It was surreal for Sidney to be in front of Stu's home while talking to Billy's daughter. Being confronted with two ghosts from her past was a bit jarring. However, Sam seemed to be grateful for her advice and truly cared for her little sister. The only understandable anger she held was only towards her now dead boyfriend, Richie. Although having her late father's dark eyes struck a sense of familiarity and some eeriness within the mother of three. She also knew that Sam was her own person. She wasn't like her deranged and deceased father and grandmother.
Sidney did draw comfort from having Gale by her side. Together, they helped avenged Dewey's death. In spite of being estranged from him for several years, the seasoned journalist chose to honor the ex-sheriff instead exploiting another tragedy. Even though he was gone, the years he spent with Gale clearly helped her grow.
They were both wounded but not severe enough to require major surgery. With Dewey's killer dead, they got closure and could now take a breath. It still didn't change the fact that her oldest friend and the love of Gale's life was gone. But she had no doubt that the veteran reporter's future book about the late sheriff would do him justice.
The safe house where Mark and the kids were staying at belonged to a film producer friend of his father's. It was located on Big Bear Lake but luckily, the neighboring houses were unoccupied. Wallace and Lila joined Mark to help with the kids and the former wanted to provide extra security. Five out of the eight FBI agents on Kincaid's team were his security detail. It comforted him to know that not one of those agents would fail him.
His mouth curled and released a sigh of relief when Sidney's name and photo appeared on his phone's screen. Wallace and Lila stayed in the living room with the kids watching Raya and the Last Dragon. His former partner discreetly nodded at him as he walked onto the balcony to get some privacy. After he closed the glass door behind him, he accepted the call.
"Sid, are you all right? How's Gale?" He looked at the lake's dark waters.
Hearing his soothing voice brought a smile to her lips, "Yeah, the EMT gave me staples for the stab wound on my stomach and-…" She eyed Gale next to her when Mark reacted.
"You were stabbed in the stomach, again?!" He gripped the balcony's handrail.
"It's not a deep cut and Gale was shot but like me she was treated at the scene. Although we're staying overnight at the hospital for observation." In response to the EMT draping her shoulders with a blanket, she grinned at the female paramedic and thanked her.
After an exhale, he stated, "Sid, I'm coming down there-…"
"About that, Dewey's funeral is the day after tomorrow. I-uh, I was thinking that we bring the girls. They're old enough to understand what happened and they loved him too. They deserve to say goodbye to him."
Nodding, he answered. "They do. Should I tell them tonight about Dewey?"
"No, we'll tell them together, tomorrow. How are they doing?" Her legs crossed.
Glancing behind him, he saw Angie and Elle laughing, "Well, they believe that you're helping Gale with her work and right now, they're happily watching a movie with Wallace and Lila. But we miss you."
"I miss you guys too. We're heading to the hospital now. Give our kids all of my love and kisses." She began climbing into the ambulance.
"I will, but do I get one too?" He smirked.
With a small giggle, she told him, "You're lucky that you're cute and that I'm on painkillers. And yes, you do. I love you, so much."
Imagining the smile on her face brought one to his, "I love you too. Sleep well, Sid."
"Goodnight, Mark." As the ambulance started pulling away from the Stu's house, Sidney wished that it was tomorrow.
Before they left the hospital, a blonde woman in her early forties approached Sidney and Gale. She was Ms. Bethany Grayson, Dewey's lawyer. The attorney led them into a conference room where she read them his will. Instead of being buried next to his mother, he opted to be cremated. He chose Gale to be in charge of his estate; she inherited his pension, life insurance and the keys to his trailer. For Sidney, he left her Tatum's ashes and some of her belongings. He also had specific instructions for Gale on how his memorial service should be held. It was somewhat unconventional but it was uniquely him.
Both women were utterly stunned at how messy Dewey's trailer was until their eyes went to the kitchen. Their shock turned into sadness at the bottles of liquor on the counter tops. Guilt came to the late sheriff's ex-wife and longtime friend.
During her last conversation with him, Gale learned that he was struggling but had no idea that it was this bad. She walked over to the framed photo where he was kissing her on the cheek and picked it up. Holding it to her heart, she admitted, "After he abandoned me in New York…I was so hurt and pissed off. I should have come down here and faced him instead of just holding onto my pain and staying away from him for all these years!"
