Epilogue

The day was bright in the sky, and he listened to the rhythmic sound of the wind, a sound that calmed him to no end. If he thought about it, in fact, the day was very similar to that beautiful day, quite some time ago. He remembered how nice the breeze was then, how it managed to calm his nerves. He remembered her too, the way her eyes sparkled when he stared at her, and he smiled at the memory of her smile. So much had changed since then.

John married Anna, obviously, only a few weeks after proposing; they chose to marry in London, away from Langdon and near John's mother. Margaret Bates was sceptical when her son told her the news – she knew their whole story, there was no point in lying to her – but she warmed up to Anna almost immediately. Their wedding might have been simple, but it meant the world for them – it meant a new start.

Anna got better too – as the pregnancy progressed and they adjusted fairly quickly to married life, her smiles grew even more constant and brighter. Even in worry for her father's health, many happy moments were shared. Occasionally, of course, Anna gave birth to a healthy baby girl, who they named Julia. The day Julia was born would be forever considered by John the most stressful and happiest day of his life. Rose simply forbid him into coming anywhere near the room Anna had been, and he spent hours sitting, waiting in the parlour with an anxious Frank, which did nothing to help his nerves. He remembered how he breathed in relief after finally hearing the baby crying, how Nellie came and told him everything went well and he'd be able to see them soon.

The moment he saw Anna holding her, however, stole his breath away.

The baby was the spitting image of her mother – Rose had even said she looked just like Anna did as a baby – born with little hair, and the same bright, kind, mysterious eyes of her mother; she was perfect in every sense of the word, and he knew he'd never forget what he felt when he held her for the first time.

Walking slowly through the now familiar path, he admired the fields and the land – something that somehow became his responsibility, with Frank Smith's passing a few months ago, only a few weeks after Anna gave birth to Julia. His death was still a bit raw for John; despite their somewhat difficult start, he had become very close to his father-in-law, even if everyone knew his illness had been progressing quickly. Frank's death had, unfortunately, been expected, but it had been comfort, for everyone, that he lived enough to meet his first granddaughter.

Julia was, with no doubt, the main source of joy in the house, even if now, at nearly ten months old, the only thing she did was smile and giggle and mutter incoherent words. She was starting to walk too – which was now proving to be an exciting challenge for Anna and John as well, having to keep an eye on her every time she decided to stand up.

Much had changed around them in the last months; the farm was going very well, and John was confident they could make it work even better and faster than before. Nellie left the farm, only a few weeks before Julia was born, surprising everyone when she and none other than Jimmy Cooper announced they were to be married.

He waved at a few workers on the field, and finally climbed the steps that led to the back porch of the house; he was now used to doing rounds around the farm in the early mornings, sometimes even before Rose was up. He generally let Anna sleep a little longer, and would check on Julia before going out.

Rose was by now working around the kitchen, offering John a nice smile and already listing what he could have for breakfast; Frank's death, expected as it was, still left an empty sensation around the house sometimes, and it was clear that, even if Rose was slowly getting by, she missed him enormously. John smiled back, but excused himself for a moment – he needed to check on his girls.

He peered into the bedroom he shared with Anna from the start, wondering if she was still asleep. He knew she had had an uneasy night, as she went to bed feeling rather queasy, and Julia had been a little cranky too, probably from the appearance of a new tooth . He managed to get Julia to sleep after a while, but he knew Anna worried about her fever – even if it was completely common – and that she got up from bed repeatedly to check on the baby.

He grinned as he took in the sight of his wife; Anna was, undoubtedly, asleep, and he could barely see her face beyond the covers of the bed. He shook his head, deciding to let her sleep a little more, and marched through the corridor, stopping at another bedroom – Julia's nursery.

He found Julia, unlike her mother, very much awake; she was sitting on her crib, her little chubby hands gripping her feet. Her short blonde hair, curling ever so slightly, bounced as she moved around. She let out a little shriek of excitement when she saw him, and he laughed in return.

"I see we're in a good mood this morning," he told her playfully as he walked towards the crib. As if on cue, Julia giggled happily, showing off her front teeth – she only had four of them – and making him smile. "Mama will be pleased."

