Hugh
I watched helplessly as Ethan sprinted back towards the building; he looked like an invincible force but I knew that not even he could survive a bomb.
Harry was a mess. His eyes looked like his mind was elsewhere and he couldn't comprehend what was happening – I knew he couldn't by the fact that he was still sitting there and not reacting as Ethan made the stupidest decision in the world.
I was trembling with fear but knew I would need to make this stupid decision, too. Harry loved Ethan and I wouldn't watch as he did this; I needed to get him and drag him out. I was a weak sod but Harry had done well in training me throughout the months we spent in shitty Australia.
It was down to me, now. For once, I needed to be the hero.
I looked down at Harry as Rushman and the nurse that had survived worked on his arm. It was time for me to step up and for once be the big brother. I had to stop be the flailing, helpless fool for once in my life.
Harry's eyes were struggling to focus on anything and I knew I wouldn't be able to make him understand why I was doing this; to be honest, I was glad he wouldn't be able to understand. Because then he would stop me and I didn't want him to be my saviour like always.
I had seen the proud look in his eye when I shot that Dawson bastard. I wanted to make him proud again.
Kissing Harry on the forehead, just as Ethan had, I bounded after him towards the house.
I slipped a little on the grass but played it off and hoped nobody noticed; I wanted them to see me running and think 'Wow. He's a tough guy.' Especially if this would be the last time people would see me alive.
No – I couldn't think like that.
I felt ashamed that none of us had thought of Jennifer when we were saying our goodbyes to poor Harvey. She must have been hiding in the wings, waiting for us all to leave so she could stay with him.
Tears welled my eyes as I ran, thinking of it. I needed to be strong, though. Ethan would kill me if he saw me crying.
He had already gotten to the front door when I ran up the steps after him. He looked outraged when he looked down and saw me but just shook his head and tore into the living room. There wasn't any time to stop me from following.
"Jennifer, what are you doing? Come on!" Ethan roared. I joined him in the living room, panting. Jennifer was clinging to Harvey, sobbing.
"No! I want to stay here!" she screamed as Ethan tried to pry her from Harvey. There was twenty seconds left.
"P-please, my love. Go – you need to be there for them. I love you, but go." Harvey had tears in his eyes too and was desperately trying to help Ethan unwrap her arms from around his waist.
It wasn't working. The timer was slipping lower and lower towards zero and she wouldn't let go.
"Jennifer," I said calmly through the brawl between herself, Ethan and Harvey, "if you don't come with us, Harry is all alone. Because we aren't leaving here without you. So by killing yourself, you're killing the rest of us. We need you – we always have and we always will. So please, I'm begging you. I don't want to die." I couldn't help it. A tear slipped out at the very end.
It would be uncharacteristic of me if I didn't cry.
And I was crying because there were ten seconds left on the timer. We weren't getting out of here. Ethan had been a fool by running back in here and I had been a bigger fool to follow him, trying to detach myself from the 'damsel in distress' name Harry was determined to give me.
Jennifer sniffled and stopped fighting against Ethan. She was staring at me, her sad eyes full of tears.
"I can't leave him," she whispered to me.
"Yes. Yes you can – I am ordering you to do so because I love you. And you would order me to do the same. I love you. Now run!" Harvey pushed Ethan, with Jennifer in his grasp, towards the door.
Jennifer found her strength somewhere and started running with us, sobbing, blowing a kiss back to Harvey.
I vaguely heard Kim beg us to help her as we left her behind with a half-dead Michael and Harvey. I hadn't even paid my father a moment's attention. Because Harvey was my only father.
I didn't want my final memories of him being tainted by that pig.
I had no problem leaving Kim behind. She had left us behind again and again whenever they launched a new attack on us. It was our turn to return the favour.
We reached the top of the steps and started bounding down them. I saw Harry in the distance running towards the house, roaring our names. He'd perked up!
Ethan's eyes grew more determined when he saw him as he picked up his speed, going to Harry as fast as he could. I was at the back, making sure Jennifer didn't fall behind. We were nearly down the steps; we just needed to get a bit further away –
I felt a blistering heat on my back followed by the loudest noise I had ever heard in my life. I knew it was the bomb but it was all happening too fast. I was thrown forward, farther than I had would have thought possible, and before I could brace myself for the fall, the world went black.
