A/N: everything ends some day, and so does my story. I hope you're not too sad about it. I'm happy and proud that I managed to write a fanfic that so many people enjoyed and that has apparently become the most popular one in this fandom. Thank you all for your responsiveness, your kind comments meant a lot!

There is an illo for this chapter, you can find its link in my ffnet bio.

If ffnet allowed lyrics, I would put the lyrics of Il Divo's Mama into the chapter, right before the wedding scene. But as ffnet doesn't allow it, I can't. If you can get the first Il Divo CD or download their songs from the web, be sure to listen to Mama, my favourite song ever. It's so beautiful, so touching, and every time I listen to it, I feel as though it were about Nathaniel and his relationship to Esther. Also, there's another Il Divo song that fits this chapter: The Man You Love. When I first listened to it, I immediately thought of Nat at the end of my fic, as he wants nothing else but to be the man Kitty loves ;)

Okay, enough of my rant, on with the story:)

Chapter 25

Just Plain Nathaniel

Two weeks had passed since the little Mandrake family had walked out of Gladstone's Room, leaving a bunch of shocked ministers behind. Lots of things had happened in those two weeks, and one of them was the trial and imprisonment of Jessica Whitwell (whose handwriting had been identified by the graphologist), Clive Jenkins and Arnold Callaghan.

O

One morning a commoner in Chertsey woke to find a neatly wrapped package on his doorstep. In the package he found his missing pieces of clothing (a pair of dark blue trousers and a maroon turtleneck jumper), cleaned and ironed, along with an anonymous letter in which the writer apologised for the inconvenience.

O

John Mandrake, after he was exonerated in public, regularised Martha's status, sold his enormous town house and opened a new bank account to which he transferred ten percent of his money, claiming that the government wouldn't let him leave the country with any more of the fortune that he had collected as a member of the government; especially after having turned his back on them.

Kitty thought this was all just an excuse for Nathaniel to get rid of the money that made him feel uncomfortable. She believed that his sudden conversion had not only indicated disgust with power but also pangs of remorse at having lived a 'luxury life' so far. She was more than surprised when he decided to willingly give up ninety percent of his money, but she saw that it made him look relieved, as though a huge burden had been taken off his shoulder. He looked like someone who, after having felt guilty over his power, money and position for a long time, had finally managed to shed his guilt and was starting to feel and act like a free man.

O

The one-time deputy Prime Minister had changed a lot, but deep down Kitty knew that the only thing that had happened was that John Mandrake had disappeared, giving more space for Nathaniel. The latter had been residing inside the former for ages, suppressed and weak, but now he had grown stronger and overpowered John.

Kitty had never known her beloved before he turned into power-hungry John Mandrake, but she suspected that this was how he had been as a child: ambitious and self-confident, but only to a certain extent. Now she was more and more often getting glimpses of the unspoilt boy he had once been, and she found it utterly endearing.

O

As they were walking hand in hand in a meadow in Alsace, Kitty was smiling to herself, still not believing her luck. It all seemed like a fairy tale, it was almost like magic. She had never before felt so happy in her whole life. All those years ago, when she had fallen in love with Nathaniel, she had felt something that resembled her current emotions, but now that she looked back on those happy days at the beginning of their marriage, she realised that it couldn't hold a candle to what she was feeling now. Back then she knew he was a magician who loved her, but who loved power even more. Even if she had tried to persuade herself that she was happy with him, something at the back of her mind kept nagging her, telling her that her happiness would be short-lived.

Now, there was no pessimistic little voice speaking in her mind. Kitty was full of optimism, she was in love and loved in return. She knew that he'd chosen her over power, and that made her heart almost burst with delight.

"What's so funny?" Nathaniel spoke up.

"Funny?"

"You're smiling."

"I'm just happy," Kitty replied. "All my dreams seem to be coming true."

"Care to tell me about your dreams?"

"Well…" She let go of his hand and flopped down in the grass, her actions shaking a bunch of dandelions whose tiny, umbrella-like seeds scattered, only to be swept away by the soft breeze. He sat down next to her, his blue eyes glinting with interest. "We're becoming a real family," Kitty explained. "You, Martha and me. Even my parents seem to like you better now…" She chuckled. "Thankfully there's no 'Minister Mandrake this, Minister Mandrake that' anymore… but they do like you. Dad told me you had promised them to give me back to them. I thought that was sweet." She reached out to remove a dandelion-seed from his hair. His locks were back to their usual length, thanks to a demon that was an expert on human transfigurations.

