Author's Note: This is 'technically' the end of this story because the next chapter is actually an epilogue of sorts. There were three different versions of the first scene, but I think that this one was the best out of my choices. I hope you all enjoy!

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Chapter 29: Journey

"Is that everything?" Rick asked as he lifted the last of the luggage unto the ferry's top deck. The summer hadn't been nearly long enough in my mind, but I had already accepted it never would've been. Even after all I'd struggled through during the past seventeen years, nothing could've prepared me for my son's departure. However, I felt I was handling the current situation rather well with all things considered, and I knew I was more than capable of remaining strong for him. Yes, there would be tears... but I wouldn't have expected anything less. I took some comfort in the thought that I certainly wouldn't be the only one to cry, either.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that's it," Lance replied. Although he tried to hide his enthusiasm, I could still see the smile that was creeping across his young face, and there was an eager spark in his eyes as well. He was in his prime, and here was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the world. I know there'd be moments when I would ask myself why I ever let my son go, but then I'd just have to remember the pure, unabashed excitement in that boy's entire being. He couldn't even stand still because of his seemingly boundless energy.

The anticipation was clearly coursing through him like wildfire.

"Good because I don't know if I'll be able to let you go if we wait any longer," I teased, wrapping my arms around his waist and holding him tight. Without any hesitation, the boy... no, the young man held me closer, resting my head on his chest like he'd seen his step-father do so many times before to console me during one of my more fragile moments. I could already feel the tears start to roll down my cheeks, but I didn't even try hold them back any longer. Lance didn't shush me, though, since I'm sure he understood how difficult it was to let him go. He was my baby, after all... He always would be, too...

Not so long ago, he had been nothing more than an infant that I cradled in my arms at this very spot. At that time, I had considered surrendering myself to the inky blackness of the sea on a cold winter's night, on the evening he was born. While I looked back on the dark memory, I asked myself how I could've ever considered such a thing. Maybe it was simply because I wasn't strong enough to handle the overwhelming anxiety of being a single mother, or perhaps I was nothing more than a broken woman due to my status as an estranged wife. Whatever my reasons, I was grateful that I hadn't given up. Even if I had needed some help along the way, I had been the one to chose life over death for the both of us.

"We can't ship out just yet," Kai reminded us, glancing over his shoulder. We all turned to follow his gaze as a young woman made her way down the stairs onto the wind-swept beach. She ran across the sand, lifting her blue skirt to keep herself from tripping as she came to join us. Glancing up at my son, I could see the tenderness in his warm eyes when they fell on her, and I could also tell that he was arguing with himself right then. What would he promise his raven-haired sweetheart? I wondered. Did he plan on letting her go, or was their love the kind that could last the distance that would separate them by entire continents and endless oceans?

"Lance!" she cried out, throwing herself onto her childhood sweetheart just as I'd stepped away. "Weren't you going to wait for me?" she demanded, challenging him with an icy blue stare. He looked away at first, but then he gazed down at her pained expression while flashing a brilliant smile.

"Of course I was going to, Opal..." he reassured her, bringing his face close to hers. As always, her cheeks were suddenly tinged with a light rosy hue, and he chuckled to himself before planting a warm, lingering kiss on her satin lips. The girl all but melted in his strong arms which caused Rick to roll his eyes, but Kai and I glanced at one another while reflecting on our own memories.

He leaned on his crutch as he stared out over the ocean's waves, and I wondered what he thought of all this. Here he was headed back out into the waiting world just after he decided that living on the mainland was becoming a comfortable lifestyle for him, yet he appeared to be completely at ease with himself. The way the sea breeze played with the purple fabric tied securely around his head brought me back to the times when I both loved and hated the memory of it. Even with his aged features, he was still as handsome as he'd been before, yet I'd learned over time that that didn't make the man on a whole. Appearances aside, we weren't the same people we once had been...

After I'd left the young lovers to their quiet assurances to one another, I joined Rick and Kai who had both been waiting for me in a tense silence. I would've liked to have seen them at least making polite conversation, but I had decided I had no choice but to accept they would always consider one another to be rivals following their most recent argument. "Thanks for agreeing to go with him, Kai... It makes me feel a lot better," I admitted shyly, coming to stand beside the other man who put an arm around me protectively. "I know it has to be hard for-"

"Don't worry, Claire," he replied with a soft smile, "I'll keep the boy in one piece." Although he was being sincere, I heard Rick chuckle a bit to himself. When I glanced up at him, he was wearing a smirk, and his thick lenses flashed dangerously in the sunbeams that peeked out from the misty, gray clouds overheard.

"You'd better," the poultry farmer warned in a dark tone. "Otherwise you'll be missing more than just your leg." To be honest, I wasn't really sure if he was joking or not, but Kai laughed all the same though it was probably just to calm his nerves a little. It was one of the few times I actually saw his confidence falter even just slightly. I couldn't blame him for his uncertainty, though... Even I was a bit intimidated by my companion's threat, and I prayed for the travelers' well being in the future. Not only for my son's sake, but his own as well.

