Author's Notes: And here we have the finale of Champions: An Ounce of Prevention! As I promised, Boromir is starting to make decisions about what comes next. Never underestimate the power of baby steps. Also as I promised, there will be a complete, updated cast list. I hope to have the next story up by the end of August, while I get other stories updated (including one that's crucial to the 'Sauron's minions seriously screw up' story). In the meantime, enjoy the epilogue!

Epilogue

Full Circle

"So. . .are you glad we came?"

They were headed home after several hours with the Grayson family. Michael was in danger of dozing off. . .a new CD was in the player, someone named 'Loreena McKennitt.' Thus, her question had the welcome effect of awakening him. He shook himself and replied, "Very glad. . . although, do you mind if I shower first when we get back to the apartment?" They were having dinner at the Rafferty house again tonight, and Michael needed the shower not just to clean up. . .but to ease his sore muscles.

"Not at all. . .I have some calls to make, and can get my shower after you finish with yours. That reminds me, did you want me to get more of that new soap the next time I go shopping?" Meg asked. Michael nodded, suppressing a wince. They had some trouble finding a soap that didn't irritate his skin. For some reason, that just sounded wrong to him, but Meg pointed out that one could have skin allergies just as easily as medicinal allergies. When she worked as a receptionist at the service center, one of her female co-workers had medicinal and skin allergies, among others.

"Yes, that soap has worked the best. Thank you for insisting on trying something new," he said. Michael tried to force himself to acclimate to this particular brand of soap, but Meg told him that there would be enough discomfort as the spring turned to summer, and it simply wasn't worth it to make himself more uncomfortable. It was then that she mentioned her former co-worker, adding that it was possible he was allergic to something in the soap. That was sufficient for him, and she gave the soap to their neighbor, Mrs. Watkins, for the next time her grandson Cal visited (after reassuring Michael that it was a type of soap Cal often used).

"You're welcome. Listen. . .I know you've been bored. No, don't look embarrassed, it's to be expected. I think you've read just about every book I own, and you've done an outstanding job with the laundry and acclimating to the internet. Would you like Gavin to take you to the Graysons a few times a week to help them out?" Meg suggested. Michael sat up a little straighter in his seat, staring hopefully at his friend. Could he? He had, as she said, read all of the books in their apartment (including the ones that he would never admit to reading), and even some Mrs. Watkins loaned to them. But he dearly missed doing physical work.

"You wouldn't mind?" he asked hopefully. And really, he didn't care if that longing was obvious in his voice. He missed working as he did today. While large blocks of his memory remained behind lock and key, Michael was becoming more and more certain that Gavin was right. He had been a soldier at one time. . . the instincts remained, even when the memory was gone. And while he couldn't say for certain, he was reasonably certain had been a good soldier. . .if he was bad at it, he would now be dead.

"Michael, I made the suggestion, of course I don't mind. In fact, I think you could do a lot of good. By the end of the day tomorrow, the entire town will be talking about how you took Leah's brother down a few blocks. I wasn't there, but from what the others told me, maybe you should think about teaching others to protect themselves. See how it goes with the Grayson kids first, and if you feel comfortable with it, talk with Captain Anders. Like I said, I know you've been bored. The only thing I ask is that you be careful. . .you are still healing, and as much as I enjoy Ronan's company, I really don't want to be seeing him on a professional basis," Meg replied, surprising a laugh out of Michael.

