Fun Fact of the Day: Did you know this summer will mark my 10th anniversary writing fanfics? Yes, I started off my fanfiction writing journey ten years ago, although not on this particular account, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate this milestone than by sharing this epilogue with all of you. I'll spare you all the mushiness for until the end, so, until then, please enjoy!
- J

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the words. The main idea for this was taken from Kina Grannis' music video for her song 'Without Me'.

"I hope you're hungry. They messed up on our order, so they gave me a bunch of stuff for free, and now we have, like, quadruple the amount we usually get. I swear, they gave us enough food to cater an entire party-," Aria stopped in her tracks, her hand still holding onto the doorknob, almost dropping the trays of food in her hands. "Whoa." She took a few more steps into their open loft-style Philadelphia apartment, placing the takeout containers onto their counter.

Ezra had obviously done some redecorating while she was gone, removing all of the curtains that had covered their floor-to-ceiling windows, dousing their entire kitchen/living room space in their studio loft apartment in a brilliant white light that bounced off the immaculately white walls that had yet to be decorated.

After two years in New York City, Aria had finally worked her way up the ladder and found herself second-in-command after Sarah James- the very same Sarah who had recruited her to Davis Publishing House in the small Hollis coffee shop right before graduation. Sarah had acted as a mentor to the young and inexperienced Aria, teaching her everything she knew. Aria had become a very in demand editor, helping to edit the manuscripts of what would later become a few New York Times bestselling young-adult fiction novels. Although a variety of manuscripts found their way into her lap, she gravitated more towards young adult novels, since it was what she knew best. She was a young adult, and the experiences she felt in her daily life more often than not appeared in the manuscripts she was working it. That was a part of the reason why her novels did well, she was able to make the stories seem more real, since she was more connected to that time period of a person's life- sometimes even more so than those writing it.

It was for that reason that, only a year into working at DPH, when Sarah had been offered the position as the head of the New York offices, she didn't hesitate to place Aria as her right-hand, the Managing Editor. Aria thrived, helping to guide the other editors in their office, but also honing in and creating her own specific writing style. And, living in the center of New York City, she also picked up the love of photography, picking up a Canon DSLR on a whim with her first paycheck and spending her free time wandering the city, taking pictures of any and everything that caught her eye. With that, she created her own lifestyle blog online, focusing on the beauty of the world around her, helping to combine her love of writing and photography. She couldn't be happier with the direction her life was taking. However, there was still something missing, and that was the fact that, no matter how attached she had grown to her life in New York, it wasn't home. Home was Philadelphia, with Ezra.

Which was why, when her lifestyle blog started gaining more attention, more traction, more sponsorships, and she was offered to do a guest column at an upcoming lifestyle magazine, she seriously considered leaving behind her job at DPH. Those thoughts multiplied even more when she found out the magazine's headquarters were in Philadelphia. She would be able to go home.

But she knew from experience that she didn't deal well with facing the unknown, and leaving behind her job in New York for the guest column would mean just that. The magazine couldn't offer her a guarantee for permanency, and the thought of quitting her position at DPH, where she was doing so well and actually enjoyed working at, gave her pause. So she started doing research, and, after presenting her work to the heads of Davis Publishing House, she found herself moving to Philadelphia as the head of the new Philadelphia branch of Davis Publishing House. She would be the overseeing the creation, the development, and the beginnings, struggles and accomplishments of the new Philadelphia office- which was perfect timing, as when her tenure at the magazine was set to finish, the new branch would be up and running, ready for business.

The second Aria made the call to Ezra, letting him know she was finally coming home to him in Philadelphia, he threw out nearly everything in his apartment, much to the amusement, and confusion, of Aria. When she visited him soon after, and found him sitting on a barstool at his kitchen counter with brochures and pamphlets and magazines strewn out in front of him, it all made sense. The apartment had been mostly his for the two years he lived in it on his own, and with her moving to Philadelphia, it would finally be theirs. And he wanted her to be a part of the designing process.

The next few months for them were a whirlwind of writing and editing, of teaching and proctoring exams, and by the time she moved in, more than a week ago, they had forgotten all about the fact that their apartment was still empty. So they scrambled, spending her first few days in Philadelphia roaming around, picking up little bits and pieces to make their apartment more homey. Luckily, they managed to find all the pieces they wanted. Unluckily, they were coming in one at a time, meaning their apartment was currently unfurnished.

Their dining table, couch and almost of their other furniture had yet to arrive, yet, the space wasn't empty. Far from it. She kicked the door shut behind her and ducked under a red string, eyes sweeping across the room in wonder and amazement.

"Do you like it?" Ezra asked sheepishly as he descended down the wood and metal stairs from their open bedroom area on the second floor, hands buried in the pockets of his jeans.

Not knowing exactly what words she could say that would convey exactly what she was feeling, she said nothing, her grin growing bigger and bigger on her face with every detail she noticed. She walked carefully into the middle of the room, ducking through the maze of strings, until she was safely in an open space, big enough for her to spin around and take in the sight from all angles. Ezra smiled, proud of the work he had completed.

