly had ended up meeting his family without any preparation. She had handled the situation very well, even though he'd been able to see she'd felt a little uncomfortable at first; maybe it had actually been for the best, she'd mused to him once they were alone again, as a scheduled meeting would just have had her stressing about it for days beforehand. And his family had loved her, just like Scotty had always known they would; his mother had taken her under her wing instantly, and he couldn't wait for her to experience more of the family love she deserved so, so much. It wouldn't fully make up for her childhood, nothing ever could, but it would still soothe the scars she carried.

Afterwards, the rest of the cold case team had gently forced her to leave the hospital for some proper sleep; she'd been back mid-morning with some clothes for him and a gift from Starbucks, telling him she had spent enough time at this hospital to know the coffee was absolutely terrible, even worse than the sludge the precinct offered them. Having managed a little taste of it at breakfast, he had definitely agreed, gratefully kissing her and sipping the lifesaving proper brew; Lilly had gone for a check-up of her hand, then headed to the police station for some work and to get the latest update, and now he was impatiently waiting for her to get back so they could go home. He even missed Tripod and Olivia rather terribly.

Finally she peeked into the room, chuckling at the expression of relief that was probably very obvious on his face. "Hey, gorgeous. Ready to get out of here?"

"Yes, please." Scotty pulled her close for a deep kiss, breathing in her scent; it had been quite awful to spend the night away from her, for the first time in two weeks. "Any news?"

"Yeah, some." She waited for him to gather his belongings, quiet until they got into the car. "The back door security camera captured someone entering the bookstore a little before seven last night, then exiting again just ten minutes later; that's the same time the fire broke out. It was probably a man, judging by size and body shape, but there's no clear facial image and it looks like the person was wearing a hoodie, so we can't get much from the tape. However, they obviously had the door code, so it's probably an employee; they're all being interviewed again by the FBI, and seeing how fast the fire spread, it's likely someone who knew how to use accelerants. According to the fire department, it originated from the basement."

He nodded, grinding his teeth, really quite eager to find out who the bastard had been, and the anger radiating from Lilly told him she was too; he couldn't be fully sure whether the perpetrator had known there were people inside the bookstore or not, but it wouldn't be surprising if they'd chosen last night in an effort to take some law enforcement out at the same time.

"Are all the agents okay?"

"They're good; I think everyone is getting discharged today. Ryan said to tell you to rest and come back in a fighting form next week; he was certain we're not far from finding out who's behind all this." She squeezed his hand, turned the car towards the parking lot exit. "Hungry?"

"Starvin'." Scotty grinned, leaned his head back. "Are you finally cookin' for me, Rush?"

"And risk you getting into another fire? I don't think so." She chuckled, slowing down at traffic lights. "Your mum called while I was at the station and asked for my address; she said she's been cooking all day and will bring over all of your favorites."

"Oh right; she texted me earlier an' asked for your number." He bit his lip, glancing at her. "I hope you don't mind that I…"

"Of course not." She touched his arm, smiled. "I really like your mum. And your dad and your brother too."

"Good. An' it's about time I introduced you to some of our heritage foods; my mother's cookin' beats any restaurant." He sighed a little, relaxing against his seat, feeling so happy and so relieved to be alive, to have this incredible woman by his side and some wonderful dinner to look forward to.

Late on Tuesday afternoon Ryan started getting phone calls back to back; everyone in the squad room could instantly tell something was happening, watched the agent as he listened intently and scribbled down notes. Scotty could literally see the relief spreading onto the other man's face as he finally thanked the person at the other end and stood up.

"Ladies and gentlemen." Ryan released a long breath, offered a small smile. "I am very glad to inform you we have made an arrest."

Clapping and whooping filled the room, and Scotty felt Lilly slump against him slightly on the desk they were currently seated on as every chair was occupied; he grasped her hand securely, giving it a squeeze. "Who is it?"

"Two people, in fact; the woman who worked at the bookstore cafeteria and her brother. She was questioned a couple of times in the past, but she was always able to provide an alibi, and the brother never even visited the bookstore so he managed to fly under the radar." Ryan made his way to the board displaying the photographs of all persons of interest, including the former and current bookstore employees, picked up one and placed it in the middle. The woman on it looked perfectly normal, friendly; she was slightly plump, had long dark hair and hazel eyes.

