A/N: Wow, this chapter has taken forever to finish. First off because I've been having trouble deciding on just how I wanted the epilogue to be (it's gone through an insane number of rewrites), secondly because I've been insanely busy and haven't had much time to write at all. It's been all work (and school) and no play, and I've been a very dull girl. Sigh. But, finally, I'm done with the chapter! So, this is it, the final chapter of Struck by Lightning. Hope ya'll enjoy it! :D

Epilogue: Endings

The cold night air was soothing as it stroke across Rogue's face when she stepped out on a balcony in the Southern city she was residing in. The air inside the apartment had been heavy and warm from too many people stuffed in too small a room. She hated crowds. Ever since getting her powers back from the failed cure she had worked harder than ever, and in the end she got her powers under her control. But she still didn't like being so close to so many people at once. It meant that she had to constantly work to keep her powers in a leash, couldn't allow herself to relax fully for even a small second. Because just a moment of letting her concentration slip could mean that her powers kicked in with just the smallest brush of skin against skin. So generally she was one to avoid situations that would mean there would be lots of people around, like parties, but tonight her friends had been able to convince her to come with them.

She had not been having a great time, but her friends had, and with the amount of alcohol they had consumed no one would remember that Rogue hadn't been very friendly. She'd tried to stick to corners where there weren't so many people about, but somehow there always seemed to be some gang of drunken frat boys that danced close enough for her to have to put up her shields and force her powers into hiding in case one of them came too close without her having time to get the control needed for skin contact.

It seemed like the more drunk people got, the less they cared about personal space. People were bumping into her, putting their arms around her, dragging her out onto the dance floor and she didn't know what. And having to constant hold back her powers were draining her. She'd had to get out of there, and the quickest escape had been the balcony.

It wasn't the typical small balcony often seen in cities, it was a massive one. Large enough that the small crowd of people that had stumbled out there before here didn't even notice her when she stepped out and walked in the opposite end of it.

There were no moon out, and no one seemed to have bothered to turn on any lights outside, so save for the light spilling from the glass windows over where the smokers were standing the balcony seemed to be shrouded in darkness.

Rogue leant her elbows on the stone ledge of the balcony and stared out over the city. The view was breathtaking and almost worth coming to the party. Almost. From her room in the apartment she shared with two friends the view was across the street to a brick building and not much to brag about. But then again, she was a college student, and the people who owned this apartment was not. According to Kathy, one of Rogue's roomies, the apartment belonged to some guy high in the music business, and his son, a friend of Kathy, was now hosting this party for all his friends.

Rogue closed her eyes and let her shields drop. It was as if she'd been carrying around a backpack filled with bricks and was now finally able to drop it to the floor. Her entire body relaxed, and she leaned against the railing with her back and let a sigh escape from her lips. Three hours with constant concentration had been hard, and it was nice to relax for a moment before she ventured back inside. Just catch her breath for a moment.

There was a buzzing in the air, from cars down on street level, from the party, from the city itself. She had grown so used to it, having lived in this city for just about four years now, but she remembered how different it had been in the beginning. She'd been used to living at the mansion, were the large garden made sure there were no sounds of any cars to be heard save from those actually on the property. She missed the mansion at times, missed her friends and being an X-Man. But for most parts she was happy where she was now. Just another college student in a city filled with them. She was taking regular classes, and didn't have to run around in a tight leather uniform in the Danger Room. She had a normal life, and she was enjoying it.

She'd left the mansion to come here because she just couldn't take it anymore, couldn't take the fighting and hate that came with being an X-Man. And since she'd gotten control of her powers, she'd decided to give normal life a shot. She had finished school, so that wasn't holding her back anymore. And then Bobby and she had gone through a rather…bad breakup and she'd just needed to get away from everything. It had been the last drop, and it hadn't taken her more than a couple of weeks with avoiding him before she had moved out. She'd spent some months working at a diner until she got a place at college.

She hadn't regretted it a single moment. She knew that she'd always have a place at the mansion and amongst the X-Men if she wanted it, but for now she was content with living her own life.

