It was in the middle of the night as Thomas woke up, Janey firmly wrapped up in his arms. He kissed the top of her head. They were home again, and no one could ever separate them now.

"She is beautiful," a voice whispered beside them.

Thomas looked up, and there was Lucille, hovering over Janey. For a moment, he was worried his sister would harm her. After all, Lucille's jealously had been boundless when she had been alive.

"Don't worry. I'm not staying. Your lovely bride is safe. I like her. She takes good care of you, in ways I never could," she smiled, as he realised he could see her as well as hear her.

"You can stay, if you like," he offered. She deserved to be in a place where she was happy.

"No. I don't belong here. Not yet anyway... You were right. It was time to leave."

"Are you happy where you now, Lucy?"

"Yes. Almost... I'm at peace. I see where I went wrong, and I'm so sorry. I hurt you. I hope one day you can forgive me for that." She sounded genuinely regretful.

"I have always forgiven you. I hurt you as well. If I had been stronger..."

"But you weren't. You were weak, because I made sure of it. I was afraid you would leave me otherwise. And you did... Once you found your strength, you were ready to leave with Edith, and you were right."

"I wasn't leaving... I was going to give Edith the papers for her inheritance back and I was going to stay with you. You needed me. She never did. Edith never needed anyone. Unlike us." It was hard to think about.

"Oh Tommy... That would have been wrong though. I would have only made you miserable."

"You've changed a lot," he noted. The old Lucille would have never been able to see, let alone admit, the error of her ways.

"Yes... Much too late, though. I was a monster, blinded by hatred and jealousy... But no more. Marry that woman in your arms, Tommy. She is going to make you happy," Lucille said, confirming what he already knew.

"She already does. Whether we are married or not."

"But you are marrying her now. Tomorrow. And you are going to have a beautiful son... He will live, Tommy. A gentle and smart boy like his father. And there will be others," she promised.

"Can I love him?" Like Janey, he worried about that most. He was terrified that somehow he would turn into his father.

"Of course you can. And so can she. You will have so much love. Everything we missed."

Tears sprang to his eyes. "I wish you could stay. You deserve happiness too."

"Don't worry. I'll be back soon. And, in the meantime, you will be much too busy to miss me."

"I don't understand..."

"You will, in time. Give her the ring. It will look beautiful on her." She took the ring from her finger. As she placed it in his hand, it lost its eerie appearance and he could feel the cold metal press into his palm

"Your ring? Mom's ring? Are you sure it isn't cursed?" he asked.

"Not now they are gone. I would like her to have it. I know you don't want anything that is connected to your old life any more, but... Please, think about it. I would like her to have it. With my blessing." There was a serenity about her that he had never seen during her life.

"You have found peace."

"I have." She kissed his cheek, it felt like a whisper of air, before disappearing. "Goodbye Thomas."

He woke up startled, waking up Janey as well. Had it just been a dream? Coming to terms with his past, he had missed his sister in these past few weeks more than ever. She had been a victim of circumstance, even more than he had been. He wished he could have made it right somehow, even though he knew that was impossible.

"You're crying," Janey stated as she hugged him tight.

He had not even noticed the tears on his cheek until she mentioned them. "It was just a dream."

Janey rubbed his tears away, softly smiling at him."A bad one?"

"Not quite. Just... Something that can't be." It was a great comfort to have Janey in his arms, though.

"Was it about your sister?" she asked as if she knew.

Had he talked in his sleep? "Yes... Why do you ask?"

"I think she came to visit me a few nights back. Was a very strange dream. She gave me her blessing. She was kind and warm, not like... I imagined her."

"She has found peace. Why didn't you mention it?"

"I thought it would upset you. And well... you might think that I was crazy."

"I would never think that. You're no more crazy then I am."

"Well, that is reassuring,"Janey laughed.

As he wrapped his arms around her, he heard something small tumble to the floor. Looking down, he saw it – a red teardrop. The ring. He had not seen it since the day his sister had died, and he was sure Edith had not brought it. So, she had been here. And she had given her blessing. Getting out of bed, he snatched the ring off the floor. Then he looked at Janey. She looked so beautiful... she had no idea. He loved her more than he had ever loved anyone. Even Edith. Even Lucille... but somehow he knew his sister was all right with that now.

And now, new life was growing in this beautiful woman. Life that they had made. It scared him. It humbled him. But it also made him immensely happy. He could not imagine his life without her.

A white dress, which he hadn't seen yet, lay in the other room. Her room, though she hadn't slept in it since they had come back. This was now their room and, even on the night before their wedding, she had insisted on being with him there.

