fanfic_name = The Mistletoe
chapter = 9
author = Dwparsnip
Rating = AP15
Type = Romance
fanfic =
EPILOGUE.
Admiral Lisa Hayes stood in the cemetery on the outskirts of Monument City, her car waiting at the entrance. It was a nice day, especially for the first week of January, so she had decided to walk in from the main gate. She stood in front of a particular grave and held in her hand a single red rose. She found it odd that the headstone she had come to visit was the only one not totally buried in snow. 'Maybe he's been waiting', she said to herself in a brief introspective moment.
It had been a week and a half since she and Rick got out from underneath the albatross of that terrible Christmas. With everything that they went through though, with all the heartaches they had relived, with everything they had resolved there was still one last piece of unfinished business for her. This was long over due and this was the first time she had the will and the strength to do it. Most importantly though, she had the support she needed from Rick.
She looked at the headstone and forced herself to smile. "I never had the chance to apologize to you for that night. I came to find you, to say that I was sorry for what I did, for what I pushed you into. But you were happy and I didn't want to intrude on that."
Lisa looked around and sighed as she realized the enormous number of headstones in the cemetery, a good many of them compliments of Khyron.
"I also need to thank you", she said as she turned back to the headstone. "You could have, well you could have taken advantage of the situation. You could…you had the opportunity to do a lot of things. But you didn't. You were kind and you were gentle. You were what I needed for that one brief moment, and for that I will be forever grateful."
She bent down and laid the rose at the base of his headstone. She looked at the rose after she stood up and whispered, "Rest easy, and thank you." The sun glistened off the top edge of the polished marble and Lisa couldn't help but genuinely smile.
She nodded once, turned around and walked down the gravel driveway towards the car. She looked up as she neared the entrance and saw something that made her smile widely, and before she knew it she was running, straight into Rick's arms.
He picked her up and hugged her tight, letting her feet back on the ground a few moments later. He kissed her tenderly and then asked solemnly, "Finished?"
She took his arm and led them to the waiting car. "Yes", she said quietly as she hugged his arm. "That chapter in our lives is finished. Let's go home."
THE END.
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This time that's it. Thanks to everyone who read it, and thanks to everyone who took the time to review it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now what am I going to do...?
DWP.
State = Fin/The End
feedback = Sí/Yes
email = dparsnipAThotmail.com