A/N - Heya! So.. this is the last chapter. It's been an emotional ride, eh? I just want to say thank you to all my readers on this story - you guys have appreciated my writing more than I ever could've expected! Your comments, reviews and general sweetness have been so lovely to see, so thank you so much for all of that! And please let me know what you think of this final chapter :)
Thank you again guys!
Wearing a nervous, but nevertheless genuine, smile across her face, Brianna sits on a park bench as she waits for Stephanie to turn up. Originally, they'd planned to have lunch together at a nearby restaurant, but Stephanie texted last minute and asked to meet here instead. Obviously, Brie doesn't care where they see one another, as long as they get to meet at all.
Brie looks down at herself, quietly hoping that she didn't over-do it with her outfit; she's wearing a yellow maternity dress, with nude high heels. Admittedly, she might've overdone it on the makeup, but Nikki insisted on doing her makeup for her - something about 'making an impression'. Brie specifically made sure to wear the colour yellow though. After their sweet confession at the cafe, Brie went to a local florist and bought a bunch of sunflowers for Stephanie. As cheesy as it might be, she thought it could become 'their' flower?
Along with the sunflowers, Brie has a small note that she'd hand written. Again, she hopes it doesn't come across too cheesy, but she wants Stephanie to know how cared about she is, and writing it down meant that she could get the wording perfectly right.
Out of the corner of her eye, Brie catches Stephanie walking up to her; she looks absolutely beautiful, wearing a blue and white dress with hardly any makeup. She's the most natural beauty, and it never fails to entrance the younger woman. Once Stephanie comes closer towards her, Brie can't help but notice that she seems.. shaky? She can't put her finger on it, but there's definitely something 'off' about her demeanour. Whatever it is, she knows that they can work through it together.
"Brie..?" Stephanie calls out weakly.
Standing up and smiling comfortingly, Brianna runs up to Steph, enclosing her within a warm embrace. The way Stephanie clings onto her waist proves to Brie that something must be wrong - it really worries her. They've had enough troubles throughout their relationship, why can't they just have one date without any tears?
Both women sit down on the bench, but don't let go of one another. If anything, their hug becomes much tighter. Brie entangles her hand into Steph's silky hair, attempting to comfort her. She can feel Stephanie's heartbeat against her own chest, and her concern grows by the second. Over the past few months, Brie's discovered Steph to be a very sensitive and emotional woman - it's one of the things she loves most about her - but something feels different this time. It feels more.. significant? Somehow.
"Hey.. hey, please don't be upset.." Brie whispers.
Pulling back, Brie can easily see the pools forming in the other woman's deep eyes. She hates seeing her this way. They've cried onto each other multiple times now, but it's typically been over something they both knew about; this time, Brianna has no clue what's causing this, and all she wants to do is cheer her up and see her radiant smile again.
An idea popping into her head on how to do that, Brianna reaches behind her and grabs the bouquet of sunflowers. She presents them to the crying woman in front of her, and it manages to get a soft smile from her.
"You got these for me..?" She asks, smelling the vibrant flowers.
"Of course.. I see the way your face lights up when you see sunflowers.."
"Thank you Brie.." Stephanie says, her smile growing slightly.
The older woman leans across and kisses Brie's cheek with gratitude. Placing her hand over her cheek, Brianna longs for the burning sensation to never disappear. She rests a hand on Stephanie's leg, gazing into her eyes sweetly.
"What's wrong..?" She asks, seriously but kindly.
And with that question, Stephanie's wall breaks. She bursts into tears, burying her face into Brie's neck. This will easily be the hardest thing she'll ever do, and part of her wants to abandon the whole conversation and go to lunch with the woman she loves. But as much as she loves Brie, she'll always love her daughters above anyone else. There aren't enough words to describe how much she hates Paul for putting her in this position.. but what can she do now? She's in the centre of it all now, and she has to make a choice - even if it shatters her own heart.
Blissfully ignorant to the upcoming bombshell, Brie runs her nails along Stephanie's arms; her soul focus is to offer comfort and reassurance. Besides, seeing Stephanie this way makes her incredibly sad herself.
"I.. I don't want to lose you Brie.." Steph cries, grabbing hold of Brianna's hands.
"Lose me..? Why.. why would you..? I.. I'm not going anywhere.." She says, still confused, yet increasingly concerned. "Is it.. is it Bryan? Or Nikki? If it's Nikki, she's really not against us, she's actually very support-"
"It's not Nikki.. or Bryan." The crying woman denies. She takes a huge breath. "It's.. it's me."
Brie's face scrunches up. What does she mean it's her? Why would Stephanie be the reason that they lost one another..? The last time they were together, they were telling each other that they loved one another! Surely, nothing could be getting in between their happiness together, not now! Unless.. unless Stephanie means.. no.
