He could no more erase that chapter of his life than he could change his birthday. While there were times when he wished he cold roll back the clock and erase all the sadness, he had a humch that if he did so, the joy would be disminished as well. And that was something he couldn't contemplate

He grinned, pulling her closer. "You love me even if I'm not perfect?!" "Of course I do." Amazing, he thought.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, he was choosing the pace of his life rather than having his life choose he pace.

That was the thing about life, he knew. There was always a but.

"We're both pretty lucky, aren't we?" Jeremy couldn't answer, for once at a loss for words.

Despite the emotional upheaval of the past hour, he stared at his child and blinked, suddenly certain that what he was doing now was the sole reason he'd been placed on this earth. To love another. To care for someone else, to help another person, to carry her worries until she was strong enought to carry them on her own. To care for someone unconditionally, for in the end that was what gave life meaning. And Lexie had given her life, knowing Jeremy that could do that.