Keep in mind, this is an AU of the main stuff, and in no way affects it. Nothing from the Main Storyline will make an appearance here, other than some characters.

We've finally reached the final chapter of "The Book Which is Our First", the first of my AU series. And yes, a sequel is planned, but won't be released for a few months. I'm still sorting out ideas and writing things out, along with introducing new characters and fresh trouble. I promise it will be a great story [at least, I pray it will be].

Also be on the lookout for Book IV - Tainted Melodies, the forth book in the main storyline. I'm taking my time with it, trying to make sure the first few emotional chapters are just right.

Thank you for clicking this story, and I hope you enjoy!


Finale - New Beginnings

One Year and a month Later...

Henry Dixon Taylor limped along the expansive grounds of his home. It was a perfect September day. Not too hot, but not cold, either. The wind blew just right, and the leaves were starting to change their colors.

The fifty-year-old smiled as he looked around, pausing to lean on his cane and catch his breath. So much had happened since the fire that had destroyed the Hall.

He and Beary had been found shortly after Thimple had jumped to his death. Henry barely remembered the rescue, as he had been falling into unconsciousness. Apparently he and Beary were both ambulanced to the hospital.

By the time the fire had been put out, much of the Hall was gone. The last concert had been played. The final song sung. The music notes in the rafters floated into the skies, finally free.

His attached cabin had surprisingly survived for the most part, though his office had not. Thankfully, the most important documents had been stored in a fire safe.

While he had been recovering in the hospital, the band had gone through his former home to find anything salvageable and had taken it to a nearby cabin for safe keeping. Many items had been lost, like family pictures, his pet cat [which had been given a memorial – and was later to have been found running around the grounds, as alive as one cat could be], a guitar Helen had given him on their first Christmas together after he'd come home from the war, and Helen's collection of comic books. Some photos survived, but many were badly burnt. Photo albums had pages melted together from the heat.

Henry was forced into surgery due to his knee injury, and while they'd been able to save his leg, after months of physical therapy, he was told he'd have to walk with a cane the rest of his life because of a bad limp.

Beary simply came away from the fire with bad smoke inhalation and recovered quickly. He was found, however, to have a fear of fire. Pyrophobia. Even seeing a lit candle sent him into an anxiety attack. Also due to what Reed had done to him with the gun, Beary now had to wear a hearing aid in his right ear; doctors said for the rest of his life. Beary had been most embarrassed by this, but had been thankful to be able to hear on both sides of his head once more.

In that time, Helen had also been allowed to come home, and her shock at seeing the state of the Hall had brought everyone to tears when she wasn't able to properly express herself and simply cried with loud and heavy wails.

Time passed, and the band chose to go on tour to raise money for the rebuilding of Country Bear Hall, and to help pay off medical bills and anything else that might've cropped up. They had even taken multiple copies of all their albums to sell – which had thankfully been available to them from a storage room at Henry's company. So far, they had paid off the materials needed for the rebuild, and were starting on the medical costs, which even Henry's family was helping out on. Trista and Jacob, Henry and Helen's older children, had even sent some money to their parents to help with the rebuild of their lives.

Allison Barrington gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Kristina in January, and just a few days later, Tasha had given birth to triplets – Jaxon, Max, and Erin. Méngméng had discovered she was pregnant shortly after the fire and was now the mother to twins, a boy named Nolan and a girl named Sawyer. Zeb had flown back from the tour to be with her when she had given birth.

Fēnglì, Jewel, and Beary had become fast friends and would often play random songs together or just run around the grounds, helping Beary stretch out his leg now that it was fully healed.

A few months back, on Beary's [and coincidentally, Ted's] birthday, Trista and Jacob had come for a visit, having not been able to get away beforehand. Helen had been most delighted to see her cubs and to try and catch up through the few words she could manage at that time, but Beary had been very shy at meeting them, as he had no memory of either his brother or sister.

Thankfully, the meeting between siblings had not been completely awkward, and Beary had very much enjoyed getting to know them. He had even introduced them to the Barringtons, and Dex and Jacob had hit it off. At least, they had until Dex's girlfriend had shown up and he had trotted after her like a lovesick puppy.

The Barringtons had moved to Pendleton in January, just before Kristina's birth, and while Dex had switched schools to Pendleton School, which had all the grades in one large building since the population was so small; Beary, Jewel, and Fēnglì were there, too. It was there that Dex had met Roxanne Matthews, who he had been shocked to learn was Roadie's youngest daughter who wanted to finish her last two years of high school living with her father, as she did not get along with her step-father very much. Dex had worked very hard to impress her, and eventually they started dating.

