As Kit began to drift out of sleep the next morning, she became aware of a deep, humming voice, one she knew as well as she knew her own heart beat. A smile spread over her face before she even opened her eyes. When she opened them, she was greeted by her dad's bright, jolly blue eyes. He smiled for a moment, before frowned.

"Its about time!" he boomed. "What kind of daughter are you? We leave for two weeks and you end up in the hospital?"

The mischievous sparkle in her dad's eyes vanished Kit's tiredness. She was whole again.

"You left me. What kind of father are you?" she returned.

"Jack, really?" her mother scolded. She gave him a gentle slap as she moved to the side of the bed. "Honey, you're awake,!"

She slipped her hand into Kit's.

"I bet she wasn't really asleep," her father continued.

He took Kit's other hand and a weight left her shoulders knowing she was protected.

"Jack," her mother hissed.

"Kelly," her father mimicked.

Her mother shot him a serious glare and he dropped his smile for a moment. But the moment her mother refocused her attention back on Kit, his wicked smile was back in place. Everything was right again. She didn't feel broken anymore. Despite her weak heart, she felt strong.

"How are you feeling?" her mother asked. "And I mean, really feeling?"

Her shoulders dropped a bit and both her parent's expressions softened.

"I'm tired," she said, the weariness seeping into her voice. She glanced between both of them. "Tired and annoyed. Frustrated, but also, okay. This surgery took more out of me physically, but emotionally, it didn't knock me down."

She was silent for a moment, trying to find words to describe how much it had meant that Edison had come back. How much it meant when he hadn't left. He knew how broken she was, but still, he had chosen to stick around, and that made her feel bigger than her brokenness.

"I'm oddly okay."

She could see the relief the answer provided her parents.

"That's what I want to hear, Kitten," her dad said proudly.

He playfully nudged her jaw with his fist and she leaned into the touch.

"Honey, that's great," her mother said.

She nodded. "And before the surgery, I was fine. I felt great. I felt like... I felt like me again," she said.

The image of Edison sitting by her bed, holding her hand popped into her brain.

For the first time that morning, she glanced around the room, looking beyond her parents. She found Edison in the corner, looking unsure of himself as he silently watched her reunion with her parents. She gave him a reassuring smile. The look caught her parent's attention and they both looked towards him. He froze under their gazes, looking uncomfortable to have all the focus on him.

"Mom, dad, this is Edison," Kit quickly spoke up. Her tone was casual as she attempted to clear the awkward air hovering around him.

"Yes, we met," her father said. He flashed Kit a smile. "I must admit we were surprised to find him at your bedside when we arrived. But, we have come to see he is a good fellow and we fully support the marriage."

Edison's eyes shot up in surprise, but Kit just laughed. Her laughter seemed to help ease his shock after a moment and he managed to add a stunted chuckle. Her father flashed him a kind but mischievous smile.

"We even began to discuss your dowry," he added.

"And? What did you say? Will the amount do?" she asked Edison.

His shoulders relaxed some. "It will do," he shrugged, "as long as the Porsche is included."

Kit's father's laugh was the first one to ring out warm and loud, and it broke the last of Edison's hesitancy. As Kit joined in, a genuine smile appeared on Edison's face as he took a step out of his corner.

Kit only go a few more minutes to catch up with her parents before a nurse let them know the doctor would be stopping by to talk with them. He had met and briefed her parents on the surgery and her current status, but he wanted to talk to the three of them. Talk about what the surgery meant for Kit's condition, and what they could expect moving forward.

The atmosphere in the room shifted the moment the nurse arrived, the open door letting out the lighthearted joking and letting in a weighted seriousness. Kit first looked to her hands, to make sure they were still tightly wrapped in her parents, then she looked for Edison. They wouldn't let him stay to hear what the doctor said, but she didn't want that to scare him away.

She found him already looking at her. She smiled and he moved closer, trying to sidestep all the machines and move around her father so he could talk to her.

"I gotta go to work," he said. "My shift starts soon, but -"

He quickly looked around the room. She could see him hesitate and spoke up.

"You don't have to come back," she said, trying to keep her tone light. "But, I wouldn't mind it if you did."

He looked back at her. "I want to come back. Will that be okay?"

He spoke the question louder and looked between her parents.

"Of course," he father said, genially slapping him on the back. "You're practically family now."

Edison smiled. "Thanks."

She was suddenly struck by how outlandish all her father jokes had been.

"You know he is joking, right?" Kit rushed to add. "About the whole marriage thing."

She knew she had become so accustom to her father's jokes, she forgot it threw most people off.

