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Well, I can hardly believe it, but here it is. The last chapter.

Thank you to everyone who has ever left me feedback, especially those of you who stuck with the story through its completion. I know it was difficult to read at times. I really put my readers through the ringer with this. But your feedback has always meant so much to me. It's one of the highlights of my day. I love Roswell and Roswell fanfiction so much because of the people who keep the fandom alive: you guys! You're all so wonderful, as cheesy as that sounds.

I had this awesome little "Thank you" video made (like I did for Passion), but it's super-screwed up right now. I'll drop that off if I get it fixed. If not, THANK YOU. I can't say it enough.

One thing I have to know now that you've made it through the entire story: Who ended up being your favorite character, and who ended up being your least favorite? Just out of my own curiosity.

There is a little surprise for all of you at the end of this. Make sure you check it out AFTER you read this epilogue.

Oh, so much ramble. Here you go!

"Come on, girls, she's gonna throw the bouquet!"

That was all it took for Maria to run across the grass, her high-heels causing her to stumble. Her pink bridesmaid dress flapped in the breeze as she approached the balcony outside the pavilion. The bride would soon be perched up there, bouquet of flowers in hand. It was an inane tradition-whoever caught the flowers would be the next to get married-but a tradition she was very excited about.

Maria joined the group of several dozen women, most of them around her age. They chattered wildly, but she was focused. That bouquet was so hers.

"You're gonna have to beat me to it," her mother said, stepping up beside her.

"Mom?" she shrieked. She was easily the oldest in the bunch.

"I'm going for it, too," Amy said. "Really, Maria, I need it so much more than you do."

Maria gave her a look. No one here needed or wanted it as much as she did.

"I'm over the hill now. Do you have any idea what that's like?"

Maria shrugged. She was twenty-three and a half now. She almost halfway to fifty.

"Oh, you do need it, though," Amy acknowledged. "Fine, I'll forfeit. But Ed better not let me down."

"Thank you," Maria said as her mother slipped out of the crowd. One down. She smirked.

"Oh my god, Maria, this cake is amazing!" Liz exclaimed as she bounded towards her. "Have you tried it?"

"I ate, like, five pieces," Maria admitted shamefully.

"It's so good," Liz reiterated. "Is she gonna throw the bouquet?"

"Yes, so get out of here."

"No way, I'm gonna try to catch it." Liz shoveled the rest of the cake into her mouth and tossed the plate aside.

She could be competition, Maria thought. She had to eliminate her. "Liz, think about it," she said. "Do you really wanna be Mrs. Max Evans?"

Liz did think about it, and the expression on her face changed. "Good point," she said. She gave Maria an encouraging pat on the shoulder, then skipped off. Max wasn't there of course, but Liz had been thrilled to receive an invite from the groom.

Maria tapped her foot on the ground impatiently. Where was the woman in white? She wanted this bouquet to be thrown before anyone else decided to try to catch it.

"What're you doing?" Marty asked as he approached her from behind.

"Just thinning the herd," she declared proudly.

"Hmm. Well, you're gonna have to beat me, bitch."

Her mouth dropped open. "Marty!"

"I'm serious. I wanna get married, too, you know."

She didn't have it in her to try to talk Marty out of participating. He'd been trying to get married for a long time now. So instead, she just pouted.

"Don't give me that look," her brother said, clearly giving in.

She exaggerated the pout.

"Dammit," he swore. "Alright, knock 'em dead, sister."

"Thank you." As much as she wanted to see her brother and Francis get married, he would have been her biggest competition of all. She felt like she had this in the bag now.

"Here she comes!" someone shouted as the bride appeared on the balcony. Maria smiled at her friend. Tess looked beautiful. She'd chosen a white, strapless dress that was form-fitting, fanning out at the bottom, mermaid-style. She wore a thin veil that extended all the way down her back and looked like a princess. Like a newly-married princess.

Tess winked at Maria, and Maria backed up away from the rest of the group. Tess was going to go long with this throw, and she'd be ready.

All the awaiting women stuck their hands in the air as they awaited the toss. Tess turned around, her back towards all of them, bent her knees, and then shot her arm in the air. The bouquet of pink roses flew far, right into Maria's awaiting hands. It was almost too easy.

"Yea!" she squealed, jumping up and down. Her excitement came to an abrupt end when the entire group of women charged at her, though. The pounced on her, and the bouquet fell from her hands.

"Ah!" she screamed. "No!"

Fellow bridesmaids, most of whom were cousins, distant relatives, and even the six-year old flower girl fought over the flowers. Once one person got a hold of them, someone else seized them. Several women fell down, and one even resorted to hair-pulling. Maria wasn't about to go that far, but she sure as hell wasn't about to give up without a fight. She roared and jumped on Tess's cousin's back, tearing the bouquet from her grasp. She jumped down and ran away from the pack, holding the flowers high in the air. "Woo!" she hollered as all the wedding guests applauded. She'd caught the bouquet.

"Yeah!" Tess exclaimed. "Good job, Maria!"

She did a little curtsey, then went to help some of the other ladies to their feet. Many had grass stains on their dresses.

Maria plucked a petal off one of the roses and blew it up into the air. As the commotion died down, she caught sight of the two people she loved most in the world watching her.

Michael was standing by their table, holding their daughter in his arms. Miley held the bride's garter in her tiny hands-Kyle had tossed that out to the men earlier-and she was chewing on it like any eighteen-month old child would. Michael smiled at his little girl, then at Maria, and she made her way towards him, carrying the flowers in front of her.

"Miley caught the garter," he said, "so I can't really take credit for it."

"Well, look what I caught," she said, holding the roses up to his nose.

"I know," he said, inhaling the scent. "I saw. That was intense."

