Sand Castles and Fairytale Endings
The Epilogue
Author: Robbie (gigglgrl26@hotmail.com)
Spoilers: Up through the Season 8 finale "Lockdown." However, bare in mind I might have taken some liberties along the way.
Archive: Ask and you shall receive.
Disclaimer: While I'd love to be able to lay claim to every character in the story, not a one really belongs to me. They are the property of the big shots at NBC, Warner Brothers, Amblin Productions etc …
Summary: Musings on the generality of life from a beloved ER character. Read on to find out whom.
Note: I'm upping the rating to PG-13 for some minor swearing and possibly offensive subject matter.
Authors Note: Firstly, I'd like to give a shout out to Chanie for lending me the use of one of her brilliant ideas that I've used in this chapter. You're kind, my dear! Secondly, I wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to all those that have reviewed thus far, this fic has been like a child to me that I've finally decided to conclude. I was originally going to go back and write a couple of chapters in between this epilogue and the last chapter, but I recently realized that it doesn't really need it all that badly. It's only taken almost a year to come to this decision, although this chapter has been written for just that long! Please let me know what you think, and again, thanks to any faithful readers who even remember this story! Maybe I'll go back someday and add some more to the middle, but for now, here you are. Enjoy …
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Happiness isn't something that can be defined. It's different depending on who you ask. For some people, it's money. For others, it's the things that money can buy. But for me, sitting here with the love of my life, and our beautiful baby who has her entire future ahead of her, nestled happily in my arms, I know true happiness. The man sitting by my side is so much more than my husband. He's my partner, my best friend, my confidant, my lover, my soul-mate. He brings out the best in me, and I in him. There's nothing I can't tell him, nothing I can't say. He reads me like a book. And all it takes to cheer me up no matter what's wrong is the comforting feel of his arm around my shoulder or his hand intertwined with mine. That's all I need to feel his love seeping into my pores, warming me from the inside out.
I look down to the water where the girls are washing themselves in the tide, their finished masterpiece a few feet behind them. They are both beautiful, gorgeous little treasures that share a motley assortment of features from both John and I. Their very existence is a symbol of our love for each other, an example of the amazing things that can come of such a love like we share.
Even my love for them is not something that can be measured. I only hope that they know. I hope they can sense it through my actions as I raise them, as we raise them together. I want everything for them. If the world was at my beckon and call, they would have anything they desired. But the truth is, someday, they'll have to move on and create their own lives. It is my greatest wish that they'll find the overwhelming happiness that I have.
The sun has finally dropped below the horizon and night has swept its cape-like darkness across the land. The stars shine brightly, bathing the beach in an almost heavenly glow. The girls run, hand-in-hand, towards the porch where we sit and John squeezes my hand as he rises to meet them. He waves in their direction and turns to me, cocking his head to the side.
"Let's go take a moonlit stroll on the beach." His eyes are dancing, and I feel as if the love they emanate is caressing my cheek. Despite my exhaustion, some unknown force causes me to nod as I feel a smile spread across my face. The power he has over me has won again.
"Go. I'll be there in a second. " He nods and walks down the few stairs to meet the girls halfway to the landing where we sit. I can hear their murmuring voices, lilting sounds as their words are carried away by the breeze. As I make a move to stand up, the baby's eyes open and she blinks for a moment before turning to focus on my face. She looks at me like I own the world. Again, that same smile spreads across my face. I gently graze my finger across the silky skin of her cheekbone and press a soft kiss to her forehead. Then, shifting her to my shoulder, I rise and descend the short flight of stairs to where my family stands.
My family.
In all my life, I never thought that I could be a normal person with a normal family. But just look at me now: I have three amazing daughters, and a perfect husband. The most perfect family that I could ever have imagined in my wildest dreams. My family.
It's times like this that I wonder. Maybe there is some truth to fairytales. In every example that I can think of, the life of the heroine starts out badly and goes from bad to worse. But from worse, things begin to get better. The heroine finds happiness and is rescued by her knight in shining armor. They ride off into the sunset on his horse to go home to his lavish castle and live happily ever after. And maybe I'm a hypocrite, but that basic plot seems to mirror my life pretty well. Maybe it's a coincidence. Or maybe it's fate.
Because when I look at my life … and the thought of spending the rest of my days on earth waking up beside John every morning enters my mind, I'm content. I'm looking ahead to it with anticipation. The way I see it, each person has a story, the story of their life. And the way my ending is shaping up to look like, I'll be finishing with those three little words I used to hate so much. Happily ever after …
Maybe all of the stories we tell our children aren't just make-believe. The money we spend buying them the memorabilia isn't spent in vain. Maybe the childhood obsession with castles is one that can metaphorically morph into reality when the knight in shining armor that is really true love comes into their lives. Maybe we all have a chance to live happily ever after in our own little castles.
We're walking along the beach now. The grainy sand feels refreshingly cold and smooth between my bare toes. The moonlight tinges his face in a warm light, accenting every perfect little feature of the face I have come to hold so dear. Beneath the blanket of stars etched in the vast expanse of sky, John and I are walking together side by side. His muscular arm is draped around my shoulder and I'm holding the baby by the waist, dipping the tips of her toes in the water. The grin plastered across her face is priceless as each time the tide tickles the bottom of her foot she makes a little sound that is a cross between a surprised shriek and a bemused chuckle. The girls are running after each other in a self-employed game of tag a couple of feet ahead of where we're walking.
We're walking and talking and laughing. I'm pondering on the finer points of life, fate, and the past and future. Questions of the truth in fairy tales will always make me wonder, but for now, I know the truth. I've found happiness.
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~ Fine ~
Authors Note II: Well folks, that's it. I've really enjoyed writing this fic and it is my hope that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
