Eight hours of sleep, and she was almost beginning to feel human again.

Renee opened her eyes and blinked tiredly, awaking to the frigid cold of the room that she knew to be Quasi's sleeping nook in their tower. Her body felt heavy again. She blinked again and struggled to sit up, trying to focus her gaze more than a few feet from herself as her sight slowly returned. How long had she been asleep? From what she could tell of the bedroom around her, the room was beginning to darken. She raised a pale hand and rubbed away the sleep that clung still to her eyes. Renee groaned, finally fully aware of the stiffness that had settled in her bones and her joints. Yet, she did not wish to move. Stillness felt too welcoming. So, she settled back and allowed her head to burrow deeper into the pillow that lay beneath her head, turning just so that her right cheek nestled within the downy fluffiness. Her eyes drifted shut, welcoming the beginnings of sleep again. She did not realize how tired she was until she had fallen into the oblivion of darkness from pain.

A sudden intake of breath, one that was not her own and sounded like a low groan, startled her awake, her pale gray orbs flashing wide. Immediately, she searched for the source of the sound, her eyes flitting across the dimly lit room, still unable to sit fully upright. "Renee?" he questioned; his eyes still half-lidded from sleep. Still not releasing her hand, he lifted his free hand and slowly let it ghost down the features of his face, the tips of his fingers hovering over his scar.

Suddenly, just as his hand reached the tip of the gash, his hand suddenly stilled, and his eyes widened a fraction in realization.

"Renee!" He immediately dropped his hand from his face and shifted his stool closer to the head of the bed so he could vacate his seat and instead sit on the bed. "Do you want to sit up?" he asked gently, his voice soft. She nodded. "Here," he answered simply, fluffing the pillows and gingerly helping her to sit up. She did not protest as he joined her on the bed, holding her in his strong arms. If anything, she liked it this way much better. He lifted his free hand that was not currently wrapped around her waist and smoothed her bangs back away from her forehead, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek. "You're awake," he said, sounding immensely relieved. He was gazing at her as if he had never seen anything quite like her before, like…like she was the most beautiful thing in all the world. "Thank God. I thought…that I'd lost you. You're alive," he cried.

Renee grinned widely and returned his kiss, unable to help but laugh when she pulled away, noticing his face that was much too pale for her liking. "I am."

It was all she could say, really. Quasi suddenly frowned, stilling his hand that had found purchase in the back of her hair, absentmindedly playing with a few of her strands, his expression falling from joyful to pensive, his eyebrows furrowing. "Love, please talk to me," she pleaded, still struggling with her arm. Whoever had tucked her in made sure that getting free was almost neigh impossible. She grunted in frustration with one of the sheets. She was well and truly trapped without help. "Please, Quasi, just tell me what's wrong! I—I can help you, but you must let me in. Talk to me, honey. What's wrong?"

A strong arm suddenly shot out and wrapped underneath her shoulders, lifting her up and pulling her right shoulder into the crook of another. The hand that clutched her own in an iron-like grip let go for only a moment, only to be replaced with the other, his left where she could still see the poor man was trembling. Hard. Renee let out a tiny squeak as she found herself free of the covers from the waist up and clutched firmly in Quasi's hold, her head tucked just underneath his chin, his chin resting on top of her hair. She sat still for a moment, bewildered. Then, though not fully understanding why her intended was in such a state, she freed her hand from his and wrapped both arms around his neck, combing one of her hands through his coarse red hair on the back of his neck in a way that was sending a pleasant tremor down his spine, what little comfort she could provide to him in this moment, she would do whatever it took. She whispered soothing remarks in his ear and gently rubbed small circles on the small of his back, trying to relay as much comfort as she could, in the hopes of calming his distress and quelling his sadness.

It should have come to her as no surprise, really, Renee realized. They both had been through so much in the past few days.

It was a wonder, a true ordinary miracle that they had survived. Hot tears soaked through the shoulder of her ruined wedding dress she was wearing. Renee briefly wondered if she had any spare clothes, but for now decided to let it go. He needed the comfort. Quasi had gone to such lengths to care for her, to protect her, and it only seemed right that she tries to do the same for him.

After all, she loved him and hurt to see him in such pain. So, she held him firmly to her and rubbed circles into the small of his back and his shoulder and stroked his hair, whispering that she was fine, and all was well, though she had trouble believing her own words.

She needed to hold him and love and let him know that no matter what, she would not abandon him. He needed her, just as she needed him. They would get through this and be stronger for it. "Oh, my love," she whispered. Renee was unable to prevent her voice from cracking and she inwardly winced at the sound. "I'm right here. I am here. I'm not leaving you, beloved. I am safe. Alice is safe, so is Adam, and you are safe, Quasi." She felt his fingers grip almost painfully tight on her waist, clutching onto the back of her dress for support. Another sob found its way through him and he shook violently. She could not tell if it was fear or relief or sorrow, he was feeling. Perhaps a combination of all three, plus more. He had gone through so much the last few days.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered hoarsely into the shell of her ear, still wrapped in her embrace, not willing or perhaps he was unable to let go of her, for fear she would vanish right before his eyes. His voice was trembling, and his body was still shaking. "All of this. I'm sorry!"

With her head still tucked firmly under his chin, Renee shook it disagreement. "Quasi, please don't. There is nothing to apologize for. None of this was your fault, not for an instant."

He must have disagreed with her because his next words sent chills of fear through her, rendering her blood to ice. "But it is!" he snapped, feeling the very anger seep into his tones. She pulled back slightly and craned her neck upwards to look her love in the eyes. "I—if you had not known me, none of this would have happened. You would not be hurt, because of me! You would be better off without me!" he shouted, fresh tears spilling down his face now as he spoke.

"Stop this!" she admonished; her voice came out far sharper than she intended. Renee pulled away and though she knew he needed to hold her; she was not going to let him talk to her like this. She looked up as his red, tear-stained face and the sight nearly had her reeling back in tears of her own. Yet she held them back. For his sake. "How dare you speak to me like that?" she yelled, brushing away her own tears with a sharp flick of her finger. Renee did not realize how shocked and hurt she was until she heard the wounded tone in her normally quiet, shy voice. "You saved my life tonight. Were it not for you, I would be dead, Quasi…"

If her words had any effect on him, Quasi did not let it show. A fact that was beginning to frighten her. "I would rather you never have known me than to have you laying here injured and ill because of my existence," he spat bitterly. Now his tone was full of self-loathing.

It felt as if Renee's heart forgot how to beat and the icy feeling from before returned tenfold. She gazed at him, wide-eyed in shock and horror. "Excuse me? W—what are you saying? You don't mean that!"

"Your life," he said quietly, encircling both his arms around her in his protective embrace and reached up one of his hands to tuck a wisp of blonde hair behind her ear, smiling softly at her, though it did not reach his eyes. "Means more to me than my own miserable existence, Renee. Knowing me has only caused you great pain and hardship. I swore to myself that I would be cautious, that I would not be careless and allow Frollo to hurt you." He paused painfully, tears welling up in his blue eyes once more, and, at this moment, he lifted his head to meet her piercing gaze. "But I was not able to. I failed you. What kind of husband would I be to you if I cannot—"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there!" she shouted, willing for him to stay this madness, to stop talking crazy, but he cut her off.

"NO!" he shouted firmly, his eyes ablaze with anger. "It was because of me that you are hurt! Because I exist, you almost died! I don't deserve to have you in my life!"

The young woman gazed at him in bewildered shock for several moments. She looked as though he had slapped her, understanding just what his words meant but choosing rather not to believe them. Then, for perhaps the first time in her life, Renee felt genuine anger and fury towards him. She was angry with him.

"Don't you dare!" she growled, her blue eyes blazing. She clenched her fists so tightly, the skin of her knuckles turning bone white. "Don't you dare speak to me like that! After everything that has happened, how can you still think you are the cause of what happened here tonight? Jehan Frollo is dead, you're safe, and I am alive. That is good enough for me."

"Renee," he tried to placate, reaching for one of her hands. Yet she pulled away from him, far too angry with him to be soothed.

"What was I supposed to have done? Allow him to kill you? Just stand by and watch?" she sobbed, shaking her head no. "I—I care about you too much to just stand by and watch someone hurt you. Why can you not understand that I did what I did because I love you?" she protested, burying her head in his chest and sobbing. "I'm with you because I love you. We're starting a new life together, you and I, because we love each other. You can't deny that."

"Because I cannot lose you again. You've given me no other choice," he replied softly, no longer looking at her. Instant guilt flooded her, and Renee looked away and hung her head in shame for making such a fuss. Yet, at the same time, she knew it had to be this way.

"Quasi," she said slowly, raising her head, her expression much gentler and her tone no longer harsh. She leaned forward and carefully cradled his head in her hands, gently guiding him to look her in the eyes. "I am alive. I'm safe, for now," she added, scrunching her nose as a twinge of white-hot pain shot up her injured side.

Then he lifted his blue eyes to her, and with the greatest of ease, took both her wrists in his hands and pried them away from his face.

Turning the pale, tiny appendages in his hands, he said, "All my life, I have been told that the world would never see me for anything more than a monster. A creature of darkness, one content to spend his life in the shadows. How is it that you saw past that?"

Renee opened her mouth to explain, to give him the answers he sought, yet he shook his head, implying he was not yet finished.

"When I caught you, just before you…almost fell," Quasi continued, his voice cracking and tears welling from the corners of his eyes again. He reached across the space that divided them and drew her close to him, closing off the gap and folded his arms around her. "It was the most frightening experience of my life. "I could not bear a world without you, Renee Elizabeth Barreau, and never ask me to. Do not ask that of me, ever, for that is something I will not do."

His intended sighed softly and burrowed her face in his chest, holding onto him just as tightly.

"You do not have to anymore, beloved. I am right here with you still. I will not abandon you. Ever. You, my love, are stuck with me until old age claims us after many years of wedded bliss, and even into the afterlife, what follows that, I will always be right by your side," she whispered, teasing him a little.

As soon as the last syllable escaped her lips, they found themselves locked in a kiss. The tender touch they shared made the room around them disappear. There was not anything else in the world except the burning flame of their love. Something about this feeling made them both feel like everything would be okay in the end. When they broke apart, they rested each other's foreheads against the other and just sat on the bed, just holding each other. For how long, who could say? They did not speak, just sat together with their arms wrapped around the other, relaying comfort and love in the only way they knew how.


Two months since the battle's end, and Phoebus found himself in a place where he never wanted to go again. Yet somehow, his feet knew the way. He went inside the Bastille prison, slow and stealthily. The air inside was different, cold, and for a moment, the young werewolf was unable to put his finger on why.

Then it occurred to him. The smell of sweat was gone, there was no sound of people, nothing but the eerie silence. But that wasn't the worst of it. This place was just walls, cells. Here, he could feel the icy grip of death.

"You're here," he growled, coming to a halt outside the prisoner's cell. The time in prison had not been kind to Dax. He'd lost weight since his imprisonment, and his prison robes hung off his form. "You…"

"So," drawled Dax, sounding bored. "You came after all. To see me, valiant Captain Phoebus. Why is that, I wonder….?"

"Yes." Phoebus froze, his hands curled into a tight fist in an interior pocket of his cloak, hovering over the hilt of his sword. His fingers were twitching as he fought to restrain the urge. "Tell me why," he demanded urgently. "Why you did…"

The prisoner was bound differently from the rest, for he had on his legs a chain so long that it wound all the way around his bulky form. His wrists bound by manacles and there was no way Dax was going to leave the Bastille alive in one piece.

Dax chuckled lowly, crouching in the shadows of his prison cell.

"I am a person," he said, feeling his voice go dangerously quiet. "Or I was one once, a person, a being with scars and bruises all over my body, red trickly blood running down my sides. The very picture of misery the minute I was born I think," he growled, baring his canines, and revealed his yellowing, rotten gums to Phoebus, whose face blanched, but he did not avert his gaze. He'd come all this way now; he couldn't very well lose his nerve.

Dax continued. "My kind said time could heal things. But I never healed, or even became better. I'm nothing more than a visionary with a dream," he growled, and he lifted his chin to meet Phoebus's gaze. "I don't care what you think of me as long as you obey me, boy. I know I have odd methods, but they work. I know what life should be like and I understand that many things and creatures are inferior to me. In my position it is simply mercy. I know if I don't save them with the wonders of death. they will die in the horror of life. Some people are born good and always fight off the bad. Some people are born bad and become good through great effort. Others are born in light and fall to darkness. And others are born in darkness and cannot see the light. Try as you might to believe otherwise, everyone fits into one of those categories. Which one are you? Are you good or bad? Light or dark? An angel or a demon? I know what I am. When I came of age, I realized the life ahead of me was one of anger, pain and hatred. Of darkness. Did I want that? Yeah. I did. I grew up surrounded by fire and ash and poison and death. It was the only thing I knew, so of course I wanted it. I was never taught what love was. What kindness was. In fact, in my entire childhood I think I saw just one type of smile - a smile full of malice and cruel intent, from both my parents."

Phoebus felt his body start to tremble uncontrollably. He had not come here to listen to Dax's sob story. "You harmed Renee. Threatened not one, but two caretakers of Notre Dame. You almost killed her."

Dax frowned. "Who?" he asked, feigning innocence, and that was all it took.

White knuckled from clenching his fist too hard, and gritted teeth from his effort to remain silent, Phoebus's tense form exuded an animosity that was like acid—burning, slicing, and utterly potent. His face was white with suppressed rage, and he mentally snapped. Legend says that for someone who was a soldier, one capable of taking lives, like Phoebus was, that their hearts died in their chest cavities long ago, and that was how they became killers and perhaps why. The wise women of the northern isle, and those in other parts of France said the emptiness was their madness. That someone like Phoebus took a life repeatedly, as if he thought that would allow him to possess a heart and soul again following the loss of his wife, yet it was never so. To be healed, they said, someone pure had to love each of them, to reform their heart as if it was the finest of clay, then set it to beating with pure nature's essence.

