Four years later
"I can't wait for Uncas to come back" Alice says to Cora as they talk to each other in the centre of the village. The three Mohicans have been gone for a week in order to sell some furs and the Munro sisters hate every time they have to separate from their husbands.
"The same happens to me with Nathaniel. I wish they were here all the time. Fortunately, they won't have to travel anymore in a long time" When she finishes that statement, Cora feels a pair of hands tugging at her skirt. She looks down and sees her three-year-old daughter raising her arms towards her.
"Come here, Alexandra" she picks the toddler up in her arms and smiles at her. Her name had been chosen to honour the memory of the Mohican's beloved friend, Alexandra Cameron. However, she and Nathaniel chose a second native name, Takoda, which means "friend to all". They thought it suited her because of the fact that she belonged to two worlds and she was going to love both of them.
"I want to see papa" Alexandra says, looking at her mother. She has Cora's features but her father's green eyes.
"I know my love, but he will come soon" Cora says tenderly, caressing her daughter's brown mane.
Alice kisses her niece, just before leaving mother and daughter alone. Alexandra is like a miniature of Cora and she has the same strong temper as well. She smiles remembering all the times that the little girl teams up with her mother against her father. But clearly she loves her papa deeply.
As she walks around the village, Alice repairs on how much her life has changed over the past few years. She has totally adjusted to live among the Delaware and she loves that kind of life full of freedom and happiness. I couldn't come back to my previous life in London, with all its restrictions and social convictions.
Then, her eyes repair on Chimalis, sitting beside her daughter and husband, as he caresses her pregnant belly. As the strong woman she was, she managed to move on with her life, after Uncas' rejection, and finally she found love in a good friend of hers. The young warrior had been in love with her for a long time, but she was so focused on Uncas that she had not been able to see it. But he was by her side after Uncas and Alice's wedding, so finally she understood where her heart belonged to.
When her eyes repair on Alice, Chimalis smiles warmly at her. Over the years, they have developed a friendship and Alice is helping her with her second pregnancy. She smiles back at her and keeps on wandering around the village.
Then, she sees Aquene and her husband Maska, along with Shysie, talking to Minda. She waves at them and is about to join them when she hears a noise in the distance.
The Mohicans are coming!
Chingachgook, Nathaniel and Uncas approach the village quickly, eager to return home. She is about to run to her husband, when she sees someone else running to him as well.
"Papa!" Tommy runs to his father with a bright smile over his face. He is four years old and the vivid image of his mother. Blonde hair, fair skin and Alice's eyes, but it doesn't prevent him from feeling as Mohican as his father.
Right after him, as fast as his chubby legs allow him, runs his little brother, Kitchi. Opposite to Tommy, the two-year-old toddler is the vivid image of his father, with black hair and dark eyes, though his skin is not so dark, a mixture of his parents' skin. His name means "brave", an adjective that both his parents have proved to be and he will be too, as the Mohican warrior he will become someday.
Uncas picks both his sons up in his arms, as Nathaniel does the same to Alexandra, who comes to her father as well. Alice smiles, watching Uncas saying something to the children that makes them laugh and embrace him even tighter. As the good father he is, he has never made any distinctions between his sons and has never considered Tommy different for being adopted. As his own father did with him and Nathaniel, he loves both children the same, despite the fact that one of them is not of his blood. And Tommy has always considered him his father, the person who will always protect him and guide him in the world. Alice remembers a very special moment a long time ago…
Four years ago
"Say it again" Uncas says, smiling at the baby in his arms.
Tommy remains silent for a moment, as if he was focusing on his task. "Pa…pa" he makes an effort to pronounce the word correctly. "Papa".
"Have you heard it, Alice?" Uncas turns to his wife with a bright smile over his face and a joy in his voice that it is impossible to hide. "His first word. And he has called me papa"
The pride in Uncas' voice is evident and Alice knows that his happiness is not only because Tommy has said his first word, but for the fact that he has called him "papa" for the first time. It is like the proof that he really considers the Mohican his father. But how could he not consider him his father when he is the man who has always taken care of him?
