The sun shone brightly as the rain ceased, allowing Joan to exit her car without her umbrella on her. She calmly walked over to the cemetery, a forlorn smile on her face. But even though the experience would be painful, she knew she'd have to go through with it. She needed to, in order to preserve the precious humanity he had gifted to her.

After all, Joan Wick was visiting the grave of the man she had loved more than anyone else in the world.

She finally made her way to the tombstone and bent down, facing the name written on the plaque: "Michael Wick".

"Hey." she began, doing her best to show him a bright smile "It's been a while, hasn't it, Michael?"

It had taken longer for her to get to this point than she had hoped. Just a year ago, when she'd laid him to rest with her mentor, Yamano Suzuki by her side, Joan had promised to visit him every single day. But it was a promise she had failed miserably in keeping.

She had wondered why. Was it perhaps that he was wrong about her? Maybe he did make a mistake in falling for the demon that she was. Maybe she never truly loved him to begin with.

But after a year of trying and failing to return to the monster she once was, Joan knew the truth. She was afraid. She was afraid that with him gone, there would be nothing left to save her. Nothing left to hold back the beast that lurked inside her. But she was wrong. She was so glad she was wrong. He had saved her. By simply being there for her, and getting her a dog, he had shown her that it was possible for her to get away from it all. To start anew as a normal person, or perhaps, even a good person.

It kind of amazed her, really. Being trained from childhood to become a ruthless assassin, her body count spiraling into the triple digits by the time she'd reached her 20s.

But now, at age 27, she had put a stop to all of that. Simply because she met him. She met him, and he showed her that there was more to her than the demon she used to be. That she didn't have to be a cold-blooded gun for hire if she didn't want to be. And she didn't. All she wanted was to be with him. All she wanted was to become the kind of normal, wholesome woman who could protect him and care for him forever.

"It's too bad it didn't last, isn't it?" she continued, her voice cracking.

Cancer. Cancer had robbed her of her beloved Michael just two years after they'd gotten married. But right until the end, he refused to give up on her.

Did they fight? Sure. Did they resent each other? Definitely. But at no point did they ever give up on each other. At no point did they ever entertain the notion that things would have been better off had they never met. Because it simply wasn't true.

"I'll always remember what you said, Michael." Joan continued. "I know you'll always be with me. You'll always be watching over me. So I'll do the best I can. I'll protect our home, and Cindy, and I'll lead an honest life. Thank you for showing me how wonderful life could be. Thank you for saving me. I love you."

Joan planted a light kiss on the tombstone, and laid another bouquet next to where he was buried. She then got back into her car, and drove back home.

The moment she opened the front door to her modest bungalow, her pet puppy, a terrier named Cindy, rushed up to her. She eagerly held her in her arms, and closed her eyes. They'd bought Cindy together soon after moving in with each other. Michael had always said that this would be the beginning of their family. That with this foundation, they could build their own future together.

Even at his deathbed, Michael's final wish to her was that she not give up. He even permitted her to find another man in due time, so long as she protected and cared for him as she had for Michael. Joan wasn't ready to take that step yet, but perhaps one day she would. One day, she could carry on his memory by falling in love all over again, and living a quiet, happy life in the suburbs.

She had even made peace with the demon inside her, the demon who had been fed and nurtured since her life began. A more superficial woman would have perhaps wanted to exorcise such a horrific beast from her being entirely, but Joan knew better. She could not forget the lessons her days as a killer had taught her. The world was an unsafe place, and there was no end to the kinds of people who would destroy her if she let them. So far from destroying her inner beast, she chose to re-purpose it. As long as all was well, as long as everyone around her left her in peace, she would allow her inner demon to sleep. But the moment someone threatened her peace, the moment someone tried to destroy her, or Cindy, or anything she and Michael had built together, she would awaken that beast.

And then she would unleash her inner killer, not stopping for even a second, until everything that threatened her and the life she had built was vanquished.