AN: Yay! This is the last chapter everyone! I actually somewhat took time to write this one and not leave it to the last moment! see everyone at the end of the chapter!

Chapter 12

"I can't let it end like this." Joan repeated.

She clenched her hands and walked towards Francis purposefully. Joan stopped a few steps behind Francis and took a deep breath.

"Francis." She started then waited until he looked at her.

His face was full of sorrow and Joan wondered if his face was reflecting her own raging emotions. She hesitated and wondered if she was willing to make this sacrifice.

Memories of their life together plagued her ever since she had come here. The unending vastness had seemed empty and lonely to her.

Then the storms came...

The wind screamed and the never ending rain stung her skin bringing to mind another new memory of a life that she could never get back again. She had told Francis that the rain had stopped when she had accepted that she was dead. But that was a lie. They had only stopped moments before Francis had arrived.

"I don't know if I can live with that again..." Joan thought to herself. The thought angered her so much that she mentally kicked herself. "I can't believe I am thinking about myself at a time like this!"

"Joan?" Francis asked cutting off her mental babble.

"What?" Joan asked.

"You said my name." Francis stated.

"I did?"

"I think so?"

Joan laughed, "You might be hearing things!"

Francis gave Joan a sweet smile but she could see the sadness behind it. He turned and continued to work on the house.

Joan looked up at the sky and sighed sadly. A drop of rain fell on her cheek and ran down her face like a single tear.

Gilbert paced back and forth. Ever since he had heard the singing in the forest he knew that Francis and maybe even Joan had been close by. Antonio sat on the couch watching the Prussian pace still thinking that Gilbert was driving himself crazy. Antonio didn't say anything but he had heard the singing too. A feeling of hope filled his chest but he squashed it back down. Antonio refused to get his hopes up.

"So what do you think we should do?" Antonio asked breaking the silence.

Gilbert stopped pacing, "I don't..."

Gilbert started pacing again. "Wait! I think I'm getting something!"

The Prussian walked directly towards the nearest wall and without hesitating, started banging his head. Antonio jumped up, now fully convinced that his friend had lost it.

"Amigo, that isn't good for your head!" Antonio exclaimed as he grabbed Gilbert by his shoulders.

Gilbert turned to look at Antonio. His face held the biggest smile that the Spaniard had seen in weeks. The look was ruined though when blood started trailing down Gilbert's face.

"Don't worry! That usually helps me come up with an awesome plan!" Gilbert said proudly.

"And the blood?"

"Just the added spice!"

Antonio slowly nodded. Now he was a hundred percent sure that his friend had gone insane. He slowly walked towards the door and stuck his head out.

"Ludwig! I need you!" Antonio yelled frantically.

Ludwig walked in the room a few minutes later and looked at Antonio then his eyes strayed to his brother.

He shook his head and sighed, "Coming up with another plan are we, Gilbert?"

"You are right as always little brudder!"

"And what is this plan?" Ludwig asked with a bemused smile.

Gilbert smirked, "It's a secret!"

"Does this plan have anything with you moving out of my basement now that you are married?"

"Yes...maybe...no." Gilbert replied sheepishly.

Ludwig smiled and rolled his eyes. He left the room and then came back with a wet cloth.

"Here, clean yourself up." Ludwig said as he tossed the cloth at Gilbert.

"Thanks brudder!"

"Just make sure you don't hit your head as hard next time." Ludwig said over his shoulder as he left the room.

"So you have a plan?" Antonio asked once Ludwig left the room.

"Of course I do! Don't you see the blood?"

"And the plan would be?" Antonio urged Gilbert to continue.

"We put ourselves in comas!"

The room went silent. The two men stared at each other.

"What?" Antonio asked.

"We put ourselves in comas and then we drag Francis back from where ever he is!" Gilbert explained excitedly.

"That's it?"

"Yeah!"

"That's your plan?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"It's my AWESOME plan!"

Antonio sighed, "I don't think that it works that way..."

Gilbert's face fell. "I guess it was kind of ridiculous..."

Gilbert turned around and faced the wall and started banging his head again, making small thumping noises in the silent room.

"Gil... can I talk to you?" Matthew asked.

Matthew was making pancakes for the two of them. Gilbert staring off into space now had two black eyes from trying to come up with a plan all day and thankfully Matthew hadn't asked about them.

"Um, sure I guess. You know you never have to ask." Gilbert replied.

Matthew slowly put down his spatula and slowly turned around. His face was splotchy and tears ran down his face. Gilbert was out of his chair and holding the sobbing Canadian in his arms.

"It's okay. Whatever it is, it's going to be okay." Gilbert said in a comforting tone.

"Not this time..." Matthew sobbed.

"Then explain it to me so that I can make it better."

"I've decided to take papa off of life support."

The words made Matthew sob harder and Gilbert went cold.

Matthew took a shuddering breath and continued. "The doctor said that he was never going to wake up and it was for the best."

Gilbert didn't even respond. The familiar feeling of being left behind was back. It had never really left in the first place.

