"Welcome to Steve and Netty's. My name is Nicole and I will be your server for the evening. Can I start you off with a drink?" I asked.

"Can I have an iced tea? Lemon on the side," the customer responded.

"One iced tea, coming right up. Here's the menu. I would recommend something on it, but all of it delicious," I said. The woman smiled at me.

"Great, thanks," she said. I smiled back and then turned on my heel.

"Coming through! Watch out!" Randy exclaimed, raising a tray of food over his head to let me pass.

It was the new diner's opening night. After working on the new restaraunt for over two months, it was finally ready to be opened to the public. Steve and Jeanette decided to open it in time for the dinner rush, which would bring in the most customers. That morning, we had all assembled early to receive instructions. We had all been jittery and excited and nervous, all praying that this new restaraunt would be a success.

"All right, guys. Today's the day," Steve said, wiping his hands on his jeans.

"I can't believe it," Luke said, looking around.

The place looked amazing. The wooden floors gleamed with their new finish. The walls retained their old glamour. The seashell tables made a statement about the theme. The bar area had been redone to include chalkboards with the specials of the day. The window that gave the view of the ocean had been expanded to give a spectacular view of the inspiration of the new restaraunt. And the pictures. My pictures.

My pictures were hung up strategically on the walls. One was framed with a seashell frame. It was the one Caleb had taken of me. I had made all of them in black and white, except for the biggest one, which I had taken of the sunrise over the ocean. This picture was in full color, showing all the vibrant colors that the sun gave off. The waters sparkled realistically, almost as if they were tangible.

Advertising for the new restaraunt took a few weeks. After Steve and Jeanette decided on a name, Randy made fliers which we hung up all over town. Oliver took an ad and posted it in the paper he wrote for. Reese made a blog post about it. The rest of us handed fliers out by hand and one night, Jaime and I even went to The Bean Scene to perform a 'poem' about the new restaraunt. We had been kicked out, of course, for soliciting, but at least we got our point made.

We had all worked hard to create the product that was before us now. We worked days and nights, staying up late, arguing and agreeing, fighting and helping. We had put our all into this project because we wanted to be satisfied with it. And now that it was finished, we realized it had exceeded expectations.

Right before opening the new diner and cafe up, Serena and I put a board up outsid and Jeanette and Steve put out little postcards on the tables. These were to inform about the fundraiser. I had taken a picture of Liam on one of my visits and put it on the board. I thought it was a really amazing picture. I had walked into his ward and his curtains had been pulled back. He was sitting with his legs dangling over the edge of the bed and staring out the small window that was over his bed. His eyes were distant and his expression was sad. It was the perfect pity-inducing picture.

 Currently, everyone was here except for Caleb and Serena. Caleb wanted to make a last minute visit to the hospital to show Liam a picture of the finished restaraunt before we opened it. Serena needed a ride, so Caleb was going to pick her up on the way.

At the moment, those of us that were here were running around, getting and delivering orders and chatting with customers. The place was full of life and people and chatter. It was just like old times.

"I need an iced tea with a lemon slice!" I called into the back, where Luke, Gavin and Steve were working like maniacs with the orders.

"Get it yourself!" Gavin exclaimed. I rolled my eyes and went to the machine to pour a glass of iced tea. I stole a slice of lemon from the salad that Steve was currently cutting up. He gave me a look and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Your order is on the counter, by the way!" Luke called at my retreating back.

"Which one?" I asked.

"The first one you told us," Steve responded. I spotted the order and grabbed it in my other hand, opening the door with my back. I brought the order to my first customer.

"And here is your chicken alfredo pasta," I said, setting it down. "Did you need anything else?" I asked.

"Yeah, a date," the guy said. I forced a laugh.

"Well, I'm sure a handsome guy like you will find someone," I said with a smile.

"You available?" he asked.

"Not really," I replied without thinking. "Enjoy your food. I'll be back to check on you in a bit," I said and then I walked off to give the other woman her iced tea and take her order.