So, until Phoebus could find such a being to forgive all that he had done wrong in life, he would do this one last job.

"But only one, and then I'm retiring," he swore through gritted teeth. "Good," he whisper-hissed through gritted teeth, the cold steel of his blade came swiftly out of his sheath and was buried in Dax's stomach right to the hilt. Phoebus look at his stupid, surprised eyes and gave it a twist for good measure. He shoved Dax as he rolled to one side. The young man groaned and gurgled as he bled out, his skin graying as the light and life force slowly left his eyes. "Now, then," growled Phoebus, pulling up a chair, pulling it up to sit next to him. "I suppose, I could be cruel and torture you before you I kill you," Phoebus stated calmly, intertwining his fingers and leaning forward in his chair. "Considering what you did to my friends, there's no question in my mind that it would be appropriate."

"However," Phoebus sighed, almost sounding bored. "Unfortunately, I'm not as vulgar as you. So, I think I'll just sit here and watch until you've taken your last miserable breath. Judging by your wounds, I'd say you have about five minutes at best. I dedicate these last few minutes of your miserable, wretched life to Renee Elizabeth Barreau. May she at last find peace, and so should you."

Dax struggled to say something, but the blood coating the back of his throat like a thick slime made it difficult for the man to breathe.

True to his word, Phoebus's face was the last thing he saw before he died.

Hell was nothing like Dax had imagined, but then he'd never felt such a pain in all his life, so, how could he? Pain had been something for his victims and how he'd loved seeing it radiated from their eyes and their stretched wide mouths screaming into the empty fields. He had never believed in God, in heaven or hell, but idly he had wondered why this omnipotent being didn't stop him. Perhaps this was a God of war, of pain and suffering, perhaps he was to be honored in the next life.

He had liked that thought. On his death he was not given a choice of punishment, instead God bestowed upon him perfect clarity- the ability to understand as a God does the suffering inflicted on his victims, the pain of their loved ones and the pain of God Himself. He understood in that brilliant flash that God can only act through the willing heart and mind. Dax fell, begging for ignorance, amnesia or a chance to right his wrongs but God was gone, underfoot was a grassy field, screams rent the air...

Satisfied that the man who had caused them so much heartache and strife over the last several months, Phoebus rose from his chair, his white king's guard cloak billowing in the breeze. He spat at the man's feet on his way out, not looking back.

His work here was finished.


A single gold leaf pirouetted down an invisible spiral of breeze, spinning through the air as it let itself be carried. It shook slightly, as it could have been whisked away any moment by the grip of the wind, but it remained its course. It blew past Renee's face and landed lightly on the ground, the vibrant color standing out against the ambers and bronzes of its brethren beneath it.

It's so delicate. Renee wanted to reach down and pick it up, hold it close to her heart, smooth out any creases, but something whispered to her, telling her it belonged there, this corpse of what was once summer. Let it rest here. She fidgeted lovingly with the gold engraved wedding band she was to place on Quasi's finger in a short while.

At last, the day she'd dreamed of was finally here. The young woman glanced at her reflection in the mirror in the bell tower and she smiled. Alice and Jeanne outdid themselves by helping me today. I don't know what I'd have done without those two by my side, helping me every step of the way.

The nuns had helped Renee slave over her wedding dress for what felt like two weeks, perfecting it until it could be perfected no more, and perfect for her. Her wedding gown was made of satin and chiffon, embellished with glass beads, pearls, and crystals. The beads were used along the edges of the neckline to highlight Renee's elegant neckline and enhance the v shape of the gown, which flattered her petite figure wonderfully.

The dress's bodice was finished with delicate hand beading of glass seed beads over the gathers, two brooches, and a drop belt that also was beaded with the crystals and pearls she'd managed to obtain from Clopin. Renee twirled once, admiring how the skirts of the gown flowed and breathed with her movements. Her wedding gown's elegant chiffon sleeves were fitted to the elbows and then fluted to the wrists and into a draping point. The dress had a lace-up back and a foot-long train.

It's perfect for me, she thought, beaming. Simple and elegant, but still beautiful, she mused, looking radiant. Alice and Jeanne had fussed over her to no end, ensuring she was up at the crack of dawn before her future husband even roused from his sleep, insisting she bathe and the two cousins had dabbed lavender and jasmine onto her neck to soothe her nerves. Alice had fussed over her hair, trimming her blonde tresses so that not a wisp was out of place or uneven, and Jeanne had found for her a beautiful gold headpiece adorned with tiny ornate leaves. Where Jeanne had found it, she didn't know.

I thought Adam was going to come running. Alice cussed up a storm earlier when she put it on me, she thought, bemused as she remembered the swear words filling the tower as the nun fussed with the headpiece, taking precautions to make sure it stayed intact with Renee's hair as short as it was. But it's beautiful.

Her pale skin was flawless, her pink lips covered with a gentle salve, enhancing their fullness. The dress was perfect, the white slippers Alice had found for her still hurt, given that the scars on her feet were still healing, but...

Hopefully, I won't have to wear them for long, she thought, stifling a groan as she slipped into them.

"Milady," came Phoebus's voice, interrupting her thoughts. "My apologies. I did not mean to interrupt. I just thought you'd like to know, any and all men who were serving under Jehan's employment with knowing of the man's crimes have been arrested, including Dax."

Phoebus cringed, hating that he had to lie to the one woman whom he considered very much a friend, but he knew she would disapprove of the actions he had taken.

It's why he'd told no one. Not even Esmeralda. The only one who knew what he had done was his horse, Achilles, and Djali, Esmeralda's cantankerous old goat.

She nodded. As soon as the man had smiled at her, Dax, she'd known he was the one who had been following her all those weeks, watching her.

The Watcher, she thought darkly, suppressing a growl. Fitting name.

"The man is dead, both him and Jehan, milady, nothing more than a shadow in the shape of a man. Good riddance to him," spoke up Phoebus's gruff voice from the tower's doorway, looking battered and beaten, but his spirit somehow seemed alive, as if this was what he was made for. "As far as we're concerned, your future husband is the rightful heir to Lord Geoffroi Frollo's estate, milady, what is left of it, should you or he want or have need for it," he said solemnly, stepping forward. "I could serve you, Renee, if you would have me. You have courage, milady. Not battle courage, but a woman's kind of courage. I think that when the time comes, you'll know. I will shield your back and give my life for yours if it comes to that," he said, kneeling at Renee's feet.

"When the time comes, I will not hold you back, Phoebus," she replied. "I vow here and now that you and your family shall always have a place at my home and at my table, and that I shall ask no service of you that might bring your dishonor. I swear it by the old gods and the new," she said solemnly, helping the golden-haired self-proclaimed Sun God rise to his feet and glancing around at the city of Paris from the balcony.

She waved a shy goodbye to Phoebus as he made his way downstairs to join his wife. Renee stepped out onto the tower balcony to bask in the glow of the late autumn afternoon, not afraid of being seen.

Somewhere below, Quasi was sitting with either Adam or Archdeacon Mathias, already ready. She grinned to herself as she turned over Quasi's ring in her palm, fingering it lovingly.

"You can come out now," she called, stifling a smile as a low scraping sound reached her ears. She rose her voice to ensure Quasi's stone gargoyles heard every word. Victor, Hugo, and Laverne, she thinks, and she hopes she got their names correct. "I promise, I won't bite!" she grinned, finally shifting in her seats to regard the now-alive stone gargoyles, a wry smile on her face. "Can't you speak?" she teased, blue eyes twinkling at their dumbfounded looks.

The female gargoyle was the first to recover. "Laverne." The old gargoyle statue scowled as a flock of pigeons landed on her horns. She raised her hands in exasperation and shook an annoyed fist at the birds. Renee shoved her knuckles into her mouth to keep from erupting into a bought of inappropriate laughter at the stone statue. "Get away from me, go on, you bunch of buzzards!" Laverne yelled.

"Victor," piped up the more regal-looking of the three.

"Hugo," added the shorter, plumper one, munching on a grape.

The statue called Laverne noticed their companion's rude eating habits in front of their son's future wife and frowned, thumping him upside the head. "Do you ever stop eating?" she bellowed, exasperated.

Hugo, meanwhile, was not listening.

But to their surprise, Renee held up a hand to quell the arguing. "It's fine," she giggled, scooting her chair over. "So, you do talk! I— I've known you've been alive for quite a while now, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to know of your existence, so I didn't pester Quasi."

"Well, excuse us for having personality," squawked Laverne indignantly, folding her thin stone arms across her chest. "We, that is to say, Quasi and us, have been friends for years! Of course, we can talk!"

"Over a decade of comradery!" Victor chimed in happily. "We merely wished to congratulate you on your upcoming ceremony."

"You're perfect for the kid, you know," the one called Hugo chimed up through a mouthful of...whatever it was he happened to be eating.

Renee beamed. "Yes, I am," she agreed, a note of pride in her voice that she didn't try to hide.

Why should I? I'm perfect for him.

"Our son will give you a great life here in the cathedral," spoke up the female gargoyle, her tone proud and the look in her eyes regal. "We're grateful he has you." Renee smiled and opened her mouth to speak further but was interrupted by the carrying voices of Alice and Jeanne.

She suppressed the urge to playfully roll her eyes as the gargoyles quickly slunk back into the shadows, where they belonged and where they were comfortable. She chuckled, biting her knuckles as she fought back her laughter as the two cousins argued up the tower steps. Renee focused her attention on the city of Paris; the autumn leaves of the trees in mid-October beautiful.

The blonde took a moment to reflect on her relationship with her soon-to-be-husband in an hour.

When he looks at me, it's as if every ounce of breath is taken from my lungs, floating into the air like midnight smoke. Every time he kisses me, it feels like the world up here stops, leaving just the two of us to wander it together. Every time he holds my face between his hands, it feels like he's slowly untying my knots. Holding me for all eternity in the arms I've grown accustomed to. This is what falling in love is like, a story I never want to end. For so long had I longed for it, and now I can't bear to lose it, to lose this thing I have with Quasi that makes me feel so complete.

She smiled shyly at Alice and Jeanne as they stepped out on the balcony, looking years younger than the blonde had ever seen them, radiant as ever and squealing in delight as they exclaimed over her wedding gown. Renee turned her attention back watching the colorful myriad of fall trees, her elbows on the railing and her head resting in her hands.

I'm in love with him. He never leaves my mind; he's always there, mentally if not physically. It's just incomprehensible. He's my one stable force in a world full of chaos and cruelty. I thought I'd lost him so many times. First to Jehan, then he was almost killed, and now, he's mine. This feeling of love, it's so strange. It stretches throughout my entire body. It's overwhelming at times, yet it makes me feel complete. It's just absolute, with no bound nor length nor depth. It just…is. Being in love with Quasi, it feels as though someone has given peace, at last. It's strange, frightening, even, that I can go from being a complete stranger to Notre Dame's bell ringer, to then being completely enamored with him, and now I'm wondering how it was that I was ever able to live without him, because I sure as hell can't imagine being without him now. I know we're still young, he and I, and most would consider me naïve and foolish, but it's true when I say that I love him more than myself. Quasi, I love you.

Renee jolted out of her thoughts, a dreamy look on her face as she only half listened to Jeanne as she dragged her in front of a mirror.

She barely recognized the beauty in the mirror. Jeanne had outdone herself. "You look like a queen," Jeanne replied.

"Our boy won't be able to take his eyes or his hands off you," chimed in Alice, her blue eyes misting slightly. The tart-tongued nun couldn't resist adding in a quip of her own. "Don't expect to be walking for at least a few days after tonight, after our boy's done with you," she laughed.

Renee scrunched her nose and stuck out her tongue, but she was smiling. "Thank you," Renee whispered nervously. She restlessly paced the bell tower's balcony, careful not to drop Quasi's ring. She fingered it lovingly with gentle fingers. "Were it not for you two, I don't know where I'd be."

"Think nothing of it, child," Alice spoke up softly. "Too long has our boy been alone. He's like a son to us. We've waited over twenty years for him to find his peace, his own sense of normalcy. Jeanne and I were starting to wonder if the boy would ever find a young woman to spend the rest of his life with. The two of us both know there's no one better suited for him than you, girl. He loves you with all his heart; we can see it when he looks at you. It's in his eyes. Too long has he lived in the darkness, hoping to live in the light, but now that he has you, he can. We cannot thank you enough for what you've done for him, the happiness you've brought into his life. God knows he deserves it. So, do you, and—oh, it looks like your handsome escort is here," she teased, winking at Adam as their priest walked out onto the balcony, his black monk's habit crisp and neat. His dark hair, freshly shorn was slightly tousled and his face still drained of color, but he was looking well.

He walked with a slight limp, a result of the brawl at the Palace of Justice and would always have the limp and the scar around his shoulder, but he was alive. "Well, Adam, you're looking well. I take it your old friend Sophia's been taking…care of you, no doubt," she laughed.

Adam smiled playfully, nodding. "She's the best," he complimented warmly, the note of affection in his tone unmistakable. Jeanne playfully swatted Adam on the shoulder, cackling slightly as he winced at the pain, but he rolled eyes and scoffed at the nuns. Alice winked at him and sighed. "Come on, Jeanne, we'd better get down there. Our boy will have our heads if we're late to see him before the ceremony starts soon, and we don't want to be on the receiving end of his temper, do we? That's a hard no from me. Besides, we don't want to miss our shot to see how handsome the boy looks tonight. I want to see what he chose to wear for this, I've got to know," she teased.

