Hello! The shot bellow, is a bonus story, but it wasn't written by me. The shot bellow was writed by my friend and colleague DSCWin.

After we talk about the shots from this collection, she asked me if she could write another ending for my story 'A Face We Never Forget' so i give her my permition.

Hope you like her version, as much as you liked mine.

MEMORIES FROM THE RAIN

Jim Bob grumbled slightly as he carried the rest of the groceries for his family. Thanksgiving was three days away and Jim Bob had found the perfect turkey for his family. As he walked he couldn't help but feel like the house was so empty around this time of year. Even with his three brothers' family and his two sisters' family it didn't quite feel like the same. He chuckled with himself thinking it was because he didn't have a wife to call his own or children to call him dad. But as he slowly made his way back to his house he figured it wasn't that at all. It was what had happened years ago. He missed his older sister Mary Ellen and wonder what life would be like if she hadn't been lost to him and his family. He thought back to when he was little, before the accident, and he remembered how much she had helped him out when he had problems with his brothers and sisters.

He stopped and leaned up against the side of the grocery store wall sliding down to the bench that was placed next to the building. He looked up at the sky as he heard the soft symphony of thunder that rolled across the sky. Dark clouds danced and began to weep as it began to shoot down rows of heavy raindrops onto the ground slicking up the dirt road he knew he would be needing to walk up later. But for now he just was enjoying the coolness he had felt. He closed his eyes and leaned up against wall sighed about what he would tell his family if they wondered why he was gone for so long. Instead of thinking of a good excuse, Jim Bob slowly climbed to his feet and headed towards the house.

The rain wasn't bothering him as he slowly made his way to the house. His feet slipping and sliding in the mud was normal for him. He had walked this path several times in the space of his years. It doesn't mean it made it any easier as he knew his house would forever be broken.

The trip to the house seemed different as Jim Bob walked holding the groceries close to him. But as he walked he saw something that was not usual. A car had was struggling to get out thick mud. The rain thundered down on Jim Bob's head which he didn't seem to mind the sensation before going over and looking inside. He saw a woman hands covering her head tears running down her cheeks. A young boy sat in the front seat before looking scared.

"Momma." The boy squeaked pointing and shaking his mother's shoulder. "There's a man outside.''

The woman turned and stared outside her window and locked eyes with Jim Bob. Her eyes were read and puffy but looked familiar as she locked eyes on the stranger that stood next to her. She slowly rolled down the window and cleared her throat trying to get the sorrow from her voice. "Please help us." The woman spoke making the words freeze up in Jim Bob's throat. "I don't know why I'm coming this way. Now I can't get my car out."

"L-Let me help you." Jim Bob said handing the woman his groceries which she took and set them inside her car. Jim Bob was shaking not from the rain that drenched him. It was the woman that sat behind the wheel that made him shake. He first had to help this woman to get out. He shook his head when he pressed against the car and some stiff rocks. "Back up now, Ma...Ma'am." He felt the car slowly move back and onto the road. The car swerved a little until it stopped on some rocks that would hopefully give it traction. Jim Bob stood there looking unsure how to move or what he needed to say to the woman he had helped.

"Thank you so much!" The woman screamed as she climbed out of the car with his groceries. "My son and I were just going for a drive and...are you alright sir?"

Jim Bob mouth went dry as he gently took the woman by the arms to look into her eyes. No matter how young he was when he had lost his sister he could never forget how her eyes sparkled. How the colors mixed and looked. "Mary Ellen?" He asked his voice breaking as he tried to hold onto a moment of sanity. "Mary Ellen is that you?"

The woman shook her head slowly as she carefully pushed Jim Bob's hands off her shoulders. "I'm sorry...My name is Elisa, Elisa Willard."

Jim Bob's eyes filled with tears as he took a step closer not believing what he had heard. "No, y-you're not. You're Mary Ellen Walton...You're my older sister that..." He couldn't contain his sobs as he walked away before turning around. "Blueberries? What's the first thing that comes to your head with Blueberries?"