"Miss Katie Clarkson here made an unfortunate slip, however, when she was questioned again yesterday, about the fire as well as the murders; she said she and her brother were at a music festival in Chicago at the time one of the victims went missing, and she was even able to show an entrance ticket, but she claimed it was raining a lot that weekend. Luckily one of our agents is from Chicago and attended the festival too; she remembers the event very well as her boyfriend proposed to her there, and she said it was full sun throughout, which was also confirmed by several photographs she took."

Andrea nodded slowly. "So Katie and her brother bought tickets but didn't actually go?"

"That's right; instead of Chicago, they headed to New York, where they paid a visit to Janet Bradshaw." Ryan pointed his pen at the picture of a blonde woman, in the middle of the nauseatingly long line of victim photographs. "Needless to say, Janet was never seen again until her body was dug up two years later. Once the agents pointed out the weather mistake to Katie, she knew the game was up and she sang like a blackbird, implicated her brother; so far three more of their made-up alibis have been disproved and I'm quite confident we will be able to connect them to all of these murders, as well as to the fire. Apparently the brother's body structure matches the man on the security camera tape perfectly."

Scotty swallowed, watching the victim photographs, the young women with such happy smiles on their faces, their whole lives ahead of them until their days had been cut short so tragically. "Do we know if this is all of them, or… are there still some that haven't been discovered?"

"Not yet, but hopefully we will find that out soon; the brother, Jason Clarkson, was picked up in Atlanta where he has a current address, and he seems to be your run-of-the-mill psychopath, zero empathy, animal torture as a child, what have you. He also studied to become a firefighter at one point, which would give him firsthand knowledge about accelerants. Finding potential victims was Katie's job, and working at the bookstore provided a perfect opportunity; she got talking with young, usually out-of-town women, learned enough details about them and provided them for her brother to hunt and kill. And they started with her former boss, Sharon, who founded the store; her profile differentiates from the other victims as she was quite a bit older, so either she was just a practice run or there was some sort of a personal vendetta against her."

"Christ." Scotty shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose; the evilness of some people he shared the world with never ceased to astonish him, in a very bad way. Kat was looking shocked, whimpering as she grasped onto Nick's arm tightly.

"I went to that store God knows how many times; Veronica used to hang out there all the time with her friends. And I'm damn sure we've bought coffee from that woman a lot." A massive shudder ran through her. "I'm fucking going to throw up. Sorry."

No one seemed bothered by her swearing; Nick patted her hand and Lilly offered a tight, sympathetic smile. "I've been there a lot too, and I remember talking to her; I think almost all the books I have at home are from that store, so trust me, I know how you feel. And after last Friday..."

She took a shaky breath and Scotty wrapped his arm around her shoulders, unable to stop his mind from spinning horrific images of what could have happened to her, to Kat, to Veronica; Ryan gave him a nod, retreated from the board.

"There is still a long way to go, and we need to make sure they had no other accomplices; for now, however, we can rest a little easier and hopefully so can all the families of these victims, once we will finally be able to provide them with answers."

Scotty stood, turned to his fiancée, gently brushing his fingers against her cheek that looked a little pale. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just..." She tugged at the white bandage around her palm, offered a small smile. "Just a bit shaken by all this, all the recent events and also... I still need to finish my paperwork, but the case might be done for us, Scotty."

"I know." He swallowed, knowing very well what she was getting at: their agreement to leave the precinct after this case was finished. He had some uncompleted reports too, hoped that whether this ended up being their last day there or not, they'd be able to leave at a reasonable time; his doctor wouldn't be happy with the 15-hour shift he'd put in on the day before, as rest was of upmost importance for his recovery. "Do you want some of that rat poison we call coffee? I can bring you one."

"Thank you." Lilly chuckled, reached up to press a quick kiss on his cheek, made her way to her desk; he headed for the break room, sighing heavily and rubbing his neck, opening a cupboard to retrieve a couple of mugs.

"You look done for." Andrea's voice made him jump slightly and Scotty glanced over his shoulder; she was seated on the couch, massaging her temples in small circles, appearing quite tired. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you; I just wanted to chill out here for a moment."

"It's all right." He noticed she had no mug in front of her, motioned questioningly towards the coffee machine but she shook her head, made a face.

"I'm good; I'm quite sure I already have an ulcer or a few developing from that stuff. I'm sorry to say this but it's not exactly very delicious; I think our office wins the coffee contest hands down, so you'll definitely like it there."

"Sounds awesome." He grinned, filled the two mugs; Andrea pushed her dark hair back from her face, observed him curiously.

"How are you doing anyway? After the fire… you must be pretty happy with this news about the arrests, but you seemed more worried about Lilly."

