AN: I'm pleased to say I was actually pretty happy with how this chapter turned out. It's probably the shortest one in this whole entire story, but it wraps everything up. Just to let you all know now, this chapter takes place about about two weeks after the last chapter.

On that note, I give you all the final chapter of The Baggage of James

The sun shone down over the small town of Orono, Maine. In the cemetery run, a small group of people were assembled around an oak coffin that lay beside a fresh grave. Among them were James and Sammy. The two of them were dressed in navy suits, and in James' hand was a small bouquet of wild lupine. Little Sammy, meanwhile, was clinging to James' free hand, staring at the coffin, his face a clear picture of his inability to fully comprehend the concept of death.

As the crowd of people began to diverge, James laid the wild lupine atop the coffin, letting out a small sigh as he did so. For a moment longer, he looked down at the casket, and before he turned to leave, he glanced over at the forty-something couple who had been standing nearby, catching their eyes for a moment, hoping to nonverbally convey his thoughts to them. To his surprise, and relief, the older man gave him a stiff nod of acknowledgment.

With one last glance at the coffin, James pulled Sammy up to carry him in his arms, and walked off, making his way toward the person who was waiting for him nearby A tender smile stretched across James' face as Penny went up to meet him halfway. The scoop neckline of her black blouse made the bandage that had been secured to her back completely noticeable.

It had been determined when she was in the ICU of the hospital that the bullet had embedded itself somewhere beneath the back of the collarbone, but there had been no serious damage done, and she was out of the hospital after a few days. Nevertheless, James had been surprised when Penny had announced she intended to go with James and Sammy when they flew to Maine for Hannah's funeral. She hadn't changed her mind about it, no matter how many times James had told her that she didn't have to come. Now that he saw her here to greet him after he'd said 'goodbye' to Hannah, James couldn't deny that he was grateful for her presence on this day.

When Penny had reached his side, James placed Sammy on the ground, and the little boy immediately ambled over to Penny, taking hold of her hand.

"Thanks again for coming, Penny," James began, smiling softly at her. "I mean, even after everything she did to you, you still came with me."

"James, I've told you before," Penny explained, bending down to pick Sammy up, pausing to smile at the boy when he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Hannah was your high school sweetheart, and Sammy's mother. She was important to you, and in a way, that makes her important to me, too. Besides, I can't help feeling sorry for her. I remember what you told me, about what she'd said before she died. Everything she did was the act of a desperate woman who didn't know how to live her life after you left with Sammy. I'm not blaming you, of course, but I still can't help but pity her all the same. How can I possibly bear a grudge against a girl who wasn't able to live for herself?"

As Penny spoke, James felt as if he might actually burst with love for her. That was just so Penny, always looking for the good in everyone, no matter what kind of horrible things that person had done. It was at times like this that James could almost feel himself falling in love with her all over again, and he couldn't help but place a loving kiss on her forehead.

"Come on," James wrapped an arm around Penny's waist. "I'm sure you and Sammy are getting hungry."

"I'm not hungry," Sammy piped up, his arms still around Penny's neck. "I'm starvin'!" Sammy's comment forced a set of laughs from James and Penny.

"Well, then," James chuckled, tussling his son's hair, "we can't have a starving five-year-old, can we?"

"We certainly can't," Penny agreed, as the three of them made their way out of the cemetery.

As they walked out of the cemetery and out onto the street where a rental car was waiting, James forced himself to say something he'd been planning to bring up since the night he'd revealed the truth about his relation to Sammy.

"Penny?" James started, tightening his hold on Penny's waist, "you remember what I said a while ago? About the fact that my last name, Parson, wasn't my real last name, but one I used to try and keep Hannah from finding us? Well, I think its time you knew my real name. It's James Cooke."

"And?" Penny responded, smiling back at him with a face full of love. "James, do you think it really matters to me what your real last name is? While it is nice to know, Parson, Cooke, or whatever your name is, doesn't change who you are to me. Regardless of what you're called, you're still James, Sammy's father, and the person I love." James face softened to the point where it was visibly clear how much he loved Penny in return for feeling that way.

"Penny, I don't deserve you," James sighed. In response, Penny reached out with one hand to touch his cheek, skillfully managing to balance Sammy in one arm.

"Yes, you do," Penny assured in a whisper before leaning in to kiss him, being met with a tender, loving response.

Overhead, the warm sun that was hanging in the cloudless sky shone down on the young couple, with the small five-year-old boy cradled beside them, providing a sign and a promise of a fresh new start.

AN: And that's the end for my darker stories, at least for now. My next three stories are friendship-based, and will star mainly Rodolfo and Zack.