Annnnnnnd done!

Thanks to everyone who actually likes this weird stuff I write. Part 3 is the finale and I'll start on it as soon as possible.

So here's the conclusion.

15 years later

The rain made small little rivers down the glass as she looked out into the hills beyond the outpost. Michelle sighed and turned as she heard someone enter the room. Kate gave a sad smile and she returned it, hiding nothing from her assistant. Why bother? She knew exactly what went on behind closed doors.

"Have you eaten? I was thinking about going to that cafe' we saw last week." The young woman moved around the room returning items back to their original places. She stopped when Michelle never answered. Kate hated seeing her like this but unfortunately she was used to it. Things had never been happy but she'd heard that at some point, way back before she'd started working for the Almeidas, there was laughter. She'd pieced together the entire story over the years. Their lord and his wife weren't given much joyous time together but what they were given, they'd made the most of. It had turned into the form of a little boy. The proof of their undying love for each other. A little boy that also ended up being what drove a wedge between them.

"My lady? Is everything ok?"

"How long have you worked for us now, Kate?"

She fidgeted nervously but Kate noticed that Michelle's tone wasn't cold. Still, she was a little taken aback by the question. "About five years or so now."

"And in that time, how many times have I told you to call me Michelle?" This time her employer turned and gave her the best smile she could. Kate relaxed.

"You remind me every time I say it. Just like I tell you every time that it's just not in my nature to be disrespectful." She placed the last few items away and came up next to the other woman. "I call you by your name too."

"You know I hate that title."

"I know, but it's who you are. You deserve the respect that comes with it and I'll continue to use it." She beamed back at Michelle when she saw the woman smirk. "Besides, it could be worse. I could have to call you 'countess' or something equally silly."

"Trust me, I find 'my lady' to be equally silly. It's not the sixteenth century or something." Michelle's nose crinkled playfully and Kate laughed.

"Tony seemed to be ok with going by 'my lord." Kate watched the humor fade from Michelle's face and the sad expression slowly return. She turned back to the window and Kate felt bad for even bringing the man up.

"I don't think anything phases my husband anymore." Michelle paused and Kate turned to leave the room when she spoke again. "Do you know where he is?"

Kate glanced over her shoulder and wasn't surprised to see her friend had remained staring out the window. The cold rain that had been falling steadily seemed to be lightening. "Bill told me he was leading a team over the northern border into France. They've had intel on...they're going on a lead that it's her." Two more steps and she was stopped again.

"Kate, I'd love to have lunch with you."

Tony ignored the freezing rain running down the back of his shirt under his coat. His eyes continued to skim up and down the streets of Toulouse. He leaned closer to the edge of the roof he was kneeling on and shook the wet hair from his eyes. The moisture ran into his left eye but the vertical scar running from his forehead across his right eye and down to his chin navigated the trickle out of his sight. The night was slick and shiny black allowing him to blend into the background. Not many people were out in the downpour and he was able to pick out his mark easily.

The back of the roof allowed him to drop unnoticed into an alley. His feet barely made a splash as he touched down but he shifted in each direction to make sure he wasn't followed. Tony strode toward the tree line and his team's camp buried inside the wilderness. They only had a short amount of time to strike before the mark would be moving again and he didn't plan on wasting this opportunity.

The smell of the forest was strong and the clean scent of the water in the trees reminded him briefly of Michelle. The image of her before he'd left the last time made his chest tighten. Not a second went by when he didn't think of her; think of Gabe. He grit his teeth and his fists clenched. The damage had been done. Losing their son had been a blow neither of them could deal with, even together. Tony felt the wetness on his face turn warm and finally mix with the rain. The camp was up ahead and he took a minute to close his eyes. Each time he led his men into battle he took a moment. One indulgence of her to keep his focus; remind himself why he was doing this. He needed to remind himself why he must be separated from her.

Tony took in a breath slowly and reached out with his senses. Even this far away he could feel her. She slid across his skin and warmed him from the inside out. This was all for her. He couldn't stop until he found their son and he wouldn't allow himself the luxury of her until he had fixed his failure as a father and a husband. Things were strained between them, had been ever since Gabe was taken but it hadn't dampened the connection they had. In fact he felt in a few ways it made it worse. Being together reminded them of what they'd lost; what he'd been unable to stop. She didn't blame him, he knew that. He blamed himself, though. Tony needed Michelle. She needed him just as much but until he brought their son home, it wasn't enough.

Two months. That's how long it'd been since he'd seen her, held her. They were still passionate but it was different now. Their attention wasn't filled with each other, it was desperate. They both clung onto a past like it was all they had. Still, her touch had the ability to burn him. He knew he'd made a connection when the back of his mind started to hum. She could feel him trying to rouse her and she answered back. She didn't know where he was; she couldn't read his mind but he could slide into her presence like a whisper.

Not yet, he sent. Not words, but feeling. Not yet, but soon.

There had been fifteen years of war. Fifteen long years of searching for his son and, finally, he felt it was all coming to an end. The resistance, as they liked to call themselves, were on the run and Tony had plans to end this once and for all.