Author's note:

"We're about to go through the crucible. But we'll come out the other side. We always arise from our own ashes; everything returns later in its changed form."

- Children of Dune, Frank Herbert

Finally the chapter that marks the end to something I would not have finished if it hadn't been for you guys; your comments, your favourites and your alerts. They have made the difference. Enjoy.

Kaze-Chan

Chapter 14

Billy 38, Tim 29

Part 1

"Tim, feel this." She quickly reached out for Tim's hand, placing it on her stomach just as the baby gave another kick. Emily looked up from her stomach and glanced over at Tim just as a smile spread across his features. Her heart nearly skipped a beat; Tim was a not an ugly man to begin with but something about his smile always sent her heart beating faster. He parked the truck next to his brother's and quickly walked around to open the door for her.

"Uncle Tim!" The ten year old boy came running around the house, no doubt having heard the unmistakable engine pulling up; his two younger sisters not far behind.

Making sure Emily was had a steady footing, Tim swooped his nephew into his arms, twirling him around; his nieces quickly attached themselves to each legs. Emily watched fondly from the front step, her hands rubbing slow circles on her swollen stomach. If this was any indication, then she knew without a doubt that Tim would be a great father.

He left Emily inside with Mindy to help prepare the table and headed out back to find his brother, the three children following in tow. "Hey little brother." Billy happily called from behind the barbeque, holding out an offered beer.

"Come on guys, leave your uncle alone for a minute will ya?" They groaned in displeasure but quickly bounded off to play by themselves, leaving the two brothers to enjoy their beers much like old times. "So, how's Em doing? Any time now huh?" Billy laughed as Tim took a seat on the cooler, his face visibly paling.

"Yeah, any day." Tim fidgeted in his seat. Billy glanced over, remembering how nervous he was when Mindy was pregnant with their first child.

"Don't worry Timmy, it's going to be fine." Billy reached over and ruffled his brother's hair much like he would when Tim was younger. They sat in silence watching the children play out in the yard, with Billy occasionally flipping the burgers.

"TIM!" The urgency in Mindy's voice had both Riggins boys running towards the kitchen. Emily was sitting at a kitchen chair holding her stomach, her face twisted in shock, as Mindy held her hand.

"What, what's wrong?" Tim asked, the words blurting out in panic as he scanned her for physical injuries.

She grabbed one of his hands in hers, getting his full attention in seconds. "I'm having the baby, my water just broke." Though her voice as also a little panicked, she was much calmer than Tim. It took him a few seconds to process the information.

"WHAT?" His face drained of the remaining colour and his knees looked like they were about to buckle. Billy was in no better shape, his mouth opening and closing with no words or sound escaping

Mindy, however, was well in control of the situation. "You two just gonna stand there? This woman is having a baby! You," she pointed to Billy, "your driving them to the hospital. Tim, keep track of the contractions." She was already flying around the room collection keys and such. "I'll get the kids and drop them off at my mother's and meet you there." She stopped to face the boys, their faces a clear indication that they were frozen in place. "NOW would be nice!" They all snapped into action, the boys helping Emily into the truck and peeling out of the driveway towards the hospital.

When Mindy arrived at the waiting room, Billy had nearly worn a path in the floor with his pacing; she could just imagine Tim doing the same by Emily's side. Mindy had even called Emily's parents after having dropped her own kids off at her mother's; it sometimes startled her when she realized how efficient she was.

Nearly 11 hours later, a weary and tired looking Tim stumbled out into the waiting room. Billy stopped his pacing mid stride, and Mindy and Emily's parents looked up at him, their faces anxious.

"Well?" Billy was the first to speak, unable to take the suspense any longer.

Tim let out a long breath, his shoulders dropping with fatigue. "It's a girl…" He smiled as Billy gripped him in a hug. "It's a girl!" From where she stood, Mindy couldn't tell who was the happiest at the moment, Billy or Tim. The two where so close as brothers, that any celebration for one, was a celebration for both.

Part 2

"B.J., careful dude; Ellie's still little." Billy watched a second longer to make sure his son headed his warning and wouldn't hurt his younger cousin. Elinore, Tim's daughter, had just turned four but she was very small for her age. With Billy's kids much older and bigger, they sometimes forgot to be careful and the game would sometimes get a little too ruff for their cousin.

