Chapter 36: A Beautiful World Reborn
Brittany and Heinrick circled each other, neither one of them making a move. Brittany held onto her sword tightly, holding it out in front of her in case Heinrick suddenly charged at her. Nobody made a sound—everyone was focused on the deathmatch that was about to unfold.
For a moment, the two in the middle just stood there and waited, not making any sound or movement. Brittany kept calm on both the surface and the inside. She knew panicking wouldn't help her, so she continued to just take deep breaths as she awaited Heinrick's first attack.
Then, Heinrick suddenly lunged at the blonde, swinging his sword wildly at her. Brittany managed to block his attack, pushing back against his sword with her own and causing him to stumble backwards.
As soon as Heinrick stood up again, the fighting resumed. Brittany was doing her best to defend his attacks and conserve her energy. She knew that if she was going to defeat him, she would have to choose her moments to attack wisely.
"Why aren't you fighting back?" Heinrick asked, smirking at her and swinging his sword at her again. "Oh, I know the answer to that: it's because you know you're going to lose."
All the blonde girl did was smirk. Heinrick was foolish enough to believe that she would just give herself up for him to kill her. She perried a couple more of his attacks before ducking down low and swiping his feet out from under him with a kicking movement of her left leg. Brittany then sliced part of his leg open, making the man wince out in pain before he knocked her back with his uninjured leg.
"So now you're going to start putting up a good fight, huh?" Heinrick spat, quickly swinging his sword at Brittany's head. The blade only grazed the blonde's cheek but it did leave a cut, causing her to curse in pain.
In the crowd, Anna and her friends watched in suspense as Brittany fought Heinrick. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her lungs felt like they were about to explode. This had to be one of her worst nightmares, watching her girlfriend fight to the death.
"Your time in power has made you arrogant," Brittany said, dodging one of his attacks before hitting his chest with her elbow and knocking him back. "And that's going to be your downfall."
"Your time as a rebel has made you naive. Why should I think that my downfall is coming anytime soon? And why should I think that my downfall will come at the hands of some silly girl?" Heinrick taunted.
"Because everything you did to me only made me stronger," Brittany said, sending an attack his way with her sword.
The battle between the two of them became more and more intense, each of them taking swings at each other as the fight went on. Brittany felt the sting from multiple cuts that had come from Heinrick's sword, but that didn't stop her from fighting back with power.
As the fight went on, they both began to get more tired, Heinrick more so than Brittany. The man struggled to catch his breath and was now dodging the blonde's attacks rather than blocking them with his sword.
However, the blonde girl accidently swung too hard and lost her balance, allowing Heinrick to knock her over and kick her sword out her hand. His blade went down to stab her in the chest, but she grabbed the blade and pushed up while he tried to push down.
Brittany was strong, but Heinrick was stronger. He pushed the blade down to where it was almost touching the blonde's neck. Then, Brittany kneed him in the stomach, causing him to fall over and giving her enough time to get back on her feet. She turned to grab her sword but Heinrick grabbed her leg and pulled her away from it before she could do so.
The young woman managed to get back on her feet and dodge another one of Heinrick's attacks. She tried to get to her sword, but Heinrick was swinging his sword every which way to try to hurt her. Brittany ducked left and right to avoid Heinrick's sword, occasionally glancing at her own sword to see if she could reach it. She finally got a chance to get her weapon and took it, running past Heinrick and picking up her sword. She quickly turned around and held it out in front of her with both hands on its hilt.
The man in front of her laughed, wiping some of the sweat off of his forehead. "You really do put up a good fight, but sooner or later you're going to grow exhausted, and then you'll much easier to kill." He said before swinging his sword at her, and Brittany ducked only to have him hit her in the back of the head, causing her to yell out in pain and fall to the ground.
Anna was fighting with every ounce of her being to restrain herself from running out and save Brittany. However, with each second that passed, it was getting harder and harder to do so. Everyone in their friend group stood next to Anna, making sure that she had moral support. Dale held Anna's hand while Sam rested a hand on the brunette's shoulder.
Heinrick pinned Brittany to the ground with his knees. "Give up, Snow. You're going to be with your family soon anyways," he said right as she threw him off of her to regain her balance. However, she wasn't quick enough to defend a jab from Heinrick and his sword pierced chest, right underneath her heart.
