Epilogue 2.0

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A crucial thing to know is that Josh, Maya's son, has been Skylar's best friend throughout her life. When Skylar visits for Christmas break, she tells us that Josh asked her out on a date. And she said yes. And that date was a month ago. And it went great.

"I didn't even know he liked me like that," she says over Christmas Eve dinner.

Tristan smirks. "I knew."

"How did you know?" Skylar asks, raising her eyebrows.

"He told me last summer, at the beach party we went to before California."

"You all went to a party?" Crystal asks, looking at Skylar.

She waves her off. "I told Dad."

Crystal shoots me a look. I throw my hands up. "I don't remember her ever mentioning a beach party."

"Besides the point," Skylar says. "Josh has really liked me for five months now? And you haven't told anyone?"

"Oh, he has liked you for way longer than that. He told me it started around freshman year," Tristan responds.

Skylar looks dumbstruck, but honestly, it was pretty obvious that that kid had strong feelings for my daughter. He was like a little puppy, following her around.

She excuses herself after that and goes to her old room.

The next morning an eager Lucy wakes the whole house at six in the morning. I have flashbacks to when Skylar was that age. She treated every day like Christmas, waking up at the brink of dawn.

We open presents after breakfast, much to Lucy's dismay. Two cups of coffee later I'm helping Lucy open her array of gifts.

"So we're learning about family trees in school," Robert says as he opens another present, "and I'm very confused on the fact that Skylar has a different mom."

Damn Robert, why did you have to ask about this today? "I'll take care of this sweetie," I tell Crystal, kissing the top of her head.

"I'll come with you," Skylar stands up and follows us to the kitchen.

"First of all, mom is my mom, too. And I'm your sister," Skylar says.

"Yeah, but why is Trinity your "birth mom" and our aunt?" He puts air quotes around "birth mom" because he doesn't exactly know what that term means. We have yet had the other talk. Maybe I should get on that.

"Before I met your mother, I was in love with Trinity, and we had Skylar together, and I didn't know it for a while. I met your mother and we fell in love. When Skylar was one Trinity passed away, and your mother stepped in and helped me raise Skylar. At the time we didn't know she was Trinity's sister, or Skylar's aunt. Since your mom has been here, and has helped raise Skylar, the mom title is fitting."

"I love our mom like you love her. There's no difference," Skylar tells him.

Robert nods. "I understand."

"Good. Now let's go finish opening those presents."

When we get back in the living room, Crystal and Skylar share a hug and a few words.

"Are we going to grandma's now?" Tristan asks, already done opening his gifts.

"They're expecting us at noon, so no," Crystal responds.

"What abound Nana and Papaw, are they coming for the holidays?" Skylar asks about Crystal's parents.

"I don't think they're coming this year," she says sadly. I go to sit beside my wife and kiss her cheek.

"Have you heard anything about Greg and Bethany?" I ask, referring to her kidnappers. A few months ago she got a notice that they might get out of prison early for good behavior.

"Not anything new."

"Tell me when you do." I don't want them anywhere near our children.

"Don't worry, I already have that restraining order, remember?" I nod.

Josh and Skylar date for a while, but Skylar ends up breaking it off because she doesn't want a serious relationship in college. I'm glad she's putting her education and future in front of dating.

It takes seven years for Skylar to finally graduate because she decided to go to law school. I couldn't be more proud, watching her receive her diploma.

We have a party to celebrate. Diane and George are there, along with Shawn and Robert's family, who we haven't seen in two years. It's been about 20 years since Robert's sudden passing, and since then his wife, Veronica , has found another husband, Frank, who she's very happy with.

"I am happy to introduce my first grandson, Noah," Shawn says, holding up a handsome little boy.

"Awe, he's so cute," Crystal talks in her baby voice. I know she's eager to have grand babies, but I'm not in any rush. Skylar can take as long as she needs.

"Crystal, hi! It's good to see you!" Veronica says, coming over to us. The girls hug. Veronica and Robert had one girl before his passing, and Veronica and Frank had another little girl.

Shawn and his ex-wife had three kids, two boys and a girl. His oldest boy is the one who just had Noah.

"Did you hear the news?" Shawn asks, passing crying Noah to his mother.

Crystal nods. Just yesterday Greg and Bethany were released.

