There are three songs mentioned in this, if you don't know them I'd encourage you to check them out on YouTube. Hopefully you will enjoy them. 1st is "Beth" by Kiss. 2nd is "If Tomorrow Never Comes" by Ronan Keating or original Garth Brooks. 3rd is "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" by Paloma Faith or Mama Cass.

As Walter looked up from kissing Paige he saw a familiar face come out of the chapel.

"Cabe?" Walter said in surprise.

Paige grinned.

"You made it!" Paige said happily.

"I snuck in." Cabe nodded as he walked up to the young couple and exchanged hugs with them.

"I don't think I said it when you came to my graduation, but I'm sorry about the divorce." Walter told him sincerely.

"Thanks kid, but I got no one to blame but myself. I widowed Becca the day Amanda died. I just couldn't get it out of my head." Cabe told them.

"How are you doing now? I can't imagine how hard it is to deal with." Paige said sadly.

"Good days and bad. Even got a new job. Working for the new deputy security director of Homeland, Katherine Cooper." Cabe told them. "But this is supposed to be a good day, so let's lighten it up."

Walter nodded.

"Congratulations on the new job Cabe. Are you coming to the feast?" Walter asked.

"Thanks kid. Well I was at least hoping to get fed at the minimum for coming all this way." Cabe grinned.

The trio laughed as they met up with Walter and Paige's parents and then got into the SUVs that took them back to the O'Brien farm where the Walsh's were setting up to cater the banquet.

Megan and Billy arrived about thirty minutes later after changing clothes and getting her wheelchair, just in case.

For music Megan had chosen the small band that Thomas played drums for on the side. One of the highlights for most of them was when Thomas sang as they played "Beth" by Kiss. It was the only other song Megan danced to after their song, "If Tomorrow Never Comes".

Everyone, especially Sean, Ralph and Cabe all sat struggling to contain their tears as the couple danced to that song. Knowing one day, all too soon, Megan would be leaving this world.

"So how are things working out for you working for Elia?" Cabe asked Walter as he sniffed back and wiped his eyes.

Walter nodded as he finished chewing.

"It was a little rocky at first. Setting boundaries and earning the respect that people should just be given in general. His so-called geniuses had a lot of issues because I was being brought in to help get their projects back on track. But once they finally got over themselves and saw that I was more than capable, things started changing. Of course I couldn't have done it without my partner." Walter smiled at Paige and reached over and squeezed her hand.

"Your partner?" Cabe asked while his puzzlement showed on his face.

"Walter hired me to act as his secretary." Paige teased and then broke up laughing at Walter's look.

"You are not my secretary." Walter said with a bit of disgust in his voice. "You are my partner." Walter squeezed her hand.

"Okay, he hired me as his partner to do secretarial work." Paige teased as Walter shook his head. "But Richard wanted to be sure I wouldn't leak information so he insisted that I be employed through his company, not Walter."

"What difference would that make?" Cabe frowned.

"NDAs mostly. Walter just flat hired me, technically I could have told anyone anything. Not that I would have of course. My relationship with Walter is more powerful than any piece of paper of an NDA could ever be." Paige grinned at Walter.

"Ditto." Walter said as he leaned in and kissed her.

"So how's that working out for the both of you?" Cabe asked.

"Great really, at least until school started again." Walter told him.

"Well even that isn't too bad after I got some classes switched so I get out of school two hours early now." Paige booped Walter's nose.

"Except when I have to have a morning meeting." Walter smiled back.

"Dang that Toyko division." Paige laughed.

"I've often wondered just how much work Walter actually gets accomplished." Happy teased.

"Happy!" Paige said, shocked by her words.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cabe frowned.

"Richard rented an office across from the Walsh's cafe, they are the only two workers there. All that alone time, just the two of them. The windows are covered so no one can see in and the door is mysteriously always locked." Happy teased.

"Oh." Cabe said quietly as his face turned a little red at that thought.

"Girl, I don't know what has come over you since December." Paige said with exasperation.

Happy just laughed.

The last song was a tribute song. Paige saw Thomas gesture and she smiled and excused herself from the table. She stepped over quickly to the band and got behind the mic. The guitarist put down his electric guitar and picked up an old acoustic he had and he began strumming.

"This last song is for my sis and my new brother. May the happiness you feel today last throughout the rest of your lives. And always remember this." Paige told them before she raised her voice to sing.

"Nobody can tell ya,

There's only one song worth singing,

They may try and sell ya,

'Cause it hangs them up,

To see someone like you."

"But you gotta, make your own kind of music,

Sing your own special song,

Make your own kind of music,

Even if nobody else sings along."

"You're gonna be nowhere,

The loneliest kind of lonely,

It may be rough going,

Just to do your things the hardest thing to do."

"But you gotta, make your own kind of music,

Sing your own special song,

Make your own kind of music,

Even if nobody else sings along."

"So if you cannot take my hand,

And if you must be going, I will understand."

"Cause you gotta, make your own kind of music,

Sing your own special song,

Make your own kind of music,

Even if nobody else sings along."