Edison's smile grew. "I've been hanging out with you for the past two and a half week," he said. "Your father talking about our marriage is not the craziest thing I've heard."

Her father laughed as she began to protest. "I did not -"

"Albert," Edison countered. She snapped her mouth shut and gave a guilty smile. "I can list more," he offered.

She shook her head, but smiled.

"Fine. I was just making sure my dad wasn't scaring you away."

He nodded. "I appreciate that. But if I scared easily, I think I would have been gone a long time ago." His phone beeped and took away his attention for a moment. "I really gotta go or else I'll be late."

"And we can't have that," she said. "Who would entertain all the female guests?"

"Exactly," he said. "What I do, matters."

"What do you do?" Kit's mother asked.

"I'm a life-guard."

"Professional eye-candy," Kit and Edison corrected at the same time.

Her parent's looked at them with confused expressions. Edison just shook his head.

"I have to go. I'll see you later. Jack, Kelly," he offered his hand and Kit's dad shook it firmly, "it was nice to meet you."

"Same," her father said.

Edison flashed Kit one last promising smile before he left. The three St James remained silent for a moment, watching him go, before both parents turned their attention back to Kit. Their expressions differed as much as their personalities. Her father had a jokingly curious look as he raised his eyebrows playfully, while her mother showed her curiosity with a slightly worried frown.

"So, that's Edison," her mother said.

"We established that, Kel," her father joked. "Moving on, I'm thinking a winter wedding."

"Jack," her mother scolded.

All joking was set aside when the doctor entered. The holds on Kit's hand tightened as her parents silently reassured her that they were there. The doctor was calm and somber as he began to talk. None of what he said was new. The future was still unknown, and her lifespan still unpredictable. The consequences of another surgery unclear.

The doctor tried to give hope, where hope was possible, but it wasn't anything Kit or her parents held on to. This far into the process, they had learned there were no real answers, and there was no real hope. There was only the moment they were in. Everything beyond that was as sure as a house of cards.

When the doctor left, Jaxon and his parents returned. The adults stepped out to talk logistics while Jaxon stayed with Kit. Like the day before, he turned the television on and let whatever show was on, play.

They watched a few episodes in silence until Jaxon spoke up.

"You really suck, you know that?"

His statement startled Kit but she eventually responded. "I've been told worse."

"Well, it's the truth." He tried to maintain his signature, lazy drawl, but there was a hint of quickness to his words. "First, you steal my title of youngest grandchild, forcing me into a life of moody coolness and brooding. You hang around long enough to let me get comfortable, establish my mysterious air, and then, you decide to forfeit the title."

They both kept their eyes on the television, not daring to meet each others gaze.

She swallowed, determined to match his causal tone. "The title brought me little reward. Besides, we both know your looks are better suited for the youngest grandchild role. The long lashes, the pout. And we both know you were grandma Violet's favorite."

He let out a small sound that could be interpreted as a laugh. Kit chanced a quick glance at him. He looked sideways at her, barely allowing their gazes to meet. He shrugged after a minute.

"Well, that is true. She always gave me an extra cookie."

Kit nodded and they returned their attention back to the television. After a moment, Jaxon reached over and took her hand.

****************

Kit's parents returned after a few more episodes, a nurse in tow. Kit had to start moving. It was slow and aggravating but her parents and Jaxon were her cheer squad as she inched up and down the hallway.

Once Kit was settled back in her bed, Jaxon spoke up hesitantly.

"Kit-Kat, I have something I have to get to, but I can -"

Kit waved away his uncertainty.

"Go. I was going to kick you out anyways. I can't take anymore bad television."

He grinned and headed for the door, but froze when he saw Edison.

"I'm sorry," Edison said quickly. "I was an idiot. I shouldn't have freaked out. You were just trying to help Kit."

Jaxon didn't move for a long moment before he relaxed his stance and nodded.

"Well, I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did."

A silent understanding seemed to pass between the two of them before Jaxon left. Edison let out a deep breath, like he had been expecting more of a fight from Jaxon. When he caught Kit looking at him, he smiled and she noticed how much better he looked. That morning he had had dark, tired circles under his eyes and his hair and clothes had been messy. Now he looked refreshed and more like himself.

The same could not be said about her parents. Every inch of her father's button down shirt was wrinkled and her mother's hair was everywhere. Several cups of coffee had kept them awake, but the circles under their eyes were getting darker.

"Mom, dad, why don't you go home for a little bit," she said. Her parents exchanged nervous looks. "Go," she urged. "Go shower and get food. I'll be fine."

"I'll stay with her," Edison offered.