"I think I broke a nail," she admitted. She set the bouquet down on the table and said, "You know, Mr. Guerin, I think this is a not so subtle hint."

He grinned and leaned down to kiss her. Miley made an unintelligible noise and reached out to touch both their cheeks.

"Hey, guys! Guys!" Kyle's voice rang out as he made his way towards them. "What're you doin'? You wanna scar the girl for life? Don't make-out in front of her. Here, give her to me."

Michael handed Miley over to Kyle, and Kyle's face immediately lit up when she smiled at him.

"Yeah," he said softly. "You like Uncle Kyle, don't you? Uncle Kyle looks good in a tux. He doesn't look like a penguin."

"You look like a penguin," Michael informed him.

He grunted. "Screw you, man. You're wearin' the exact same outfit."

"Kyle!" Maria hissed. "Do not say . . . s-c-r-e-w you in front of my daughter."

"Who cares? It's not a bad word," he said flippantly. "Now if I were to say fu--"

"Oh, Tess," Maria cut in when her best friend approached. "Thank God you came down here. We need you to censor your husband. He's spoutin' off at the mouth."

Tess smiled giddily. "Husband," she cooed, squeezing Kyle's side. He wrapped his free arm around her, pulled her to him, and kissed her.

"Who's scarring the kid now, huh?" Michael said.

Miley just giggled. She was having a good time.

"Dude, are you gonna do that thing?" Kyle asked Michael quietly, bouncing Miley up and down in his arm. "That thing we talked about?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna do that thing," Michael returned. "Is it okay if I do that thing right now?"

"Seems like the right time to me," Tess said. "Do that thing, Michael."

"You sure? It's your wedding."

"It's your thing."

"What-what thing?" Maria sputtered. She felt as though she were out of the loop on something. "What're you guys talking about?"

Michael gazed down at her for a moment. He looked excited about something. Not nervous. Excited. She gazed up at him confusedly, and when he got down on one knee, Maria realized what was happening. She gasped and pressed both her hands to her mouth to keep from screaming. Tess and Kyle looked on encouragingly, and all the other wedding guests began to 'ooh' and 'aah' and approach them. Amy and Marty ran forward of course. He'd probably already asked for Amy's permission, but she was still a spaz about it.

Oh my god, Maria thought as Michael reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He flipped it open, and the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen shined back at her. Maria finally lowered her hands from her mouth and smiled. It was a small diamond, but it was perfect.

"Oh my god, Michael," she whispered. She was shocked. They had talked about marriage for awhile now, but they'd been so busy being parents that they hadn't gotten around to it. She'd had no idea that he was going to do this here today. Even after all the years that she'd known him, he still managed to surprise her.

"Maria," he said, resting his left arm on his knee, still holding the ring up to her with his right hand. "I love you more than anything in the world. You're the most amazing person I've ever known, and I love the life we've made together."

Maria smiled at him, then peeked a glance at Miley. She wasn't old enough to understand what was going on, but they'd tell her the stories someday.

"I know we've got a lot of great days ahead of us," he said, "and I wanna spend them all with you."

Maria laughed a little, and then she started to cry.

"Let's make it official," he suggested. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed right away, nodding vigorously. Everyone applauded, and she held out her left hand. Her fingers shook as Michael slid the diamond onto her ring finger. It looked like it was meant to be there.

"Come here!" she cried as he stood up. She threw her arms around him and kissed him happily. So happily.

"Don't cry," he whispered in her ear.

"Good tears," she promised. She'd waited for this day for awhile.

"Sorry it took me so long," he apologized.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." He gave her another quick peck on the lips, and then the wedding guests crowded around them. Tess and Kyle both hugged them and offered their congrats. Amy yanked on Maria's hand and demanded to see the ring. Mascara was streaming down her face.

Once the commotion had died down, Marty's voice rose above all the rest. "Picture!" he shouted. "I gotta get a picture of this."

"Oh my god, no, look at me. I'm all over the place," Maria said, wiping the joyful tears from her cheeks.

"You look beautiful," Michael assured her.

"I want the married couple, the gonna-get-married couple, and my niece," Marty said. "Everyone else clear out for a minute. I just want the five of them."

"Fab Five!" Tess joked.

Maria laughed. "Yeah, Fab Five."

"Here," Kyle said, handing Miley over to Maria.

"Okay, scoot in," she told them. She grabbed Michael's collar-her fiancé's collar-and pulled him in close to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist while Tess came to stand beside Maria. Tess put her hand on Maria's shoulder, and Kyle wrapped both his arms around his new wife's midsection.

"Miley, look at the camera," Maria said as her brother took a few steps back, trying to get the picture in focus.

"Out of the picture, Mom. You'll be in the next one," Marty snapped. "Everybody lean in."

"Look at the camera," Maria told Miley again. She was such a good kid that she did just that. She laughed the way she usually did when she looked at her wacky Uncle Marty.

"Are we ready?" Marty asked.

"Wait a minute," Michael said, reaching back to the table. He picked up the pink rose bouquet Maria had just caught and handed it to her. "There you go," he said.

"Oh, okay." Her hands were full. Kid in one arm, flowers in the other. It felt good, though.

"Alright, I think we're ready, Marty," Tess said.

"Wait, is my hair alright?" Kyle asked.

"No. Who cares, you dork?" Maria teased. "Take the picture, Marty."

Michael chuckled. "One big happy family."

"Okay, bitches," Marty said. "On one . . ."

Maria smiled. Here she was, surrounded by her best friends, her fiancé, and her daughter. Her, the once out-of-control party girl who'd never even allowed herself a glimpse of this dream.

"Two . . ."

Never had she imagined that her life could be this good. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it was pretty damn close. And it was close because of the people in it.

"Three!"

The camera flashed, freezing the moment in time.