- -
Harry
The brunt of the explosion had knocked me to the ground. I had hit my head as I fell backwards, my arms flailing forward, as if I still had a chance to grab onto Ethan and Hugh and pull them out.
But I couldn't. I knew I couldn't, once the ringing from the bomb had left my ears. I blamed the toll my gunshot and the bomb had taken on me as the reason why I couldn't get up off of the grass – it's what everyone else thought. But I knew it was because I had given up. All of the people I loved had just been blown to pieces and I had been left behind.
Life had lost all meaning. So why should I get up off of the grass? What was my purpose? Where was I going?
I remember Tom was the first person to reach me. I was lying on my back, staring blankly at the sky. He smacked my face a few times, trying to get me to listen to him. Trying to snap me out of it.
But I couldn't.
Harvey was dead. Jennifer was dead. Hugh was dead. Ethan was dead. Why did I have to live? That had never been on the agenda.
When Tom realised how unresponsive I was, he gave up smacking me and walked away, shoving through the small crowd that surrounded me. Someone pushed an injection into my arm a few moments later; I assume Tom went and got Rushman. My mind was blank and I could feel nothing; but yet I was still aware of my surroundings, noting when a person moved so the shadows shifted.
I was getting sleepier and sleepier. Some people tried talking to me; mostly Tom. But nothing was registering with me.
They were all dead.
I was sitting in the hospital now, that sentence spinning around and around in my head, mercilessly taunting me. I had just woken up from whatever injection Rushman had given me. I could tell I wasn't in a regular hospital – that would draw too much attention. I was alone in a small room, machines beeping all around me.
I had serious déjà vu of when I woke up before in a hospital. It was after Kyle had shot me all those years ago. Except this time, when I woke, Ethan wasn't asleep in the chair beside my bed. I was alone.
I had been awake from my unconsciousness for a mere five minutes and had already planned twenty different ways of killing myself. I still felt so numb that the grief couldn't hit me. I was glad for that.
I eyed the needles that were sticking into my arms. The gunshot wound had been operated on and bandaged – I had no reality of what time it was. There wasn't a clock or calendar in the room. It could have been weeks since the explosion and I wouldn't know.
The needles looked like my only hope of ending my life before the grief hit. I couldn't let the grief hit me – it would be unbearable. I had to end everything before then.
Reaching over I started yanking the biggest looking needle from my arm. I didn't have a knife but the sharp edge of this should be able to penetrate my wrists.
Once I had it yanked out I immediately started sawing at my right wrist – there was no second guessing or reconsidering. This was it.
Once I had made a sizeable cut on my wrist, the door opened. I immediately stopped and attempted to conceal what I was doing. But Rushman's eyes immediately fascinated on my hands.
"What in God's name are you doing?!" he gasped, rushing over and pulling the needle from my hands.
"What does it look like?" I answered gruffly. There was no point in lying. He knew.
"But... why?"
I glared at him, cursing him for making me say it out loud. Shouldn't it be obvious why?
"Everyone I love is dead."
He looked confused. "But they're not."
Hope ignited in me but I baited it away. If he was talking about Tom I would fucking kill him too for getting my hopes up.
"Explain." I was being curt and rude but I was beyond caring.
"I was coming to tell you – Hugh is just out from his seventh surgery. He had another attack again last night. It's bad, but he's still here. And he needs his brother."
My throat went raw and I couldn't swallow the lump back. "Hugh's alive?" I whispered, tears filling my eyes. I stared at the incision I had made on my wrist.
"Yes – he's a fighter."
The shock was starting to hit me now – Hugh had survived. And even though the love of my life was gone, I couldn't kill myself. Not now, anyway. Not when Hugh needed me. The grief of losing Ethan and the others was slowly becoming more apparent now that the floodgates to my emotions had been opened following this revelation about Hugh.
I couldn't think about the fact that Ethan was gone. Not now – I would drive myself insane. I needed to keep all of my thoughts on Hugh. He needed to get better and have the best life possible. I had to make sure that happened.
"Can I go and see him?"
