8 years later...
The warm water ran over her fingers, washing away the dirt from them. Clementine was standing in the kitchen and washing the bowls they had eaten from just half an hour ago. It had been the same food like always, rabbit stew with a fresh salad just for the kids. She raised her head to look out of the window, the scenery of their garden still amazed her every day. The small trees surrounded fence against the threats from the outside, the biggest one of them was the most noticeable, a tree-house was sitting in its crown.
She put away the small bucket with fresh water, the porcelain was cleaned to the point of glistening in the rays of the sinking sun when suddenly someone grabbed her waist from behind.
"Hey darling, how's it going in here? Need a helping hand?", the melodic voice behind her back whispered, his warm breath tingled on the skin over her ear.
"Louis!", she exclaimed and giggled, his strong hands turned her around and she willingly obeyed. His face hadn't even changed that much since this one important day many years ago, yes he had aged but only to grow even better looking.
The corners of his mouth played with a smile, his handsome brown eyes stared into hers.
"What? Did you really think I would let such a beautiful young lady do all the work?", he said and cupped her cheek, playing with the sensitive skin with his thumb.
Clem rolled her eyes in fake dismay, the light got caught in the honey golden iris of her eyes.
"I just finished, how could you let me do everything you don't want to?"
The man grinned and kissed her forehead, one of his hands reaching to the side of the sink behind her.
"I'll have to make it up to you then, before I do that though you almost forgot this..."
His hand came into her focus again, a golden shimmering round object in the palm of it.
She smirked as he took her hand fell to his knees and slid the ring onto her finger, the warm metal nestled against it perfectly.
"Clementine Everett, do you want to marry me?", Louis asked with a smirk and glowing eyes, Clem could see his passion and unconditional love to her in them.
"A second time? Do you think that it's necessary?", she laughed and pulled him to his feet again, planting a deep kiss on his lips afterwards.
"I'd do anything to show how much I love you!", the grown up answered after giving into the touch with all of his soul.
"Stop it weirdo, you don't need to show it every second minute.", Clem said and slapped his shoulder in a playful manner.
The images of the real event were still so vivid, it had been 8 years since he had proposed and she could still remember the look on his face as he knelt down with her hand in his.
She could still see the scenery, the small and lonely back yard of Javier's and Kate's house, the moonlight had shone onto them and given everything a warm silver glow. Clementine had never experienced something as romantic as this before, she had been flattered and almost unable to speak as he asked her the question that would change her life.
"Do you recall the apple tree?", she hummed as he hugged her from the back, his hands lying on her now flat stomach.
"Just like yesterday honey. The look on your face when I pulled out the ring was just so cute, you looked as red as those apples above your head.", Louis responded and tipped on the front of her hat which almost fell onto her nose.
"You just can't stop teasing me about that, can you?", the woman squealed and pulled up the cap again, the delight of being here with him was flooding her soul.
"No, and I won't!", he claimed and let go of her waist.
Clem turned around just to hear and excited giggle an laughter from the front door.
Two small figures ran into the kitchen, both laughed and squealed when Louis turned around and charged after them with a playful roar, a big grin covering his face.
"Get back here you little troublemakers!", he laughed out, his voice filled with the happiness he was feeling, the same that was keeping the flame of fun and humor lit up in his eyes.
Clementine laughed at the scene too, her two little children were a blessing. The birth had been hard, two children at once weren't easy to bear but all the pain she had experienced, all the agony she had felt, they had been worth it. The pure joy of life in the two siblings was indelible, they were like two lights in the dark for both of their parents.
Another silhouette entered the small room, the black curly hair of the teenager had remained as puffy as it had been all the time.
"Hey Clem!", AJ said with a smile on his face.
His hand was lying on the knife strapped to his waist, he was now taller than his foster mother.
"Hey goofball. How's the supply run been?", the woman asked and pointed towards the bag on his shoulders which seemed to be filled to the brim.
"Oh yeah, totally forgot!", the boy stated and pulled his backpack down, zipping up the top of it afterwards.
His hand disappeared inside and when it appeared again it revealed a little thin package wrapped in plastic, Clem instantly recognized it.
"Oh my god, where did you find chocolate?!", she almost yelled in happiness and covered her mouth, she hadn't tasted the sweet flavor since the beginning.
"Over at the old train station, I found another not rigged stash inside the mattress.", he explained and held out the bar towards the woman who grasped onto it and smelled the cacao off the wrapping.
"Oh my god, thank you AJ. Come here, I need to give you a hug!", she replied and opened her arms which the teenager fell into.
Clem gave him a smooch on his forehead and ruffled through his hair, making it messy what actually looked good on him.
"I love you goofball.", she told him while looking into his eyes.
"And I love you back Clem.", he responded and let go of the woman that had raised him.
"Oh, Frank and Anne found something for Lee and Mira too, they'll have some fun with these pencils.", AJ added and pulled out a couple of boxes out of his bag, the colorful painting tools were lightened by the sun rays.
