A/N: Yay no more school for me!!!!!

"Carry?" Raleigh asked in a hoarse whisper, staring up at Faolan. Then he blinked, and stretched, closing his eyes again.

But then they jerked open suddenly and went back to Fao and he said, his voice sounding confused and unsure, "Carry…? What- who are you?"

Faolan stared down at him, finding herself at a loss for words, then said, "Well… Raleigh… I guess I am Carry Rolf."

His eyes filled with tears and he pulled himself slowly into a sitting position, and Faolan saw how his arms shook with even that effort. He was wearing an a white long sleeved shirt- old and soft and worn. Then he looked out the window, blinked rapidly and said, "Carry Rolf is dead. A Herald told me…"

Faolan stared at him for a long time, feeling overwhelmed with love for him and sadness that they did not know each other- sadness that she had died, that their old relationship was gone. She just stared down at him, and he stared out the window, everyone once and a while glancing at her uneasily.

"Raleigh," Faolan finally said, "It's a really long, really, really long story but… My name is Faolan. And Carry Rolf did die. I'm her reincarnate."

Raleigh looked at her sharply, staring at her suspiciously, opened his mouth, closed it again, then stared at her some more and finally said softly, "That isn't funny."

"I've never been more serious in my entire life," Faolan answered, wondering how to make him believe- she supposed he would have to realize it on his own though.

"You…" he said a moment later, then looked away- but not before Faolan saw the tears sliding down his cheeks. She heard a low sound, and realized it was a choked sob- and she wanted to go to him, hold him tight- but he was crying for her.

"I'm here," she whispered, "Raleigh.. it's me…"

"No!" he said suddenly, turning to look at her again with a shake of his head, "You aren't Carry.. you… you aren't Carry."

"Yes, I am," Faolan cried out, "I know it's hard but..."

Raleigh stared at her know, his eyes red, and Faolan felt the mix of emotion in him- the anger that she could just come in here and claim to be Carry, when she so clearly was not. But she could also feel that deep inside him, he knew it was here, knew it the moment she entered the room- his words proved that, and knew that he wanted to accept it more than anything, because more than anything else he wanted Carry Rolf. But it'd take time to bring that out.

So she stared back at him, not challenging, not angry, just… waiting. And finally he leaned back against his pillows, breathing heavily, then said, "I… I… Well I suppose you look the right age for it."

Faolan grinned and she had a feeling the tension was broken as they sat and stood there, smirking at each other. Faolan had always felt older than her age, felt like Carry Rolf, a grown woman, in a child's form, but not until today had she felt young. Today she felt like she really was fourteen, and was trying to convince this grown man that she was his love. It seemed almost ridiculous. She remembered when she was five, truly a child, sitting by Raleigh in a different room and holding his hand while he slept, and she gave a short laugh, the looked around the room with a shrug that wasn't really aimed at anything.

"How are you?" Faolan asked a little later, "Do you need anything… food… blankets… pillows?"
"No…" he shook his head, glancing at her incredulously and still suspiciously, then said, "They keep me under fairly tight watch. I'm surprised no one has come in here yet this morning. They won't stop telling me it's a miracle that I'm awake. But it's not like I did anything about it… I don't remember anything from these past fifteen years… The only way I know they're not lying to me is they handed me a mirror two days ago. The last thing I remember…"
He trailed off and Faolan saw a familiar haunted look in his eyes. It was the one that was in his eyes every time she met him in her dreams and she prompted softly, "The wolves?"

An involuntary shudder ran through him and he nodded then whispered, "They tell me everyone knows now- that they're werewolves… but it still haunts me."

"Raleigh?" Faolan asked, stepping closer to his bed so her knees were practically brushing his blankets.

"Yes… Faolan?" he answered, gazing up at her and Faolan couldn't repress a smile at the sound of her name from his lips, at the look in his eyes that told her he still loved her, even if he wasn't sure about her new identity.

"Uh…" she said, then she leaned forward and kissed him, just briefly, a bit like the way she had before he woke up, before straightening up with a blush.

"Oh," he said slowly after a moment, and she saw his eyes were glistening once more with tears, then he glanced over at her and inquired, "So… reincarnation?"