B.J. nodded and continued playing soccer with Elinore but the pace slowed considerably. Mindy had taken the girls to their dance classes and Emily was at her parents visiting. This left the boys and Ellie to watch movies and eat pizza, which Tim had just gone out to get. The sound of the phone ringing brought Billy back inside.

"Hello?" Billy made his way back towards the yard.

There was a little pause on the other side of the line. "Hi Billy, it's Detective Clark. Is your brother there with you?" There was something in the voice that Billy couldn't quite put his finger on, but it immediately sent his stomach into summer saults.

"No, he's just gone out for a few minutes." He cleared the lump from his throat, stopping just inside the patio doors watching the kids outside. "What's wrong?"

"There's been an accident. It's not good Billy." It sounded equally hard for Detective Clark to get the words out. "It's Emily."

The second Tim had returned, Billy wasted no time getting them to the hospital. B.J. was old enough to take care of Ellie and so they left them at the house. A doctor with a grave face met them out in the hall; one look instantly told them what they needed to know. By the time they reached him, Billy was almost caring Tim forward. It was times like these he hated being the older brother.

"Mr. Riggins," though his facial expression was calm and composed, his voice was the opposite. He sounded both sad and tired as he spoke slowly and clearly, "the car accident caused a lot of internal injuries, and at this point we don't think we can save your wife. There's a chance we can save your child but we need to hurry." Tim's mind refused to focus or accept the information, he felt numb; he felt dead. "I'm sorry Mr. Riggins."

Billy's eyes welled up with tears for his brother. "Can we see her? Is she awake?" he asked, knowing Tim was currently unable. The doctor brought them to an operating room, the silence weighing on them both. The lack of nurses and doctors bustling about the room made it clear there was nothing anyone can do.

Slowly Tim made it to Emily's side. Her face was pale and braces held her steady on the hospital bed. Her eyes were closed but when Tim took her hand they slowly slid opened. Tim smiled through the tears, touching her pale face with his shaking hand. A slow smile spread across her face as she recognised him through the haze of medications being pumped through her system.

"…h…hi." The beeping of the machines around them increased slightly with the effort needed.

Tears slowly streamed down Tim's cheek as he held tighter to her hand, hoping to never let go. " ……hi..." he chocked out. He brought his hand down to her stomach, their second child only three weeks short of being carried to term. Tim ducked his head down, letting his hair hide his face. Slowly, Emily reached out and whipped the tears from his cheek with her thumb. "….what am I suppose to do?" He barely whispered.

Her smiled faltered for a second along with the machines. "..ta…take care of ….our kids….Tim." her eyes glazed over as her grip loosen, the machinery screaming in different intonations. "I love you." Her lips forming the words, void of any sound.

Billy watched from the doorway as the steady beeping was quickly replaced by flat lines. In a blurry haze, the room was quickly filled with nurses and doctors, each mechanically setting to work. Tim held onto Emily's hand unwilling to move or let her go. It was Billy who finally managed to move his brother out of the doctor's way.

He carried him down the hall to a pair of empty chairs, neither one able to hold their own weight anymore. Tim leaned against Billy, doing nothing to stop the continuous tears that flowed down his face. He could still feel the warmth of Emily's hand in his, something he knew would not last for much longer.

Billy could just imagine how this was tearing his brother apart. For the first time in his life, he could do nothing for his younger brother. There were no words he could offer, no advice he could give, and worst yet nothing he could do to ease the pain.

Emily Riggins died that night, along with a piece of Tim, but their daughter had survived. She was born almost a month premature and spend the first three weeks at the hospital before Tim could finally bring her home. One of the first things he had noticed was she had her mother's eyes and her face, as well as her name.

Part 3

Tim buckled the last strap of the stroller before wiggling Emily's toes, instantly sending her into a fit of giggles. "Ellie come on we're going to be later!" He looked behind him in time to see his eldest daughter running up their sidewalk towards them.