Adam had eyes only for Renee. He turned and grinned at Alice. "I think you'll be pleased by what he picked," he teased.

"You don't suppose Quasi found your wine stash, do you?" Jeanne asked, suddenly looking shocked.

"The boy better not have," she growled darkly. "We taught him better than that. He knows full well not to drink tonight, he'll want to remember his wedding night."

"Oh, hell, if he and Sophia found it, we can kiss our stash goodbye, Al. It's no secret the midwife can drink us under the table. If she found it, it's already gone. We'll have to get more."

Renee burst into delighted laughter. She reached up on her toes to kiss Alice and Jeanne on the cheek. "Go on," she urged quietly. "Go see Quasi like I know you both want to. Get down there before he comes up here looking for you. I will be fine," she reassured. "Adam is here with me, after all," she complimented, winking at their priest.

Alice snorted and rolled her eyes as she looked at Adam. The priest blanched at the gesture as she met his eyes. Tell her how you feel when we leave. Before it's too late. If you don't, you'll regret not doing it for the rest of your life, Adam. You know I'm right. Jeanne tugged on Alice's sleeve, dragging her away down the north bell tower steps as they left to go find the bell ringer, their wicked laughter filling the loft's space.

Renee continued fidgeting with Quasi's wedding band. Adam sensed her nervousness, for his smile was warm. "Come here, my love, and let me look at you," he said delightedly, his soothing quiet French accent a melody to her ears. "You look beautiful. You're gorgeous. I cannot put your beauty into words. Our bell ringer is an incredibly lucky man," he said wistfully, although there was heartbreak in his brilliant blue eyes. Renee nodded, walking carefully to not trip over her dress's hem. The dress was perfect for her. She could tell by the way Adam was eyeing her that he cared greatly for her, and if she wasn't mistaken, and she usually wasn't, just the briefest flickers of jealousy passed through his orbs. But just as quickly as it had come, it was gone.

"Thank you, Adam," she beamed. Renee leaned over the balcony railing, relishing the beauty of Paris in the fall. If she looked closely, she could see Sophia dressed in a beautiful purple gown playing with Djali and giving the cranky old goat affection. Paris's best midwife and a lifelong friend of Adam's, a young brunette by the name of Sophia, sensing someone was watching, craned her neck up and spotted Adam and Renee and waved. "You care for her, don't you?" she asked warmly, resting her head in her hands as she leaned her elbows on the railing for support. "It's in your eyes. You love her."

"I do," Adam admitted, looking pained. "More than anything, but I…I have something I need to say, Renee. Let me speak, please."

"I'm here," she reassured him softly, instinctively reaching for his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

He smiled warmly and pulled her in for a tight hug, bringing his lips to her cheek for a gentle kiss. "My brother is incredibly fortunate and lucky to have you, Renee. I wish that I could have told you sooner…" but he trailed off.

"Thank you, Adam, for this," Renee replied, her gray eyes twinkling as she held his face in her hands, caressing his cheeks. "I can't do this without you by my side. You've been there for you me from the very beginning, ever since I arrived here a few months ago, it was you."

Adam was looking pained, an expression that did not become him at all. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of you," he confessed, reaching up to scratch at an itch behind his ear as he collapsed into a nearby chair. "Come, sit. You and I should talk. There's something I have to say, and it needs to be said. I've thought for a long time on how to tell you, but…"

"I know what you're going to say," she whispered softly.

"You look like you're about to pass out, love," Adam said hurriedly, a worried expression on his face. "We still have a while yet before the ceremony starts. I know it's an intimate ceremony, but still, is it the waiting that's doing this to you? Renee, you look like you're going to be sick!" She nodded mutely. "I imagine the waiting gets to you after a while. After all," he added, glancing around at the magnificent loft, "You've been up here all day. That would get to anyone after a time, I would think. Here, sit."

Renee smiled wryly as he gently guided her to the chair next to him. "Thank you, Adam," she muttered gratefully, reaching across for his hand to give it a gentle squeeze. "I'm grateful that you're here with me, my friend."The priest noticed her nervous habit of fingering the gold ring as she twirled it in her hand between her fingers, careful not to drop it.

"This ring was mine, you know. Both, actually. A long time ago. Has he said anything?"

Oh, my God. Renee froze. I—I had no idea!

"What?" she asked, stunned, her eyes growing wide.

Adam had never once mentioned his past to her, and Quasi had never said anything about where he'd gotten their rings. She'd just assumed he'd bought them in the marketplace. It was in this moment that Renee realized she'd misinterpreted Adam's actions, his words, his expressions for so many weeks…as if he'd been speaking a language she couldn't understand. The moment her words left her was the moment her heart broke into a million pieces and shattered. Yet, it was a good breaking, the type that led to healing and new ways onward. Sometimes, the loss of words says everything. Renee hesitated. "You've never talked about it, Adam. Are you sure you want to tell me? If you don't want to talk about it, I—I understand, I won't pressure you to talk about it."

"No, no, that's quite all right, love. It's my choice to tell you. You deserve to hear the truth from me, rather than a garbled version from…others," he growled darkly, and she knew he was thinking of Alice and Jeanne.

"Alice and Jeanne never said a word, I swear. And…" Renee hesitated, not wanting to tread into sensitive territory. I've seen the way you look at me. I know in your own way that you love me, but we both know it was never meant to be. I—I cannot do that to you, or to Quasi. I'm—I'm sorry," she apologized, looking pained. "And besides," she added, glancing down to where Sophia lingered, chatting up a storm with Alice and Jeanne on the steps. "There's someone you love even more than me," she whispered, her voice cracking. She fought it back and smiled warmly, hoping it was enough to cheer him up.

Adam let out a kind laugh. "Sophia. No, you're not wrong that I care deeply for Sophia, and there is a huge part of my soul that loves her, but if I remain as a priest, I cannot act on my urges. Besides, I don't want to ruin what Sophia and I have by getting romantically involved, I value our friendship too much. Of course, those two never said anything. I warned them not to, it's not their business to tell, it's always been mine. It always has been, I'm afraid." The cousins knew it was never their place to talk to Renee of Adam's past. He would always have to be the one to divulge his past. It was his story, after all.

"What happened to you, Adam?" she asked quietly.

He sighed and took a deep breath, not wanting to talk about it, but he owed his friend's soon-to-be-wife this kindness after all she'd done for him, and to him. You taught me how to love again, he thought, shocked. "I had a wife once. I grew up in Saint Paul de Vance, Sophia and I…we were friends in our younger days, and I might even have married her first, if I hadn't…if I hadn't met Hanna. If I ever leave the priesthood, Sophia would be the one I'd want to marry, but I… that's not the point. Hanna and Charlotte."

Renee leaned forward in her chair, attentive and sharp to his life story. What happened to you, Adam?

"Hanna was…a lot like you, Renee. You look like her, in so many ways; it's almost frightening for me. I know in some ways, my love for you, it—"

"I remind you of her," she finished, her voice wavering. "I knew there was something, the way you'd look at me when you'd think I wasn't looking. Sophia would get this look in her eyes, too."

He nodded, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "Yes."

"Why didn't you say something, Adam?" she prodded.

Adam looked surprised. "You never asked," he asked, perplexed at the blonde's look of surprise. He laughed quietly. "I would have told you had you asked, my dear."

"But I…never mind," she mumbled, ashamed. Never had Renee noticed how time was so much like water. That it can pass slowly, a drop at a time, even freezes, or rushes by in the blink of an eye before you even knew what was happening. At this moment, time seemed to slow immensely as Adam struggled to find his words. The colors were brighter, the air colder. All the while her insides felt as if there were nothing there at all.

"You and Hanna have the same face, the same eyes." Adam paused and swallowed hard. "She was fair, kind, and gentle. Too sweet for her own good. She liked to see the world with her other senses, not just her eyes. Hanna loved the trees, the forest, and the flowers. She never met an animal she didn't like. She loved being outside. Hanna's curiosity was infectious. I—I was captivated by her. I was lucky in that she returned my affections. Our families would not allow us to be together. I came from a prominent family. My father was a moneylender and a good one at that. She was the daughter of a poor miller in a nearby village. I went there one day to collect on a debt, and Hanna, God bless her, during all the fighting, she offered me a single drink of water and wasn't moved by her father's threats and obscenities. She offered herself as payment of the debt in full. I didn't know what to think of her at first, but she went with me. We married and we stayed that way for two years. Two wonderful, beautiful years I couldn't get enough of."

Renee couldn't help but notice Adam's eyes brimming with sadness. She reached out a trembling hand and held his hand, squeezing it tight. He returned the gesture desperately, needing comfort. She could tell it had been ages since he'd brought it up.

"My parents insisted I marry a noblewoman," he continued. "They found out what I had done and said I was not to see the miller's daughter ever again. I didn't listen. I took Hanna and we ran. We knew it was wrong, that our families would be unforgiving, but we didn't listen. We couldn't help it. We were in love."

"What happened?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Seeing the heartbreak in his eyes was almost too much for her to bear. Renee was barely holding back her own tears as it was.

"They caught us," he replied bitterly. "She'd had a baby."

Icy dread crept over her and loomed there. Oh, God. No… "What?" she cried, shocked. "You never said."

Adam swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. "They took me outside in the middle of the night. Her father and mine had found me in the marketplace and followed me home without me realizing it. My father locked Hanna and Sophia inside our house and took my daughter and me outside. My father killed our baby girl and buried the body, forcing me to watch as he did it. He—he bashed her head in against a tree. Hanna committed suicide when it—after it happened, that very night. She hung herself. I—I didn't know what to do. I couldn't save her in time to stop her from doing it. Sophia couldn't stop her, either. It was too late for Hanna. I—know Sophia still blames herself for what happened, if she could have gotten there, she could have stopped her, but it was too late. Hanna killed herself."

Renee's face paled and her brain stuttered for a moment as her eyes took in more light than expected, every part of her went on pause as her thoughts struggled to catch up to what she'd been told. Her voice cracked as she spoke. No words would ever be enough to ease his pain. Nothing she could say to him would ever make what had happened to Adam better. "Oh my God, Adam!" she wept. "How did you live after that? I—I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like for you, Christ!"

As Adam looked over at her, she was heartbroken to see the pain in his blue eyes that could see straight into her soul. People could grow strong enough to whisper at the iron bars that held them prisoner and see them bend out of their way, like magic. That was the power of love. It could cure them all.

Renee wished she could have mastered the art, but it was hard for her when she'd been starving for so long. She can sit and call for help. She could pretend like there was no cage around her heart. Renee could wear a mask of coping and normality. She could rage against the bars. Yet, what made love so simple, no other thing in life could solve. There was another escape route, yet it is one into another great pain. It was possible for one to be so emotionally starved that you slipped right through the bars, no longer bound, but with your soul crumbling. That was her way out, at least until recently.

What followed until she arrived at Notre Dame and her life had changed for the better was endless emotional running on the bleeding soles of her feet.

She learned how to hide her pain, how to look normal. Renee understood why some went cold inside to escape the pain of isolation, why they let their empathy wither away and die, and numbness over feeling. But she refused. For her, the thing was, regardless of the enormous pain she'd felt throughout her life, Renee believed that living with an incomplete soul was a form of death, and she'd rather learn to live with her pain than let it kill her.

A muscle in his jaw twitched and he swallowed hard. It was a moment before he spoke again. "I never spoke to my family again after that. I killed my father for what he did to me, what he took from me. I—I gutted him. My mother fled and it wasn't long after that, I left and came to Paris with nowhere else to go. I joined the French military. Sophia's father was a well-respected general, so I joined his ranks. I figured I could take all the pain and rage in my life and turn it into something useful. I became a general quickly and took my anger out on others. Being a soldier was easy for me. Every time I killed someone, I was cutting away a part of myself, one that I longed to forget." Adam looked away from her for a moment to compose himself, his tears coming.

My God… Nothing I say will help him. At a loss for words, she could only cry. I'm so sorry this happened to you, Adam. I wish…

"I knew I was damned to Hell the day I killed a group of innocent people. I burned a church with people alive inside it. Not just men, but women and children too, acting on Sophia's father's orders," Adam croaked, his voice shaking. "After that, something in me changed, and I couldn't do it anymore. I knew if Hanna could see what I had become, she would have been disgusted. And my Charlotte, my baby…" Adam turned away from her, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

Renee knew he needed comfort, and right now, his solace was within her. She had to help him. The blonde scooted her chair closer to him and pulled him closer, resting her head on his shoulder, still at a loss for words. She reached for his hand and gripped it tight.

Adam's voice grew hard and bitter as he cried. "No parent should ever have to bury their child. That these evil days should be mine. That I should live, to see my own daughter murdered in front of me like that. If she had lived, Charlotte wouldn't have wanted to grow up with a father like me," he said, self-hatred evident in his voice as he relived his worst memory in his life thus far. "What kind of father murders innocent people? I turned my back on my troops and deserted them, making my way here, where I've struggled to make my peace with what I am and what I've done ever since. Adapting to a life of peace after twenty years has been difficult," Adam admitted, forcing a weak smile and turning his gaze to Renee, who was silently crying. When she lifted her hand to study it, it was trembling. Adam smiled gently and clasped a steady hand over hers.

The man sitting before her was a marvel. "How did you manage it all these years? I can't imagine what that was like for you, Adam. My God. How are you coping?" she whispered, shell-shocked.