"I'm always worried about Lil," he said quietly, swallowing, shook his head. "I'm okay; this case just… hit a little bit too close to home again, for the both of us. The fire could have been the end of me, an' she could have become a victim if they'd picked her out at the bookstore, any woman could have, but…" He shrugged and Andrea gave a nod, traced the table with her forefinger.

"But it's Lilly you're in love with and engaged to, not just any woman; it's perfectly understandable you feel this way when she could have been in danger." She gave him a grin, cleared her throat softly. "It must be… difficult, being romantically involved with your partner; well, ex-partner in your case, but someone on the same team anyway."

Scotty lowered the other mug onto the table, sighing and glancing into the squad room, his eyes finding Lilly instantly; she was typing slowly, a little frown on her face and he thought she seemed to be a million miles away. He knew she was probably processing everything about the case, the possibility that the end of their time at the PPD was now at hand; it was obvious she needed to have a while by herself, no matter how much he wanted to go over and enclose her into a tight hold and never let go.

"It's certainly not very easy," he admitted, taking a sip of his coffee. "Lil… she's the best thing that's ever happened to me, an' I love her more than I could even begin to tell you. But… there are rules an' regulations, an' there are big risks brought on by this profession, probably a lot more once we get to the FBI; like I said, I always worry, an' after we got together I started to worry a million times more, but even still…"

He smiled, staring into the coffee. "It's worth it. One hundred percent worth it."

Andrea nodded, her eyes looking slightly damp and Scotty tilted his head, arching an eyebrow at her teasingly. "Care to share why exactly you're askin'? Somethin' goin' on wit'…"

"Moretti! What the hell are you doing just sitting on your ass here?" Ryan peeked into the break room, shook his head at his partner. "Don't you have paperwork to finish before we go back to New York?"

"Yeah, yeah; hold your damn horses, I just needed a little break." She stood, watched after his retreating back for a moment before looking at Scotty again, shaking her head with a very exasperated expression. "You mean do I have something going on with that one? I don't think so; he drives me absolutely nuts at least ten times a day."

"Really?" He chuckled, picking up the other mug. "Well, Lil kinda did the same to me in the beginnin', an'… now look where we are."

"Oh." She seemed slightly astonished and he grinned, gave her a nod and headed towards Lilly with the mugs; there was definitely something between the two agents, and he was quite looking forward to getting to the FBI, to see where it might all lead. Over the past week he'd even learned to like Ryan, at least somewhat; he couldn't deny having felt a little jealous at first, but that had passed and for that he was glad, as it certainly wouldn't have created the best possible start at the new jobs.

"Here you go, bella." He lowered the mug by her elbow, received a grateful smile and pressed a tender kiss on the top of her head before retreating to his own desk.

At four minutes past six that evening, Lilly's career at the Philadelphia Police Department's cold case unit was officially over.

She clicked print on her last interview report and wandered over to the machine in some sort of a daze, swallowing as she picked up the pages and stapled them together. Tears threatened her, prickling behind her eyelids and she glanced around discreetly to make sure no one was watching her; probably Scotty would be the only one to notice anything from her body language anyway, and he had gone to the storage room to take some evidence boxes back down. Pulling in a deep breath, she controlled herself and took the report to Ryan, gingerly lowering it on the corner of his desk.

"Thanks." He glanced up at her, seeming slightly distracted. "You okay? You look pale."

"Just tired," she muttered, chewing on her lip to keep herself in check; he nodded and she escaped, making her way to the bathroom which was thankfully empty. She stared into her eyes in the mirror for a moment, groaning as they filled with tears despite her best efforts; retrieving a paper towel, she carefully cleaned away the escaped moisture, took another deep breath to gain equilibrium. She really did look pale, her hair was a little messy and there were dark circles under her eyes; the past week had been long and demanding, even before the fire, and afterwards she had been so shocked, so worried about Scotty that no amount of sleep or closeness or his mother's delicious cooking had managed to fully settle her. And now the huge change loomed very close as the rest of the case would be handled by the FBI, and she and Scotty needed to move on, leave this squad, this family; no matter how much she was looking forward to the new adventure, the fact that this was her last day working here was very difficult to deal with, bringing another flood of tears into her eyes. Somehow she hadn't been prepared for the case to be solved just yet, had thought she'd have quite a while longer until this day rolled around.