"No, I don't think he would appreciate anything that takes his attention away from Dr. Trask!" he replied, chortling, and Meg laughed aloud. It had taken him very few visits with his first new friend to realize that despite his repeated protests that his relationship with Elly Trask was strictly professional, Ronan was very much attracted to the beautiful coroner. Or. . .what was it that Meg sometimes called her? Forensics examiner? He thought that was correct. Regardless of what she was called, Ronan's stubbornness where the lady was concerned quite exasperated Meg, who was of the opinion that the pair liked each other, and that was all that mattered. He didn't understand what else might matter, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Not at all. Anyhow. . .I'll talk to Gavin tonight after dinner, set up a schedule so that he can take you to the farm if I'm not available. And you talk to him about what kinds of things you should teach the kids in terms of self-defense. Like Toby said, even if something just buys those kids time, it's going to be worth it. We can't be everywhere, Michael, no matter how much we want to be. You would be a huge help to us, I think," Meg replied. Well. That settled that. If he could be of assistance to Meg, even by teaching children to protect themselves, then that was what he would do. He didn't know enough about her work as a police detective, despite the shows he watched while Gavin was at the apartment (which grew to include Nash Bridges, which starred the same actor who played Crockett in the first detective series he watched).

He knew that as a police officer, it was her job to protect and defend the people of this town. As a police detective, she investigated the crimes committed within the town of Campbell as well as the immediate outskirts. There was nothing he could do to assist in the investigation of those crimes, but he could try to lighten the load she and Elena, along with the other police officers, carried. In addition, he remembered more of his past, if only in terms of his instincts, while he was working at the Grayson farm today. It seemed likely to him that if he continued to work with them as a self-defense instructor, more of those memories would return. . .and the more use he would be to the people who had cared for him and protected him these last few months. Besides. It made Meg smile. . . and that was always a blessing for him.

He had heard them say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That was what she was doing when she helped at the farm. . .it was what he would be doing, once he began to assist as well. Michael wasn't entirely certain what that pound of cure entailed; however, he felt quite certain it would be nothing pleasant.

Such things rarely were.

BBBBBBBB

Charlotte Amalie Rafferty sat up in bed, staring through the window in the room provided to her and her daughter in her father's house. Gemma had fallen asleep hours earlier, just after her normal bedtime of nine pm. Carey's father and step-mother were also in bed, while her sister and Michael had returned to their apartment, along with Gavin (whom she had a sneaking suspicion was actually her brother, rather than her cousin, but she would wait for her father to confirm that for her. Especially since she was quite sure neither of her sisters had any idea). That particular trio had stayed for a few hours after dinner, but both Michael and Megan were exhausted from their work of that day. As they left, Carey heard Michael mumble under his breath about getting another shower for his muscles.

And dinner had been good, but she had come to expect that in the time she had been staying here. . .her father's wife was a good cook. Better than Carey, not that this took a great deal of effort. And if conversation at dinner was a touch stilted, thanks to her step-mother's continuing unease with Carey, few people would have noticed, given the input of not only Megan and Michael, who happily told them about the occurrences at the Grayson farm today, but also Gemma. Upon returning to the house with her father earlier that afternoon, Carey discovered that her daughter had accompanied her grandmother on a tour of the town. . .complete with a man toting a literal blow-up doll in the back of his pick-up.

That revelation had both Megan and Michael choking and gasping, as they were in the midst of swallowing their food when Gemma explained what happened. After they successfully got the food down, Megan was laughing so hard, Carey was afraid her sister would fall out of the chair. . .however, Michael's hand around her arm kept her upright. Once she was calm enough to speak without collapsing into giggles every few seconds, she relayed a story of her own. . .one that made poor Michael blush. It seemed that Mrs. Grayson had a younger brother, who was no more than twenty-five or so, and. . .well, he was a young man, with a young man's attitude. He evidently attempted to attack Michael. . .but the amnesiac wasn't so easy to take off guard.

It was during that conversation that Carey learned of the request made to Michael, to teach the Grayson children at least some self-defense. The entire Rafferty family thought this was a wonderful idea, including Carey herself. Megan added something that she evidently mentioned to Michael in the car, that even if what he taught them bought time, it would be a huge help. Carey couldn't help but agree. According to a text she received that morning, before her father offered to take her on a tour of the town, Renata's parents agreed to her request for self-defense lessons. Maybe it wouldn't prevent her from being victimized again. . .but Renata was refusing to be a victim. She was fighting back, the only way she had available to her right now. The avenger seriously doubted if it would mean anything to the girl, but Carey was proud of her.