Gripping her shoulders, Sidney said, "Gale, you had every right to be upset and you live on the other side of the country. I'm just a few hours away but he still chose to distance himself from me. I mean, look around, he didn't want us to see him living like this… So, it's not entirely on us that we all drifted apart."
Gale touched her friend's forearm and briefly gave her a small grin, "I know, Sid. But I should have fought harder. Even if we still divorced, he would have at least told me the real reason why he left. And we would have been there for each other when we it mattered."
With a slow nod, she admitted, "I get it. I always avoided coming back here because of all the shit that's happened. I couldn't see that Dewey was the best part of this town. And before all the murders and loss, I had a lot of happy memories here. But we're here now and he wouldn't want us to blame ourselves. It's life, we make mistakes and things happen, but we still loved each other."
They shared a warm hug until there was a knock at the door. Some of the deputies came to help them clean out the trailer; they graciously accepted their kind offer.
With Mark and the girls due to arrive in less than an hour, Sidney took a moment for herself and decided to take Tatum's ashes to the park. She walked over to the tree where they used to talk about their lives and share their deepest secrets. Her dark eyes started welling up at the flood of beautiful memories that came rushing at her. She cleared her throat and spoke.
"I know that uh, wherever you are, you're back with Dewey and your mom. And that all of you have made your new home a much better place. Someday, we'll see each other again. I miss you and I love you, Tatum." She wiped tears from her eyes before spreading the ashes around the tree.
After he pulled into the hotel's parking lot and helped unbuckle Elle from her booster seat, Mark sent Sidney a text informing her of their arrival. An enormous smile spread across his face the minute he stepped out of the car and saw Sidney quickly walking out of the hotel's entrance. He wanted to pull her into his arms but remembered that she was injured. Once she was close enough to him, he held her face. "Hey there, Stranger."
Her perfect lips curled before she planted a kiss on his mouth. "I'm so glad you're all here!" She stroked his face then bent down to accept Angie and Elle's hugs.
Instead of having dinner in the hotel's restaurant, Sidney ordered room service and set up lunch on their suite's balcony. With their bellies full of chicken and turkey sandwiches and fresh fruit, they went into the living room. They sat down on the black sectional sofa. Mark and Sidney held hands as they gently broke the news about Dewey's passing.
At first, they were silent but the attentive parents could see the disbelief on their faces turn into sorrow. Angie's blue eyes became flooded while the younger Kincaid's bottom lip began trembling. It broke a piece of their souls to see their daughters in such distress. They wish they could absorb the sadness for them, but they also knew that it wasn't realistic nor healthy. As hard as it was to watch, their girls had to feel grief and learn to process it.
Elle spoke first but couldn't hide the quiver in her voice, "So, he's dead like-like Mufasa in The Lion King?"
Sidney nodded, "Yes, Sweetie. But he saved two sisters who needed him. He was a hero."
Angie wiped her eyes, "We didn't even get to say goodbye to him!"
Mark sat next to Angie and handed her a tissue from the box on coffee table. He placed his arm around her, "I know, it's not fair…but he knew that you two loved him and he loved you both so much.
So, tomorrow, we're gonna meet other people who loved him and we'll share stories about how caring, funny and brave he was."
Sidney cupped Elle's face, "His body is gone but his spirit isn't. And that's what we're honoring tomorrow."
Angie nodded then sniffled, "OK, but-but I'm still gonna miss Uncle Dewey so much!"
"We all will, Sweetheart." Mark kissed her forehead then did the same with Elle. "Whatever you two are feeling you can tell us or if you just want us to hold you, that's fine too. We're here for you and we love you."
Sidney gazed at her husband while he consoled their daughters; she couldn't imagine loving him more.
The Inside Scoop hosted Dewey's memorial service, it was his favorite place in Woodsboro. Press and media outlets weren't allowed inside the charming ice cream shop, only the late cop's loved ones were in attendance. Kirby and Dante were unable to attend due to work, but they did call Gale and sent her flowers. They also made a donation to Dewey's favorite charity.