"I'm terrified that they're going to mess with us somehow," Crystal says.

"Your family's safe, they can't leave their city, much less the state of California. We're actually thinking about moving out of state, just to be safe."

"There's plenty of room in New York," I say, "you could even stay with us for a while, after Robert goes to college we'll only have one kid left in the house."

While Crystal and Shawn catch up I move to the kitchen to get the cake. I'm startled by a voice saying, "may I speak with you please?"

Turning around, I see it's Josh. After his and Skylar's break up they stayed close friends, but you can easily see how much he still loves her.

"Yeah, let's go sit in the living room." The party's outside so no one's in the house. Whatever this is, it's important. I can tell by how nervous he is.

I sit on the reclining chair while he takes a seat on the couch. "How's school going?" He still has a year of medical school until he graduates.

"It's going good. The workload is tough, but it'll be worth it." I wait for him to get to his point. "Mr.Daniel, I love your daughter," I knew this was about Skylar, "and now that she's done with school, I would like to ask for her hand in marriage, if that's alright with you."

This wasn't what I expected, especially since she has a boyfriend that is not Josh. His name's Kyle, and he's a little punk, but he makes her happy so I don't complain. Much.

Memories of a young Josh flood my mind. He was probably three, four years old, when he asked he could marry Skylar at my wedding. At the beginning of their relationship I told the story over dinner and Josh blushed, but Skylar thought it was cute and kissed his cheek.

"She has a boyfriend," I tell Josh, in case he never got the memo.

He sighs. "I know. I was thinking that I should let her know that I'm still a choice; the better choice for her. And what better way to do that than to propose?"

I sit straight up and attempt to look intimidating. "Do you actually want to marry her, or would it be just to prove a point?"

"I have wanted to marry her since we were 14, sir."

I like his guts. This reminds me of the time I sat down with Mr.Logsdon and asked his permission to marry Crystal. He loathed me, but in the end I convinced him. The difference here is I don't hate Josh. I would much rather him marry Skylar than Kyle.

"You love her, right?"

He nods, "very much."

"And you won't ever hurt her, or let anyone hurt her?"

"I would die for her if it came down to it."

"Then I give you my blessing."

A grin spreads across his face and he hugs me. "Don't let me regret this," I warn.

"You won't."

A few weeks later Skylar visits from her apartment with some news. "I'm engaged!"

Crystal is the first to hug and congratulate her. Lucy looks at the sparkly ring with interest. "Congrats sweetie," I say, bringing her into a bear hug.

"Ugh, dad, you're squishing me," she gasps. I let go with a chuckle.

"Sorry darling, now let me see that ring." She holds up her hand. I whistle. That sure is one big diamond. "Way to go Josh."

Skylar laughs, "why would you say Josh? Kyle proposed."

I raise my eyebrows. "He did?"

"Yeah. Why would you think Josh proposed?"

I shrug, getting nervous. "I don't know, I must have made up shit in my mind. Congratulations."

That night Crystal crawls into bed beside me, "why did you say it was Josh who proposed?"

"At Skylar's graduation party he came up to me and asked for my blessing to marry Skylar. That punk Kyle didn't even ask."

Crystal wraps her arms around me. "I know you don't like Kyle, but he seems to make Skylar happy. That's all you can ask for."

She's right, of course. I can't tell Skylar she's making a mistake if the mistake loves her and makes her happy.

The next time is see Josh is six months later, at Skylar's wedding.

It's a relatively small wedding at the church where Trinity's funeral services were held. It was important to Skylar for her ceremony to be held there. The reception is being held at a nice hotel not far from there.

"Is everyone decent?" I ask, opening the door to the girl's room with a hand over my eyes.

"Yes daddy, you can open your eyes," Skylar says. I remove my hand. "Do I look okay?"

Her dress is simple yet elegant, princess style with a ribbon tied around the waist. Her hair is down and curled. She opted out of wearing a veil, claiming it wasn't her style.

"You are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen," I tell her. I can't believe my little girl is getting married today.

Lucy runs over to me in her cute flower girl dress. Her and Kylie's two year old daughter, Kendall, are the flower girls. The ring bearer is my cousin's son, who's three.

"Look daddy, we got flowers!" Lucy exclaims, showing me her white purse thing that says Flower Girl on it. It's filled with white and black petals.