Rogue had been so lost in thoughts she didn't even hear anyone approaching until a cough sounded from somewhere in front of her. Her eyes flew open, but she saw no one, it was just too dark. She narrowed her eyes, trying to penetrate the shadows, but all she could tell were that there was someone standing there, not too far from her, even deeper in the shadows than she was.

"Hello?" she asked cautiously, not sure she even wanted to know who it was. The people at this party were really not her crowd, and she didn't want to be cornered by one of those drunkards.

"Hello dere, Rogue." The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but Rogue couldn't quite place it.

"I don't know what you are talking about. My name is Marie," she said. She never used the 'Rogue' name when she introduced herself to people anymore, she went by the name her mother had picked for her. Lot less questions then. But somehow this guy seemed to know her other name, her mutant name.

"You weren't Marie before," the voice retorted. She could see the shape of what she now knew to be a man, or a woman with a very manly voice, move and suddenly a small flame came to life. The man used the flame from the lighter he'd obviously just flicked to life to light a cigarette stuck between his lips, and in the flickering light from the flame she saw his features and the last piece of the puzzle fell in place. She knew exactly who she was talking to now.

"Gambit didn't know you lived here," Gambit said. The use of third person removing any doubts as to who he was.

"Gambit. Long time no see," Rogue said. "And well, I have been living here for several years now," she said and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Chére not with de X-Men anymore? Dey treat her badly? Dat boyfriend of yours oui?"

Marie suddenly found herself out of words. How could a man she met briefly five years ago know her like that? How could he know that Bobby was one of the big factors that made her leave the mansion?

Well, okay, it was probably just a lucky guess; she wouldn't exactly be the first girl to leave because of a guy. And Gambit had seemed to find it rather amusing to tease Bobby. He had done it a lot the weeks he had spent at the mansion at least. Bobby had hated the guy and made no effort to hide it. Rogue had to admit she found Gambit rather fascinating, although she hadn't spent a lot of time with him. Just the way he used to smile at her whenever their eyes met, a smile filled with promise that sent shivers down her back. If it hadn't been for Bobby she would have probably thrown herself all over the guy.

"Chére all out of words? Guess Gambit was right den. You have heartbroken written all over you. Why else move here? Getting as far away as you could Gambit thinks."

Rogue had no idea what to say, so she just didn't say anything, only stood in silence and looked at that glowing cigarette.

Then Gambit walked towards her, and she could finally see more than just his silhouette. It was all shrouded in darkness, but she could see his face now, could see his amazing eyes, could see the grin on his lips. It was still filled with so much promise. The whole guy just radiated sexual energy.

He looked just as good as he used to, just a few years older. But then, she probably looked older than she had too. They both were older; it must have been around five years since last she'd seen him.

A brown trench was flopping around his legs, and Rogue thought it was the exact same one he had worm when she had seen him the last time. His hair was a bit longer, but other than that, pretty much the same guy that had left the mansion to "attend other business" as he'd claimed back then.

"You are as beautiful now as den, ma chére, I hope you haven't let a boy like him ruin your life, he wasn't worth it, no one is worth someone like you." He stepped even closer to her, just as Rogue arched an eyebrow in scepticism. The whole "he isn't worth it" routine? She'd heard it so many times from friends, she just didn't buy it anymore.

"He couldn't handle not being able to touch you, was dat it?" Gambit continued as he leaned back against the railing next to her. "Dat boy had no imagination. One has to work around problems, not skip dem altogether." He turned his face towards her, and Rogue suddenly realised that he was standing so close that it would just take the smallest of movements for him to touch her. She pulled up her shields, hiding her powers behind heavy steel walls somewhere deep in her body. She did not want to end up accidentally draining his powers and mind.

"Yeah, he was an asshole, but no, didn't ruin my life, thank you very much. I'm just fine. And I don't think it was the no touching thing that scared him off, considering the fact that I have control of my powers now. Probably more the fact that there were just so many other girls walking about."

"Is dat so? Chére have control now?" Gambit quirked an eyebrow at her just as he stomped out his cigarette on the railing and let the butt drop over the edge. Rogue only managed a small nod in answer. Her throat suddenly felt awfully dry as his eyes bored into hers.

"Well, then, we need to use dat opportunity don't we?" he whispered before he leaned even closer to her, his lips almost brushing against hers.