On the east wall, the owner hanged a large framed photo of Dewey. The portrait was taken the day he graduated from the police academy. In front of it was a table that had a donation box for a charity that Dewey had specified in his will, a local children's hospital.
Gale stood in front of Dewey's portrait and addressed the crowd. "Thank you for being here. He would be so touched to know just how loved he was.
Dewey was the best person I knew. So much that, he cared more about others than he did himself. Until a few days ago, I didn't even know why he left me." Save for Sidney and Mark, everyone else seemed surprised at her admission.
"He was afraid that he couldn't cut it in New York…but he also didn't want me to think that I had to choose between him and my dream." She took a breath and let a small smile pull at her lips, "He truly was good for the sake of good. And I have no doubt the world is a bit darker without him in it…But I also know that he made this community a much better place and his impact can never be erased. So, let's use this time to remember and honor the sweet, brave, hopeful, sometimes goofy and incredible man that was Dewey Riley."
Everyone politely clapped until the next speaker walked up, it was a childhood friend of his. Those who followed were either fellow officers or friends who shared funny or heartwarming stories about the former sheriff.
Sidney was the last person to speak. "Dewey was the older brother that I always wanted. He was a protector, an uncle to our kids but also a great friend. It's why we chose him to officiate our wedding." She tipped her heads towards Mark and received a supportive grin from him.
"In his remarks, he said to treasure life's gifts and to always support each other when tragedy strikes. His words couldn't be timelier and truer at this moment. Despite his recent struggles, he still stood up and did was what right. He always fought for people even if he didn't know them because that's what a real hero does. He was taken from us…but he wasn't defeated. Thank you, Dewey, for always fighting for us."
The crowd gave her a warm applause before they started to leave the family-owned business. Gale, Mark and the girls took turns hugging her when she returned to their table.
She lightly gripped her friend's arm, "Sid, I'm taking some time off from work and I'll be staying here for a few days to do research for my book. But I want to interview you last, I'd rather do that at your home, if that's all right?"
Sidney's mouth curved upward, "Of course it is! Gale, you're family."
Mark chimed in, "You can stay with us, if you want. We have plenty of room and you'll finally get to meet Beckett!"
Her hands went to her hips, "Thanks Mark, but you literally live in a full house that includes three kids under the age of ten, one is still in diapers and you have four dogs. I love you all but I love sleeping more."
They all laughed at her honesty.
Almost one week later, Sidney and Gale were in the former's home office looking at old photos of Dewey. The ex-Mrs. Riley hadn't seen most of the pictures. She seemed genuinely moved by viewing snapshots from his youth. They were interrupted by Mark using the intercom, lunch was ready.
The devoted father was in the kitchen with Beckett in his arms when Sidney and Gale entered.
"Where are the kids?" Sidney asked. "Also, it's way too quiet."
He didn't hide his amusement while he explained, "Well, our girls along with Ayla and Mikin plan to ambush us with water balloons once we bring lunch outside. And they forgot that we have a security camera on the patio. They're currently hiding behind the outdoor kitchen and chuckling at how clever they are."
Gale covered Beckett's ears with her hands, "Those little shits obviously don't know that I've made a career out of ambushing people!"
Giggling, Sidney agreed, "You're a real pro. So, what are we gonna do about it?" Her eyes went to her husband.
With a smirk on his face, Mark opened the refrigerator revealing a gray square plastic basin filled with water balloons, "Turn the tables."
Using the garage, Mark, Gale and Sidney with Beckett in her arms snuck up on the Kincaid sisters and the Park siblings. Gale launched the first volley when Angie asked what was taking her parents so long. The pink balloon smashed against the nine-year-old's back. Both teams threw their harmless ammo at one another while laughing and saying playful threats.
Beckett managed to toss a green balloon at Mark's chest and cheerfully clapped when it burst. Sidney chuckled and complimented the fifteen-month-old child. Mark pecked his son's forehead before tenderly kissing her lips. After she withdrew her mouth from his, they admired everyone else getting lost in their happiness. Radiant smiles stretched across the couple's faces as they savored the sweet moment.
Note: This is the last chapter! Thanks to everyone who has read, subscribed and placed this story under their favorites! It means so much to me that you took the time to give this fic some love. Since this is the last chapter, please leave a review!