“Kristie Deckard!” the principal called into the microphone. Kristie, her purple lipstick smile almost as bright as the lights in the auditorium. It matched the dress she was wearing under her robe, as well as the tattoo she got during Spring Break when we went down to Cancun. She was proud of that tattoo, for whatever reason. I was kind of annoyed with mine, but hers did turn out much better than mine did.

I stood there in line with everybody else graduating. Larry was beside me, picking his nose like a disgusting pig. He yawned after a second, then put on a smile for whoever's camera happened to be panning past him at that moment. After that, he nudged me with his elbow and started waving to somebody.

It took me a second to realize Dad was helping little Laurie wave at us. That just made me feel a warmth that I hadn’t expected. Granted, it had only been maybe two hours since we’d left the house, but still. I was glad Dad brought her along. Then when she was all grown up on her graduation day, I could tell her we were both there for each other.

I looked just a few people away from me and saw Grant waving to her, to. He was such a good dad to her that I almost worried she'd grow up a spoiled daddy's girl, but that was kinda how I grew up, so I couldn't really say anything. I'd just need to keep everything in check.

"Grant Harrison!" the principal called up next. He flashed me a quick smirk and then walked over to get his diploma. I smiled back at him, proud that he'd decided to take the athletic scholarship he'd considered turning down. He was planning on majoring in art, though. Shame he hadn't gotten a scholarship for it.

Just two people later, the principal called, "Ashley Johnson!" and I stepped out of line to thousands of cheers, shook the principal's hand and took my diploma. I was swiftly followed by Larry, who managed to make his as much a spectacle as possible. He even pretended to 'pass' the diploma off to Wheeler, who was just after us in line, which got him a big round of applause.

After the group photo of the graduating class with our diplomas out and big smiles all around, I immediately latched onto Grant and gave him what I considered probably our most intense kiss ever. It definitely got a lot of "ooh" and "ahh" and other sorts of noises from everybody around us. I honestly had no idea everybody could go so gaga over one measly kiss, even if it was the best one I ever had.

After getting home, getting little Laurie into bed and getting out of my stupid graduation robe, I changed into a comfortable pair of black shorts and an orange tank top. Once I came downstairs, I was greeted by the wonderful sight of Grant, who had similarly changed into a plain blue shirt dark blue jeans.

"Hey, Daddy," I said, teasingly, as I almost fell into his arms.

"Don't call me that, Mommy." He smirked, then kissed me. "Whaddya say while the baby girl's asleep, we get to doing what we do best?"

From upstairs, Dad shouted, "Not while I'm in the house!"

I rolled my eyes. "Not even remotely what he meant, Dad!"

"Or while I'm here!" Larry added.

"Bite it, doofus!"

Grant just laughed. "Is that all they think we do?"

I shrugged. "You have one measly kid in high school and everybody assumes the worst." I kissed him. "So, how many pages you got done?"

"About forty, maybe a little less. Upwards of thirty, though."

I took his hand in mine and dropped onto the couch. "Good, because I have this great idea for Brenda and Joey to open up a restaurant."

He raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? A restaurant? Why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, but it came to me when I was thinking about our next comic. Remember way back in page… Fifty-six, when Joey surprised Brian by revealing he liked to cook?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but he also likes to do programming, remember?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but he chose not to go to college, while Brenda's going for business classes. Besides, he can use his programming skills for website design." I kissed him on the cheek. "Like you do."

Grant sighed. "Okay, I guess. But what does this havta do with the next comic?"

I picked up my notebook, which had been sitting on the coffee table. "Simple, a place for Felix to work after he becomes Felicia."

"A waitress? Isn't that kinda cliche?"

I rubbed at my chin. "I suppose, but it's also good grounds for character interaction. Putting a gender bended character in a situation that's kind of cliche, like making her a waitress, or a cheerleader. Plus, it lets us explore Brenda and Joey after they've settled into life."

He sighed. "I guess since you've put all this thought into it."

I rolled on top of him. "Oh, and what did you have in mind?"

"Race car driver."

"Race car driver?"

"Yup."

"Like in Misfile? The comic we're so desperately trying not to be compared to?"

"Y'know, sometimes, that's not a bad thing. Especially if we do it better. Besides, I had this idea where Felicia discovers her love for driving after the change, not that it's something that carries through."