"Your sister will love it, I don't know if Lee's that into drawing though. You know he's trying to improve his reading and playing the piano.", Clementine said while leaving the room and opening a box in the corridor which was filled with many different toys for the two children.
"I have found a book too, I'll bring it into his room and put it onto his bed okay?", the teenager told her with his now deep and a little raspy voice, he wasn't finished with the break of his voice yet.
"Yep, good idea. Both of them are playing with Louis now, I should go and get them, Adrian and Sophie wanted to come here for a little coffee.", the woman answered and arose, her prosthetic got caught beneath the trunk and she cursed silently.
AJ just laughed and walked up the stairs to get to the rooms of his siblings.
Clem shook her head with a smirk and walked to the small door that lead to the garden, it opened with a loud creak as she pushed it outwards.
The green space in front of her eyes was big, it almost lead into the forest behind the school. The warm orange light flooded the scenery. She could see the small tree house in all its facets, Louis had held his promise of building one if they'd ever get the chance to build a house. The woman looked back for a split second, the two story house was just what she'd always dreamed of. The deep purple paint was just fitting into the surrounding, it was loud but not too obvious, the shadows of the trees were thrown onto the façade, making it look like a building made of dreams.
-It took us so long to build it but it payed off-, Clementine thought with satisfaction.
Three years, it had taken them three long years of success and failures to construct the home of their dreams. The triangular roof was covered with two solar panels and a big window, the skylight Louis had always dreamed of.
A delighted giggle came out of the tree house, followed by a loud faked outcry of rage.
"You little squirt, come back here!", the happy voice of her husband exclaimed, the giggling of their daughter intensified until it became a shriek.
"What are you doing up there?", Clem laughed out and climbed up the ladder.
Louis was tickling Mira to the point where she was gasping for air. Her round face covered by a smile, her golden eyes closed from laughing. She was almost looking the same like her mother, the only difference were the black dreads on her head, the same ones Louis had. They stopped when the woman's head appeared in the entrance, both of them were red in their faces and smiled over both ears.
"I see you have your fun here without me?", Clementine asked with a grin and pulled herself up on the platform where she was greeted by the small arms of her daughter.
"I love you mommy.", Mira stated and snuggled herself up to her mothers chest.
Clem felt like she was having butterflies flying around in her stomach, her heart and soul warmed up when she embraced the little girl.
"I love you too sweet pea.", she said and kissed her cheek, earning a giggle and an adored look of Louis in response.
Clementine looked around the small room, books and toys were lying all around but she was not looking for them. She turned to face her little daughter again, her small face was lightened up by the small sun rays coming through the slits in between the sturdy boards.
"Mira sweety, where's your brother?", the woman asked with a raised eyebrow in suspicion.
"Lee went back to the house I think...", Mira told her acting innocently, her expression was telling a different story.
"Is he playing with my knife again?", Clem asked and sighed, she couldn't keep that little dude from playing with the weapon.
"Be right back, you two get dressed up, we'll have guests in a few minutes.", she stated and climbed down the ladder after tickling her girl once more.
She found the little boy holding his finger in the small bathroom, she rushed to his side immediately.
"Oh Lee, what did you do you little troublemaker?"
He hissed and shook his small head, the curly dark brown hair flew around uncontrollably. "Nothing bad mommy, I just cut myself.", Lee stated and showed her the small cut, a little line of blood was dripping down from it.
Clementine opened the shelf behind the mirror and pulled out a small band-aid, the wax covered surface stuck to her hand as she took of the plastic wrapping.
"My little peanut, how many times did I tell you not to play with my knife? You have your own small one, mine is way too heavy.", the woman explained whilst covering up the wound.
The small boy nodded in understanding, his brown face turned to face his mothers.
"I'm sorry mum, I just read something about it in your journal and I wanted to see if it was true...", he revealed, regret and guilt were visible in his face.
Clem hugged him and kissed his finger, he giggled at the tingling sensation.
"It's okay, next time just ask me or AJ okay? I don't want you to hurt yourself, I couldn't live long with such a strong and wise little man at my side you know?", the woman replied and ruffled through his hair.
The boy smiled and tiptoed to her side, giving her a small kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you mommy, I won't do something like that again, I promise."
His mother smiled and nodded, her hat imitating her movement.
"Very good, now fresh yourself up, Adrian and Sophie are coming over."
His small face lightened up as she said their names, his eyes widened in delight.
"That's cool! I'll be ready in a minute!", Lee said and rushed up the stairs, his small feet stomping up to his room.
Clementine's heart was overflowing with her love for her three children, she loved every single one of them just the same. They were so different but so equal at the same time, it was something she couldn't explain, it was just the feeling a mother had when she saw her kids.
The bell rung twenty minutes later, Clem and Louis opened the door side by side, greeting their old friends with joy.
