Epilogue

Sydney shut the door to Lily's bedroom softly. It had taken her close to a half of an hour to calm her daughter down and get her to go to bed. The only way she had succeeded was when Sark agreed to read his daughter a bedtime story after promising her he would be there in the morning when she woke up.

She turned to the man in question, who was leaning against the hallway wall. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know," he said, rubbing his temples. "I didn't think this one through."

"That's for damn sure. You just show up out of the blue. I thought you were dead," she hissed quietly, her anger extremely evident. "How could you let me think you were dead for seven years?"

"There were extenuating circumstances."

"Oh really?" Sydney rolled her eyes and walked past him and down the hall. He had been back in her life for a handful of hours, and he was already infuriating her. It seemed like, at the heart of their relationship, nothing had changed.

Without a word, he followed her into the room they had once shared together. He watched as she sat down on the bed and stared at him. "This is going to be a difficult few minutes," he thought, reminding himself that the situation was very delicate. Sydney had been delivered an awful shock, seeing him on the beach.

"Where were you?" she started.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said with a smirk.

"It doesn't matter if I'll believe you because you're going to tell me no matter what. I have a very confused daughter to contend with because of you. The least you could do is explain where you've been so I can decide if I want you back in my daughter's life."

"Our daughter," Sark corrected. "She's our daughter, and you can't honestly want to keep me out of her life."

Sydney sighed. "No, I wouldn't do that. You're right. But I need to know where you've been."

"Well, I spent a year in a drug induced coma, one year relearning how to walk, three years locked up in a facility in Buenos Aires, sixteen months trying to finish up the whole Rambaldi mess, and eight long months trying to remember who the hell I was." He paused. "Not necessarily in that order."

"You went through all that," she said, staring at him in a sort of sympathetic horror.

"I went through all that alone in the seven years I was away from you and Lily. And you know what kept me going?"

She shook her head, not even wanting to guess the answer to that question.

"Knowing that no matter what changed, when it was finally time to come home, you'd be here."

"You never once thought I would have moved out of this house? There are so many memories in these walls."

"I know it must have been painful for you, but I never doubted for a moment that you would leave. This house was probably your last connection to me. You wouldn't leave it." He sat down on the bed next to her and grasped her hand. It was a relief when she didn't jump away or punch him.

"I didn't," she said, staring at the now wilting vase of lotus flowers. She looked over at the man she had once loved with all her heart. "You have a lot of explaining to do still."

"And I will do it." He traced the line of her jaw lightly with his fingers and was pleased to see her close her eyes and breathe in sharply. "In time."

"We both need time, don't we?" she said, opening her eyes.

Realizing what she must be implying, he stood up. "I'll give you as much time as you want, Sydney." He walked to the bedroom doorway before turning around to look at her. "I'm sorry it took me seven years to get here."

She smiled and stood up from the bed. "Where do you think you're going, mister?"

"I have a nice motel room I'm currently paying thirty-nine ninety-five for on the other side of town."

"Don't be stupid," she said, glaring at him. "I might be a little mad at you right now, but this is your home."

"Is it?" he said, hopeful of her answer.

"It never stopped," she said with a smile. She held her arms out. "Now, come here, Julian. I've missed you."

He laughed and pulled her into his arms. She giggled when she felt him sniff her hair. "I missed the smell of you," he explained.

"Did you really think I was going to kick you out of your own house, you idiot?" she asked after a moment.

"I told myself to expect the worse."

"Which was?"

"You happily married to another man who had adopted my daughter and was raising her as his own."

Sydney looked shocked. "That was the worst you could imagine?"

"That is the one and only thing that would ever make me want to die. If I can't have you and Lily, my life doesn't really mean a thing."

"Let's go to bed," she suggested. She pointed over at the dresser. "If you look in the third drawer from the top, I think you'll find something very familiar to sleep in."

He slid open the drawer. "You kept some of my clothes."

"I kept all of your clothes," she corrected. "Most of them are in boxes in the basement. Those are the ones I couldn't bear to pack up."

Sark sniffed a t-shirt lightly. "They smell like you."

"That's because I've been wearing them for seven years," she said with a laugh, sitting down on the bed again. "Now change. I'm tired."

He smirked at her and began to loosen his belt. When she averted her eyes, he almost burst out laughing. "I don't think there's anything here you haven't seen."

She laughed but didn't turn to look at him. "I feel like we're starting over again."

"I know the feeling. It's been a long time." He paused to think. "But I don't think I've ever forgotten the way your body feels against mine."

He was pleased to see her face flush slightly. There was ground he had to make up, but he had a feeling that they were making progress. "You can turn around now. I'm done."

She turned back to face him and smiled. "It's nice to see you in those clothes again."

"It's nice to be in these clothes again." He sat down on the bed next to where she was laying. "Do you want me to sleep on the couch?"

"You're being stupid again," she scolded. She reached out for his hand and pulled him down so that he was lying next to her with his arm placed comfortably around her waist.

For a few minutes they just lay in silence, neither one knowing the proper thing to say. Sark noticed Sydney shift her head so that it was buried mostly in the pillow. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she mumbled through the pillow.

"Look at me, Sydney," he ordered.

"No," she said, still not moving.

He reached out and gently turned her head so that she was looking him in the eye. "Are you crying?"

"No."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not," she insisted defiantly. He wiped a tear away with his finger and held it out for her to see. "Maybe I am."

"Why?"

"Because I'm happy, you moron. This is something I never thought I'd experience again. It's something I've dreamed about for two thousand, six hundred and twenty two days."

"Two thousand, six hundred and twenty three," he corrected. "You forgot to count today."

Before she could say anything back, there was a small knock on the door. "Come in, munchkin," Sydney called.

Lily bounded into the room and up onto the bed. "I couldn't sleep."

"And why is that?" Sydney asked.

"I was afraid that Daddy wouldn't be here if I fell asleep."

"He's still here," Sydney said, pointing to the man next to her. "See?"

Lily wormed her way in between her two parents. "Can I sleep with you guys tonight?"

"What do you think, Daddy?" Sydney said, trying to hold in her laughter.

He pulled Lily into his arms. "I think I missed my two girls desperately."