"Of course. That was what I was coming to do. Ethan's room is only a corridor away from Hugh's and Jennifer is just across the hall – we're trying to make this as comfortable as possible for you all."
My heart stopped. My brain was scrambling through the confusion, trying to find a coherent meaning to what Rushman had just so casually said.
"What?" was all I could muster faintly. I felt faint. I couldn't believe what he had just said – I must have interpreted it wrong.
Rushman furrowed his eyebrows. "What is it? Is your head still throbbing?"
He walked over and went to inspect my eyes with a light. He thought my confusion was down to me hitting my head too hard. Maybe it was.
"But... Everyone's dead..." I whispered after he checked if my pupils were dilating.
Knowing suddenly crossed his face and everything seemed to click into place for him.
"No – my God, you've thought they were all dead this whole time? Did you not see them emerge from the house? We thought you had – we never thought... Oh you poor boy. No – They're all alive. They're still critical as they received huge injuries from being so close to the house when the bomb exploded but they're still hanging on. Hugh is our primary concern at the minute, truth be told."
I couldn't comprehend anything. It was too overwhelming. "What about those inside?"
His face dropped. "When I say they're all alive, I mean Hugh, Jennifer and Ethan."
"Oh."
He frowned again. "Are you... alright?"
I nodded.
He went to speak again before I leaned across the bed and vomited my guts up over the side. The overwhelming feeling was driving my body and brain insane. The grief that I had been baiting away was still trying to come out and the new relief I was feeling was counteracting it. I was a mess.
But I was slowly becoming a relieved mess.
Once I had finished vomiting I wiped my mouth and looked back at Rushman. "They're alive?"
"Yes."
I let out a slow breath.
"That probably would have been the proper thing to open with, doctor, once you saw me trying to kill myself!" I was outraged! He had let me sit here in despair for a full two extra minutes!
Ignoring my comments his eyes immediately flew to my wrist that was now pumping with blood. "Oh, God! I forgot about your wrist!"
He inspected my wrist, tutted a few times, and murmured I would need stitches. Now that the numbness was disappearing I started to feel the pain of it. I didn't care, though.
"I want to see Ethan and Hugh," I demanded.
"Of course – I need to stitch this up first, though."
After a five-minute argument on why he needed to stitch up my wrist before I went to see them, I sat sullenly in my bed, impatiently waiting for him to finish stitching so I could get up and go.
Once he was finished, which felt like a fucking lifetime, Rushman brought a wheelchair into my room and helped me onto it.
"Who first?"
"Ethan."
"I must warn you – he is still unconscious. We're hoping he'll wake up in the next few days."
I hadn't thought he was still unconscious. Swallowing back the lump in my throat, I nodded. Rushman wheeled me to his room, down long white corridors. I had no idea where I was but I was certain that this was another base Harvey and Jennifer had – it was definitely not a real hospital.
I took a long breath as Rushman went to open the door to Ethan's room. I hadn't thought I would ever see him alive again. Hell, I hadn't thought I would be alive right now, either.
As Ethan's face came into view, I couldn't help it. I burst into tears.
Rushman wheeled me in beside his bed, patting my shoulder comfortingly.
"Just press the assistance button on the wall whenever you're ready for me to come back for you."
I nodded, still crying. I felt like fucking Hugh, crying like a baby. Ethan was here – he was alive. But I couldn't stop the tears.
He had bruises and scratches all over his face, arms and neck. I assumed they covered his entire body. I reached out and placed my hand over his, trying to force some of my energy into him and wake him up.
"Ethan... Ethan, it's me. P-please wake up. I need you," I whimpered. An hour ago I had thought he was dead. I couldn't grasp a coherent thought. All I knew was that I loved him and he was here.
I was going to visit Hugh and Jennifer and make sure they were alright and then come back and sit by Ethan's side until he woke. It was what he did for me – I wasn't going to let him think that everyone was dead, like I had thought when I had woken up alone. I was going to be by his side when he opened his eyes.
I lifted his hand up to my lips and kissed it, still crying. I couldn't make myself stop and I was terrified Ethan would wake and see me. I wanted him to lean on me during this – I didn't want to be a blubbering mess.
That was Hugh's job.
