The following morning, Liam was very whimsical. He had been asking about Ashley for a while, wondering why she hadn't come over that morning. Very often, Hanna had to go to work in the morning, so Ashley came to her place to look after Liam. Hanna and Caleb had tried to tell him that she couldn't, but he wanted to know why and they really didn't know what to tell him. That's why, after a while, Caleb finally told him they would go visit Ashley, under Hanna's not so sure gaze.

They got into their car and Caleb told Hanna to drive to the cemetery, since he couldn't drive because of his arm. She didn't know what exactly he had in mind, but she wanted to trust him. When they got here, Caleb and Hanna took each one of Liam's hands and led him to Ashley's grave. Liam looked quizzically to his grandma's picture before turning to Caleb.

"Where's grandma Ash, daddy?"

Caleb cleared his throat and got to his knees next to Liam, still holding his little hand.

"Liam, little man... Grandma... She left for a long trip, so... We won't see her again. You know, everyone of us will have to go away at some point, and... Well, this time it was grandma's turn. But she's watching you from where she is, she knows how you are and she keeps loving you. Look around, little man... Here there are all the pictures of the people who went away, who left for their long trip, so that we can come here and see them again. And you know, if you speak close to grandma's picture, you send a message to her. She will hear you. You can talk to her. But don't get angry if she can't reply to you, the trip is long and maybe grandma can't reply, but remember that she listens to you and she will always do that. She loves you so much and you don't have to forget it." he told his son.

"Why she not come say goodbye if she had to leave?" Liam asked, confused.

Caleb sighed before answering him.

"She didn't make it on time, sweetheart. She didn't even manage to pack her things, you know? Her train arrived very early, so she had to take it without having time to say us goodbye or get ready what she needed to."

"But where did she go?" the kid asked again.

"Well, she went to... She went above all of us, in a place called heaven, in the sky. Yeah, right above you, little man, so she can have a better view of us all. You know, she's become an angel, she has wings now. Everyone who did everything they needed to down here go up there, becoming an angel. It's like they...completed a mission, got it? So they go there to get rest, and they check that everyone down here is doing well their mission, in the meanwhile. They also protect us from bad things. Every angel has someone to protect, and grandma Ash is gonna look after you, mommy and I. But... But she's fine, don't worry about that, alright?" Caleb replied.

"But you and mommy don't go away, yeah, daddy?" Liam asked, frowning.

Caleb did all he could to fight his tears back as he replied.

"Oh, sweetheart... Of course not! You're here, and we need to be with you."

Liam looked at him, not really convinced, so Caleb cupped his chin and continued.

"Hey... Look at me. Mommy and I are not leaving you, got it? I promise. If sometimes we're gonna have to be away from home like daddy had to in these days, it's gonna be just for a few days, okay? Heaven will wait, because mommy and daddy's mission is to raise you and they can't go away before doing that. We'll be here with you, don't be scared."

The kid nodded briefly, then he hugged his daddy.

"But I want grandma Ash too!" he whined then.

Caleb held him tightly, rubbing circles on his back and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Then he lifted his gaze, noticing Hanna was crying, and he gave her a small smile before pulling away from Liam.

"I know, little man. I know. Mommy and I would want her here with us too, but... We can't bring her back, unfortunately. But, hey... You're a big boy now. Show grandma Ash how strong you are, make her proud of you, because she's always watching you. Act like a man, alright? I know you can." he told him then.

"Okay, daddy. Me strong." Liam replied, nodding.

"There's my little man." Caleb smiled proudly.

He glanced again at Hanna, who was wiping her tears, then he looked back to Liam.

"Let's get back home now, yeah?" he whispered to his son.

Liam nodded and took Caleb's and Hanna's hands, and the three made their way back to their car. Once Liam was settled in the back, Hanna closed his door and turned to Caleb, who was still outside too. He smiled at her and wiped a single tear away from her cheek with his thumb. Then she just hugged him, resting her cheek against his chest and looping her arms around his waist as he kissed through her hair.


The rest of the day went by quickly. Liam had no more tantrums, and the family of three spent a relaxing day home. The kid fell asleep pretty early that night, so Hanna and Caleb took their chance to go to sleep early too, in order to recover some energy. Unfortunately, though, just a little after they fell asleep, a small whim woke both of them up. Hanna sighed and was about to get up, but Caleb was already on his feet.

"Caleb, I can—"

"I got this." he cut her off, smiling.

"Okay, but... Try to come back soon." she just told him, making herself comfortable on her pillow.

He nodded and smiled at her before walking to Liam's room.

Caleb rocked Liam against his chest for some minutes, but he soon realized his son wasn't going to give up so easily. So, he brought him downstairs, to the living room, trying to calm him down with some music. It usually worked, it was a good method. He turn the stereo on and sat on the couch, cuddling Liam against his chest. But as the kid got relaxed, he got relaxed as well, maybe too much.


Caleb lifted his eyelids, feeling someone stroke his cheek. He had fallen asleep along with Liam, who was still sound asleep on his lap. Hanna smiled at him as soon as he opened his eyes.

"Hey..." he whispered.

"Hey... I saw you weren't coming back, so I decided to check how things were going down here, and... I found you both asleep listening to Sam Smith. I also snapped a picture of the two of you with my phone, it's just become my new blockscreen. You were just too cute." she whispered back.