"Yeah," she said, then stepped backwards to stand about a foot from his bed, fidgeting uneasily.

"Ah…" Raleigh said, his eyes flitting over her face, her hair, her body, "Uh… who are you? I mean- you say you're Carry Rolf, and despite my rational side, despite my lack of faith in my knowledge of the afterlife, somehow some part of me tells me you're telling the truth- don't know where that bit came from. But, even if you're really her reincarnate, you must have some life here… and… how do you remember me?"

Faolan gave a sort of wince and looked out the window and sun spattered grounds outside- it was already much lighter in the room and she said, "Well… Huh… I'm not sure how to start. I suppose the basic gist of it is that I remember all my past lives. Carry most of all, but the ones before her too."

"Tell me about Carry," Raleigh said, his eyes intense, "For the sake of my rational side… Faolan, right?"

Faolan nodded, "Yeah. Well… in that life I was born sort of a country girl. I liked horses- and managed to get myself"-

"Not that," he shook his head, interrupting her, "You could have found that out and I didn't really know much about Carry's past anyway."

Faolan stared at him for a long moment, then nodded, and started over, "I miss being Carry. That life… it was very unfinished. It ended too soon- we- us, that ended too soon also. I remember when I first joined your scout group- you struck me as a very good Captain. I trusted you. I still trust you. I liked riding horses- that was why I was in scouting, in the first place. A bit ironic, seeing as the time spent scouting in this life has been with those who don't use horses… How terrible- to fall in love during war. I hate this war Raleigh… I remember our first kiss too- it was after you found me in that snowstorm. You had a horse- his name was Charlie. When we got back to camp you kissed me. It was war… but I miss those days."

Raleigh was quiet long after Faolan finished and when she turned her gaze back upon him she saw he was looking away, lost in the past that she spoke of. She heard and saw him sigh, saw his eyes slide back to her, and knew that he believed. So she smiled.

His eyes were sad- they were mourning, but there was a spark of hope in them, and he spoke, his voice a whisper, "How do I know you're Carry?"
"Well…" Faolan started, then quickly finished, "We're lifebonded."

His eyebrows twitched and then he let out a long sigh and said, "I suppose I knew that somewhere inside me too... Though… why would I be lifebonded to you- and I wasn't to Carry? I've heard tales about those who are lifebonded, and I'm fairly sure she and I fell in love the normal way."
Faolan grinned, remembering as clearly as he how they'd fallen in love, and her heart felt lighter for it, before she answered, "Raul probably won't like me telling you- it's sort of a Companion secret, but that's sort of how lifebonds are created… My death… As Raul said to me a long time ago- when I first found you again and realized I still loved you just as powerfully as I did when I died- even though I was only around five years old, well, she told me that when two people die young and still madly in love with each other, not yet ready to leave each other- then that's how lifebonds form. Usually people don't come back so quickly I think- so usually we'd both be in new lives and not know about each other until chance set us together again… but yeah."

"Ah," Raleigh said, digesting that with a slight nod; then he frowned and said, "Who's Raul?"

"My Companion," Faolan said with a smile, "I would be wearing Whites but I've kind of… not been around for the past few years."

"You-?" Raleigh looked at a loss for words but, oddly, relieved, "You're a Herald? Aren't they usually… a little older?"

Faolan laughed and shifted around before saying, "Well, yes… but I was Chosen when I was three because that's when my past lives resurfaced… so I was only three in body, really."

"Ah," Raleigh said again, sounding a little overwhelmed by all the information, "I've missed a lot. The war…it's still going then?"
Faolan nodded, staring at him sadly, "Still strong. Valdemar's a changed land… it's got to end soon, Raleigh, it really has too."

"You…" he sighed, staring at her with that same incredulous expression, "You act so much like Carry but… at the same time not. I'm afraid I'm having trouble comprehending it. However- my heart says otherwise, which I suppose makes things simpler. I never imagined Carry would be Chosen… but that fact that you're a Herald makes everything you say much, much more believable."

"She wouldn't have been- Carry," Faolan answered, stepping a few inches closer, "It's just Faolan that's a Herald…"
"How is that?" Raleigh asked, gazing at her as he dropped his hand.