She didn't usually do this, kiss guys that she barely knew. But there was just something about Gambit's playful and flirtatious nature that made him so utterly tempting. And she hadn't been with a guy in ages. And who dictated her life anyways? She was a grown woman, she could make out with whoever she wanted to whenever she wanted to.

She moved that last fraction of an inch towards him, her lips pressing against his. His lips were surprisingly soft, and as he tilted his head slightly to the side she noticed the rasp of beard stubble against her chin, and it just felt so good. It really had been too long since she made out with a guy the last time. Just the smell of him, a hint of smoke and booze mixed with something just uniquely Gambit, it was intoxicating.

Rogue wound her arms around his neck and just let herself be carried away by the moment. She kept just enough control that she wouldn't let her powers kick in, but otherwise she just enjoyed the evening, which suddenly had turned out to be a great one.

***

Hundreds of miles away Ana Manning was staring up at the same night sky that Rogue was standing under. Her bedroom windows were flung wide open to get some of the cool night air in. She'd been sitting in the room for hours and the air had grown heavy and warm.

She leaned again the wall next to the window, closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers over her forehead. She was utterly exhausted and her head was throbbing painfully. It had been a long day with teaching classes, and then a long evening of making tests for the following weeks. She liked to be prepared and have stuff ready weeks in advance. Around here one never knew when something would happen to mess up the schedule and eat up your time. Some new kid with problems, some mutant set on destroying the world. It was completely unpredictably, and therefore she'd learned to prepare in advance. She wanted to be a good teacher, to give these kids the best chance they could have. They had so much working against them, being mutants in a world where humans were in charge, at least they would be properly educated.

These days this was her life: teaching kids and teens at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She'd started as a teacher just over a year ago, after taking some college classes. She didn't have a teaching degree in particular, but Charles Xavier didn't think a degree was necessary, he knew she was competent enough to teach, even without the papers.

Charles had come back to the school a little over four years ago. He had a new body, but his mind was apparently the same as it had been before his last body had been destroyed by the Phoenix. Ana had never known him before this change, his resurrection, but she'd learned to know and respect him when he came back, taking back the position as headmaster.

It had been because of his help she had been able to go to college. She didn't have the money to do so herself. And it was only natural that she repaid him by working at the school. It was the only place she had to call home, and she loved it here. This was where she had her friends, this was where she could be herself, this was where she wanted to be.

Mostly Ana taught Social Studies and English, but she occasionally stepped in on some History classes too, when Ororo was preoccupied with X-Men business. Ana herself had given up the X-Men business altogether, preferring to just be a teacher. Being an X-Man, putting on the uniform and fighting, it just had too many bad memories for her.

Trying to get her mind on something else Ana took a deep, calming breath, opened her eyes and glanced over at the stack of papers on her desk. She was done making the tests, but now she had to grade the previous ones. Even with a few new additions to the faculty the school was still undermanned. The student-body was growing faster and faster, and getting new teachers wasn't all that easy. Mostly it was previous students taking over the role as they graduated. In addition to herself Kitty was teaching too. Bobby did some classes here and there, and even Jubilee had stepped in on occasion, even if that had less that fortunate outcomes. The kids loved her though, Ana just doubted they'd actually learned much those classes.

Now Ana just shook her head, walked over to her bed and slumped down on that. Grading all the papers would just have to wait, she was not in the mood. And she didn't want to end up failing all her students just because she was tired and couldn't be bothered doing her job properly.

She grabbed a corner of her sheet and tugged it out from underneath her. Her hand reached out beside her bed and poked around until it touched the edge of a paperback book. She decided she'd relax for a few moments before she brushed her teeth and went to bed.

Just as she opened the book she heard a motorcycle roar to life outside and instantly knew that it was Wolverine. No one else around here drove a motorcycle. Ana wondered why he was leaving now, at this hour, and only hoped it was for a short trip to a bar or something. On occasions he would leave and not come back for ages. Which left Ororo behind alone. Which meant weeks with bad weather and a moody Ororo around. He better be back soon, because a moody Ororo was just no fun.