She was, in some ways, much like Megan's friend Elena, who went out to the Grayson farm today to help as well. Elena's grandfather had been murdered when she was a girl, setting her on the path to become a cop. Carey wished she could tell her sister this, but that was out of the question at the moment. Maybe in time, when she got to know Megan better, she could give her sister a watered-down version. But anything more than that wasn't possible. She could not put her sister into the position of possibly having to arrest her. That would be unspeakably cruel.

Yet, she knew her father was right. . .trying to protect people from the truth often backfired, and brought up the issue. Who was she trying to protect, her sister. . .or herself? Carey smiled without much humor and decided that there were times when you couldn't decide if it was one thing or the other, that it could, in fact, be both. This was one of those times. She didn't want to put her sister into a position where she had to arrest her. . .and she didn't want to be arrested. In the morning, before everyone else was up, she would make the call requesting that she not be given any assignments within a seventy-five mile radius of Raleigh. When she explained her reasoning, she was confident her request would be granted. It was policy not to carry out an assignment in the vicinity of a law enforcement conference. . .that, and simple common sense, not unless you wanted to get caught.

Yes. . .yes, she would do that in the morning. Carey looked away from the moon, which she could see through the window, and back at her daughter. Gemma was sound asleep, arms curled around a stuffed bear which her aunt Megan had given to her on their first night here. Maybe it was childish, but Gemma had taken the gift in the spirit it was meant, and then hugged the breath out of her newly found aunt. Gemma had her face pressed into Megan's shoulder, so she didn't see the young detective's expression. Carey had, and the hope and fear that tensed her muscles gave way to affection and relief. Megan had been afraid that Gemma would reject her gift as childish. Carey could have told the younger woman that Gemma was raised better than that, but it wouldn't have made a difference. This was something that had to be shown.

Just like she couldn't tell Megan that Michael was developing very serious feelings for her. Her sister was aware, on some level, but because Michael remembered little of his past (just images, more than anything else, he had admitted to her when she asked), she was cautious about accepting his affection for her. Carey didn't blame her. For all she knew, Michael could have a wife. . .and there were worse possibilities than that. Further, Megan had a good point about the world outside their apartment. . .to say nothing of his obvious gratitude toward her, Elena, and Carey's youngest sister. At the same time, Carey had a feeling that Michael would be steadfast in his affection for Megan. But that was between them, and unless she thought her sister was in danger of being hurt (or acting like a complete idiot), she would stay out of it. There were enough people interfering in her life. . .Carey would not add herself to it.

Which brought her to her stepmother. Regardless of her wariness toward Carey, Ailsa had been a good wife to Carey's father, had accepted her daughter without question, and behaved like a mama grizzly where her own girls were concerned. Carey could certainly respect that. . .along with the reason for her step-mother's wariness. After her talk with her father about his wife and Carey's own reticence, she was silent for a long time. She had to think over what she had been told. As yet, she hadn't made any decisions, aside from the one about not accepting any jobs in this area.

That, however, wasn't the point. Her father was right about his wife, and she knew it. He was right about everything else, but so was she. She could not take the chance of them learning at this stage what she did for a living. . .not just for her own sake, but for theirs. She had no way of knowing what would happen if a member of her family learned the truth, and her bosses found out. Moreover, Carey had no desire to find out. No. No, she would live with Ailsa's wariness for now. Maybe, after she knew her better, she would tell her a little more. But for now, this was the right thing to do, not just for herself, but for her family as well.

There was another factor in play here. Carey was thirty-seven years old, and she was reaching a point where it was time to quit. When she was recruited more than a decade earlier, she asked what would happen when she left. She anticipated anything but the amused smile on the face of the woman who made such decisions, especially when the woman answered, "Then you leave. When you came to work for us, you signed a non-disclosure agreement. I won't insult your intelligence by explaining further, but I will tell you that the 'non-disclosure' part applies more to names and places than anything else. You're only a human being, Miss Rafferty. Sooner or later, you'll meet someone you honestly can trust, and when you do, you'll want to tell them about your past. We understand that. But you may not tell them any names or places or methods. We don't want to re-enact the Jason Bourne novels, and nor do you."

