I was going to do a Valentine's MOU but I have had this idea floating in my head for a while and considering all that has happened to me personally, I wanted to write this instead. I hope that you enjoy the chapter, or at least think that it is well written haha.

The Saladins- It Is Well

"...thank you, I...I'll be there right away."

Helia pulled the phone away from his ear and looked down as he hung it up. He held the phone under his chin as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Was that...?" Flora asked as she looked up at her husband from the couch.

Helia opened his eyes and looked to the side, not able to make eye contact with his wife, "Yeah, it was the hospital. We need to go."

Flora nodded before getting up from the couch, "Should I tell the children?"

Helia shook his head and closed his eyes once again, "They're asleep and I don't want to put Lucy through the horror of waking up Mireya. I'll call Timmy to come over to watch Irene and Antonio and then we can go."

"Helia," Flora placed a hand on Helia's shoulder, "we have been preparing for this."

Taking a deep breath, Helia raised a hand to wipe his eyes, "I know, it's just..."

"It's a lot harder when the time comes."

"We have been preparing but I just didn't know that it would come so soon."

Flora removed her hand from Helia's shoulder and placed it on his cheek, her thumb running across Helia's soft skin. Her thumb wiped away a tear and that was what Flora loved most about Helia, his acceptance of his vulnerability. But Flora didn't know how long it took for Helia to be comfortable with his emotions.

"We have been through this before." Flora gave Helia a soft smile, "With Faragonda. With Eldora. With Vivi..."

Flora's voice trailed off, the memory still too painful to think about. She brought her lips to Helia's for a quick yet comforting kiss.

"I'll call Timmy," Flora whispered, "just get your jacket and start the car. I'll be out there soon."

"What would I do without you?" Helia replied as he gave Flora a small smile. Flora's smile widened as she was relieved to see Helia smile at a time like this.

"Probably enjoying the peace and quiet of the Linphean countryside, your dream of being an artist fully realized."

Helia chuckled, "You are my dream and so are Mireya and Irene and Antonio. And I wouldn't trade a moment of this for all of the scenic countrysides in Linphea. Though sometimes I like to imagine that I am there when the kids start fighting."

"You and I both." Flora laughed, "Now go, we need to get to the hospital."

Helia's face sombered as he cleared his throat and grabbed his summer jacket on the hook by the door. He silently pulled out the keys to the old car that the two of them bought when they found out that they were having a child. Helia tightly gripped the keys in his hands before silently opening the door and heading out to start the car.

"Mr. Saladin," the nurse greeted at the front desk, "I am glad that you were able to make it."

"Same room?" Helia asked as his eyes focused down the hallway behind the nurse.

"Yes, just down the hall and-"

"I know where it is."

Flora sighed, "Helia..."

Helia inhaled and held a calming breath before looking back at the nurse, "I'm sorry, thank you."

The nurse gave Helia a smile, "You're welcome. I know how tough this can be."

Helia began heading down the hallway, taking Flora's hand and dragging her along.

Flora gave the nurse an apologetic look, "Thank you, Yvonne."

"You're welcome, Doctor."

It was like Flora was running behind Helia for as fast as he was walking. Flora was starting to regret giving up the gym membership, she thought that running around the hospital nearly every day was exercise enough but nothing could have prepared her to keep up with the urgency that Helia had as he made his way down the hall. She hadn't seen him move this fast since...

Flora didn't want to think about it.

Reaching the door, Helia suddenly stopped, Flora, crashing into him.

"Helia?"

Helia stared silently at the closed door in front of him. Had there always been a spot on the door that was darker than the rest of the door? No, it was just the shadow coming from his head. And what was that smell? It smelled so...sterile.

"Helia? Honey?" Flora tightened her grip on Helia's hand.

"When I open this door, it all becomes real. I don't want to see it."

"It is happening whether you see it or not," Flora pressed her lips to Helia's coat-covered shoulder, "he would want to see you before he goes."

"I don't want him to go."

Flora could hear the sadness in Helia's voice, "I know, my love. I will be with you and then we can go home and be with two-thirds of our children."

Helia nodded, "I'm ready."

He wasn't. But he needed to be. He needed to see his grandfather one last time.

Placing his hand on the hand of the door, Helia pushed down and the door swung open and the sounds of beeping and whirring machines filled his ears. He stepped inside, Flora following closely behind, treading lightly as to not make too much noise. Not that anyone could hear anything over the beeping and whirring.

"Grandpa?" Helia called out as he slowly approached the old man lying in the bed.

His grandfather had always been a short man, Helia having gotten his height from his mom's side apparently, but Helia had never seen his grandfather look so small. Nor had he seen him look so weak.

"Grandpa, it's me, Helia," Helia called out again as he now stood at the side of the bed.

"Helia?" the former headmaster called out, his voice cracked and no louder than a whisper.

"Flora is here too."

"Hello, grandpa." Flora waved to the man in the bed.

"Flora? It's late. You made Flora take the bus this late at night?"

Helia chuckled lightly, "No, grandpa. We drove. You gave us your old car before Mireya was born."

"Mireya?"

Helia had to remember that his grandfather was struggling with his memory.

