Author's note: Thank you to anonymouscsifan, MrsPandaBrowncoat, DreamBubbles, gossamermouse101, JaliceJelsa4ever, and kmj1989 for the reviews! Gosh, some of you have been around from the very beginning- over two years now!- of this story, and I can't thank you enough for sticking by me through all of this.

Here it is, the final chapter. I have a feeling it will disappoint those who want more detail, but I purposely kept this open-ended just in case I want to explore the interim time for these two. If I ever feel like making Vivien one of Apocalypse's horsemen, for example, with only Hank and their children being able to bring her back. Or maybe Dark Phoenix will inspire some plot bunnies for these two. I just wanted to let you all see that in the end they're alright, and happy.

Vivien is easily the best character I've ever created. She felt very real to me, very human, and I loved having her evolve as a person (and her snark!) over the course of her experiences. Ending this story is like saying goodbye to a good friend, and I'm sad to see her go.

Again, thank you all!

Epilogue

January 27, 2023

"Dr. McCoy?"

The tall, furry man turns to look at the redheaded woman who just called his name and smiles. "Jean, how many times must I tell you that you can call me 'Hank' now?"

Jean grins sheepishly, because it's not the first time her former mentor has offered the gentle correction. She hasn't been his student for decades now, but to her the blue, rather intimidating-looking man with a heart of gold before her will always be the same Dr. McCoy who encouraged her to go into medicine and become a doctor herself. "Sorry," she says. "Old habits. But- I thought you weren't due back from Washington for another two days?"

"Yes, well-" He holds up the bouquet of gardenias and violets in his hand. "Some things are more important than politics," he observes mysteriously. "And my wife is definitely one of them. Is she in her classroom?"

Jean nods, giggling at the feral's love struck expression. Hank McCoy is still a reserved man in most situations, but those concerning his wife- despite almost fifty years of marriage- are always an exception.

He has come a long way from the reclusive scientist he used to be.

His outlandish (or as his beloved would put it, imposing) appearance made him a perfect poster boy for mutant rights, and after the birth of his first child he realized he was doing his family- and himself- a disservice if he didn't do something more concrete to help mutants. Over the past forty-five years or so he has risen from obscurity to become the country's most prominent mutant activist, even going so far as to join the President's Cabinet.

But only thanks to the support of a certain someone, he thinks to himself.

Hank excuses himself politely and heads for the classroom wing. Doing so takes him past the staircase just as a dazed-looking Logan descends from upstairs.

"Morning, Logan," he tells the other feral cheerfully as he passes. He chuckles over the man's evident bewilderment. "Late start?"

Hank doesn't take offense over Logan's lack of reply. Mornings are not the Wolverine's forte, and after all, he got that nickname for a reason.

It would have been easy to locate Logan following their adventure to save the future back in 1973, but Charles decided long ago not to force the issue. If time flowed like a river, he reasoned, the older feral would make his way into their orbit sooner or later.

And sure enough, after a second chance meeting Logan ended up joining the X-Men. Gentle probing on Charles' part indicated that the man had no idea that he'd met the telepath, Hank, and Vivien before, but that was alright. He ended up right where he was supposed to, and Hank considers him to be a good friend.

Just like Logan said they would be, back in January 1973...

Hank frowns pensively as a new thought occurs to him.

Future-Logan first came to us fifty years ago on this very day, he thinks. And he came from exactly fifty years ahead, in an apocalyptic future. Which means we did it. We changed everything...

Hank can't help smiling as the realization sinks in, a mixture of both triumph and relief washing over him thanks to this final confirmation of their success. He had a feeling Logan would need some guidance on the new, brighter present he suddenly found himself in now, but surely this was infinitely preferable to the one he remembered.

By this point Hank is only a few feet away from the slightly ajar door to the music room, and he can hear his favorite voice in the whole world raised in song.

Grinning, he peaks his head in to observe his wife surreptitiously for a moment. She's singing as she prepares for her first class of the day and is as yet too intent to notice his presence.

Despite being seventy years old, Vivien McCoy could easily pass for a woman in her late thirties thanks to her feral nature. Bearing five children gave her petite figure curves in all the right places (or as she put it, "the breast fairy finally showed up, thank fucking Christ"), and Hank thinks she is even more lovely now than the day he met her.

The singing suddenly stops.

"I know you're there, baby," Vivien says without looking at the door. "Now, are you going to come in or are you going to keep watching me like a creepy weirdo?"

"Hard to say," Hank replies. "Both options have merit."

His mate glances over her shoulder and gives him a come hither look that still makes his knees turn to jelly, even after all these years. "But if you don't come here, how will I be able to kiss you?" she teases.