"Yes, I heard it" Alice assures him again, chuckling because of the fact that Uncas has been asking Tommy to repeat the word time after time since the moment he pronounced it, a while ago. "You are his papa after all".
Uncas smiles and kisses her. They are in their wigwam, lying together in the furs, covering to the waist with a blanket, with Tommy lying on top of Uncas. Alice, dressed in a pretty nightgown, caresses her husband's bare chest while the baby plays with the Mohican's braid.
"Our son is very smart for his age. I'm sure other children doesn't say their first word so soon" Uncas says to an amused Alice, who knows that is common for children to say their first words at Tommy's age. Then turning to the baby, he adds. "You are a very smart little man. And you are growing so fast that soon I will have to take you to hunt with me"
He tickles Tommy, who giggles loudly, as Alice observes the tender scene with a smile full of love for the most important men of her life…
Back to the present
"I think your parents need to talk. Why don't you come with me? I will tell you a story about our trip" Chingachgook says to all his grandchildren.
"Yes, grandpa!" Tommy exclaims as Uncas puts his sons down again. The three children run to their grandfather, eager to spend time with him and listen to his stories.
Uncas observes Tommy and Kitchi as they walk away, along with their cousin Alexandra and their grandfather. Physically, they are very different from each other, but the colour of their skin never matter to them in terms of loving each other as good brothers. Kitchi already admires his older brother and Tommy is always protective with him. Uncas explained him once that he, as the older one, had to be an example for his little brother and Tommy took the task very seriously. Watching them playing together reminds him of Nathaniel and himself, when they were children. One so pale and the other so dark, but with the same love towards each other. They have always been good brothers, despite the fact that they don't share the same blood. And it will be the same for Tommy and Kitchi. Well, in that case they share their mother's blood but it doesn't matter anyways. Family is not about blood; it is about love.
Uncas sees Alice running to him and he can't be happier. Finally, I'm home. With my beautiful wife and my beloved children. When she throws her arms around his neck, he lifts her from her feet, turning her around, as she giggles happily.
"Oh Uncas, you can't imagine how much I have missed you" Alice says, when he finally puts her down. "I wish you never had to leave"
"I have missed you too. And I would like to stay with you and the children all the time but we need to sell the furs" Uncas says, touching her face. "But now I'm here and I won't leave in a long time" He kisses her deeply as Nathaniel does the same to Cora, who has run to his arms as well.
My father was wise enough to take the children with him. He knew my brother and I would like to share a private moment with our wives" Uncas thinks as he walks with Alice to their wigwam…
"It's wonderful how, despite the war, this land still keeps its beauty" Alice says amazed, looking at the beautiful landscape in front of them. She and Uncas have decided to take their children to a small trip, not too far from the village, something that all of them enjoy to do. Now husband and wife look over the horizon from the top of a hill, while Tommy and Kitchi run and play close to them.
"Long time ago, it was even more beautiful but war destroys everything. Fortunately, it has not reached this place and it won't do it. We are safe here" Uncas reassures his wife. He knows that she worries about war, but they are far from it. The Delaware doesn't take part on it, so they remain in a safe area where they can live in peace.
After a moment of silence, Alice speaks. "I wish they would leave. The French and the English soldiers. They have only brought suffering to this land. To your people".
"They brought you too".
Hearing his words, Alice turns to him and sees the love in his eyes. She smiles, knowing the meaning behind his words. In the middle of the dark, there was a spark of light that allowed us to find each other.
"They will conquer this land. They are already doing it. And they don't want people like me here" Uncas says beside her. "Doesn't matter how they pretend to be our allies, just to get our help in the war. I know what they really think about us. That we are no more than savages".
Alice touches his shoulder affectionately, feeling the sorrow in his voice. "Anyone who considers you a savage is no more than an idiot. And even if they conquer this land, it will always be your land, not theirs".