"It's getting light," he said, looking at the window.

Janey yawned. "But it's still early. Come back to bed." She stretched her arms out to him, and he could do nothing but comply.

Quickly, he pocketed the ring as he tried to decide what to do with it. It belonged to Lady Sharpe and, by this time tomorrow, that would be Janey. But there was so much blood sticking to the ring. Still, Lucille wanted her to have it and that meant a lot. He would need to think about it. Holding Janey in his arms, he went back to sleep.

As he stood before the mirror, getting dressed for church, he couldn't believe that Alan was going to be the best man at his wedding... and that his ex-wife would be the maid of honour. Edith was currently helping Janey to get ready in the other room. The dress had been kept a secret, which had been a lot harder since he had his sight back. He had actually been asked to close his eyes as the dress had been carried upstairs when Edith and Alan had arrived the day before.

Finishing his tie, he checked himself in the mirror. The scar was there but it was far less visible than he had imagined all those years when he was blind. It wasn't red, just a faint white line under his eye. Yes, his eyes were different colours now, due to the damage to the pupil artery, but even though it looked strange, it wasn't scary, which was a relief. He didn't want to be that monster any longer. Janey deserved a good man, and so did their future child. A boy, Lucille had said. One that would live. He took her ring from his pocket, wondering what to do with it. And then he noticed the gemstone. No longer was it red. The ruby had been drained of its colour and nowit was almost clear, with a white hue, as if a spirit lingered inside. It was beautiful. He checked again...This really was the same ring, there was no doubt about it.

Was this a sign that the curse truly had been lifted? Was happiness within their grasp?

"Thomas, it's time to leave,"Alan called. "We want to get there before the ladies do."

The church was not as empty as Thomas had thought it would be. Well, he had never expected to marry again, frankly but, even when Janey had finally agreed, he had never expected there to be more people there than the two of them and the dog. Sweet Pilot still hadn't come to terms with the fact that his master could see now, and still stayed close to him, leading him where ever he needed to go.

But Pilot was far from the only familiar face that was there. Unwittingly, Janey and Thomas seemed to have made several friends in the village. Mostly, they were the suppliers that faithfully brought them the goods they needed, week in week out. Catherine's husband was also there, and Catherine would be there later, as she was actually the one bringing Janey to the church on her horse and cart. This would not be a glamorous wedding, but neither had his others been. This one, however, was filled with love by all who attended it. There were no hard feelings left between him and Alan. Both he and Edith seemed to have taken Thomas' advice to heart, and they were now together. Well, they had been for the past five years, but finally the distance between them had been bridged. He had caught them kissing in the garden after they had been for dinner last night and, truth to be told, he couldn't feel happier.

All those thoughts left his mind, though, the minute Janey stepped into the church. She looked a vision, floating on a white cloud. She looked as beautiful as... the ring and, with that, his decision had been made.

As he promised to be hers forever, he gently slid it on her finger. There was a look of surprise on her face.

"Moonstone? That's my favourite. How did you know?" she whispered.

"I didn't." But someone watching over them obviously had. And she was smiling down at them.

Thomas and Janey could not help loving each other. So, two years later, they had another baby, a girl. In fact, they had several more children after that, but Lucy... well, she lived up to her aunt's name. They had thought long and hard about naming her but, in the end, it seemed no more than right than to honour his sister in this way. And even though she had her mother's red locks, he could not help seeing his sister in this little girl, whose stubborn nature could test his patience like none of his other children could. But that was alright because, in the end, she knew she was loved and, whatever she did, her parents were always there for her, to love and protect her.

So this is it... The end, and I hope a better one than in the book. I get why Del Toro made him die, as he finally saw the truth about his life, the last of his innocence died and with that he did as well. His life was a lie. He was Lucille's reason to justify her actions, and with that justification no longer valid, he was marked for death. So I understand why. I thought however the choice was too easy. For Thomas to live with his wrongdoings, knowing his sister had died would have been far harder on everyone. And he deserved a chance to redeem, not just in words, but in actions. So a "what if" scenario popped in my head. I started writing, and 39 chapters along the line, this is the end result. I hope you liked it. I hope you will let me know that you liked it, even if you read this two years from now. I really like reviews, you see...lol. Thank you for reading this, and I hope to surprise you with another story soon. Because I will always keep writing.

Princess PrettyPants: Twas about time I think.. lololol

The Raven May Fall: I had always aimed for a happy ending.