She jumped off the stage and ran as fast as she could into his arms, a huge smile on her lips, “God. I can’t believe it’s finally over. I’m a little sad, to tell you the truth.” Liberty and Dom hugged and then he kissed her.

“Congratulations,” he smiled, pulling away. “You’ve finished University!”

“It’s about damn time,” she laughed. “I’m going to miss the friends I made, you know. British people are very cool.”

“You knew this before you started school here,” Dom said, leading her out of the auditorium. “As I am British. And cool.”

“I learned from Orlando, at least,” she joked. “It’s only too bad no one but you could make it. This is sort of a momentous occasion. None of my family could even come.”

“You know, love, I’m not chop liver.”

She made a face, “No, you’re not. Did you get that expression from Elijah?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “Don’t be bothered by no one coming, you’ll see everybody at pick-ups. And the family…I guess at the wedding?”

“Probably. I’m glad you came, at least.”

He kissed her again, as the approached the car. “Do you feel grown up now?”

“Very. It’s frightening.” She slid into the passenger side and turned to him as he got in. “At least I have a job lined up. Poor Noel had no idea what he was going to do, he was freaking out all over the place. I thought he was going to pass out.”

“Yeah, that was the bloke that looked really high strung?” She nodded. “Poor fellow. You and Raya could hire him.”

“Hardly. He’s got a degree in some sort of science field. I don’t really know. I tuned him out most of the time he talked about it because I’m horrible at science.”

“You and me both,” Dom laughed, turning the ignition on. “Well, look at it this way. We can have our own little celebration together. How’s that?”

Liberty smiled, “That sounds wonderful.”

There were a few moments of silence and then, when they were nearly home, he asked, “When do you start at the old salt mines?”

“Well, the building will be finished when pick-ups are done, so then I guess. Raya’s been in there a bit now and then, setting things up. But mostly she hired that person, Paul or whatever his name was to do it all.”

“I don’t even know exactly what you’ll be doing.”

She brightened, happy to talk about her new job, “Raya and I are partners. We will be designing clothes together. Since she has a degree in business, she’ll be taking care of that side of it and I’ve got a degree in fashion design, and a minor in journalism…so I’ll be doing the PR, and all the people-sided stuff.”

“Promotion.”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” She got really excited, “ANNNND I get to set up all the fashion shoots and take the photographs if I want. Raya’s said we can hire someone professional after we get underway, but I want to try it. Viggo said he’d ‘assist me’ the best he could. He is my mentor, after all.”

“Erm, Libs?” She looked at him expectantly. “Vig called me last night while you were in the shower. He said he’s directing this huge new movie.”

“Really? That’s awesome. He must be really excited.”

Dom nodded and swallowed, “He wants me to be in it.”

“Brilliant!” She cried, turning fully in her seat to look at him. “What’s the matter, then?”

“I’d be gone for a really long time…and now that you’re sort of…stuck in London due to the work…you wouldn’t be able to come. And I don‘t want to leave you again.”

“But it’s Viggo’s directorial debut! That’s incredible. You have to take it.”

“Libs, love, it’s a ten month shoot.”

Her eyes widened, “Ten months? Dear God. That’s a bit long, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes,” he stated quietly. “It won’t start for awhile, though. It’s still in pre. He’s shopping the idea around to companies and producers and all sorts of things. Plus some writers have to fine tune it. Did I mention he wrote it?”

“Viggo WROTE it? How come he didn’t tell me? I talk to him, like, every day practically.”

“He didn’t want anyone to know until it was a sure thing,” Dom shrugged. “He wants it to be filmed in Canada. I don’t know when filming starts, though. We won’t know for probably about a year.”

“So, this is a year off?”

“About.”

“Who knows where we’ll be in a year, just say yes to him now so he doesn’t think you don’t want to do it.”

“Okay.” He pulled the car into a parking space and they got out. “I still can’t believe you don’t have to go to classes anymore. What WILL we do all day before you start work?”