Elisa looked confused as she blinked at the man that was clearly about to cry in front of her. "They're delicious, sour and really good with cream." She said unsure if that was what Jim Bob was meaning.

Jim Bob slowly shook his head not liking the answer that he had been given. "Have you ever wondered what fireflies did on a warm summer night? Or whenever you hear a harmonica play you think of a family around the radio. Grandma Esther and Grandpa Zeb teasing each other? Momma cooking corn cakes for the first day of school? You went off to become a nurse twenty years ago..."

Elisa shoved the bag of groceries into Jim Bob's chest her eyes threatening with rain. "Leave me and my son alone."

"You have a scar on the back of her neck don't you?" Jim Bob watched as Elisa froze there in the rain as her hand slowly lifted to the back of her neck. "When I was five I accidently took scissors and cut you as I was wanting to cut your hair." Elisa turned around clearly wondering how she did get that scar and how he would have known that when her hair was down. "Every time you got lonely you would pour yourself a cup of tea and eat some warm cookies as they helped you feel better." He watched as Elisa nodded slowly remembering when her husband would work late at night and that was how she would pass the time.

"How...How did you know all this?"

"Because I'm your brother, Jim Bob." He said his voice breaking as he dropped the bag ignoring the items that were now getting soaked in the rain and mud. A flash of lighting landed meer inches away from Elisa making her scream and fall back her head smacking into the car. Jim Bob rushed over and helped her slowly to the ground before looking up at the boy who looked like he would cry. "I'm needing to take her mother to my house. I'm not going to hurt you two." The boy nodded and helped Jim Bob with gathering the groceries while Jim Bob helped Elisa into the car.

A loud crash of thunder woke Elisa from her sleep as she looked around. She was in a soft bed with warm blankets and wearing a nightgown that made her feel like she was younger again. As she touched the floor she saw her reflection in a mirror next to her bed. As she moved towards the reflection. She could see how much she had deaged. She looked she was no more then eighteen. She moved in a dance out the door that swung open. She was now outside walking straight for the front of the house that haunted many of her dreams. The wind blew her hair as she walked towards the door. The door that for so long has remained unopened. The door that made her feel like she was forever unsure of what lay behind it. Her hand shook as she reached out and gripped the door handle. The handle felt warm when she turned the knob but froze when she forced herself to step back. She was scared that what lay behind that door would be not what she deeply wanted. That behind that door was something that would only cause more questions then answers. But she had to know where the door lead to.

Grabbing the doorknob again Elisa turned it and pushed the door open. She walked inside to see a large family sitting around a radio. Two parents who smiled at each of their six children. Two grandparents who teased but held each other close. She saw a younger Jim Bob talking to a young girl with flaming red hair pulled into pigtails. Elisa slowly moved further into the midst of people who turned and smiled up at her.

"Mary Ellen." The woman said smiling and pulling her into a deep hug. "I'm so glad you're awake."

She looked confused at everyone and wondered if this was a dream. But something in the look at everyone's eyes as she touched each one of the faces she saw in that room she felt warm. She felt like she was who she was supposed to be. As she stopped at the young boy who was no doubt Jim Bob and saw something sparkling in his eyes. She laughed as she wrapped her arms around him. She felt like she was finally home.

_/_

Thanksgiving was busy as the Waltons rushed to clean and cook everything. While the girls cooked, the men worked on putting dishes on the table. Jim Bob was trembling with excitement as he helped put the food on the table. That feeling of emptyness was gone now as he heard the door knock. He rushed to the door and slowly opened showing five new members of his growing family.

"Jim Bob." The young woman said smiling handing her husband a pie and wrapped her arms around her neck. "Thank you for having belief in me." She said with a smile.

"Anything for you...Mary Ellen."

Mary Ellen smiled and hugged everyone that came to hold her close. Even John Boy gently touched her face and he smiled as his sister was indeed standing there.

For everyone that rain washed away the scent of the past but it also brought home a member of the family they thought they had lost.

The End