I had to admit, it sounded at least a tiny bit interesting. "Okay, so say we do this, do we have her street racing? Or do we get her on like an amateur circuit and really racing?"

He shrugged. "We can figure that out. Hell, we can even do both ideas, have her racing and waitressing. It's not like it's impossible, though that kinda slips us into street racing territory."

Okay, actually, the street racing angle was starting to get more and more interesting the more he talked about it. I shouldn't have been that dismissive, anyway. This was his comic, too, after all. "Alright, I like this."

He smiled. "Good."

I flicked him on the nose. "Oh, you knew I'd come around, didn't you?"

"It was a fifty-fifty thing."

"Butthead."

From up in my room, Laurie started to cry. Grant just gave me another kiss and said, "Sounds like baby girl needs Mommy."

I smacked him on the chest. "Don't call me Mommy. I'll be back down in a minute, then we can stop making out and actually get to work."

I hurried upstairs and into my bedroom. One quick feeding later, and Laurie was just about ready to drift back off to sleep. I just leaned over her crib and tucked her in. She looked so beautiful there.

Grant had said all through the pregnancy that he hopes our baby would look more like me than him, though he had no reason to say that. He was just plain gorgeous, after all. Still, lucky him we had a daughter that he could dote on. Her sandy blonde hair was a nice trade off from my blonde and Grant's brown, and her bright green eyes were just the most precious thing about her.

"I wish you could have met your aunt Laurie, though I guess if you still had an aunt Laurie, you wouldn't be here now. Still, you woulda loved her. She'd be the 'cool aunt', the one you'd confide in whenever I caught you doing something wrong. She’d probably sneak you out to R-rated movies or buy you alcohol when you’re underage.

“You’re named after the best sister that nobody remembers. The only thing I miss from a life where I wouldn’t have you. You’re the best of both worlds, baby girl, and I always want you to know that. The best of both of my lives, and the best of your dad and me. You have the whole world ahead of you, baby girl."

By the time I was done talking, she'd closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. She snored about as much as her dad. I just smiled and gently kissed her forehead.

"Telling her about aunt Laurie again?" Grant asked from the doorway.

"Yeah."

His arms wrapped around me. "She woulda loved her."

I felt a tear slip down my cheek. “Yeah…”

"Honestly, I think I did, too."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, you did not. You maybe asked her out one time to Homecoming and then the only times you talked to her were here at the house."

He kissed my cheek. "Yeah, but I just wanted to make you feel jealous. Everybody knows you were always the girl for me, even back when you were a guy."

I lightly smacked one of his hands. "Hey! That was only true in this life. Ash was never into guys."

He squeezed me tighter. "Honestly, even though I know you were him, I don't think your life as Ash was ever real. You're just so much more right this way, and we have this beautiful baby daughter here. How could it have ever been any different?"

“Simple, a Welsh goddess decided to have a little fun.”

He sighed. “Maybe. Or maybe she just made us think she did, and came up with a story that never happened and made us think it did.” He kissed me again. “Makes things easier.”

I shrugged. “Even if that was all it was, it doesn’t matter. My life is this now. It’s so much better than my old life, and I never want to go back to that one again.” I spun around in his arms. “I love having you, I love our daughter, I love everything about what my life has become."

He smiled. "Thank you, babe," he said as he kissed me again. "So, there's actually a reason I followed you in here, and as much as I love seeing you with your shirt pushed up feeding Laurie, it wasn't the reason."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, what was the reason?"

He reached into his pocket and took out a folded up piece of paper. “I wanted to give you this.”

I took the paper and immediately that it was heavier than it looked like it should have been. When I opened it, I realized exactly why it felt so heavy, and when I had it all opened, I nearly had a heart attack. The paper itself was a drawing, of Grant and of me. I was standing there, my hands to my mouth as if to keep myself from screaming, holding a piece of paper. Grant was in front of me, down on one knee, holding something that he obviously just picked up from the floor.

The something that was currently in my hand.

A ring.

I was in so much shock that I dropped it, reflexively putting my hands to my mouth to keep myself from screaming and waking little Laurie up. Grant quickly caught it just after it hit the carpet, then held it up.

"Ashley Johnson, will you marry me?"

If I have to tell you that I said "Yes!" then you obviously haven't been paying attention.