Suddenly, I heard a small gasp, and our attention was turned back to the pair at the end of the dock. Lance was extending the bright yellow bandanna which had kept shaggy, dark chocolate locks under control for so many years to a clearly flustered Opal, and I could see his signature cheeky grin spreading across his youthful features. "Are you sure?" she breathed, taking it gingerly in her delicate hands as if it might disintegrate under her gentle touch. "I mean... it's..."

"Just think of it as a promise," he explained, kissing her on the forehead. I felt my heart warm to know that he wouldn't leave the poor dear without a dream of having him return for her, but I knew that, for her sake if nothing else, I had to give my son a bit of advice to finding a happy future for them both.

"Be sure to write," I reminded him earnestly, catching them off guard since they didn't realize we'd witnessed their sweet exchange. "I know what it's like to be left wondering..." I added wistfully as I thought back on the sadness that had consumed me in earlier years. Although I didn't turn to face him, I could imagine the hurt in Kai's eyes, but if he had so much damn pride, I figured he could stomach the truth at least once in his life. I knew I was more than capable of standing on my own after all this time, yet I let Rick hold me closer to him all the same.

"Then that's just what I'll have to do," Lance agreed with a sharp nod. After he'd said it, Zack stepped out to join us on the pier, and both father and son realized it was time to leave us and the small town behind. Kai was the first to get on board, hobbling up the gangplank with some difficulty, but even though the kind shipper offered his help, the traveler shrugged him off with a grin. Knowing him, I wouldn't have expected anything less... My son lingered a bit longer, trying to find the words for the bittersweet moment, but I saved him from having to cope with the ordeal himself.

"Remember," I assured him, "there's no such thing as a good-bye when you know you'll be coming back." He smiled at me gratefully with a childlike sincerity, and then his warm eyes settled on the young woman who gazed up at him with the most beautifully sad, blue orbs. Without another word, he kissed her once more for what all knew would be the last for a long time to come, and she clung to him desperately before he drew away from her. Even in silence, I could hear his promises to return to her one day which brought tears to my own eyes. Glancing up to see the man who held me, I found that he, too, was beginning to cry although Rick did his best to keep himself composed. After raising the boy for most of his life, it was understandable that he was struggling with the thought of letting him go into an outside world he'd never ventured himself.

Perhaps that was the true reason why he couldn't trust the traveler. Kai was the personification of the very thing that Rick considered to be the unknown, and to not know was the most frightening thing of all. It wasn't dependable unlike himself; he couldn't rely on something like that which made him distrust it altogether. I didn't find fault in his reasoning, though, because I, too, was afraid of what lay beyond the horizon. I could only pray the two men would be safe on their journey.

While the ferry began to pull away from the harbor, Opal teetered at the edge of the dock and cried out with a choked attempt of a laugh, "I'll be waiting, Lance! I promise... I'll wait for you!" Her desperate assurances tore at my heart as I recalled making the same vow seventeen years to the day, but somehow... I knew she'd keep her word as he would his. They were stronger now than either Kai or I was then which made me feel all the more confident in their love for one another despite the odds.

After all, she wouldn't be waiting for their return alone...

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Even though the ship had long since crossed the horizon, I still found myself lingering at the end of the pier, dipping my toes in the cool lapping waves of the ocean and gazing straight ahead where the sea met the night sky. I was trying to make peace with the place. It seemed like everything had begun and ended in the same spot, and I realized that I would never really be free of it. There would always be connections to be made between Kai and Lance, and once again, the similarity between the two was making itself known to me. Here was where the father and son had both left me, yet the feelings I had now were completely different from what they had been. I wasn't angry or hurt any longer which was a great relief to me.

I'd spent so much of my life in heartache, but I'd finally come to accept things as they were. I wasn't alone like I'd once thought because I had someone to rely on, and he'd proven himself time and time again. As long as I had him, I could still lead a life of relative ease. I hoped I could do the same for him as well.

"Claire, are you going to spend all night here?" a familiar voice asked with some hinted amusement. Without having to see him, I knew it was Rick who'd come for me. He was always the one to find me when I'd gone off and disappeared. Honestly, who else would try and seek me out, especially tonight? He sat down beside me, but he didn't reach out to comfort me at first. Instead he merely waited for me to open up to him as if he wasn't quite sure what he should say concerning the day's events. I couldn't blame him for not knowing.

"Maybe," I agreed with a laugh. We feel into another comfortable silence before I began again. "Did you take Opal back home then? I know she was upset..." The poor girl couldn't help but continue to cry long after her love had gone, using my son's gift to dry her misty eyes. Both of us had held her to reassure the young woman that we'd be there for her should she ever need us, and although her smile was weak, she appreciated our kind gesture all the same. In time, I knew she'd be strong enough to think of him without shedding a single tear because she was never one to lose her composure for long. Like her parents, she may have been shy, but she preferred to keep her emotions in check.

