A/N Last chapter here. stop skipping chapters! :D
Summer has come and summer has gone. Now autumn approaches and the dockers in Montauk know that not always there will be work as the season changes, it will be a long drought of something they know oh so well, they are ready for whatever comes. Jack is ready too. The hangouts at the Stowaway are now sparse but he can live with it. He has his son, his dog, a job and a roof above his head, and while he can work he will be carrying on. He wishes he had a wife, a woman to warm the long, cold nights in bed and a mother for Charlie but he has accepted his fate as a loner. He is a Porter, and as one, women may not always stay. His own mother taught him well.
Not everything is sad, though. In a few months he will be the proud uncle of Conradine Annabelle Porter, which is enough to put a smile on his face. If Declan is happy experiencing the joys of fatherhood then he is happy himself. Of course he has heard the news that the sexiest grandmother in the Hamptons is already decorating everything in Creamy Peach and Charlotte is obviously mad she can't have her own say on it but it is refreshing to learn she is distracted with the baby and did not send his ass straight to hell after all the horrible things that took place with them in her mansion. There is not one day he does not regret pointing a gun at her, he is a peaceful man to begin with and after saying the things he said, it is only acceptable she would never talk to him again. He is relieved Victoria never took it to Declan, who would be damned and would never forgive his own brother for causing it.
The memories of that fatal night still reel in his mind. Arriving at the Amanda, finding his son alive and well, he kissed the kid so many times he actually started to cry. Aiden said he was sorry, Emily kept whining, he ignored both and entered his car, leaving for good. He slept at an hotel room that night, just to be safe.
Jack is sweeping the bar, talking to his son while Sam lies down although keeping a guarding eye on his little protege. The door swings open, Sam perks his ears and barks, Jack stops what he is doing. It is her.
He wants to run to her, kneel down and tell her how sorry he is, how he missed her and what it has been like all these months not having her close, not being able to inhale her scent or even touching her supple skin. But instead he keeps there, holding the broom, the place is in complete silence.
She is the first to talk. "Hello Jack, how have you been?" Victoria utters. How has he been, how has he been? Miserable, unhappy and terribly lonely. Still standing on his ground , however. And it is the standing man that answers. "I am good, and how have you been?" he asks, quietly. "Good, very good." she lies.
They sit on an old crate at the backside of the bar, beside each other sharing a beer while Victoria holds little Charlie that has grown a big way since the last time she saw him. The handsome little boy has his daddy's winsome eyes and she is predicting he will be a heartbreaker by kindergarten.
She takes a sip from the cold beverage, "Where is Emily? People in the Hamptons are commenting they have not seen her in a while."
He inhales the fresh evening air. "Nolan is taking care of her, she was away for some time...He said it was better not to visit. I really don't know, he says it has something to do with her past but...He never said what. I never asked, either." The kid plays with her pearl necklace, she does not mind. "What about you and..."
It is her turn to inhale. "We have been to so many doctors, I lost count. We have enough money to build an entire hospital but can't find one doctor to help Conrad. The last one asked me if I believed in God. He advised me to start praying."
They laugh, it shouldn't be funny but it is. "I am sorry," he is apologetic. She smiles. "It is fine. It has been so long since the last time I had a reason to smile, and from what I remember, you were always involved." A soft breeze blows around announcing it may start to rain soon. "We better get inside." He warns. Victoria holds his hand. "I think I never thanked you enough for always staying by my side, even when I was undeserving."
He squeezes her hand back. "You always do. You care for Charlie, you are kind, you are beautiful. And I love you, Victoria. I have loved you since the first time we kissed. Whatever I said in the past, forget it, I take it all back. I'd never hate you. Ever."
She looks into his warm green eyes, mused that the color changes depending on his mood. She caresses his face as the tears well up her own eyes. "Jack, I cannot- - I will never be the woman you want me to be." He wipes the tears with his thumb and silences her with a kiss, avoiding what he does not want to hear. "Let's get inside." he calls softly.
"Mama." Charlie chirps, patting Victoria's chin with his tiny hand. "Someday, son, someday!" Jack laughs. They all walk inside as the first raindrops fall from the darkened sky. Sam follows them. He likes his new family.
the end :)
alright, it is an ambiguous ending, i know, but you can take it from here and make it beautiful in your mind, just like i did. Btw, I am taking the opportunity to thank dear HeroineGauddess, tvobessedWHAT and all the other kind souls who made me company in this crazy, adventurous voyage. it was a lovely, sometimes bumpy, yet always joyous ride. I will try to answer the guest/anon reviews on the review page (in case ff net doesn't change things).