Kit could see her mother's anxiety rising and knew it wouldn't be an easy battle to win. But she had won harder battles. It had been similar when she had asked to go to Lighthouse Point. She had seen the instant "no" on their faces, the fear in their eyes. How could she even propose they leave her alone? When any moment could be her last? But that was exactly why she wanted them to leave her alone.

For eight months, they had been together, every second, of every day. If she winced, she could feel her mother tense. If she got tired, they jumped to worse case scenarios. Her father hadn't taken a consulting job since her diagnosis.

They had lived the last year for her, and she was worried that, whenever her heart finally stopped beating, theirs might too. She knew their loss would reach far beyond loosing her if there were no lives for them to step back into.

She had known it was the best thing for all of them, and she knew now it was best if they got out of the hospital.

"You'll be here all night," she said. "And its gonna be a few days before I can leave."

"I got her," Edison jumped in. He moved closer to Kit's side.

Her dad pursed his lips and Kit could tell his resolve was weakening.

"We'll only be gone a few hours," he finally said.

She smiled in relief. "I know."

"Jack," her mother said anxiously.

"Kelly, she'll be fine," her dad said. He moved to her mother's side and wrapped an arm around her. "We'll be gone a few hours. If we run ourselves ragged, it won't do anyone any good. Especially Kit."

Her mom looked at her. "Only a few hours?"

"Go," Kit told her.

She squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Their departure wasn't that simple. They insisted on checking in with the doctor and going over all emergency routines with the nurses before they said goodbye. Edison watched the whole process with a slightly amazed look.

Once they were finally gone, Kit sank back into the bed and closed her eyes. She breathed in the peace of the quiet room. It took a few minutes for Edison to break the silence.

"Your parents are really nice," he said.

Kit opened her eyes and found him sitting by her bedside. He had moved the chair as close to the bed as possible. She casually shrugged but smiled.

"They're alright. At least they are real." She flashed him a devilish smile.

He chuckled lightly, but the room quickly returned to silence. After a few minutes, Kit looked over at him. He was staring at the door, a ponderous frown on his face, like he was trying to work something out. A piece of the puzzle that didn't seem to fit. She watched him mentally wrestle for a few more minutes before she spoke up.

"What?"

He looked at her, a hint of guilt in his eyes. He quickly shook his head and smiled.

"Nothing."

She squinted her eyes as she studied him intently.

"What? Stop," he said. He squirmed under her gaze and dropped his eyes.

"I don't believe you," she said.

He shrugged, but still wouldn't look at her. She reached for his hand and began to shake it.

"Come on, Edison," she said. "You have to tell me. I just had surgery." He looked up at her in surprise. "Please." She batted her eyes at him.

He chuckled like he knew he had lost but he held back for a minute more, studying her. She put on a big, cheesy grin and he finally gave in.

"I'm just curious..." he started slowly. His eyes focused more intently on her. "Just your parents. They seem so nice and its obvious they really love you, but -"

Kit didn't need him to finish his thought to know what he was getting at.

"If they really loved me, how could they leave me alone for two weeks when my time is so limited?" she finished for him.

He winced at her words, as if it were painful to hear them out loud. He dropped his gaze.

"Yeah."

"I get what you mean," she said. There was no judgment or anger in her voice, and it encouraged him to look at her again. She smiled. "It would be easy to think they are bad parents if you didn't understand the whole picture."

He nodded pensively and chose his next words carefully.

"So, what is the whole picture?"

Kit's gaze wandered as she thought about how to answer that question. She had more than a years worth of info, but he didn't need to know it all. She just wanted him to understand. Her eyes landed on their clasped hands as she began to talk.

"I got diagnosed a year ago in May," she started. "It took an infinite amount of tests to land on the diagnosis and even then, the diagnosis didn't bring many answers. Like I said, it's a rare disease, and very little is known about how it will manifest itself for each patient.

"So I spent last summer in hospital rooms, meeting with doctors, specialist, scientist, trying to get a better understanding of the disease. A better idea of what my future would look like. We went to every hospital and saw every specialist in the world, but come October, we still didn't have any concrete information. So I decided I was done."

She looked up and found Edison sitting forward, resting his arms on the side of her bed as he listened intently. She squeezed his hand and continued.

"I was done with the tests and the specialist. We had spent four months trying to get more information and we had learned nothing. The doctors said I could have weeks, months or years. They didn't know, and I didn't want to waste anymore time trying to find out. So my parents and I decided to travel. To try to fit in all the things I might not live long enough to do. But then nothing happened. I had a few tears in my heart that I had to get surgery for, but my heart kept beating.