As soon as I thought his name, I heard commotion from outside the door. I could see from the glass pane in the window that people were running in the same direction – doctors and nurses.
Frowning, I let go of Ethan's hand and wheeled myself towards the door – it took every ounce of my energy but I just had a gut feeling that I needed to see what was happening.
Once I opened the door I could hear everything more clearly. I heard machines beeping and people shouting for a crash cart.
I gulped, telling myself that there were probably loads of different agents in this hospital.
'Hugh is our primary concern at the minute, truth be told.'
Rushman's words were playing over in my head.
I looked back towards Ethan, still unconscious.
"I... I think something's wrong," I whispered to him, wishing my words would wake him up, with tears welling in my eyes. "Ethan, I think..."
I couldn't say it. Because my voice wouldn't allow me to – I couldn't breathe.
Glancing at Ethan once more for strength, I slowly wheeled myself down the corridor. I could only do it with one arm because the other was still healing from the gunshot and my suicide attempt.
It took me ten times longer than a normal person to get down the corridor but when I turned the corner, I saw exactly what room everyone was gathered in, panicked, shouting and apparently trying to bring someone back to life.
I had stopped crying. I was pale and terrified – but I was sure I was overreacting. They had said Hugh was just out of surgery. He was a fighter – that's what Rushman had said.
I couldn't be him.
Time had no meaning and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.
My whole body was shaking as I reached the room, wheeling myself into it. I couldn't see who they were giving CPR to, there were so many people surrounding the bed.
Using all of my energy, I stood up. My legs shook as I took a step forward, pushing the person to my left out of my way to look.
My world came crashing down.
"Hugh..." I whispered.
Rushman was furiously giving Hugh CPR while a nurse gave him oxygen. Other doctors and nurses were shoving needles into his arms, checking his monitors.
"No..." I whispered again as the shock hit me. I felt a bubble rising in my chest, waiting to erupt. "No! No! NO!"
I caught Rushman's attention with my shouting as I tried to make my way around the bed and get to the head of the bed.
"Get him out of here!" Rushman demanded, pounding Hugh's chest. I was going into meltdown.
"SAVE HIM! OH GOD, PLEASE HELP HIM!" I was roaring and screaming, made worse when they started dragging me away from the bed.
He couldn't die. My big brother couldn't die.
I was sobbing loudly and was trying to resist being dragged from the room but I was too weak.
"Save him..." I gasped one last time as I was pulled from the room, getting one last look at Hugh's pale, lifeless face.
- -
Ethan
I had been lying awake in this hospital bed for the past half hour. I knew I wasn't dead. And that was the only relief I could muster.
I didn't know if I was in a real hospital or if this was another hidden make-shift hospital, set up by Harvey and Jennifer to – my heart panged. Harvey.
No. I couldn't think about him – not if I was going to stay sane. I was alone in this room, an empty chair and a half dozen wires stemming out of my arms to keep me company. This was why the reason that I was alive was the only relief I had. Because I didn't know where anyone else was.
I didn't know if I was the only one who survived.
And if that was the case, my health wasn't a relief. It was a burden.
I was so fucking worried and scared. Where was Harry? Hugh? Jennifer?
If Harry was okay he would be sitting next to my bed right now – it was only his arm that got hurt, right? It was easily fixed, surely? He should be here. With me.
I didn't understand.
I heard footsteps and noises. My heart leaped as someone pushed open the door to my room. It was him – it had to be.
Disappointment flooded me as Rushman entered the room. He was staring at a chart in front of him and didn't realise I was awake until he was standing at the foot of my bed.
He got a small shock when he saw me. "My good God, Ethan! Oh, thank God!"
He ran to the side of my bed and pressed a red button on the wall beside me. It made no noise but I think it signalled a nurse or something.
"Where are the others?" I asked, my was voice strained. It was quite difficult to breathe and speak.
The doctor eyed me, looking away from the tubes and machines he was checking. He knew I was asking only about Harry. And the fact that he wasn't answering me made me want to scream.
"There's no point in not telling you, I suppose."
I gritted my teeth, waiting to hear that my world had collapsed.
"He's with Hugh."
