The Mistakes and Memories of Edward Townsend

Epilogue: Ten Years Later

Lightning flickers across the D.C. night sky as heavy rain pours down on the roof and thunder crashes in the distance, almost overwhelmingly loud. Sighing and pressing his pillow over his head as to protect his ears from the noise, Edward rolls over on his side and attempts to close his eyes, but a second flash of blindingly white lightning and loud crack of thunder prevents him from doing so. 

Next to him, his wife groans sleepily and pulls the covers over her shoulders, dark hair falling over the white sheets messily. She rolls over on her side, moving towards him and resting her head on his outstretched arm. "Edward," she says drowsily, smacking her lips. "What's going on outside?"

He brings Abby closer, letting her curl into him for the sake of warmth. "A really bad thunderstorm."

"It sounds more like a percussion ensemble in my opinion," she mumbles, and Edward chuckles, stroking her hair. "I thought you were a deep sleeper," he murmurs.

"I am, until everything decides to wake me up," she replies. 

They lie there in silence for a minute, listening to the rain as it falls in torrents before Edward looks at her clearly exhausted face and says, "We should check on the kids, right? Do you think they're up too?"

She lifts her head off his chest and blinks owlishly in the direction of the door. "You'll find out."

Illuminated by a sudden bolt of lightning is a little boy who stands in the doorway and looking incredibly small. He has his father's curly hair and his mother's eyes that shine bright green in the dark. He drags a light blue blanket behind him and clutches a scruffy brown teddy bear Zach gave him for his third birthday tightly in his hand. "Daddy?" he asks, his voice soft and frightened.

Edward's heart melts.

He kicks off the covers and walks over to his son over cold wooden floor, kneeling in front of him to bring them eye to eye. "What's wrong, Matt?"

Matthew Townsend sniffles weakly and wipes a stray tear from the corner of his eye. "I'm scared."

"What are you scared of?" Edward asks, and Matthew points to the window, where the branches of the tree outside the window cast ominous shadows on the bedroom walls and rattle the glass and the thunder claps again, not as loud this time but enough to make Matthew jump and throw himself into his father's arms. 

"That," Matthew whimpers, on the verge of tears.

"Matt, it's just a thunderstorm. It will pass," Edwards reassures his son, but that only makes him cling tighter.

"Can I stay with you and Mommy until it's over?" Matthew's eyes droop sleepily. "I feel..." He yawns, but at another crack of thunder, he can't help but be surprised. "Tired."

"Yes, of course." Edward lifts Matthew up into his arms easily and lays him next to his mother on the bed, who smiles tiredly and rearranges the blankets so that he's sufficiently covered. "I'm going to go check on Morgan," he tells them, leaving the bedroom for his daughter's room. 

He turns the brass doorknob to her room silently, trying not to disturb her if she's awake. But she clearly is; she's got a flashlight, casting her shadow on the pastel pink walls, and she's flipping through a picture book Cammie had bought her, lying on her stomach with her legs swinging behind her.

Edward's mouth turns up in a smile. "Morgan?"

She starts at his sudden appearance, scrambling up and getting under the blankets as quickly as possible, but Edward isn't angry. He'd expected it. She looks at him, her green eyes wide as he comes to sit on her bed. She looks so much like her mother, with the same dotting of freckles, heart-shaped face.

"I couldn't sleep," she says finally, her voice sweet and innocent. 

"Nor I." He looks behind her at the window, covered by thin curtains and closed blinds. "Did the storm keep you up?

"Yes." She shifts uncomfortably. "And I couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to read."

"You need your sleep, sweetheart," he says, tucking a black curl behind her ear. "We need to get up early tomorrow if you want to go see Uncle Joe and Aunt Rachel at the Academy."

"I know. The Academy is my favorite place in the world," she says earnestly. "Do you think Cammie and Zach will be there? I know Cousin Lizzie will be there. She gave us cookies, remember?" 

"Yes." Edward thinks back to their most recent visit to the Gallagher Academy. Zach and Cammie had not been there, but Matthew and Morgan had run free all over the lacrosse field and Liz had given them a tour of the science labs (a huge mistake, as Matthew got much too interested in chemistry and began, as his mother used to, blow things up) and half-burnt cookies.  "They may still be in France for their honeymoon, but we'll call and see tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Her eyes flutter and she leans her head on his arm, so Edward knows she's growing sleepy. "Can we have waffles tomorrow for breakfast? With the strawberries?"

"We'll see what Mommy says." Thunder crashes in the distance, shocking Morgan into nearly jumping out of bed. "Do you want to sleep with me and Mom tonight?" Morgan nods, so Edward picks her up and carries her out of her room and into his. 

He lays her next to Matthew on the bed gently since she's almost asleep already, and kisses her forehead before slipping under the covers next to her. Abby gives him a faint smile over the heads of their twin children before nestling herself next to Matthew and closing her eyes.

He falls asleep.