It had taken a little bit of work, hiding all the pictures and pieces of writing from Aria, let alone the bags and bags of brightly colored string he had brought home the day before, but it was well worth it. When she said she was hungry earlier this afternoon, he knew it was the perfect time to execute his plan.

"I'm so hungry!" Aria complained for the twelfth time in less than half an hour.

Ezra wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, chuckling at the sight of Aria sitting downstairs on one of their barstools, her elbows propped up on the counter, her face cradled by her palms, her lips puckered into a pout. "Go buy some food, then!" He put down the hammer he had been using before to assemble their bed, leaning over the railing upstairs, "I thought you would be sprinting out, now that we're closer to that mediterranean restaurant you love."

"But I wanted to wait until they delivered the dining table later. I was going to order dinner from them, so we'd finally be able to have a real meal in our apartment for the first time."

"How about this?" he suggested. "We have take out for lunch now, and tonight after they deliver the table, I'll cook us a real dinner?"

Ezra could see the resolve in her mind wavering, due in part to the grumble of protest her stomach just let out. She placed a hand on her stomach, and he knew he had won. She hopped off the stool and headed up the stairs, grabbing her purse off the bed. "I'm holding you to that," she stood on her tiptoes, kissing him quickly on the cheek. "I'll be back in a bit."

After she left, he continued working on their bed, checking the clock periodically. He only had fifteen minutes until the first stage of his plan was to go into motion, and he wanted to have the bed set up so no one would be tripping over loose pieces later. He would've had this piece of furniture completed earlier, as it had been delivered to their apartment almost four days ago, but actually running his own class, let alone an introductory English class at the University of Pennsylvania, was much more difficult than he had expected.

When he spent his last two years at Hollis as both a lecturer and a student, it hadn't been very difficult, he had managed to thrive at both of those aspects. He craved the feeling- the rush of adrenaline he felt standing in front of a class, the pride he felt when he read his students' work, the knowledge that they actually listened and applied what he taught them- and his enthusiasm could be felt during his lectures. His class became one of the most in-demand classes, even though it was generally a small seminar class that met once, maybe twice, per week for a semester. The maximum class limit of 30 was always severely tested, and more than once he was approached by students who attempted to beg him to talk to the registrar about increasing class size.

He never had any help when it came to running his class- he didn't have his own teacher's assistants who helped grade papers or exams, and he liked it that way. It allowed him to fairly grade each and every student, something he was passionate about, as there were multiple occasions during his own undergrad years where he was unfairly selected against because he couldn't cater to the teaching assistants' own interests. Which is why, when UPenn enthusiastically offered him the tenure-track professor of Introductory English Composition, he figured that it couldn't be as hard as people made it out to be.

He was wrong. Completely and totally wrong.

English classes were not small and seminar like, allowing for open discussion, but instead were treated like real lectures, with him having to teach two sections of almost 150 students each in his first semester. Trying to learn the names of 300 students, trying to keep them all interested for three hours each week, to make sure none of them fell through the cracks, was something he was not prepared for. He had TAs, for the first time in his short teaching career, and although he knew he couldn't do it alone, he couldn't bring himself to rely on them to grade his students.

So he tried to do it all on his own. Which led to many sleepless nights, a countless number of moments where he just wanted to quit, to find a smaller college to work at, scary times where he thought that maybe teaching just wasn't for him, that maybe he made a mistake pursing a career in this field, but he pushed through. He continued to try to interact and get to know his students as best as he could, he continued to teach them, to try to mold their minds to thinking and analyzing differently than what they were used to. And it paid off in the end, because he always ended up with amazing semester-end evaluations from the students, and a high rating on the university professor rating website.

He had spent his first two years at UPenn struggling, trying to find his bearings and establish himself as a respectable professor at the university, and at the end of his fourth semester teaching his intro class, the chair of the English department finally took him off as the professor for the class and allowed him to create his own course. This semester was the trial run for his Contemporary American Literature course, and he was able to design it exactly as he wanted- no more than thirty students, no TAs, and him being able to teach what he was passionate about.

But with the designing of a new course came a period of trial and error, trying to determine what did and didn't work for this particular class, and this first week was it. He was exhausted, but he could see where the class was going, and he couldn't be more excited to see where it would take him, to see how it would grow and develop over time. Slowly, he was beginning to enjoy teaching again.

Fifteen minutes passed easily, with his mind drifting over the course of events he'd lived through over the last couple years, and, right on time, he finished the assembly. He collapsed down onto the newly installed mattress and pulled out his cellphone, dialing a familiar number.

A few rings passed until someone finally answered. "Hi, Chris? It's Ezra. Did Aria place our order yet?"

"She just got here and is ordering with Tiffany as we speak. What's up?"