"I didn't really give you back to them," Nathaniel replied. "I'm taking you away from them again, and we're going to live hundreds of miles from London. It's not like they can come and visit every weekend…"

She sent him a lopsided grin. "Bet you're happy about it."

Nathaniel made a grimace. "Well, who loves their in-laws?"

"Actually, I did," Kitty replied with a sad smile. "I'm so sorry Esther died."

Nathaniel heaved a sigh and took her hand again. "Don't be. She wouldn't want you to be sorry. Besides… it's her, or at least partly her whom we must thank our happiness. I'm sure she's looking down at us right now, smiling approvingly. As for your parents… don't worry, I sort of like them. I used to find them horribly annoying when they were praising me on no end, but… they're much nicer now that they treat me as a 'normal' person. And they adore Martha so much."

"Yes." Kitty smiled. "I don't even want to imagine how Mum will be crying when we move here after the wedding."

"I can understand her." Nathaniel nodded. "Before I knew our daughter, I couldn't imagine living with her or with any child. Now that I know her, I couldn't imagine life without her. Bartimaeus once said she was the best thing I ever made in life."

"The best thing we ever made in life," Kitty pointed out.

"Yeah, no doubt you played quite an active role in that," he chuckled.

"Yeah. I rode you." She grinned mischievously.

"Don't start this horsy thing, please…"

"Why, I thought that was your favourite position?"

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "It is. It's just… Bartimaeus. This is his favourite 'how to annoy Nathaniel' topic."

Kitty wrinkled her nose. "You know, I still think it's a bit… morbid to have had a djinni peeking at us while we were…"

"Don't worry, no djinn, imps, moulers or afrits will ever peek at us again. I don't intend to use much magic in the future anyway."

"What about Ugly and Enid?"

"I kept them to serve the needs of a Minister. I'm no Minister any longer, so I'm not going to need them. But if you want them, we could keep them."

Kitty shook her head. "I can cook and do the washing up myself, thank you very much. Besides, our new house isn't anywhere near as big as the old one was. I can manage it. And sometimes you too could grab a vacuum cleaner…"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure it doesn't bite?"

"Absolutely sure."

He shrugged. "I might try it, then. If I could run an empire, I can deal with a stupid machine…" He glanced over Kitty's shoulder, at a nice, family house on the hillside. A family house that was theirs. In front of the house there was this lovely meadow full of spring flowers, and beyond it, there were vineyards as far as the eye could reach. It was idyllic, indeed.

She knew what he was watching. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes." He nodded. "The most peaceful place I've ever known. I'm just still wondering why you choose Alsace of all places."

She leaned back slightly, propping herself on her elbows. "During those years we were not exactly friendly with each other, I read a lot, and when I wasn't reading, I watched television. Mostly the documentary channels. My favourite was Travel Channel. Once there was a documentary on Alsace, and well… it grabbed me. I thought if I ever had to live abroad, I'd live there. Here. I only have to learn the French tongue. You could teach me."

Nathaniel inched closer, an impish look on his face. "I though I taught you the French tongue six years ago…"

Before she knew, his lips were on hers, his tongue pleading access to the deeper recesses of her mouth. She moaned, responding to his kisses with five years' pent-up passion. "I meant… the French… language," she panted when he finally gave her a chance to breathe.

"Yeah… I know." He grinned, and kissed her again. "We're currently outside a protected area. Do you want me to create a contraceptive shield?"

Kitty wound her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. "I don't insist on it. Do you?"

"No." His blue eyes sparkled with desire. "Not in the least."

o o o O O O o o o

Fenny Bridges, three weeks later

Nathaniel stood in the tiny cemetery, his eyes fixed upon a wooden cross that bore the name 'Esther Dawson'. All the flowers that had been placed on the grave at the funeral had shrivelled and long lost their bright colours. The only fresh flower among the mass of dried-up beige and brown ones was a single white rose that Nathaniel brought.

The cemetery was silent, no old ladies were visiting their husbands' graves; the only sound was that of a woodpecker hammering its beak into an old oak tree. Then, the young man's voice broke the silence.

"I'm sure you can hear me, Mother," he said, more to the sky than to the mound of earth that covered Esther's coffin, as though he knew that the person he was talking to wasn't in the cold earth, but up in heaven. "I know you've seen everything that's happened in these few weeks, and I hope… I hope you're proud of me. I hope I've managed to become the man you wanted me to be: not a famous magician, not a powerful minister, just plain Nathaniel. Please, forgive me the times I made you cry… I'm sure there were quite a few. I'm so sorry I never had a chance to ask for and get your forgiveness while you lived." He bit into his lower lip, blinking back a tear. "I miss you. Martha and Kitty miss you too, but I'm sure you know that…" He sniffed, a small smile appearing on his face. "I can't afford to cry now. What would I look like at my wedding?" He glanced at the chapel's direction to see a tiny figure waving at him. "I've got to go now. My fiancée's waiting."