"Damn it," Lilly whispered to herself, wiped her face again and left the mirror, peeking into the corridor to make sure it was empty before exiting the restroom; she really didn't want to see anyone right now, for a moment unsure of where to go until it became clear, her instincts leading her into the observation room. It was empty and silent, apart from the faint humming of air-conditioning; she closed the door after herself, swallowing as she stood in the middle of the small room. This space was so significant; she had been here so many times during cases, watching one or more team members question a suspect or a witness in the interrogation room behind the glass, but more than that, it carried memories of life-changing moments, good and bad. This was where she had been shot by Ed Marteson, and it was also where she had met Scotty for the first time.

She walked to the window, touched the cool surface with her fingertips, sniffling; in her mind's eye she could see herself, seven years ago, younger and more inexperienced, standing right at this spot and watching the handsome black-haired man who was to be her partner. He'd been talking with a young woman who'd obviously been flirting with him, and Lilly remembered wondering if he'd actually had the nerve to bring a girlfriend to the precinct on his very first day; a moment later he had dismissed the girl, an informant in a case he was still working on over at West, had turned his head to look into the mirror long and hard, as though guessing he was being observed from the other side. A very slight smile had drifted across his full lips and she'd immediately known this would definitely be interesting; Scotty Valens wouldn't be easy to handle, nothing like her former partner Chris Lassing had been.

Lilly sighed, a tiny smile forming on her face; she felt calmer now, the memories soothing even after a lifetime had passed since, so much happening, forcing both her and Scotty to change, to evolve, but deep inside they were still the same people they had always been. They were driven and passionate about finding justice, doing whatever it took to get it; at work she was cool and collected while he was hotheaded and intense, and together they created a perfect balance. In their personal lives they had both struggled in relationships, suffered a lot of pain, spent so long desperately searching for the love they had always wanted, never knowing they'd find it in each other until that day two weeks and three days ago, when they'd finally been brave enough to take one hugely significant step forward.

The door opened behind her and Lilly didn't need to look to know who it was; Scotty's presence and delicious scent filled the small space and she smiled as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close to his strong body.

"There you are, beautiful; I was startin' to wonder if you'd gone home already." He kissed her temple, lifting one hand to her neck and rubbing it gently, the way she loved; she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation, just breathing him in. "What are you doin' here?"

"Reminiscing," she replied quietly, turning her head and pressing a kiss onto his jaw. "This is where we first met, and… now we're about to move on from this place, you and me. It feels like we've come a full circle."

"Hmm. It really does." He smiled, dropping a quick kiss onto her lips and pulling back to find her eyes, a teasing expression appearing on his face. "So... you're Rush? I, uh, pictured a guy."

"Oh God." Lilly snorted with laughter, remembering those words from that first day, shook her head. "Did you honestly think so before you met me?"

"I honestly did; I had heard about this brilliant Detective Rush, but for some reason no one ever bothered to tell me your gender, nor did I bother to find out. I assumed things, an' for that I'm really sorry." He grinned, tracing her lips with his forefinger. "But I do have to say that findin' out the truth ended up bein' the very best surprise of my life."

"Really now?" She gave him a playful smile, bringing her mouth very close to his, not quite allowing them to touch. "But you do know that our angle is 'I talk, you listen', right, Valens?"

He groaned slightly, crushing his lips onto hers in a very passionate kiss, making her whimper deep in her throat; the memories from seven years ago faded from her mind, replaced by the present moment, the moment where she was in the same room with the same man, but instead of being a stranger, he was now her fiancé, her everything.

"I'm ready to leave the precinct," she whispered, now feeling strong and much better about that thought than she had ten minutes ago; he always brought so much strength and calmness to her, and this time was no exception. "We've come a long way, Scotty, both together and apart, and it's time for the next chapter. Together."

"It is," he agreed, tenderly framing her face with his long fingers. "An' right now, it's time to go home, have a good dinner, an' plan the incredible holiday that we get to have before our new jobs."

He pressed his forehead against hers for a moment and she smiled, really liking the sound of that; they stayed in silence for a little while, enjoying the closeness until she grasped his hand, pulled him to the door, turning back one last time to take in the life-changing observation room once more.

Upon stepping into the corridor they ran into Kat, her face turning relieved at the sight of them. "Oh good. Boss sent me to find you two; I wasn't sure if you'd already left."

She tilted her head, assumed a wide-eyed, slightly disgusted expression, pointing at the door. "Um, you weren't just… were you?"

Lilly rolled her eyes, chuckling. "Okay, you've been spending way too much time with Vera. No, we weren't."