Investigations had been done as to the cause of the fire and the only casualty, and it had been discovered that Reed Thimple had caused the fire before falling to his death. No charges were laid against the band or Henry. The bank cleared his debt – as the money had been burned in the fire – and actually paid him back nearly $15,000 after discovering Reed's misdeeds and the changing of the contract. Many others who had dealt with Reed had been paid back or their debts completely wiped clean.

Once all debts had been paid, a new president of the bank had been announced, and all comings and goings had gone through a clean slate from then on.

Henry and Helen had reclaimed full custody of their youngest son, though they allowed him to go visit the Barringtons at any time they wanted, which was also one reason why the Barringtons made the decision to move.

Ted had started dating Jade shortly before leaving on tour, and currently things were going strong, but some questioned it.

The Stones had chosen to remain in Nashville, as it was where Tasha and James both worked, and there weren't the jobs they needed in Pendleton.

The two teenagers the band had met at a diner in Nashville before their run from the cops, Jennifer Paige and Cady Swinburne, had recently released their first album with Taylor Enterprises, and had become a big sensation nationwide. They were preparing for their own first tour to promote their CD Celaya, a mix of country and pop.

"It has been a good year of new beginnings, I think," Henry spoke to the wind as he began walking again, pausing after a few minutes as the skeleton of the new Hall came into view. He could see his wife tending her roses, what few that survived, while Méngméng relaxed with her three month old twins in the shade, laughing as they played together.

In the tall grass just beyond the Hall, Henry could see Jewel and Fēnglì playing, but where was Beary? A few moments later, and Beary flew out of the grass and tackled both cubs to the ground, and they all ended up in a wrestling match.

Henry smiled brightly as he watched his growing family be near each other. In fact, it was about time that Roadie would be bringing the band back from their tour. A barbeque had been planned for that evening, and his older children would be coming from their hotel in Nashville – as there wasn't room at the current cabin Helen, Henry, and Beary were staying in.

Eleven-year-old Beary soon spotted him as Henry continued down the path, and came running. "Papa! Papa!" He skidded to a halt before running into him and hugged him tightly. "Mama said you went on a walk! Why didn't you tell me? I'd go with you!"

Henry chuckled and gave his forehead a lick. "I wanted some time to reflect on my own, kiddo. Plus, I had to plan what we might have at the barbeque tonight. What would you like?"

"Cheddar bacon brats? Can I have four or five? Please?!"

Henry snorted and hugged him against his side as they began walking. "Of course you can, just so long as you don't make yourself sick. Your mother's going to have hamburger, potatoes, and carrots for her dinner."

Beary nodded. "That sounds good, too. Okay, two brats and one of those packets! With ranch!"

Henry snorted and shook his head. "You've gotten taller. I swear, you've grown two inches!"

"Really?" Beary put a paw on his head, trying to figure this out as he measured himself against his father.

Henry shook his head. "How was school today?"

"Pretty cool, actually." Beary went on about his favorite subjects – music, literature, and art – and about cooking class with Jewel. He told him that he had gotten a high score on a math test, and had scored not as well on a science one.

"Well then, we'll just have to work on science, won't we?" Henry asked.

"Uh-huh. And today in gym we got to have a roller derby! It was great!"

"Roller derby? What do you mean?"

"We all got to put on roller blades and skate around the gym and have races and everything!"

"That sounds... dangerous." Henry frowned a bit.

"We had crash mats set up and everything. Don't worry. No one got hurt," the cub reassured. "And it's a good thing we have three gyms and three P.E. teachers, one for each section of the school. Elementary, middle, and high school. That way all of us can have our lessons! It's a big school. I wonder why they didn't just make three small ones?"

"I don't know, kiddo, but that's what they decided to do." Henry shrugged a bit. "Ah, you go play with your friends. I'm going to greet your mother."

"Papa? Will... Will Mama be able to communicate better ever again? Or walk right?" His ears flattened and he unconsciously rubbed the crude stitching scar on his right ear.

"Beary, your mother was through an ordeal. Someday she will fully recover, but if that day does not come, we must continue to be patient with her. Her heart is still full of love, and she is the same on the inside as she was all those years ago. She may not be able to form full sentences, and sometimes has trouble with simple tasks, but she is working very hard." Henry sighed softly, thinking back to what Helen had told him. That she wanted to be a normal mother for their young son. His heart had broken at that moment as he realized that she may never return to the "normal" she was speaking of.

