Author's note: Here it is. The last chapter of Lucky Lara. *sniffle* Gosh, I had such a great time doing this. Still, there are always my other fics, and I'd truly love some reviews for those… ;  ) Thanks very much to everyone who reviewed.

I might do a sequel… a short one. You never know. Anyway this wraps up everything – I invented a name for Dr. Laisky because the records didn't provide me with one. Thanks to Ariel, whose brother's name I used. Lol.

I think I repeated myself a lot at the ending. Sorry.

Dr. Laisky was an American missionary doctor, so I included a mild Christian theme in this chapter. It's a bit brief, without anything exciting like falling off mountains, but I hope it came out short, sweet, and memorable as an ending.

Thank you all very much. *blows kisses to the crowd and waves* Finally, I'll print and revamp this soon, so there might be changes eventually.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was a long time before I could bring myself to go outside. When I did, somebody's dog was running towards me and I screamed and ran back in. I was totally paranoid for two more glorious hours until Laisky took me by the hand and led me out. There was something comforting about him I just couldn't place.

Rescue workers had flown in with supplies, and I'd helped nick some for Evan – that was his name. When the villagers fell ill, he was nearly always short of medication. We grew close. He said it was wonderful to speak English to someone but we both knew it wasn't much that.

The reporters poured in too. When they passed me a card from my parents, I felt strangely disconnected and uncomfortable – numbed. That was something I couldn't quite fathom either. I cried when one of them asked me about Rebecca. They understood.

I soon got to know the villagers too. The medics had informed me that by no means was I leaving in my current constitution. Together Evan and I would crack private jokes about the chief. The children were overjoyed to see all of us, and we'd sneak them bars of chocolate we'd stolen from the fatter reporters. We figured they wouldn't need them much.

Despite all this, it wasn't a happy time. I spent a lot of my time sitting outside in the snow in the new coat the villagers had provided me with, staring at that huge white expanse at the snow-capped peaks in the distance. It bordered on agoraphobia. Death. It hovered upon us like a drifting shadow, I realized, forever there, just waiting for his dice to cease rolling, to choose its victims, to hold the, in his snare… all to be encompassed by the eternal snows.

The night before I had to leave, I wished I'd broken my leg, or my neck even. I suddenly had no real desire to return home. To look death in his ugly face and laugh at his scythe. How would my parents react? A horrible thought struck me. How would the parents of those girls react? These girls who hadn't been as lucky. What would become of me? And what about the children? The chief? Would they remember me when I was gone? The ape-man? A lump formed in my throat. What about Evan?

The chief seemed to have requested peace, because Evan and I had the hut to ourselves. I won't deny it was awkward. I knew we kept glancing at each other between the food, and we simply couldn't find anything to say, even though there was so much we wanted to talk about.

"So you're leaving tomorrow." It was a statement. I was sitting next to him at the table, but he barely turned to the right to look at me.

"Yes." What else could I have said? And then the words flew out of my mouth. "But I'll hate myself for it."

"Why?" Evan seemed to genuinely want to know, unlike the painfully forced conversation we'd been making throughout the meal.

"Well, firstly, the weather in England is miserable." We shared a laugh. Everyone makes fun of our climate.

"Then, there's all the money at home," I found myself saying. "All the rich furnishings and marbled floors. When I came here-" I paused.

Evan's eyes widened, blue irises flashing. "Lara, do you know why God called me here?" I shook my head, blanching. Religion always bugged me a bit. "Because I felt exactly the same way. I didn't want all that money. All the wealth in the world! What could you do with it?" He closed his eyes, deep in thought. "There was only so much you could do with money for charity…" he added, raking his fingers through his light brown hair. "So I took my degree in medicine and followed God over here.

"My parents thought it was absurd. A sturdy young man, full of promise, curing illiterate people who lived out in a place without a consistent flow of electricity. They said I was mad. Mad!" He spread his arms out in a wide, sweeping motion. "Mad! When I could openly say that it was what God had been calling me to do all along. God is not mad.

"Tell me, Lara," he asked suddenly, "What do you think of God?"

I swallowed. "I admire your faith," I started cautiously. "And if you are truly one of His followers… He must be a gracious God."

His gaze was very intensely on me. "But what has He been calling you to do?"

I shook my head sadly. "He can't be calling me. I like guns." I laughed shortly.

Evan didn't. "Lara, God works his wonders through ordinary people. You never know."

I looked down and finished the rest of my meal in silence. Evan followed suit and didn't seem to pursue the matter.

"What else?" It took me a moment – or several – to realize what he was referring to.

"I'll miss the villagers, and the chief, and the dogs, even though they don't like me. And I'll miss the snow, and the mountains, even though they didn't much like me either." I found myself babbling away like a little girl. My eyes watered and I fought to keep the tears in. Why was I crying? I was leaving the godforsaken place for a place I could truly call home, wasn't I?

Was I?

 Evan inched his stool forward. "And?" He was so close that I could feel his breathing falling softly on my skin…

"I'll miss you," we said together. His lips were warm on mine, but his eyes were shut and he didn't see the tears rolling down my cheeks; tears that said we could never, ever be destined to be together.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, they flew a whole helicopter in for the daughter of Lord Henshingly Croft. And they flew a whole crew of news people to record the day. Their only problem was that she wasn't there. She was hiding under her bed; hiding from the world, hiding from her life. I knew they would find me sooner or later, but I couldn't stop thinking. I just couldn't stop.

Eventually, I just crawled out myself. Why?

For the very reason that I'd rather come out myself than let them find me. I didn't want their sugary sympathy or false comfort: you poor thing, you must be so afraid. They just hadn't been through what I'd been through. And if life was going to tear me out from under that bed, like it already had done, I would rather come out and fight it myself.

I wasn't going to hide myself behind skirts or finishing school or friends or fathers. I realized how very alone I was. Only I could do what I wanted to do with myself.

Still, life had already slapped me in the face with death and depression. Pain and progress. Love and loss. All this had left me with these thoughts – unsettled spirits drifting in my mind endlessly. But I had a lifetime to puzzle them out.

A whole lifetime. Not like the others buried under the ground. I could choose. Fate had dealt me this chance, and I might never get it again. What about God? What if God had done it? A God who'd brought Evan to what he was today surely couldn't be completely wrong.

I shook my head mentally. Religion was too deep for me right now.

I heard people shouting when I strode out of Evan's hut, blinking in the bright light and hugging my trusty backpack close to my chest. Someone roughly took me by the hand and led me to the helicopter.

My heart sank when I didn't see the villagers in the crowd. Not even Evan. My personal slave driver informed me that someone had taken them inside as they did not want them injured by the helicopter or anything. Injured! People rode in those things for crying out loud! And there were at least a billion people all swarming around. Or didn't they count?

And that was when I saw the window. The window in the chief's hut was crammed with people, all waving back at me. By now Slave Driver was tugging on my seatbelt and my hands were pinned to my sides. It felt so good to see them. I couldn't wave back but it didn't matter to them. Evan mouthed 'God bless you'.

I sure could use all the gods' blessings.

The chopper was off in the air sooner than I expected. I half expected to see a desperate reporter or two clinging on to the runners. It wasn't until we were cruising over the mountain that I fully leaned back in my seat.

The mountains had taken so much from me. And given me so much.

I smiled. Someday, I'd return and pay off my debt.