It was a nice warm summer day and Tim had decided to walk the two blocks to his brother's house. It was a strange feeling to call it Billy's house. His entire life Billy had always been the one paying the bills but the house still officially belonged to their father, Walt Riggins. But two weeks ago, they received a visit from some lawyer. Their father had been found dead in some motel room and according to his will, everything was left to Billy, including the house.

Billy and Tim had decided to cremate the body and interred in Dillon. There was no funeral, no ceremony, just the end of a man who by no means ever accomplished anything extraordinary.

Elinore kept a continuous conversation as they walked along, it seemed no topic was beyond her curiosity. Tim smiled as his gaze fell on his daughter's backpack, no doubt filled with books. She had definitely inherited her mother's mind and curiosity. Whenever Tim felt like he was forgetting his wife's smile or laugh he just had to look at his daughter's. In his mind, they had inherited all of their mother's good traits.

When they made it to Billy and Mindy's, his sister-in-law quickly scooped up her youngest niece, showering her with kisses as the child laughed happily. He had never managed to find the right words to thank Mindy for everything she had done for Elinore and Emily after the accident. She had been the steady female figure in their lives, giving them the love and affection he had wished his wife could have. They were lucky to have such a loving and caring Aunt.

After dinner the Riggins' children and Mindy curled up on the couch to watch a movie, leaving the brother's to enjoy a peaceful beer out in the backyard. The two stretched out on the long chairs with a cold beer, staring out at the long grass. When Mindy was pregnant with their second child, Billy had the pool removed to make more room for the kids to play. It wasn't a hard decision seeing as no one had ever gone into the abandoned pool since the day their father had left when Tim was 11. Billy shuddered as he vividly remembered pulling Tim's unconscious body from the frigid water; something he would never be able to forget and something he hoped he would never have to do again.

"So," Tim glanced over at his brother. "who would have guessed you and I would end up with what we've got."

Billy took a sip of his beer, enjoying the cold liquid. "Not bad, huh?" He asked arching his eyebrow, holding his beer out as a toast. Tim grinned and knocked his beer with his brother's. All his life, Billy had strived to make sure Tim wasn't limited by the curse of their last name. It had been an uphill battle the entire way and now, at least they had something they could both be proud of.

Over the years, Billy and Tim had managed to change the reputation associated to the name Riggins; first with the garage, and then by their children. At school, Billy's kids were getting average grades, thanks to their father's constant encouragements, and B.J. was excited to play football in the fall for none other than Coach Taylor. Mindy had gotten the girls into dance classes and their instructor marvelled at their natural talent.

Tim's daughter's, however, seemed out of place in the Riggins' family. They were the top of their classes and spent most of their time reading. They lacked the coordination needed to play ball, but could easily help their older cousins with their homework. Despite all that, they were always the first to volunteer to help at the garage.

Tim would eventually fall in love and marry again. Sarah Conigham, Elinore's 5th grade teacher, had called him one day, concerned about his daughter and wished to meet with him. The accident had been hard on Ellie, and every anniversary she sank into a small depression, remembering the terrible day; Tim never fared any better on that day. Mrs. Conigham, however, had been the only teacher to ever notice; something that spoke volumes as far as Tim was concerned. In her own way of coping, Elinore would eventually write a biography of her father and uncle, detailing all the triumphs and heart ache of their lives in Dillion; it would be the beginning of her successful career.

"We did good Timmy." Billy ruffled his little brother's hair.

Tim batted his hand away. "Shut up." He laughed easily. Yeah, they were defiantly going to be alright. Billy had never let them down, and never would. Life for the Riggins' brothers was theirs for the taking, and nothing could ever stand in their way.

La fin

Author's note continued:

Thank you to everyone who have left me comments, specifically to;

Nichole33, whom I am convinced, has a spidey-sense for new chapters, always reviewing minutes after they've been posted. I always valued your input. Thank you!

raki157, whom never failed to review and give me their feedback, a continuous encouragement to write more and to do the best of my ability. Thank you!

Anamia 1, always short and sweet, but your message was clear. Thank you for always taking the time to drop me a line and let me know what was on your mind. Thank you!

Zoe-eoz, I loved your reviews probably just as much as you liked my story, always in depth and encouraging. Thank you!

If I've forgotten someone, I'm sorry but Thank you!