"Easy, love," he replied. "You don't want to mess up the sisters' handiwork," he teased, reaching up to brush away a single tear cascading down her cheek. "Only happy tears on your wedding day," he joked, hoping he could get her to smile. Adam sighed, not wanting to continue, but he must. He owed her this one kindness. She deserved to know the truth. Renee was worth his life and all that came after.

"It wasn't easy," he said, taking a deep breath and willing himself to remain calm, although it was growing increasingly difficult. "Some days are harder than others. I miss her, and I always will. I miss them both. Hanna and Charlotte, they were my world. With them gone…well, let's just say I'm grateful I have the church and my brother, Sophia, and now you, my love, to fill the void in my heart. Too long has it been empty. You both are like family to me when I have no one else in my life. And there's Sophia too, of course," he admitted, a wistful look in his blue eyes. He chuckled as he remembered something. "I'd have married Sophia a long time ago, but I have my vows to think of."

Renee sniffed and coughed, trying to control her tears. "I'm so sorry, Adam. It—it wasn't your fault," she whispered hoarsely, holding his hand. "You're not to blame for what happened. It wasn't you; I know it."

Adam smiled sadly, his smile not reaching his eyes. "Thank you, love, but I hold myself completely accountable for my past actions. I could have walked away at any time. The simple fact of the matter is I walked away too late to save myself from eternal damnation." His soft lips stretched into a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. They were lit with sadness, and the forced expression of the contrary on his mouth would have looked comical to Renee if it didn't make her heart feel heavy.

For a few moments, as she stared at him, she was almost sure his expression mirrored hers. It broke her heart. She didn't want him to leave. Renee didn't want herself to turn into a random image that floated in the pool of his memory. She didn't want to be the smile that squeezed his chest somewhere far away. Renee didn't want him to go. She wanted his smile to stay.

"That's not true," she said, shaking her head firmly. She got up from her chair and helped him to stand, hugging him tightly, her fingers clutching his black habit tightly, not wanting to let him go. She could tell by the way he looked at her that Adam loved her. Renee hesitated for a moment but decided she owed him this one kindness, just this once. After everything, he's done for me. I owe him this, just once. Tenderly, she held the priest's face in hers and pulled him down and kissed him, her lips brushing him. Innocent at first, but soon she felt him reciprocating her succulent kiss. Adam returned the gesture. She wanted to pull away before she lost herself, but she can't. Renee cringed, knowing what she was doing was wrong, so and if her future husband ever found out, he'd die, but she felt she owed Adam this one act of love.

There was always going to be a place in her heart for Adam. Quasi held her heart for the rest of her life, of course, and she was his mate forever, but in a strange way, it felt like Adam had always been first. Adam had been there for her on her first night in the cathedral and had shown her great kindness when no one else had and had done so much for her to help her heal, both physically and emotionally. She loved him.

Renee wasn't afraid to admit the truth to herself. She broke away, her eyes brimming with sadness. "I've seen how you look at me," she said sadly. "I know you love me. I love you too, but Quasi and I…we share something truly special, something I cannot get twice in a lifetime. And you had Hanna. I don't want to be a constant reminder of the one you lost all those years ago. I won't. Don't ask me to become that for you, and I can't stand to watch you destroy yourself. It's breaking my heart. You deserve your own happiness. I do love you, though, Adam, you must know this, in my own way. You mean a great deal to me, what you've brought to my life, what you are doing for me now. You and Quasi are the closest thing to a family I've ever had, and I don't want to lose that. I don't want to lose you. I hope you know that. I always will, and you are a part of our family now. Always."

The priest broke into a grin at her words and she could not help but feel a warm surge of affection for the handsome priest that she now called a friend.

Family. You truly have a beautiful smile, Adam. I hope one day, you can find your own happiness. You deserve to bask in your own heaven's light. Too long has your life been spent living in the darkness where you don't belong! You belong in the light, with the rest of us. You deserve love. Find it with Sophia. At that thought, a kind smile crept on her face. Perhaps by the end of tonight, you'll have it, if I know Alice and Jeanne. They'll put Sophia up to it; I have no doubt, and good for them.

His smile was one of happiness growing, much like a flower blooms in spring. Renee could see how it came from deep within to light his eyes and spread into every part of him. A person smiles with more than their mouth, and she heard it in Adam's voice, in the choice of his words and the way he relaxed. It was beautiful. Renee blushed under the scrutiny of his gaze and her gaze fell to the simple gold ring she held in her hand she was going to place on her future husband's finger in a few moments.

It's beautiful, she thought to herself as she fingered it lovingly. Perfect for Quasi.

She glanced up at Adam, tears brimming her eyes. "I wish…I wish I could have told you sooner how much you mean to both of us," she cried. "We can't imagine our lives without you in it, Adam. Promise me you won't ever leave us. Quasi and I…we need you in our lives, Adam."

Adam smiled and clasped his hand over hers, closing her fingers over the ring. He's closing out this part of his life, she thought and waited for him to speak, struggling to control her tears. "He lied to you about his rings coming from his parents. When his parents were killed, they had no possessions on them. No, these used to be mine. I gave my rings to my brother because I no longer have a use for them anymore. I've held onto them for far too long. I cannot keep clinging to my past. I hope you know that I love you both, Renee, very much. The two of you are my family. Please…accept these rings as a token of my love for you both, and may you find the happiness and peace that I cannot. And I promise, love. I'm not going anywhere. No, you, my dear, are now stuck with me."

Renee refused to look away, despite the trembling in her shoulders, as they silently shook with emotion, unwilling to back down from Adam's steady blue gaze. The only thing she could do was go to him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Her nervousness over her wedding evaporated like rain on summer earth in his warm embrace, just for a moment. In his embrace, she was safe. Adam felt her soft skin and the gentle squeeze on his own. He bathed in her warmth and the smell of lavender and something else floral. No matter when the end of this moment came, it would be too soon, and he needed more. She was worth his life and all that was left of it. Adam pulled away, reaching up a gentle finger to wipe away her tears. "None of that now," he said softly. "Everything's ok."

Renee laughed weakly, coughing once to fight down the last of it. "Thank you for telling me the truth, Adam. Thank you for everything." She glanced down the railing again and suppressed a shudder at how high up they were. Sophia was beckoning they come down with a wave. "It's time," she said.

"Are you ready?" he asked teasingly, offering her his arm. "I don't think we can stall up here any longer."

She nodded with a soft smile on her lips. "I've been ready."

"Hold on a second, you two, a moment," called a voice, the female gargoyle's. Laverne, Renee reminded herself. She'd heard Quasi talk to her when he thought she wasn't looking. Renee smiled, knowing where this was going. She glanced to Adam and saw the priest had gone white with shock. He instantly stepped in front of Renee, shielding her from the gargoyle.

"What the bloody hell is that?" he shouted, beside himself with panic. The two had seemingly managed to convince Adam while he'd been healing that the gargoyles were merely a hallucination. However, it would seem the gargoyles had other ideas in mind for their priest.

The gargoyle suppressed a smile, although her whiskers twitching, and her tail flicked once as she hopped up onto the railing to look the priest in the eye. "Watch it, Father," she teased. "You're still on Holy Ground. Mind your language, the walls have ears," she laughed, scratching her claws on the railing. "I won't hurt you. My name is Laverne. I've waited for years for the right moment to reveal myself to my son's family, and I'm pleased to say that day has come. I watch over Quasimodo as best I can." Adam was stunned, at a loss for words. "Well?" she teased mockingly. "Can't you speak, Adam? I know who you are. You're the brother he's always needed. I'm grateful my son has you both in his life now."

He grinned and swallowed hard. "Cat has my tongue, I guess," he admitted nervously, letting out a short laugh. "Uh, what do I—what do I…call you? Have you all names here?" he asked, on edge and tense.

"Laverne is fine. The others are Victor and Hugo, but they're morons," she grinned, baring her canines. Adam flinched once, but she ignored it. "I won't keep you both. I just wanted to say thank you to both of you, for giving my son the happiness he deserves. I can't think of anyone better suited for him than you, my dear," she complimented to Renee, a deep purr in the back of her throat. Renee laughed and scratched her ear. "When I see you next, you'll be a married woman."

"Oh, no, we're going to be late!" Renee groaned. She sighed, running a hand through her blonde tresses. "I, Adam, wait. I—I meant to come to you a long time ago, after—after everything happened with Jehan, but…"

Adam held up a hand to stop her, gently pressing his lips against her forehead. "Don't speak of it," he urged. "Not today, love."

"I can't just let this go, Adam. I killed my own brother. I killed Jehan because he was killing me. I couldn't let him go after you or Quasi, and me…it was easier as an out than letting him live and subjecting myself to the endless torture he put me through. Forgive me, Adam. I know I'm doomed to go to Hell upon my death for what I did, and if that is how it must be, then so be it, but I don't regret that Jehan is dead. I killed my own brother," she whispered. "I'm no better than Jehan or Claude, Adam. What happens now? Am I damned?"

The priest's eyes darkened at her question. "Absolutely not, love. You did the right thing. He can't control you anymore, love. You came out victorious, and for that, I couldn't be prouder of you," he said, at last, a dark look clouding over his brilliant blue orbs. "The man was a monster and he couldn't be allowed to live. You absolutely did the right thing, Renee," he whispered, leaning forward and giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "If anyone ever tells you otherwise, don't believe them."

"Wait!" she protested, tugging gently on the sleeve of his black monk's habit. He turned and stared, confused. "I just wanted to say thank you, Adam, for everything. You've done so much for me and been so kind to me during my time here. I'm honored to have you in my life and to call you a friend. I hope that one day, you will find your own happiness with Sophia. I can tell you both love each other, and I can tell by the look in your eyes, that the priesthood is not a permanent solution for you, Adam. Find your peace with Sophia," she encouraged gently. "Let go of your past. Don't let it haunt you anymore, Adam. Take a chance on her. Find love in your life again." Adam fell silently for a moment, contemplating her words. He nodded, a soft smile forming, as he offered her his arm. Renee stared apprehensively at Adam for a moment before linking her arm with his and allowed the priest to escort her down the tower steps to the nave where her future husband stood by the altar next to a dozen lit candelabras. She had eyes only for him. He was wearing the black and gold tunic and pants he'd worn on the night he'd showed her the Seine. She'd never seen him look so refined.

It's perfect for you, she thought lovingly. I've never seen you look more handsome than you do right now, beloved. The warm embers from the candlelight cast a warm glow that lit his red hair on fire, shimmering in the light. Not once did she notice his scar. He glowed as he looked at her. His brown eyes met her and were full of so much love for her, she wasn't sure she'd be able to stop herself from shedding a tear or two. Renee's future husband looked as though she was the only one in the room and nothing else mattered but her. He seemed to sense her pounding heart and looked at her ashen face, for he gripped her arm tightly and took her graciously from Adam, who kissed Renee's cheek gently and stepped aside for Archdeacon Mathias.

Adam moved to sit in the front pew next to Sophia, looking radiant in a simple purple dress, her brown curls cascading to her collarbones. Renee noticed how easily his hand drifted to her lap and settled there, much to Sophia's delighted surprise. The midwife beamed. "You look beautiful, Soph," he complimented warmly. "Purple's a good color on you, love," Adam whispered.

"I know," she retorted, with a note of pride in her voice and winked at him, returning her attention to Renee and Quasi.

Alice and Jeanne had been talking animatedly and fell silent under the stern gaze of Adam and the Archdeacon. Renee smiled at the two of them, radiant. There's hope for you, yet, Adam. Time will tell. She winked at Sophia and turned back to Quasi.

"You're perfect," he whispered, his voice low so only she could hear him. He grinned, melting Renee's heart.

"Get on with it, Mathias!" Alice called out jokingly. "Where's the wine? I could go for a drink, this is a celebration, isn't it?"

"Amen," laughed Jeanne, earning a chuckle from Sophia, who under Adam's stern glare, assumed the expression appropriate of someone at a sick friend's bed.

The bell ringer laughed. "Your Grace," Quasi spoke up quietly, gripping Renee's arm tightly. "I would like to take this woman as my wife if you please."

Archdeacon Mathias glanced over at Renee and smiled, his brilliant green eyes twinkling playfully as he looked at the petite blonde in her wedding dress. She'd always been drawn to the old man's eyes. His were the green that brought the earth back to life after an unforgiving cold. The green that, even in the darkest of times, would show you the way home.

And at this moment, Renee knew she'd already found her home. For then, she had figured it out. Home was wherever you could find it, and for her, her home was right here in the cathedral, with the people that she loved. Adam, Sophia, Alice and Jeanne, and of course, her future husband.

The Archdeacon grinned. "Finally, it's about time," he laughed, breathing a sigh of relief and chuckling. He clutched his rosary tightly in his palm for a moment before setting it aside. "Too long have you been alone, my son. I was starting to think you'd never find someone, and then this cute little blonde lass comes along and surprises all of us, I must say. I must confess, though, I never knew you liked blondes. I seem to recall you having quite a thing for the brunettes," he teased, noticing Quasi's stupefied expression. "Well, shall we get on with it?"

"For the love of God!" bellowed Jeanne irritably. "Where's the wine when I need some? Jesus, you go any slower, Mathias, we'll all be dead and naught but bones by the time these two are married! Do we at least get a break to eat? Marry these two already so they can kiss and get to the best part of their wedding night. To making us grandparents!" she laughed wickedly.

Sophia burst into delighted laughter and covered her mouth with her hand, earning a dark look from Adam.

"Jeanne! Enough! Quiet!" roared Adam, losing his patience. "He's trying time conduct a wedding!"

"Sorry," they both said in unison.

"Don't be sorry, be quiet!" Adam snapped irately.