***

The wind tugged on the flaps of his open leather jacket as Logan drove down an empty stretch of road. It was in the middle of the night, only the moon above illuminating the road. But Logan had no problem keeping the motorcycle on the road. He could do this blindfolded while straddling the bike backwards. He'd done this that many times.

He didn't have the faintest idea how many times he'd jumped on the bike and torn into the night like this, leaving the mansion and responsibility behind. He'd been desperately searching for who he was, who he had been, and he hadn't thought the answers were to be found in a secluded mansion in the town of Salem Centre.

But he had never completely figured out who he was no matter where he went, and he was starting to doubt he ever would. So maybe that meant he should have just settled back in Xavier's mansion and stopped wanting to flee ever so often. But it had gotten habitual. He would get this itching in his very soul, urging him to leave this place, leave responsibility and just roam free. It was the animal inside him, and sometimes it was just too damned difficult controlling it. It was easier to just obey it and leave.

Somehow he always ended up back at the mansion though, sooner or later. At first he had told himself he needed to make sure Rogue was alright. But then she grew up and really didn't need him at all anymore. But he still returned. Maybe just to see the smile on Ororo's face.

That face touched something in him, made him feel all proud for coming back to the mansion and go back to his responsibilities. Maybe it was that smile that made him fall for her. Or maybe it was her calming being—around her the animal parts of him crawled into a cage and hid for a while—or maybe it just was because she actually liked him back. The feeling of someone loving him back, wanting him to stay, not to teach classes or fight but so she could be with him—it was a feeling he couldn't remember ever having felt. Of course, with his memory that didn't necessarily mean he'd never felt it, but he couldn't recall it at least.

Then Ororo had gotten pregnant, which wasn't planned at all. Logan couldn't imagine himself as a father, he just didn't seem to have that gene in him. But then he held his newborn son—James—in his arms and everything just seemed so…right. This was where he was supposed to be, with his woman and kid.

And for a while he stayed, pleased enough with that.

But the wounds in his soul never seemed to heal completely. The animal was still alive, and it wanted to roam free. So now, after an argument with Ororo, he'd just simply left. Stalked out of the mansion, jumped on the bike and just...left.

He had no idea where he wanted to go, what he wanted to do, he just needed air and space and time.

For hours he just drove with no destination in mind. Not until nature called did he pull over. He was in the middle of nowhere, nothing but trees around. No one to see him as he relieved himself in the edge of the forest.

When he was finished he walked back to the motorcycle, but instead of jumping up on it and heading off again he sat down on the ground next to it. He was just so damned tired. Not tired in the I-need-to-get-to-bed way, but in the it-is-just-too-much way.

He closed his eyes and tried not to think about anything, to just relax and forget everything. Tried not to think about Ororo waiting for him, trying not to think about James waking up in the morning and asking where his Daddy had gone to. Daddy. Logan still found that term to sound off when it applied to him. He didn't see himself as a dad. He was a killer, a soldier, an animal. How could anyone like him ever be a role model for a two-year old kid? He certainly didn't want his kid to grow up to be anything like him. He wanted him to be all like Ororo. Kind and caring and good.

Wolverine lifted his hands and clenched them into fists. He felt like stabbing something, but he kept himself in a leash, kept his claws inside their sheaths. It was always what he'd been doing. Kill first, ask later. He'd never been one for thinking things through, he just acted on instinct. Like when he'd left earlier. He didn't think about the consequences, he just followed his instincts. But now, hours later, he'd gotten plenty of time to think about it. And he was starting to regret it.

He had no idea where he would go from here if he kept driving. He wanted to know about his past, but he had no idea where to search. And the world was a rather big place. He could hear Ororo's voice in his mind now as he relived a conversation they'd had some months back. It's not about who you were, but who you are.

Maybe she was right, maybe his past didn't matter. Why leave when he had nowhere to go? Maybe he should just act like the grownup he was supposed to be and not run away every single time he felt like it.

With a groan he got to his feet, and with a short moments hesitation where he looked down the road that just seemed to go on and on forever he turned the bike around and headed back the way he had come from, heading home. Hopefully he'd be home before Ororo and James even woke up.

***

Ana was lying in bed with the sheets wrapped around her like a cocoon when she heard the sound of Wolverine's motorcycle outside. A faint smile tugged at her lips. She was glad he hadn't left for more than some hours, he did belong here at the mansion, he just seemed to have some problems accepting that at times.