"What an idiot... I got up from the bed to fall asleep on the couch..." he chuckled.

"Yeah, well... The little man's sleeping, so... Mission accomplished."

He smiled at her before looking down at his sleeping son.

"I guess so." he whispered then.

"Let's tuck him back in, c'mon." she whispered back, gently picking Liam up from where he was curled up on Caleb's lap.

Caleb followed Hanna as she carried Liam back to his room, smiling at the thought that his family could grow up soon. After giving their son a kiss on the forehead, they went back to their room, slipping under the blankets and cuddling, waiting for the sleep to take them away.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in a whisper, playing with her hair.

"Better. Thanks to you." she replied softly.

He kissed her head before continuing.

"You know, it hurts me too that Ashley won't be at our wedding, but... But I truly think that she's gonna watch us from where she is, one way or another. She's gonna be happy for us. I owe her a lot and I know that she would have wanted me to protect you and be by your side forever. And that's what I'm gonna do."

"You're right. She's already watching us, wherever she is."

"Yeah. And she couldn't be prouder of you."

Hanna smiled and lifted her head, placing a hand on his cheek as she gave him a sweet lingering kiss.

"The world has been so unfair by taking her away from me so soon, though..." she murmured then.

Caleb sighed, stroking her cheek.

"I know. But, hey, you're so strong... You always manage to get up after falling down, everytime. You just need to do that this time too. You know, Liam took all of his strength from you, so... Look... I know it's hard but... I will help you through this, okay? It's gonna be fine, I promise." he told her softly.

She nodded briefly, then Caleb kissed her again.

"Anyway... You're a wonderful dad." she whispered when they pulled away.

Caleb smiled and shook his head before replying.

"Shut up. I'm a dad who leaves his son and goes to the other side of the world for almost two months." he whispered back.

Hanna looked straight into his eyes and replied.

"You're a dad who loves his son more than his own life and I know it. And by the way he looks at you and by the way he always calms down into your arms when something's wrong or when he just can't sleep make me think that he loves you the same. And then... What you told him about my mom today was... So beautiful. Delicate, gentle... Emotional. You spoke to him with the right words, even though talking about death to a two years old kid is really tough stuff. But you managed to. You were perfect, believe me. You moved me. I'm... I'm so happy you will always be there for Liam. And I'm so happy you were here when he said his first word, when he took his first step, when he had his first bath, when there were diapers to change, when he learned to give kisses or when he put a pencil on a paper for the first time. I'm happy that these moments belong to you just like they belong to me, I... I'm so happy I have a family and that I have it with you. You two are all I have, you're my family, my life. And that's wonderful. That's all I want. It won't be jealousy, pride, my or your shortcomings to prevent me from growing old with this happiness into my heart. I want all of this forever, no matter what. You may be an idiot sometimes, I may be too proud, you and I may even be those same irresponsible people we were when we first met, we've probably done huge mistakes towards each other, but... But I know we're gonna be perfect all together. You, our son and I. And, if God wants, maybe others little munchkins too. There's nothing I'd want more than giving you other children, but... Look, I'm happy like this too, and I'm so honored I'm marrying you, Caleb. I want it with all myself. And I'm sure about it. You know... My mom left me way too early, it still hurts so much that I can't even tell, but I can't just think about that and not see how much beautiful my life is. The life I have is the life I want. So... Thank you, for every single thing."

He looked at her with such love into his eyes, now feeling moved as well. He had risked to lose her so many times that he had lost count, but those words of hers and the way she had told him made him feel her closer to him than ever. He was totally sure too. He loved her and he wanted her to be the woman of his life. He then made a small smile and stroked her cheek.

"You left me speechless, I... I don't know what to say." he stuttered.

"You don't have to say anything." she whispered back, leaning back into his embrace.

But then he suddenly pulled her back to him, bringing her lips to his and giving her another soft gentle kiss.

"I love you." he whispered then, meaningfully, knowing that it was probably the best thing he could tell her at the moment.

She smiled up at him.

"I love you too." she replied, finally lowering her head back on Caleb's chest and falling asleep surrounded by his cologne.


A/N: Ugh, how much cheesiness :D I hope it wasn't too bad though ;) Especially the part where Caleb talked to Liam about Ashley :( Anyways, as always, thank you so much for all of your reviews, I'm really happy you liked last chapter :) So, I'm a little bit sad to tell you guys that this story is almost coming to an end :( But don't worry, I have in mind to write a last chapter, then an epilogue, and then an extra chapter which it will actualy be the very last one :D Plus we're still some chapter away from the "first" last chapter, so... Yeah, there's still some time :) Just wanted to warn you ;) But I'm not gonna tell you if the drama is over or not, keep reading and you'll find out haha :P Aaaand, before you guys ask, I'm currently working on the next chapter of GoW, I'll publish it in the next days, but since my weekly college schedule it's kind of stressful, I can't make any promises. In the worst case, you'll have it by next weekend, but of course I hope sooner :D So, I hope you'll let me know your thoughts about this chapter, even if you want to tell me that the cheesiness was exaggerated :P And since the story's almost over, I also hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :) Thank you guys for stopping by here — and sorry for the late! Love you all, until next time! xx -Atramea.