Kat pretended to release a big breath. "Thank God. Not that I don't adore you two, but I don't think the observation room would ever have been the same after… anyway, come with me."

They followed her towards the squad room and Scotty nudged Lilly's side playfully, pressing his mouth against her ear. "Damn, I didn't even think of that; we really should have given the room a proper goodbye."

"Shush, you." She chuckled, holding securely onto his fingers, pushing the very tempting thought out of her own mind. The team was waiting in John Stillman's office, reinforced with Ryan and Andrea; everyone turned towards them when they entered with Kat, and Lilly frowned. "What's going on?"

"Don't look so worried, Lil." Stillman chuckled, turned to retrieve a bottle of champagne from a bookshelf, making his way to his desk that held a tray filled with several glasses. He cleared his throat, watching her and Scotty for a moment; briefly he seemed at a loss for words, thoughtful, a little smile on his face.

"I know you're all tired and eager to get home now that this big case is behind us, but I thought we could take the opportunity to raise a glass to the members of our team that are leaving us, since we're all still together and also have our guests here. As you're aware, Will is starting his well-earned retirement in a couple of weeks' time, and Lilly and Scotty are moving on to equally well-earned new challenges with the FBI, as well as starting their life together; however, you might not be aware that this was the last case our agents-to-be worked with us."

For a moment there was silence, the expressions on the faces of the team members looking quite shocked; Kat swallowed heavily, raising a hand to cover her mouth.

"What? You're leaving… now?"

"We have vacation days stored up, so we're going to take them before training starts at Quantico," Lilly explained quietly, again having to hold back tears as Kat was already crying. "You'll still see us before we go, we just… won't be here at the precinct. Oh damn it."

Scotty grasped a secure hold of her, muttering comforting words and she tried to wipe her cheeks with trembling hands, hiding her face into his shoulder. She registered a kiss pressed onto her hair, then a loud pop as the champagne bottle opened, the liquid getting poured into the glasses; Lilly remained hidden for a while longer to calm down again, feeling quite sad; even when she was fully planning to maintain regular contact with everyone, she would still miss them so much, especially the man who had been like a father to her for so long, who had given her the incredible opportunity to become a police officer in the first place, then a detective.

Several tight hugs later she had gained a bit more control, took a deep breath and accepted the glass Will was handing her, offered him a grateful nod and turned to face everyone. "Please, guys, don't make grand speeches or anything; this is definitely not any sort of a goodbye and knowing me, I probably won't even know how to have a vacation, so I might be bored to death by noon tomorrow…"

"Well, you're just going to have to learn; the reception has been instructed to not allow either of you into the building for at least two weeks, unless there's a dire emergency, and Scotty promised me he would take you out of Philadelphia. And no, you can't bring your desk or any case files with you." Boss winked at her and Lilly flushed, covering her face with her hands and making everyone laugh; she really was so damn predictable. The Lieutenant smiled, gave her shoulder a tender squeeze.

"It's time to relax, Lil, gather up strength for what's coming up next; same goes for you, Scotty. No grand speeches, but I just want to say… thank you. It has been amazing to watch you both grow and become the people you are today, and I know you will do great at the Bureau; agents Cavanaugh and Moretti have already promised to look after you and keep me updated, so I am now passing the torch to them to make sure you two continue to realize your full potential. I expect you to also let us know how you're getting on; same goes for you, Will, even if you do fill your retirement days with just chilling out and fishing in Florida."

Ryan nodded at the older man, gave a smile. "We will take care of them as well as we possibly can, John. You have my word."

"I appreciate that." Boss raised his glass, the golden liquid sparkling, his eyes warm as he watched the departing members of his team. "We love all three of you very, very much; we're going to miss you, and we wish you the best in all future endeavors. Lil, Scotty, Will, here's to you, kids."

A week later Lilly settled onto a sun lounger, relaxing with a deep sigh, her eyes never leaving the spectacular sight in front of her; the light blue evening sky was painted with shades of orange and red for the most breathtaking sunset, the vast Pacific Ocean humming its eternal, soothing rhythm. Some people were walking on the beach, seagulls screaming and making mad dashes into the ocean, a dog running into the water for a cooling dip.

"Nice, huh?" Scotty brushed her fingers with his thumb, sent her a smile and Lilly nodded, shaking her head in amazement; there definitely were no sunsets like this in Philadelphia. They were in an absolutely gorgeous resort in Honolulu, Hawaii, the second day of a 10-day vacation; Mike and Allie had honeymooned here, Scotty's brother highly recommending it when he'd heard they were planning on a break together, and she could definitely understand why.