"It's happening right now. It's go time," he said cryptically, knowing Chris would understand completely. They had talked about this plan of Ezra's in passing for the last few weeks, but their level of planning had been significantly bumped up within this past week. Everything needed to be executed perfectly, or it could fall apart at the drop of a hat.

"Got it. We can stall her for an hour. Is that enough time?"

"Perfect," Ezra said, just as he heard a knock on his door. "Thanks, Chris. It's time to execute stage two."

Chris laughed, "Anything for my best customers. Good luck, Ezra!" Ezra said his thanks again as he ended the call, swinging the door open to reveal his two accomplices.

He held up the bags of string and folders of papers and pictures. "You're right on time. Let's get to work."

When Aria had finally arrived home an hour later, he had just finished executing stage two of his plan.

The four walls of the first floor were plastered with pictures: pictures of just the two of them, pictures of all eight of the Rosewood friends, of her and her high school friends, her in her prom dress, in her cap and gown from her college graduation last month, the selfie they had taken the week before when they had first moved into this apartment, among many, many others. Interspersed between these pictures were small pieces of paper, the handwritten words containing not only his favorite memories of her, but the favorite memories of her from the people who knew her best. Tying each of these things were different colored pieces of string, criss-crossing across the room, connecting each picture and/or memory with the next in chronological order. It was essentially a timeline of Aria's life- of their life together.

Aria ducked under another piece of yellow string, finally finding the beginning of the timeline. She walked up to the wall, her fingers gently grazing the picture on the wall where the first piece of string was taped. "The first time we met," she breathed, looking at the picture someone had taken of them as they sat on the curb in front of his house, a smirk on the face of the eleven-year-old Ezra, and a look of disdain from the seven-(and a half)-year-old Aria. Her finger pinched the pink string connected to the picture, dragging her fingers along as she made her way to the next memory on the wall across from her. She giggled as she read it, the piece of paper scrawled with Spencer's writing, describing the time they had snuck over to Ezra's house the next night, throwing tiny pebbles at his window for a good hour straight, running to hide every time he opened his window.

She spun around to face him. "You did all of this?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "Well, I had some help."

"Where does this picture go?" Noel asked, holding up a print of Aria and the girls sitting side by side on a dock, swinging their legs, their toes barely grazing the water. It would've been a perfect picture, what with the beautiful sunset behind them painting the sky with a beautiful mixture of colors- except that Wesley had chosen that moment to try out the rope swing, and had just cannonballed into the lake, dousing all the girls with water. Ezra chuckled at the memory.

He pointed at a space next to the window. "Over there. Make sure the string to it is from the memory from Ella, and the string from it goes to the picture of her and Mike at her graduation from eighth grade."

Noel nodded and as he was instructed to while Ezra took a moment to inspect how things were moving along. Noel and Jackie had arrived at the apartment almost 45 minutes ago, and they quickly got to work taping pictures and memories to every open space in the living room, stringing them together with a multitude of different colored strings.

When Ezra had made the decision that now was the right time, he knew exactly who he needed to contact in order to make sure his plan was executed perfectly. The entire Rosewood clan had provided him with a multitude of pictures and memories, helped him detail out every last bit of his plan until it was scheduled right down to the very minute. He had managed to incorporate all of their friends and family into the plan, but there were two people who were slightly out of place.

Of course, Aria and Jackie had never been on the best terms. And Noel, after Aria essentially cut him out when things finally got off the ground with Ezra, they had never gotten the chance to truly develop a real friendship. But over the course of the last few years, the four of them had developed a strangely strong bond with one another, considering how rocky their acquaintance had begun.

When it came time to contact the people closest to Aria and Ezra to help with Ezra's plan, he knew he had wanted to bring in Noel and Jackie in some way, but he couldn't figure out the perfect way to do so. The memories they had were too new, the pictures all digital and sparse, as their visits were few and far between- Ezra, Jackie and Noel couldn't agree on any of them to use in such a special project. He wanted to find a way to have them help somehow, and just couldn't think of a way how. Until they had mentioned that they would be coming in to Philadelphia from Boston for a rare visit. And that was when Ezra knew exactly what to do.

With their help, he was able string together all the memories and photographs on the walls, the idea he had in his mind finally coming to life. And in the process, Noel and Jackie were able to learn more about Aria and Ezra's life together, their beginnings and how they had gotten to where they were now.

"Ezra," Jackie said, pulling him aside, while Noel put the final touches on everything. "I just wanted to apologize."

"Apologize for what?" Ezra asked, confused.

"For what everything I did to you and Aria all those years ago," she replied sheepishly. "Looking at all these pictures, reading these memories, it's finally put it into perspective that you and Aria had a long history before I ever came in. I had no right to treat Aria the way I did back then, when she had a hold on you long before I ever did."

Ezra smiled warmly, opening his arms to Jackie, pulling her in for a hug. "Aria's already forgiven you, as have I. It's all water under the bridge."

"How's it look?" Noel called out from across the room, just as Ezra and Jackie pulled away.