Liberty grinned mischievously, “I can think of a few things.”

He kissed her, “Ahhhh, I love how you think.”

**

It was fifteen days later; Dom and Liberty were lying in bed trying to get some sleep before their plane left for New Zealand the following morning, very early. Raya and baby William were long since home from the hospital and planning the trip to New Zealand with Orlando and Priya; they were all very keen to take part in the momentous Return of the King pick-ups. Priya was a very loving older sister thus far, dotting on William’s every whim and need, always wondering what more she could do to help. Raya said she was an absolute angel where he was concerned. It would be her third birthday in December, seven months off, and they were already planning a rather large party to celebrate. Uncle Billy had suggested they buy her a pony.

Meanwhile, Dom and Billy were just waiting patiently for the announcement of another birth to take place.

Liberty took a deep breath and rolled over in bed, watching Dom curiously while his eyes ran over the lines in front of him. “I have something I sort of need to tell you.”

He set the pages down and looked at her, “Okay. Go for it.”

She sat up, Indian style, facing him with her hands in her lap, “I, um…”

“You’re not pregnant, are you?” Dom’s voice was calm, resigned, anxious, and happy.

Liberty did a bit of a double take, “No. Why? Do I look fat?”

Dom laughed and relaxed against his pillows, “No, love, you do not look fat. Podgy is the word I’d use---“ she gaped at him, and he grinned, “---but you don’t look that, either.”

“This is serious, Dom.” He put a hand on her back and rubbed reassuringly; she sighed, “I’ve been watching Orlando and Raya with Priya and Will. And I just…I realized that I want that.”

“Are you breaking up with me to go after Orlando? Who, may I remind you, is a happily married man. And FATHER.”

She laughed in spite of herself, “Dom. Come on. I’m saying that before I didn’t really know if I wanted to have kids, you know? Or even if I wanted to get married ever. I always thought marriage was this, you know, lifelong thing and I never thought I’d want to spend my entire life with someone. Especially after the whole Tyler incident…and seeing my parents be so unhappy and getting divorced…but then I met you and it was like I got slammed in the face with all these new ideas. And then you asked me to marry you and I said yes, but I was scared. I was worried about marrying too young, you know? But I don’t care anymore.”

Throughout the entire speech, Dom had sat up and was staring at her almost in awe; he was now holding her hands and sitting directly across from her, also Indian style. “What are you saying, Libs?”

She inhaled sharply and then exhaled slowly, “I believe I’m ready to set a date.”

Dom chuckled, “You act as if you’re going to war, darling.”

She scrunched her nose up, “You’ve never called me darling before.”

“You don’t like it?”

“I don’t know. The point is…this was huge for me, you know? I assumed we’d just live like this forever and never really get married, though the ring on my finger was sort of changing things a bit.”

One of Dom’s eyebrows went up at this revelation, “Be engaged forever, but never be married. Interesting concept, I must say.”

Liberty shrugged, “Pick a date.”

“What, just randomly? Off the top of my head?” She nodded, biting her lower lip in nervousness. “Erm, the twenty-second of August.”

“Year.”

“1837.”

She laughed, “No. I mean future year, not past.”

“2056.”

“Dom, you’ll be, like, 70 years old then.”

He shrugged, “Yes, but in my prime. More or less.” Liberty flopped back against the pillows, covering her eyes with her arm. He laid down beside her, his arm slung across her stomach, “Libs, what about a year from now? How about then?”

“Get married a year from now?” She reiterated, mulling it all over. “Yes, that sounds good.” She nodded, “So that would be…May.”

“May of next year, okay.” He smiled widely at her, pulling her arm away from her eyes. “We’re getting married next year.”

She kissed him, “May…30^th?”

“Sure,” he replied, kissing her again. They began jumping around and screaming like kids, throwing pillows at one another, kissing and laughing.

It was just one of those times when everything was near-perfect with the world.