I closed my eyes and the shock of the relief made me tremble. Tears spilled from my eyes and I drowned Rushman's voice out. He was okay. They were both okay. It was all going to be okay, now.
"Thank God," I whispered, opening my wet eyes again to smile at Rushman.
He wasn't smiling, though. He looked rather confused.
"I think you might have misheard me, Ethan. He's in Hugh's room because it doesn't look like Hugh is going to make it. He wanted to wait until you woke to make a decision." Rushman looked stressed.
"What decision?" I asked with bated breath.
"About switching off the life support."
It was like a punch to the gut. I was so conflicted between the relief that Harry was okay and the overwhelming grief that Hugh wasn't.
"Can I go to them?" I couldn't just lie here anymore. I had been lying here for God knows how long, while the rest of my family were going through hell. My breathing was what was bothering me, though.
"You'll need a wheelchair and oxygen machine," he replied. "You landed heavily on your chest and broke several ribs. It's why your breathing is so difficult."
I nodded. I knew there had to be a reason why Harry wasn't by my side; he was either dead or needed to be elsewhere.
Once Rushman had checked me again, he was wheeling me up a corridor. My heart was pounding as I anticipated seeing Harry alive and Hugh...
"He'll be so happy to see you... It's been very hard on him." Rushman murmured as we rounded a corner.
"It's okay. I'm here now," I replied quietly.
"You need to brace yourself for –," Rushman started.
"It's okay. I understand."
Rushman nodded and opened the door to the room I assumed Hugh was in.
Shock hit me instantly. Hugh's bed was facing the door so the first glimpse I got was of his face. It was mostly covered by a large oxygen mask, with machines beeping all around him. He looked so lifeless.
I turned my gaze to the two people on either side of Hugh's bed. Jennifer, who looked weak and tired, had shifted her gaze to me and sighed with relief.
"Thank God."
Harry hadn't noticed the door opening. He was in a wheelchair, clutching Hugh's hand and staring at his face. He looked terrible. He looked bruised, exhausted and emotionally drained.
Harry looked at Jennifer after she spoke but once he turned his head, we immediately got his attention.
The second our eyes met he burst into tears. It was like a punch to the gut seeing him so upset. I couldn't wheel myself to him faster. Rushman stayed at the door.
When I got to him, the wheelchairs were no barriers. I lunged at him, hugging him tightly, making sure not to crush his injured arm.
"I'm here now, baby. It's okay." I murmured shakily into Harry's hair. I was baiting the tears away – I needed to be strong for him.
"I've missed you so much," he sobbed. He pulled back to look at me. I placed my hand on his cheek, stroking it with my thumb gently.
"Hugh's going to die," Harry whispered shakily, tears streaming from his eyes.
I didn't know what to say. So I didn't say anything. I just kept stroking his cheek, wiping the tears away.
"I'm so sorry, boys. This... this is all my fault." Jennifer suddenly spoke, tears in her eyes, too.
I shook my head, using my other hand to reach across the bed to her. "No. This is nobody's fault apart from Taylor and Dawson. They are the ones who did this to us."
Jennifer took my hand, nodding. She couldn't speak.
It seemed that now that I was awake, they realised that we needed to make a decision. There was nothing stopping it now.
I looked at Hugh's face. A lump formed in my throat as I looked at him, wondering what he wanted us to do.
"I don't want him to be all alone," Harry whimpered. "If we turn off the machine, he'll be all alone."
"We don't have to make any decisions now. Right?" I looked back at Rushman. He nodded. "So let's just spend time with Hugh. Nothing is set in stone."
Harry leaned his head against my shoulder, exhausted. "Okay."
We spent the new few days by Hugh's side. Whenever we left to eat or go to the bathroom, Harry wanted to come back straight away. He was afraid Hugh would die when we were gone.
We hadn't slept properly in days – Harry had refused to sleep anywhere other than on the chair by Hugh's bed so Rushman compromised by bringing in a makeshift bed into the room. I slept on it with Harry every night, holding him close and praying he would sleep.
It had gotten to the stage where nothing was happening. We were prolonging things due to grief and it wasn't helping anyone. I had broached the subject with Harry already but he shut it down straight away.
Hugh wasn't getting better. Our only option was to turn the life support off and see if Hugh would breathe by himself. But we all knew what would happen. And that was what terrified Harry.
