Chapter 5 "Father, A New Title"

Gourry looked into Lina's eyes as he drew his last sweet breath. As the life poured out of him, he whispered,

"Lina, please take care of our child wellI love you"

And that was that. Gourry, the source of Lina's first smile, laugh, and friendship, was dead because of her. Lina immediately began to cry, harder than she's ever allowed herself to cry before. She thought of all the times when she and Gourry would sit up and talk all night to each other, and how they would laugh at each other for the stupidest things.but those times were over now. Lina would never again see his face, never again hear his voice, and never again feel his warm and sensitive touch.but that was the least of their problems right now. There was one gang member left, and he had fought Lina twice before. He was ready to fight, and now, more than ever, Zel knew he had to fight with every ounce of his beinghe must save Lina. He must do what Gourry died trying to do

Zel picked up Gourry's sword, swung it as hard as he could, and before the gang member knew what hit him, he was cut in half. Zel had severed the man in half, and now that man was finally dead. All of the gang memebers werebut somehow that didn't seem significant to either Lina or Zel. It finally hit Zel that he had considered Gourry to be his best friend. Although he never saw it when Gourry was alive, Zel had grown to have a special bond with Gourry. He also realized that the in-animate being on the ground was his best friend and that he would never be able to have a conversation with him ever again. The severity of their mistake was finally dawning upon Zel as he slowly walked over toward Lina. He had no words to describe what he was feeling inside, and he was sure Lina didn't either. Instead, Zel leaned over and picked Lina up off of the ground. He tightly wrapped his arms around her, signifying his compassion for her feelings. Zel could feel a wet spot growing on his shirt, and he knew it was from Lina's tears. She was silently weeping; not making a sound.

Lina had never felt such despair before. She knew that up until that day, she was never going to see him again, but she never really wanted that to happen. At least she would have left on a happier note, and known that he was somewhere out there thinking about her. She couldn't take it anymore. She just wanted to go homebut there was no home to go to. She had no more family. She had become a bandit hunter because her whole family was mudered by bandits. Gourry was the first person to ever stop out of their way to help her, and to become her friend. She admired him for that---obviously enough to make love to him and carry his child. But all those were now were memories. Intangible things that would be forever lost in the vast reaches of her mind, only to be recalled in the most tragic of times, and the greatest of times. She pulled away from Zel to look into his eyes. Could she ever grow to have the same love for him as she had for Gourry. That was a possiblility. She wanted someone to love, and Zel just happened to have the same feelings for her.

Unfortunately, Zel didn't want to love her anymore. He felt it would be an injustice to Gourry. He felt like he would be dishonoring his best friends' wishes. He wanted nothing more that to be with Lina, and live out the rest of their days together. Despite his feelings of sorrow for Gourry, he decided that it would be in Lina's best nature if he stayed with her. Lina didn't say a word to Zel; nor Zel to Lina. They just grabbed each others hands, and walked down the windy path back to the city

5 months have passed since the untimely death of Gourry, and Lina and Zel have grown very close. Every night they talk for hours about their memories of Gourry, and all the adventures the trio had had. Though Lina and Zel were falling back in love, Lina felt that she could never love him as much as she had loved Gourry. She wanted to--no doubt about that, but she couldn't. Well, of course being 9 months pregnant, Lina was ready to get the baby out of her. But she hadn't decided whether or not to let Zel be the baby's legal guardian. She thought it would be the right thing to do, but she didn't know how Gourry would feel about that.

At 3:29 am, the contractions started. Lina was feeling immense physical painnot the worst she'd ever felt, but pretty damn close. Zel stood by her side holding her hand every moment of labor. It took 13 hours straight to get that baby out of there and Zel didn't so much as blink the whole time. That was what made Lina decide to let Zel be the baby's guardian. If he could stand without moving for 13 hours with a woman in immense pain crushing his hand, and not flinching at all, he had to be fit for the job.

As soon as Lina woke up, she was approached by Zel, who was holding Lina's child. She realized it was a girlshe had hoped it was a boy so she could name it Gourry, but sometimes, fate has a different course. She couldn't think of what to name her, but she knew she had to. She wanted Zel to do it, but that would be wrongit wasn't even his baby. She decided on the name Sylphiel. She had met a girl named that one time when the group was fighting the evil sorcerer Rezo, the great knight. Her baby looked so beautiful as the light came pouring in from the window. It was as if an angel had been sent to her as if to say, I knew Gourry would die, so I came to take his place and help you. Lina couldn't speak, she was so stunned that she had produced another life instead of destroying it. This awoke new feelings in Lina, ones that had been pushed down so far, that she never knew they existed. The corners of Lina's eyes were forming tearsbut this time, they were of happiness. She took the baby into her arms, and looked into its eyes. How precious the baby was, never making a sound, or making a move. Just being perfectly still and serene. Lina knew she had a responsibility to Gourry to bring the baby up right. From that point on, Lina decided to buckle down and get a job that wouldn't put her, or any of her family in danger. She looked up at Zel and said,

"Though you may no be the biological father of Sylphiel, you are her father. I will need you to be there for us, to act as a husband, and a father. She needs a male figure in her life, and because Gourry is dead, you must step up to the plate. I couldn't be more happy to accept you as her father. You have shown me how sensitive you are down deep inside, and I am falling back in love with you. I really hope you realize that the return of you and Gourry was the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm glad I got to say goodbye to him one last time, and I'm glad to hear him say he loved me, even after all we've been through."

And with that, Lina got up from the bed and watched the beautiful sunset over the lake. Zel, who had been watching her the whole time picked up the baby, walked over to the window, and together, Zel, Lina and Sylphiel watched the sunset together in utter peaceful silence

The end.

Thank you for reading my story. I know this last chapter was very short, but it was mostly just a conclusion anyway. I am done with this story, but I am just beginning my long career as a writer. If you haven't already, please read my ff7 poem entitled :Lovers entanglement with Turmoil". Again, thank you for supporting me in this story, and keep watch for my new story about ff7 called "A Love Not Recognized".