*

“I need more coffee,” Liberty muttered, leaning against Dom for support as their baggage swirled around them on the conveyer belt. The plane had just landed in New Zealand and she was still exhausted, despite sleeping on the plane and drinking several cups of coffee on the way there. The Blooms would be arriving later in the day and Elijah’s plane should have already landed; Billy would be there momentarily. Liberty, Dom and Billy had opted to rent a car together as they were all staying at the same hotel and Dom and Billy almost always had the same call time.

“You had an entire pot. Of Starbucks. That should have been enough to keep you going until next Tuesday.”

“Normally, yes. But not after such a dratted long flight.”

“You slept the entire time, Love. How would you know how long it was?”

“Every time I woke up, we were still bloody flying.”

“Pretty soon, if you’re not careful, you won’t only be using the British slang, you’ll find yourself with a British accent.”

“I already do,” she grinned tiredly and leaned over to pick up her duffle bag. “When I yell.”

“Yeah, but that’s not often. It won’t be until we’re married, then you’ll yell at me ALL the time.”

“I don’t yell at you now,” she stated, lifting her suitcase and setting it on its wheels. He threw her duffel over his shoulder and picked up his own two bags.

“No, but I won’t be stupid and think that it’ll always be that way.”

“We’ve never really had a fight,” she mused. “The only time I really yelled at you was when I thought you’d cheated on me.”

He threw an arm across her shoulders and kissed her temple, “Yeah. I expected much worse.”

“Really?” She glanced at him as they walked past security and came out near all the food. “What’d you think I was going to do?”

“Murder me,” he replied easily. “None of these places are open.”

“That’s because it’s the middle of the night.”

“Right. Well. When’s Elijah’s flight land?” Dom steered her over to the screen of arrivals and saw his flight. “An hour. What are we gonna do until then?”

“Sleep?” Liberty suggested hopefully.

Dom laughed, “All right.” The two of them brought all their luggage to the uncomfortable airport chairs and flopped down into them. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and he pulled her into him, allowing her to snuggle closer. She yawned and buried her head in his chest. His fingers ran idly through her hair, “You know, those were the worst times of my life.”

“What was?” She asked, yawning again.

“When we weren’t together.”

“I wasn’t exactly over the moon either,” she remarked bitterly. “Why is that we’ve been talking a lot about the past lately? Before it was all about my ‘thing’ with Elijah and now it’s the Anaka Chronicles.”

“Perhaps we need to talk about these things before we get married. Maybe it’s just how things work with us.”

“Are we clearing the air?”

“I think so,” he nodded. “While we’re clearing the air, I’d just like to say that…well…I don’t know how you feel about this, but I’d like to have a litter of children. Raya’s said she wants ten, and I would like to have AT LEAST half that.”

“Half of ten is five,” Liberty muttered. “One is going to be ridiculously hard at first.”

“I know, but I really want to settle down and have a family with you. It’s something I never thought I wanted, like you, but then I met you and…why do we have this effect on each other? We’ve made each other complete saps who just want to have a big house, kids, a picket fence and a dog.”

“We could get a dog,” she stated. “I’d like that.”

“We’ve already got Elijah. I think that’s enough.”

*

The following day, Liberty went to the cottage Raya and Orlando had rented for two weeks while the boys went to the set. They’d be gone the better part of the day, so she figured it’d be a good chance for her to catch up with Raya and see William and Priya.

When she entered the cottage, she saw Priya sitting on the couch swinging her legs back and forth and singing along with Elmo on Sesame Street.

“Hey Priya!” Liberty called, shutting the door behind her.

“Hi, Auntie Libs,” she replied off handedly, not taking her eyes off the screen. Her long brown curls were pulled back in a ponytail at the top of her head and she was wearing a very cute, long sleeved pink dress and white tights with black Mary Jane shoes. Liberty, in her jeans and sweater, mused that the two year old was better dressed than she.

Liberty took a seat on the edge of the couch and looked at the television, “So,” she began awkwardly, “What’s Elmo singing about?”

Priya sighed heavily, “Fish.”

