Welcome to Adulthood
By Misha

Disclaimer and Notes in Part One.

Part Twenty-Four: Confessions

"Claire, darling!" Stephanie Vanderbilt exclaimed as she rushed into the arms fo her best friend, who had arranged to meet her when she flew from New York to New Haven on her father's plane. "You look fabulous!"

"So do you!" Claire said happily. "Columbia agrees with you."

"As London must have agreed with you. Or is it being with Finn that's making you glow?" Stephanie asked with a smile.

"Finn." Claire said softly. "Definitely Finn. And Bella, of course."

Being a family at long last filled her with such joy, so much that she tried not to think about how fleeting it would be.

"Where is your darling little girl? It's been so long since I've seen her!" Stephanie demanded.

She had spent a few months with Claire and Bella over the summer, but that had been some time ago and she hadn't had a chance to see them since.

"She's spending quality time with Daddy." Claire told her. "Finn and the boys are going to look for tuxes and Bella was going with them. She was going to be their 'fashion consultant'?"

"Is she even talking yet?" Stephanie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope." Claire said with an amused smile. "BUt that doesn't seem to mater to them."

"So Finn's liking playing Daddy?" Stephanie asked as they walked to Claire's car.

"He is." Claire said with a smile. "He's a natural at it, which is what I hoped." She paused as she got behind the wheel of her BMW Roadster and looked at Stephanie. "Can you keep a secret?"

Stephanie raised an eyebrow. "Darling, I've been keeping your secrets since pre-school. After all, I never told anyone about you and Logan junior year have I?"

Claire blushed at the reminder. They'd been sixteen and the boys were already wild and hormones had been burgeoning. It had been years before Claire would get involved with Finn and she and Logan had had a brief fling, one that only Stephanie was aware of, since they'd pledged to keep it a secret from everyone else. It hadn't lasted long, a few weeks. and Claire had almost forgotten it ever happened...

"True enough." She said with a smile and then she took a deep breath. "I'm dying, Steph."

Stephanie stared at her. "What? No you're not, you're getting married!"

Claire nodded sadly. "Yes, but it doesn't change the fact that I have terminal cancer. There's nothing they can do for me. I'm dying, I have a few months at most."

Stephanie was silent for a long moment. "Oh, God, Clarey..." She said finally, starting to cry.

It was Claire's turn to be silent, she'd expected this reaction. After all, she'd just told her best friend that she was dying. She just pulled the car over and held Stephanie, their tears mingling together.

"How did Finn take it?" Stephanie asked finally, her tears subsiding.

"I haven't told him." Claire said softly.

Stephanie starred at her. "Claire..."

"I'm going to tell him." Claire assured her. "I just... I want the wedding to be perfect. I want it to be ours, without a cloud hanging over it. Its bad enough that I know how little time we have left, I don't want it marring Finn's joy. He's so happy."

She hadn't meant to get into this so quickly, before she'd even gotten Stephanie home, but... She needed to share her secret with someone and who better than her best friend?

Stephanie bit her lip, obviously torn. "You have to tell him." She said quietly. "As soon as the wedding is over."

Claire nodded. "I know."

She knew it had to be done, but she wanted to put it off as long as possible. She needed the wedding to be perfect, not just for herself, but for Finn.

When she was gone, she wanted him to look back on this one perfect day and remember how happy they were. She couldn't give him forever, but she could give him one perfect memory.