"She is?"

"Mhm. You go and play, all right? Leave the worrying to us adults."

"Well..." Beary frowned a little, but nodded. "Okay!" He made sure his father could support himself, passed him his hearing aid, and took off, tackling Jewel into the pond as she had been pulling off her clothes to go swimming.

The elder bear smiled and walked towards his wife, taking his time as he sat beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"Gud... No, g-good." She gave a nod of satisfaction and hummed happily. "Hendri g-good, too?"

Henry leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I am doing good, yes. I enjoyed my walk this afternoon. Perhaps tomorrow you will join me?"

She nodded again, turning to kiss his cheek in response. "You help?" She gestured at the roses she was pruning.

He smiled and simply followed what she was doing, loving every moment he spent with her, never taking it for granted again.

.~*~.

"So Méngméng's still going to be working in Nashville with their rescue teams?" Ted asked as he rested his arms out on the back of the bench.

Zeb nodded enthusiastically. "She really loves her work and is good at it. She's been getting back into shape since the twins were born and-"

"That reminds me... By my calculations, that means you two got back 'together' shortly after the fire or before..." Ted raised an eyebrow. "Not even Trixie and Tennessee have one out of the oven yet."

In the back, Trixie laughed as she put a paw on her belly. "Still baking."

Tennessee leaned over and gave his wife of six months a kiss. "And soon will go ding!"

Zeb snorted and looked over at Fred. "And you?"

"Been talking with my ex, but she's wanting to keep the cubs to herself. Gonna go visit them soon, though," the bigger bear stated. "Ted, what about your girl? Things still going good or have they fizzled out?"

"Nah, things are going great, as far as I'm aware, though I'm sure she's not happy about me leaving her for the tour as suddenly as I did. But, the Taylors needed the money, and we did owe them. After all, we're the ones that beat that banker in the talent show and started all this."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"But at least now things are paid off and we can even afford to build them a proper home! Fred, you've been working on the blueprints, right?" Zeb asked, looking over at his friend.

"Mhm. One and a half stories with five bedrooms. A lot like the one they had attached to the Hall, only bigger," the brown bear responded. "And they wanted a big room for Beary so he can have his art room in there, too. They want him to be able to use his materials and what talent he has. So what I have is two bedrooms on the top floor, and three on the bottom. Should be plenty for if Jacob, Trista, and their families want to come visit."

"Good," Ted nodded. "Hey, Roadie, we almost there?"

"Why don't you glance out your windows?" the human called back as he turned onto the road leading to where he parked the bus. He was happy to be home and to relax for a bit before helping with the rebuild of the Hall.

Zeb's eyes lit up immediately at the thought of being home with his wife and children, watching his cubs grow under their watchful gaze.

Trixie and Tennessee, too, were very delighted at finally being home with their daughter, whom they had decided to leave behind for her schooling and so she could keep Beary and Fēnglì company.

Fred and Ted were excited to being back – one for his girlfriend and the other for the food being served that night.

As soon as the bus parked, the band rushed out as orderly as possibly.

Zeb went straight for his wife, pulling her for a deep kiss, and went to his eldest son once finished to give him a hug, and then plopped down to play with his twins, who eyed him thoughtfully before deciding he was their new playmate.

Fred went to go prepare the large meal in the repaired kitchen of the Hall – the only part of it that they had so far fixed – by saucing the ribs and preparing individual meals.

Ted went to look at the structure of the Hall to check for any damage or plan new ideas. Since they had taken out the cabin portion from the plans, they had left Henry's office and added a second exit out the side of the building so they didn't run into the same problem as they had with the large crowd the night of the fire. They had also added a small gift shop directly behind Henry's office.

Tennessee and Trixie went to greet their daughter and tell her the happy news about the newest addition to their small family, which she had gleefully accepted and cheered about.

Beary sat back, watching all the goings on, feeling at peace for the first time in a long time. Here was his big family, almost all gathered together, in the same area. He couldn't have been happier, especially after a series of cars pulled up next to the bus, bringing the rest of his extended family home.

Despite everything that had happened, the ups and the downs, the hostage situation and the fire, Beary knew that this was where he belonged, with all of them. With his four siblings – two humans, two bears – his two sets of parents, his best friend Jewel and new friend Fēnglì, with Jade and the Stones, and Big Al, Roadie, and Roxi, and with a band called The Country Bears.

He was home.

THE END


If you enjoyed, please leave a review as they fuel my fragile ego and make me happy! :D Thank you for taking this journey with me!