Her eyes blinked open slowly and then shut again as a yawn overpowered her. It was too damned early, but she didn't seem to be able to get anymore sleep, so she crawled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

Inside she turned on the water and let it run and warm up as she started to loosen the braid that was holding her long hair back. After shaking the braid loose and tossing the hair over her shoulders she cupped some water in her palms and splashed it over her face.

Water was running in rivulets over her skin as she looked into the mirror. There were dark rings under her eyes from a lack of sleep. Ana looked down and rubbed her hand over her neck. Her fingers met the thin silver chain that hung around it, and automatically it followed it until it met the pendant dangling from it. Her fingers closed around it, rubbing gently over the silver surface of the wings.

Her gaze rose to the mirror again and she let the pendant dropped. For years she'd been wearing this, never taking it off. In memory of the one person that had meant the most to her, the person she'd lost all too soon.

Her eyes shone with the promise of tears and she turned away and walked back into the bedroom, sinking down on the bed. It was five years since Warren had been killed, but she still missed him. The pain wasn't sharp as it had been, but it was there. Dull but constant. She didn't think it would ever vanish completely, she didn't want it to vanish completely. Because if the pain left her then so might the memory of him, and that she wouldn't be able to bear.

A tear escaped from her lashes and slowly rolled down her cheek. Quickly she brushed it away with the heel of her hand. She hadn't actually cried that much lately, but maybe she was just being overly sentimental today. Usually she kept the pain of his death deep in her heart, but now it came floating back to the surface.

Her memories of him had dimmed over the years, but she could still remember the soft blue of his eyes, the feeling of his arms around her, his voice murmuring sweet words to her.

Ana dried away another tear. Maybe she should go to see him again soon, bring him fresh flowers. She hadn't been to his grave lately, there hadn't been any time available, what with work and all.

A faint beep came from the nightstand, ripping Ana out of her thoughts. She turned to her side, seeing her cell phone lying on it. Lazily she reached out for it and flipped it open. The beep had been from an incoming message, and the screen said it was from Kitty. She pressed a couple of buttons, and soon she could read the message.

It was short and simple, but it said so much: It's going to be a boy.

***

Kitty stuffed her cell phone back into her pocket as soon as the message to Ana was sent and turned to her side where Jake was standing. Her lips were set in a wide grin, and had been ever since going out of the doctor's office some months ago after gotten it confirmed.

She was pregnant. And the ultrasound today had showed that she was expecting a boy. Which she really didn't mind at all.

"So, what do you think, daddy? Looking forward to getting a Jake jr?" Kitty looked up at Jake and saw a grin on his face that matched hers.

"Oh yes, I can't wait."

He wrapped an arm around her, and Kitty leaned into the embrace. Her arm went to her tummy, which was growing by the day.

It was two years since she and Jake, or Tsunami as he was know as amongst the X-Men, had gotten married. It had been a small ceremony in the garden at Xavier's, but it had been perfect. And now they were expecting their first child. All in all, their lives were perfect, or as close to perfect as it could get.

Life as mutants was still rough at time, both Kitty and Jake were still parts of the X-Men (although Kitty was currently on maternity leave), and they saw all the bad sides to being a mutant. But, Kitty was hopeful that things were improving in the world. She wanted her kid to grow up in a world where people and mutants accepted each other, not one where they fought a constant war.

But maybe, given time, people would realise that there were little to do other than accept mutants as people just like them. More and more people were developing mutant powers, and it would just keep on like that. The world was changing and people would have to reconcile themselves with that fact.

Kitty let her hand rub gently over her rounded belly. Oh, my baby, if only things would change within the next months, so you could meet a perfect world, she thought. Her smile faded, replaced with worry, worry for what kind of life her little boy would have. She wanted nothing but happiness for him, and she would do what she could to make sure that happened. Her boy wasn't going to feel pain, he was going to be happy.

Kitty felt Jake's arm tighten around her shoulder as they walked out the door to the doctor's offices and towards their car.