"Yeah..." Rick assured me, "but you should've seen Gray." I raised an eyebrow, and he continued with a chuckle. "He was cussing out Lance something awful for leaving her like he did..."

"Well, she is a daddy's girl," I reminded him, smiling at the thought of the overprotective father storming around the house while his wife did her best to calm him down. I'd certainly be hearing about that little episode from Anna the next day although I couldn't say I would be looking forward to it by any means.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this," my companion began in a teasing tone. "Still, our son happens to be a momma's boy." We both laughed at that since it was definitely the truth. I had to wonder, though, if it might've been different had Kai been home much sooner, but I suppose it was pointless to question these things. All the 'what ifs' in the world couldn't answer much of anything by this point in our lives.

"And you weren't?" I replied, reaching out to hold his hand. He shrugged, a sad smile on his worn face while he thought on his own mother. Although the years hadn't been too kind to the man, I still thought Rick carried his age fairly well. His long hair may have grayed and his blue-green eyes might had become rather tired, but every time he looked at me, he was still a young man at heart. It didn't matter that the wrinkles around his mouth and eyes didn't disappear after his lopsided grin faded away. He was every bit of the man I'd fallen in love with. When no one else would so much as look at me, he never turned me away even once. Therefore, he didn't have to be tall, dark, or handsome for me to chose him as my one and only.

"So..." Rick mumbled, swinging his legs nervously over the water's surface, "are you really okay with... everything?" I could hear the concern ringing in his voice, and as he glanced over towards me sheepishly, I knew he was clearly worried. He lifted his hand out from under mine and brought me closer to him in a comforting embrace, resting his head on my own. We sat there for a while, neither one of us breaking the silence, until I finally answered him.

"Of course I'm not really 'okay' with it," I explained quietly, shaking my head. "I mean, it'll be hard without Lance around," And Kai, I added in my own my mind, "but I'll be alright, I think." Though I sounded confident in myself, I could already feel the tears resurfacing, and soon enough they began to fall. However, I wasn't truly sad to see him go because I vividly remembered the excitement on his gentle face that day. It was more than enough to convince me I'd made the right decision in the end. Even so, I knew it'd be hard to live without him in the beginning.

Each morning I woke up, I'd have to see the empty bed beside my own where he once lay sleeping soundly from the time he was an infant, and every night I'd be reminded that he wouldn't be sneaking off to get Opal when he thought I was already sound asleep. In a season's time, he wouldn't be home to celebrate his birthday, and next summer, there'd be no half-birthday to share with him, either. I couldn't tease him about his date coming over for dinner or ask him what he was doing for the festival the following day. I wouldn't have to save him from Kimberly's mischievous games, and although there would still be gossip about whether or not he'd be the same as his father, it wouldn't be the same to defend him in his absence.

Worst of all, I could only see his charming smile and warm, brown eyes in photographs and memories...

"He loves you very much, you know," Rick whispered into my hair before giving me a kiss on the head, "and I'm sure he's going to miss you, too..." I nodded, smiling weakly in agreement while I took what had been said to heart. Gazing up to the brilliant stars above, I knew the man was right, and I wondered if my son could be looking into the night sky as well. However, that might have been just a romanticized wish on my part as a hopeful mother.

"Yeah... I know," I replied, wiping away the tears. Then a reoccurring desire came to me, and before I could hold my tongue, my thoughts became words. "Tell me why you stayed, Rick..." I murmured as I buried my face in the well worn fabric of his green sweater. "Please? I just want to hear it once, so..."

At first, he only sighed in defeat as if he had been hoping the matter wouldn't be brought up again. I had let it be for so long, yet I couldn't help but still question it every now and then. Tonight it seemed I would finally have my answer, though, since he took a deep breath and began to speak in a soft, uncertain voice. "Claire... I..." Heaving another frustrated sigh, he tried to gather his thoughts once more, and in a sudden burst of determined confidence, he turned me to face him straight on. I felt my heart's pace start to quicken under his possessive gaze, and I stopped breathing for a moment as he brought his face close to my own, his eyes unwavering in their intensity.

"I love you, Claire..." Rick explained, resting his hands on my narrow shoulders which made me gasp slightly. "I've always loved you... even before he came around and stole you away..." he admitted, glancing to the worn planks of the dock for a moment. In the pale moonlight, I could see the brush of scarlet across his freckled features, and I actually smiled to see how such a simple confession could fluster him. "I love you," he breathed once more before kissing me tenderly, his lips lingering on mine for what seemed to be an eternity. Time didn't matter to me any longer, though...

...because I had still forever to make it last.

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Author's Note: I loved writing this chapter! X3 Yes, it's a bit sad, but there's still so much hope for the future!

I think everything in this story is pretty much tied up rather nicely although there might be a few loop holes left over. Even so, I always felt that some of my favorite books were ones that left a little bit for the readers to imagine on their own which is what I tried to apply to my own writing as well. It's hard to do, though...