I have had so many requests for more follow-up scenes to this story. I recently reread the entire thing and I was like, "Holy crap, I totally agree!". So here you guys are! :D Some little scenes to help wrap everything all together.

Also, the last chapter "Van and the White Dragon" has an extended ending! I actually wrote it first and then decided to cut it. At the request of several people, I decided to put it in.

So, please enjoy. :D

Millerna closed the eReader down with a short sigh and placed the kindle on her desk. The story wasn't done, but she needed to get back to work soon. Leaning back in her chair, her blue eyes drifted to the open window to her left. A loud laugh echoed from the parking lot and she glanced down to see a man with long brown hair shaking the hand of a father who was holding his daughter on his hip. She watched Dryden brush the little girl's chin with a long finger and say something inaudible. The bandage around her forehead barely concealed the thin patchy black hair that draped unkempt from her head. It suggested she was enduring chemo.

The little girl was blushing and giggling at whatever he was saying. With a wave of his hand, Dryden opened a car door and knelt on the ground as if she was a princess. His white doctor's coat spilled over the concrete.

Once the daughter was settled and comfortable in her seat, he stood to shake the father's hand once more. Millerna noticed his knee was wet from kneeling in a puddle.

She smiled softly as her blue eyes followed his footsteps back to the front of the hospital. He turned as the car pulled out of the parking lot and gave his heels a silly click in the air.

And that was the moment when she realized.

The urn sat quietly on the table. A lone figure stood before it, memorizing the simple cream patterns edged in the ceramic pot. His tan hands clutched the head of his cane tightly. His black hair was pulled into a low ponytail at the base of his neck. His new suit was a pinstriped black - just like the one he used to wear before this nightmare all began.

"I never got to kick your ass, you son-of-a-bitch," Van muttered quietly to the urn. "You just had to go and die on me. Damn it, Folken..." Reaching up a hand, he rubbed his forehead and his fingers brushed the scar on his hairline. "What the hell, man... After all this time. After all this... you come back into my life and leave just as quickly. Fuck you, Folken. You are the biggest piece of shit. You go and you ruin my life and then you gotta go and… fucking save it…" His voice broke on the words. The hot pain burned behind his eyes and he lowered his head to stare hard at the floor. "I won't cry over you. I won't."

The tears gently trailed down his cheeks.

"I won't. You don't deserve it, you bastard."

The little droplets dripped off his chin and hit the soft carpet silently.

Behind him, Hitomi stood at the doorway to the funeral room watching as her love raised a hand to cover his eyes.

"Still using a cane, eh, Fanel? You should stop by the hospital and have that checked out." Dryden's grin widened as the four of them stopped by the red silk table. Stepping up in a navy tux, the long-haired man held the chair for Millerna.

She rolled her blue eyes and tossed her blond hair over one shoulder, but she sat with a faint smile on her lips. "You'd never get any work done Dryden. You just want to play."

"What's wrong with a little R&R from time to time?" Dryden asked with a good natured wink as he sat beside her. "I'm a busy man. Even I've got to have fun!"

"You have too much fun. I honestly don't know why the board members still keep you around."

"Hey, hey, don't be like that. I fixed that one, didn't I?" Dryden gestured at Van, who was still helping Hitomi in her seat.

Van immediately crossed his eyes at Millerna and said, "Yep, my brain good."

Hitomi laughed at him while the blond woman groaned, "You two are total idiots." Her blue eyes lightened as a thought crossed her mind. "Oh, Hitomi, I wanted to ask you. Did you ever finish that book that you were reading to Van?"

Hitomi's green eyes widened in surprise and she glanced at Van. He had just taken a sip of water and it choked him. Coughing, he shook his head.

"We completely forgot about it!" he wheezed.

"Yeah, we did!" she giggled. "I never got to read the ending."

Millerna sighed and shook her head. "The ending was totally wrong. The princess broke it off with merchant and-"

"Spoilers!" The neurologist cried covering his ears.

"You're going to read it, Dryden?" Van snorted.

"Hell no! I'll wait till the movie comes out!"

"They're making a movie?" Hitomi asked in surprise.

"It'll probably be nothing like the book." Millerna sniffed with distaste.

Dryden smirked at her. "You just said you didn't like the book."

"I said I didn't like the ending. That's totally different." She corrected.

"What didn't you like about it?" Van asked curiously.

The blond gave a long sigh and rested her chin in her hand. "Well, it was like the author had something going and then lost it. She had built up this everlasting love between the girl and the king and then they didn't even stay together in the end."

"Well, there goes the movie for me," Dryden crossed his arms in a mock-pout.