Renee let out a tiny laugh and turned away, immediately faking a cover to disguise it. "I—I'm sorry, Your Grace," she managed weakly, brushing away a single tear. "There's a um, a—a tickle in my throat. My apologies."

"Your Grace, carry on with it, if you please," Adam called out cordially, although there was no mistaking the look of annoyance on his face. Sophia smirked and laid a gentle hand over top his and shook her head, amused.

The Archdeacon chuckled kindly and turned his attention to Renee and Quasi. "Let's. It is my great honor to officiate this wonderful evening so very long in the making. If you would like to begin your vows," he replied gratefully, clasping his hands together and waiting for their bell ringer to go first.

As he spoke, she knew he was speaking only to her, and that no one else mattered but his future wife.

Quasi took a deep breath and held her hands in his, not wanting to let her go. "When I met you, I wasn't just unloved and unloving. I was…I was a monster, Renee. Love had only brought me pain and transformed my heart into a heart of stone, hardened and not capable of love. Or so I thought. But then you, you brought light and hope into my life, something I thought I'd never have again, not in my lifetime. How you can see the man behind the monster, behind my scars, I'll never know. I'd already lost my entire world. How can you hang onto something so incomprehensible? How can you keep pouring love into an abyss? But then there you were. There was something in your blue eyes that was so beautiful to me, so safe and warm. In just one look, I was 'home.' I reached out and made the connection, and like God himself had arranged it, you fell for me just as hard. That first day we talked, just the two of us, I still recall our conversation in the bell tower and the feeling you left me with. You didn't know it, but that day, you saved me. We came inseparable. You and I, Renee, we're soul mates. I love you with all my heart. Until the world ends, and even after that. I will always love you. To me, this means I would defend you with my life even if the odds were insurmountable. It means I will comfort you in the difficult and painful times. It means I will rejoice with you when times are good. It means I will never betray you. I will never give up on you—on us. It means finding my fire, when you, my loved one, are threatened, yet never waging war—only doing what is necessary for a noble defense. Love says I forgive you when you make a mistake. Love says though life may test me, I am yours into eternity and I will never abandon you or hurt you. It means I will never put you in any danger, no matter how noble the cause may be.

Renee choked back her tears and swallowed hard. She took a deep breath and willed her nerves to calm down.

Get it together. Don't cry, Renee. You can do this.

"Love, you are my sky and the clouds. You are the gentle river and the birds that sing. I feel you in the air, I long for your touch. You are my medicine, the only medicine I will ever need. You are my light, laughter and my hope. I gave you my heart some time ago, and with you, it will stay safe and protected. Falling in love with you was not planned. But our stars aligned, and a great force pulled us together. I will never forget the way your face rested on my hands, the night we told each other we loved each other for the first time. In your embrace, I have a sense that I finally belong somewhere, that I was loved. I will be patient with you. I will never grow angry with you. I will respect you, and I will listen to you. I will never forsake you. I understand that you're not perfect, and I still want to be there for you as your wife, your support system. You are so important to me. As your wife, I will provide for you. I will protect you. I will never give up on us and will always be there for you. I love you."

He grinned as they exchanged rings. He smiled and lowered his face to hers and their lips met, their first kiss as husband and wife.

The moment both had dreamed of for so long, now real. When he kissed her, the world fell away despite their new family erupting into cheers. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest. Such bliss. They broke apart and were immediately enveloped in hugs and congratulations by their family.

Quasi leaned in to whisper into Renee's ear. "You owe me a dance, my love, we're long overdue," he teased, holding out his hand, waiting for her to take it. "I never got to dance with you," he joked. "Shall we?" he asked. "Tradition dictates that I dance with my wife on our wedding day, after all. Come, love. You owe me a dance, sweetheart. I did save your life, after all."

Renee looked surprised, but only for a moment. "What took you so long? I've been waiting to dance with you, and you make me wait until our wedding day, love? What gives?" she grinned, accepting his hand and loving how her skirts flowed as he twirled her once before pulling her close. He grinned as he watched out of the corner of his eye Adam drag a reluctant Sophia away from the wine and to dance with him despite her vehement protests. He caught his brother's eye and winked.

"Looks like we're not the only ones who get a happy ending," he whispered, keeping his voice low so that only she could hear him. "What did you say to Adam to make him change his mind? We all know he loves Sophia, and she loves him, I think," he asked, curious. "I've been trying for years to get him to see it and finally admit the truth to himself, but he wouldn't listen to me. It took you coming into his life to make him finally see..." Renee smiled quietly, glancing over at Adam and Sophia, feeling incredible warmth in her heart. The priest held the midwife close in a tight vice grip and was whispering something into her ear. Whatever he said to her caused her to break into delighted laughter.

Both looked happier than they'd seen them in weeks.

"Oh, I just told Adam the truth," she admitted, not wanting to divulge it, preferring to keep the secret between her and Adam, their own little secret. Her husband looked confused but chose not to comment on it. Renee glanced over at Sophia and Adam and smiled. "Besides, you're wrong my love. You're so very wrong, it's not even funny."

"Am I?" he asked, looking amused. "About what?"

"It's not a happy ending. Far from it. I hate endings. Endings imply that something is over, has reached its end. But for you and me, our story is just beginning, love. And for them," she added, smiling as she watched Adam give Sophia a gentle twirl, admiring how her purple skirts flowed with her movements as she danced. "For those two as well. I doubt we've heard the last of that development," she chuckled, keeping her voice low so that only Quasi could hear her. "If nothing else, Alice will put Sophia up to seducing him, I'm sure of it, before the night's out."

They finished their dance, at last, Renee laughed as he twirled her once more and she sank into a graceful curtsy as she finished their dance. Alice and Jeanne were crying loudly into their handkerchiefs until Sophia found a red merlot made from the finest vineyard in France. At one point, Sophia got into a drinking contest with Alice and Jeanne, much to Adam's disgust and had to be rescued. The two watched as Adam talked Sophia down from her drinking once they'd finished their dance.

"Oh. Watch. This ought to be good," murmured Quasi quietly.

"What's happening?" whispered Renee. "Is she…?"

"Just watch and stay quiet," he encouraged, fighting back a smile. The group fell silent as they watched Sophia drink alone, fuming, only for Adam to join her, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her.

"Don't you think you might want to pace yourself, Soph?"

"Believe me, Adam," she was saying. "I am a lot more obnoxious sober, and the last thing anyone wants is me making a scene at this blessed event. I think Phoebus has already done that for us, though, hasn't he?" she asked. She sighed, downing her goblet of wine. "I have suffered enough heartache in my life to know real love when I see it, and looking at those two," she muttered darkly, glancing briefly at Quasi and Renee, "I see it, and it kills me. True love is something not many couples are blessed to have. Including you and me," she whispered softly. "Don't give me that look. I know you're thinking of Hanna. They say you never truly forget your first love."

Adam frowned. "And Paul, although you never loved him, and he never loved you. I could see it in your eyes. Are you sure you're not just jealous that Renee beat you to the altar?" he asked, his brow furrowed as he looked at the midwife, who finished her second drink, unfazed. "Because I think that's what this is, love."

"No," she snapped icily. "I just don't want her to make the mistake of marrying the first man in her life that's ever shown her kindness. Not that Quasi isn't a great match for her, but you can't take a sheltered woman at her word, Adam, we both know this—"

"Ok, Soph, I think that's enough," he muttered quietly, taking her wine glass away from her and helping her to her feet. "What I think you're trying to say, Sophia," he said, raising his voice slightly so Quasi and Renee could hear him, and noticing the hurt look on Renee's face. He caught her stare and winked at her. "Is that you can't predict when you will find that special someone in your life, and Quasi is without a doubt, that special someone for Renee. I've known our church's bell ringer for over ten years, and we've been through a lot. In all those years, the truth is, I've never seen him so happy like he is today."

Sophia smiled warmly and fell silent, toasting the remark. "Here, here! As always, you said it best, Adam."

"I always do," he teased. "Come, Soph. You and I need to take a walk. I think you've had enough to drink, and besides," he said warmly, shooting a brief glance Renee's way and giving a curt nod. "There's something important I need to tell you, and I don't think it can wait any longer. I've waited long enough." The priest smiled at the midwife, holding out his hand for her to take. Sophia hesitated, before finally accepting his hand and joining him on a walk, away from the crowds.

The newlyweds hung back, just soaking in the happiness of finally found their peace as they watched their family. Quasi and Renee hung back, their hands interlocked, just savoring the moment. Happiness flowed through Renee, warming her skin like the rays of the early summer sun. I'm home, after so many years of thinking I'd never find a new family besides John and my parents, she thought. Love swelled in her heart until she thought it would burst. Her customary cautious grin exploded into a radiant smile that she had never worn before, not even as a child. She glanced at her husband and saw he wore an expression of contentment and peace, especially in his eyes. Everything's going to be all right now, she thought. I have Quasi and he has me. I will never fear the dark again because I'll never be alone. For her, there would never be another.

It had always been him. Always.


There was a muttering of thunder from the blackened summer night sky as the wind tore the leaves from the tree. The rain lashed down, torrential and unforgiving. July crawled with a petty pace towards its end. The thunderstorm was coming. There were growling, ominous dark clouds billowing in from the east, gathering and looming over the bell tower of Notre Dame. There was a sudden downpour and through the rain drenches came the first long low rumbles of thunder. The wind was violent and unforgiving as it raced through the streets of Paris. She wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered, smiling softly to herself as she felt her husband come up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist, burying his face in her neck.

"Come inside," he whispered, his voice low and husky. Gently, he took her by her hand and led her back into the warmth of their tower. She looked at him with love in her eyes. In all the months they've been married, almost a year now, he'd treated her with nothing but love and adoration in his simple gestures. He kept his promise and never hurt her, never laid a hand on her when he was angry, which was seldom. Quasi was a simple man, but she loved that about him.

There's a lot about you I love.

She loved so many things about him. Renee loved the way he smiled at her. His world-weary eyes never failed to shine with benevolence upon her whenever he looked at her with his amazing beautiful blue eyes. His eyes were genuine, encouraging, and healing.

When he smiled at her, she would quite often forget her own troubles for a moment. He smiled at her even when his own spirit was crushed by the weight of the world and obligations he never asked for. His smile never wavered as he articulated kind words of compassion—never for himself—his words are only ever for her.

Renee loved the way her husband held himself. Tall and upright. Proud but noble. He behaved like a man wholly devoted to the people, always helping those who came to them in need, no matter what ailed them. Quasi had a quiet confidence about him that spoke clearly of his nobleness and his worth. Renee often found herself straightening her posture whenever he was present, inwardly challenging herself to become more like the graceful man before her. She loved his effortless dignity.

Complete submission and love for her. He understood that she did not need his protection, but he offered it, nonetheless. All these things he did in silence, completely unaware how his actions spoke for his character. Renee could not seem to get enough of his imagination. He was poet, a scholar, and musician. He walked in worlds so many others could only dream of. When she saw him quietly regarding the morning, she could almost see the notes and rhythms dancing in his head. His brown eyes sparkled at her whenever she asks him to share his thoughts. He always did.

She loved his mouth, strange as that might seem. To her, it was warm and sweet. His lips pressing a hazy trail of kisses down her neck. How gentle he pressed his lips to her stomach, which had grown swollen and round with their child, due any day now. Verse and adulation always upon his tongue.

Quiet whispers in the night that never fail to soothe her uncertainties about her pregnancy and the life they've chosen for themselves. Renee loved his small gestures. Kisses each morning and night without fail, predictable as the rising and setting sun each day and night. With him, it had never been some colossal deed or declaration that had captured her heart and caused her to love him.

No. He never strove to be anything more than what he was in her eyes. He never had to. His love for her had never been about causing the butterflies in her stomach as he looked at her or causing her heart to skip a beat and feel like she was having a heart attack. No, those things all came on their own. His love for her was expressed by the little things he did for her—things that spoke unmistakably of his love and unwavering devotion for her. It had always been the simple things. That was how she knew she loved him. Her husband noticed her looking at him, for he glanced up from the book he had been reading and smiled softly at her, his eyes twinkling.

Putting his book down, he came over and wrapped his arms around her and their unborn baby, enveloping her in a deep hug. She winced as she felt their child stir and kick for what must have been the hundredth time that night.

Renee would be glad when their child was finally born, and she would be free of the pains in her stomach. Her pregnancy had been hard, but Quasi had been there beside her for all of it. "You should be resting, beloved," he spoke up quietly, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "It's late."

"So should you," she responded. "But our child seems to be as much of an insomniac as you. I get little sleep these nights." The sound of a gentle rainfall on their roof as the nights were beginning to get cooler as the summer season approached had almost caused her to drift off into a slumber, but the baby had woken her. Renee had not slept well the last few nights. It showed.

There were dark circles underneath her eyes, and her face was ashen from lack of sleep. Quasi whispered something inaudible to her, holding her tightly and she lost herself in his embrace, leaning against him and feeling the warmth of his bare chest soak into the shift she wore. For a moment, neither spoke. Then she did. "Quasi, is there something wrong?"

"Why do you ask?" he responded, kissing her neck.

"You've slept so little these past few nights." When he gave her a quizzical look, she added, "Your child wakes me up more often enough than I can tell. I can tell you have night terrors. You toss in your sleep and are talking to someone. What's going on?"

He flashed a charming smile at her that made her heart melt, and for a moment, she forgot her troubles. "Oh, so it's my child, now?" he teased, his brilliantly white teeth glinting in the light. "And here I was, thinking it wasn't."

"You are avoiding my question," she answered with mock sternness, but softened her tone once she saw his expression. "Whatever ails you, you can tell me anything. You know this," she muttered, closing her eyes for a second.