Ezra walked to the center of the room and swept his eyes across every space of the walls, amazed at what they had accomplished in such a short time. "It's perfect."

The sound of a knock on the door brought his attention back to the present, and he grinned, his heart beginning to beat just a tiny bit faster. He ran to the door and ushered the crowd in, leading them up the stairs and to the second floor, where they would wait for Aria to arrive. It was almost time.

She continued, following the path of that string until she reached the next picture, and that string until it reached the next memory, continuing on until she reached the final picture- a simple picture of two rings, side by side, tied together by a white string bow. She stared at it curiously, until she realized what was going on. Her eyes filled with tears, threatening to spill.

"Come here," Ezra grinned, standing in the middle of the room, in the open space Aria had stood in before. She slowly made her way to him, collapsing into his open arms when she finally got close enough. "You never answered my question: do you like it?"

"I love it," she sniffled, embarrassed that she was already crying. She felt his chest rumble with a laugh as he tightened his grip on her, lightly kissing the top of her head.

"Good, I'm glad."

"But," she said, breaking out of his embrace and taking a step back to look around the room once more, "why so many strings?"

A lopsided smile appeared on his face. "Well, about four years ago, there was this girl I was really into. She was a first year who had just started college, and I was a fourth year getting ready to graduate," he began, a look of realization appearing on Aria's face. She covered her face with both of her hands in embarrassment, knowing exactly where this story was going. "We had been friends for about ten years, and she had finally confessed that she liked me, asking if maybe we could try being an actual couple." He could see a blush creep up on her face.

"I was an idiot," he continued on, "As much as I loved her and wanted to be with her, I stupidly suggested that we try a 'no strings' relationship. Even though all I wanted was for us to be totally exclusive, I had her best interests at heart. I just wanted her to be able to experience college without anyone tying her down, but I was also selfish and wanted her all to myself. So I figured that this was the best compromise- she was free to do as she wanted, and although it meant I would have to share her with someone else, at least I could pretend that I had her all to myself.

"Obviously, it backfired," he heard Aria chuckle. "But, I mean, I guess it worked out in the end. Because that girl is standing in front of me, and she's mine. All mine. No one else's."

Aria bit her lip as he took a step closer to her. "A little more than five years ago, I made the mistake of saying I didn't want any strings between us. That was a lie," he took her hands in his left hand, his right hand using a finger to raise her chin up to look at him. "I've always wanted strings, Aria. Every single string, I want. I want to be tied to you in every possible way."

The tears threatened to fall once more as she saw him reach into his pocket, pulling out one last white string, a piece of jewelry tied to the end. He carefully placed the ring in her hands. "One more string. Will you marry me?"

She was silent for a moment, the pounding of Ezra's heart fully audible in the silent apartment. Eventually, a slow smile creeped up on her face. "Do I have to put it on myself?"

Ezra's face split into a full out grin as he picked her up and swung her around, Aria squealing loudly as her feet left the ground, their melodic laughter filling the room. He placed her back on her feet and took the ring from her hands, slipping it onto her left ring finger. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close to him, her arms wrapping around his neck pulling him close to her, their lips crushing together feverishly. It was a few moments before Aria heard the shutter sounds of a camera and a person clearing their throat.

"Get a room!" Aria heard a very familiar voice call out, then a chorus of laughs she could recognize from a mile away. She pulled away from Ezra quickly and looked up at the second floor towards the source of the sounds.

"Oh my gosh, you guys were there the whole time?!" she screamed, her face blushing in embarrassment once more.

Leaning along the railing taking pictures of the happy couple were all of hers and Ezra's friends and family: Spencer, Toby, Hanna, Caleb, Emily, Alison, Mike, Wesley, Noel, Jackie, her parents, his parents, Spencer's parents, Hanna's parents, Emily's parents, Alison's parents- everyone who had been there from the very beginning and had seen their relationship blossom into the thing it was today were there, smiling wildly.

"Don't worry, we looked away once you guys started making out," Mike snickered, cringing as he took an elbow to the ribs from Emily.

"Congratulations!" Ella exclaimed, leading the pack down the stairs, descending down the stairs rapidly towards Aria and Ezra. The two of them were enveloped in hugs and congratulations and pictures for the next few hours, their new apartment filled with more love and excitement than anyone thought was possible.

Hours later, when their apartment was finally empty and peacefully quiet, Aria and Ezra were sitting on the couch, his arm around her waist, her head resting on his shoulder. She stifled a yawn, too full on food and happiness to make the trek upstairs. "You're sleepy, aren't you?" he asked as his hand rubbed up her arm, grabbing onto a stray lock of hair, twisting it between his fingers.

"No," she responded, trying in vain to hold in another yawn.

"Aria."

"Okay, fine," she relented, "I'm a little tired. But, what can I say? It's been a tiring day!" She held out her now adorned left hand and smiled, staring at the ring. She had thought it would take days, or at least hours, for the feeling of having a ring on her finger to feel less strange, but the second Ezra has slid it onto her finger, it felt perfect. It felt right.