Hitomi felt Van's hand reach for hers under the table and give it a light squeeze. Glancing at him, she smiled softly into his shining warm eyes. He raised an arm and draped it over her shoulders; pulling her seat a little closer to him.

Dryden exchanged a quick look with Millerna, who was smiling.

"Welp! I'm starving." He said opening the menu and straightening his glasses. "Let's order some grub and stop spoiling the entire movie for me."

"You know what you're going to get, Hitomi?" Van asked.

Her eyes shimmered brightly as she giggled.

"T-bone steak, of course!"

Nineteen Months Later

Hitomi looped her arm loosely through Van's as they left the theater's glowing lights and headed down the darkening cold sidewalk. The early afternoon was beginning to set and the sky was streaked with orange and red.

"Wooo! Winter is in full swing!" She glanced at Van and grinned. "You were surprisingly quiet during the movie. I was expecting your usual line up of groans and making fun of the actors."

"I didn't want to this time around." Van said quietly.

"Well, it sure was strange to actually sit quietly through a movie for once. I can see what Millerna meant about how the girl and king don't stay together. Not what I would have expected. The movie changed a lot, too. Why was she suddenly in the Escaflowne when she came to the other world? And what was this about wing goddess? And what in the world was up with their portrayal of the king? He looked nothing like what I expected."

"That's the movies for ya. Always gotta change everything that made the book good."

A small frown touched Hitomi's eyebrows as she watched the unusually stoic man bite his lip nervously.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"What?" He turned surprised.

"You look kinda funny. Are you feeling okay?"

"I… it's nothing." He shook his head. "Wanna walk through the park?"

She blinked. "S-Sure."

Turning left up ahead, they strolled together as they entered the small park. The cold wind brushed the leaves above their heads. Smiling softly, Hitomi leaned her head on his warm arm. "I thought the actor who played Knight did an okay job. Not who I could have cast for the part, but-"

"Hitomi?" Van stopped on the pathway suddenly and she glanced at him confused.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what today is?"

Her green eyes went wide and she tilted her head. "Today? It's December 22nd, right?"

His lips curled upward softly. "Today marks two years when I first met you."

She gasped lightly, "Oh! You mean in the hospital when I first read to you! You're right!" She laughed. "I didn't even know if you were listening back then. It seems so long ago... So many things have happened since then."

"I...I..." he gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

"Van, are you okay?" Hitomi reached up to touch his shoulder.

"Ever since that day two years ago, my life has changed so much. My world is... happy... ah, damn it! I'm so bad at this!" He ducked his head and she noticed through his bangs that his cheeks had turned scarlet. "I was alone and angry and... and... it felt like I was fighting by myself against a sea. But then, hearing you read to me... feeling you sit there beside me... I slowly got stronger. It was soon after Folken tried to smother me and you pulled me back that I realized what it was that was making me stronger. You gave me something to live for."

"Van..." she breathed his name in the cold air.

"And ever since that day two years ago, I've only grown stronger and stronger. It's something about you... It makes me... happy. So... happy." He reached into the pocket of his jacket and her mouth fell open. "I've had this since the day of Folken's funeral. I've kept it until I knew I was strong enough to ask you." Grabbing her trembling hand, he knelt in front of her and finally looked up into her eyes - those bright beautiful green eyes.

"Will you stay with me? Stay with me from now on?"

Several people in the park were already muttering as they watched him hold up the ring -a simple pink diamond. His heart was bursting in his chest. His adrenaline had skyrocketed and he was having trouble breathing. But he held the ring steady, his fingertips completely still. Waiting.

He gasped as she unexpectedly flung her arms around his neck and knocked him off balance. They tumbled to the dirt together, her body landing on top of his. Her lips pressed softly against his mouth and he immediately reached to the back of her head to deepen the kiss. His hand buried itself in her hair. She opened his mouth with her own and Van almost lost his grip on the ring.

The gathering crowd gave a loud cheer and they both opened their eyes in surprise. Breaking apart, she instantly jumped off his body and blushed prettily with embarrassment. Van sat up with a laugh, dirt clinging to the back of his jacket and hair. Taking the ring, he held it out to her.

"Marry me?"

Her hands slowly reached out and she took the ring from his fingers. Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead against his with a glowing smile.

The same smile that he'd felt so long ago from his bed in the hospital.

"Yes."

I feel a lot better about this story now. I feel like that is a suitable ending to these poor characters. They endured quite a bit with me at the helm, so it's good that I can finally give them a proper ending. I hope you guys enjoy this little trip back into this world and I hope the holidays are treating you well. I'm off to post this and then purchase tickets for Star Wars - I'm a little late when it comes to that.

I am blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life and I want each and every one of you to know that I count you as a blessing.

To lifelong friends and true loves happily ever after.

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