"I know," he said softly. Quasi sighed and turned his gaze back to the balcony and watched as a bolt of forked lightning streaked across the sky in the last of the late summer night storms. Autumn would be here soon, and hopefully by that point, they wouldn't get so much rain. Renee counted the minutes until the rumbling thunder followed. Once it had ceased, her husband spoke again. "My dreams have returned. I don't know what to do about them." "The ones about your father?" she asked quietly, laying a gentle hand on her stomach.

"Are they frequent?" Quasi nodded silently, the expression on his face saying all that she needed to know. On occasion, whenever he was worried about something, he dreamed of his father, the minister and judge.

Renee knew that if his mother were still alive, she might not have had approved of the match, but she liked to believe that they would have, just as hers would have immediately liked Notre Dame's bell ringer.. Despite him being happily married to the woman of his dreams, his nightmares had become rare. She knew that he must be particularly troubled for them to return and haunt him so.

She had an inkling of why he was so disturbed. Glancing down at her swollen stomach, she knew it was a present reminder of how close her time was. Another few days, and their child would be born.

Renee looked up at him, a bead of sweat on her brow. "You are nothing like your father, Quasi. I know you will be a wonderful father to our child. I knew Claude when he was younger. You are nothing like him and you never will be. Heed my words."

A smile as brief as the lightning flashed across his face at the thought of becoming a father to their unborn child. His smile faded as he stared off into the distance. She knew he would be a good father. He doted on her, and she had no doubt that when their child came, he would do the same for him or her. He rested a gentle hand on her stomach.

"I know," he responded softly. "I just…" his voice trailed off as he wondered what to say next. "I just don't think I can take it if I turn out to be like him."

"You won't be like your father," Renee reassured him. Quasi was quiet. His father had been abusive. What had hurt him the most growing up wasn't so much the scars or the beatings, but rather, what hurt him the worst was the insecurity. The internal brokenness that only a person exposed to terrible abuse can experience. His mental scars were a tapering factor in the serenity of domestic life. They caused him agony that could only be seen on the inside. The pain that no one else but his wife saw, because no one else cared.

"He wasn't always so bitter," he murmured.

"There's no need for you to defend him," she said, an angry edge to her voice. Renee would never admit it to her husband, but she hated the fact that he still so desperately wanted his father's approval, even after his death. She could tell it still pained Quasi whenever he spoke of Claude, and how he had treated him growing up and well into adulthood. It infuriated her to think that anyone would treat her husband in that way, even more so when Quasi justified it.

Taking a deep breath to calm her temper, she closed her eyes and tried again. He glanced down at her, his face pale in the flickering light. The lightning flashes were coming more frequently now in intensity, the thunder even closer. "I'm not angry with you," she said in hushed tones, and Quasi felt his face relax. "I only wish that you could allow yourself to feel it. I know that you loved your father, in your own way, despite your differences. Just as I knew, in his own misguided way, that Claude loved you. He cared for you. He did." The two of them fell silent again, and for a while they listened to the rain as it pounded harder and harder against the glass window.

When Quasi spoke again, she was surprised to hear a waver in his voice. "I am afraid," he admitted. "I do not wish to become like my father, but I fear at times, I can't avoid it. I am his son."

Renee placed a gentle hand over his and stretched up to kiss his jaw. "Quasi, you will be a wonderful father to this child," she whispered, her gray eyes twinkling. "And any other that might follow. What shall we name our son?" she asked, desiring to turn his attention elsewhere. "We should decide on a name soon, if these kicking spells are anything for me to go by, he'll be arriving any day now," Renee, planting a gentle but brief kiss on his nose.

Quasi gave her an amused look, his smile radiating warmth and a contagious kindness that she'd always loved. "What makes you think we will be having a son? We could very well be having a daughter, my love."

Renee rolled her eyes and laughed, her laughter music to his ears. "It still applies," she said, grinning. She could feel the baby begin to kick again, this time with even more intensity, and her husband felt his eyes widen in wonder as he moved a gentle hand across her abdomen. The kicking intensified at his tender touch, and she smiled. "You see? Our baby already likes you," she teased, smiling at her love. He smiled back, and she couldn't help but adding, "If the look on your face now is any indication, I cannot believe that loving him—or her—will be a problem for you."

Quasi kissed her ear slightly, sending a shiver of delight down her spine. "It won't be, beloved. How did I ever manage to find a woman as wise as you, and one so beautiful?"

Renee smiled gently. "If I am so wise, it is only because of your influence," she retorted as she turned towards him. He kissed her forehead, and then gently bent his head down until his lips captured hers in a passionate kiss. A reverberating crack of thunder startled them both, causing them to break apart in alarm. He laughed and pulled her even closer, kissing the tip of her nose playfully before resting his forehead against hers.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Renee was puzzled. "For what?" she asked.

"For being so wonderful."

She smiled and rested a hand against her cheek, stifling a yawn. "Only because you bring out the best in me," she replied before kissing him again. "You and I, my love, we complete each other. Never forget that, not for an instant. I'll remind you."

Her husband wrapped his arms around her waist. "You give yourself too little credit, sweetheart. You've done me good for me and my life than you'll know," he said as he took her arm and guided her back towards their bed.

She did not protest as he helped her gently get into bed and climbed in after her. "As do you," she responded sleepily, pushing away a lock of stray hair away from his face as he propped himself up on one elbow to look down at her. Sleep was catching up with her quickly now, Renee would never admit it out loud, but this pregnancy was exhausting her. "I love you," she murmured quietly as she closed her eyes and her breathing evened.

Quasi gazed down at his love for a long moment, smiling as he smoothed her strawberry blonde strands away from her forehead. He hoped that their child would look like her. "I love you too," he whispered as he gently lay down next to her carefully to not disturb her, draping his arm around her abdomen. "Both of you," he whispered as the thunder died down to a nearly inaudible rumble and the rhythm of the rain against the roof slowed until, coupled with his wife's soft breathing, it quickly lulled him to sleep.


Gone were the days of wintry light kissing coldly upon her face, in those blustery days, the great golden orb above was friendly. When uncovered by snow or sleet laden cloud it gave color to the day, finding any glint of greenness left in the world. When spring came its brilliant rays shone not just brightly, but with a touch of warmth, a promise of the growing seasons to come. Now in the heady heat of July, she walked on the tinder of the forest floor, dreading the moment she would have to leave its dense protective canopy and walk the last mile beneath the unrelenting sun. The world was painted vivid by its rays, like a new painting with still wet oils. No longer was it gently warming her body, bringing life back to cold muscles; now it burns unprotected skin in minutes. In this long month the sun does not bring smiles, instead the people march on, head-bowed under its angry glare. In this heat, even the trees appeared defeated. Leaves that should have been firm and upward tilting droop, flaccid as old lettuce. The soil wasn't simply dry, but powdery to the touch. The grass that was always green this time of year was now early hay. Even the air was dry, not the usual humid warmth Paris had at this time of the year. Each day, the sky was barren, though of late, the forest fires have stolen the endless blue for a dull grey and each evening brings us a blood sun.

Any tree that'd been in the ground less than two years lost every single leaf, they just died, slowly. The sun was no longer a friend; it was an oppressive presence that sapped the energy out of every living thing. The citizens of Paris were desiccated from every pore, their water escaping to a cloudless sky. Her pale skin was glistening and the nape of her neck damp as she sought shelter in the shade from the sweltering summer temperature. Renee's blonde hair clung to her forehead, damp with sweat. The pain she was feeling commanded all her attention, demanding and with no breaks, no hope of relief. It had been her idea to take an early morning walk, to get out of the tower loft for a bit, get some fresh air.

She was, however, starting to think that she should have stayed back like her husband suggested, it was too hot, and her time was close upon her. But she hadn't been able to resist. The outside called to her, after so many years spent indoors. Renee loved the woods, being outside, the fresh crisp air filling her lungs. She had never been allowed outside when she'd been in Jehan's service, so she felt as though she had to make up for missed time. In this nature's hug of ever-open arms of brown, cozy beneath the canopy of greens, there was a welcoming spirit that calls out to her. It is as if there was something in her that the trees could feel and they chatter to it, her intuition perhaps. There was softness to the woodland floor, to the moss that supports and springs back. The woodland is the birdsong, it is the playful light and it is the serenity of time that flows without the clocks of man. Of all the things on this woodland walk, it was the acorns she loved the best. They lie cold on the soil, bright against the dark rain-soaked ground. Their shells glisten with drops poised to run home to earth, sitting proud on the impervious shell. She picked one up, so small and perfect, fingering it lovingly between her fingers.

How something so small could be so significant for the wildlife. Renee sighed, recognizing her time was up. She relished these moments of quiet tranquility, so fleeting but sweet. Renee trudged out of the woods and back to the tower loft, to her husband, to her new life, lifting the hem of her dress and allowing the soles of her bare feet to feel the earth beneath her feet. How fragile it all was. Delicate, the earth was to be loved. "And so, I shall."

On her way up the tower steps, a spasm of pain went down her spine and she shuddered, closing her eyes and trying hard to regulate her breathing, deep and slow, like Sophia had told her. Her pains were infrequent but strong.

"Oh, God," she whispered. "Not now…not yet," she begged, reaching out a hand to steady herself as a wave of nausea came on. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. Her scream tore from her lips like a shard of glass. Renee felt her eyes widen and pulse quicken, her heart thudding like a rock rattling in box. The scream came again, desperate, terrified... human. The blood drained from her face; what little color was left.

The noise brought her husband running, winded and out of breath, looking absolutely panicked and beside himself, the summer breeze rustling his vibrant red locks gently.

"Renee, what's wrong? What is it? Are you hurt?"

"The baby," she whispered, grabbing his hands and crushing them as another contraction passed, ignoring the pained look on her husband's face. She hoped she hadn't broken them. "It's coming."

His face paled as he guided her back towards the loft, to her favorite chair, helping her to sit down. "Okay, just breathe, it's going to be fine. You're going to be fine. Just hang on; I'll go get Sophia. You need to sit down and stay sitting. I'd hate to have to tie the mother of my child to her chair," he teased.

She laughed, her worries momentarily stopping as she gazed into her husband's eyes, and she fought back the urge to giggle, seeing how worried he was. "Yes, love, but I really think you're overdoing it. You heard what Sophia said. I'm just supposed to avoid strenuous activity. I'm not an invalid!" she protested. He turned away from her for a moment to fetch her water.

"I also heard her say those pains were a warning sign."

"Did you miss the part where she told us the baby was fine?" Renee asked, feeling a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth. "Our baby is healthy, I'm fine. You're fine. It's going to be okay, my love. We'll get through this."

"I heard her," Quasi retorted, turning back to her and handing her water. "And I'm going to make sure you both stay that way. You're not allowed to lift anything heavier than this cup of water, which you need to drink. Now," he ordered, smiling as his wife stared up at him, awestruck, rolling her eyes.

"I like it when you get assertive," Renee, teased, a purr to her voice that he recognized well. Quasi laughed and knelt to kiss his wife. Her husband flinched as she let out another scream, biting her lip hard enough to bleed.

"I don't know what I'm doing, what do you need me to do?" he asked desperately, panic returning to his brown eyes. "Quasi," she whispered. "Calm down, I need you to be calm. Don't—don't yell around me…"

"Be calm? How can I relax when you're in pain?" he cried. "I don't—what do you need me to do?" he shouted, panicking. "Is there anything else you need from me, Renee, tell me right now and I promise, I'll—I'll do it."

"Hurry," she pleaded. "Go get Sophia. Please."

"Can't you just—can't you just hold it in?" he begged, sheer panic on his face. He ran a hand through his red hair in anguish.

"NO, QUASI! I CAN'T JUST HOLD IT IN!" she bellowed, irritated, closing her eyes and biting her lip as another tremor went down her spine. "My water broke five minutes ago, I—I've been trying to, but I don't think I can anymore. If I could…keep it inside," she grunted, fighting against her urge to push, "then I would, but I—I can't!" she screamed, clenching her eyes shut.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked, his eyes searching hers. "What can I do to help you? Tell me."

"I need Sophia, you need to go right now—"

"This—this doesn't happen this quick, no one has babies this quick!" the bell ringer shouted, his words frantic and laced together as they came out as a steady stream of panicked thoughts. "You were just fine this morning, Renee!"

"WILL YOU PLEASE JUST GO GET SOPHIA?" she screamed, tears streaming down her face as another wave of nausea threatened to consume her entirely. "Please," she begged, desperation in her voice. "I—I didn't mean to yell at you, love, but I need her. Go. Now."

He hesitated, but only for a moment. Quasi pulled his wife in for a desperate lingering kiss. He kissed her and just for a moment, the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest.

"No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you, my love," he whispered. "I'll always protect you. Both of you," he smiled, laying a protective hand on his wife's swollen abdomen. "I love you both. I'll be back," he promised, and just like that, he was gone before Renee even had time to say anything else. The pain has unpleasant warmth to it, eating at her stomach. There was nausea too, just enough to make her hold onto the table for support and breath slow. Renee often prized herself in ignoring pain and just continuing regardless, but that just was not possible for her right now. It owned her, dominated every thought, controlled her every action. She wasn't in control and she hated it. Her pain was sharp like a needlepoint or a knife; it burned around her innards better than boiling water. Everything felt scolded and, move or not, she was in more pain than she could have ever imagined was possible. Despite the immense pain she was currently experiencing, she couldn't help but smile. She knew with every fiber of her being that he was going to be an excellent father.

"I hope I'm not interrupting?" Adam spoke up.

