Epilogue

10 years later

Jade sat nervously in her chair as she smoothed her hands over her dress. Today was the day. It had been 10 years in the making and today she would finally marry the man she loved. The man who had given her everything in the last 10 years and the man who had waited for her. She gazed into the full-length mirror and smiled at her glowing self. They pinned her dark hair back with a few soft curls framing her face.

She didn't want to wear a veil and kept her hair bare of any dressings. Her dress was stunning and simple. With lace back and a skirt that flared slightly at her waist, it was perfect for their garden wedding.  

"You look beautiful Jade." She looked up and smiled at her father as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder giving it a squeeze. Her father was still a handsome man, and the years had been kind to him. Her mother, on the other hand, had aged terribly and looked a lot older than she was. Jade guessed that the combination of Botox and plastic surgery hurt her more than it improved her look.

It had been a long road for her and her family. With years of therapy, she finally had the relationship she wished for with her father and brother. It took a while, but she forgave her brother and moved forward. She had tried to fix her relationship with her mother and she wasn't sad when it didn't work.

"Thanks, dad. I'm nervous." At 40, she never dreamed she would get married, but life was funny like that.

"You have nothing to be worried about. I am so proud of you Jade." She watched as her father kissed the top of her head in the mirror as she gathered up the bottom of her dress.

"Shall we." Jade smiled brightly at her father as he wheeled her to the ceremony. Her heart pounded in her chest and she tried to take a few calming breaths. Her palms started sweating, and she knew why she was so nervous. She had been ready to marry Marcus for a long time, but she had made a promise to him and herself.

Her father pushed her through the lush grass and stopped as she watched her bridesmaids and flowers girls walk down the aisle.

"You look beautiful Jade." She smiled up at Noah who had everything she needed. Noah and Sophia over the last few years had played a huge role in her life leading up to this moment. While they didn't work for her anymore, they were still family and she kept in touch with them regularly.

"Thank you. Shall we? I am so ready to get married." Noah and her father laughed as they both walked on either side of her as she pushed herself to the start of the aisle. They seated everyone in their seats in the outdoor setting and there standing in front of a beautiful flower arch was her husband. She watched as he turned around and her heart fluttered inside her chest.

Still to this day Marcus could make her feel like a schoolgirl meeting her crush for the first time. She smiled at him and watched as his shocked expression morphed into a smile that was almost as bright as hers. The years had been amazing to him. He was still devilishly handsome but looked wiser and older. At 43, he still looked like an older and wiser 32-year-old. His black tux looked amazing against his tanned skin as it clung to all the right places making his arms look larger than life, and she couldn't wait to undress him later.

She rolled herself forward before putting on the breaks. She watched as Marcus frowned and a look of utter confusion marked his beautiful, handsome face. She looked towards Noah and nod as he came over with her new forearm crutches. She put them in place and dropped her dress she was holding in her lap. She nodded towards her father and Noah as they came over and helped her as she rose to her own two feet.

She heard a collective gasp from the crowd, but she only had eyes for her husband to be. Noah and her father held onto her until she had her balance as Sophia quickly came over and fixed up her dress, so she wouldn't trip over her. Once she was steady on her feet, she stood up tall and looked at Marcus who was smiling through his tears.

She took her first step and bit her lip at the amount of pain that radiated from her hip through to her toes, but she didn't care. She didn't care how much pain she was in because she had made a promise to Marcus and herself that she would walk down the aisle. The second step she took hurt even more than the first, but Jade pushed through.

10 years of hard work and here she was. Walking towards the love of her life. Noah, Sophia and her father followed next to her as the 3 most important people in her life walked with her. She didn't hide her pain because the pain proved the doctors they were wrong. They told her she could never walk again and here she was. There were tears, heartbreak and moments where she had given up, but he was always there holding her hand telling her she could do anything and wasn't bound to her wheelchair and now she was walking toward him in front of all their friends and family.

Marcus was openly crying, and he didn't give a fuck. His best friend, his lover, his soon to be wife was walking towards him on her own two feet. Not only didn't she look so stunning there were no words to described how ethereal she looked but she was also walking, towards him.

"Can you believe it?" He heard his brother mummer as he smiled brightly and Jade as she walked towards him. He didn't understand why at the last minute she changed to a shorter aisle, but it all made sense now. He had eyes only for her and as she got closer, he held out his hand which she grabbed a hold of and he swept her into his arms.

He couldn't describe his feelings and he had only felt this much immense joy and proudness one other time in his life. He could tell walking was causing Jade a lot of pain, but she was walking after doctors upon doctors told them it was impossible.

"When did this happen and how?" He smiled at Jade as she wiped away a few stray tears that fell down his face. He held onto her waist securely as she stood in front of him by herself for the first time.

"It's something I have been working on for a few years since you proposed. I promised you I would only marry you if I could walk down the aisle. A combination of forearm crutches, leg braces and a lot of therapy." Marcus laughed and shook his head. They had been putting off the wedding for years because of that promise and last year Jade finally caved, and they set a date after 9 long years.