With that, he turned around and walked to the tiny figure waiting for him by the chapel.

"Come on Daddy, don't make Mummy wait," Martha said, taking him by the hand and pulling him towards the chapel's entrance.

"Coming. Wouldn't miss my own wedding, now, would I?" Nathaniel smiled at his daughter. "By the way, you look lovely, Princess."

Martha wrinkled her nose. "Don't I look too girly?"

"Too girly? You are a girl," he pointed out.

"Yeah, I know, but… these frills… I will only tear them," Martha replied seriously. "And I like my baseball cap much better than these fake roses. Granny wanted me to wear them…" Grimacing, she pointed at the wreath woven into her wavy black locks.

"Well, a flower girl surely can't wear a baseball cap," Nathaniel replied, hiding a smile. His daughter was so adorably tomboyish…

They entered the chapel, and the groom walked up to the altar.

There were few people invited: besides a single harmonium-player, the only guests were Kitty's parents (who were smiling at their ex- and future son-in-law in a friendly way), Ffoukes, who was the best man, and Bartimaeus, in his favourite Egyptian boy form. Thankfully, he chose to wear a suit instead of a stylish Egyptian loincloth.

The harmonium-player began playing the bridal march, and Nathaniel felt his knees go weak as Kitty appeared in the doorway. She wore a simple, cream-coloured dress (that barely reached beyond her knees), and a matching hat. Her wedding dress had no lace like her first one had, she wasn't wearing a tiara and pearl necklace, but she wore a heart-melting smile that made her look a thousand times lovelier than at their first wedding.

The smile on Kitty's face wasn't the only difference from the former ceremony. At Westminster Abbey the bride and groom had recited lines that neither of them took seriously. Now, every word they said came from their hearts.

"…till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance, and thereto I plight thee my troth," Nathaniel repeated after the priest, holding Kitty's hand, his eyes boring into hers.

Tears welled up in Kitty's eyes as he uttered his vows, and her voice was trembling so much that she could barely speak hers.

"…for richer for poorer… in sickness and in health, to love and to… cherish, till… death us do part… according to… God's holy ordinance… and thereto I plight thee my troth."

"Hereby, with the power bestowed upon me by God, I pronounce you husband and wife," the priest concluded the ceremony. "Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder. You may kiss the bride."

Kitty arched an eyebrow at her husband. "Did you put that into the ceremony again?"

"Why, do you have any problems with it?" He grinned at her.

"None, Mr Mandrake." With that, she caught him by his tie and pulled him to herself. Curiously, this kiss lasted much longer than the first one at their first wedding…

It was Bartimaeus who cleared his throat to remind the newlyweds that they were still in the chapel. "The wedding night is still a few hours away, kids. Be patient."

"Easy to say," Nathaniel laughed, offering Kitty his arm and leading her out of the building.

"I have to say, you look absolutely stunning today, Kitty," the djinni remarked. "But Nat might not like you enough this way. He said he wanted to see you old and toothless…"

"What?" Kitty stared at her husband.

The young man shook his head with an almost suffering expression. "Bartimaeus loves to twist my words. I only told him I wanted to grow old at your side."

"But you did say something about missing teeth as well, admit it," the djinni interjected.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "I'm in too good mood to react to that."

Ffoukes stepped to the new couple. "I wish you all the best in the world, John… Nathaniel… my friend. Make your lovely wife happy. Oh, and John… I don't know whether you have realised, but you were wrong when you said you wouldn't do anything crazy for your wife. What you did at Whitehall was something crazy… but in a good way." The older man gave his younger friend a fatherly smile. "I told you that you could be a better man than all of us magicians, didn't I? And I was right."

Nathaniel shook his head. "I'm not better than any of you… The only difference between me and the rest of the magicians is that I had a chance to know what family means. It makes a difference."

Ffoukes nodded cheerfully. "Did you know that all the newspapers wrote about your being a father as a 'reform' that was overdue?"

"Really? I haven't read any of them for weeks. I've been too busy with…" Nathaniel coloured a bit.