That had made her laugh, though she understood exactly what the other woman meant. Back then, the idea of leaving was a vague possibility. . .but what she hadn't understood then was the price that came from taking the lives of others, no matter how bad, no matter how evil, they were. She was starting to feel as if she was losing herself. . .and while she didn't really care about that, she did care about how her occupation would end up hurting her daughter. Gemma deserved to have a whole person as a mother.

Even so, when she had a few spare minutes tomorrow, she would teach Gemma few moves she had learned along the way. Maybe see if Michael was available to help out as well. It was something she should have done a long time ago, but it was far from too late. It would only be too late when her baby girl was lying on a slab on a morgue or weeping on a hospital bed while a rape kit was administered. Yes. Tomorrow she would ask Michael to teach her Gemma what he could. It would be good practice for him. She had the feeling he was a protector. And as Carey settled into her bed, she remembered again what she told herself a few weeks earlier as she watched Renata's attacker die. . .an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure. She would not have her daughter pay that pound of cure.

Here ends Champions: An Ounce of Prevention. In the coming weeks will debut the next story, a one or two shot, tentatively titled, Champions: This Town's Worth (but that's subject to change).

Cast list as of the end of Champions: An Ounce of Prevention; reincarnations indicated out to the side. Not all characters mentioned have cast.

Boromir/Michael: Sean Bean

Detective Megan Rafferty: Dana Barron

Detective Elena Gutierrez: Patricia Velazquez

Kristin Rafferty: Grace Park

Detective Christine Madsen: Katee Sackhoff (Raleigh PD)

Detective Charles Aubrey: Morgan Freeman (Raleigh PD)

Dalton Robeson: Eric Close

Francis Rafferty: Daniel Pilon

Ailsa Rafferty: Louise Sorel

Captain Lydia Anders: Gwynyth Walsh

Mayor Thomas Farrell/Sergeant Richard Dennison: Tim Dunigan

Brendan Farrell (reincarnation of Frodo Baggins): Elijah Wood

Dr. Arabella 'Elly' Trask: Robbi Chong

Pelagia (demi-goddess responsible for Boromir's second chance): Monika Schnarre

Elrohir/Elladan: Angel Ortiz

Elrond: Hugo Weaving

Celeborn: Marton Csokas

Gavin Rafferty (USMC retired/reincarnation of Aragorn): Ted King

Legolas Thranduilion: Orlando Bloom

Dr. Ronan Daly (reincarnation of Gimli): John Rhys-Davies

Haldir: Craig Parker

Galadriel: Cate Blanchett

Celebrian: Kristin Lehman

Finduilas (flashbacks): Laurie Holden

Gandalf: Ian McKellen

Regine Dennison Farrell: Constance Towers

Bronwyn Harris (reincarnation of Arwen): Robin Christopher

Boadicca (Pelagia's sister): Helen Shaver

Valkyrie (Pelagia's sister): Emilie de Ravin

James Norrington/Jamie Norris: Jack Davenport

Gabriel Wainwright (reincarnation of Grima Wormtongue): Brad Dourif

Damaris: Holly Marie Coombs

Callum Watkins: Josh Holloway

David Watkins: Michael Emerson (Raleigh extended-stay owner)

Officer Logan Garvey: Matthew Goode

Madelyn Garvey: Beth Riesgraf

Lucius Wellington (reincarnation of Saruman): Christopher Lee

Jason Wellington: Richard Armitage

Natalie Wellington: Kali Rodriguez

Charlotte Amalie 'Carey' Rafferty: Michelle Forbes

Genevieve Monica 'Gemma' Rafferty: Rachel Covey

Cameron Gillespie (reincarnation of Pippin Took): Billy Boyd

Toby Grayson: Dale Midkiff

Leah Grayson: Teryl Rothery