Brittany dropped to the ground, feeling her vision blur for a moment. She held her wound as she felt the blood begin to flow from her body. Heinrick then walked up to her and shook his head while laughing. "You really thought that you could kill me, didn't you?" He said with a smirk on his face. "You really thought that you could take me down. Well, you thought wrong. And you thought that I was arrogant," he said, crouching down to her level and leaning in to whisper in her ear. "Now I'm going to kill you and make your little girlfriend watch."
After he said those words, Heinrick pressed his sword against Brittany's neck. "Do you have any last words that you'd like to say to your friends? You should probably apologize for failing them along with everyone else," the man spat in a harsh voice.
The young woman felt as if she was about to drop dead then and there, but Heinrick's words made her angry. You should probably apologize for failing them along with everyone else. She couldn't let them all down, not after everything they'd done. Brittany looked over at Anna and felt her heart beat even faster, she wasn't going to let him win.
"Take a good last look at your hero, rebels. You put up a good fight, but now your rebellion ends," Heinrick said, raising his sword and swinging it at Brittany's neck.
All of a sudden, Brittany stopped his swing by grabbing the hilt of his sword. She mustered every bit of strength she had left and kicked him in the stomach, knocking him backwards and taking his sword away from him. She then held the sword in one hand and clutched at her wound with the other. She pointed the sword at him and took a deep breath. "This is for all people who died at your hand. This is for my family and friends that you've killed. This is for Hadley. And most of all, this is for the freedom of all the people standing here today," she said before grabbing him and stabbing him in the heart, pushing his sword as deep as she could. As she did this, the blonde saw fear in Heinrick's eyes for the first time. "I win, so go to hell, Heinrick." Brittany whispered in his ear before stepping back.
Heinrick then fell backwards, his sword still sticking out of his chest. There was now a blank expression in his eyes and blood pooled underneath his body. A moment of silence fell over everyone that was there until the rebels started cheering and high-fiving each other. "We did it! We did it!" They yelled happily, hugging each other as they celebrated their victory.
While everyone was cheering over their defeat of the tyrant, Brittany saw Anna and only Anna. Her wound continued to bleed out and her vision began to get blurry, but she could still see the love of her life standing fifty feet away from her. She dropped to her knees only to be picked up by a bunch of rebel soldiers. "Get her to Joan! She needs a lot medical attention!" Brittany passed out from the blood loss before Anna could make her way over, everything going black soon after.
Brittany didn't know how long she was unconscious for, but she figured that it must have been a considerable amount of time because she woke up in a hospital bed. The blonde was momentarily blinded by the bright light in the room, but her eyes quickly adjusted. "W-what happened?" The blonde asked, coughing a little after she finished speaking.
"Boy, am I happy to see you awake," Joan said, walking over to the girl's bedside and taking her pulse. "You've been sleeping for almost a week."
"What?" Brittany asked with a surprised voice. "I've been asleep for a week?"
"You took quite the hit when Heinrick stabbed you, but you certainly got him back," Joan said, refreshing the girl's memory. "It's all over: his reign, the Healers. It's all over thanks to your bravery."
"It's not just because of me," Brittany said, smiling softly at Joan's compliment. "I couldn't have done it without everyone else."
"You risked everything in order to ensure a safer future for everyone, Britt. While there are many heros that have risen out of this whole fiasco, you ended Heinrick's rule," Joan said, smiling at her daughter's girlfriend.
"Still, I couldn't have done it without everyone else. I didn't end Heinrick's rule. We all ended Heinrick's rule," Brittany replied, smiling back at Joan.
Joan smiled at the girl before tending to her stitched-up stab wound. "I should tell Anna you're awake. She's hardly left your side while you've slept. She just went off to get some food."
"Is she okay?" Brittany asked, her voice laced with concern. "She didn't get hurt or anything, right?"
"No, she's alright. She had a couple cuts and bruises here and there, but nothing terrible," Joan said, putting ointment on Brittany's smaller cuts.
"Can I walk?" Brittany asked, watching Joan.