“Um, you don’t like fish?”

A heavier sigh escaped the two year old’s lips, “I do.” She had the posture of a fifty year old very wealthy woman; or just Raya’s posture, at least.

Liberty wasn’t sure what to say, so she ventured, “Is Elmo counting the fish?”

The little girl did not reply, instead she turned her head towards Liberty and gave her ‘the glare.’ The one that made Elijah pee his pants in fear; the one that made Dom cringe and hide behind Liberty; the one that she shared with her mother.

“Well,” Liberty sighed, standing up, “I can see why Elijah is so afraid of you.”

"Elijah? Where?" Priya jumped off the couch and went off in search of him, and quite possibly, his cigarettes.

Raya came down the hall carrying a squirming Will, who, by the looks of it and the clean baby smell that entered the room with him, had just gotten out of the bath. “Do you want to go Christmas shopping in town?”

Liberty shrugged, “Sure.” She put her arms out and Raya slid Will into them. He was dressed in a little blue outfit with pants and a onesie. “Raya? Is Priya expanding her glare to include more people? Instead of just Elijah?”

"Only when interrupted. Which isn't often. She's very focused, you know."

“Yes, I gathered that. Elmo and the fish.” Raya shot Liberty a perplexed look, but didn’t reply because Priya chose that moment to skip down the hall singing “Ruby Tuesday” by the Rolling Stones and humming the parts she didn’t know the words to. “I thought you’d be making her listen to Mozart and Bach, not The Rolling Stones.”

Raya laughed, “She listens to a good deal of all of it. However, she favors the Stones. Can’t blame her, can you?”

“No,” Liberty agreed. “I’ve been listening to them forever.”

“So have the boys.”

“Oh, of course.” Raya handed Liberty a snowsuit to put Will into and Liberty sat down to do so while Raya got Priya into a very lovely little winter jacket.

Though it was summer in the states, it was winter in New Zealand and it was colder than any of them had expected it to be. Liberty dressed Will up and then put a little hat on his bald head. “Do you think he’ll have hair like his daddy’s?” Liberty asked as Raya shrugged into a black peacoat.

“I imagine so, as Priya does. If he doesn’t, he’ll have my hair which is just a bit lighter and straighter than Orlando’s.”

“You know, Dom and I set a wedding date.”

Raya stopped what she had been doing (putting mittens on Priya) and looked up at Liberty, “Did you, now?”

“May the thirtieth. Next year.”

“You better get going, then. That’s only about ten months away.”

Liberty laughed, “Yeah, I’m working on it. It’ll be better once we get back to London so I can call caterers and things.”

Raya gave her a look, “Pretty soon, I won’t be surprised to see a little Monaghan running around with Priya and Will.”

Shaking her head, Liberty headed outside to Raya’s rented mini-van; she had decided to go for functional rather than attractiveness. “I suppose so. Dom wants to get a move on. He says Orlando will be way ahead of him before long and he’d hate to see that.”

“Orlando IS a powerhouse,” Raya reminded her, as they buckled Will into the baby seat and Priya into her seat. “I don’t know what classification Dominic is.”

“I don’t either, yet,” Liberty replied, jumping into the passenger seat.

“Well, I’m glad in any case. At least I can mark that day on my calendar so we can be sure and be there.”

“I’d like Priya to be flower girl.”

“She’ll be three then. I’m sure she’d love to.” Raya got into the driver’s side and turned to Liberty, “We should stop by the set so I can congratulate Dominic.”

Before Liberty could protest, they were off and going; Priya in the backseat regaling everyone with a rousing rendition of Cheap Trick‘s “I Want You To Want Me.”

*

Liberty, holding Priya’s hand, went into the hobbit trailer; the two of them belting out more Rolling Stones tunes. Raya had taken Will to go see Orlando.

“I can’t get NO…SATISFACTION!” Liberty’s voice rang through the trailer, making all of the hobbits turn to look at her, as well as the hobbit dressers.

