Becoming Rory

epilogue

When Liliana Copeland Cadwell-Bradford was three years old, her mother dressed her up in the dress she would wear as a flower girl.

"Okay, so you're going to walk down the aisle, right?" Rory smiled at her daughter, the perfect child. There wasn't anything she was prouder of than the little girl she had brought to life, "You're going to walk towards Daddy,"

Lillie nodded, smiling brightly, "Okay, Mommy," she said. They had been preparing for this day for quite a long time, the day Noah was getting married. Rory tied Lillie's hair back into an intricate braid, readjusting as the young girl squirmed.

Rory's hair and makeup were already all done, her dress was on. She was also ready to walk down the aisle, as a bridesmaid, of course.

The last three years had been chaos, but beautiful chaos. She missed Sadie every single day of her life, but, gradually, she was learning how to move on. Every day, as Lillie accomplished new things, she wished that she had someone to share them with, she wished that Sadie was still there to witness all the things she was so excited to see.

Fortunately, she did have someone to share the milestones with. Noah had been there every single day, he had shared everything, the memories, the hard times, the laughs, with Rory.

Rory had lived in that apartment with Noah for the year and a half after Lillie was born. It was strange, being back in the apartment they had found together. She stayed there for a while until Noah started dating again.

He had told her time and time again that she was free to stay, but she felt that it was time to move on. So, luckily, she found an apartment right down the hall from Noah's. That way, they could be close by, in case either of them needed anything and Lillie was always nearby, but it wouldn't be so awkward and weird if Noah brought a girl home.

They got extremely close as the years went by, closer than they were before. She was sure that was what happened when you live together, and you go through the amazing journey of co-parenting. Every step they went through, they went through it together.

Noah had also helped her during her grieving process. Not only was she grieving, Rory went through an intense case of postpartum depression. He took care of Lillie for the entire time, without making her feel bad about anything.

Of course, Rory still felt very guilty about missing out on Lillie's childhood. She didn't miss much, but everything that she did miss would be gone forever. She could never get them back.

In the present, Rory looked at her daughter and she couldn't even imagine the times that it felt like an element that further complicated a situation. Lillie was the best thing that ever happened to her.

So, as Rory dressed her daughter in the silver dress full of tool, placing a few small lilies in her hair, she reminisced to the woman who chose her name, the woman who loved ever since the day she found out about the unborn child in her womb.

"Hey, Lillie," Elena exclaimed, approaching Rory's daughter.

"You look like a princess," Lillie sighed, touching Elena's big white dress. Rory's daughter stared at Elena with adoration, making it evident that she would have no problem with her new step-mother. Even as time went by, Rory couldn't help but recognize all the similarities between Sadie and her sister. It made it hard, but it also felt comforting.

Noah and Elena had met for the first time at Rory and Sadie's wedding when Elena was a bridesmaid for her sister. They had gotten to know each other at the reception, but didn't see each other again until after Sadie's death.

They saw each other often after Sadie's death and Lillie's birth, but, at that point, Noah wasn't sure he was ready to date. Elena, too, needed time to recover from her sister's death.