"Oh, yes you can. Once I'm done tending to your wounds, I'll let you go see Anna," Joan stated as she continued to care for Brittany's battle wounds. A sudden smile appeared on the older woman's face. "Anna's very fond of you, you know. While you slept, she went on and on about all of your adventures together and how she fell for you almost instantly. It reminds me of when I told my parents about James."
Brittany blushed at Joan's words. "She really said all of those things?" The blonde asked, smiling sheepishly at her girlfriend's mother.
"Yes she did, and I've never seen her speak so passionately." Joan said, wrapping up Brittany's sword wound in a bandage.
Brittany blushed even more. "I feel the same way about her. She's the love of my life. I love her more than anything else in the world."
"You have no idea how happy it made me when my daughter told me she was in love with someone," Joan said, smiling as she spoke. "I always wanted to make sure she found someone who loved her, but I knew it would be difficult with the war going on. But then she told me about you on that night at the main base before she got her memory wiped. She told me how she'd found you, the girl she wanted to spend the rest of her life with."
Instead of blushing, happy tears welled up in Brittany's eyes. "I'm so thankful for her. After Hadley, I didn't think I would fall in love ever again. But then I met her, and she's made me so happy. I don't know what I'd do without her in my life," the blonde said.
"I think she's said the same thing about you at least twenty times," Joan said before finishing the bandage. She then handed Brittany a cane. "It may be hard to walk at first, but you're cleared. Anna's in the cafeteria. Why don't you go see her? She's been missing you a lot."
"Okay, I'll go see her. I've missed her a lot too," Brittany said, using the cane for support as she stood up from her hospital bed. Just like Joan had said, it was hard to walk at first, but having the cane made it a lot easier.
As she got to the cafeteria, people began noticing her. But it wasn't just the rebels—former Healers that had taken refuge were sitting at the tables as well. People began to clap for Brittany as she walked through the cafeteria, cheering for the girl who defeated Heinrick Francis.
Josh looked to see why everyone was standing and clapping, and then he saw Brittany. He nudged Anna, who was sipping some water. "Hey, look who's here."
Anna turned her head, and her jaw dropped when she saw who was walking through the cafeteria. "Oh my god," the brunette said, setting her cup of water down and immediately getting up to go greet her girlfriend. She brushed by the people who were clapping for Brittany, desperate to reach her girlfriend.
As soon as Anna reached Brittany, she wrapped her inside of her arms and kissed her lips in front of everyone there, making the crowd cheer even louder than before. "You're awake. You're finally awake," the brunette said when their lips parted. Tears of joy began falling down her face, but she didn't care. "I can't believe that you're finally awake."
Brittany smiled and then hugged Anna with her free hand. "I needed to see you," she whispered before connecting their lips again softly. Once the crowd's cheers died down, Brittany took a deep breath. "So, he's really gone?"
Anna nodded, a big grin on her face. "Yeah, he's really gone, and it's all thanks to you," she said.
For the first time in her life, Brittany could feel a burden being lifted off of her shoulders. Heinrick was dead and gone, and would never terrorize anyone ever again. She could now feel relieved that her family, Hadley, and everyone else who had died because of Heinrick could now rest in peace. "He's gone," she said. "He's finally gone."
"Thank you so much, Britt. If it weren't for you, Heinrick would be alive and the Healers would still be in power," Anna said, gazing into Brittany's eyes.
Brittany smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes before hugging Anna tightly in the middle of the cafeteria, just wanting to stay there for the rest of the day. It was over, it was finally over.
6 Months Later
"Shit, Josh!" Anna yelled as she rushed to Josh's room. "Gemma's water broke! She's going into labor!" She said, smiling. "I'm gonna be an aunt!"
"And I'm gonna be a dad!" Josh said, quickly putting on his shoes and then running out of his room. He followed Anna down the hall towards the hospital wing, running as fast as he could.
Brittany and Dale were helping Gemma down the hallway while Sam and Gina cleared the way for her. "Everyone out of the way, she's got a baby coming!" Sam yelled, causing any stragglers in the hallway to move out of their path so they could get to the hospital wing quickly.
"Shit!" Gemma yelled out, squeezing Brittany's hand tightly as a painful contraction came and went. "Fuck, those hurt really bad."
