Their Happily Ever After

Hillie sat on the floor crying still gripping the phone in her hand. That conversation had not gone at all like she had planned. She had called her father and proceeded to tell him about her secret marriage and her pregnancy. The dialogue was tense and heated with a few choice words being flung her way which was understandable. What father wants to suddenly find out his daughter is married and pregnant? Although she was a grown up, she was still his daughter. When she revealed the identity of her husband, the conversation went really wrong.

"Who?" her father asked incredulously.

"Light Yagami," she repeated, her voice faltering. She chewed on her lower lip anxiously because of the disconcerting silence on the other end of the phone. When her father spoke again, she nearly bit through her lip.

"You married a murderer. You married your brother's killer," he stated, his voice toneless yet menacing in its lack of emotion.

"But it wasn't –"

"Yes, it was Hillie and you know it!" he yelled into the phone so loudly it made her ear hurt. "You know it was him. You studied the evidence and so have I. I know you went after him specifically. You're not stupid. You knew who your brother's killer was before you boarded that first plane to Japan."

"Daddy, I –"

"Don't, Hilliard. Don't call me again. Don't come see me. Just don't," he mumbled and hung up.

Now Hillie sat on the floor, a sobbing, whimpering mess. So much for her plan. Time to make a new one.

Epilogue

Asahi Ringo was born in the United States and brought home to live on an apple farm his parents bought in Tennessee. Hillie bought that apple orchard after all to become the place where her and Light raised their family and lived out their days together. It was their source of income and their source of life. Cool fall days were the best when they would go to pick the apples then have a picnic lunch beneath the boughs of the trees. Their family grew to include three more children: two more boys and a little girl. Light almost had his house full of boys but little Avalon Kamiko came along and her daddy could not have been more pleased. She was hopelessly spoiled being his only girl and the baby of the family.

Hillie and Light had just returned home from taking their baby to the airport. They had put her on an airplane to fly to California to attend a prestigious university. She was the last of their children to leave home to begin their own life. The tears had not yet dried from their eyes as they parked the famiy SUV in the garage. They could trade it in now. A big family vehicle was no longer necessary.

"Hillie," Light sniffed, reaching for his wife's hand. "I'm going inside to lie down for a while."

"All right, sweetheart. I think I'll take a walk through the orchard. It's nice and quiet out there today since we gave the workers the day off. I just need a little time," she snuffled, pressing the tissue against her eyes that somehow still produced tears.

Light leaned across the console to her placing his hand against her cheek to bring her face to his. He kissed her for a surprisingly lengthy time, staring into her eyes afterward. Something felt wrong about that kiss. It was more than an I love you. It felt like a good-bye.

"I love you, Light," Hillie murmured, leaning toward him for another kiss.

"I love you too, Hillie," he rejoined, sliding his fingers through her hair while giving her a wavering smile.

They each got out of the vehicle to go their separate ways.

Hillie was winding her way through the perfectly straight rows of fully loaded apple trees. She was not really paying attention to where she was walking because it didn't really matter. Taking a deep breath, she raised her face to the fall sun that was still warm as the crisp breeze blew across her skin. She was crying again. The wind caused her warm tears to instantly grow cold on her face. She wiped them away with the long sleeve of her t-shirt. A loud crunching sound caught her attention and she wondered if squirrels were in the apple trees again grabbing them a treat. Looking up, she saw an apple floating in midair while it disappeared bite by bite. Oh, no. It was time.

"Hello again, Ryuk. It's been many years," Hillie said, watching as the Shinigami gradually appeared from his spiky black hair down to his feet in front of her. She immediately went numb from the overload of emotion from seeing the death god. She knew this day was coming but knowledge had not prepared her for the pain.

"It has been a long time," he returned, reaching out to touch her face with the tips of his long talon like nails. "I've come for him."

"I know," she answered stoically, lowering her eyes to the ground. "Can I stay with him until the end?"

"If you really want to," he answered, following her as she turned to walk back to the house. "You've had a happy life, Hillie. Just like you wanted."

"Yes. I've had a very happy life. We've loved each other the whole way through and never stopped. We even have four beautiful children to show for it. Asahi looks just like his father," she stated in an emotionless voice. It was too painful to feel anything right now. Her husband was about to die right in front of her.

They walked in silence all the way to the bedroom where Light slept. They stared at him as he lay in peaceful slumber completely unaware of their presence. Hillie sighed deeply, her breath hitching from all of the tears she had cried. Remembering the kiss, she realized he must have been expecting this.

"Do you want to wake him up?" Ryuk asked, watching her as tears silently slid down her face. Giving her extra seconds, he slowly pulled out his notebook. His eyes were on her as he held the pen above the page at the ready for her signal.

"No. We've already said good-bye. Just do it," she murmured, closing her eyes to keep from watching as Ryuk wrote his name. The scratching of the pen scraped across her nerves like fingernails down a chalkboard. She gritted her teeth hard enough to make her jaw hurt while tears dripped from her chin.

"Forty seconds, Hillie," he announced, closing the notebook.

Hillie sat down beside Light, stroking his cheek. She leaned forward pressing a kiss to his lips. She laid her head on his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart speeding up.

"Twenty seconds," Ryuk announced.

"Please…" she begged raising her hand. She did not want a countdown to her husband's demise. It was happening and she knew it – that was enough. She sat up just before Light lurched upwards almost head butting her. Her shaking fingers reached out to touch his face as his horror stricken eyes turned to her while his hand grasped his chest.

Light's fear filled eyes moved from her to the Shinigami and he began to calm down despite the pain in his chest. He knew what was happening. The inevitable had come in the form of the clown like death god. He had known this would occur from the moment he chose to write the first name in the book. Reaching out for his wife, she wrapped her arms around him to hold him while he died. At least he was with her for this; she always said she would be with him until the end.

"Hillie, I love you," Light gasped, groaning with pain.

"I love you too," she sobbed, hanging on to him desperately. If only she could hold him tight enough…

Hillie held her breath as his body relaxed and became completely limp in her arms. She gaped with terrified awareness as his head dropped back lifelessly. Releasing a mournful cry like that of a wolf howling at the moon, she held her dead husband and rocked him while continuing her sorrowful wailing.

Ryuk had never been one to feel many emotions so he found it disturbing when the ache welled up inside of him for Hillie. He had always loved her and knew she loved Light. He had learned that sometimes one has to sacrifice everything for the one they love. That was why he had been willing to do anything and everything for her. He would have died for her but it never came to that.

"Take me too," she sobbed, carefully laying her husband down on the bed. She wrapped her arms around the waist of the startled death god, nuzzling her face against his bony chest. "Please, write my name in your Death Note."

"I won't. I refuse, Hillie," he stubbornly replied, running his fingers through her hair.

"You have to. I can't live without him! Please!" she yowled, dropping to her knees. "I am begging you, please…please kill me."

Ryuk reached down with his long arms and pulled her up to her feet. He hugged her one last time.

"No. You have your children who need you. I won't kill you, Hillie. Good-bye." And he was gone.

Ryuk was right. She had four more reasons to live. She would have grandchildren to love as well one day. Even though the Light of her life was gone, there was no reason for her world to grow dark.

The End

Notes: Asahi means morning or sunlight, Ringo is Japanese for apple. It was not because of Ringo Starr from the Beatles.

Kamiko means little goddess. Avalon means apple.