The clash of metal meeting metal echoed through the silent air. Morgan and Lucina materialized at his die, but Chrom paid them no mind, focusing all his attention onto the tactician before him. Thank Naga that he was near, and had managed to block her blade before she had been able to inflict much damage on herself. With all of his strength, Chrom forced away her sword, sending the silver to fall to the ground not too far away from them. A thin trail of blood had appeared on Leaf's neck, slowly trickling downward, and Chrom could only stare at it, the reality of what just happened passing him by.

The four of them were silent; Chrom could only stare at Leaf's neck, while she looked down at the ground, hands shaking. Lucina and Morgan looked at each other before glancing toward their parents. None of them knew what to say, the situation felt surreal, as if it was merely a dream, a nightmare reflecting their fears. It wasn't a delusion though; what had happened was real, and almost, for a moment, Lucina and Morgan might've lost their mother all over again.

Morgan approached the tactician, whom had fallen onto the ground, resting on her knees. Wrapping his arms around her, he leaned his cheek on her shoulder, burying his face within her cloak. "Mother… Are you alright?" he timidly asked, tears already forming in his eyes.

"W-what were you doing, Mother?!" Lucina added, disbelief coating her tone of voice.

Leaf didn't respond and she merely let her eyes flutter shut as she released a shaky breath. With trembling hands, she placed one on Morgan's head, patting him soothingly.

Chrom didn't say anything either and instead, he kneeled down in front of her, taking her free hand in his, gripping it tight. Her sword laid a few metres away, far enough so that she couldn't reach for it without needing to get up. His own sword laid by his side, forgotten. Lucina followed suit and joined her family on the grassy ground, waiting for a response.

"I-I didn't want you, any of you, to have seen that," Leaf started, her voice barely above a whisper. She let out a rusty laugh but kept her eyes closed, a shiver passing through her. "I didn't expect anyone to be awake at this hour."

"What were you hoping to accomplish?" Chrom asked, using every ounce of strength he had to keep his voice neutral and steady.

She sighed, letting her eyes open, and for the first time in days, looked at him directly. "Isn't it obvious?" Her head tilted toward Morgan, showing off more of the self inflicted wound. Though it was small, blood still continued to trickle out, but Leaf ignored it. The pain that flared around it kept her awake, kept her grounded, forcing her to focus. It made sure that she was still present, that what she was experiencing now was reality.

"Why, Mother, why?!" Morgan exclaimed, looking up at her, shaking her hand off. "Please don't leave me, not again!"

"Mother, please explain," Lucina added softly, turning her eyes onto her mother's face. Her tone was neutral, like Chrom's, but unlike him, emotion had easily crept into her eyes, forming tears in the corner.

Leaf shook her head, biting her lip. "It would be so much simpler, if I wasn't here. Grima would have no vessel and the other me, the me that became the fell dragon, would cease to exist." She turned her attention to Lucina, nothing but sadness displayed in her eyes. "If it wasn't because of me and my actions, your future would've been so much brighter, and wouldn't be laying in ruin. Chrom wouldn't have died and…"

"That isn't your fault, Mother!"

"But Grima and I are one and the same; we only differ in the choices we've made, but ultimately, we are connected. Perhaps, even in this time, I will grow to become Grima, and everything you've done would be meaningless."

Leaf paused there, inhaling sharply, continuing before anyone could interject, "I've been thinking about this ever since we've defeated Validar. Everyone deserves happiness, but that's not possible now, is it? If I didn't exist, neither would Grima. The world will be at peace, don't you see? Besides, our battles are almost over, there isn't much I can do for the army anymore; I might as well remove myself and the harm that comes along with my existence. I don't want to hurt any of you. You all deserve happiness."

"And me? What about me, Leaf?" Chrom asked when she was done speaking, meeting his wife's gaze head on. Taking her other hand into his grip, he held them both tightly, keeping them close to him, as if their touching hands were the only connection he had with her.

"W-what?" She sounded confused, and her eyes flickered from his face toward the ground. Her voice was soft, below that of even a whisper.

"You said we all deserve happiness, but what about me? Do you truly believe I'll be happy without you?" He released the hold on her hands and instead rested one hand on her chin, nudging her head up to meet his gaze. "You mean everything to me," he continued in a softer voice. "You're wrong if you believe the army has no use for you anymore. I'll always need you at my side; we've been through so much together, Leaf, I can't just let you go, not like this. It doesn't matter to me if you're Validar's daughter or the vessel for the fell dragon. First and foremost, you'll always be my wife, and the love of my life"

His words echoed familiarly in her mind, bringing forth memories of that night on Carrion Isle, but she simply shook them away. "You would've moved on, given enough time, and without Grima, without me, there will be plenty of time for anything." Her thoughts turned back to all the future children she had met, and her skin tingled as she remembered the particular thoughts that had given her determination.

"That's not true, Mother!" Morgan objected, vehemently shaking his head. "I can never forget you; even though I don't remember anything else, I know life will be miserable without you. Please don't leave me."

"I can't imagine a future without you, Mother, not anymore, and I don't want to, I can't. I've already seen it, and lived through it. Being here has reminded me of when we were together as a family, full of warmth and happiness," Lucina reasoned.

