9, 10, Start Again

15. An Epilogue

A/N: So this is it, the end of a long journey. I just wanted to thank you all so much for your support. I honestly wouldn't have been able to finish this without you all. You are all amazing and I look forward to reading what you all have to offer as well :) Thank you, you're all incredible. I hope that this short epilogue satisfies you all. Enjoy!

Epilogue:

{November}

"Two weddings. Two! In two days!" Zoe exclaimed happily as she danced around the reception hall, long blonde hair fanning out around her.

"I know. You keep saying." Kate agreed, resting her chin in one hand as she sat at the table watching her daughter.

"I love weddings. They're exciting! I'm allowed to be excited."

"Yes, you are Zoe. But please stop spinning. You're making me feel very dizzy."

"Do you think Lucy and Ben will have dancing at their wedding?" Zoe pondered, ignoring her mother's words as she twirled in circles.

"Zo, they're not even together." Kate pointed out, but this seemed to be a mere detail to her daughter.

"Yet." Zoe rebutted, finally stopping her spinning. Kate just shook her head in amusement at how determined Zoe was to play matchmaker.

"I'm going to go dance with Jordie." She told Kate before skipping over to her older cousin's side. Kate kept an eye on Zoe as Jordan took her hands and spun her around. She watched them as they danced their way through two songs Kate had never heard before but Zoe seemed to know, smiling at how good Jordan was with her younger cousin. The two of them had only met once before today, but Zoe idolised Jordie and could talk of no one else.

"Having fun?" Mike asked, breaking her train of thought as he placed a hand on her back. She hummed in affirmation

"Just watching Zoe and Jordie dance." She followed Mike's gaze as he watched Emily's new husband Gary return to his wife's side, looking little short of terrified.

Kate narrowed her eyes as she turned to face him. "Alright, what did you do to the guy?"

"Nothing!" Mike told her a little too quickly, his expression reminding her of Zoe when she was caught doing something wrong.

"Yeah, right. Spill."

"Okay, I might have had a friendly chat to my new brother-in-law." He spoke tentatively.

"Mike-" She began, sighing. "What did you say exactly?"

"I may have just pointed out just how amazing my sister was and… I might just have told him that if he broke my sister's heart I'd take him out to sea and weigh his body down with an anchor."

"Mike!" She slapped his arm, half outraged, half amused. "You can't say that!"

"He knew I wasn't serious." Mike replied unconvincingly.

"That poor man." Kate laughed, watching Gary glance nervously at the pair of them as he danced with his new wife, accidentally stepping on Emily's feet in his daze.

"Mummy, come dance." Zoe demanded, seeming to appear from nowhere as she began tugging on Kate's hand, trying to pull her out of the chair.

"Nooooo." Kate whined, sitting further back in her chair. She was perfectly content to sit and everyone else dance rather than actually join in, but apparently everyone else had other ideas.

"Come on, Kate. Go do some dancing with your daughter." Mike cut in, gesturing to the dance floor.

"No no no. I do not dance." Kate protested, folding her arms tightly like Zoe had so often done when she was a child.

"You'll have to dance at your own wedding." Zoe interjected, causing Kate to spin around fast, almost falling out of her chair in the process.

"What?" She spluttered as Jordan giggled.

"Well," Zoe began, speaking slowly as if talking to a child, "You guys have been going out for ages."

"Five months." Kate corrected, but her words went ignored.

"And you love each other." Zoe raised her voice, talking over Kate. "So, you should get married." She accompanied the last part of her speech with a wave of the hand.

Kate glanced at Mike, glaring at him when she realised he was smiling. "Zoe, that's not... not always the right way." She told her, cursing Mike for making her have the conversation.

"And since when have we ever done anything the right way?" Mike smirked as Kate whirled around to face him.

For a few moments she was rendered completely speechless, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Mike smiled smugly, pleased that he had one-upped her.

"He's got a point." Another voice cut in, and Kate turned to face Mike's sister Emily in her glittery white wedding dress. "We've all been waiting long enough. Besides, you caught the bouquet." She gestured to the flowers Kate had left sitting on the table.

"You intentionally threw it at me! I had to catch it otherwise it would have taken both my eyes out!" Kate protested.

Em shrugged. "You needed the nudge."

"She's right, you know." Mike's voice silenced the rest. "We did need a nudge."

Kate narrowed her eyes, poking him in the chest. "So… what? Is that a proposal, Mike Flynn?"

His hands snaked around her waist as he pulled her close. "Is that an acceptance, Kate McGregor?"

She smiled against his lips. "Yes."