After All

Chapter 40: The End

A/N: Sigh. Another end to another story. As always, I am grateful for your kind support and encouragement. I hope you've enjoyed this little journey! Damie hugs all around!

"Wake up, baby. Somebody wants his Mama."

I squirmed deeper into the lush bedding and a smile curved my lips. "Ummm, okay. But I need kisses first, please."

There was a snicker, "Always, love. Always." Sweet, soft lips met mine and pulled me from the depths of slumber to greet my love and his mini-me, well one of them, for our early morning nursing.

I rolled over to better meet the eyes that had held me transfixed for years. The eyes that would always calm me, speak to me, love me.

I sighed, so grateful for the gifts in my life....

I'm living proof that dreams can and do come true. Sometimes the road has been bumpy, almost untraversable at points, but it led me here and there is nowhere else I'd rather be. It's been an eventful couple of years, for sure. After our wedding, Jamie and I went off the grid for a month. He left the business in Chad and Mary's very capable hands and we did nothing but vegetate in St. Thomas at Daddy's house. Jamie fell in love with the island and we ended up buying our own place to have as a retreat.

We knew we wanted to start our family quickly, so on Ally's advice, I quit taking the pill. She suggested I have at least three normal cycles before trying to get pregnant, which meant we were back to condoms. We decided on invitro fertilization to remove the risk of another tubal pregnancy. During that time, she also had me monitoring my ovulation so we would know if I WAS ovulating, and whether it was every month or not. Luckily, I WAS ovulating, and on a pretty regular schedule, which should make the egg harvesting easier.

The not so pleasant part was having to take fertility drugs to increase my egg production. They made me pretty hormonal and loopy, which was a challenge when we were filming the sequel to Undeniable, which we titled Everlasting. Everything made me cry, and I mean everything. And I was eating everything in sight, which just made me cry even more as my weight started to climb. My personal trainer took care of that pretty quickly, and Jamie was an absolute rock – demonstrating never ending patience and showering me with love and affection, even more so than usual.

Right after we wrapped the movie, Scott and Madison got married – in their barn, with all of their four-legged children in attendance. And she was the most perfect barn bride. She wore a short white dress, white cowboy boots, and a white cowboy hat. I still smile when I recall Madison's story about their engagement.

Madison Flashback

After the wedding, we took a few days to get our home and our lives back to normal. It was great having everyone here and together, but it's also nice to have the place back to ourselves. I guess weddings make everyone emotional and sappy, and I'm no exception. It was such a joyous event and seeing Jamie and Dakota so happy after all they've been through was so moving. Even Scott seemed affected by it. He's been a little quieter than usual, and he spends more time in the barn and riding by himself. I tried to take it in stride and not create a problem where one doesn't exist, but then last night at dinner he asked me when I was heading back to London.

That hit me out of left field. Is he trying to get rid of me? Is that why he's been keeping to himself – he's trying to figure out how to tell me he wants his space? To be honest, it never crossed my mind to go back to London unless it's for work. My home is with him, wherever he is. Maybe we're not in the same place.

Consequently, I felt sick to my stomach the next day when he came to me in the barn. "Let's go for a ride. I want to talk to you about something." Oh God. Here it comes. The break up talk.