Adrian and Sophie entered the house, the woman had a small package propped to her chest, holding it securely and carefully.
"Hey little dude, you've grown too I see.", Louis said as he saw the babies face.
Adrian smiled warmly as he saw the two young adults look at Sophie's and his son, the same fire of love was glowing in their eyes as well.
"We haven't been here for a longer time, it's been a month now, isn't it?", he asked and hugged Clementine.
"Yeah, we've missed you, Javi and Kate. I heard that there's much stuff to do in Richmond?", the woman asked and addressed both their visitors, her eyes filled with interest.
Sophie nodded and pressed her side against her husband's, seeking the comfort he gave her by wrapping his arm around her.
"Yeah, all those people from Delta need new homes now, we took theirs so we are responsible to give them new ones...", she explained and slowly seesawed her baby to make it feel comfy as well.
Louis raised his eyebrow and looked rather serious and surprised now.
"I thought you handled everything with them already, it's been eight years..."
Adrian shrugged and patted the mans shoulder.
"It's a long story but let me greet your little ones first before I explain everything.", the doctor said and bowed down to embrace AJ, Mira and Lee who stormed towards him from the other side of the corridor.
"Hey *ihr Süßen*, how's your day been?", he asked, all three of them started talking at once as he listened to their "adventures" and discoveries until Clem and Louis lead all of them to the living room where coffee and cake had been served already. The scene was adorable, Clem couldn't help but smile at Adrian sitting in the middle of the room and playing with the children, the man had something for them as well, it almost felt like he and Sophie were aunt and uncle for them.
After hours of talking the two families had exchanged everything new and interesting. Adrian was now holding his newborn son and talking to him and the other kids in a quiet voice while his wife talked to Clem and Louis.
Clementine was interested in the situation in Richmond, she was ready to help if needed, her fighting and defense instincts were never fully gone, the fire of need to help people was still glimmering inside of her soul.
Sophie laughed and shook her head, her ginger hair covered up the burn mark on her cheek.
"Don't worry Clem, we've got everything under control. We have used your help so often already, you need to have a break from fighting and political stuff you know? We are retiring for some time now too, Adrian and I will maybe even move here to get some quiet if that's okay for you and the others.", the woman suggested and looked at the two lovers in await of permission.
"Sure, Ruby and Aasim will be okay with it, Anne and Frank have missed you too, like you have probably heard and seen already and Willy is always happy about company.", Clementine responded with a happy look towards Louis who was smiling all over his face.
She was happy about the three spending more time with them, their children would be able to play with their kid too. The sporadic contact to Javier and Kate was okay but since Gabe had been thrown out, both of them felt guilty and always came up with that topic, making some conversations a real pain in the ass since it was hard for them to bring up more time than a day.
"Thanks you two, we'll need your parents advice with Charles here.", Adrian joked as he came over to them with the baby in arms, the three kids on his heels.
"Can we play with him too mommy?", Lee asked with big puppy eyes, his sister did the same to convince her mother.
Clementine smiled and nodded.
"He needs to grow up a little first okay, he's too small to play with you yet but you will be able to, I promise on my prosthetic."
Her last little joke made the two little children prick their ears, they had never really asked their mother about her injury.
"You always told us small parts of your past every time we were scared or intimidated but you never told us everything at once. Can you tell us your full story please?", Mira asked innocently, her eyes staring into the ones of her mother.
Clem looked at the watch, only a couple of hours till the children would have to go to sleep.
She sighed and looked around, everyone was nodding, they all wanted to hear her fascinating story once again. A new kind of peace flooded her body, making her calm but happy at the same time. Her story was inspiring many people to be as strong as she had been, she was a role model in their lives. The woman sat down next to Louis who slung his arms around her, making her feel the same like eight years ago. The same bond of love was still there and it would never break, Clem would get old with this man and live happily ever after.
With a last deep breath she started to talk, her eyes switching between her three main listeners-
"Okay children, sit down this will be a long story. So, this all happened almost twenty years ago, I was small and alone when everything started. But then this man saved me..."
This is it guys, the story ends where everything began... It was a hell of an emotional ride, I actually cried over this chapter, I have some kind of emotional bond to this book which doesn't want me to let go. But this is the end, Clem found peace at last and will live happily ever after...
I love y'all, you have helped me on this long way till now, you supported me, gave me strength to live through every new day. Thank you for being here, listening, blowing on the str- Just kidding. But really, thank you for reading this, reminding me of the good and nice part of this world. I especially thank Khanayla who supported me from the very start and still inspires me to keep going, deaniethemeanie who showed me the real meaning of the Clementine/Louis relationship, RWIZARD who even though only starting to read the story recently gave me the power to continue and finally Luvthat4u who reminded me of the true power of words and writing. Thank you, thank all of you for accompanying me on this path. I owe you so much, I will never be able to make up for it... I love you all ❤️❤️❤️
(Also, if you finished this you are warmly invited to check out my next book too ;)