"We're almost to the hospital," Brittany said, helping Gemma along the way.
Once they reached the hospital wing, Joan brought up a wheelchair. "We have some doctors who can deliver babies in the back. You roll her back there. But it'll be family only in the delivery room, so Josh and Sam are the only ones besides the doctors allowed in here."
"Alright, where can we wait while the baby is being born? Is there a waiting room of some sort?" Dale asked Joan.
The doctors wheeled Gemma back and Sam followed behind before Josh rushed in and ran after them, Anna close behind him. Joan then turned to Dale and everyone else who was waiting in the front of the hospital wing. "There are some chairs just outside, but it may be awhile so I'd try to keep yourselves occupied."
Dale nodded. "Thank you, Joan," she said, smiling at the older woman. "And congratulations. You're about to become a grandmother."
"It's pretty exciting, that's for sure," Joan said, smiling. "And I know James is watching over us," she added, letting a single tear fall.
In the delivery room, Gemma had just received an epidural so the pain wasn't as bad. Josh was giving her some ice chips and holding her hand, encouraging to keep strong. "You're doing so great, Gemma," he said, kissing her forehead. "Just think: we're about to be parents."
"We're about to be parents," Gemma repeated, smiling at Josh. Their moment was interrupted when Gemma experienced another painful contraction, although it didn't hurt as bad due to the epidural. "Shit. I didn't know that giving birth would be so hard," she said with a chuckle, a few beads of sweat trickling down her forehead.
Anna and Sam both looked at each other and then looked back at Gemma. "It's not that bad, is it?" Sam asked, cringing a little.
"It's not bad, it's just painful," Gemma explained. "It becomes a lot less painful when you realize that your child is about to enter the world," she added.
Josh squeezed her hand and kept telling her to breathe in and out. "You're doing amazing baby, the doctors say you only have three more centimeters before you can push." He kissed her forehead again. "Just keep breathing, babe."
Gemma did as Josh told her to and took deep breaths, scrunching up her face and squeezing his hand tightly whenever a contraction came. "Am I close to being able to push?" Gemma asked, breathing heavily.
The doctor in the room nodded, sitting down to check and see how far along she was. "It looks like you're now at nine centimeters, so that means only one more before you can push."
Gemma nodded and closed her eyes, biting down on her lip. "I can't wait to meet our son," she murmured, squeezing Josh's hand and smiling.
Josh smiled and squeezed back. I'm gonna be a father, he thought to himself. "I can't wait either, Gemma," he said before giving her a couple more ice chips.
"What do you want to name him?" Gemma asked, smiling gratefully at Josh when he gave her the ice chips.
"I'm not sure," Josh said, chuckling softly as the doctor got down in front of Gemma.
"Alright, it's time to start pushing," she said before getting her gloves on. "On three, I want you start pushing. One, two, three."
Gemma started pushing when the doctor told her to, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration.
While she was pushing, Josh made sure that he was encouraging his girlfriend. "You're doing great, Gemma. Just keep pushing. You're doing so great, babe."
Anna and Sam also encouraged Gemma as she continued to push. "You can do this, Gemma. You're going to be an incredible mother. We know it," Sam said, squeezing her sister's hand.
"It hurts," Gemma said, a couple of tears streaming down her cheeks. "It hurts a lot." She cried out in pain after another long push.
"Keep pushing, Gemma," the doctor said. "I have the head and shoulders out already, so you just need to push a few more times and then your son will be here.
Gemma nodded and then closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as she pushed again. The pain she was feeling was tremendous, but she knew she had to persevere through it.
After about five more pushes, there was a small crying sound and Gemma felt her body relax. The doctor smiled at the couple and then showed them their baby. "Welcome to the world, little one," she said before going to clean him off, wrap him in a blanket and give him a hat.
After that was over, the doctor brought Josh and Gemma's son back over to them. "Here he is," She said, handing him for Gemma to take in her arms.
Gemma choked out a sob when she held her son for the first time, tears of joy falling down her face. "Hi," she said, smiling down at her little baby boy. "Hello, sweet boy. I'm your mom." She said, crying happily.
Josh felt tears well up in his eyes. "Wow. Hey there, buddy. I'm your dad, and I'm glad to finally meet you."