Uncas smiles at her kind words. "This is your land too. People like you are always welcome here". His people doesn't have no problem sharing their land with people like Alice, kind and respectful with everybody, not like the soldiers who kill families and destroy even the grass they walk on.
Alice smiles at his statement, observing her beautiful family. She and Tommy's fair skin and Uncas and Kitchi's dark features. They are so different physically, but the bond between the four of them is unbreakable. The mixture of two worlds that, instead of fighting, have decided to unite and create something together.
We chose love where others chose war.
Right then, Uncas embraces her from behind, as she leans on him, touching his clasped hands around her waist.
"You know…my father always says that one day there will be no more of our people. That the fate of this land is to be inhabited by the white man, first the settlers and then…who knows. That's why it was so important to him for me to carry on the Mohican line" Uncas says with a serious expression, resting his head on Alice's shoulder. "But it doesn't matter what we do, the Mohicans will disappear of the world at some point".
"No" Alice says firmly, parting away from him and looking directly at his eyes. "Your people will survive. I don't know why but I know it. And other tribes too…maybe not all of them, but some will do it" Then she adds. "Though this land is conquered by the white man, you will always be here".
Uncas thinks about Alice's words. Maybe she is right…maybe my father is wrong and there is a chance for us to survive. It will be difficult but we can do it. He imagines that place many centuries later. Most of the people will be descendants of the settlers and of the Europeans but there may be natives as well. Maybe they will live in peace, keeping their traditions and sharing them with people willing to learn about them. People like Alice.
Right then, their children run to them and Alice picks Kitchi in her arms, as Uncas holds Tommy by the hand. The four of them look over the horizon, as Uncas holds Alice's waist with his free arm.
"You are right. There will be many more generations of Mohicans that will begin with Tommy and Kitchi" He looks tenderly at his children and then at his beloved wife. Then, looking at the horizon, he adds.
"I won't be the last of the Mohicans".
THE END
Author's note: We finally have reached the end of the story...and of course it's a totally happy ending for everyone! It could not be otherwise, I'm unable to write anything about this couple that doesn't end in a perfect way. The idea of Uncas and Alice having another child together has been on my mind since I started writing this story, and I wanted for him to be a boy, so that the situation between him and Tommy was similar to the one between Uncas and Nathaniel. And I wanted for Uncas to do the same as his own father did: raising an adopted son, along with a blood one. And of course he will be as good a father as Chingachgook!
I'm sad that this story it's over because I know I'm going to miss it a lot but, at the same time, I'm proud of myself for being able to finish it. I still can't believe that I've been able to write such a long story with a complex plot like this one! I'm not planning to write a sequel but who knows...maybe I will write some one-shot about Alice and Uncas with their children someday...I will give it a thought.
I want to thank all of you who have reviewed this story and the silent readers as well. Honestly, when I started working on it, I wasn't sure if you were going to like it because of the changes in Alice's character and the fact that she already had a son. I'm glad to know I was wrong! And a special thanks to BlueSaffire, AsterLaurel, ELY72, MohawkWoman and Eilan21 for taking your time to leave a review in each chapter and for your constant support. You are amazing!
Finally, for those of you who are reading this, believing you are not good enough to write your own story, I have to tell you that you are completely wrong! Before posting my first story, I spent a lot of time reading fanfiction, believing I wasn't good enough to write my own story. I had some ideas about Alice and Uncas that I wanted to share but I thought nobody would be interested on them and that my writing skills were poor. Also, I was aware that this fandom is mostly in English, which made things more complicated, because if I wanted for my stories to reach more people, I would have to write in a language that is not my first one.
But one day I decided to try it. Since then, I've posted several things in this wonderful fandom and I've found only support. Though I'm aware there are a lot of writers much better than me and that I still have to improve my writing skills, I'm proud of all my stories. Simply because they are my creations and all of them have come from my imagination and my work. That's why I would like to encourage all of you to share your own stories, I can assure you that you are good enough to do it.
And that's all! I will take a rest before starting working on my next story, that I've already have on mind, but I promise I will come back. See you soon!