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EPILOGUE

TEN YEARS LATER

          Taylor's wedding was last Tuesday, July 21st.  It was outside on a beach in Florida right up against dimond blue water and below a saphirre sky.  There was a little bit of a breeze, just enough to cause her dress to billow up around her ankles as she walked and for her hair to be blown back, exposing her face to the man who waited at the end of the isle for her.
Variated kids that we'd trained and grown fond of were seated in white chairs with their feet in the sand and eyes on the beautiful bride.  I would have been among them, but as a maid of honor, I stood side by side with my friend once she reached the alter.
Daisies and lillies dotted the sandy landscape and I held a few in my hand as well, clutching them perhaps a bit too tight as I watched Taylor join the groom.
The man in question wore a black tuxedo and slick black shoes that tapped at the ground in a repetitive pattern in an attempt to calm his nerves.  His hands were clasped behind his back and his Adams Apple bobbed every three seconds or so as he swallowed his anxiety.  I couldn't help but think how lucky Mark was that a girl as loyal and incredible as Taylor, who could have any man she wanted, picked him.
Once they'd joined hands, switched rings and the priest had let Mark kiss the bride to seal the deal, we'd all been off to an after party. 
I don't know if you've ever been to a wedding hosted by variated people, but it's no ordinary celebration, and the after party just gets even better.
Over the years, I had been taught a thing or two by my grandpa Joe for how to control and evolve my variationn.  Ten years ago, I never would have thought the things I could do now were even possible. 
As we walked inside a large white tent stationed just behind where the ceremony took place, I decided I'd add a little sparkle to the coming night.
I turned around and paused just a moment, staring up at the darkening blue sky and I raised a hand to it, and I snapped my fingers a few times.
In the air, a dozen or so electric charges exploded above our heads of all different colors, erupting one at a time.  They looked like fireworks that dazzled the hearts of all the people who stopped to watch them.  Eventually, when the last one had gone off, a heafty applause sounded throughout the group of onlookers and we proceded to head inside the tent, following the bride and groom.
Inside, the grass floor was cast in a soft yellow glow from ropes of lights that were strung across the ceiling and over the walls.  It was a warm and comforting space, with plenty of livley talk and laughter to add.
I was not fitting in so great, everyone mingling about and finding friends to associate with or trying to get their turn with Taylor or Mark.  I found an empty chair over near one of the corners and decided to sit and watch the rest of the people move about.
I looked down at my hands, interlaced in my lap, and couldn't help but smile as I twisted the gold band with a dimond at the center that was snugly fit around my ring finger in circles.  It felt foreign, the weight and the idea of having it on nearly 24/7.  But it was a good kind of new, a promise that ment more than the world to me.
Then I felt a hand rest on my shoulder, squeeing it lightly before a chair was dragged over on its back legs next to mine.
        "Hey, Blake."  I say, just as he sits down.  The tuxedo he wears is tight enough that I can tell its a rental and his usually ruffled hair is gelled and styled in a quirky sort of way.
       "Hey, love."  He responds, looking ahead into the crowd of people moving about in the tent.  I watch them too, leaning back in my chair.
       "Did Bethany tell you the news?"   Blake contines, his voice low.  I shake my head no and automatically my eyes begin to search for Bethany in the crowd.  She's older now, although it doesn't seem like it, at 22 the girl I had known for so long was starting to disapear, to morph into a woman I almost couldn't recognize.
       She's wearing a short black dress, a sweatheart neckline with lace sleeves that get looser as they reach her wrists.  A gold belt encircles her waist and she's holding a small gold clutch purse.  I see her nodding along with what a man standing across from her is saying, clearly engaged in the conversation.  Her once long golden hair had been recently chopped off to her shoulders in a wavy bob cut. 
       "Whats the news?"  I ask.
       "She schedualed a meeting with the president of the United States to negotiate a peace between the government and Order.  As well as all other variated people."  He said it so bluntly I almost didn't catch it.
       "How did she manage that?"  I inquire, watching Bwthany as she moves away from the man to talk to a blonde haired boy that I know to be Will.  The boy is 19 now.  19 and still the baby of the family.  He never really grew into a strong figure, always remained bony and thin, but his face had changed so much I hardly recognized him from the boy we'd rescued at the zone.
       "She's a smart girl.  Took a few phone calls and I'm sure she'd sealed the deal before the president even knew what was happening."  Blake responds, putting a hand on my leg.  I'm wearing a long green dress tonight, it's dark like the color of grass in the summertime,  but I wished it didn't reach all the way down to my ankles.  I wished then that I could feel his touch instead of just the pressure on the fabric. 
       "She is pretty smart, isn't she."  I say, more to myself than to Blake.
       "I really love you, you know that?"  He says suddenly, catching me off guard.  I turn away from the crowd so I can look in his eyes.  His face had become even sharper with age and at 27 I was beginning to realize that his youth, along with mine, was slipping away faster than should be possible.  I missed our reckless adventures, I missed our teenage years where we were wild and free and could relate to the kids who came to us to learn the ins and outs of their variations.  But now we were adults, too old for the minds of teens, too young to be pitited in our old age.  Just young enough that we had just slipped out of our childhoods and had finally come to the conclusion that we would never be kids again.
        "Of course I know that.  I said yes, didn't I?"  I ask him with a small smile, holding out my hand to flash the gold dimond ring at him.  He smiles, not even bothering to look at the ring.
       "I know.  And you should never doubt that, but I like seeing the way you smile whenever I tell you."  Blake admits, settling back into his chair.
I was blushing like a fool.  Blake and I were engaged and yet he still had the power to make my knees weak.  I looked off into the crowd again and spotted Mark and Taylor slowly making their way over to where the two of us sat.