"We'll give you some time," said the doctor, getting the team of doctors out of the room, leaving just Anna, Sam, Josh, Gemma, and their beautiful baby boy in the room.
He had jet black hair like his father, but slightly tanned skin like his mother. He was the most gorgeous and most precious thing that Josh and Gemma had seen in their entire life.
"He's so beautiful. I didn't think I would ever see someone as beautiful as he is," Gemma said, smiling and kissing her son's forehead.
"I'm an aunt now," Anna said, walking up beside her brother and taking a look at her little nephew. "He's so tiny and adorable," she said, smiling and tearing up as well.
"So am I," Sam said, a big smile on her face and tears of joy in her eyes. "Congrats, Gemma and Josh. I'm so happy for you."
Gemma leaned forward and kissed Josh's lips gently. "We made a beautiful baby," she whispered to him with a smile on her face.
"Damn right we did," Josh said with a chuckle, smiling and kissing his girlfriend back.
"Any ideas on names?" Sam asked curiously.
"We haven't decided yet," Gemma said, smiling before letting her son hold onto her finger for the first time. "Actually, could you two give us a moment so we can decide?"
"Yeah, of course. Take all the time you need," Anna said, opening the door for Sam before closing the door behind them.
Once they were alone, Gemma turned to Josh. "So, do you have any ideas for his name?" She asked her boyfriend with a smile.
"Why don't we name him after our fathers? Tyler James has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Josh asked, smiling at his son.
Gemma smiled and nodded her head. "Tyler James sounds great," she said, looking from Josh to her son. "Tyler James Kendrick."
"Tyler James Kendrick," Josh repeated, smiling and kissing his son's forehead. "Can I hold him?"
"Of course," Gemma said, handing Tyler over to Josh so he could hold his son for the first time.
Once the little boy was in his father's arms, Josh could help but tear up a little bit. "No matter what, I will always be around when you need me," he said, leaning down and kissing Tyler's head.
Gemma smiled as she watched the moment unfold between Josh and Tyler. "You're already such a great dad," the girl murmured, tearing up as well.
"I know my dad would've been there for me if he could've," Josh said, glancing at Gemma before looking at his sleeping son again. "I want to be there through it all for him, and I never want him to have to worry about his father not being there."
"And he won't have to worry. I know you're gonna be there for him, Josh, and he knows it too," Gemma said, putting a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.
Josh looked into Gemma's eyes, smiling at her before wiping his tears. He then looked at the calendar on the bedside table, and a smile played at his lips. "Hey, we met a year ago today," he chuckled. "That's pretty amazing, isn't it?"
"Yeah, that is amazing," Gemma said, chuckling along with Josh. "We've come a pretty long way in the last year, haven't we? I mean, we're parents now."
"We have come pretty far," Josh said, smiling at Gemma as she lay in bed. He then had a sudden thought pop into his head. "Hey, can I run something by you?"
Gemma nodded. "Yeah, of course. What's up?" She asked.
"If I asked you to, would you marry me?" Josh asked, looking hopefully into her eyes, secretly hoping he hadn't screwed up by asking that.
"What?" Gemma asked. Josh's question had definitely surprised her, that's for sure. "Are you being serious right now?"
Josh just smiled at her and nodded, a serious look in his eyes. "I know for sure that you're the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love you more than anything. After everything we've been through, I'm certain that there's no one else. It's you, Gemma. You're the one for me." He then took a deep breath and got up from the chair, getting down on one knee and using one arm to hold his son while the other took Gemma's hand.
"I know that I don't have a ring right now, but I do know that I love you, Gemma," Josh said, smiling and biting his lip before asking the question he never knew he'd get the chance to ask. "Gemma Winters, will you marry me?"
Gemma's jaw dropped and tears of joy began falling down her face for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "Yes! Yes, I will. Of course I will!" She exclaimed happily.
Even though it seemed impossible after all the good things that had happened that day, Josh's smile got even wider. He then stood up and kissed Gemma passionately. "Thank you. I love you," he whispered softly as their lips parted, leaning in and kissing her again.