"…with making up for five whole years with Mrs Mandrake, I presume," Ffoukes replied, bowing slightly in Kitty's direction.

"That too." The young husband admitted. "I was getting acquainted with my daughter as well. I simply can't get enough of her, she surprises me every day. Why, last time we were talking about the wedding and moving to France, she said there was one thing she didn't like about it."

"What?"

"She said she was sad because she lost her chance to become Minister for Finance."

Kitty chuckled. "And you know what my clever husband replied to her?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Ffoukes shook his head.

"He told Martha she could still become a Minister in France," she replied. "This seemed to have appeased her, at least a bit."

"Amazing creatures, children." Ffoukes glanced at little Martha, who was sitting on her grandfather's arm, busying herself with pulling the fake roses one by one out of her hair. "My wife and I might decide to have one of our own. We could say it was an accident, caused by a malfunctioning shield… after your case, no one will be surprised." Ffoukes winked at Nathaniel. "And if you got away with it, so will I."

"Yes, very likely. Good luck with the baby-making," the groom replied, putting an arm around the bride. "We have had luck with it, haven't we, Love?"

"I think so," Kitty replied, melting into his embrace.

The Minister for Internal Affairs stared at them, confused.

"This is not official yet, but…" Nathaniel leaned closer to his friend, "it seems Martha's getting a little brother or sister."

"Have you yet done the pee-stick-test that turns blue?" Bartimaeus chimed in.

"We were having a private conversation here, if you haven't noticed," the groom said sharply.

"Sorry." The djinni shrugged. "Can't help it, we djinn have much more refined hearing than you pathetic humans do. Oh, and congrats, by the way. Make sure you cut his hair regularly and deflate his ego when it gets too big. The world doesn't need a second John Mandrake…" Seeing Nathaniel's piercing stare, Bartimaeus smiled innocently. "Say, are you going to dismiss me at last?"

"Gladly. Nothing would give me greater pleasure," Nathaniel said through gritted teeth. "Just to remind you, I would have had released you weeks ago, if you hadn't insisted on attending the wedding!"

"Are you hinting that I'm not a welcome guest here?" The djinni crossed his arms.

"You're a genius to have figured that out, Bartimaeus," Nathaniel replied nastily.

Before things could turn worse, Kitty stepped between Master and Servant. "Nathaniel, Bartimaeus, both of you, shut up, and don't you dare ruin my wedding!"

Frowning, Nathaniel looked away form the djinni and Bartimaeus began examining the clouds drifting across the sky.

Ffoukes chuckled. "Say John, who exactly wears the trousers in this family…?"

o o o O O O o o o

I couldn't tell how much time had passed since Nathaniel had last summoned me, as we magical entities lose our track of time when we're in the Other Place. When Nathaniel dismissed me after the wedding (we parted looking daggers at each other), I made him promise he would never ever summon me again. I was quite surprised when he indeed promised it. Not that I really expected him to keep his promises… it's something he wasn't particularly good at.

Anyway, one day, I felt that someone was trying to disturb my peace, trying to summon me.

If that was Nathaniel again, he could expect a bit of shouting, I decided, before I appeared in the pentacle, in the form of a minotaur.

I almost let out a groan. No, it couldn't be him again! Then I remembered: the last time I'd seen the kid, he had been twenty-five. The boy in the other pentacle was much younger. Since I knew there was no such thing as time travel (no matter what your stupid fantasy authors write, kids, don't believe them!), I was sure this wasn't The Bane of My Life (just for your information, that's how I've been thinking of Nat recently).

I sized up the boy from head to toe. Honestly, these kids were getting younger and younger when they summoned their first djinni! This one definitely wasn't older than ten.

Black hair, blue eyes, stuck-up grimace – it all suggested I was facing Nathaniel Junior. For a second I wondered how he'd managed to summon me without his father noticing – and how he'd managed to learn how to summon a magical entity at all (I doubted if his father had been giving him lessons in it).

"Bartimaeus," he spoke up, his high, almost girlish voice sounding too serious for his age, "I have a task for you."

The minotaur allowed himself a satisfied, nasty grin. I knew just how to deal with trespassing children, and I could barely wait to teach the little snot a lesson. But that, my friends, is another story…

THE END

A/N: if you're wondering about a possible sequel… well, it's not very likely. Of course, I ended the fic in a way that leaves the possibility open, but as I've recently started working, I barely have time to live, let alone write, and even if I WILL write, then it won't be a fanfic but an original story - wish me good luck with it!

Thanks once more for your support, Dear Readers:)

And now, please give me a final review ;)