"You're such an old lady, feeling sleepy at only 10PM!" Ezra exclaimed. He laughed as she nudged his ribs with her elbow. "Come on, sleepy head, let's get you to bed."

Ezra hoisted himself off the couch and held his hand out for Aria to take. He pulled her into a quick hug, kissing her on the top of her head, before intertwining their fingers together and leading her up the stairs. They had made it up the first step before she stopped short, looking to her left, where there were a few new additions to the wall that she hadn't noticed before. "What are these empty frames for?" she asked curiously.

"Well this one," he began, gesturing to the first empty frame near the bottom step, "is for a picture from our wedding day."

He couldn't breathe. Ezra was sure he was suffocating at the pure joy he felt at that very moment, his chest tightening up in both excitement and terror. Although he'd deny it later, his eyes were glassy as he watched the love of his life walking down the aisle, on the arm of her father.

Aria was beaming in her pure white wedding gown, sheer lace sleeves adorning the tops of her shoulders all the way down to her wrists, a sweetheart neckline dipping just so, enough to tease him, but still look elegant and conservative enough. Her tiny waist was cinched by a jeweled belt, the bottom of her gown billowing out behind.

Aria blushed as Ezra chuckled, their friends and family getting their first look at the back of her gown, a small bunch of fabric pale pink peonies sewed at the end of the line of buttons, settling at the small of her back. Beginning from there, the gown ombred, transforming from a pure white, to an off-white, to a blush pink matching the peonies, until it reached the end of her train, nearly as long as she was tall, a shocking hot pink. It was to be expected, Aria was never totally traditional, and her wedding was no exception.

As Aria and Byron reached Ezra and their (massive) wedding party, Ezra watched as Aria kissed her father's cheek, whispering something into his ear as she lingered there. He saw the small smile touch Byron's lips before they separated, Byron giving Ezra a hug before placing Aria's hand in his.

She cocked her head to the side, appraising him. "So, Fitz, you ready to start forever with me?"

Ezra grinned. "Aria, forever with you started the second you and the girls rode up to my front yard on your bikes all those years ago."

"And this one?" she asked, walking two steps up to the next frame.

"For the birth of our first child."

"EZRA ANTHONY FITZGERALD, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THIS!" Aria screeched, tightening her already deadly grip on Ezra's hand.

He winced, attempting to breathe through the pain he was feeling. He attempted to wiggle his fingers, but he couldn't see nor feel them moving. Yeah, they were probably broken. "Aria, breathe. Just think, two more small-"

Aria screamed, squeezing his hand. He actually heard a crack this time. "Small?" she spat through gritted teeth. "You try pushing a human through your private area and tell me it's only 'small'!"

"Okay, two more LARGE pushes, and we'll finally get to see the baby," he amended.

"Actually, Aria, only one push might be enough. I can already see a full head of hair! One more push," their OB-GYN, Dr. Roberts, encouraged.

"Hear that? One more push. Come on, I know you can do it."

"No, I can't. Ezra, I can't," Aria wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she violently shook her head. "I'm sorry, Dr. Roberts, but you're going to have to find another way to get the baby out."

"Aria, hey, look at me." Ezra crouched down next to the bed and caressed her cheek, turning her to face him. He smiled, tucking the matted hair on her face behind her ear. "You can do this. You're the strongest person I know. Just one more push, and it'll be done. We'll get to meet our baby."

Aria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them a second later, Ezra could see the change behind her eyes. She nodded and turned back to face the doctor. "Okay, one more push."

"One more push." A few seconds passed. "Okay, Aria, push! Push as hard as you can!"

The piercing cry of a newborn baby cut through the air as Aria collapsed backwards onto the bed, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. Ezra didn't look away from the baby as he absentmindedly kissed the top of Aria's head. "You did good, Aria. You did good."

"Well," she corrected with a small laugh. "I did well."

"Yes, you did, Mommy," Dr. Roberts said. "Baby Fitzgerald looks very healthy, ten fingers, ten toes, no problems that we can see. Daddy, how would you like to come cut the umbilical cord?"

An hour later, an exhausted Ezra walked out of the delivery room and into the waiting room, where their entire Rosewood family had gathered. He smiled as his eyes swept over the group, all of whom who had been waiting for nearly eighteen hours for the birth of their first child. He didn't blame them for falling asleep, it was nearly three in the morning, after all.

It was Spencer who opened her eyes and spotted him first. "Are they here? Do we have the first addition to our family?" she asked, pushing herself off of Toby. The sound of her voice woke the rest of the group up, and they all shifted to alertness, excited to possibly meet the newest Fitz.

Ezra grinned widely, pulling the phone out of his pocket and handing it to Ella, Dianne, Byron and Andrew to see first.

"Meet Ethan Landon Fitzgerald."