"I love it." She released a long breath, feeling herself relax even more, the surroundings just too beautiful for any worries; there was a lot to think about, everything they needed to do once they returned, packing up, relocating, continuing to reassure Scotty's quite anxious parents they would be extremely careful at the FBI, but for now she just wanted to push everything from her mind, focus on enjoying this place. Her father and Celeste had been a little restless as well to hear about their new jobs, but the joy over their engagement had definitely helped; Finn had again been very impressed, and on a visit just before their departure for Hawaii, Lilly had finally been able to meet her sister Maggie too. The tall young woman with strawberry blonde hair had rushed to hug her immediately once Lilly had stepped into the house, and they had taken a long walk with Lizzie in a stroller to get to know each other, bonding instantly just like she had with Finn; she truly would never be able to adequately express her gratitude for the fact these people were now in her life, creating a support system she had only been able to dream of during the loneliness of her earlier years. And the biggest support of all was right by her side, looking absolutely delicious in cut-off jeans and a tight white t-shirt; they had spent the first day of their vacation almost exclusively in bed, and a very pleasurable little tremble moved through her at the memory.

"Blushin' again, Rush," he told her teasingly, letting go of her hand and trailing his forefinger along the sensitive underside of her arm, all the way to the shoulder strap of her bikini top, tugging at it gently and making her whimper a little. She was very careful with protecting her light skin but was still a tiny bit sun-kissed already, and that seemed to drive Scotty out of his mind even more than usual, his eyes darkening as he watched her.

"I think I know what you're thinkin' about there."

"Do you now?" she hummed, swallowing, trying to determinedly keep her eyes on the sunset, not wanting to miss a second of it even when the bedroom of their very nice and stylish suite was strongly beckoning. "I actually… I wanted to talk to you about something."

"All right." He left her top alone, sat up a little more. "What's goin' on?"

"Well, I…" Lilly bit her lip, unsure of how to put the thoughts swirling in her head into sentences. "Before we left, I… after my stitches were removed, I had an appointment with my regular doctor."

She could see him tense, worry instantly appearing on his face, saw him swallow. "Lil… is everythin' okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine; I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you think…" She groaned, rubbed a hand over her face, deciding to just come clean. "Basically I just asked him if he thought I had any chance to… to get pregnant."

Scotty stared at her for a long moment, quiet; then he swallowed again, gave a little nod. "An'... what did he say?"

"He said it's still possible; it probably won't be easy, and there are zero guarantees it would happen at all, but…" She took a deep breath, glanced at him. "Do you… do you still want to?"

"Of course I do." He reached for her hand again, grasping it into a tight hold. "Do you? Because what I told you a few weeks ago still stands, Lil; it needs to be your decision, an' I don't want you to do it just because of me, or my parents, or anyone else."

She was silent for a while; the sun dipped, now only half of it visible, the stunning colors of the sky intensifying and she brushed a tear from the corner of her eye. "I had this list in my head for so long, all these reasons why I can't have a baby, some really big stuff, but the thing is… the moment you and I happened, almost all of it just became obliterated, because so many of those reasons were tied to the belief I would never find someone so amazing, so warm-hearted and so loving. You need to be a father, Scotty, you were born to be a father; I see it every time I watch you with Lizzie, and I saw it when we met your niece and nephew. So the answer to your question is yes; I do want to, I want to have a family with you if we can. I know I had a terrible upbringing, and I've been terrified about condemning any possible children to the same fate, but back when we had a talk about this, you told me I'm not my mother and I know you're right."

He held her hand with all his might, tears slowly moving down his cheeks; she sniffled, wiping some more wetness from her face too and giving him a smile. "So I thought I would come off the pill, let my body try to regulate itself, and then if we're lucky… who knows. Maybe that miracle will happen."

"Oh Lil," he whispered, leaning over and bridging the distance between them, finding her lips in a deep, incredible kiss. "I love you so goddamn much. So, so much. An' that plan sounds very, very good; I believe in fate so if it's meant to happen, it will, an' if not, then we'll at least definitely enjoy tryin'."

"I love you too." Lilly felt herself relaxing again, a smile breaking onto her face, her heart so full of love and adoration as she watched him; true happiness had been tough to come by, but it had come, somehow she had managed to find it, and now she was filled with so much hope and such great expectations for the future, probably for the first time in her entire life.

"All right then. Let's try."