"All right, so that's a ceasar salad with a chicken and brocolli alfredo. Can I get you anything else?" I asked.

"I actually had a question," the woman said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"This card here says that this young boy, Liam, is suffering from leukemia, but he can be saved with our donations," the woman. I nodded. The woman handed me a check. "There's $200," she said.

"I--but--I mean...wow," I stammered, taking the check. "Wow, thank you so much," I said.

"My pleasure. I had a niece who wasn't as fortunate as this child. I hope he gets the cure he deserves," the woman said. I smiled gratefully at her and thanked her profusely before making my way back into the kitchen to tell Steve the order. Jaime walked through the door at the same time I did.

"Jesus, we hauled in quite the crowd," she said.

"It's great, though," I replied.

"Yeah. It is," she said, beaming at me and wiping her forehead of the little perspiration that had gathered there. From behind the kitchen doors, we could hear the chatter and laughter coming in from the dining area.

"Everything worked out perfectly," I said, handing Steve the next order. "And guess what?" I asked.

"What?" Steve asked. I pulled the check out of my apron pocket and handed it to Jaime.

"No way! A $200 donation!" she exclaimed.

"Woah! Who's out there?!" Gavin exclaimed.

"Some woman. She said her niece died of cancer and she doesn't want the same to happen to Liam," I replied.

"See, it's people like that that make me not hate being apart of this race," Jaime said, handing the check back to me. I chuckled and started to walk out, when Jaime grabbed my arm.

"I almost forgot to tell you!" she exclaimed.

"What?" I asked, alarmed.

"Oliver ordered a tomato and basil on italian," she said. I felt my jaw drop. As did Steve and Luke's.

"No way," I said.

"That's what I said! I was so surprised. He finally changed his order!" she said.

"That Reese. I'll tell you, love is a crazy thing," Luke said, shaking his head. We laughed and then ducked back into the noise. I saw Randy happily chatting with customers who were laughing at something he said. I chuckled to myself. Randy had really gotten quite popular and less awkward ever since he got his new girlfriend.

I went to check on one of my customers and as I was doing so, Caleb and Serena walked in. Caleb's eyes met mine. They were strangely bright. I smiled gently at him and he nodded at me. Serena came up to me, bouncing with excitement.

"Oh my God! There are so many people here!" she exclaimed.

"Right? It almost makes up for the lack of customers for the past year," I said.

"But almost," she said, nudging me with her shoulder. I picked up the glasses from the customers to fill them with more drinks. Then I walked back into the kitchen with Serena. She went up to Jeanette, who was making a cup of coffee, and they immediately started chatting about the opening night success.

I filled up the glasses with their respective drinks and set them on a tray. I started to walk out, but then hesitated, glancing at the door that led to the locker room. I set the tray down again and wiped my hands, going to the back. Just as I expected, Caleb was in there, taking his jacket off and pulling the apron on. He looked up when he heard me come in.

"Hey," I said, slightly breathless.

"Hey," he replied, tying the apron in the back. He closed his locker and turned to face me.

"It's going to be a crazy night," I said as he came up to me.

"Yeah, well. We needed a little crazy around here," he said. I nodded and then looked up, holding my breath as I realized he was standing right in front of me.

"Umm--" I said, shifting awkwardly on my feet and twirling the ring on my finger nervously.

"The fundraiser for Liam. It was your idea, wasn't it?" he asked, his voice low. I shrugged.

"It was more of a group effort," I said. He looked at me seriously with those startling and intriguing green eyes of his.

"Nicole," he said. I sighed and looked down at my feet.

"It's just that that one night, on the roof of your father's old business. I just...I don't know. Liam doesn't deserve to be going through any of this. He's just a kid. His life should fun and carefree, not bogged down by a looming death," I said. I looked up at him, meeting his forest green eyes. "And you..." I trailed off. His eyebrows went up slightly, asking me to continue. "You deserve to be happy," I said.