"You gotta, make your own kind of music,

Sing your own special song,

Make your own kind of music,

Even if nobody else sings along."

Everyone began clapping and cheering as the song came to an end.

Paige smiled at everyone as she walked over and Megan hugged her tightly.

"I love you." Paige said softly.

"I love you too." Megan cried.

Saturday, December 8th, 2002, Callan:

The Dineen's had the combined family over for a big midday meal. As they all sat around talking and just enjoying each other's company Megan finally nudged her husband who stood up with his glass.

"Umm, family. Megan and I have a bit of news for you. Yesterday, we had our first sonogram done and we're just short of three months pregnant." Billy told them as he raised his glass.

Louise cried out and threw her arms around Megan and kissed her cheek as everyone else raised their glass and toasted the news…except Walter.

Walter slipped out of his chair so quietly even Paige didn't notice for almost five minutes. Paige's head turned from side to side but didn't see Walter and she quickly pushed back and left the dining room.

"Walter?" Paige said softly. It hadn't taken her long to find him out on the patio. It was where they would often sit together on the swing.

Walter looked back and smiled as he held his arm out towards her.

Paige quickly moved under his arm and up against his side even as he dropped his arm down and hugged her to him.

"What's wrong?" Paige asked softly.

"Nothing really. I mean, I'm happy for them, but…isn't it selfish of Megan to get pregnant?" Walter asked.

"What do you mean?" Paige frowned.

"Megan's most likely only going to live another twenty years at best. Probably a little less than fifteen at the rate her condition is attacking her. Her baby will have to finish growing up without her. That's a selfish thing to do, right?" Walter asked as he was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the emotional thought.

"Well I wouldn't call it selfish Walter. After all, no one knows how long they have. Some young healthy women die giving birth. Should they have not tried? A new Father could step off the curb on his way to the hospital to be with his wife who just gave birth and get killed by a drunk driver. All we can do is the best we can do in any situation Walter and trust in our family and friends to carry on for us if the worst happens. Is this some kind of thinking of you not wanting to have kids now?" Paige asked curiously as she looked up at his face.

Walter shook his head as he stared out towards the west.

"I guess I just didn't think about it like that. I mean, no one can account for random chance, but it just seems weird to purposely have a baby knowing you won't be there to help them grow completely. Is it wrong to think that way?" Walter asked.

"No deartháir, it isn't wrong." Megan said as she stood just inside of the house with the door slightly open.

"Deirfiúr!" Walter said, almost panicking. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying." Walter was saying and Megan put her hand up to stop him.

"Step inside, it is too cold to be out there without coats." Megan pushed the door open wider.

Walter held the door and let Paige enter first.

"Walter, it is okay. I wondered the same thing. I even thought about abortion when I first discovered I was. But I couldn't make the decision on my own. I had to let Billy know what was going on, so I told Billy. Billy convinced me it was okay. That even if I lived just ten more years, our child would still be happy and He'd always be here for her or him. And maybe I am a little selfish or perhaps greedy. I want to know that experience. To carry a child, to give birth and to nurture and guide every single footprint that child makes that I can. For however long I have. I will instill as much of my love into this child as I can. That my child will know without a doubt…just how much I love them. My child won't have to struggle to wonder that, like some kids have had to struggle." Megan told Walter as she squeezed his hand.

Walter knew she was speaking of him and Happy. At least until Paige and the Dineens had come into their lives, he, at least, always questioned if his parents loved him. But now, thanks to Paige and her parents he's grown so much more and he knows that his parents do love him.

"Well, don't you worry either sis. Because We'll be there, every single day, if our niece or nephew needs us." Paige told her.

Megan grinned.

"Actually Billy and I want to name you both as godparents. There is no one we want more to guide and protect our baby if the worst does happen." Megan told her.

"Well, welcome back you three." Ralph said as they returned to the dining room. "I was just about to make my own announcement. Thanks to this brilliant mind." Ralph said as he put his hand on top of Happy's head. "After acing her tests this summer and being moved up to her senior year with Paige, she's done an amazing job at keeping up with her course load. She's easily going to graduate with Paige this next year."

Everyone clapped even as Happy blushed.

"That leaves us in a bit of a quandary. Happy has stated she wants to go to MIT and her professors at Dublin have been very supportive. Paige, your Mother and I know how much you've gone back and forth on this. How much you've worried, but we never had a single doubt about you and your ability. So much so, and to prove it, we received several full scholarships this week. So if our daughters want it, Paige, Harvard or Dublin University is all yours. And Happy you only applied to one, and MIT can't wait for you to get there." Ralph said as a tear ran down his face. "I am so beyond proud and happy at what the two of you have done so far."

Paige was completely shocked but while not shocked Happy was still surprised that she'd been accepted with a full scholarship to MIT. Everyone was cheering and hugging and congratulating them both.

