In the End
William held her as both of their bodies shuddered violently. The Constabulary hadn't been able to meet the demands of the man who had created the deadliest of airborne toxins and now they were paying the price. William prayed that George and the others had gotten everyone and themselves to safety as he and Julia sat propped against his office desk gasping their last breaths. The rags had stopped the gas for several minutes; at first they thought the gas attack was a hoax but then the small office became stuffy and went from uncomfortable with the odd cough to coughs that shook both of their bodies to the point neither could stand. William cradled Julia in his arms as her hands tightly clutched at his jacket. He looked down at her and his heart ached at the pain etched across her face. He was positive the same pain was engraved into his own face and William let out a harsh cough as his lungs began to burn even more.
"Wished you had left in the evacuation," William rasped. Julia tried to laugh but it got caught in her throat and a violent cough ripped its way out. William shifted Julia to a more upright position and let her rest her head on his shoulder.
"I told you…" Julia raised her hand to cover her mouth as she coughed viciously. She looked up at William and the pain in her eyes was gone, the only emotion that resided there was love. "I will not abandon you." William brought a shaking hand up the cup her face. Part of him wished she would die first so that she wouldn't be in anymore pain and she wouldn't be alone in the end but the other part of William wished that he would die first so he didn't have to face his last moments alone. It was terribly selfish but William wished it none the less. Julia's breathing became more rapid, gasping breaths and William knew the end had come.
"I love you." He huffed out, his own breath becoming shallow and rapid. Julia gave a weak, watery smile.
"And I you." She gasped as her grip on her his jacket tightened. William leaned down and a searing pain shot through his chest but he didn't care. He softly planted his lips on Julia's. She put a hard pressure on his lips and William could taste a saltiness which he realized was a tear that had escaped his love's eye. Julia let out a soft gasp against William's lips and William could feel her chest give once last heave. Her grip on his jacket went limp as did the rest of her body. William pulled his lips away and let his head fall back against the wooden desk, tears falling down his face. These were not the dying moments William ever imagined. He always knew there was the possibly of dying on the job but he had always believed that he would die of old age, after he had lived a long life. A long life that would have been lived with Julia as his wife. Maybe they had children, maybe they didn't, but William always had Julia. But now she was gone and William felt alone and truly afraid. His breaths came out in short, harsh gasps until his burning lungs reached a painful climax and his vision began to blur. William felt his body giving out and suddenly he felt an overwhelming sense of relief; even though he had spent only moments without Julia in his life they felt forever and they were immensely painful, both physically and emotionally. William Murdoch was dying and he knew it but he was alright with the fact because he knew it meant he could spend eternity with Julia. In his last moment of life, William dropped his gaze to look at the love of his life, knowing everything would be alright.
He arrived home at seven in the evening and went to the house, but she was not there. He knew she would be with him so he headed downtown. But when he got there he ran into huge crowds of distraught people and many police barricades. When he spotted the young constable he recognized, he pushed his way towards him.
"Constable," He called. "What in God's name is going on here?!" The Constable looked over at him, shock crossing his features.
"Doctor Garland, what are you doing here?" Crabtree exclaimed. Darcy frowned.
"I was out of town for several days and I just came home. I was looking for Julia…" He paused looking around the crowd. "Do you know where she is? Or Detective Murdoch perhaps? He probably knows where she is if he's not already with her." The Constable looked down at the ground uncomfortably for a moment before locking Darcy's gaze with a somber expression.
"Doctor Garland, there was a deadly gas attack on Cabbage Town…Detective Murdoch stayed behind…" Darcy gave out an angry sigh and looked away.
"And Julia stayed behind with him." It wasn't a question but a statement. The constable nodded quickly.
"I am so sorry Sir…We've sent men in to make sure it's safe…Both Detective Murdoch and Doctor Ogden are dead." Darcy pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.
"She would have been happy to be with him in her last moments. That's all that matters." Darcy muttered. "Thank you for your helpfulness Constable." With that, Darcy walked away from the crowd, a sadness filling his heart; he truly had loved Julia but even from the beginning he knew her heart had always belonged to William Murdoch and in the end Darcy knew that Julia would have never gone back to die with him like she had William. But as much as that thought filled him with anger and sadness, Darcy was content to know Julia died happy and in the arms of the man she truly loved.