"You think they'll be happy together?"  I asked him, watching the way Taylor laughed at a joke Mark must've cracked.
"I wouldn't dream of anything else."  He assured me.  I smiled slightly as I watched my friends talk on and on with guests before they finally arrived at our corner.  Blake and I stood up to meet them.
"Congrats!"  I say, pulling Taylor in for a tight hug.  She returns it, smiling over my shoulder.
"Thank you!"  Taylor says, looping her arm around Mark's.
"Better make sure to keep this one in line."  Blake jokes, indicating to Mark.  Taylor laughs and nods in agreement.
"Is this where the party's at?"  The voice belongs to Corey, as he walks up behind Taylor and Mark with Charlie on his arm.
"Hey little sis."  Charlie says, walking over to stand next to me.  She's so much older now, at 30, with her long brown hair tied up in a pristine bun and her white dress hugging tight to her waistline.  Her and Corey are married now, yet they still live together with the rest of us at the Colby house.  But I find myself missing her presence often.  She's always out and about, always doing something by herself or with Corey.  I hated to admit I felt neglected but I couldn't deny it either.  She was still there for me, in the times I needed her most, but in other times, I wished she'd been around just so I could feel protected.  As I grew older, I began to realize that being an adult is not about drinking alcohol and staying up past your bedtime.  It's about fending for yourself, and while physically I could fight my own battles, inside my head and emotionally, I was still struggling to cope alone.  But I'd get there, maybe once Blake and I were married and I'd have another shoulder to lean on.
Will and Bethany come over then, finding a space for themselves in the circle.  The two of them had grown to be best friends, always found side by side working and having fun together.  They were practically siblings with how inseperable they were.
"Hey whats going on?"  Bethany asks, propping her elbow up on Will's shoulder. 
"Just hanging around."  Corey answers with one of his signature smiles, the only thing that hasn't changed about him with age.  That and his light hearted demeanor.
"Ha, looks like the old gang is back together again."  Charlie jokes, smiling at all the faces in our circle.  I realize this too, almost at the same time as everyone else.  Several agree and then talk resumes.  I am not a part of it, I sit in the background watching conversations play out.
Taylor was retelling the story of Marks preposal to Charlie and Corey.  I'd heard the story hundreds of times but I never get tired of it, something about the mention of the time when my best friends life became complete always made me happy. 
They took a trip to Texas, just the two of them for a quick vacation.  When they came back, Taylor had a ring on her finger and a man on her arm. 
       As I listened to the story, I couldn't help but fiddle with the ring Blake had given me.  It was one he'd made from a piece of gold he'd bought at a Pawn shop.  When he'd proposed, he told me all about how he'd made hundreds of practice models out of napkin holders and paper clips to make sure he got the gold one just right.  There was a small diamond in the center too, one he had gotten put in place by a jeweler in a nearby town.
Bethany and Will talked together. They were conversing about Bethany's schedualed meeting with the president.  Will wanted to assure she'd be safe, proper security mesures were taken care of, and the location was to her advantage.  Bethany kept assuring Will she'd be fine but he insisted he would come along that day as backup, incase things went south he could get them out of there together.
Blake was talking with Taylor, asking her all about what she planned to do with the rest of her life.  Taylor didn't have much to say, she said her and Mark had agreed to stay in Colby and help train variated kids for as long as they could until they wanted a kid of their own.  Then they'd find a place nearby to settle so they'd never be to far from the rest of us and could still offer a hand when one was needed.
I watched my family talk for what seemed like hours but it couldn't have been more than ten or twenty minuets when Blake seemed to notice I wasn't involved in any conversation.  He tried to include me, asking questions that demanded more than a one word answer, but he didn't seem to get the message that I was content with just watching. 
I wanted to savor this moment, to remember it forever.  My brothers and sisters and lover with backgrounds from the broadest variety I'd ever known.  I wanted to remember the time we all came together, the very first time and this time, years later.  We'd never had a interaction like this since the variation training had begun, we'd all been so busy.  It was nice to catch up on everything, to feel like the family we were.
Driving back to Kansas at the end of the night, all I could think about was how lucky I was to be surrounded by a group of people who were so closley knit, so full of love.  I might have gone through plenty of hardships at the zone, but those seemed like distant memories now.  All that mattered was the present.  All that mattered is the next step we took and that we were together when we took it.  Because in the end, a family that sticks together is the type of family that will take your nightmares and turn them into dreams so you'll sleep soundly for the rest of your life. 
I fell asleep thinking about it and I dreamt all night about it.  All nights since the downfall of the zone had been peaceful for me, I never ran in my sleep again.  And I had always thought that the zone's demise was the reason but the more I thought about it that night, the more I realized that this was not the case.
Others may think that the destruction of fear is what ends nightmares, but its not.  It's the weapon you used that makes your nights unharmed.  I know now why I never run, it's because I am armed with the greatest weapon anyone could fathom.  I sleep soundly knowing that no one can touch me as long as I have my family, as long as the people I love are by my side.  I don't run because I'm not afraid to face my fears knowing I can cut them down with the help of the people I've found and kept until this day and all days to follow.
I'll be brave and I'll be strong because this may be the end of the story, but it's just the beginning of everything imaginable that comes after.

YOUR TURN

AND THAT MY FRIENDS IS OFFICIALLY THE END!!!  I CANT BELIEVE ITS OVER!!  ITS BEEN A WILD RIDE AND I HOPE YOU ALL READ MY OTHER STORIES AND CHECK OUT MY MESSAGE BOARD FOR ALL THE THINGS I HAVE TO SHARE WITH YOU!

(Imogen all grown up in the photo!)