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A/N: Okay, so I lied – I did keep you waiting. Anyway, hope you enjoy; thanks to all my reviewers, I will thank you in a more proper way when this story has ended.
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Chapter 9: Back Where I Belong
None knew how they had exactly gotten home – Jonathan, brimming with the utmost happiness, had led the way, practically skipping towards their manor.
Behind him, Rick and Evie walked, slower, both with their arms around one another. The rain had long ago stopped, and now, that fresh scent, one of renewal, one of new beginnings, was in the air.
Evie's mascara, which had not at all be affected by the pounding rain, was now blotched beneath her eyes, constantly being washed away by the tears that fell.
They were tears of happiness, tears of the purest joy.
She smiled, tears streaming, her hold on her husband tightening. This...this moment......could not have been any more perfect, any more gratifying.
He had come back to her...She had come back to him...And once again, everything in the world was right again.
Rick had tears running down his face as well. Whatever emotions ran through his beautiful wife, he felt too.....The bond that had always connected them was now stronger than ever, and the feelings that ran through it washed over husband and wife together.
His happiness reached such high amounts that he lifted his wife off of the ground and began to carry her in his arms.
She smiled as she leaned forward – they kissed each other, sweetly, before she placed her head in the crook of his shoulder, swaying gently in his carried embrace.
Life had finally returned, and suddenly, to the both of them, eternity didn't seem long enough.
~{:*:}~
Upon arriving inside, Jonathan quickly excused himself – he was so incredibly happy at having his brother-in-law back with them, but he was sure that, right now, Evie needed his presence more than he did.
She dropped her coat on a chair, something that usually would have been shocking for the impeccable Evelyn. But now, that didn't matter to her.
What mattered to her was the fact that her husband was there, standing not 2 feet from her, flashing his goofy, adorable little smile...he was so very alive, something she had wished for during so many long days and nights...
Slowly, almost shyly, she walked up closer to him, beginning to feel his presence again, to feel the force of life that swirled around him.
He gradually came towards her as well, that same bashfulness dancing over his handsome features. He hand his hands dangling loosely at his side, as if he didn't know what else to do.
Finally, they reached each other – for just a moment, they stood still, drinking in the sight of one another.
Rick slowly brought his hand up and caressed the side of her cheek; she put her hand over his, as if that simple gesture could quell all the fears that ran through her.
She looked up at him, gazed into his starry blue eyes, tears beginning to form in her own.
"I thought I had...lost you..." she whispered, barely audible.
His grin faded away slightly.
"I thought I had lost you, too."
He brought his hand, along with hers, away from her cheek, placing it in a hold against his heart. She felt its steady beat under her hand...
...*thump*... ...
...*thump*... ...
So very alive. And here with her again.
"But that doesn't matter anymore, sweetheart. We're here, together again."
He slowly wrapped her in an embrace, trying to be gentle and yet, at the same time, seeming to try to envelope her into himself.
Evie closed her eyes, allowed herself to become pulled into him. She felt immense comfort in his large frame, in the way that it completely covered her.
"Don't...don't..." she began to stammer out through her tears. "Don't...ever...leave me...please, I don't think...I could stand it..."
He brought her away from himself slightly, and looked directly into her eyes. Grim determination set into his face.
"I promise you, Evie. Never again; I will always be here by your side...I promise, sweetheart..."
With that, he held her close to him again, slowly rubbing her back as small cries escaped her.
"I love you Evie...now, and forever..."
She brought her arms up to rest around his shoulders. She looked at him, then kissed him, deeply but gently, emotion pouring between the two twin souls. She pulled back, her hazel gaze directed into his blue one.
"And I love you, my darling...now, and forever..."
They kissed each other again, letting the feelings of mutually stored anguish filter from their bodies.
And in that moment, both knew that their words had been true. That love would always keep them together – it would not allow them to be separated from what they both knew...
...now, and forever...
~{:*:}~
Evie guided him up the stairs, watchful as he reacquainted himself with what he had once known.
They were about to enter into the bedroom, the one they had always shared, when...
He looked down the hall, peering at the open doorway that stood at the end of it. He knew it, knew it because his memories had told him what lay there.
...It was Alex's bedroom...
Slowly, Rick walked over to the door, a curious Evie right behind him. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but eventually he did.
He saw his son there, planted firmly in his bed, a gentle snoring escaping the seemingly small body.
Tears began to well up once again in Rick's eyes as he watched the sleeping figure of his son.
He had known the emotions that had flooded through his son after the events that had tormented them at Ahm-Shere. He knew about Alex's fear of his inability to save his father. He knew what that had done to his son...
He felt Evie's small hand enter his own, squeezing gently.
"Come darling, let's go to bed. You'll see Alex in the morning – we can explain everything then...although I'm not exactly sure myself as to what I will say...I don't know the full story."
Rick smiled slightly.
"I'll tell you later."
He gently lifted his wife back into his arms and headed for the bedroom.
He...they would explain everything to Alex in the morning, just as best they could.
That was all there was to do – Rick only hoped that it would be enough to bring his son back from the depths, back from the darkness that he had had to endure for so very long.