He held my gaze for a moment and then let out a breath, looking down at his feet.

"We all deserve to be happy," he said.

"But we have to work for it. And the fundraiser was just me working for yours," I said.

He looked up at me sharply then, stepping a little closer to me. He reached up and brushed my cheek with his thumb.

"And what about you?" he asked. I examined his eyes closely, reading the emotions flitting through them.

"I'll find it eventually," I said quietly.

He looked at me for a long moment and then dropped his hand. He took my left hand in his, bringing it up slightly.

"The only way you'll ever find your happiness is if you let go of your past," he said in a gentle voice. "Holding onto your memories is important, Nicole, because it makes you who you are. But you can't get caught up in them," he said.

His fingers traced my hands to the diamond ring on my finger. I felt my breath get caught in my throat and looked into his eyes.

"Your happiness is just as important to me as mine is to you," he whispered. "And I'm letting you help me, but you need to let me help you, too," he said.

I felt my heart rate accelerate. I could feel it beating against my ribcage and I wondered momentarily if he could hear it, too.

"Let's start with this," he said.

Ever so gently, he pulled the ring off from my finger. I closed my eyes as he did so, feeling a few tears escape and roll down my cheeks.

"Nicole," he said softly. I opened my eyes and looked at him. He held the ring up so that it caught the dim light above our heads, gleaming beautifully as ever, even after all this time. He took my hand and opened it up, placing the ring in the center of my palm. I stared at it for a moment.

I had never taken the ring off, not once, since Levi had initially put it on my finger. And now it was sitting calmly on my palm, so completely different than the emotions raging through me. Caleb closed my fingers over the ring with his hand and my eyes flickered up to meet his again. They were soft and patient now.

"You're going to be fine, Nicole," he said.

I finally let the breath I was holding out and laughed hollowly. I nodded, looking at my feet and then back up at him.

"I know," I said, my voice barely a whisper. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. Then he reached up and wiped the tears off my face and smiled gently at me.

"Caleb?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Liam said that you loved me," I said. He smiled wryly at me.

"Kid can't keep a secret," he said with a shrug. I smiled weakly at him.

"I care about you, Caleb, but--" I began.

"That's all I need," he said, cutting me off.

"It'll take time," I said.

"And I'm not rushing you," he replied. He smiled at me and stepped forward. "But..." he trailed off, leaning in towards me. I didn't realize what was happening until I found myself letting it. I felt Caleb's soft lips on my own and found mine  moving in sync with his. I felt the long forgotten feeling of butterflies erupt in my stomach, and while the feeling was nearly as heightened as it was when I kissed Levi, it was definitely existent.

We pulled away after a few moments and I was surprised to find myself slightly breathless.

"That was so that you wouldn't forget," he said. I felt the corners of my lips turn up.

"It was a nice reminder," I said. He chuckled.

"Come on. They need us out there," he said.

I nodded and took the hand he offered me. The ring I placed in the pocket of my shirt, right over my heart where the true memories would forever remain. We walked out into the kitchen together and this time, we actually were.

                                                                      THE END

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A/N: Yay! The end! Did you like it? I hope it didn't seem rushed. I included everything I wanted to.

I did the ending the way I saw fit. I know I didn't directly say that Liam's cancer would be cured, but with the success of the new restaraunt and the amount of donations they were getting, it was indirectly implied. I also left Caleb and Nicole's relationship off to your imagination, but they do end up together (at last!).

Again, don't be sad it's over. Thank you all so much for all of your support. It means so much to me. I didn't think this story would be as popular as it was when I first started writing it. It was a complete, but pleasant, shock. So thank you!

Until we meet again...

XOXO

UPDATE 1-1-13: PLEASE VOTE FOR THIS STORY IN THE WATTY'S! Here's the link: http://www.wattpad.com/watty and it's under ADVENTURE. Help me win a Watty! Thanks! I will love you all forever and keep writing great stories if you help me win!