Kylie, Isabella, Elizabeth, and Shawn's girl, Helen, are the bridesmaids, and Josh agreed to be a the man of honor. They all look great in their plain black dresses.

"Can I borrow you for a minute?" I ask Skylar.

She nods. "Yeah, of course."

Outside the room there's a sitting space. We both sit on the couch.

I pull out a photo from my suit. "What is it?" Skylar asks, looking at the picture. "Is that me? Am I in mom's wedding dress?" The first tears of the day start. From the both of us.

I laugh. "You were so eager to try on her dress, so we let you. Your mom thought it would be funny to show you on your wedding day."

She studies the picture. "Thank you. I love it."

"One more thing." I reach into my jacket again, and retrieve the letter. "From Trinity."

On the front of the envelope it says Wedding Day in Trinity's perfect cursive handwriting.

Skylar opens it with shaky hands. "'My Dearest Skylar,'" she reads out loud. I grab her hand. "'If you're reading this letter it's your wedding day. I can't even imagine how beautiful you must look right now. I bet your father's a mess,'" she laughs through her silent tears. I chuckle. "'I wish I could be there, holding your hand through this milestone in your life. If your husband (or wife. Who knows what will happen in at least 25 years?) is anything less than what you deserve, dump him. If he doesn't respect you, or your family, dump him. If he pressures you, dump him. If he doesn't ask for your father's permission, dump him.

Know I'm watching over you and your husband-to-be and all your future kids. Tell your father I'm watching over him and Crystal (I hope he ended up with her or this would be awkward) and all their children. I hope you know how much I love you and miss you, and how proud I am of you.

Never forget me.

Love Always, Trinity.'" She started ending her letters with 'Trinity' the letter for her first day of middle school. It was a bittersweet moment.

She really starts breaking down after that. "What if I'm making the wrong choice?"

I wrap my arm around her in comfort. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if I'm not meant to be with Kyle? What if we're rushing into things, and there's someone better out there?"

I kiss the side of her head. "Do you love him?"

"I think so."

She doesn't. I can see it on her face. She's going to regret going through with this marriage. But it's her life, her mistakes to make.

"Let's look at it this way: can you see yourself raising a family with him?"

She looks away. "He doesn't want kids."

"And you're okay with that?" She has always talked about wanting a big family, at least four kids. This must be killing her.

"Why are you marrying him then?"

She sniffs and wipes her eyes, smearing her mascara. "I don't know. I feel like he's my only chance of getting married. I guess I'm settling for him."

At this I laugh. "Honey, you're 26, you don't need to be settling for another 14 years." She giggles. "Seriously, you are beautiful, and strong, and smart, what guy wouldn't want to marry you?"

After a few minutes she wipes at her eyes again. "God, I'm a mess. Can I ask you something?"

I nod. "Did Kyle ask for your permission before proposing?"

Tentatively, I shake my head. I don't want to influence her decision.

The elevator dings, and we both look to see Josh walk off. He stops at the sight in front of him. "I'm sorry, should I go?"

I stand up. "I'll let you guys talk."

Back in the room Crytal gives me a look. "What?"

"Did you just break off a wedding?"

I bring her into my arms, "maybe."

Ten minutes later Skylar walks in. "Hey guys, I need to say something," she says, and every pair of eyes turn to her. "I appreciate all of your alls support on this big day, but, sadly, I'm canceling the wedding."

Her friends go and ask her questions while comforting her. "One hundred percent her decision," I tell Crystal.

The girls help Skylar out of her dress and into a robe. I walk with her to the boy's room so she can break the news to Kyle.

The room is just how I left it over thirty minutes ago, rowdy and loud. Skylar finds Kyle and brings him out of the room.

"What's happening with that?" Dad asks, sipping his beer.

"Skylar's calling off the wedding," I tell him, grabbing myself a beer.

"Good, that boy is a little punk," dad mutters.

"That's what I thought."

A few seconds later there's yelling coming from the hallway.

The room becomes silent. I take action and leave the room. "Get your hands off my daughter," I practically growl when I see Kyle gripping her arm.

Kyle let's go of her and she runs into my arms. "Can we leave?" Skylar asks. Kyle steps towards us but I narrow my eyes, daring him to take one step closer.