"Steph.. you're not.. you don't mean..?" Brie stutters, fearing the worst.
When Stephanie looks back with apologetic eyes, Brie's fears come true. She knows exactly where this is going, and she just isn't strong enough to hear it.
"You're leaving?!" She shouts, standing up abruptly and resting her head in her hands.
As Stephanie ponders how to phrase what she has to say next, Brianna begins pacing. Already, her heart is slowly breaking - how could this be happening?! They've been through so much.. it took them an army's worth of courage to even admit how they feel, and now Stephanie is just getting up and walking away? Somehow, they were able to build something beautiful.. complicated, but beautiful. And Stephanie wants to leave?
"I.. Let me explain.."
"Explain? Steph, what's to explain? You're leaving! Barely anytime after telling me you loved me! How out of nowhere can you get?!" Brianna rants, breathing heavily. ".. Is.. Is that what this is? Some kind've payback for when I stopped contacting you?"
"No! No.. I.. I wouldn't do that to you.." Steph weeps.
"But you would leave me!"
"Not through choice!" She blurts out. "Please.. please sit with me.."
The tone of desperation in Stephanie's voice is almost chilling; Brianna gets the impression that hearing this is less difficult than delivering it. Although her instinct is to scream and cry, causing a scene won't help anyone. Besides, maybe if they could talk about this, she could somehow convince Steph to stay with her. She might be angry, but at the end of the day, she's still helplessly in love with her.
"Where's this come from, Steph..?" She asks, taking back her hands.
"I.. I don't want to leave Brie, I don't want to hurt you.. It's that.. s-something happened the other day. Paul came to the house." Stephanie begins, bracing herself before telling the story. "I think he's been trying to turn the girls against me.. I was supposed to be spending the day with them, but he came instead.. he told me that they didn't want to come."
Listening intently, Brie finds herself tracing patterns across Stephanie's palms. Granted, five seconds ago, she was filled with anger. But as she listens, the anger is slowly replaced by sadness. She could never wrap her head around why Murphy and Aurora were so awful towards Stephanie.. but of they were being poisoned by their father, it would all make sense; any sense of anger Brie has left instantly falls upon Paul. How dare he do this to someone so wonderful!
"That's awful.. but.. but what does that have to do with me and you..?" Brie asks quietly.
"When he was there.. he practically admitted to alienating me from them.. h-he.. he told me that.. the only way I could fix the relationship with them was to.. to.. cancel our divorce. He wants me to get back together with him.." She finally admits, tears falling from her eyes.
Brie's next few breaths feel as though she's breathing sand paper - the poor woman.. how fucked up must Paul be to do that?! Nevertheless, to the person he claimed to love for years!
Not knowing what else to do, Brianna pulls a sobbing Stephanie into another embrace, tracing soft kisses along her hairline. She can't even begin to imagine the torment that Steph must be going through; being forced to stay in a loveless marriage with a man who serially cheated on her, or potentially never see her own children again. There's no happy outcome in this, and the hatred that both women have developed for Paul is entirely unrivalled.
"If it was anyone else Brie.. I'd choose you in a heartbeat." Stephanie says. "But they're my daughters.. I can't live without them.. and I don't know how I'm going to live without you, but what kind've mother would I be if I didn't fight for them?"
Unable to contain the emotions any longer, Brianna begins crying with the other woman. The realisation that she'd have to let Stephanie go forever in a few minutes was starting to sink in, and she simply can't bare the thought. Over the past few months, it's been impossible to imagine her future without Steph.. but that'll unfortunately become a reality, and she can't stop herself from crying uncontrollably.
"I.. I know this is selfish to ask but.. is there any way that you'd choose me..?" Brie sobs. "I need you.." she adds, almost shatteringly innocently.
"I need you too Brie.." Steph weeps alongside her. "There is nobody else that I'd want to share my future with, but.. I mean, would you choose me over Birdie..?"
All of the oxygen leaves Brie's body. With that, she understands. This isn't a case of Stephanie not loving her enough to stay.. it's that she'll loose the most important thing in the world if she does.
Instinctively, Brianna rests her hands either side of Stephanie's face; she brushes the hair out of her face and wipes away the tears on her cheeks. Even with all the sadness, Brie still finds herself completely mesmerised by how beautiful Steph is. Maybe, somewhere in another universe, they're destined to work out, be happy together, and be free to live the lives they want so desperately.. if only it was this one.
"This is going to hurt me, a lot more than I can explain.. but I need to go." Stephanie chokes up.
A flash of terror runs through Brie's mind. "Wait! I.. I want to read you something first.."
