Final Farewell

...and hellos...

♪♪Wake up in the mornin', stumble on my life

Can't get no love without sacrifice

If anything should happen, I'd guess I wish you well

Mmh, a little bit of Heaven, but a little bit of Hell

This is the hardest story that I've ever told

No hope, or love, or glory, happy ending's gone forevermore

I feel as if I'm wasted

And I'm wastin' every day

This is the way you left me, I'm not pretending

No hope, no love, no glory, no happy ending

This is the way that we love, like it's forever

Then live the rest of our life, but not together ♪♪

"Alastor... come back... I need you..."

Charlie awakens with a start from yet another restless night, her heart pounding from a nightmare that felt all too real. It's the same nightmare, the one that haunts her every night – the image of Alastor, fading away into the blinding light, leaving her alone. She can still feel the phantom touch of his hand slipping from hers.

She reaches out instinctively, her fingers grazing the cool fabric of the sheets, but there's nothing there, nothing but emptiness and silence. Charlie turns to the bedside clock, its digits glaring back at her mockingly. 2 AM.

How long will these stupid nightmares last? How long before it gets easier?

She remembers the look in Alastor's eyes when his soul faded away, the sadness, the resignation. She remembers the terrible feeling of dread and despair when she realized she lost him forever.

Did she make a mistake by letting him go?

Charlie shakes her head, trying to shake off the thought.

She did what she had to do.

Charlie hopes Alastor is doing well in Heaven while she's down here alone.

Well, almost alone, she corrects herself as she untangles her trembling form from the sweat-drenched sheets and sits up, her movement sluggish and deliberate. She rests her hand on the curve of her rounded belly, caressing it tenderly.

"Good morning, you little troublemaker," she whispers to the little life stirring within, a small half-smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she feels a playful kick in response. "Calm down in there."

Another flurry of kicks prompts a melancholy chuckle from Charlie.

Her little energetic bundle of joy and mischief, a part of Alastor she still has. The bittersweet legacy he left behind.

"Yes, I know, I know..." she murmurs, her fingers tracing gentle circles over the swell of her abdomen. "I miss him too."

The feeling of her baby's movements is her only comfort these days, an excuse to feel a little happiness. It's not enough to fill the void left by Alastor's absence, but it's a start.

As much as she misses Alastor, she knows that he would want her and their child to be happy.

She pushes herself out of the bed and walks to her mirror, staring at her reflection.

She is greeted with a face that shows she has missed a night of sleep, her blonde hair is wild, and her eyes are red with exhaustion. She's a shadow of the energetic Charlie of before... yet still beautiful to the core. She lets out a weary sigh and grabs a hairbrush.