"Your great-granddaughter."

"I have a great-granddaughter?"

"Yes, grandpa," Helia pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture of his grandfather, Helia, Flora, and their children, "this is Mireya, Irene, and Antonio. This is the picture that we all took together after Antonio's naming ceremony. He turned eleven a few months ago." Helia scrolled through the pictures in his phone to find a recent picture of a preteen Antonio.

"Such a handsome boy," the elder Saladin raised a frail finger to touch the photo on Helia's phone screen, "he takes after you."

The picture on the phone screen changed to a photo of Irene, "And she looks familiar."

"Irene," Helia smiled, "she looks like her mother."

His middle child was the spitting image of her mother and Helia had no complaints about that. The only indication that Irene was his child was her stick-straight hair.

"Mother?"

Helia once again inhaled and reminded himself of his grandfather's condition.

"Flora." Helia smiled, "Remember grandpa, Flora, and I got married almost twenty years ago."

"Good good," the old man nodded in approval, "she's a good girl and beautiful too."

"Thank you, grandpa." Flora giggled as she went into doctor mode and began to assess Granpa Saladin's medical equipment.

Returning his focus to the picture on the phone, the old man smiled, "You named her Irene?"

"Yes, grandpa," Helia answered, "we named her after grandma."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

"And this," Helia scrolled to a more recent photo of his eldest daughter, "is Mireya."

"Just beautiful. All three of them. I am so proud of you, Helia."

Helia placed his phone back in his pocket and put his hand on his grandfather's.

"I can't take all of the credit." Helia smiled, "Flora did most of the work."

Grandpa Saladin laughed before coughing. Helia quickly handed him a glass of water and helped propped up his head to take a sip.

"Thank you," he placed his head back down on his pillow, "but there is no need to make me comfortable. I have already accepted what is happening."

"Grandpa..."

"Helia, my boy, I am not going to make it through the night."

"No, you'll be okay. I-"

"I am old. I am tired. And I am ready." He took a heavy breath, "And so are you."

A tear fell down Helia's still slender but aged face, "I don't think I am. I've never been without you. You accepted me for who I was and you gave me a second chance. I would not be the person I am without you."

"Don't write my eulogy before I go, my boy," the older Saladin weakly chuckled before coughing once again.

Helia gave a weak smile, if only just to appease his grandfather.

"You are strong. You are kind. And I know that when I am gone, I will leave with no regrets. I have more than overstayed my welcome and I know the Saladin family is strong."

Grandpa Saladin turned his head slowly towards Flora, "Look after him. He can be a bit impulsive at times. This crazy boy quit art school claiming he fell in love with some nature fairy and needed to be close to her. He would talk about her for hours on end."

Flora blushed, "Did he?"

"That nature fairy must have been special."

Helia smiled as he glanced over towards Flora, "Yes, she was, grandpa."

"I wonder what happened to her."

Helia's smile fell ever so slightly, "I married her, grandpa."

"But you married Flora."

"Grandpa, Flora was… never mind."

There was no use correcting someone who would forget moments later. Instead, Helia just nodded and smiled. Nobody said a word. The machines beeped and whirred and Helia's grandfather's breathing became slower and heavier.

"I hope I see your grandmother"

Helia smiled, "I hope you do too."

"She always looked so radiant in the summer. I wish she could have watched you grow."

The tears began to flow more freely from Helia's eyes, "I know she watched over me."

"And I will watch over you and Flora and the children."

Helia let out a small laugh, "We'll need it."

Helia held his grandfather's hand in his, never wanting to let go. He looked up as he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. Flora smiled at both of the Saladin men and walked over to the corner of the hospital room, knowing that it was best for her to let them share their final moments together.

"Helia," the old man called out softly, "there is a book on the table on the other side of the bed. Can you read to me?"

Helia released his grandfather's hand as he stood up and wiped his eyes, "Sure."

Rounding the bed, Helia picked up the small black book and flipped through the pages. It was a book of poetry that his grandfather had that he would read from when Helia was little. Helia recognized the book and felt his heart become heavy in his chest. His grandfather had always told him that it would be Helia's when he passed, mainly as a joke since his grandfather did not want to part from it as it had been a gift from his late wife. But now the joke was no longer funny and Helia was once again faced with the harrowing reality that his grandfather would soon be gone.

Still, Helia picked up the book and turned to one of the many weathered pages, and began to read.

Helia cleared his throat, "I met a traveller from an antique land, who said-"

"No no, not that one." Grandpa Saladin coughed and weakly waved his hand dismissively, "Turn to the last one."

Helia looked at his grandfather and sighed before turning to the last poem. When he turned to the last page, Helia noticed that the page had been pristine, as if it had never been touched before. Helia looked at the title and recognized the poem from when Flora would read it to the mothers who had lost their children either suddenly or from a long illness. Helia didn't know if he would be able to read it.

"Grandpa..."

"Are you going to deny me my last wish?"

"But I-"

"Helia, read it and then say nothing else. Then you will go home, put salt at your door, and then you hug your children before you sleep."

Helia nodded, not wanting to upset his grandfather, and began to read.