I didn't think I would ever make him see sense. Jennifer had tried to talk to him too, but to no avail. I knew this was only hurting Hugh – I didn't want him to suffer any longer.
I was laying in the bed with Harry, Hugh's machines beeping beside us. Harry was staring straight at the ceiling and I was stroking his hair, hoping he would get some sleep tonight.
Suddenly, he snapped out of his trance and turned to face me. "We have to let him go, don't we?"
I tried not to look too taken aback. It was obvious he had been thinking about this long and hard. Kissing his forehead, I nodded. "Yeah. We do."
Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "Tomorrow morning. Let us just have one last night with him."
I leaned my forehead against Harry's, closing my eyes. "I love you. We'll get through this."
I opened my eyes to see Harry's full of tears. He nodded. "I hope so."
I trailed my hand along his arm, stopping when I got to his wrist where it was bandaged after his suicide attempt. I was so thankful Rushman had walked in on time to stop him. It broke my heart to think of how desperate he was to die with me.
We didn't sleep all night. Instead, we just lay together, holding each other close for a while before getting up and sitting by Hugh. We spoke about our time together, reminiscing about old, funny stories. Jennifer joined us from her room after a while, taking Hugh's other hand and joining in with us.
We all hoped Hugh could hear us, somehow. And if he could, we hoped he was laughing along with us one last time.
I could see it was killing Harry to remain upbeat – it was killing us all. But we couldn't stop and think about what the morning would bring. We just couldn't.
The morning came faster than we wanted. I had paged Rushman half an hour ago and told him what we wanted. There were nurses already in the room, getting ready to take off the oxygen mask and turn off the life support machine.
I prayed to a God somewhere that there would be a miracle. I prayed that, even though the doctors had told us it wouldn't happen, that Hugh would take a breath without the machine.
Jennifer sat on the opposite side of the bed from us, tears streaming down her face, holding Hugh's other hand. I was beside Harry, clutching him against me.
"Are you ready?" Rushman asked five minutes later, standing by Hugh. Harry was holding in the tears but I could feel him shaking.
I held him close, using my other hand to cover his that was clutching Hugh's.
"We all love you, Hugh," Harry whispered before nodding to Rushman.
It took less than thirty seconds to unhook him from the machines and take the mask off. I held my breath, staring at Hugh's face.
Harry started crying.
Jennifer reached over from the other side of the bed, taking our hands, comforting us through her own tears.
We all just sat, holding one another, and cried.
- -
SIX YEARS LATER
Harry
The water was a pristine blue and the sun was shining even brighter than usual. I was lying on the beach, layering myself in sun-screen. Even after six years of living in Barbados, my skin still wasn't used to the sun.
Ethan, on the other hand, looked like a tanned God. I didn't think that man could get any hotter but he somehow found a way.
I was staring at him now, out in the ocean cooling off. He would always chastise me for not coming into the water with him but why would I? I was lying on a towel in Barbados with a magnificent view! And I wasn't talking about the scenery.
Running towards me now, like something out of Baywatch, he landed on his towel beside me with a large grin.
"The water's great today."
I ruffled his wet hair, pulling him in for a kiss. "You're great today."
Laughing against my lips, he pulled away and lay back.
"What time's dinner tonight?" he asked.
I lay beside him, wrapping my arm over his chest. "I think they said seven."
Running his hand down along my arm, I could tell he was smiling.
"That gives us three hours."
I sat up again, leaning on my elbow to look down at him.
"Oh yeah? Three hours for what?" I asked, smirking. I knew where this was going.
"Follow me and find out..."
I frowned for a second in confusion but when he suddenly leaped up and started running towards our house, I understood immediately.
Our house was right on the beach, facing out onto the water. It was our paradise.
I leaped up too, laughing, and ran after him. He was nearly in the house now but I knew exactly where I'd find him in there.
An hour and a half later we had showered and made ourselves presentable. Our house was big, but not too big. It was modern but not too modern – it was just perfect for us.
Ethan was fixing the collar on the blue, casual shirt he had on over his shorts in the mirror. I went to stand behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and leaning my chin on his shoulder.