It was like Gilbert's legs were under a huge boulder and he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Everyone that he ever cared about was a few paces away talking and laughing until they started to walk away. Gilbert screamed at them for help but they continued to walk away, disappearing into the distance.

"I can't let it happen again..."

The wind roared and the rain pelted Joan like it did back then. She was on her knees hugging herself. The unending pain that she had felt before Francis had come made her feel like she would shatter like glass.

"I have to tell Francis..." she thought as she looked around for him.

Sheets of rain came down making it hard to see in any direction.

"Francis!" Joan yelled.

A dark figure came running towards her. Joan felt relief course through her when she saw that it was Francis. He shielded her from the rain and looked around.

"What's happening?" He yelled to be heard over the roar.

"This world... you can't stay!" Joan yelled back.

The words were out of her mouth before she could have any second thoughts. The wind stopped screaming and the rain came to a stop. Limbo was now a white void again.

"What?" Francis asked in disbelief.

"I'm so sorry. You may not understand now but you will in time!" Joan tried to explain. "Please don't be sad anymore. Do not regret your past or worse, your future. You must live on for the people from your past and present. Also for the people you have yet to meet in your future. I know that happy things come to an end but so do sad things. That's what it means to be alive. Please! I want you to live! Live and fall in love and die with no regrets with a smile on your face!" Joan pleaded. She looked into Francis' piercing blue eyes that were filling with tears, then whispered, "That is my one and only wish..."

"No, I can't just leave!" screamed Francis.

Joan smiled a small sweet smile, tears threatening to spill onto her cheeks. Her short golden hair waved in the breeze as she kissed Francis softly on the cheek.

"You have many people who are worried about you mon amour. I will miss you terribly but it will not hurt as much as seeing you suffer as you watch your friends and family moving on with their lives and your memory eventually fading into history." Joan whispered. Her cheeks turned pink as she looked into Francis' eyes.

He looked down at her then up at the blank sky. Joan could see the different emotions playing on his face.

"That is your wish?" Francis asked.

"Yes... I will be able to finally feel peace if you promise me that you will do all the things that I was never able to do."

"Then I guess I have no choice..."

Francis leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss. He turned and without looking back, walked into the white void.

Joan watched him disappear then sighed contently. "Thank you..." She whispered as she faded away, finally at peace.

The room was silent except for the machines that constantly made different sounds. Antonio and Gilbert stood in the corner, both stone faced. Matthew stood beside Francis' bedside beside Arthur, Alfred, Michelle and Doctor Ivan.

"Well here we go..." Ivan whispered.

Matthew held back a sob and clutched onto his papa's hand.

Ivan moved to turn off the machine when Francis' eyes flickered then slowly opened.

"Papa!" Matthew gasped.

"Francis!" Antonio and Gilbert exclaimed at the same time that Michelle squealed and hugged Alfred and Arthur.

"Sisters I need help in here!" Ivan yelled out the door.

No one but Gilbert and Antonio seemed to notice the single tear that slid its way down Francis' cheek.

3 days later

"So I had a lot of time to think..." Francis started with a sly grin. "And I've decided your nicknames!"

Gilbert's head shot up from the book he had been reading beside Francis' bed.

"Tell me!" He demanded.

Antonio laughed, "Let's hear them amigo!"

"Well I got the idea for Antonio's when Gilbert called him Antonio Fernaday Caterpillar..." Francis started.

"It's Antonio Fernández Carriedo!" Antonio piped up.

"Whatever! So Antonio's nickname is caterpillar!" Francis declared.

Gilbert burst out laughing. "Caterpillar! How unawesome is that?!"

"I like it!" Antonio chuckled good naturedly.

When the laughter subsided Gilbert asked, "So what's mine?"

Francis looked at Gilbert. "Pooh Bear."

Gilbert blinked. "What?"

"Pooh Bear." Francis repeated

This time it was Antonio who burst out laughing.

"I remember how much he loved that show! He even dressed up as Pooh for Halloween one year!" Antonio said as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"Well I like it! Pooh is almost as awesome as me!" Gilbert declared folding his arms across his chest.

The trio laughed until all were secretly thinking about how their trio was almost a duo.

The crisp wind blew the orange and red leaves across the graves. A man stood in front of one reading the name and the dates on it.

A child ran laughing through the graves and stopped beside the man.

"Papa, tell me the story about Joan!" she cried.

The man picked up his daughter and looked back at the grave.

"She was strong and stubborn. But she was also kind and gentle. She even forgave someone who felt like they should never be forgiven."

The wind picked up making the child shiver in the man's arms making him chuckle.

"We should head home before Maman wonders where we are." He said as he started walking towards home.

"Finish the story!" the child begged.

"Okay, where were we..."

A small pain shot through his chest. He knew that it would never fully go away. He would always miss Joan.

And that was all right for now. Telling her story felt like the next closest thing to giving her a kiss.

AN: Wow I didnt know finishing this would make me all emotional! I hate to admit but by the end I was kinda almost sobbing...

But I am also kinda happy to see that Francis and Joan both got their happy ending!

I wont be gone long because I already have in mind my next fanfiction and it will be a PruHun one! Thank you to everyone who read this to the end! Please review!