Disclaimer: I own nothing of Reign.
AN: The final chapter. I have ice cream. Let's do this. Enjoy the read.
Henry didn't know how long he'd been asleep. All he knew was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the faint light of morning casting its golden fingers onto the empty bed beside him. It was all a dream. A glorious, wonderful, bittersweet dream. The touch of her sweet lips against his, her hands on him, the sound of his name on her lips… It had all been a dream. Pulling the other pillow to him, he brought it close. Her scent lingered in the cloth sweetly and he buried his nose in it, wishing it was the slope of her neck or the dip in her waist. Catherine. Catherine, oh, how he wished he could turn back time and fix all of his mistakes. If only he could, she might still be with him. The gentle touch on his bare shoulder made him groan at himself. Now he was imagining her touching him in his waking moments as well? He really was a cad. Clutching the pillow closer to himself, he willed himself to sleep where he could dream of the sparkle in her eyes and the way she laughed. Her voice in his ear calling out to him made him feel as if he were mad.
"Henry, Henry my love, are you alright?"
A phantom hand was lightly stroking his back and he cringed.
"Shall I call for Nostradamus? Do you feel ill, caro?"
"If I am ill, I have a love sickness." Henry turned to face the beautiful illusion beside him. "If I can imagine you so clearly with me now, I must be hallucinating or something of the sort." A Catherine clad only in her loosely tied robe made him groan, irritated that she wasn't real.
"Well, Henry, you never really were one for imagination." She leant over his chest, her hair falling forward to give him a kiss. "Now, what was that about hallucinations?"
He laid there in shock. "I—I, Catherine? I thought you'd gone when I woke and found your side empty."
"Technically speaking, you're on my side of the bed, love." Her smirk held nothing but fondness. "I suppose when you make love so many times in so few hours, one tends to get a bit disoriented." Henry brought her back down for a sweet kiss.
"Whatever are you doing up at this hour, darling? Are the birds even singing?" He pushed himself to sit up and settled his wife in his lap.
She shook her head. "Not as of yet, but I expect they will be soon. I just couldn't sleep."
"Ah, the reason why you're not a morning person." Henry said teasingly, bopping her nose with his.
Catherine gave him a small smile before resting her head in the crook of his neck. "I just…"
"What is it?" Her hesitation made his heart clench.
"I just can't believe you chose me."
Oh, Catherine. "You don't have to believe it. I've hurt you more times than a soul should bear, and with a beautiful soul like yours that I've pained over the years, you have every right to question me." He paused. "What does your heart tell you?"
"That you finally love me." She said sincerely.
"That's the only truth you need to know. Believe in that, Catherine. I just want you to know that this heart, the one beating beneath you beats only when you say my name and tell me you love me too." Henry laid his head against hers and sighed out his love. "I will always chose you."
AN: And there's another story finished. Henry's perspective fascinates me, seeing him transform is always wonderful.
To CocoRocks: Thank you dearest. It was a push to get it done before falling asleep last night, and I'm happy you liked it!
To demedicigirl: Not exactly right after, but more like…morning after? Hope you liked it.
To smacked lover 22: I feel you. It's a rather marvelous image, isn't it? Thank you for reviewing!
To Maya: Here's the last chapter, I hope it does your heart some good.
To Catherine Woods: YUUUUUUUUUUUP. I got you girl, aint not thang ;)
I would like to thank you all for reading this story, it's a personal favorite and it means so much to me that you all love it so very much. Having over 4,000 views really just floors me.
I want to send a personal shoutout to everybody who added this story to their favorites and/or followed it: Porge123, Catherine Woods, himesakuraxd, littlevoiceswhispering, pinkandpurpleroses, MariaPurt, Love-Life-are-based-on-trust, stephp, ZapharaKnight, Matrakcsi, nainachica, KatDarcy, Annsherry, demedicigirl, and DutchessPolgara. Getting the notifications that someone added me to their lists just gave me a huge smile on my face.
To all the reviewers, thank you so much. You always make me want to do better. Your constant love and support gave me a sense of duty to do better on everything. Thank you.
For my readers who are reading silently, please don't think I don't love you any less. Seeing the numbers go up is a reminder that there are so many more of you reading that I have to take into account. I just wish I knew your names, but since I don't… Thank you, muchas gracias, at maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.
QUESTION FOR MY DARLING READERS: What did you like about this story? I want to know what elements you liked best about their relationship so I can work harder on making those parts better. Is there something you think I should improve on in general? Please, please—if you have criticism, please do tell me. I won't get upset, honest. I need your input to be better for you and for myself. Is Henry not arrogant enough? Too arrogant? Is Catherine too poised in her dealings with people when she's irritated or does her temper show through too much? Are my sections about clothes detracting from your reading experience? Anything is fine, just let me know! :)