"I love you too," Gemma said, smiling and leaning into the second kiss. When they pulled away, she looked down at their son. "My life is so perfect right now. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"The world has been free of Heinrick's hatred for six month now, we have a beautiful newborn son, and I just asked you to marry me. Things are finally falling into place," Josh said, smiling before kissing her lips a third time. "And we can go wherever you want to go on our honeymoon, so I'll let you choose."
"Well then, I guess I have a lot of thinking to do. I'm not sure where I want us to go for our honeymoon, but I'll make sure to pick a good place," Gemma replied with a smile.
Josh smiled and then took her hand, kissing it gently. "You know, after the battle, I went to ask for your parents' permission. I knew then, and I know now, that it's you and only you, Gemma."
Gemma smiled and then leaned in, giving Josh a quick peck on the lips. "It's always been you, Josh," she murmured softly. "It's always been you," she repeated.
Back out in the hall, Anna was talking to Brittany about seeing her nephew for the first time. "I don't know what they've decided to name him yet, but he's the cutest baby in the history of the world," she said excitedly, making Brittany laugh and smile at her excitement.
"I don't know if he's the cutest baby in the history of the world. I bet you were a pretty cute baby," Brittany replied, smiling when her comment made Anna blush.
"Well, of course I was adorable," Anna said, chuckling. "And so were you, but this baby will be the cutest of his generation."
"If you say so," Brittany said, chuckling along with her girlfriend. "Do you think he'll look more like Josh or Gemma?"
"Well, right now he looks like a mix of the two of them, but the first kid usually look like their mom," Anna said, smiling as she thought about it. "So probably Gemma."
"Hmm. That's interesting. I never knew that," Brittany said. "You learn something new every day, huh?"
"I guess you do," Anna said with a smile.
Then, a nurse came out into the waiting room. "Gemma and Josh would like all of you to come back to the room and see the little boy," he said, gesturing for all of them to make their way back to the delivery room. The nurse lead them to the room and then opened the door for them. "I would recommend that only two or three people go in at a time so that it doesn't get too crowded in there," he told them before stepping aside so they could go in.
Anna, Brittany and Sam decided to go in first to see Josh and Gemma's child. "Hey, you guys," Brittany said, smiling at the two laying on the bed with the baby. "Wow, he's absolutely precious."
"See? I told you he's the cutest baby in the history of the world," Anna said with a chuckle, playfully nudging Brittany with her elbow.
"Did you guys pick out a name?" Sam asked as the three of them walked over to bed and sat next to Josh, Gemma, and their little baby boy.
"His name is Tyler James Kendrick." Gemma said.
"You named him after dad." Sam said happily.
"Both of our fathers." Josh stated.
"Why does he have our last name though, shouldn't it be Tyler James Kendrick-Winters?" Anna asked, raising her eyebrows in confusion.
"Well, that's the other news," Josh said, getting the three girls' attention.
"There's more news?" Brittany asked.
"Babe, why don't you tell them?" Josh suggested, kissing Gemma's cheek as he held Tyler in his arms.
"Well…" Gemma said, trailing off and pausing for a few moments to create suspense. "Josh asked me to marry him, and I said yes."
At first, the three girls faces were blank, then they instantly started clapping and cheering quietly so they wouldn't wake up the baby. "This is so exciting!" Brittany said, smiling. "Congratulations, you two."
"Yeah, congratulations!" Anna said, smiling and giving hugs to both Josh and Gemma. "This is so cool. I'm so happy for you guys! Not only are you parents now, but you're getting married! This is the best day ever!"
"You know, besides the day when the devil died at the hands of your girlfriend," Sam said, chuckling at Anna's response. "I'm really happy for you guys. This is such great news."
"We're happy too. Happier than we've ever been," Josh said, smiling at his friends and then at his fiancé and son.
"Can I hold my nephew?" Anna asked hopefully, biting her lip as well. "I promise that I'll hold him correctly," she said, making Gemma and Josh chuckle.
"Okay, you can hold him. Just don't drop him, or else," Josh said, pretending to threaten his sister and then chuckling afterwards. He then gently handed Tyler over to Anna, smiling as he watched their first interaction.
Anna smiled down at her newborn nephew. "Hey, Tyler. I'm your Aunt Anna," she said, feeling tears well up in your eyes. "It's so nice to finally meet you." The little baby grabbed one of Anna's fingers and held onto it, making the brunette shed a couple tears.