She flinched at their words and turned her gaze onto the ground again, forcing her head away from Chrom's touch. It was clear that she could cause them a great deal of hurt if she was to leave their lives, but that didn't stop her from thinking about her actions. Her sword remained in her line of sight and for a moment, she was tempted to make a mad dash for it, to pick it up and end everything, to continue what she had originally planned to do. It was an absurd thought, and just as quickly had the idea entered her mind did it leave, bringing back all the hesitation she had felt earlier that night.

"I'm sorry," Leaf murmured, "Please, just let me end this. I-It would be so much simply if I did; everyone would be so much happier." She simply didn't know what else there was to say. Her plan to slip away quietly in the night had been disrupted by her family, and given their responses, she knew she would never receive another chance, not after what happened tonight.

"Gods, no, Leaf! I can't let you do this. No matter what, I'm not letting you run away from me; I won't allow it," Chrom shot back fiercely. His hands found hers again and he held onto them tightly, pulling her toward him.

She struggled, trying to pull away from him, but the more she moved, the closer she ended up being, and before she knew it, her head was leaning against his chest, and his arms were wrapped around her, preventing her from escaping. Though it had only been several days, being in his arms like that again felt so right, so warm, so inviting, that she was tempted to forget everything that had happened, to forget about the troubles of the impending future and of her past, but she couldn't. Leaf drew away from him, opening her mouth, but Chrom managed to beat her, letting his words dangle in the air.

"If you try to push me out, I'll return, no matter what. It doesn't matter to me, Leaf, that you're related to Grima; it doesn't matter to me that you have this dark side. I promised to take care of you and to love you until the end of my days, and I'll be damned if I let anything get in my way."

"Father's right, Mother. Nothing matters, as long as you're here. We'll find a way to make things alright," Morgan chimed in, wiping away the tears that glistened in his eyes.

Lucina didn't say anything, instead she simply looked at Leaf, and the look in her eyes was enough. The young lord had been the one that travelled through time, adamant on changing the past to prevent her grim future from occurring. It was Lucina that had to experience the death of her parents and the fall of humanity as she knew, and yet, here she was, believing in Leaf that she would do the right thing. Nothing mattered more than family, and she couldn't lose her mother, not again, never again.

"We all need you here with us. Lucina and Morgan need their mother, and I need my wife. If you weren't here, then what would happen to Morgan?" Chrom asked gently.

Leaf's eyes widened as his question dawned on her and she turned to look at the young tactician who was staring up at her, waiting to hear her reply. She had thought so much about the future, about how it would affect all the children, that she hadn't realized that Morgan would cease to exist if she were to end her life. Lucina had already been born in their timeline, but Morgan was still a variable in their life. If she were to die, then he would disappear along with her. She shook her head vigorously. How could she have forgotten that significant fact? "Morgan… I-I…"

The blue haired tactician merely smiled at her. "It's alright, Mother. I'm still here now, aren't I? Just, please don't ever leave me. I won't forgive you if you do."

"We all make mistakes, Mother," Lucina chimed in, referencing that night when they had lost the Fire Emblem to Validar. "As long as you're here, we'll be able to find a way to make things right again."

Chrom smiled gently at her. He hadn't meant to make her feel even worse, but it was heartwarming to see their children encourage her, to be the ones that told her that her past actions didn't matter. "You belong with us, Leaf, and don't you ever forget that. If you ever do, we'll all be here to remind you. Sumia, Cordelia, Gaius, Tharja, and everyone else will be here too. You've done so much for us, and everyone is grateful; they all care for you, even in times when it doesn't seem like it. Just remember that you will always be the love of my life, no matter what," Chrom concluded, pulling back his head to look at her directly. "Promise me, that you'll stay."

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she inhaled sharply. It felt as if it had been years instead of days since she had last heard Chrom speak so long to her, and it made her heart ache. Grima could easily destroy them all, along with the rest of humanity, and when comparing her one life to those of millions of others, hers seemed trivial, but having her family with her, having them speak to her again, made her feel special. They would be at Mount Prism soon, and Naga was sure to have answers. Until then, it didn't and shouldn't matter that she was related to Validar, that she would become Grima in the future, because at that moment, she had people that loved her, no matter what.

Leaf could only nod her head, but even such a simple gesture was enough for Chrom. He pulled her toward him again, tightly wrapping his arms around her. A relieved cry left Morgan as he struggled to wrap his arms around both his parents while Lucina merely smiled, feeling just as relieved. That was, until Chrom's arm wrapped itself around her, pulling her into group hug. Finally, after what had felt like months, the gap between them and Leaf had closed, making them feel like a complete family once more.

A/N: And that's the end. I hope anyone reading this has enjoyed it as much as I liked writing it. I'm not good at writing angsty stories, so hopefully this whole thing wasn't that bad, though it was fun to write. If the beginning seems a bit strange, it's because it was originally part of the previous chapter, but it didn't seem right so I separated it.

Thanks everyone for the reviews and favourites, especially ModelOmega for telling me about the Gaius mistake in the first chapter, and Angel Of Darkness And Light for reminding me about Morgan. And before anyone thinks I wrote this all in the span of two days, well, you're wrong, ehehe. I started this about two weeks ago and finished yesterday; I prefer to not upload until I'm certain that I'm done, because I have a bad habit of abandoning my stories.

Happy Leafing~