I looked at his eyes in the mirror, a small sad smile tugging on my lips.
"It's six years today, you know."
His smile dimmed. "I know."
He turned around to face me, catching my lips with his. We were so grateful to have each other and this life. Jennifer had been such a key factor in giving us this life we had always wanted. She had gotten us our passports and helped us out financially to start fresh.
Ethan was pursuing his passion of writing now. He had just published a book under a pseudonym and it was doing quite well. He didn't want the limelight of becoming an acclaimed author – all we wanted was peace and privacy now.
I had gotten quite into surfing and now taught the local kids how to surf twice a week. It was the best life I could have envisioned for myself, after everything that had happened.
Jennifer had not only helped us - Tom had also gained from her generosity. We had asked him to join us in Barbados but there was no way in hell that he would. Once all of our troubles with Dawson and Michael had ended, he had a whole bunch of new ones to face.
He had found out that his father was still alive in Australia from Hugh and I the day the war had broken out in the mansion and he was hell bent on revenge. Ethan, knowing Tom and his past, had begged Tom to just live his life and forget. But nothing could faze him. He needed closure, and I could understand that.
He never once asked us to help him. I think he knew what the answer would be. We were finished with that life, as was Jennifer. But she didn't leave him to face this alone. All of the agents who had been employed under her and Harvey were now employed under Tom. He was starting a mission that I had started nearly ten years ago - taking down his father.
We heard from him every now and again. He had built his own agency and now employed a hell of a lot more agents, working internationally and domestically. Once Dawson was killed and news broke of his corruptness, the agency Ethan and I had been employed in suffered massive losses and the trust it in dropped majorly. Tom was getting a lot of the business they used to get and I had a feeling that a lot of the agents that were in our agency had now moved to Tom's.
He was doing really fucking well for himself and enjoying an incredible career. But he still, to this day, had never found his father. He disappeared after it became public knowledge of Dawson and Michael's deaths and went into hiding.
I knew that until Tom found him, nothing else would ever matter to him. He had never married or had any kids. And I knew that until he found closure, he would never truly enjoy life.
He visited from time to time but apart from those visits, we never heard from him. His business was top secret and outsiders knowing anything would be a breach. It was an exciting life. But I had lived that life already and I didn't envy him one bit.
We had this dinner every year on the anniversary. We never stated that it was for the anniversary, as we had dinner several times a month together, but we all knew what tonight's dinner was for.
"Okay, we better go," Ethan said breathlessly, pulling away from me.
I groaned. "Really? What about round two?" I winked, biting his lip.
We started kissing again until thirty seconds later, Ethan pulled away fully, laughing. "No! We have to go or they'll kill us for being late again!"
He walked to the front door, reaching out his hand for me to take.
"Oh, fine!" I took his hand and went to open the door but was stopped. Ethan pulled me back against him, his lips at my ear and his hands running down my waist.
"But you better believe that we'll be having rounds two and three later on."
I shivered, my entire body going into meltdown. And suddenly, his hands were off me and he was opening our front door.
"Ready?" he asked with a smile.
I wiped the dopey look from my face and smiled softly. "You bastard."
"Love you too. Now, let's go."
We arrived five minutes early, which was a nice change for us. It was only a three minute drive from our house to theirs so they could never understand how we were always late.
Walking straight in, I looked around.
"Where is everyone?" I murmured. Ethan walked ahead of me into their kitchen.
"They're here, Harry! Hey!" he smiled, giving Sandra a kiss on the cheek.
"Boys, you're early!" Sandra stated mockingly.
"Stranger things have happened," I grinned, giving her a quick hug. "Now, where are the munchkins?"
Sandra laughed. "Outside with their dad."
I nodded, squeezing Ethan's hand before walking from the kitchen to go outside.
"What time are Jennifer and her new beau arriving?" I heard Ethan ask Sandra before I walked out of the patio door.
Jennifer had found love again in the past few months. She lived five minutes away from us and had fallen for her yoga teacher. It made me so happy to see her happy again. She had struggled for years to cope with life without Harvey but Max, her new man, was slowly teaching her it was okay to move on.
I heard children's laughter down by the pool. A large smile on my face, I raced down.