"And we kept trying to fit everything in until I realized I was tired of living like I was dying. I was tired of all my lasts." A confused frown flickered across Edison's face. "I mean, being aware that any time I did something it could be the last time I ever did that."

She could hear Edison's breath hitch as the thought hit him. She was instantly pulled from the past as she studied him. She tried to read the effect her words had had on him, worried her blunt statements about her limited life-span might have come across too strong.

"Hey," she said softly, squeezing his hand.

The action was enough to jolt him from whatever thoughts were running wild in his head.

He looked at her, a pained look hiding just behind his eyes. He shook his head.

"Hey," he said, forcing a smile.

"Sorry," she said. "If this is too much, I can stop."

"No, no. It's fine," he rushed to say.

She eyed him skeptically.

"Really? Because you look like you are freaking out."

He gave a nervous chuckle.

"I can be fine and freaking out at the same time."

He pulled the corners of his mouth back further, but it did nothing to ease the wave of guilt that started to crash over her.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I never should have dragged you into this. You don't deserve this. I should have walked away a long time ago. Better yet, I never should have talked to you to begin with. I've only made things worse."

"Hey, hey, hey," Edison said gently. He moved from his chair and sat on the edge of her bed, taking both her hands in his. "Don't say that. It's not true."

"But it is." She said it without self-pity. In her mind, there was no argument. "If I'd never even come to Lighthouse Point -"

"Then I would have missed out on meeting you, the most amazing person I've ever known," he finished for her. She started to argue but he silenced her with a look. "I'm serious," he continued. "You know what Lighthouse Point is. It's small and nothing ever changes. Then you showed up and reminded me there is a whole world out there. You reminded me that there are opportunities worth chasing after."

He dropped her hands and cupped her face, looking at her intently, as if he could convince her he was right if he stared hard enough.

"Kit, you showed me what it means to really live. No hold backs, no fear."

"And now you're stuck in a hospital room. How's that living?"

He smiled and refused to let go of her face.

"It's a small price to pay," he said. "And I will happily pay it again and again, as long as it means I get you in my life."

"But -"

"But no. You don't get it." His words took on a harsher tone, but she could tell it was just because he was passionate about making her understand.

So she shut her mouth and listened.

"As cliché as this sounds, I'll never be the same. These past two and a half week with you have turned my view of the world upside down. I was resigned to a mediocre life, then you showed up and taught me nothing has to be mediocre."

He looked at her like she was the most precious treasure anyone had ever beheld. She sucked in a deep breath as the look and his words started to break through.

"Do you honestly mean that?" she asked.

"I do," he said, his voice strong and clear.

"But if you didn't -"

He started to argue, but she cut him off by placing her hands on top of his.

"Just let me get this out, because if I don't now, it will nag at me."

He clamped his mouth shut and listened.

"I just wanted to say, I know this is a lot, and if you have to walk away, I will understand. You don't owe me anything. There is no obligation."

She could see him preparing a counter argument but she didn't stop.

"I only want you here if you want to be here. And if you hit a point where you no longer want to be here, then I'll understand, okay? No hard feelings. I mean it."

She could see him physically holding back his words as he waited a few beats to guarantee she was done, before he started to talk.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"

She hadn't thought she could feel more for him than she had when he had come back after their fight. But somehow, he made her feel more. More hope, more happiness, more love.

"Okay," she said.

He slowly moved closer, his face just inches away from hers, his eyes asking.

She smiled and pulled him closer, until their lips met.

**********************************************************************

Flailing fiddle sticks!

(I'm actually sure you can eat fiddle sticks. I don't actually know what they are. So in conclusion, I don't know a lot.)

Okay, let's hear it, who secretly or not so secretly wishes they could be adopted by Kit's parents? Her dad at the very least!

On a scale of aww to oh my gosh he's adorable, how cute is Jaxon?

Let's face it, he's the real Tristan of this story (Mr. Write reference for all of you who are saying huh? right now.)

Finally! Kit and Edison are together and mostly happy! Hey at least they aren't fighting so I will take it. Gosh it was just so sad when they fought, it's like my heart was breaking just like Kit's.

How's your heart doing?

So, I'm not going to lie, my brain has decided to poop out on me so there will be no heart felt, slightly witty and a tad bit depressing story of mine coming your way. Beside the actual story you're reading 😉. Since this is the case tell me something wild, wonderful and whimsical!

Or you know comment the plot of a well known story in emojis and I'll guess it! 

As always stay smiley, stay odd, and stay you!

Paċi, Imħabba, Ġelat (Maltese)

P. S. The next chapter is the last one and then there's an epilogue.