Secret

Epilogue

-Watching Over You-

"Are you okay?" Derek heard Meredith whisper to him as they all waited for Addison to walk down the aisle.

He nodded, not trusting his voice very much at that exact moment. He had been over his juvenile love for Addison for more than a decade, but watching her marry someone else was bittersweet.

Over the last year, ever since he moved to New York with Meredith, Roxie and Cal, he had seen Addison, Mark and Peyton almost every day, and the last months had been the happiest of his life so far, because he was with all his complete family.

He and Mark were starting to rebuild their old friendship, and he was getting closer to Addison as well, making sure she was alright, and it wasn't about guilty feelings anymore, it was because he cared for her and wanted his oldest children's mother to be happy. When Addison announced her engagement to Mark, Derek finally let go of his guilt and regrets for good, knowing she truly had moved on, just like him, and that she was as happy as she said she was and as he wanted her to be.

No one of them felt comfortable enough for him to be the best man, so Mark asked Weiss instead, and Addison's maid of honor was Naomi Bennett, another friend from medical school.

Addison was far from being only beautiful. She was glowing, her curly auburn hair falling on her bare shoulders, in clear contrast with the white lace dress she was wearing, and it framed her smiley face perfectly.

He tried to catch her eyes, just to smile at her, but she was staring at her future spouse with a kind of love that was so strong it surrounded the room and everyone's hearts with warmth and joy.

Peyton squealed, squeezing Roxane's hand in excitement when her mother stopped in front of Mark.

As the priest talked, Derek went back in time to when he had married Addison.

She wore a light blue dress with cream-color decorations, he had a deep blue suit with a cream-color tie. The ceremony was held in a small church by a friend of theirs, and for once their parents weren't fighting and her brother wasn't drunk (yet) and they were in love.

I do, he had said, looking into her green eyes as if nothing else existed, holding her hand sweetly as he slipped the wedding band on her finger.

I do, she repeated, and they couldn't hold back no more and kissed, as their friends and relatives clapped their hands cheerfully with affection at their young love.

"I do." Mark's voice was slightly hoarse but sweet and tender, and Derek saw a tear of joy on his ex-wife's cheek.

"I do."

I love you, Derek.

I love you too, Mrs Shepherd.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife!"

Peyton jumped up, unable to hold back her bursting happiness.

"Oh, Mom, I'm so happy for you!" she hugged her as soon as her first kiss as a married woman ended.

"I love you, Pey. And I'm so happy for me too."

Mark joined the hug, placing a kiss on his stepdaughter's head. "I love you two, too."

"Congratulations, you two." Derek joined them, along with Meredith, Roxie and little Cal, who was babbling happily.

"Thank you, Derek."

"Congratulations." Meredith told them as well. "I'm sure you can't wait to go on your honeymoon."

"Our mind is already there." Mark said, laughing.

"Send us a postcard, will you?"

"I'll send you a thousand postcards." Addison pulled her daughter closer to her. "And we'll take a lot of photos and buy you all gifts."

"I want at least two or three, okay? Because you'll come back only two days before my birthday and I need lots of gifts this year."

"We can do that, Pey-girl."

"I'm proud of you, Mom." Peyton said, watching her mother with her Uncle Mark. "I'm so happy everything worked out for us."

"I'm happy too, honey." Addison hugged her again, unable to let her go. Her children had been her main concern for so long that it felt weird having time for herself, let alone a two-week honeymoon on a tropical island!

"We need to go, Addie."

"You behave with your dad and Meredith, Pey."

"Mo-om." Peyton rolled her eyes.

Derek laughed. "She will, Addie. Go say goodbye to the others and go enjoy your honeymoon. You deserve it."

"You do, Mom. Go. I'll be fine."

"I know. Bye, sweetheart. I love you. Bye, Roxie. Bye Cal." she watched the baby boy in Meredith's arms, smiling. She loved Cal, he reminded her of Daniel and he was amazing. "I'll see you soon."

"Have fun, Addie." was Derek's last encouragement, then she and Mark left, accompanied by everyone's cheerful goodbyes.

x

"Are you okay?" Roxie joined her sister in the backyard, worried. Peyton was sitting on the grass, playing with Cal silently.

"Yes. It's just that celebrating my birthday without Daniel is awful. Not as much as last year, but I feel terrible anyway. He should be here."

"I know." Roxie sat beside Peyton, smiling at her little brother. She glanced inside the house from the window. Peyton chose not to invite her friends over that year, only Jacob and his family because they were family to her and Addison, they always had been. But Daniel was missing, and Peyton hurt more than anyone else. He'd been her half, her person.

"Come with me." Peyton talked again after a while, taking Cal in her arms as she stood up, and Roxie did as she said.

"Where?" she asked when she saw Peyton get in Meredith's car. Peyton didn't have her own car yet, but she was a good driver and Meredith often let her take her car. She usually left her keys in, and for that reason Peyton chose her car instead of her mother's, that she liked more. She needed to drive, and she didn't want to answer questions that would be asked if she went back inside to grab the keys.

"Hurry, Roxane. In or out."

"Alright, I'm coming. Did you make sure Cal is buckled up?"

"He's fine! Come on."

She started to drive, careful as always but a little over speed limits.

"Peyton?"

Roxie was met by silence, so she tried to relax and waited. A while later her sister finally stopped the car in a small parking lot. Roxane understood immediately where they were, she had been there plenty of other times. It was the graveyard where Daniel had been buried.

"Oh."

Peyton knew where she was going. Daniel grave was neat, well-groomed. The girls sat on the grass, and Peyton passed her fingers on her brother's name, carved on the stone. Then she took Cal from Roxie's arms.

"Hey, buddy. See this photo here? This is your big brother. He loves you very much and he's looking at you from up there in heaven." Cal looked at his sister curiously. "I used to think heaven doesn't exist, but then you got here and I'm sure you're an angel Daniel sent me from heaven. Plus, Daniel could only be in heaven. He was the most perfect and innocent person I ever knew. And you're his angel, his gift from him to me. And I want you to know that he'll always care for you." both Peyton and Roxie started to cry loudly, thinking about the brother they lost and about their new brother that would never meet him. Roxie cried because Daniel was her big brother, too, and she never saw him, nor talked to him. "He'll be watching over you. You too, Rox. He's you guardian angel. He'll protect you and guide you and make sure you're safe, always and forever. He'll be watching over you."

The end

A/N: I decided to end this story with Peyton, Roxie and Cal visiting Daniel's grave, because Daniel was what made Peyton look for Derek in the first place, and I thought it was the perfect way to conclude this story. I can't say I'm completely happy to have finished. This is my favorite story so far, among the ones I've written, and I'm sad I won't get to write it anymore. But this was the plan, so unless someone really begs for a sequel and suggests something, or unless I get a new amazing idea to continue writing about Peyton, Roxie and their family, this is it. Thank you for your support, my readers, and for following me through this story. A big thank you for you all. Please, leave one last comment to let me know your thoughts on this last chapter.