"Adam," she whispered, relieved she wasn't alone, turning to face the handsome priest. "Thank God you're here, I don't want to be alone. Are you sure you've nothing else pressing to attend to? I can't be alone right now. I hope Mathias didn't mind my insisting our baby be born in the tower, but I don't know where else I can go to—"

"None of that, Renee," Adam laughed, waving away her concerns with a brush of his hand. "Mathias is fine with the arrangement, I've told you three times already," he joked.

"What about the parishioners?" she groaned, gritting her teeth as another ripple of pain traveled down her spine. Adam smiled. "They won't hear you," he promised. "Easy, love. Just focus on your baby, nothing else. I've made a special arrangement with the Archdeacon and the Bishop that the cathedral is to remain closed unless someone has a dire emergency. No one will come up to your tower and interrupt the birthing process, or ask any questions about…the noise," he finished, looking away for a moment.

Renee groaned, clenching his hand tight. "Are you sure they won't hear? I—I can do it, I think, I—I can be quiet," she managed, gasping for air.

Adam shook his head. "Don't worry about it, love. No. I've made sure of it, you've nothing to worry about." "Nothing is more important than my family," he said, earning a beautiful smile from Renee at the comment.

"What are you doing here, Adam?" Renee asked curiously.

"Your husband asked me to come sit with you," he responded, smiling in a way that he hoped was reassuring to his brother's wife. "Why didn't you ask me to go get Sophia? Your husband should be here, with you," he said, a concerned look etched on his face as he gripped Renee's hand as she breathed deep and slow, like Sophia taught her.

"No, no, my husband needs a task to work on when he's nervous. I need Sophia, and I need her soon," she said, breathing deep and biting her tongue to avoid screaming. "I've never experienced a pain this great in my life and I've been through quite a lot," she whispered through gritted teeth and wincing at her friend's darkened expression. She knew he was thinking of Jehan and what he'd done.

Adam said nothing, just pulled up a chair and pulled it close so he could hold her hand as she worked her way through another painful spasm. "You're doing great," he replied soothingly, his voice gentle. "Deep breaths, nice and slow, that's it. Just breathe. Work through it, stay calm. That's it."

"I'm grateful you're here, my friend," she said softly, squeezing his hand tightly. "It means the world that you're here with me. I don't want to be alone right now, Adam."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else. You both are my life now." Renee smiled, leaning her head into his shoulder, shuddering as another tremor went down her spine. "It gets better," Adam said suddenly, his eyes glinting in the light of the sun as he looked out into the streets of Paris as he remembered Hanna. "It does. This pain you're currently experiencing will be worth it when you hold your child in your arms for the first time. There's no greater love than that. I know I haven't spoken much of my past but trust me." She smiled distantly, not looking at the priest for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was confident despite the pain.

"My child will be my child, whether it is a boy or a girl. My child already holds my soul in their heart, and my heart is forever his. Or hers. It doesn't matter. My child is free to live, to learn, to love whoever they will grow to love when they are older, for there is no rule in my eyes that can contain such a sacred thing. My child will have my support for as long as I'm alive, and my guidance should he or she ever wishes to ask. I know in my heart that I would walk through the gates of hell to keep them safe and feel honored to be given the chance. I would feel only gratitude to keep my child safe."

Adam looked at her with such intensity in his eyes she wasn't sure what to make of it at first. "That is why you're going to be a good mother. And I have no doubt that he will be an excellent father. He's certainly taken good care of you the last few months," he teased, laughing softly. "Quasi loves you very much, with all his heart. He won't let anything happen to you."

"He has," she answered, her eyes sparkling. "It'll be worth it," Adam repeated, squeezing her hand. "I know," Renee responded. "It will."

It was a moment before Renee felt the beginnings of a mischievous grin creep onto her face, and she realized Jeanne and Alice were affecting her more than perhaps she cared to admit. "So, when is it Sophia's turn?" she asked coyly, biting her lip playfully as she waited for her best friend to get it.

Adam laughed, pulling her close and rubbing her shoulder. "Soon," he promised. "She doesn't know it yet, but…" his voice trailed off as he rummaged through his pockets of his brown monk's habit, procuring a pair of beautiful yellow gold wedding bands, very similar to hers and Quasi's.

Renee stared at them in his palm as he shifted them, her brain stuttering to catch up. Finally, she got it. "That's wonderful!" she squealed, flinging her arms around their priest's middle, engulfing him a tight hug, stronger than Adam Barret thought possible of the young blonde woman.

"It is," he agreed, his blue eyes twinkling. "And I have you to thank for that, Renee. Were it not for our conversation in this very spot almost a year ago, I wouldn't have dared to take the risk on finding love again in my best friend."

Renee smiled at him, not saying a word. She felt she didn't need to. Sometimes, the silence was just enough. It said everything it needed to to.

She did not know how long they stayed like that, hands interlocked, simply feeling each other's presence, but it felt too precious a moment to ruin.


If it weren't for Sophia Damas, that godsend of a woman, Quasi felt for certain both he and his wife would have lost their minds several hours ago.

"Why doesn't it want to come out?" pleaded Renee desperately.

"You know what I think it is?" questioned her husband, in a last-ditch effort to make her feel better, his hand coming to rest on the swell of her stomach. "I think you've made such a nice home for our baby over the last nine months that it just doesn't want to come out," he soothed, reaching for a wet cloth to wipe her brow. "You're doing great, just…keep breathing, Renee."

Renee huffed in frustration, blowing her blonde bangs out of her eyes. She sighed and reached up a hand to caress her husband's cheek. "Look at you, making up crap for me," she teased weakly through her haze of pains.

"Twenty-one hours," Quasi croaked huskily. "You're a force of nature."

"Out," snapped Sophia, who'd pulled back the tent flap that covered their doorway towards their sleeping nook. She was looking livid. "Get out, Quasi."

"No!" he snarled, his face turning white with suppressed rage. His hand was currently held in a vice grip as his poor wife worked through another spasm.

"Please, please keep it inside," she begged through her tears, working to control her tears and her breathing. "SOPHIA!" she screamed hysterically.

Sophia sighed, brushing a stray dark curl away from her face. When she lifted her chin to meet Quasi's gaze, he was not all surprised to see that familiar spark of anger flash through her dark eyes that he recognized in his own. "I won't ask you again. Get out of here. You don't need to be here—"

"She's my wife, Sophia!" he bellowed, balling his hands into fists as he gingerly pried his left hand out of Renee's ironclad grasp. "I'm not—"

"Oh, yes, you are," came Adam's firm, slightly angered voice behind him, one of his strong hands coming up to grasp his shoulder, promptly yanking him out of their bedroom. "You need to mind yourself, brother. You really think the yelling and screaming out at your friend is going to help Renee?"

Quasi opened his mouth to argue at the same time another shrill cry came from their bedroom and he heard Sophia's soothing tones echo, doing her best to calm down a sobbing Renee. "Focus on your baby, love," Sophia's French voice was instructing, flowing through their loft like a soft breeze. "Don't think about anything else. You can do this, Renee."

"Trust me," encouraged Adam, steering him further away from their tower, almost bumping into Alice and Jeanne, who were coming up the stairwell with bundles of fresh rags and hot water laden in their arms. "Here, let me." Adam did not wait before taking the buckets and promptly disappearing into their bedroom for a second, talking in low tones to Sophia about something.

Their priest re-emerged moments later, looking winded, his face pale, flexing his fingers. "Your wife has one hell of a grip," he complimented, looking impressed and wincing a little as he flexed the muscles in his fingers.

"She does." Quasi frowned, sensing the others weren't going to let him get within a foot of their bedroom, opting instead to drag a spare chair from his carving table over towards their sleeping nook, making as much noise as he could. He barely stifled his grin of satisfaction as Sophia angrily poked her head out. "What?" he asked, maintaining a cold indifference. "This is as close as you'll let me get since you won't let me in help her through this," he hissed.

Sophia was silently fuming, her dark eyes darting back and forth between Quasi and Adam. Her gaze landed on Adam, and something in her eyes softened, and she let out a weary sigh. "I'm sorry it has to be this way, Q, I really am," she apologized, looking pained. "But you can over-react. You're not allowed in until afterwards. Adam, I'll call you if I need you," she said softly, ignoring their bell ringer's flustered look of utter outrage and left.

The minutes turned into hours. "It's all right. You're safe here. Your baby is coming. Don't think about anything else. You're all right, Renee. Breathe, breathe, just breathe! You can do this, Renee, I just know it." Quasi winced as he heard another ear-piercing scream come from their bedroom.

Agitated, he couldn't sit still anymore and began to pace the tower loft, wringing his hands together until they hurt, picking at a loose string on one of his gloves until he violently wrenched them off and tossed them in a corner.

He hated this. It wasn't fair that Adam was allowed inside, and he had to stay out here. He hated that he wasn't allowed to be in the room with his wife, helping her through the worst of her pain. "Oh, God, how did this happen?"

Quasi heard Jeanne let out a dry snort through their bedroom. "You got her pregnant, that's what, kid!" she called out, unable to help herself from commenting. "I would have thought that was obvious, Quasi. Use your head!"

He jumped when he felt Adam's hand on his shoulder, turning slightly to see the man he considered an older brother smiling sympathetically at him, his blue eyes gleaming in the dim light of their tower. "She's going to be fine."

"How do you know?" He could hear his voice breaking as he asked him. The torture for him was almost unbearable. Sophia, god bless that woman, had stayed with them for the better part of an entire day, but still, it didn't stop his incessant worrying. Adam smiled that sometimes annoyingly charming smile and did his best to reassure their bell ringer she was in capable hands.

"Renee is tougher than we give her credit for. She'll be just fine. Sophia's taking excellent care of her. She's not lost a single woman in her care yet. I would trust my friend with my own life. Renee could not be in more capable hands. You know this just as well as I do. Trust Sophia, Quasi."

He gave a curt laugh in response, but it didn't mask the worry in his voice. His heartbeat faltered for what felt like the hundredth time today and he noticed in a nearby mirror his face was extraordinarily pale and terrified. He a ran a hand through his shock of red hair, noticing a single gray hair that he could have sworn wasn't there this morning. "Jesus," he muttered. Adam snorted, unable to contain it. "You know, what you're feeling is perfectly natural. It's—" but he was interrupted by a piercing scream.

Despite her pain, Renee bit her tongue hard enough to bleed to make no further sound. She knew the noise was stressing out her husband greatly. When the pains passed, it was only for a minute or so and she breathed deeply with closed eyes, unwilling to re-engage with life outside her own body. Their bedroom might as well have been empty for all the awareness she had, and when the others, Sophia and Jeanne, did talk to her, touch, anything to gain her attention, she found it so hard. To reply, she had to find herself from the deepest recesses of her own mind and drag herself forward. Sophia was telling her to lie down. She was in for another long night, but she just wanted it to stop. She'd been in labor twenty-one hours already. Enough was enough. Renee could not stop her scream of pain from erupting forth. A long, piercing wail that her husband knew would haunt his dreams for the next several nights.

She cried, tears pouring down her face, begging Sophia to just end it, make the pain stop coming, and all the midwife could do was offer soothing words of encouragement. The pain of labor was a prison for the young woman's mind. In that prison cell of fear and confusion, the time passed without her being able to keep track. Her stomach tightened; she heard her own screams without being aware of making them. It was twisting and warping her insides, changing her, boiling her bloodstream ablaze. The day had dragged on for what felt like an eternity, well into the late hours of the night. At first, Quasi had been ecstatic that he was finally going to be a father.

He remembered how excited he had felt that the time had finally come. How excited he had been, carefully crafting a cradle for their child. But as the hours passed, his original worries of his wife's pregnancy began to resurface. Renee's labor was lasting unusually long, almost twenty-two hours at this point, and although Sophia, Jeanne, and Alice all assured him this kind of thing happened quite often, it did not stop his incessant worrying. He couldn't help it.

He did not think he could stand it if he lost her. Such thoughts only increased his anxiety. All he could do was sit there with Adam and try to drown out his wife's agonizing screams of pain. Would she and their baby be all right? Minus everything she'd undergone with Jehan the last few weeks, and a few weeks of morning sickness early on, once that passed, the months leading up to their baby's arrival had seemed so smooth and flawless. Once Jehan was well and truly gone from her life, she'd had almost no problems, at least not until this morning. He'd not thought ahead to this part. He never should have allowed this to happen. "Damn it," he muttered through gritted teeth, anguished. He visibly flinched as another of his wife's cries filled their loft. "I guess it's a good thing you closed the cathedral today, Adam," he said.

"She's going to be okay," Adam repeated quietly, unfazed by the outburst.

"How do you know?" he snapped, his fear surfacing in the form of his anger, acting as a shield for his pain. "No one can know for sure what will happen to her. What if my wife dies from this?" Quasi bellowed angrily.

Adam smiled, his blue eyes gleaming in the light. "I just do." He was leaning up against a wooden table, his arms folded across his chest, one foot crossed over the other. He was looking out one of the windows, though Quasi doubted he could see anything. His friend radiated an aura of peace, and whenever he looked as he did now, he seemed to hold the world in his eyes. Quasi remained silent, not sure what to think. His panicked thoughts were interrupted as Sophia rushed out of their bedroom, traces of red staining her palms.

Sophia had a beautiful smile whenever she smiled, although right now she looked exhausted. Her curly dark hair was piled up in a messy bun that was currently tucked underneath a brown headscarf, a few loose tendrils escaping to frame her face. Her hair was the brown of aged mahogany, rich and deep, yet with the subtle hues only time brings. With each stride the strands tumbled, reflecting the strengthening daylight in waves. Her hair was a lovely whisky, the color of fallen leaves browned and sleek with the first rain of autumn. Sweat beaded her forehead and she looked tired, but otherwise fine. Her eyes darted around the room until she met Adam's gaze and beckoned to him. Her brown-mahogany eyes scintillated with a mischievous glint that could be noticed next to the umber that rimmed her iris. Her eyes glowed with humor and playfulness that never seem to escape her eyes. Nevertheless, her eyes possess sorrow that placed a melancholic veil, which cloaked her eyes; it seemed as if it made the happiness in her eyes matte. Yet, when she smiled, the corners of her beauteous eyes lustered happiness in soft twinkles, which reflected the light that made her eyes copper against caramel. Sophia brushed her hands on her apron, which had traces of Renee's blood on them.

