Heads up, this is the final chapter! So get your feels under control!!! Thanks for sticking with me till now! :)

Months past and Lily began to experience a feeling of closure. Her work at the F.B.I academy had kept her busy and her mind off the past. As Lily relaxed on the couch, her arm around Ethan, her eyelids drooped heavily. Ethan's arms hugged her torso, his face pressed into her side. 

Lily had noticed that the twelve-year-old had become strangely distant the last few days. She wondered if something had gone wrong at school. Ethan would come home before her so when she got there from work, he was either locked in his room 'doing homework' or passed our on the couch while a cartoon blared on the television. 

Tonight she found the boy on the couch snoring softly. Lily sighed. Slipping her arms underneath Ethan's legs and shoulders, she lifted him up into her arms. As Lily carried the boy up to his bedroom, she took in his features. 

His tousled hair, dishevelled in every which way. The small scar that ran from his forehead, though his eyebrow stopping at the top of his right eye. His parted mouth opened in a nearly silent exhale. Lily didn't know how she had become so lucky to have such an amazing adopted son. 

Tenderly, Lily laid Ethan onto his blue sheeted bed and covered him with the black and blue blanket. The boy sighed softly, curling around his pillow. Lily leaned down and pressed a feathery kiss to his head. 

Retreating to her own room, Lilly exhales all her burden's worries and troubles. She collapsed onto her bed, groaning. 

the next morning found Lily sitting at the table. her eyes drooping and a hot cup of coffee in her hand. She yawned and slapped a hand over her half-asleep face. Ethan appeared in the doorway, his backpack over his shoulder. 

"I'm off. See you later, Lily." The boy rushed his words, hurridly stealing across the floor, kissing her cheek and dashing for the door. 

"Not so fast hot-shot," Lily called, draining her S.T.A.R Labs mug. "I remember what day it is." The woman blew a stray curl of brown out of her face. Ethan let out a groan.

"You don't have to..." The boy said, pausing but not turning to her. His green eyes silently pleading.

"Miss the teacher/parent meeting and look like a noob mom? Not a chance." Lily set the cup on the counter. "Besides, why wouldn't you want me to be there? Unless you are causing trouble at school." She said, raising an eyebrow.

Ethan didn't answer. "Chin up, champ." She reassures, pressing a kiss to his head. "It'll be fine. I'm going to get changed and then we'll be on our way." As Lily left the room, Ethan sat on a kitchen chair. 'She's gonna find out one way or another.' He thought. 

Ethan's foot tapped the floor impatiently. He didn't want the event of the day to progress. he didn't want Lily to go with him to the teacher/parent meeting thing. Anyone but Lily. Lily's mother Alex, her father, Raphael, or even her uncle, Jack would be better.

An exasperated sigh left the young boy's lips. "So," Ethan looks up to see Lily dressed in a black t-shirt overlayed by a light grey blazer and jeans. 

"Do I fit the typical mom stereotype?" She asked, cracking a grin. Ethan studied her attire and her flowing brown hair that was previously in a messy bun. the only things that gave away her youth were the converse shoes on her feet. 

"You look better than you do when you leave for work." He observed. Lily rolled her eyes, approaching and poking the boy's ribs, ruffling his hair. "Ha, ha, very funny mr. comedian. Grab your bag." 

Ethan chuckled and slung his bag over his shoulder, following his mother to the door. "No, really. You're a real mommy-sue." 

Lily sent him a look that said, 'shut up before I flip you over my shoulder' She slipped into the driver seat of the red Honda Civic, while Ethan slid into the passenger seat. 

"Been a while since we had a road trip," Lily commented, pulling out of the driveway. "We never go on road trips. "Ethan pointed out, leaning back into the leather seat. "We went out last week." the woman argued, glancing to him briefly. 

"We went out for ice cream with grandma and gramps. That doesn't count." Ethan explains, shaking his head. Lily grabbed the aviator glasses from the compartment in between the seats and slipped them on. "Well, sorry for not fitting the cool mom quota." She retorted. "I definitely win the most protective mom of the century, though."

Ethan groaned and knocked his head against the window. "Very mature, mom. Very mature." Lily grinned widely before blowing a raspberry at him. "Relax sport." She chuckled, ruffling his hair quickly and returning her attention to the road. 

"I've noticed you've been pretty distant lately." Lily's voice lowered in seriousness. "Anything you want to tell me?" Ethan looked out the window. Anything I want to tell you? Nope." 

Lily sighed. She gripped the steering wheel. "Ethan, I'm serious. Does your behaviour have anything to do with you trying to prevent me from going to this meeting?" She asked, briefly glancing at the shrinking boy. 

He didn't speak.

"Ethan." Lily's voice was soft. "I can't help you if you are giving me the silent treatment." The boy remained silent. His fingers slid down the window. He muttered something incoherent. The young woman driving squinted. "What was that, Ethan Clay Knight?"  She demanded in her 'mom voice'. 

"Nothing." The boy grumbled. "Ethan," Lily repeated. "I said I don't need help!" He burst. "Can we not talk about this now?" Ethan choked, huddling deeper into the jacket he wore. Sensing the boy's obvious bottled up frustration, Lily dropped the conversation. It was just then that Lily noticed something she never noticed before. 

A patch or dried blood on her son's bottom lip. the tremble in his fingers. The redness in his eyes. The broken skin on his knuckles. She felt as though a rock had been tied to her heart. She knew that Ethan suffered from PTSD, but he hadn't had nightmare's in weeks. He didn't complain about his medication anymore and she hadn't seen any panic attacks in a long time.  