Aria smiled softly, thinking back on the conversations they often had about their future children.

She took a few more steps up. "Baby number two?" she asked.

Ezra chuckled. "I had that planned for the next step, but if that's what you want."

"We can't have these two be too far apart in age. I want them to be able to take care of each other, like Mike and I did. Like you and Wesley did."

"Fine," he caved. "This frame will be for baby number two."

"I have to say, Aria, you're much calmer this time around than last time with Ethan," Dr. Roberts commented, snapping on her gloves. "Ezra's hand seems to be functioning still."

"That's because she hasn't started pushing yet," he quipped, eliciting a hard punch to the shoulder from Aria. "Ow!" he exclaimed, grabbing his shoulder, "I was kidding!"

"Mmmhmm, sure you were," she answered, narrowing her eyes at him. She grabbed his hand before he could protest and gave it a warning squeeze. "Okay, Dr. Roberts. I'm all set!"

The day after, once the delivery was done and the new parents had spent a few moments with the newborn, Ezra made his way from Aria's room and into the waiting room, where one special person, along with, once again, the whole Rosewood family, waited to meet the newest addition. Ezra spotted him before he did, pausing for a moment to watch the little boy sitting in his seat, swinging his legs back and forth and talking animatedly to his Auntie Hanna, who looked completely enraptured by his story. But it didn't last long, as the little boy looked up and spotted him, making a quick dash towards him.

"Daddy!" he squealed, raising his arms up as Ezra easily lifted him into the air and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Is she here? Can I see her?" he asked excitedly in his two year old chatter.

Ethan's piercing blue eyes, which he had inherited from Ezra, shone brightly as Ezra placed him back on the ground and ruffled his chestnut brown hair, which had been inherited from Aria. His small dimples were more pronounced and he shifted from foot to foot, tugging on the hem of his white polo shirt, which Aria and Ezra had quickly learned were all habits of his were whenever he got too excited. He couldn't help but chuckle at the little boy, the worries that he would hate the fact that he had a new little sister melting away.

"Yes, she's here. That's why I came out, so you could come meet her," he said, holding his hand out for Ethan to take. As Ethan tried his best to wrap his small hand around Ezra's large one, Ezra turned to the rest of the group. "We'll be back out in a few, then you all can come in to meet her."

"Mommy?" Ethan asked tentatively as he peeked his head into the room, Ezra pushing the door open behind him.

"Come in, baby." Aria motioned for him to come in. She was just about to say how much she missed him, how the last two days without seeing him had been hard, but she noticed how his eyes immediately zeroed in on the small pink bundle in his mother's arms. "Be careful," she warned after Ezra hoisted him up onto the hospital bed, and he gingerly made his way to curl up next to her on the bed.

"This is your new baby sister, Arabelle Brianne Fitzgerald," Ezra said, reaching over to untuck her hands from under the blanket, pushing her hat up a little so that her older brother could get a better look. "You can call her Ara, for short."

"Hi, Ara," Ethan whispered, leaning over and lightly kissing the top of her head, as best as a two year old could without falling over.

Aria shifted Ara in her arms so that she was facing Ethan. "Ara, meet your older brother, Ethan." Seemingly knowing who he was, she opened her eyes, blue, just like her father and brother, and looked at him, blinking a few times before a small hint of what looked to be a smile graced her lips. She opened and closed her pudgy fingers as Ethan reached a small finger out, giggling as she grasped on tightly.

"I love you," Ezra said as he sat on the edge of the bed on the other side of Aria, watching proudly as Ethan interacted with Arabelle.

"I love you, too," Aria replied, resting her head on Ezra's shoulder. "I love our little family."

"Summers at your grandparents' home in New Jersey," Aria prompted, reaching out to touch the third frame on the wall.

Ezra wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. "They would've loved to meet their great-grandchildren."

"Lunch is ready, everyone! Come on, let's eat!" Aria called, her white maxi skirt swishing underneath her as the air from the door shutting behind her grazed her ankles. Her feet melded into the plush green grass of their backyard as she walked barefoot from their kitchen to their large rustic dining table in the middle of the large area. The table was decorated in white linen, mismatched table settings lining each side of the table, small centerpieces dispersed through the center.

The summer was coming to a close, and the Fitz family were hosting their annual End of the Summer dinner party at their Short Hills, New Jersey home. It was a little later in the summer than normal, but they had planned it this way so that everyone would be there for one special occasion that was normally celebrated by their small family of four back in Philadelphia. This year, Aria made sure that not only was this celebration going to be the four of them, but that they would also be joined by the Cavanaugh, the Rivers, the DeLaurentis-Fields, the Kahn, the other DeLaurentis, and the Kingston families, along with the elder Fitzgerald, Montgomery, Marin, Hastings, and DeLaurentis families- their extended families.

