Summary: There was a reason Dylan didn't want anyone to go to his graduation ceremony… but he wasn't alone either.

A/N: This is just my own personal rewrite of the end of the series; I know this or something similar has been done a million times over, but I just watched season 10 for the first time, and I can't seem to get anything written for She Falls Apart until I get this off of my chest. Plus, fluff is nice.

Part One

"Dylan McKay."

He'd told David and Kelly that he wanted to be alone for this, that he wanted it to be private, and he had told the three women in the center of the fifth row the same thing. But as he crossed the stage and saw all three women leap to their feet, he was glad that they hadn't listened to him. Erica, Iris and Brenda were screaming his name and catcalling as he shook the Dean's hand and took his diploma, and Dylan couldn't help but think about what he had told Gina after Dr. Martin's funeral.

Faith, love and family… he'd said that he didn't have any of that, but looking at the women cheering for him, Dylan knew he had all three. Iris, Erica and Brenda were his family, no matter how hard he pushed them away.

For all her faults, Iris had come back into his life when he was sixteen, and she'd never gone away. No one else in the world would have trusted a sixteen year old recovering alcoholic to live on his own, but Iris had. In some books, that might make her a bad mother, but Dylan knew that what she'd done was right. Because she'd given him his space then, they were able to be close to each other today. She'd had faith in him, and she'd loved him, and, as his mother, she was definitely family.

Erica had come into his life when he'd thought Iris would be his only family for the rest of his life, and she had loved him as he had never been loved before. Erica loved him with the hero worship of a much younger sibling, and even though he had disappointed her in the worst way, even though he had left her to the custody of his mother and later to shuttle between his mother and his ex-girlfriend, she loved him still. She worshipped him still. She was the first person in his life whose love seemed truly unconditional, although he'd since learned that both Iris and Brenda had loved him in the same unconditional nature. Like Irish, she had faith in him, she loved him, and she was family.

Brenda was a different story.

Brenda was the whole story.

In the past decade, Brenda was the only person he'd been in constant contact with. She was the reason Iris was in his life; she'd encouraged him to let his mother be a part of his life, and encouraged his mother to believe he was worth the effort. She'd done the same with Erica, giving the troubled teenager a home even after he'd left London, even after he'd abandoned them both. She was the reason he held his degree in his hands now; she had talked him into going to California University six years ago, to the University of London three years ago, to California University again this year. She'd told him once that he would always be a part of the Walsh family, but nowadays, she was the only member of the Walsh family who still felt like family to him.

For ten years, she'd been his constant. Whether she was a friend, a lover, a girlfriend, an ex-girlfriend, she was family. Whether she felt anger, friendship, heartbreak, passion, desire, hurt, or pain over him, her love had been a constant. She had always believed not that he could be a better person, as Kelly believed, but that he already was a better person, hidden underneath his outer layers.

She had taught him what faith, love and family meant.

The ceremony ended and Dylan weaved his way through the crowd and wandered over to the three women who were his only family, or, the only family he was allowed to acknowledge. Erica found him first, launching herself into his arms. Dylan held her close as he marveled over how much she had grown. When they'd met, five years ago, she'd been a shy twelve year old hiding behind books and eager to impress him. Now, she was a woman of eighteen, a survivor of a terrible mother and step father, an abusive boyfriend who'd led her into a life of drug abuse and prostitution, and a brother who had never done quite enough to protect her. With the help of Brenda and his mother, and, he grudgingly acknowledged, Brandon and Kelly, Erica was now flourishing. She was in a healthier relationship with a nice young man. Iris and Brenda had pulled every string they could find to get her enrolled in high school in Hawaii, and she was a year away from her own graduation.

Iris wrapped her arms around him next, whispering how proud she was as she did so. His mother, too, had changed since she'd re-entered his life. Caring for him and for Erica had changed her dramatically, in ways Dylan sometimes regretted. She looked older than she was now, with lines around his eyes and hair that was going gray. She still dressed in flowing skirts and stylish jackets, still wore big, clunky jewelry, each piece of which she swore held some deeper meaning to spirit or soul. She still met with psychics and read the tea leaves of anyone who let her get close enough. But she could no longer be considered flakey. She had established routines that had to be upheld, for the health and mental health of himself and of his sister.

When he had hugged his mother and his sister, Dylan stood, smiling as he looked at Brenda. She was smiling back, though neither of them was sure whether or not to go in for a hug. If she had been anyone else, it would have been an awkward moment. If she were Kelly, it would be an awkward moment.

"Congratulations, Dylan" she said softly, and he decided for them both, pulling her close to him. She kissed his cheek and he kissed her lips in return.

"Marry me."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~