"Your logic is unassailable, my love."

Vivien giggles and meets him halfway in a fervent welcoming kiss. "This is a pleasant surprise," she purrs against his lips when they finally come up for air. "I thought you were in Washington until Monday?"

"Yes, but it's not every day you can celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the day you met the love of your life and she saved your unworthy hide. I wouldn't miss it for the world," Hank explains. He offers her the flowers. "Happy anniversary, darling."

She grins and looks up at him through her long lashes as she takes the proffered bouquet. "And happy anniversary to you," she replies. "Thank you, baby."

And to emphasize her thanks she gives him another kiss after she puts the bouquet in a vase.

Hank reaches up to touch her face, his claws as soft as butterfly wings across her skin. He's so thankful for the life they've had together, thankful for the fact that he's standing here right now with her. In another future he would be long dead, their family (which includes five children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren with another on the way) nonexistent.

Which reminds me-

"You might find Logan to be a little- different from now on, Vivien," Hank observes aloud.

Vivien frowns, puzzled. "Oh? Why's that?" But then, only a moment later, understanding dawns across her features. "Wait, I know. Fifty years... He's come back from the 'other' future or whatever, hasn't he?"

Hank nods, smiling just a little at how quickly she comprehended the answer. Her cleverness never fails to cause him some degree of delight, even when she uses her genius against him.

"Well this is going to make for some awkward conversations," she muses dryly. Charles, Hank and herself are the only X-Men who know of the time traveling intervention back in 1973. They never even mentioned it to the Logan of their present for fear of some sort of dimension-altering repercussions. "Poor Logan."

"Yes," Hank agrees solemnly. "Poor Logan."

"Now that he knows what happened I definitely want to thank him," Vivien murmurs, fiddling with her husband's tie. He's wearing a tan plaid suit today, which amuses her somewhat. Hank's predilection for terrible fashion choices has grown into an endearing quality over the years, in her opinion. "Without his sacrifice I'm pretty sure my life would've been a shit show from start to finish."

Hank frowns. "What do you mean?"

She gets a far-off look in her eyes. "A dream, last night. More like a nightmare-"

He winces- even after all this time, his mate still has nightmares when she's not in his arms as she sleeps. Sadly, even decades of happy memories have not been enough to fully eclipse the trauma from her earlier life and some of their more death-defying adventures since then.

"-It was just a bunch of flashes, really, of what my life would've been like without you," Vivien explains, shivering at the recollection. "I woke up in a cold sweat with a weird sense of deja vu. I didn't really think anything of it until you mentioned Logan, but now I wonder if it was more than a dream."

"Do you want to talk about what you saw?"

She shakes her head emphatically. "No. I want to forget all about it," she replies firmly. "It never happened, and now we know it never will. Thank God. I wouldn't change this life for the world."

"So... are you saying it was worth it?" Hank asks, still unsure. "Everything you went through after we met?"

"Without a doubt," she assures him.

It used to be that Vivien wondered how she could live with herself after losing so many people she loved, but time has given her perspective. Her brothers, she feels, died so she could live. Though it hurts to admit it, she knows the world is a safer place without them and their hatred. More importantly, Vivien honors the memory of her friends from Hell's Kitchen by making kindness a priority in all she does.

Hank can't doubt the sincerity written clearly in her hazel eyes. He kisses his mate again and holds her close.

"So are you here for the weekend, or do you have to go back?" Vivien probes, snuggling against him further.

"No, I'm all yours for the foreseeable future," Hank replies. "Though tomorrow we're expected at Hope's house for a family dinner. All of the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren included."

Vivien smiles at the thought- it can be difficult to get their growing brood under the same roof, and she relishes the opportunity to spoil all of her babies at once. "What are we having?"

"I believe pancakes are on the menu."

She laughs. "That's my girl," she announces proudly, referring to their eldest daughter, Hope. She, along with her siblings- Marcel, Sophie, Cole, and Louise- all inherited their mother's enthusiasm for liberating traditional "breakfast" foods from their arbitrary bonds. "And tonight...?"

"Tonight, my love, you are all mine," Hank tells her. "We're going to a play, if you're amenable."

"Oh? Which one?"

"Romeo and Juliet," he says. "I thought a play about star-crossed lovers would be fitting for the occasion, considering how we began. The irony is that we were able to change our stars."

"I disagree," Vivien replies, grinning. "We were meant to live happily ever after together from the get-go, baby. It's fate- the universe, whatever- that messed up the first time around. That's why the universe ended up reshuffling the deck and dealing it out again by sending Logan back in time."

She kisses her mate heartily, until they're both breathless.

"No, Hank. This is the winning hand we were supposed to be dealt all along."