Unless, Ethan wasn't taking his medication. Unless He wasn't sleeping. Unless he stayed awake at night, reliving the nightmares of his past wide awake. He'd gotten good at hiding it she had to admit. Or....was she just not paying attention.

The rest of the journey to the school was ridden in complete silence. Upon reaching the building, Lily pushed her sunglasses up onto the top of her head. "Now just relax. It's just a meeting with your English teacher." She assured, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Nothing to worry about. Unless of course, you're flunking English." Lily shot a warning look to her son. "Whatever...It's not like you check my report cards anyway." Ethan rolled his emerald eyes and grabbed the door handle. 

"Hey," Lily grabbed his arm. Ethan sat back, still not looking at her. "Ethan, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being home all the time. I've been so occupied with work I haven't noticed how much you missed me." She looked down to her lap. "This is exactly what turned Buck into the kind of person he is." 

Shakily, Lily clawed a hand through her hair. "I'm a terrible mom, Ethan and I'm sorry." 

There was silence. Then the boy spoke. "The nightmares are getting worse." His voice was low, raspy. "I lay awake, trying to avoid closing my eyes. Closing my eyes only brings the pain and suffering." Ethan shook his head. "I remember waking up in terror. You would run in and hold me. Comfort me. Sing softly and whisper. I would listen to your heartbeat and use it to calm down and finally fall back to sleep."

Lily listened in silence. She remembered. She remembered the terror in the boy's eyes. The way he leaped into her arms and clung to her like a sloth to a tree. She could still hear his sobs and cries.

"Then one night I woke up to a nightmare worse than the rest." Ethan continues. "I woke up in blind fear. I screamed and screamed. You never came. I huddled in the corner of my room and cried myself back to sleep. The next morning I realized the reason you never came was that you hadn't been home. From that day on, I told myself I wasn't going to rely on you anymore. You hadn't been there for me when I needed you most." 

Lily sighed softly. Her eyes stung with unwanted tears. "Ethan...." She whispered. "You say I've become distant." The boy interrupted. "Can you really say that I've been the one who is distant when you never noticed my hand? My lip? Hell, did you even notice the broken mirror in the bathroom?!" 

She was silent. "I'm sorry..." She murmured. "You have every right to hate me. Nothing I say can redo the wrong I've done in the past. But from now on I'm going to be the one to drive you to school in the morning and pick you up in the afternoon. We'll go on road trips every week, and I'm going to spend as much time with you as I can." 

Ethan leaned over and hugged her. "I never hated you, mom...One thing though," Lily pulled away, looking into his eyes. "What?" 

Ethan cracked a smile. "Can we get a dog?" 

Chuckling, Lily poked his forehead. "Nice try, kiddo." Lily flung stepped out and flung her door shut. The warm July air on her skin felt nice. A smile crept up the twenty-three-year-old's face as a young girl approached. She shyly tucked a loose blonde strand behind her ear. Her baby blue eyes focusing on the boy walking beside Lily.

"H-hi, Ethan," The girl greeted softly, avoiding eye contact. Lily couldn't help but raise an amused eyebrow. the boy had never mentioned a girl before. 

"Hey, Destiny." Ethan greeted, his smile growing almost as fast as the pink colour that dusted his cheeks. The two looked down at the ground as they passed each other. 

"Destiny?" Lily teased, jabbing her elbow into Ethan's side. "The boy shivered and shook his head. "Shut up." He mumbled, though his grin remained evident. Upon reaching the english classroom, Lily and Ethan took seats outside the room. With a soft sigh, Lily sat back, her eyes closed. than let out an  exasperated huff. 

The boy sat foreward, elbows on his knees. His clasped hands positioned in front of his mouth and his green eyes seemed distant. 

Lily peeked open her eyes, her attention caught by the rapid tapping of Ethan's foot. A frown crossed the young mother's face. Over the years she had observed the boy's many habits. One of these habits, was tapping his foot repeatedly whenever he was stressed or anxious. 

"Hey," Lily rested her hand on the boy's knee, ceacing his tapping. "What's got you worked up?" The concerned look on her face did nothing but add to the guilt that flooded Ethan's chest and ate away at his conciounce like a revenous wolf. 

"It's nothing, don't worry." He assured, sending her a forced smile. Before Lily could press him any further, a voice called out, "Ethan Knight."

Lily's squinted as Ethan froze. "W-we'd better go in." The boy shot up and shuffled into the classroom without so much as a glance at his adopted mother. 

With a sigh, Lily stood and followed him into the riin. Ethan sat at a dest in the front row. Lily took a seat beside him. 

Looking up, Lily got a first glance of the english teacher. His back faced them, but that didn't conceil his masculine beauty. Chocolate brown hair covered his head and a cinimon sillage wafted off of his person. From Lily could perceive, the man has a muscular back and well toned arms. "So glad you could join us, Ms. Knight." He greeted, scratching a few more note on the blackboard. 

"I am Ethan's english teacher." The man placed the chalk on the small shelf. "The kids call me Mr. T, but please," 

the man turned around, and Lily's heart stopped. His eyes, the mole under his bottom lip. The way his left eyebrow sat slightly higherthan his rightlne in playful jest. His genuine smile, and cheerfil gaze that held her frozen in time and space. 

"Call me Dylan."

Yes, yes, yes. I am ETERNALLY sorry. This is the end. I left this story on a cliff hanger on purpose. So that you can determine the outcome. Does Lily get back together with Dylan after she just got over him? Does she get together with Mark? BIG QUESTION: Do any of you ship Lily with Mark??? Let me know! Hope you enjoyed this trilogy and I love you guys. Thanks for sticking with me through all this! 

~Keziah