Dear Austin ~Cashby~

Epilogue

*Ten years later*

"Hey Austie." I sighed sadly as I sat myself in front of his grave. "You know, I can't believe it's been ten years since you've been gone. It's been so...unreal, and still, not a day goes by that I haven't missed you, or thought of you. You are still the true love of my life and I will never find another you, that I know to be true. I still don't understand why you had to leave me Austie, I still don't understand why life took you away from me so cruelly, but I have learned in time to get by. It's not easy, and I pray every day that you would just jump out my closet like you did that time you suprised me for my birthday, or that you'd call and tell me you where coming home. I still cry and hurt, but nothing can change that, loosing someone is something you never really get over, especially when they mean as much to you as you meant to me. I long for the day I can see you again, see that bright tongue between teeth smile, see the way you licked your lips when you where concentrating, hear you laugh once again, here you sing to me me, here to speak precious words and whisper sweet nothings. I long for the day I can hold you in my arms again, and hear those words 'I love you' fall from your lips, I long for the day I can kiss you once again, I long to be able to joke around and play, and wind each other up and just be with you, forever. But until that day Austie, I will live my life the way you wanted me too, and I will live it for the both of us. I will see you next week, and until we meet again in person, I love you, forever and always."

I leaned forward and pressed a kiss upon his gravestone that read 'Austin Robert Carlile-Ashby, beloved and cherished, husband and son who fought bravely for his country. Heaven gained a perfect angel and a mother was reunited with is son. Rest in peace, forever and always.'

I slipped the letter I wrote to him, into the small box at the bottom of the stone that his father had installed, to hold every yearly letter I wrote to him containing everything I'd done that year, so he could read it up there in heaven. Once I locked the box back up, I sat there, letting silent tears fall as I relieved our memories in my mind, I still remember his smile, his laugh, his voice, the way it felt when he kissed me, the look in his eyes when he said he loved me, I remember everything still, as if it all happened yesterday. I would never forget him, not for a second.

"You ready? It's getting late?" A soft voice spoke from behind. I nodded, and dried my eyes, before placing a final kiss on his gravestone and turning to face the man behind the voice.

"Yeah, let's go home." I offered him a small smile.

"Sup Austin, don't worry, I'm looking after your boy for you, and you where right, he's pretty freaking amazing. But right now I need to whisk him away, pretty sure the kids are driving Alan's poor mother insane, I'll be by next week to see you buddy. Take care up there." He did the same as me, pressing a small kiss upon the gravestone, before softly kissing my lips.

Five years ago, I had found someone else. I felt guilty for a long time, I couldn't love him like I did Austin, I could never feel the way about him the way I felt about Austin. The kisses never felt the same, when his arms where wrapped around me, I longed for them to be Austin's, so I felt awful. This man gave me all the love in the world, and I couldn't fully return it, but he understood and accepted everything. Five years ago, after spending a year travelling with him, I found a new love with Shayley.

He stood by me through thick and thin, he accepted that I couldn't love him, or be the same with him as I was with Austin. He accepted that I wanted to live the life I planned with Austin and that's what Austin had wanted for me, he accepted I wanted to visit Austin's grave every Saturday to lay fresh flowers and say hello. He accepted anything and everything, knowing that, although I couldn't love him the way I loved Austin, I still loved him regardless.

And I did, I did love Shayley, it was just a little different this time. I was happy with Shayley, we where happy together and we had built ourselves a great life to share side by side with Austin in both our hearts.

After two years of being together, we married, and Shayley even agreed to take my surname, Carlile-Ashby, so I could keep the surname I shared with Austin. In fact it was him who suggest the idea because he knew and understood just how much Austin meant to me. Plus he liked the idea because Austin had always been like a brother to him too, so it was a way for him to make him apart of himself, as well as us. I wore the wedding band Shayley gave me on my finger now, but I kept Austin's on the dog tags he gave me for our first anniversary. And soon as we came back from our honeymoon in Paris, I opened up my very own vetinary practice, right along side Scarlet's animal shelter, so we worked together as a team.

A year after that, we adopted twins, a boy and a girl, Ash and Misty, and yes, as in Ash and Misty from Pokemon. Shayley loved Pokemon too, so he didn't even put up a fight when I begged him to call them that. They where nine months old when we adopted them, their parents had abandoned them, god know why because they where just the brightest, cutest, most lovable things I'd ever seen and I couldn't imagine my life without them.

And today, our surrogate was pregnant with our first child who was biologically mine. She was six months with a boy, who we'd agreed to call Austin Aaron Carlile-Ashby, and Aaron would be his godfather, with his wife who he married eight years ago, Amanda as godmother. And bless our surrogate, she'd even already agreed to carry Shayley's biological child when we where ready too.

I was genuinely happy, as much as I missed and longed for this life with Austin, I did truly love Shayley. He had shown me so much love, compassion, honesty, respect, care, kindness and understanding since before Austin had passed. And I knew in my heart that the rest of my life would be spent happy, spending it with Shayley, because there was no one else living I would rather spend my life with.

After feeling like I could never be happy again, and I could never love again for a long time, he had proven me wrong, and I just knew in my heart, Austin would been proud.

A/N: And that's a wrap, I hope you forgive me for killing Austin off...but I made Bashby happen! That's cool right? Hahaha

Anyway, thank you everyone who's read and voted on this, I honestly hope you're all happy with how it was written, the story line and how it's ended (Or, well, as happy as you can be with the ending lmao).

Next for me is to get this collab with BandShipper underway, it'll be posted here, on my account, so I really hope you'll check that out, we'll have the prologue up tomorrow for you. It's called 'Mr.Carlile' :) And then once I've finished The Dare to Destory I will get my Jalex underway, I just have a few kinks to iron out with that haha!

I love you all

Princess Faithpunzell xoxoxox