"Uncle Harry!" they all screamed when they saw me running towards them.
I pulled the three of them into a tight hug, kissing their heads. I saw them every day but I still couldn't get enough of them.
"Where's your dad?" I asked once I let them go.
"I'm right... here!" a voice shouted, jumping from the bushes behind me in an attempt to scare me.
I rolled my eyes as Hugh pulled me into a bear hug, laughing.
I had tried to tell him time and time again that it was okay for me to hug the kids' everyday but it just plain weird that he felt the need to do the same to me every time he saw me.
"Wow, you scared me," I said mockingly, punching his shoulder playfully.
"He was waiting in there for like ten minutes," Clara, Hugh's oldest said, rolling her eyes and giggling. She was only five but I sometimes forgot how young she was – she was so grown up for her age. She definitely took after her mother.
"Oi! It wasn't ten minutes..." Hugh's face reddened. I couldn't help but laugh. I spent most days laughing at Hugh.
"Wanna go on the see-saw, Uncle Hawwy?" Along with Clara, Hugh had three-year-old twin boys; George and Harvey.
"Not right now, Georgie. I think your mom has dinner ready... Last one to the house is a rotten egg!" I suddenly roared. I had expected just the kids to start running but Hugh was the first one to start sprinting towards the house.
I followed behind, chuckling.
Sandra and Ethan had put all of the food on the table when we got up and Jennifer arrived with Max five minutes later. She was like a Grandma to Clara, Georgie and Harvey.
As we all sat at the table, we took each other's hands before we ate. It was what we always did when we had these family meals. It was a sign of how thankful we were for everything.
Even though we never said it, we knew that we were all thinking about this day six years ago when Hugh took his first breath off of the life support. It took him a full thirty seconds to do so and we had all fully believed he was dead.
I still often used this against him whenever he gave me shit for being late. I had gone through hell in those thirty seconds and I wasn't going to let him forget it!
Today was the six year anniversary for when we ended the worst chapter of our lives and started a new one – a far better one.
As we ate, I watched as everyone laughed and spoke. This was what I had envisioned all of those years ago. This was all I had ever wanted.
I was in the middle of a thumb war with Clara when Sandra, Hugh's Barbadian wife, spoke up. She was one of the nicest people I had ever met.
A month after we arrived in Barbados, Hugh met her. They were married and pregnant less than a year later. I had never been happier than on the day of Hugh's wedding, standing beside him as his best man.
"I can't say it enough, Harry. You're so good with the kids." Sandra commented, a wide smile on her face.
I grinned. "It's because I am one, at heart!"
Ethan laughed, agreeing with me.
Sandra looked to Hugh and Jennifer before speaking again. "Well then... we were just wondering when you'll give our kids some cousins?"
The three of them stared at Ethan and me and suddenly, I knew there had been an ulterior motive for this dinner apart from the anniversary.
Ethan looked at me, a small smile on his face. "Can I?"
I grinned widely, nodding and taking his hand in mine. We were going to have to tell them sometime.
"We're in the final stages of adopting."
There was a silence, until Hugh couldn't hold it back any longer, and burst into happy tears.
As everyone celebrated, I caught Ethan's eye. He winked at me and I smiled back. We had been through so much but we had made it out the other side.
And we were potentially about to start our toughest mission yet; parenting.
THE END.
I just want to thank each and every one of you who have read, commented, voted, messaged me – just ANYTHING to contribute to this story! THANK YOU ALL!!
It's been a long time coming but sadly it had to come to an end sometime! I also thank you all for your patience in my delayed writing – hopefully the wait was worth it!
I am so sad to end this book but I am also so excited to start new adventures with other characters and plots. Please keep an eye out for my next adventures – I hope you will all come along for the ride on those ones, too.
Okay, I'm getting soppy now so I'll quit while I'm ahead!
Just, thank you all so so much, from the bottom of my heart. It gives me such confidence and happiness when I see how much people enjoy my writing and when they take the time out of their day to tell me so.
It's really the best feeling in the world.
I hope this ending stayed true to the story and that you're all left with smiles on your faces.
And you never know – Ethan, Harry and Hugh could be revisiting us again in the future! ;)
Lots of love
-O x