Epilogue

"Justin, what's that sound?" Candace asks a just waking Justin next to her on the bed.

"I don't know Candace. Go back to sleep," he murmurs, closing his eyes and putting an arm around her waist.

The sound stops so Candace snuggles back under the warm covers into Justin's embrace. It is Christmas day and she, Justin, Joey, Chris, Lance, JC, Cammy, Britney, TJ, and Beth are spending it together in a cabin up in the mountains where they are surrounded by absolute peace and quiet, as well as snow.

Months have passed since that whole incident, which Candace hates to admit could have been what took Justin away from her forever. It was hard in the beginning to trust him fully again but as all those sappy movies claim, love conquers all and heals all wounds. Now, she is totally content to be with him and is having a hard time thinking about life without him there with her. Over these past few months, Candace is also happy to see that TJ has refound happiness and pure love in a relationship with Beth. The two just got close one day and one thing led to another, resulting in the two hooking up, without any interference or persuasion from Candace. JC and Cammy are going strong still. So strong, the two have planned to get married in two years to allow for JC's career to grow more before Cammy actually gets him to settle down.

Lance and Britney have started to flirt more but Candace doesn't see anything happening there. Joey and Chris both remain non-committed but have been dating an awful amount of women lately. Hopefully, they will find their soul mates soon and the whole group could be in sync in something else other than their name.

The sound starts up again, but this time Candace identifies it as Busta barking at something. "Justin, can you go down to let him out?" Candace asks, not wanting to get up.

"No way. Let Chris do it."

"I don't think you want any Christmas presents from Busta, do you?"

Seeing that Justin isn't budging, Candace gives a sigh and gets out of the bed, grabs a sweatshirt and puts it on as she goes down the stairs into the living room where she spots Busta. After fixing her tousled hair, she goes over to him and looks at what he is so steadily barking at. She just sees the rows of stockings they had put up the night before. She looks down at Busta again and realizes that he is staring at the one with her name on it. Candace doesn't see anything unusual so she picks up Busta and puts him outside so he could do his business and lets him back in shortly after so he doesn't freeze.

Candace is about to go back upstairs when she hears a tiny bark start. She looks at Busta, who is now curled up in a bowl near the heater, but realizes that it isn't him. She goes towards the sound and sees a small tail poking out of her stocking. 'What is that?' she wonders as she gets closer to it and lifts it off the hook.

It is surprisingly heavy and she sits down on the couch before realizing that it is moving. She lays it down on the cushion next to her and reaches in. Candace screams as she feels a wet nose touch her palm.

"Shh... You'll wake the others," Justin says, coming down the stairs with a smile on his face.

"Justin, what-" Candace begins to ask when the mystery comes crawling out of the stocking and onto Candace's lap. She feels a smile spread right across her face as she realizes that it is a Doberman Chihuahua puppy like the one she admired in the pet shop so many months ago. "Justin, you shouldn't have!"

"I thought it was time that we got a puppy and share our love we have for one another with one lucky individual."

"Thank you so much!" Candace exclaims, giving Justin a hug when he sits down next to her on the couch and wraps his arm around her shoulder.

"What are you going to name him?"

"I'd say Justin after his dad but I don't think that will fly well with the others. What do you think?"

"We could call him Chris."

Candace playfully hit him. "Try again Justin. That's totally wrong!"

Justin laughs and says, "Okay, okay. How about, Rhymes to go along with Busta?"

"No! Geez, it looks like I will have to name him. What about... Squirtle?"

Justin contemplates it and smiles. "Squirtle it is! Like the color of his collar?"

Candace gives him a puzzled look but looks down at Squirtle's blue collar. "Blue is always a nice color." She fingers it, looking at the black bones printed on it, spinning it around Squirtle's neck as he starts licking her hand. Her fingers touch something cold though, hanging on a string. Candace picks it up and sees it is a ring with a diamond heart on it. She looks up at Justin and sees a sweet smile on his face.

"Along with Squirtle in our lives, I was wondering, after all we have been through, after all of this time and ups and downs, Candace, will you marry me?"

Candace just stares speechlessly at him and then nods her head. "Of course I will Justin!" she exclaims, throwing her arms around him and giving him a deep kiss. However, Squirtle lets out a yap, letting them know they are squashing the poor puppy so they pull apart and just smile at each other while both petting him together.

Justin slips his arms under Candace and picks her up in his embrace, along with Squirtle, whom she is holding, and carries them up the stairs into their room. He places Candace gently on the bed and smiles down at her, still petting the puppy. Justin joins her in the bed, pulls the cover over them, reaches under and pulls Squirtle out from under the blankets to put him on top of them, where he curls up in a ball in between Justin and Candace and closes his little eyes.

Justin looks over at Candace and sees the happy smile on her face as she continues to pet the puppy. Justin unties the ring from Squirtle's collar and then takes Candace's hand and slips it on her finger, a perfect fit. "I love you Candace."

"I love you too Justin. I always will."

"I suppose I will just have to get used to sharing you with Squirtle here, huh?"

"You will always be number one in my heart, although, he does come pretty close."

Justin laughs and gives her a light kiss before closing his eyes and falling back into a blissful sleep.