"There is no night without a dawning

No winter without a spring

And beyond the dark horizon

Our hearts will once more sing…

For those who leave us for a while

Have only gone away

Out of a restless, care worn world

Into a brighter day."

Helia choked out the last few words as his grandfather's breathing continued to become more and more labored. He closed the book and placed his hand on top of his grandfather's once again.

It would be the last time that Helia would feel the warmth of his hands and feel the soft wrinkles. It would be the last time that Helia would hear the sound of his breathing or watch as the small gusts of wind from the air conditioner blew the thin, gray wisps of hair that lightly coated his grandfather's head. It would be the last time that Helia would see him smile and see the tremble of his lips. It would be the last time that Helia could tell his grandfather how much he loved him and how much he meant.

But Helia could not find the words. It would never be enough. And his grandfather requested silence.

The monitors and machines continued to beep and whir. The beeping slowed as the room stilled, Flora silently waiting in the corner and Helia at his grandfather's side. Helia stared at his grandfather as his breathing turned to small gasps for air.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

The beeping stopped and was replaced by the sound of a long ringing.

The warmth began to disappear, the smile faded away, and the air ceased to pass through thin and wrinkled lips.

"Helia?"

Flora's soft voice filled Helia's ears and replaced the sound of the loud machine. A much better sound to hear, Helia thought to himself.

Helia couldn't take his eyes off of his grandfather nor could he remove his hand from his. Helia and his children were the last Saladins. His grandfather was gone.

"He's gone," Helia stated with a whisper.

Flora dropped down to her knees and looked up at Helia, "No, not gone. He's still here with us, I know he is. And he would not want you to cry but to smile."

Flora raised her hand to Helia's cheek just as she did before they left for the hospital and wiped away a tear that fell from Helia's eye.

"But you cry all that you want," Flora stated as she placed a kiss on Helia's cheek, "and know that I am with you, and the children, and our friends. Never forget that there are so many people in this world who love and care about you."

"Every day I am so thankful that you are my wife."

Flora brushed back a lock of hair that fell into Helia's face before pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

The door to the hospital room opened and a doctor and a pair of nurses came in silently and reverently.

"Mr. Saladin," the doctor quietly greeted, "the nurses and I have to attend to the body."

Helia nodded, "I understand."

Flora stood up, still holding Helia's hand and looked towards the other one still connected with his grandfather's.

"Helia..." Flora indicated with her head to Helia's other hand.

Helia turned to look at his lifeless grandfather once again and swallowed. Letting go had never felt so painful. When his grandfather's hand fell limply onto the bed, Helia's breath trembled and he felt the tears return to his eyes.

At least the machines stopped and the soft instruction from the doctor to the nurses and the noises from the city from beyond the window became the only thing that Helia could hear.

"We should probably go," Flora softly said as she tightened her hand around Helia's, "it's best that we give the doctor and nurses their space to prepare the body."

"I don't want to leave him."

"I know," Flora leaned into Helia and placed her head on his shoulder, "I know."

Helia took a deep breath as he stared at his grandfather. He watched as the doctor and nurses finished pulling out catheters and taking off heart monitors, his grandfather looking more and more like his previous self instead of like a cyborg. Cyborgs were fine for science fiction and Helia would love nothing more than a director to yell cut or for the author to change the ending but this was real life. And his grandfather was gone.

A white sheet was placed over the lifeless man on the bed before the nurses began to wheel him away, never to be seen again.

"We are sorry for your loss," the doctor remarked, "we will make sure that your loved one is treated with care and respect. We empathize with the pain that you are experiencing and will continue to experience. It is never easy."

"Thank you, Doctor Hughes." Flora responded with a smile, Helia's attention still on his grandfather, "You have been wonderful during this difficult time."

"We must get ready to collect any organs that we can in this window of viability. So many people will be thankful for this gift."

"He made sure that his donation status was clear," Flora said.

The doctor returned the smile before turning to Helia.

"Mr. Saladin," the doctor's voice returned to one of great solemnity, "we all cared for your grandfather deeply. The Saladins are not just work family, but after everything that you have done for this hospital, for our sons at Red Fountain, and for the universe, we were honored to serve your family. Thank you for allowing us to work with you and entrusting your loved one to our care."

Helia opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"I understand," the doctor nodded, "when you are ready, Nurse Yvonne can help connect you to places for the next steps."

"Thank you, Doctor Hughes."

With a nod, Doctor Hughes parted and left the room, Flora and Helia being the only ones who remained.

They stood in silence, Flora bowing her head in silent prayer. Nothing ran through Helia's head. It had been nearly fifteen years since he felt this way. It never got easier.

"Helia, sweetie," Flora called out to him softly, "are you ready?"

No.

But Helia nodded anyway. He wouldn't be ready for a long time but he knew that they would have to go eventually.

"Yes," Helia answered, "I'm ready."

I really don't know what name to give Grandpa Saladin. I know that in the canon world that his name is Saladin (or Headmaster Saladin) but I used that name for Helia's surname so if anyone has suggestions for what name to give Grandpa Saladin, I am all ears (well, eyes since I will probably be reading your suggestions lol)