Epilogue time! Thanks at the end!

Chapter XXIII--Goodbye (Epilogue)

~*~

April 17, 1945

The gray sky was crying large, icy tears over the small Tennessee farmhouse on the four year anniversary of Leanna's death

The massive trees that bordered the edge of the property were bowed with the weight of the raindrops

It came to my attention, as I walked out across one of the fields, that this sight was very beautiful, not beautiful in the conventional sense, but beautiful in the fact that it was so *real*, it proved the sun couldn't always shine

I had no need for an umbrella, my hair was soaked and my clothes were sticking to my skin, raising chill bumps on my skin

I probably would have cared had I even noticed

I walked in the short grass, listening to the rain making a soft pit-pat on the ground, until I found the place I was looking for, stationed on top of a hill overlooking the whole farm and under a tall oak tree, where I could be completely alone

The granite stone was neither elaborate or grand, just a small gray stone, but that didn't matter

I knelt on the wet earth and traced the inscription gently, not that I even had to look, I had memorized it during my long visits to this very place in the past years

Leanna Celeste Walker

February 25, 1924-April 17, 1943

Our Beautiful

That was all it said...that was all it needed to say, any more words would be mocking her memory, because no words could even come close to describing her

"Hey Beautiful" I said softly, almost ashamed of myself for talking to a slab of rock

I sighed, as if waiting for an answer, and moved to lean against the tree

"The twins turned four today," I continued talking, "They're so beautiful, they're just like you , they get into plenty of trouble" I chuckled slightly at the memory of the escapades Leanna, Rafe, and I had during our youth

"I wish you could see them, I know you can, but I mean, I wish you could hold them, they're making you proud, they're making me proud...I told them all about you, Leanna, I told them their mom was a hero" I was almost to the point of tears now, "Because you are, and I love you so much"

With a long breath, I drew in the tears, no more tears, Leanna wouldn't want it that way, if she were here, she would say 'Oh Danny, quit your blubbering, you're being a sap, now, you up for a game of chicken?'

I smiled at the thought, letting the rest of my weight fall against the tree, leaning on it fully, the wet leaves were creating their own little mini-rainstorm under the tree, but I didn't mind

I looked out towards the house again, still lost in thought, and saw two bobbing heads coming towards me–one brunette, one blonde and both curly–trekking through the tall grass, and now drenched wet, along with their matching dresses, made exactly alike, one light pink and one light green, those were my nieces

"What are to two doing? You're soaked to the bone!" I said, maybe more harsh than I meant to be

"We come find you" Lily, the bolder of the two, spoke

"And Uncle Rafe let you leave?" I asked

Grace, the brunette, looked shyly up to Lily, the blonde, who, as requested, spoke, "No, Unca Rafe say 'stay inside.' but we come find you and Mommy" she said

Rafe and Evelyn were probably too busy with each other to be properly watching the children, which I couldn't blame them, they would soon be celebrating their second wedding anniversary

"I see, but you're both going to catch cold out here in the rain, let's go inside" I said gently, spreading my arms, to which they ran

I scooped them both up, one on each hip, and turned toward Rafe's, and in my later teen years–my, childhood home

After the death of Rafe's parents, he had inherited the house and all the land they owned, being the only child

I, on the other hand, had inherited my father's house and land, but it housed too many bad memories, and I quickly had the house demolished and moved in with Rafe and Evelyn, to complete our family, and the combined property we owned stretched now even over the hill

When I stepped out from under the tree, I realized that it, in fact, had stopped raining, the only reminders that there had ever been rain there was the wet grass and the darkened sky

I smiled, looking at the two kids who were much to old to be carried around, but in my eyes they were still my little babies, and I still carried them around

Grace was the smaller one, shy and reserved, she looked most like Leanna, but reminded me more of Leanna in her later days, when she was somber and quiet

Lily was Leanna. She may not have looked like her, other than the green eyes the twins shared, but she was loud and adventurous and bold, just like Beautiful

After we got the twins back to Tennessee, Evelyn made a discovery–the lily flower is the symbol of innocense, purity...and death

My smile widening at the irony in her name, I softly kissed my nieces' foreheads and then turned back to the stone at the base of the sweeping oak, "Say bye-bye to Mommy" I said

"Bye Mommy" Lily yelled first

And after Lily's voice drifted away, only then did Grace turn and wave, "Bye bye Mommy" she said, her voice not echoing as loudly as Lily's did

"Unca Danny, will you sing to us and Mommy?" Lily asked, eyeing me with those beautiful eyes

I never have been able to sing except to Leanna when she was a baby, and to my nieces, and for some reason, they loved it when I sang to them, the same song I had been singing since we got back home to Tennessee, the same song I had sang to Leanna so many years before

With a smile, I stopped and cleared my throat

"Go to sleep little baby,

Go to sleep little baby,

Your momma's gone away but your daddy's gonna stay

Didn't leave nobody but the baby

Go to sleep little baby,

Go to sleep little baby,

Everybody's gone in the cotton and the corn

Didn't leave nobody but the baby

You're a sweet little baby,

You're a sweet little baby,

Honey in the rock and the sugar don't stop

Gonna bring a bottle to the baby"

I turned and continued to walk towards the house singing, taking only a few steps before stopping and turning around, pretending I was looking at Leanna's happy face again but knowing inside that I was only staring into nothingness

"Goodbye, Beautiful"

Go to sleep little baby,

Go to sleep little baby,

You and me and the devil makes three

Don't need no other lovin baby

Go to sleep little baby,

Go to sleep little baby,

Come lay your bones on the alabaster stones

And be my everlovin baby...

~*~

finis

~*~

Before I get into the thanks and stuff, the song is an old old old Southern lullaby that I know by heart, since it was sang to me when I was a baby, and it was also in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou, along with some other songs that will be appearing in the sequel.

A/N: Yay! It's done! It's been so great! I love you all who have read or reviewed, and those who did both, you're my energy, you're what makes me want to post this. I love to write, I would write no matter what, but reviews give me a reason to write. I can't even begin to express how much you all mean to me and to every other writer out there…if there were no reviewers, there would be no fanfiction, you're our life force, what keeps us going…

I also have to thank the other authors out there, not in this fandom, but in the others I read too, I have a tendency to be compelled to write after I read an exceptionally good fic, only wishing I could be as good as that writer…and now, to thank my loyal reviewers, thanks guys, you're the greatest!

Greenfaerie

Robyn7626

Honeybear2

Dawn Smith

Iluvjosh82

Heat

Spanish Rose

MWPP (who is my twin when it comes to fandoms)

Thank you all! If I forgot to mention you, please don't be offended, I love each and every one of you and I'm eagerly waiting until I finish the first chapter of "Emerald" so that I can hear all of your input again!

Again, look out for Emerald, which should be coming at you in about a month, if I'm on schedule with my writing and all!

I love you all! Thank you! Anytime you want to contact me to ask me something, or just to talk or whatever, I'm always happy to talk to people who like my work, so e-mail me at Silverfox41988@aol.com or Padfootsmaitaigirl@yahoo.com or you can always IM me at Silverfox41988