"Fine, cancel the stupid wedding. I only proposed because you're knocked up," Kyle storms past us, back into the room.

Skylar goes still. I look down at her, shocked. "You're pregnant?"

Her bottom lip quivers. "I'm sorry. Don't be mad-"

"Mad? I'm happy! I'm going to be a grandfather. And you're going to be a mom, Sky."

She wipes her eyes. "Yeah."

I look at her stomach. "Are you six months?"

She nods. "24 weeks tomorrow."

"It doesn't look like it."

"I thought it was odd, too, but my doctor says everything's fine. I was looking at pictures of Trinity when she was pregnant with me, and she wasn't big until the third trimester."

I give her a bear hug. "I'm so excited. My little girl is having a baby!"

She shakes her head. "It's not exciting. I know he only proposed because his parents made him. They didn't want their grandchild to be a bastard child. He's not going to help me. I'm going to be raising a baby alone."

"Honey, you're not going to be alone. You have me and your mother. We will always be there for you."

Since the wedding was already being paid for, Crystal and I decided to renew our vows. This time around, after more than 20 years of marriage, we know what would be realistic. So we made our realistic vows for the years to come.

Skylar moves back home for the time being, just until the baby is born and she can find a job. She starts being obviously pregnant at 30 weeks, and she blows up. Crystal is more excited than anyone. She loves babies.

Around the time of her 35th week, we're all in bed when we hear a cry. Crystal shoots up in bed and is out of the room quicker than you can say potato.

I follow her to Skylar's room. Skylar's in the fetal position, hands clutching her stomach, laying in a pool of blood.

"Grab her, we need to go to the hospital," Crystal tells me. She calls my mom to watch Lucy while I carry Skylar to the car.

"Daddy, it hurts," she moans, clutching her stomach. She cries out again.

"I know baby. Just stay calm." I sit in the back and comfort her as Crystal drives us to the nearest hospital.

We run into the hospital in a panic. Crystal tells the receptionist that we need to see Dr.Drake immediately. A nice nurse brings out a wheelchair and I place Skylar in it gently. "I love you sweetie, stay strong," I kiss her forehead.

Skylar clutches Crystal's hand and they disappear behind the doors.

Two hours. Two hours I'm waiting outside those stupid doors. Each time they open I'm expecting Dr.Drake, or a nurse, or Crystal. Finally, Crystal comes out, a hospital gown on, tears in her eyes. She shakes her head and I pull her into my chest. "The baby lived only for a few short minutes," she mumbles.

I squeeze my eyes shut, holding back the tears. This must be killing Skylar. "Is Skylar okay?"

"She's fine, no permanent damage."

I sigh in relief. "Was the baby a boy or a girl?"

"A boy."

I had a grandson. For a short period of time, I had a grandson, and Skylar had a son. Skylar was a mother. "Can I go see her?"

Crystal nods and leads the way. What I walk into is not a pretty sight. Skylar's sobbing on the bed, in the fetal position, covered in blood.

I bend down beside her and hold her small hand. "I'm sorry sweetie."

That's all I say. I sit in the chair beside her bed, just sitting, until her sobs grow quite, and soon, nonexistent.

Dr.Drake explains to me what happened, something I don't quite understand. All I know is there was nothing Skylar could have done differently to prevent this.

A few hours later Josh knocks on the door before walking in. I let him talk to Skylar in private while I step into the hall to call Kyle. As much as I don't want to, he has a right to know.

He answers after a few rings. "Hello?"

"Hi, it's Mr.Daniel, Skylar's father."

"Oh, hi. Is something wrong?" He asks.

"Yeah. Skylar had the baby, but he didn't make it."

There's a moment of silence before I hear, "oh, well, I'm sorry to hear that. I have to go," and he hangs up. I almost call him back to curse at him, but that wouldn't solve anything.

It takes Skylar months to recover, but one bright summer day, she comes down for breakfast, showered, and a smile on her face. "What a beautiful day."

Crystal and I look at each other, a smile on both of our faces. Two and a half months she has been a hermit, locked up in her room. We're happy to see her back to normal, or at least as close as someone can get to normal after what happened.

By October Skylar has found a job at a bank and is moving into her own apartment.

As far as I know she didn't date until one day that next summer when I get a

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