***

Ana grinned as she reread the message from Kitty. She was so happy for them. And well, she was really looking forward to spoiling the little guy. She considered Kitty her best friend, and that practically made her an aunt. "Auntie Ana," she said out loud. It sounded cool, and since she had no siblings this was her only shot at getting a nephew.

She tossed her phone onto the bed next to her and got to her feet. She couldn't lie here and be sad all day, she had stuff to do, people to meet, papers to grade.

But a single glance at the stack of papers ruined that one option at least. No way she could sit down and work on that for hours. She needed to get out and do something that actually involved moving, or she'd go crazy. And if you were feeling restless there was no place better to go than the Danger Room.

Even if she wasn't an active member of the X-Men anymore she spent lots of time in the Danger Room. She found that if she didn't use her powers enough the electricity built in her body until it escaped on its own, out of her control. And that wasn't good.

Quickly she changed into her training outfit, black sweatpants and a dark blue t-shirt, and then headed downstairs.

Siryn was in the room when she came there, but she was almost done, so Ana just hung outside and waited for her turn. Even through the heavy steel doors of the Danger Room she could hear Siryn's voice. It was, of course, heavily muffled, but it showed how loud it would be inside the room.

Siryn was a full-fledged member of the X-Men, and had been for years now. Her first outing had been that to Magneto's fortress while helping save Ana, but after that she'd been…well…banned from joining the team for two years, along with Jubilee. Which was just as good, because it gave them two years of preparing, of training, and both of the girls had proved their worth on the team these last three years. Not that Ana would know first handed, but so she was told at least.

A few words with Siryn later and Ana were standing in the middle of the Danger Room, surrounded by plain metal rooms. She hadn't bothered with any fancy programs today, she just wanted to get out some energy.

Since the first time she had used her powers she had learned a lot about them. How they worked, what she could do with them, how great her control was. There was still more to learn, more potential to tap into, but she was no amateur when it came to her own powers anymore, that were for sure.

She started the session with some almost meditative exercises. Often the problem seemed to be to keep the electricity under control, to keep it from bursting out and doing what it wanted to do. She had to work to keep it in just the intensity she wanted it, to make it move exactly like she wanted to.

With her eyes closed she brought forth a miniscule spark and made it travel over her hands in intricate patterns. If she lost her grip on it it would have flown freely into the room and hit something. That was the reason her room was filled with scorch marks. It seemed like there was always something disturbing her when she did these exercises in her room. Someone screaming outside in the hallway or knocking on her door or something like that. And it didn't take more for her to lose her concentration.

But now there were no disturbances. She opened her eyes and watched as she slowly let the spark split into two, and then four and so on until her body was covered in a net of electricity, moving around in lazy movements. It wasn't the cocoon she usually used, but a web of interlocking sparks. It wasn't about what the better defensive usage of power was, but what took the most control, demanded the most from her.

Slowly, while concentrating to keep it under her control, she let the web move away from her body, extending slowly into the room until she was standing under a dome of electricity.

The first hint of sweat broke out on her forehead as she lifted her arms and lifted the dome from the floor and straightened it until it was as if the roof was made of electricity, sparks intertwining so closely it looked like a single mass of electricity floating above her.

Most people didn't understand that this was what was hard, to keep it controlled. A sudden burst of electricity might look impressive, but it was easier than to keep it in a leash.

Ana bit down on her bottom lip and furrowed her brow in concentration as she brought the web together, folding and wrapping it up until it was a vibrant, glowing globe hanging about her head. It was massive, about the size of her room, but soon she made it contract upon itself. The light intensified as the globe grew smaller, wrapping up into a small ball about the size of a basketball.

Ana started lowering the ball towards herself, while still making it compacter until, by the time it reached her outstretched palms, was the size of a baseball. Ana wrapped her hands around it, and pressed her palms together, instantly killing off the electricity.

A smile tugged at her lips as she dried away the thin sheet of sweat covering her forehead. She'd done the exercise flawlessly, and was quite proud of herself. She took a deep breath before she continued, working more with the offensive aspects. Which mostly consisted of sending sparks of electricity flying throughout the room, creating waves of electricity and so forth.

When she felt completely drained she called it a night. She was exhausted and yearned to get back to her room and collapse on bed for a while, get some rest before she started on the stack of papers waiting on her desk. She couldn't put them off for much longer, the students should really get them back by the next lesson.

