Chapter 104 - Nana

Bloody hell.

Dane had forgotten about his lynx and dear wife waiting at home. At the moment when he saw Jake, everything in front of him had blurred. The only thing he could see was his objective. In the end, he was left with more questions unanswered. He gripped his father's personal notebook into his hand as he trudged along the steps to home.

The door swung open before even Dane could process what was going on. He didn't have to. Bailey processed it for him as she glared at him with mouth pursed and hands on her hips.

"A man does not make a lady wait. You took so long she fell asleep on the couch and..."

Bailey's words were muffled by sight that forced him to really look at her. He quietly listened to her.

She stood there lecturing him, with a floral long sleeve dress that fell to her ankles. Looking at her, she really did conjure up old memories at Cranbury and the Iron Horse. Ever since gifting Bailey with the Iron Horse in the heart of Jersey and busying himself with his new lovely wife, Dane hadn't actually had the chance to talk to her.

This was the first time in a while that they had the chance to talk like this, one on one. Dane's grip on his father's notebook tightened. What if one day like his father, mother, and grandfather...Bailey was cursed to die without a second chance at goodbye? He always pushed her away but this time, Dane wanted to make things right before it was too late.

He wanted to shed vows before it would all be too late.

"....So next time, at least send your poor wife a call or a text if you're going to be this—"

Dane stepped in and gathered Bailey into a sweet embrace. The stars shone down on them just like they finally crashed right where they belonged in the night sky. He took a deep shattering breath before vowing to Bailey.

"Nana, I love you."

"...Dane, what..."

Teardrops began to fall and stain his shirt. He looked down and tenderly tipped up her face to watch as her eyes were blurred with tears. They kept falling as Bailey shook her head in disbelief, almost like not believing he had spoken such truths.

"Nana, I love you!" he repeated with a warm laugh, clutching both the notebook and her tight.

She clutched him tight in return, like savoring the moment to the fullest.

"...Dane, I-I love you too!"

When they parted, Bailey grew flustered and began rubbing the tears completely away from her face. She had to turn around so Dane couldn't witness any more of her embarrassment.

"G-Geez, warn your old Nana before you go and do something sweet like this. I really will have a heart attack, you know," she began laughing through her tears, then turned jokingly serious. "What's gotten into you? What did you do to my grandson?"

"I don't want to have any more regrets. Nana if you were ever to leave this world, I..."

She smiled and grasped Dane's hand into hers. "I'll only leave until after you give me some grandkids. You're both madly in love! What's the hold up?"

Children?

Of course he wanted them. He wanted a full house of them, all which would resemble his dear lynx. Dane could already imagine her being such a great mother. He yearned for it more than he would ever care to admit to.

The hold up lied with Dane. First and foremost, Prisana was still pursuing her dreams in university so he wanted her to enjoy youth to the fullest. She was but a twenty year old woman who only knew that caged and sheltered lifestyle. And then, there was the matter of his ulimate revenge. He wasn't sure it was ultimate anymore because now...

"What are you trying to do? What is it that you want?"

His heart was already twisting to Bailey's words but he never paused a beat. "I want Prisana. I want a future together where we grow old and watch our kids have grandkids. Nana, you'd be there too, with us. You could live with us at a house on the beach or in the woods."

Suddenly, the tears which stopped began rolling down yet again. Dane flusteredly tried to help her calm down as she covered her face.

"...About the past, I don't think I'm ready to give it up," he took a deep sigh and looked at her tearful eyes. "I don't know what I'll do when I find the one responsible but...At least know this Nana, I want to shed the truth of what happened. I won't abandon everything so easily. It's selfish but I want both."

"In the end, you'll have to make that choice. I'm sure your heart already knows what to do."

Bailey always knew the right words. It was true. His heart was with the future. He knew revenge was something that wouldn't bring any of them back. Yet, he had every right to know what happened. It gnawed on his bones every single day of life, wondering why the hell they were taken away from him.

"...I'm sorry Nana."

"For what?"

"That night all those years ago, it was all my fault that grandfather died."

She shook her head and whispered, "Oh Dane, that wasn't your fault. None of it was."

"But I was the one who rushed him home."

"You can blame yourself all you want but Dane, do you believe everything happens for a reason?"

Dane took a moment to mull it over. "I don't know. Perhaps."

"I believe those that were taken away had fullfilled what they needed to do. It was their time, though sudden, it brought us all back together where we started. Everything happens for a reason. Accept it, mourn, and move on to the bright future that awaits."

Bailey's words repeated inside of his mind like bellchimes ringing.

Accept it and mourn?

He couldn't.

Dane remained silent and simply sat down on the steps. Bailey made the move to sit down beside him, as they looked up to the stars. Like this, it was truly like old times when he was younger and would sit inside Bailey's lap next to his family.

Except that now it was just Bailey and Dane, side by side, looking up to the same stars, wondering if they were looking down at them too.