"We'll get a place for the four of us to live, six if Paige and Walter want to live with us, or we can look at an apartment for them. Living here, in Ireland, has been my dream since I was a young boy. And it is without a doubt the place I will forever call home. But as I told Ronnie last year, I was willing to at least set this aside and we would move as a family back to the States if that is where our daughters want to go to school. We will be keeping the home here and when they both have graduated Ronnie, Emmett and I, at least, will be moving back." Ralph concluded.

"Hopefully our daughters will come back too, but we know it is both of your lives to live. And we'd never try to force you." Veronica smiled as she looked at Paige and Happy.

"What about the Embassy?" Happy asked.

"Well technically I don't have to be here to do my job. Sure it does help sometimes, but I can conduct business over the internet and if there is something I really need to be in person for, I can just fly back for it." Ralph smiled at her.

Walter grinned at Paige.

"Harvard, it is exactly what you wanted." Walter pulled her in and hugged her tightly. Part of him was scared. What if college caused Paige to grow so much she outgrew him? Met someone else that interested her more. He knew out of the sixteen thousand eight hundred and twelve probabilities he ran on their life together. That there were only four hundred and eighty nine of them that they stayed together through her college time. And out of that only one hundred and sixty three of them had them staying together until the age of thirty. Out of that there were fifty four that saw them to the age of sixty. Only three saw them to their seventies. And only one saw them together until one of them died at an even older age.

Paige could feel his anxiety ramping up in his body. She felt little micro shudders as he feared facing that day she walked out of his life.

Paige frowned and pulled back and looked into his eyes. Her eyes opened wide at what she saw. She turned and pulled against him and dragged him back out of the dining room and out to the swing and made him sit down. Paige sat on his lap and curled up with him just hugging him tightly.

As the shudders slowly stopped she looked at him and kissed him.

"You were running probabilities weren't you?" Paige said but it wasn't really a question.

"No." Walter answered honestly. "I was reviewing the ones I had already run."

"Walter, I don't know much about probabilities. I probably couldn't keep up with the math to figure one out myself. But listen to me. I don't care how low of a chance you came up with. If you want me, if you treat me as you have always treated me, I am yours forever. I don't care about anything else. As long as you don't do anything too horrible, I'll always give you the chance to apologize and make it up to me. Do you understand me?" Paige asked while staring into his eyes.

"You can say that now, because this is who you are. But Paige, college is going to broaden things so much. You will meet a far greater number of people. People who will be normal emotionally. They'll like more of the things you will." Walter swallowed hard.

"Walter, do you think you are the only one that worries about things like that?" Paige asked.

Walter frowned as his head tilted to the side looking at her.

"Walter, I fear the day you meet a girl like Happy, who is cute, who has a mind like yours. Who can keep up with the things you like and can run stride for stride with you. I can't do that. I fear the day that you come up with an idea or someone pitches an idea to you that you can't say no to. And you dive off into that intellectual playground I'm not allowed in. Left in the cold. But, I'd still be right there, standing outside of that fence, waiting, hoping you'd remember me and come back." Paige told him as a tear ran down her face.

"I fear losing you because of that wonderful brain of yours. From the first day we met, I felt a click. Something about you snapped together with me. And no matter when I've been mad, I've never once wanted to be apart from you. Even that day I thought you were dumping me to go to America. It was all I could do to struggle against whatever snapped us together to walk away. I had to run…but I still felt it, pulling back against me." Several tears ran down her face now.

"It hurt so bad, I begged Daddy for help. I told him how much it hurt and you weren't even gone yet. Walter I wanted to die because I thought you really wanted to get away from me. So please, believe me, trust me despite the numbers. I love you and I'm yours." Paige told him.

Walter nodded.

"I was serious that day too Paige, I am yours. Forever. I don't care about other girls. I only care about you, our life together and those in our lives. I told you before your fifteenth birthday. You are inside here." Walter touched his chest. "And here." Walter touched his head. "You are part of everything I do or think, forever. And I don't need a partner that can run stride for stride with me mentally. I need a partner who understands me, whose talents and abilities offset mine. And most importantly I need a partner who calms the insanity that tries to claim me. For many years that was Megan, but she could only touch the fringes. You touched me so deeply Paige. I feel you past the marrow of my bones."

Paige kissed Walter passionately.

Greetings! I hope this finds you all well! And so 2002 comes to an end...Most everyone will have a break from me for a week now. lol "Lady Aine" is next and a small 4 chapter story. Hopefully somewhere between here and there the final chapter of "Donor" will be done, my test readers have been enjoying it. It will end on chapter 14 and there will be a follow up story at some point for it. But I am unsure of what is next. Things haven't really been speaking...Looks like the Dineens + Walter are going to the US!

Railman - Glad you enjoyed it!

Lucy - So glad you enjoyed it! I don't know...why you so negative? hehe Never know what 2003 will bring...*looks around and cackles*

2LawDog - hehe Glad you enjoyed it!

Guest - Well I am quite sure someone can write a story around those parameters. hehe The question is who will be sparked by the concept to write it? Normally I am far too busy for such a thing and while I do have plenty to work on, I just don't have any inspiration. I hope someone likes your idea and picks it up!

To the Adventure! -Tim