"I think he already likes you," Gemma said, a big smile on her face as she watched Anna interact with Tyler.
Anna didn't look away from her nephew, smiling and blinking back tears as the little boy opened his eyes for first time since Anna, Britt and Sam got in there. "He's so perfect," she said, kissing his tiny little hand that was wrapped around her pointer finger.
"He really is," Brittany said, walking over and resting her chin on Anna's shoulder so she could look at baby Tyler.
"He has yours and Dad's hair," Anna said, chuckling. "Thick, black hair," she said, smiling down at Tyler. She then looked up at Josh and smiled. "Thank you for naming him after Dad, you two."
"It was the right thing to do. He did save Josh, after all," Gemma pointed out.
"And I was always going to name one of my children after Dad," Josh said, smiling and hugging his sister from the side.
"I bet Dad would be trying to hog Tyler from everyone else," Anna said with a chuckle.
"Oh, he definitely would be," Josh said, chuckling along with his younger sister.
After everyone got a chance to hold him, they left the room so Joan and the others could see little baby Tyler James Kendrick.
Anna and Brittany went back to their room that they now shared, laying on the bed. "I had a thought," Anna said, sitting down on the bed.
"Oh yeah? And what's that thought?" Brittany asked, sitting down on the bed as well.
"What if we went and found a place for us to live in? What if we found an actual house, and started a real life together? As much as I love this base, I don't want to be stuck here for the rest of my life," Anna said.
Brittany thought about Anna's idea for a few moments and then began nodding her head, a smile spreading across her face as well. "I'd like that. I'd really like that, actually."
"I want us to find a place where we don't have to worry, a place we can call home," Anna said, tucking a few pieces of Brittany's hair behind her ear. "We can go wherever you want to go. After everything you've done, I'm sure anywhere in the world would welcome you."
Brittany smiled and blushed. "I really don't care where we go as long as I'm with you. If I have you by my side, then I'm at home."
Anna smiled and leaned into kiss her on the lips. "That was smooth," she said, leaning Brittany back on the bed and kissing her neck and jawline softly before returning to her lips. "You know, when we're a bit older, I'm gonna ask you to marry me," she whispered.
"You are?" Brittany asked, pulling away from the kiss so she could look into Anna's eyes.
"Yeah, I am," Anna said, tucking Brittany's hair back as the girl looked up at her. "And we're going to have the peaceful life we've always dreamed of," she said, kissing Brittany's lips and running her hands along her sides. "If that's what you want too."
Brittany instantly began nodding her head. "Yes, I want that too," she said, smiling widely. She then leaned up and kissed Anna's lips softly. "I really want that," the blonde murmured.
"That's good to know," Anna said, smiling and kissing her once more. When she pulled away, she leaned their foreheads together and closed her eyes for a moment. She lifted Brittany's shirt up and gently pressed kisses along the scar from where Heinrick had stabbed her in the fight. "Does it still hurt?"
Brittany winced a little and nodded. "Yeah, it still hurts, but it's not that bad," she said.
"One day, that pain is going to cease to exist," Anna said, kissing a slow and long trail up Brittany's body before finally meeting her lips once again. "I can't even tell you how relieved I was when you walked into the cafeteria that day," she said, gazing down into Britt's eyes.
"I could see how relieved you were. You looked so happy when you saw me," Brittany said, smiling and blushing a little at the memory.
"And you sang for me that night, because my father's funeral was the next day." Anna said, recalling the memory. "You have the most beautiful voice I've ever heard."
Brittany blushed again and her smile grew. "I can say the same about you, babe. Your voice is like that of an angel."
The two girls giggled with each other before going silent. Anna's hands traveled along Brittany's waist, and her lips would occasionally press against the skin of her neck. "I'm all in, babe," Anna whispered. "I'm all in for life."
"Me too, baby. Me too," Brittany whispered back, smiling and leaning their foreheads together. "I'm all in for life."
So he's finally defeated, and all those taken by his hand can rest in peace. Gemma and Josh are parents now, and Brittany and Anna are making plans for the future. Things are going pretty well for everyone! Stay tuned for an epilogue.
Until Next Time!