As she walked down the hallway towards her room she noticed a small bouquet of daisies that was places carefully up against the door to her room. A small white card was hanging from a pale green ribbon tied around the bouquet. Ana picked it up and went into her room, and as she closed the door behind her she turned the card around and read the words written on the back. Throughout the text several of the words had been crossed out, like the writer had been struggling to find the correct words, but the result was, in Ana's opinion, a very nice little note.

I grabbed these from the garden, please don't tell Ororo.

Thought you needed something to cheer you up,

with all the work you've been doing lately.

I was wondering if you would like to maybe go out sometime?

Dinner perhaps. Or lunch. Or whatever you feel like.

Get back to me if you want to.

It wasn't signed, but Ana recognised the wording and the hand writing, and a smile instantly flashed on her face. He really was too nice. The flowers were pretty, and the card very sweet. But, going out with him? She'd never considered that. She hadn't really thought about guys in that way since…well, since Warren. But that was five years ago now, maybe it was time to move on. Kitty had hinted to that on several occasions, that she should find some nice guy to go out with, have some fun. But Ana hadn't even wanted to think that thought. Somehow she found it disrespectful to Warren's memory. He was the love of her life, and she had been very much intending to keep it that way, to live in celibacy. She just hadn't been able to even imagine ever wanting someone else when she'd had the best guy there was.

But was that really what Warren would have wanted, to have her live alone forever? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go out with some guy. It would be a nice distraction from her rather boring life at least. And it wasn't like she had to marry him, it was just dinner after all. Or lunch. Or whatever she felt like.

She chuckled. That was just so typically him. The way he hadn't seemed to be able to find the right phrasing and kept stroking out words until he found the right ones, and the way he made it up to her what she wanted, if she wanted it. Absolutely no pressure, he knew her too well for that. He was such a sweetheart, he really was.

She twirled the small card around and around, occasionally throwing small glances down on it, rereading the words. She was nibbling on her bottom lip, suddenly not feeling tired at all anymore. She was more…giddy really. Excited even.

She dropped the card and the flowers on top of the chest of drawers and went to sit down on the chair standing next to the desk. She glanced over at the flowers while her hand went to the silver necklace around her neck. Her fingers rubbed against the silver wings hanging on the chain.

"You know I'll always love you, Warren," she whispered into the room. "I hope you wouldn't mind this, I really do."

She let the necklace fall from her fingers to lie back against her neck. She would never forget him, no matter how many years passed by, but she needed to live in the present, not just the past. She knew Warren would have understood, she just knew.

She decided that she would say yes to go out for dinner, but first, first she had papers to grade.

THE END

A/N: So, this was the ending to Struck by Lightning, even if I can't really believe it. I started writing in back in March 2007, and now it's November 2008. I have no idea how many hours I've spent on it, but I've enjoyed it so much, even if it has caused my trouble from time to time. It was the very first piece of fanfiction I started writing, and the idea was pretty much to see if I actually managed to write fanfiction at all. I had the vague idea of creating an OC with electric powers, and have her and Warren share their first kiss in a dark room, with electricity surging between their lips. Their first kiss didn't turn out that way, but I did write it in the chapter Static Electricity though.

But as I wrote the story just grew, and I got more ideas that I wanted to incorporate in it. I liked the character Ana Manning more and more as I wrote, and it's not secret that I love Warren too. I never had planned to kill him, but it was just how it ended up. And believe me, it was so sad! I regretted it several times, but in the end I think it turned out the way it should turn out. Sometimes the stories just take on a life of their own, and you have to go with the flow. I never thought it would end up this long, and the estimates I've had during the story has turned out to be pretty wrong, since it's now somewhere around 119 000 words or something. Something that is easily the longest story I've ever written.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has reviewed the story, it has meant so much to me, and without you I would never had the inspiration to finish it. And to everyone who has read the story, if you've reviewed or not, I do hope you have enjoyed it! :D

Well, I'm off to new projects; I've got loads of stories to write. Thanks for reading, love you all.

Mia

PS: And if you are wondering who it was Ana got the flowers from, well, I'm going to leave that open for your speculations. I'm evil like that, I know.