Standing Still Epilogue
Title: Standing Still - Epilogue
Author: CSIGeekFan
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Drama/Angst
Summary:It's been five years since that fateful day that he walked away from Oakdale. Five years since he had his heart ripped to shreds. Five years since the ultimate betrayal.
Author's Note: I truly want to thank everyone for following this story all the way through. The comments I've gotten have really amazed me.
EPILOGUE
Around nine months later, Ash wiped down the counter of the bar and watched Lanie slap a customer. Hard. Most likely for wandering hands.
The one thing his grandmother had successfully talked him into was relocating. She convinced him to use some of his massive inherited wealth to at least move out of the rat hole in which they lived and worked.
The bar sat along the docks still, but in a slightly better working class neighborhood. It wasn't polished, so his physical deformities didn't make him feel awkward, but it was a hell of a lot safer than where they used to live. The duplex right above the bar sported a single studio apartment on one side, and a triple bedroom apartment on the other. Ash and Lanie had settled into their new home. Carl took the studio. His due. The old man had decided to retire, and spend his time charming the patrons as a mere employee.
That was what he liked to call it.
Ash just rolled his eyes and muttered, "It's called bullshitting. You site around and BS with the customers all night. And get paid for it."
It worked for them.
Ash listened to the bell above the door ring in another patron, and turned to smile at the newcomer. The smile widened when he saw Holden and Lily step inside. For his part, Holden looked relaxed and comfortable. The place would always be below Lily's taste, although Ash gave her credit for trying. At least she didn't frown.
It turned out they really wanted to be grandparents now instead of later. They came out for a weekend every couple of months; and it had started something else. Aaron had called to say they'd started coming out to visit him every couple of months in Seattle, as well. That call had been followed by his sister Abby in Los Angeles. His older sister, who he hadn't had a chance to visit, demanded to know where the hell he'd been and why the hell he hadn't had the good graces to call her himself and inform her he hadn't died.
Then she'd cried over the phone for an hour, recounting her fears.
Lanie and Ash let his parents dote on their boy. More often than not, Ethan accompanied them. At his questioning look, Holden said, "Your brother's upstairs with Jason."
That surprised Ash more than anything - that Lily eased up enough and stopped hovering enough to let two twelve-year-old boys hang out alone without adult supervision.
So as he watched his parents take a seat in a small booth on the edge of the room, his eyes skated across the patrons. Loud. In some case slurring. None of them getting out of hand. Just how he liked it. His hands automatically fixed the drinks on the ticket in front of him as he continued his watchful gaze.
Carl's laughter drew him over to where the old man sat with a regular, swapping BS biker stories. Ash had come to find out the other rough-and-tumble biker-looking dude was actually even more a softie at heart than Carl - a fact that amused Ash and Lanie greatly.
Eventually, his gaze landed back on Lanie, though, as she returned to the bar. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes bright, as she glanced back at a couple warehouse workers he recognized from the district just a couple blocks away. Both wore hats with their company's insignia. When one of them waved and she ducked her head shyly, Ash had to laugh. He'd never really seen Lanie flirt before. It would do her good to date. Meet someone to spend her life with. He had no doubt there'd always be room for him, but he liked the idea of his girl assuaging the loneliness he knew she felt.
At ten o'clock that night, Carl came over, laid a hand on Ash's shoulder, and said, "Your dad and I will take over. You have something to do."
Half an hour later, Ash found himself standing in Central Park. While the world slept, he made his way to the Chess and Checkers house in the dark. He opened the urn, and on the edge of the pergola where players from six to ninety came to play chess, he spread the ashes among the bushes and rocks. There he knelt and let the Indian summer night wash over him.
It may not be Harvard Square, but it felt right.
"Welcome home."
The End
The Fairy Dust Continuation
Author's Note: This is written forlucsmum . I hope you enjoy the fairy dust. ;)
Ash stood for where he painfully crouched on the ground and turned to leave, when he heard a groan behind him. Once upon a time, panic would have coursed through his veins. Now, though, adrenaline surged. He calmly turned and gripped the handle of his metal-core cane. If anyone messed with him, he'd mess right back.
Moonlight swathed the ground in patches that shone through thick tree limbs, and he waited as the rustling of the bushes gave way.
The voice nearly made him faint. Particularly when a surly, auburn haired doctor stepped forward completely naked, and muttered, "Do you have any fucking idea how long I waited for SOMEONE to pour me out of that hell hole they called an urn?"
While Ash just stared wide eyed, the reborn (and completely, hotly naked) Reid pulled the younger man to him, kissed him soundly, and grinned. Then he said, "It's called magic fairy dust. I invested in it as a child. Worth the $4.99 and the cereal box tops, wouldn't you say?"
Reid kissed Ash again. This time, the young bartender kissed back, then groped a little, which led to other things. Very hot other things. The good doctor liked the rougher side of the man he loved. (Emphasis on rougher, which explained the bark-shaped bruises on Reid and the dent in the corresponding tree.)
Eventually, they sauntered back to reality, which turned out to be pretty damn good.
Lanie didn't put up with Reid's crap. Neither did Jason. Reid liked them immediately.
Ash bought the company that once sold the magic fairy dust. It turned out it had been failing, and he was able to save it from going under. He just adjusted their sales goals a little, and they were back on track in no time because they added another item to their stock. Fairytale endings. It turned out, they were in ultra high demand. In fact, Ash and Reid bought one too.
They lived happily ever after.
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 25
Chapter 24
Chapter 23
Chapter 22
Chapter 21
Chapter 20
Chapter 19
Chapter 18
Chapter 17
Chapter 16
Chapter 15
Chapter 14
Chapter 13
Chapter 12
Chapter 11
Chapter 10
Chapter 9
Chapter 8
Chapter 7
Chapter 6
Chapter 5
Chapter 4
Chapter 3
Chapter 2
Chapter 1