She held the tray of glasses out to Spencer, Alison, Hanna and Emily, each taking a few and setting them in front of the guests who were taking their seats, excitedly waiting to be served. "Ara, Ethan, help your father with the food, will you?" she asked her two children who had just arrived with their large group of friends, breathless and giggling, looking as without a care as only teenagers could.

"Sure, Mom," thirteen-year-old Arabelle replied, grinning as she released her hair from the bun that had been tied atop her head, her chestnut locks falling in waves down her back. Her blue eyes sparkled with happiness as she whispered to her best friends- Elizabeth Cavanaugh, Madison Rivers and Mia DiLaurentis-Fields- to save her a seat with them at the table.

Ethan stood up from where he was sitting at the table with his friends, Andy Kahn and Daniel Cavanaugh, and made his way to his little sister, ruffling her hair before nudging her with his elbow. "Nah, little sister. Go hang out with your friends. I'll go help dad."

Aria smiled as she watched her daughter hug her brother tightly before joining Elizabeth, Madison and Mia, who were already sitting with the rest of the children. The oldest of the group, eighteen-year-old Matthew Kahn took his role as protector of all the younger ones seriously, sitting at the head of the table with the rest of the new generation around him, flanked to his left and right by the newest additions, five-year-old Timothy DeLaurentis and seven-year-old Charles Kingston.

It was amazing to think that this was the next group of Rosewood friends, although they hadn't actually grown up together in Rosewood, Aria thought as she watched Ethan help Ezra place the plates of fresh off the barbecued meats onto the table, and then make his way to the other end, where Matthew relinquished the seat at the head of the table to him with a handshake/hug and a friendly smile.

This group of friends was special. No, they hadn't grown up in houses next to each other. No, they didn't go to the same schools. No, they didn't even live in the same state, let alone the same coast. (Aria still held a small grudge against Hanna and Caleb for living and raising their family in Los Angeles, instead of near the east coast, where everyone else was). This group of friends was made up of different ages, different genders, different personalities. But what brought them together were their families.

At least four times a year, the core group of Fitzgerald, Cavanaugh, Rivers, and DeLaurentis-Fields families brought everyone together so that their children would be able spend time together, to have the same experiences with each other that their parents had had when they were growing up. Sure, it was a little different, considering they didn't get to see each other in person very often, but they were always texting, video chatting, emailing, calling each other, so whenever they children got to spend time together, it was as if they were never apart.

Aria watched as the girls gossiped and giggled about their plans for their last year at at their respective middle schools before joining the older males of the group who were already in high school. They listened to Matthew, enraptured as he told them all about his first week at Berklee College of Music, as he had started classes a week earlier than the other schools were.

"What are you thinking?" Ezra asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her bare shoulder and rested his chin on the top of her head, following her gaze.

"I'm just thinking about how amazing our lives have been so far," she replied, a smile grazing her lips. "I'm thinking about how grateful I am that we have two wonderful children, how I'm so thankful that we've all managed to stay friends, to have our children be able to grow up together. I'm thinking about how perfect it all is that we're able to give our children the same thing and more than we had when we were growing up."

"It is pretty great, isn't it?"

Her eyes swept around the table- Ella and Byron; Mike and his fiancée, Mona; Dianne and Andrew; Wesley and his girlfriend, Nicole; Peter and Veronica Hastings; Ashley and Tom Marin; Pam and Wayne Fields; Jessica and Kenneth DeLaurentis; Melissa and Wren Kingston; Natalie and Jason DeLaurentis; Jackie and Noel Kahn; and the children Ethan, Arabelle, Daniel, Elizabeth, Madison, Mia, Matthew, Andy, Timothy, Charles- their family was ever-growing and ever-changing.

"If you had asked me thirty years ago if this is what I expected our lives would end up being, I would've thought you were crazy," Aria said with a giggle. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Hey, lovebirds! Get over here! We didn't delay this dinner for later in the summer just so you could stand there and watch us! We have a birthday to celebrate!" Spencer called out from her seat at the table with an eye roll, sarcasm dripping from her words, eliciting a laugh from the entire table.

"Aunt Spencer, you'd think you'd be used to this weirdness from them by now!" Ethan shot back, grinning at his parents.

"Watch it," Ezra warned. "Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you get a free pass to say anything you want today." She felt Ezra shake his head and noticed as Ethan winked at his father.

"Okay, okay," Aria said, taking Ezra's hand and leading him to the two empty seats at the table.

After her and Ezra had situated themselves in their seats and the plates of food had been passed around, everyone with mounds of food in front of them, Aria tapped her fork against her glass, gaining everyone's attention. She cleared her throat and stood up.

"I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for making it out here for this special occasion. I know that it's rare these days that we all get to spend time together, with all of us being spread out across the country in Rosewood, and Philadelphia, and New York, and Boston, and even Los Angeles, and we've all been so busy, but it's times like these that I'm so glad that we've all been able to stay in touch and spend small moments like these together.

"Now, to the reason we've all gathered today," she began, picking up her glass of lemonade and gesturing for everyone to follow suit. "Ethan, your father, sister and I are so proud of you and everything you've accomplished. We can't wait to see what else you're going to do in life."