“Satisfaction,” Priya echoed, doing a little dance. Dom, laughing hysterically, jumped down off his chair just as his wig was being finished. Billy watched, almost horrified, from his seat; Sean was snoring in his, so he was obviously asleep as his feet were drying.

Elijah, however, jumped up from his seat and began singing along with them, very off-key which prompted Priya to glare at him with disdain clearly written across her little face. "Uncle Elijah! Stop! STOP STOP!!!"

He glanced down at her, “What?” Huffing, he said, “The Smashing Pumpkins are better than The Rolling Stones, anyway.”

“They are not,” Priya argued stoutly.

“Yes, they are.”

“No, they’re not.”

“Yes, they damn well are.”

“No swearing in front of the two year old,” Billy reprimanded.

“No, they’re not,” Priya reiterated.

“I didn’t swear, I said ‘damn.’ That’s not a swear. And YES, THEY ARE.”

“NO.”

“YES!”

“ALL RIGHT!” Sean shouted, apparently awake now, “That’s enough. Elijah, you’re fighting with a two year old.”

Elijah pouted, “She acts sixty.”

“So do you,” Billy commented, lifting Priya into his lap.

“The Smashing Pumpkins are so much better than the Stones,” he muttered, flopping back into his seat. Liberty patted his head absently.

“No, they’re not,” Priya whispered. Elijah glared at her.

“I like The Beatles,” Dom stated randomly. “They have a ‘The’ in their name, too.”

Billy nodded, “Yes. Yes, they’re good.”

Priya’s face lit up, “Hey Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuude.”

“How does she KNOW all this?” Elijah demanded, shaking his head.

Dom began singing “Hey Jude” while Priya skipped around the room.

“It's not really a song for dancing,” Billy said.

“Have you any better ideas?” Dom asked, as Priya stopped skipping.

“What about…” Elijah was cut off.

“Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band!” Priya suggested, shouting gleefully.

Elijah scowled, “I need a pillow to scream into. Does anyone have one?”

“So, HEY SEAN!” Liberty called, breaking into the fight. She walked over to him and gave him a hug. “Congratulations, by the way.”

Sean smiled at her, “Thanks.”

“I want to be a hobbit,” Priya said suddenly, climbing into a vacant chair and tugging on Elijah’s wig.

“Ooooouuuuuuuuuch,” he said overly dramatically. “OUCH.”

“Oh, stop it,” Dom rolled his eyes. “Here, Prie. Here’s one of Elijah’s extras.” He fastened the extra Frodo wig on her head and she giggled happily while admiring herself in the mirror.

“She IS hobbit sized,” Elijah considered. “Maybe Raya would let her be an extra.”

“We don’t have to do anymore scenes with the hobbit extras,” Sean reminded him.

“She makes a cute Frodo,” Elijah said, ignoring Sean. “She’d make a good looking Merry. Better looking than Dom, anyway. Isn’t that right, Dom? Wouldn’t Priya be a cuter Merry than you?” He glanced at Dom, but he was too busy making out with Liberty in the corner. He rolled his eyes, “Yes, Elijah, she would make a cuter Merry.”

Priya snickered, “Gollum.”

“Hey, there, Gollum is a really good character. You shouldn’t say his name in such a derogatory way. The ring took him over, it’s evil was so much that it made him into a creature who had naught but lies in ‘im.”

“You’re quoting Sam from The Two Towers,” Sean stated blandly. “Get your own material.”

Elijah stuck his tongue out at him and turned back to Priya, but she was ignoring him and looking at herself again in the mirror. “You are just like your father.” No one was paying any attention to him, however. “Not even a two year old will listen to me,” Elijah complained. “For Christ’s sake! Why won‘t anyone listen to me?”

Billy blinked, “Because you’re boring.” Elijah let out a womanly gasp. “Don’t act surprised, Lij.”

Elijah hung his head sadly, “Poor Elijah.”

Priya patted him on the head, looking serious, “It's okay, Frodo.”