"You should have told me." She smiled brightly at him and shook her head.

"This of this as 1 of your wedding gifts." The couple talked in a hushed whisper as they kept their family and friends waiting to start, but no one cared. There wasn't a dry eye as Jade walked herself down the aisle and there wasn't a dry eye when the celibate finally declared them husband and wife.

"You may now kiss the bride." Jade stood up on her tippy toes and wrapped her arms around his neck as she met him for the first time at his height for a kiss. She had taken off her crutches as Marcus kept one arm around her waist and the other holding her hand during the ceremony.

They filled the kiss with so much passion, tears and love as their soft lips melded together as they started a new chapter of their life together. Marcus gently cupped Jade's face with one hand as they pulled apart and rested their foreheads against each other.

"Hello, walking wife," Marcus whispered when he opened his eyes and looked at Jade's bright brown eyes.

"Hello, handsome husband." They both were smiling at each other as their friends and family clapped and cheered for them, but there was one little tiny voice that stood out from the crowd.

"Yay mummy and daddy." Marcus and Jade pulled away from each other and glanced at their beautiful daughter who was jumping up and down on her seat cheering the loudest next to her Grandma Anne. They watched as Marcus's mother nudged the excited 5-year-old who quickly came running up to both her parents in her white dress and brown curls that bounced for days.

"Noah can you pick Arabella up for me. Marcus support me please." Marcus smiled and grabbed onto Jade's waist supporting her as Noah passed her daughter to her standing up for the first time.

Jade didn't care about ruining her dress and she placed her daughter on her hip and kissed her temple.

"Dad look, mum can walk now. Does that mean I get a little brother? Mum promised me when she could walk again I would get a little brother." Marcus raised an eyebrow at his daughter then looked towards his wife with the same expression.

"I promised her if I could walk again I might consider maybe giving her a sibling." Jade crunched her face up at her devil-like child who she loved with all her heart.

"Is that so." Jade just hummed and looked up at her husband not caring that people were waiting for them to leave.

"Well, we better get practising tonight then," Marcus said cheekily back as Arabella made a vomiting sound.

"Ew ew ew. Please let me go. Uncle Noah save me from my gross parents." Marcus and Jade laughed as Noah grabbed her daughter from her and placed her on the ground as Jade's leg braces didn't allow her to bend.

"Well, shall we Mrs Blackwood." Sophia passed Jade her crutches as she walked down the aisle again with her husband on one side and her daughter on the other.

After getting photos Jade couldn't stand up any longer and no one batted an eye when she rolled herself into her wedding reception. The night comprised laughs, food, drinking and their daughter running around telling everyone she would get a baby brother soon. Lucky Marco was there on damage control chasing after the small child as she ran laps and laps between all the table.

"Shall I have this first dance, Mrs Blackwood?" Marcus asked after food and she nodded her head. He picked her up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and he held all her weight knowing she was in pain.

They took to the dance floor and slowly swayed to the soft sound of jazz music they danced to all those years ago in her kitchen. She rested her head on his shoulder and relaxed into is held.

"Do you ever miss it?" Jade asked as their first dance ended but they still slowly moved around the room swaying. A year before Arabella was born Marcus left the army and joined Jade on her growing business. In 10 years, her clientele had grown, and she had opened her own gym with herself and Marcus as personal trainers. They also had to hire more staff to help run classes and 1:1 sessions. Marcus worked with her part-time and also worked at the community college teaching history. She was proud of her business and couldn't wait to start on the new expansions to the building.

"Some days I do and other days I don't. Looking at my life now I don't think I could ever go away and leave you and Bella behind. The thought of it makes me feel sick. I am happy, and I realised there are things in life that are not worth dying over." Jade smiled at her husband and rested her forehead against his as a sense of completeness filled her.

Everything in her life was finally where she wanted it to be. She was happy and though her life wasn't perfect, she wouldn't have it any other way. There were days that were hard and there were days where it was easy, but Jade knew that no matter what Marcus would always be there for her because he was home.

"I love you, Marcus. Thank you for never giving up on me." She gently placed a kiss on his lips as she gently ran her fingers through the ends of his hair.

"No, thank you, Jade. For loving me. For giving me our beautiful daughter and for being the strong woman you are. I am so proud of you and I can't wait for this next chapter in our life to begin." They both kissed each other passionately and Jade knew no matter how tough life got as long as she had Marcus and their beautiful daughter she knew everything would be okay.

***

*Wipes away a tear* That is is ladies and gentlemen the end of Take Me Home. I am a sucker for a happy ending and finally after so long here is Jade and Marcus happy ending.

Thank you so much for everyone who has read, voted and commented on this story. It means so much to me and I am glad everyone has enjoyed this emotional rollercoaster.

I could have gone for ages, but I wanted to keep this chapter short and sweat. I might come back and edit a few things with it later on, but I wanted to make it as realistic as possible with the time frame of her walking.

So we are done. Thank you and goodbye for now until I start up my new projects.