"Adam, I need your help," Sophia said breathlessly. "I need you now, if you are willing, my friend." The priest nodded and without a word straightened and hurried to follow the midwife to their bedroom.

"Wait!" Quasi cried out desperately. "Sophia. Renee, is she...?"

Sophia turned and paused. She sighed, fatigue in her voice. "She's fine, Q. I promise. I just need a little help for this next part of this birthing." She smiled weakly at him and glanced to Adam for his help. Sophia was the only person who could call their bell ringer by a nickname and get away with it other than his wife.

"NO!" shouted Renee, sounding exhausted. "Renee, it's all right," Sophia called out, using his wife's nickname and hoping it reassured her. She was smiling despite her charge's vehement insistence that she does not bring help into their room. "I can't do this part by myself!" "Do not bring Adam in here, Sophia! I don't want him to see me like this!" she shouted, crying as another contraction overtook her body. "Don't bring him in! He—he doesn't need to see this!"

"Renee, it's all right," called out Adam, his voice calm and reassuring, flowing into their bedroom like a soft wind. "NO! Adam, you are absolutely crazy!" she shouted. "No way!" "Listen to me, sweetheart! I've done this once before with Hanna. I can come in there and try to make things easier, or Sophia can do this on by herself. It will probably be more painful for you if I stay out here. It's your call. I'm happy to help Sophia in any way I can if it makes things easier for you, my love. Something tells me you could use the help," he called out, glancing sideways at Sophia for her reaction.

The midwife shrugged her shoulders and waited. Her response was a loud scream. She groaned and gasped as pain tremors shook her body. "I—I—okay, okay, you can come in, just—just hurry!" she begged, sobbing, grunting as she stifled another wail. "I don't know how much more of this I can take, this is torture, twenty-two hours! Sophia, help me, please!" she cried. Adam nodded and he and Sophia hurried into the bedroom, leaving him alone with Laverne. She was viciously guarding the entrance, which had been blocked with a curtain to give the women privacy and protect Renee's modesty. Laverne growled at the bell ringer anytime he got close to the entryway, refusing to let him past. He watched their bedroom anxiously, listening for any kind of sound, a sign.

A shout of pain, the cry of their child, anything. He heard nothing. The silence was killing him. Suddenly, he could hear his wife's breathing quickening and slowing done. Quasi's eyes grew wide. Could she be...? He took a step to the door and Laverne growled low, warning him not to come any closer. He glowered at her but backed off. Then he heard Adam's calming voice.

Although he could not see it, Adam held Renee's hand and spoke to her gently through her haze of pain. "All right, Renee, breathe. Stay calm, love. Look at me. Look at me. You can do this. Easy, just breathe. That's it. Okay, you're almost ready. When Sophia tells you to, I want you to push, all right?" His voice was quiet and kind despite the tension in the room. "You can do this, I know it."

"Please, please, Sophia, make it stop!" she begged. "This really hurts, make it stop! I don't think I can do this. I need—I need the valerian, just give it to me and I'll sleep through this. Please, please, I need it, I'll—I'll make sure there's time. I'll stop pushing, I'll stop pushing; I'll make sure it doesn't come out," she begged through gritted teeth, lowering her voice to barely a whisper as she pleaded through her tears.

"There's no time for the valerian, Renee, you're past the point of being able to take it safely. You're just going to have to get through this the hard way. I know it's hard and I know it hurts, honey, but I know you can do it. You can do this. You've made it this far. You're doing so great. Come on, Renee, push. I need you to push!" Sophia's tone was harsh and commanding but calm. Renee's screams filled the loft as she did what she was told, groaning and crying as she pushed.

Her pain came in waves, completely overpowering her and burning through her insides. She had never felt this way in her life and she just wanted this to stop. "Sophia, please, make it stop!" she cried. "Keep it inside."

"It doesn't work like that, and you're past the point of the valerian. Renee, stop crying. Stop crying and look at me!" the midwife commanded, her tone harsh and firm, but loving.

Renee blearily focused her view through her haze of burning agony, the pain twisting her insides. She met Sophia's kind gaze and tried to breathe deeply, willing herself to calm down. You can do this, this is it. Soon, it'll all be over, and we'll meet our baby.

"Okay, I need you to push. Come on, that's it, you can do this, love, I know you can, you're doing so great. Push!" came Sophia's commanding tone. The powers of nature and existence took over, and with strength she didn't even know she had, Renee began to bear down hard, gritting her teeth and biting her tongue so she wouldn't scream, pushing the baby out of her womb. The pain was worse than anything she'd ever felt in her entire life, crippling and degrading. But it didn't stop her. She propelled herself onwards, feeling the head begin to emerge between her legs. She groaned, collapsing her head back against the pillow. Renee saw a smile from Sophia, so she took that as a good sign. It's almost over...

"That's it, Renee, I can see the head, your baby has bright red hair like its father," she teased, loud enough for Quasi to hear.

Adam, encouraged by Sophia's words of comfort, offered his own soothing remarks. "Keep going, love, you're doing wonderful, it's almost over. You can do this, Renee." He flinched as her ironclad grip on his hand tightened. For all her strength and resolve, Renee could not overcome the pain, and her bloodcurdling screams carried on into the late hours of the night, but they brought with them the announcement of a new birth, a new life. Quasi froze, staring at the door, his eyes wide. His wife struggled and pushed, heaved one final groan and he could hear the slightest sound of release, and although she could not see it, Renee flopped against the pillow, panting, exhausted and crying.

"It's out, it's out," she gasped. The loud cries of a newborn infant filled the room. Quasi felt himself breathe an audible heavy sigh of relief. His child was safe. But was his wife...? He heard nothing from Renee. His stomach began twisting into knots again.

"You're a mother, Renee, to a beautiful baby girl! She's beautiful, love, I'm so proud of you!" Adam's kind voice filled the room and he placed a gentle kiss on Renee's cheek.

"Adam, you can look at your godchild later!" Sophia cried, amused but frustrated. "Take the rag and clean her off!" Sophia poked her head out from behind the curtain that led to their bedroom. She was exhausted but she was beaming. "Quasi," she said softly, "would you like to see your little girl?" She stepped out of the room, wiping her hands clean on a rag as she did so.

The bell ringer rushed over to her, taking his friend's hands in his, which still had faint traces of red on them. "Sophia, is Renee...?"

Sophia let out a tired huff of frustration and stomped her foot. "For God's sake, Q! I told you. She's fine. How long have you known me? She's going to be okay. Right now, she's just tired. I told you she would be okay. Give me some credit."

He nodded, silent. Sophia smiled gently and took his hand in hers and led him to their bedroom. He peeked around the door, his eyes cautiously sweeping the room. Sophia stood leaning against the doorway, smiling proudly at the new mother. She looked exhausted but radiant. She sighed and let her brown ringlets fall to her shoulders. Despite her exhaustion, it did nothing to take away from her natural beauty. The midwife surprised Adam by leaning down and pressing her lips to his forehead for a gentle kiss.

"Thank you, Adam," she said, keeping her voice low.

"For what?" he asked, shocked at her gesture.

"For your help tonight, you fool," she teased. "I couldn't have done it without you, old friend. Thank you." Sophia fell silent and clapped him on the shoulder, smiling softly.

"Of course," he said, looking up at her in surprise.

"She's beautiful, you two. Congratulations. You did so great!" Sophia spoke up quietly. Renee was propped up against a mound of pillows, her hair tousled, the color drained from her face, beads of sweat on her forehead. She looked utterly exhausted but was beaming as she cradled a small bundle in her arms swathed in blankets.

A startled cry from the newborn broke her of her moment with her husband. "Thanks for coming out of me," she joked weakly. "Hush now," she whispered to the crying baby in her arms. "It's all right, Mama's here. You're all right," she crooned, and the baby silenced at listening to her mother's soothing tone. Her gray eyes found her own and Renee's heart surged with loved as her daughter's miniature fingers grasped Renee's and held tight. She knew. Somehow, her daughter knew that her mother needed comfort; she knew she needed joy amid her pain. Renee held her baby to her chest tightly. She would never let this Monster Lines 365 precious bundle go, no matter what came, she would always protect her daughter. Even to the point of death, if that's what it took to keep her baby safe. Renee noticed her husband looking and beckoned him over with her eyes. Adam was sitting at the edge of the blanket, smiling, his blue eyes twinkling as he watched the new mother with pride in his heart. Sophia met his eyes and smiled gently. Adam felt sudden warmth in his heart but had no time to dwell on it as he watched Quasi enter the room.

Notre Dame's bell ringer walked over to his wife, kneeling beside his wife and new baby. She didn't say anything, only held out the warm wrappings to him. He pulled back the folds of the blanket and his heart melted, as he looked into the sleeping face of his daughter, his child, his little angel. His child had his red hair, although her hair was more auburn than red. When she would open her eyes later, it would be revealed that their baby had her mother's eyes. Her tiny fingers clutched at her father's gentle fingers in her sleep as dreams swirled around in her head. Quasi felt a single tear slide down his cheek as he planted a kiss on her forehead, placing her back in his wife's arms.

After a while, Sophia took the infant from Renee's arms, letting her sleep against the pillows. She rocked the baby in her arms before handing the baby off to Adam. Adam looked down into the face of his godchild and swallowed as he fought back tears. To distract himself, he asked the new father a question.

"What will you name her?" he asked softly, handing the newborn baby back to Quasi, who cradled her gently against his chest. The priest turned back and smiled at the new parents, his family, with swelling warmth in his heart. Coming over to him, he looked down and placed a gentle kiss on his new godchild's forehead. "Didn't I tell you she would be all right?" he whispered, his eyes twinkling.

Sophia stood silently against the door frame; her arms crossed. Quasi stared at Adam, shocked. Glancing down at his daughter, he realized what Adam's words earlier meant.

He didn't know how their cathedral's priest had known, but he made a mental note never to doubt him again. He leaned down and kissed his wife. "I love you," he whispered passionately. She smiled too, dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep and sheer exhaustion.

"I love you too," she said quietly, closing her eyes and collapsing her head against the pillows. He finally had a normal life. A loving wife, a brand-new baby, friends he'd do anything for, and of course, his guardians. His life was perfect. The two men left the bedroom to allow Renee time to sleep, Sophia trailing close behind.

"What will you name her?" Adam asked again quietly as he watched the new father sit down gently and cradle his daughter as she slept. He'd never gotten an answer. Quasi was quiet for a moment, thinking as he gazed down with love and adoration in his eyes for his child. He pulled his baby close, nuzzling her face tenderly, stroking her cheek with a gentle finger. He wanted to drink this moment in, with his little girl in his hands. Her eyes are more brilliant than he could have ever dreamed, her hands more delicate and tinier.

She felt so light in his arms; she looked perfect and smelled divine. He knew he would be her protector as long as he lived and his love for his daughter and wife would last for all time, long after they were dead and gone.

Adam could barely hear him he when spoke and had to strain to hear.

"Well. We only had one name in mind if it was a girl. Charlotte," he whispered, glancing up at Adam with tears in his eyes. "Renee insisted," he said softly. "She would consider no other name. I hope…that it's okay…"

"What?" he asked, shocked, feeling his eyes grow wide, and tears of his own welling in his eyes. He met Sophia's eyes and he knew she was thinking the same thing. That there would be no greater honor than to be her godparents. Finally, Adam tore his gaze away from the heartbreak in Sophia's eyes and looked out the window, so neither would see his eyes misting. "It's a beautiful name," he croaked hoarsely. Glancing towards Sophia, he nodded. "Come, Soph. We should leave these two alone," he added, a soft smile forming. He held out his hand for her to take, and after a moment's hesitation, she accepted it.

The bell ringer watched the two leave, hand in hand, a soft smile of his own forming on his mouth. "Find your peace, Adam," he whispered. After a while, Renee awoke, hearing their baby crying, despite Quasi's best efforts to keep their new daughter quiet so she could sleep. She was exhausted but smiling in a way that only a mother could explain.

"Here." She held her arms out, gingerly taking baby Charlotte from her father's arms, and wasn't at all surprised when the baby immediately began to wail. "Okay, okay!" she joked, mockingly raising her arms in surrender. "Later, then. I wouldn't want to leave Papa's arms either, sweet baby girl," she crooned, leaning down to plant a gentle kiss on their daughter's forehead.

Glancing up at Quasi, she didn't bother to hide the wide grin that crept onto her face. "She's going to be her father's girl through and through. Spoiled." "You know it, darling," he retorted back, a note of pride in his voice. "Go to sleep," he added, taking note of the dark circles under her eyes and beads of sweat forming on her brow. "I've got this. Trust me?" he asked lovingly. Renee smiled and closed her eyes, nestling her head into his shoulder, their newborn daughter cradled gently in his arms, snuggled against his chest.

"Until the end of the world." Quasi watched his wife slowly fall asleep, and then their baby closed her eyes and followed suit. He felt his heart swell with such an immeasurable sense of happiness and pride, he thought it would surely burst. His wife and daughter and Adam and Sophia held a place in his heart that was irreplaceable. His family was his own heaven's light, and no one would ever be able to take that away from him.

They were home.