He bent down to get her as she already reached for him from the crib. Adjusting her against his side, holding her with his left arm, he walked around the house until he reached the kitchen once more, earning an even brighter smile from Rose when she saw her granddaughter.

"Look who is here!" Rose said excitedly, and Julia threw her head against John's shoulder, hiding her face and her smile, "I guess she's a little shy today."

"But feeling fine, apparently, and there's nothing better than that," John told her as he sat down.

"No fever, then?" John shook his head, and Rose approached them, "Let me feed her so you can have breakfast normally. Anna is still asleep?"

John nodded as he passed Julia, who was apparently over her initial shyness, to Rose, and then helped himself to a slice of bread. "Yes, she had a bit of a rough night."

"That's normal," Rose told him matter-of-factly, "Did you manage to get Julia to sleep after we gave up on trying?"

John smirked, "It took a little while, but eventually she slept."

Conversation ran smooth after that, mainly about Anna and Julia, who had apparently worked on an appetite during the night. John had finished rather quickly, and decided to make a breakfast tray for Anna, knowing it was time for her to wake and that she'd appreciate the gesture. Hopefully she'd be feeling better now.

Rose smiled as he watched him prepare the tray for her, and he left the kitchen a few minutes later, promising to come back soon and pick Julia so Rose could continue with her daily tasks.

Leaving the tray at the bottom of the bed, he returned for Julia, finding her already fed and extending her little arms at him, making her wish clear; he picked her up from Rose's arms, and she babbled incoherent sentences as he walked. She was still 'talking' when they reached the bedroom, and John opened the door carefully, but saw Anna stirring ever so slightly at the sound of Julia's voice. With a grin, John placed Julia at the middle of the bed, prompting her to instantly crawl towards Anna.

Julia was a gentle baby, besides everything; John picked the tray from the bed as he watched the baby carefully reaching for Anna's face, who almost immediately smiled.

"Anna?" John tentatively called, and Anna stirred once more, this time opening her eyes.

Julia let out a happy shriek, and Anna carefully sat upright on the bed, reaching for Julia instantly and kissing her daughter's forehead. She smoothed Julia's hair and looked appreciatively at her.

"Good morning, baby," she said, grinning, "It seems that you're past your crankiness now, aren't you?"

Julia started babbling again, and Anna looked up at him.

"Hello," he said his usual greeting, earning a smile from her as she spotted the tray he was holding.

"Oh, John," she said as he bent down to put the tray in front of her. He kissed her lips softly before moving to sit on the bed, between her and Julia. "You didn't need to go through all this trouble."

"It's no trouble," he told her, "Are you feeling better today?"

Anna nodded as she took a sip of milk, "Yes, much better. Has Julia eaten already?"

"Yes, just now," he said, gently stroking Julia's cheek as she rested her head against his leg, giggling.

Anna reached for her almost immediately, but John stopped her.

"It's fine."

"Your leg is probably hurting. I know you stayed up with her awake for some time last night," Anna stated softly, "Thank you for doing that. I know I wasn't much of a help last night."

He shook his head, "It's fine. I was just spending some quality time with my favourite girl," Anna looked pointedly at him, "Who just happened to be crying. Don't worry about it," he assured her. Julia was occupied now, apparently very interested on John's waistcoat's pocket. "Mother sent us a letter back."

This attracted Anna's attention back from her daughter; he waited for her to finish her bread and smiled at her curious eyes.

"What did she say?"

"She's thrilled. Already planning to visit us," he added, and Anna let out a small laugh, "She says we'll need to prepare ourselves to handle two babies."

Anna rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "We can do this. Julia will be older when this baby comes and I bet that she'll want to help as soon as she understands everything. Won't you, Julia?"

She tickled Julia's tummy softly, making the baby girl laugh loudly, and John couldn't help but laugh too, the feeling too contagious for him to care.

John spoke back at Julia as she babbled, hoping that soon she'd be muttering her first word. Anna watched them as she ate, obviously not feeling sick this morning.