Ezra stood next to her, and together, they raised their glasses at their son. "Happy sixteenth birthday, Ethan! We love you."

"Happy birthday, Ethan!"

Aria looked upwards towards the second floor and continued walking up, past the rest of the empty frames, without saying a single word. Ezra followed Aria up, confused as to why she didn't continue with her explanations for the rest of the frames lining the stairs. She had seemed so enthusiastic about the first three frames, so for her to go silent was very strange.

"You do realize that there are still four picture frames, right?" he asked as he sat next to her on the bed. "I was excited to hear more about our future life together."

Aria leaned her head on Ezra's shoulder and intertwined her fingers with his, the feeling of her newly placed engagement ring on her finger making them both smile. "No more planning. I want to be surprised by what the future holds."

The two stood in silence until suddenly, she lifted her head from his shoulder and bolted down the stairs, frantically looking for something in the pile of string and pictures and letters that were stacked neatly on the kitchen counter. "Aria?" he asked, watching curiously from the railing on the second floor. "Whatcha looking for?"

She didn't answer, only an "aha!" after she found what she was looking for. He made his way down the stairs, just as she was taking down the first picture frame and rifling once again through the pile. She gave a cheer of accomplishment when she picked up a small Polaroid print and raced over to the couch with her findings in her hands.

"Aria, what are you doing?" Ezra asked with a laugh as she turned her back to him, crouching over her work to make sure he wouldn't see.

A minute passed until Aria straightened back up, proffering the picture frame out to Ezra for him to examine. "I don't really want to plan, but I figured that this should be the first frame," she said.

The picture frame now held a Polaroid print of Aria and Ezra from soon after they had gotten engaged. They were deep in their kiss, oblivious to the world around them, Aria's left hand on Ezra's cheek, her engagement ring on display for everyone to see. Aria had tied the string that had held the ring into a bow, and pressed it into the space underneath the picture, the date written on the white space on the Polaroid. It was the perfect first frame for their new apartment and their new life together.

"I love you. I have always loved you, Ezra, and even if you didn't love me back, I would still probably be in love with you. My love comes with no strings attached," Aria said, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest.

"That's a new way to think about a no strings relationship. But, if you don't mind, I'd still like strings. Every single string. Because I love you, too."

"Hey, Aria!" eleven year old Ezra Fitz yelled out to a seven and a half year old Aria Montgomery. After her hasty exit following their not-so-stellar first meeting, he expected her to flat out ignore his call, but, much to his surprise, he saw her press on the handbrakes on her bike. She planted her feet safely on the ground and turned around, her eyes drifting downwards to where he was still sitting on the curb.

"Yes?"

"I was thinking-"

"What a novel thing that must be for you!" she interrupted. Ezra laughed; yes, this girl was definitely an intelligent, tiny package of spunk. "Go on, I don't have all day, you know. The rest of my friends already left me behind!"

"If you'd let me finish!" he continued. "I was going to say, when you finish The Giver, maybe you'd want to talk about it? We could have a picnic or something."

She paused, seemingly thinking it over. It wasn't long before the corners of her lips turned upwards into a smile. "Sounds like a plan. We can hang out at my house so that you can explore out into our part of the neighborhood."

"Perfect. I'll bring the chips and sandwiches." A moment of amicable silence passed over them before he smirked. "So, I'll see you next week? That should give you enough time to finish reading it, right?" he goaded, knowing she was more than halfway finished already. If she was half as smart as he thought she was, she'd be finished reading it before the end of the day.

"Ugh, you're so annoying! I hate you!" she shrieked, whipping back around to start her attempt to catch up to the rest of the girls.

"I'm just kidding," he called out once more. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

She turned around once more. "Tomorrow," she narrowed her eyes at him before lifting her left foot back onto the pedal and turned back to face forward, pushing herself off with her right foot. "But since you teased me, I'm not telling you where I live! You'll just have to find me."

Ezra shook his head and laughed, watching as she rode away. Yes, this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

fin.

A/N: That's it! I hope you all liked the ending of No Strings Attached. I just wanted to say thank you for sticking by me through the sporadic updates; I really hope this whole journey was worth the wait. I have a soft spot in my heart for this fanfic, and it will always be one of my favorites, because I wrote it on a whim one night after not really writing for years, and this helped me to rediscover my love for writing.
As of right now, I have no plans to write more Ezria (because the truth is that, aside from the last two episodes, I haven't watched PLL in months and have no idea what's going on), but if I do, I hope to see you all there!
So, for the last time, please leave a review and let me know what you thought! Also, if you wanted to leave me a comment with your favorite moment from this story, I'd love to read it. Sometimes I don't even remember what happens in my own stories until I go back and read it later when I'm not so attached to it, so I'd love to hear it from your perspective as a reader who isn't me. Haha.
Thank you all once again for your support!
- J