"Well…" Faolan looked away from him, then back at him, "I think it was because of why I came back so quickly. I came back- well I don't remember the afterlife, but this is what Raul and I have surmised, I came back because someone needed to tell Valdemar that the enemy was werewolves- that Karse had hired werewolves. And you were in a coma and unlikely to wake up so… it was up to me. And I guess that changed me…"

Raleigh seemed at a loss for words as he stared at her with his soft brown eyes, but then he sighed and leaned down into his pillows more, letting his eyes close briefly before opening them again and saying, "Then you're a Herald. Have you… been fighting?"

"Sort of," Faolan said, wondering how she could tell him that she was a werewolf- when he was still so afraid of them. But she recalled his reaction in her last dream of him, and knew it would all end up okay, "There's something you should know…"

"Yes?" he asked, sounding more tired than before. Well, after not using your body for fifteen years it would be fairly weak.

"The reason I remembered my past lives…" she began, "When I was three… I was bitten by a werewolf, Raleigh. It was only Raul that saved me. She brought me to an unused Waystation and helped me… control the Change. I've been gone for eight years- away from Haven and… I was spying, Raleigh. Among the werewolves. Because I'm one of them."

"Oh," the words fell heavily from his lips and his eyes fluttered over her again, "That… that uh… you can Change whenever you want?"

"Yes," Faolan answered, "But Raleigh, the werewolves aren't evil! They're as human as you, as human as Carry…"

"Yes…" Raleigh said, looking out his window and Faolan felt him sit slighter stiffer than he had before and after a few more moments he said, "Change for me? Now?"

Faolan looked at him sharply and he turned to meet her gaze, so she said, "What?"

"You heard me," he said fiercely- or as fierce as he could manage, "It… it seems important, somehow. Just do it- for me, Faolan."

Faolan felt a rush of happiness of him saying her name, her name and not Carry, as he always called her in the dreams and she never could correct. She looked into Raleigh's eyes, saw he was sincere, and nodded. Standing up she took off her shoes, then, unsure about how'd he'd feel if she took all her clothes off, she started the change with her clothes on, then took the rest off just before her hands turned totally into claws. The Change came over her quickly, easily, more easily than before, and Faolan knew it was because of the powerful emotions racing through her body.

When she stood before him, totally a wolf, large and gray with a hint of red along the ends of her fur, she peered up at him with yellow eyes. His expression was set into one of determination, but Faolan could see his hands shaking. She stepped over to him and pressed her nose against his hand, encouraging him to touch her.

"Faolan?" he whispered, his voice cracking, and she touched him with her empathy again, and saw that he was healing- had been healing, ever since she touched him with her empathy the night he woke up.

Then he moved his hand and touched her head, running his fingers through her fur, and she lifted her front paws up onto the bed and arranged herself sitting beside his bed, her head resting on his thigh and her paws half draping over his legs. He shivered a bit at first, but kept stroking her, staring into her wolf eyes.

"Ah… Faolan," he whispered after a moment, dropping his head back and letting his eyes close, "You… you really are Carry."

Faolan didn't answer- she couldn't anyway, just kept resting beside him, reveling in their closeness. As she watched, Raleigh's breathing slowed down, and his hand stopped moving, just rested on her head, and just before he fell asleep she heard him whisper in a voice that would be inaudible to human ears, "I love you."

A/N: There's an extra long chapter for all of you! And now the thank you's...
GinaStar- That's the question- isn't it? Thanks for reviewing!!!
ginalee- There is definitely more! I have at least six or seven more chapters- probabaly more like ten, before it's completely wrapped up! Still- it's scary... because it IS approaching the end!
LightningStorms- Let's see... it was about six years I think. Because she joined Skylar's pack at eight, and now she's fourteen... Then again she was wandering around for a while before finding the werewolves- maybe it was seven years. She'll change her name if they get married and it's up to the Companions if Raleigh gets Chosen!
mugglepirate- Yup. After all the suffering, things are finally perking up in this story! It's fun to write happy chapters again.

And one more thing... I keep forgetting to mention. The title to Chapter 59 is a hint. See if you can figure it out! (I'll explain once what it's hinting at comes to pass.)