Reaching over the sunflowers, Brie detaches the envelope from the bouquet, then opens it to read the note inside. Perhaps this is a bad idea - reading a love note to someone you're inevitably losing - but Brianna just can't allow Steph to walk away without hearing this. It could be argued that they've said all that needs to be said.. but if that were true, Brie wouldn't have felt the need to write it in the first place.
She takes a minute to prepare herself. Saying what's written might make this all so much harder.. but their whole relationship has been hard, why stop the tradition? Besides, what if she regrets not saying this later down the line?
"Dear Stephanie.." Brie begins, already tearing up. "Call me silly, but I wanted to write this down, so you'll always have a physical reminder of how I truly feel about you.. I'll try to keep this short and sweet, but there's so much to say. I can't wait for you to become part of my family, you'll be the most amazing future step-mother to Birdie, and my little one who's on the way.. and I can't.. I can't wait to meet your daughters, and welcome them into my life as if they're my own.. To put this all simply, I love you.. Here's to our future.. Love, Brie.." She finishes, her cheeks completely drenched.
Moments pass, Stephanie silently trying to process what she just heard; no one has ever said such sweet things to her before. If there was a single person on this earth that she'd give up everything for, it's the woman she's looking at right now. But if 'everything' includes Murphy and Aurora.. that person can't exist.
"I love you too, Brianna.." she responds, her gut wrenching painfully.
Knowing she was about to walk back to a loveless home, Stephanie decides that she needs to feel one last moment of pure and raw love. Besides, she hasn't had the chance to do this yet.. so here goes.
Gently, she leans forward and tentatively places her lips onto Brianna's; Her mouth feels soft and warm, and Steph can't remember a time where the moment felt more perfect. Brie isn't sure if her heart beats faster than ever before, or stops completely. Either way, this kiss is exactly what she needs. Neither woman gave a care that they're in public, or stop to think who might see them.. all they care about is each other.
As they continue to kiss lovingly, for one ever so short, yet ever so wonderful minute - they both come close to forgetting the horrible word surrounding them. During this moment, they're the only two people in existence, and absolutely nothing else matters.
The moment they pull away, reality crashes down onto them both; they breathe heavily, heartbroken at the idea of that simultaneously being their first and last kiss. Their foreheads naturally press together, and their eyes close. This feels so unfair - why should two people who love each other this much be forced apart?!
"I love you.." Brie whispers.
"I love you too.." Stephanie replies, squeezing Brianna's hand as she reluctantly stands up.
Refusing to let go just yet, Brie stands up with her, keeping hold of her hands. After some more deep breaths, Stephanie forces a smile, then rests her hands on Brianna's large baby bump.
"You look after your little one, okay..?" She says. "And tell Nikki I said thank you..she treated me like family, and I'll always be grateful for that.."
"You are family." Brie responds. "And you always will be.. no matter what happens, you will always have a home with us.." she assures her.
Before she breaks down crying all over again, Stephanie falls into Brie's arms for one final time. Their hug is only short, but it's probably the tightest one they've ever shared. Despite her whole heart yelling at her to do the opposite, Steph slowly backs away from Brie. Both women look into each other's eyes; they savour the moment, all too aware that this moment might just be their last.
Across their lips, there's a small, but genuine smile - each woman giving the other a sense of reassurance - that they'll both end up okay in the end. As cruel as this all feels, they each know that their love will forever be there, even if they need to hide it away.
Exhaustedly, Stephanie turns around, and begins to walk away from the park bench, clutching onto her bouquet of sunflowers; all she wants is to look behind her, and see the most beautiful woman alive once more, but she knows that it would only tempt her to stay forever. In oder to keep herself anywhere close to sane, she keeps Murphy and Aurora at the forefront of her brain; after all, they're exactly who she's enduring all of this for.
Brie watches on, tears in her eyes. She never knew that heartbreak could be so powerful, yet here she was. As Stephanie gets further and further away, the void inside of her heart grows. She isn't sure how she'll make it through the other side of this.. the only thing she's felt sure on these past few months was her future with Steph.. and look how that's turned out.
Eventually, Stephanie's silhouette becomes a dot, and then vanishes completely. Brie sighs deeply, accepting that she too needs to start heading back home, despite feeling as though her home had just been ripped from under her feet.
Startling her mildly, her phone begins to ring; she fumbles around with her purse before finally finding it. Looking at the caller ID, another silent tear falls down her cheek. Bryan.
"Hi sweetface.." Brie says distantly, holding her phone up to her ear. "Yeah.. yeah, I'll be home soon.. no, no I'm fine. Tell Birdie I'm on my way.."
Her heart aching more than ever, Brianna silently begins walking, clinging onto the bump of her unborn child as she does. Her eyes set on the path ahead, it seems as though it'll last forever.. but then again - the rest of her life doesn't feel dissimilar.