Hi, this is the final chapter of "My Love, My Life," hope you've enjoyed it.

Disclaimer: Wolf's Rain and its characters are the property of their respective owners. This piece is not for profitable purposes.

Chapter 9: Drifting

I stand there in shock, watching the closed door for a few moments. After I recover, I walk towards the door, open it and step out to look for her. I search and find her in the stairwell.

"Cher."

She looks back at me, her expression blank.

"I'm going to go to the lab now, Hubb," she says, as she continues down the stairs.

I follow her silently, and am uncertain what to do as I see her enter her car. I decide to respect her wishes, and enter my own car to drive to the station.

I find it hard to do my work, and I half expect her to walk into my office, a surprise visit, like she would do sometimes before she had even heard of Cheza. My shift finally ends and I rush home, hoping that she will be there, but I find only darkness and quiet. She's most likely still at the lab, she'll probably be home later, at least, I want to believe that. I wait all night for her to return, but she does not. The sun rises and I move from the position in which I have been standing for hours. I decide that I will go to the lab before my shift to ask her to come home today. I quickly get ready and then drive to her lab. I walk inside but am stopped outside of the main research area by a secretary.

"Excuse me, sir, can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm here to see Dr. Degree."

"Who may I say is here, sir?"

Before I answer, she seems to remember something.

"I'm …"

"I'm sorry sir, the research team has asked not to be disturbed. You'll have to come back another time."

"When?"

She inspects a handwritten note in front of her, which I can tell is in Cher's elegant handwriting.

"The team has informed me that it will be for an 'unspecified' time period."

"All right," I answer.

I start to walk away, but turn around slightly and look at the door to the research area for a moment, before turning around once more and exiting.

I return to the lab after my shift, but receive the same answer. I find it hard to restrain myself from walking in despite the message, but I don't want to upset her even more, so I turn around and leave the building. Once again, she does not come home, and, as I exit the apartment in the morning, I begin to worry that she may never return. I stop again at the lab before and after my shift, but receive the same answer each time. As I drive home, I decide that, next time, I will insist that I speak with her, to hopefully prevent things from getting worse. When I step inside the apartment, it seems slightly different, though I'm not sure at first why. I walk around, and notice that some things seem to be missing, could we have been burglarized? But, I stop suddenly, no, the most expensive things have not been taken, which means…

I run to our bedroom and to the closet and open it quickly to reveal what I had expected, all of Cher's clothes are gone. I search throughout our home and see that, except for photographs, Cher has removed everything of hers, erasing her existence here. Unable to remain standing, I sit on a chair at the table and blankly watch the door. She made her decision, she's gone from my life, and I couldn't stop her. Can I even now? I smile sadly and realize that that is not likely, she has made up her mind.

The next few weeks, I vacillate between despair and denial. She never comes home or contacts me, and I have given up trying to see her in the lab. When I come home one day and see an envelope with a letter from a lawyer and divorce papers, I'm not sure whether to laugh at the ludicrousness of it, or to cry at the reality of it. I put the envelope down, and see another one behind it, addressed to me, from her. Uncertain whether I want to read it, I open it and look at it.

'Hubb,

I expect that this letter will arrive the same day as the papers. The turn of events upsets us both, but I understand now, and I believe you will, too, that the pain and sadness we bring each other apart is far less than that if we remain together. I implore you to acknowledge this fact.

Cher'

I stare at the letter, grasping its meaning. Cher has indeed given up, and has asked that I do the same. I pick up the other envelope again, take out the papers and a pen, and sign.

The divorce was soon final, and, not wanting to be haunted by memories, I ended our lease on the apartment and moved to a smaller one closer to the station. The few times I have spoken to her since the divorce, almost all of what she says is still about Cheza, and she ignores or argues against my requests for reconciliation.

I think about her again as I walk to the station, and, to my surprise, I see her, across the street, standing in front of a building with a group of people, possibly the other researchers. I stare, noticing her energetic speech, her smile, and the sparkle that has returned to her eyes. How can this be? I drift untethered while she forges ahead, confident and without – seemingly at least – regret. She notices me, and a look of surprise flashes across her face. She nods her head and smiles slightly, but then returns to her conversation. I try to understand her actions, I want so much to believe that this is not the end. I decide that I will not give up hope. I know we can try again, and find happiness together once more.