"Oh, really? How interesting," John said as Julia talked incoherently, making Anna giggle at his words. "And what did you do about it, darling?"

Julia continued her babbling, oblivious to the amused looks on her parents' faces. Anna, now finished, put the tray on the floor and reached for Julia, who was now sitting on John's lap.

"Come here, darling," Anna called her, "Come here with Mama."

Julia crawled towards Anna, sitting rather abruptly in front of her, and Anna proceeded to take her on her arms and pepper her with kisses; Julia didn't seem bothered by it, and Anna was making the most of her good mood. Julia giggled as Anna touched noses with her, her little hands touching Anna's cheeks and John smiled at the picture they presented. He stood up, having a rather busy day ahead of him, and went to pick up the tray, despite Anna's protest that she'd take it to the kitchen later. He bent down to kiss her temple and just as he prepared to leave the room, Julia's loud voice, now very clear, reached his ears.

"Pa!" he saw the baby girl clapping her hands together and looking at him. She extended her arms, wanting him to pick her up, and uttered the word again, "Pa!"

Anna was looking from him to Julia, smiling amusedly. Julia, however, wasn't bothered, and insisted once more. "Pa!"

John put the tray back on the bottom of the bed, picking Julia up and, as usual, holding her with his left arm. He could hardly resist her when she wanted him to pick her up; Anna often said he shouldn't do all she wants, but whenever he saw her little face looking at him, he was done. He supposed Anna had a similar effect on him as well.

Julia put her arms around his neck, oblivious to her father's reaction upon hearing her words.

Anna let out a laugh, "I think she has just said her first real word."

John smiled a bit nervously, "I think she did."

They locked eyes for a moment, both knowing the meaning of what had just happened. They always knew it, of course – John had never really thought of Julia not being his. She was his daughter, and he doubted he could love someone as much as he loved her and Anna – and the new baby, already.

They always saw Julia as a blessing; it was her who, unintentionally, gave them the chance to meet and fall in love. Her conception hadn't been an act of love, but they always made sure she'd be born into a world full of it; he was proud of her, proud to be her father – because he was her father, no matter what. Still, to hear her saying this – to hear her call him her father, in her own way – and for it to be her first word made him feel, even more than before, that he made the best decision of his life to help Anna, that first day on the train station.

Anna smiled brightly at him, and moved to get up from bed.

"She said 'Pa'," John told her, knowing a goofy grin had formed on his lips.

"Now I'm never hearing the end of this," Anna said good-naturedly, walking towards him and Julia, "Julia, sweetheart, say 'Ma'. Listen to Mama. Ma-ma."

"Papapapapapa..."

"Don't worry, darling, your time will come," John teased her.

Anna sighed amusedly and shook her head at him, but she still smiled.

"Cheeky beggar," she said, standing on her tip-toes and he leaned down a bit to meet her lips. When they parted, he saw her eyes full of emotion, and felt even happier. "Thank you. For everything. I doubt I'll ever be able to express the gratitude and love I have for you."

He shook his head, "Don't you see, Anna? You express it every day," he kissed her temple; "I love you."

"I love you too," she told him, closing her eyes for a moment before offering him the brightest smile. Then, she made a face, "I think someone here needs a bath."

He chuckled, "Do you want me to do it? I can spare a few minutes."

"No, I'll do it. Come here with Mama," Anna said to Julia, only making her hide her face on the crook of John's neck. Anna smiled, "Oh, so you're all about Papa today. Julia, come here."

Julia went willingly with her after Anna pushed a little on the subject; Anna kissed him softly before walking out of the room with Julia; he shook his head when he heard her talking animatedly with their daughter, as he bent down to pick up the tray again.

"Julia, say Mama. Ma-ma."

"Papapapapapapapa..."

John chuckled. A bright day it was, indeed.

A/N: So this is the end! I'd like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story - it really means a lot. In case anyone is wondering, the title of the story came from the Beatles' song "Julia" - you can connect the dots now. :) This has been fun, I really hope you found the ending satisfatory. I'd love to know your final thoughts about this. :) Have a great Sunday!