What Happens By Candlelight

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Return

Three months. It took three months for the ship to finally reach land.

At that time, Amanda had her baby, a strong healthy boy. John the second was blessed with a quiet nature and a strong body. He survived his first days and weeks like a champion, and after he turned two months old, his parents decided it was time to baptize him.

Christina stood in the church, no longer surprised by the warm welcome she was given. After the three years of being disconnected from the world, she reentered it with a vengeance. She was the public figure of the town, representing bravery and honor. She was an idol to the women and a hero to the men.

She was the most desired of all, and yet she remained loyal to her fiance in England.

It had been thirteen months since she had last seen Gabriel, but every day she still prayed and kept a lookout for him. Pushing past potential suitors, and denying anyone who dared ask for affections.

When she received her first letter from England, stating he had to stay for a while in order to prove himself to his family, she was heartbroken. Then came the worry when he told her of his short courtship with Madeline, but ever letter consisted of his love for her and little else. 

He loved her, there was no denying it. 

And she loved him just as strongly.

Even still, that Sunday was bright with happiness as the baby John was baptized, naming Christina his godmother and Thomas the godfather. The two had been there for the family the longest - and no one could complain.

There was something about the way she smiled as she walked out of the church, the way she held the babe in her arms that made Gabriel just watch her for a moment. She looked just as beautiful as ever, possibly even more mature and radiant and sophisticated.

Then, he became increasingly worried.

She was holding this child as any mother would and talking animatedly to a man he didn't know. He could only see her right side, so he couldn't tell if she still wore his ring. Fear crept up his spine, as well as so many other emotions he couldn't name.

Then the infant began to cry. Christina had tried her best to quiet the poor child, but she could only do so much. "Give him here now, I miss my son already."

With a pout Christina handed him over, watching as her best friend handled her son with efficiency. For a split second, Christina was jealous of the life Amanda had made for herself. It was a fleeting moment like it always was.

John gave Christina a smile, kissing his wife's cheek as she shushed her child. "To think he'll be as big as all of us one day-"

"Oh hush John! I don't want to think of such things now!" Amanda looked distressed before the three laughed, their friendship and comradery shining through.

It was when Thomas began to hobble out of the church that they began to quiet down.

He was stuck with a cane, unable to walk normally after the shot to the leg. His limp was atrocious, and yet he still managed to get out whenever he could. Including the day his godson was baptized.

Edward came out beside him, lowering his hat onto his head to block the sun's rays from his eyes. When his pupils adjusted, he saw something he hadn't imagined.

There, across the street stood the Lieutenant Colonel, with a bag slung over his should and a horse with two trunks being towed in a cart. 

A smile finally stretched across his face.

"Christina," his sister looked up, her smile never fading. When Edward had her attention, he titled his head towards the man across from him. "You have a visitor."

Everyone turned to look, surprised and confused at his presence.

Christina's smiled dimmed for a second before her eyes widened and excitement bubbled inside of her. Without even thinking, she broke out into a run. 

Gabriel barely had time to process anything before the woman was in his arms, kissing him as deeply as she could in her erratic state. Her hair had fallen loose, leaving the loose curls to cascade down her back in a wild, yet beautiful state.

The hat he had worn fell into the dirt behind him, but he didn't care. It had been over a year since he had seen his beautiful fiancee. The woman he loved more than any other.

He could feel the cool metal of her engagement ring rest against his cheeks, which made him relax even more. She had kept her promise and waited on him. She hadn't left him at all.

Pulling away, Gabriel studied the woman he loved up close, missing every single thing about her.

Christina wasn't sure how she was able to survive so long without him. She could have seen herself boarding a ship and going to England, but the consequences could have been dire. 

No, she was glad she stayed where she was.

"You took so long, I was beginning to worry," she breathed the words out, keeping her voice low and out of hearing for those that surrounded them. It must have been a surprise to everyone - the woman in town who always kept her cool and never showed any affection towards a man was now kissing one in the middle of town.

"I got caught up with some work." His response was just as breathless, yet he didn't care if everyone heard, or gossipped. It had been a year. A full year and then some. He deserved to hold this woman.

Silently, they rested their foreheads against each other, trying to sort out their thoughts. The events that just transpired were so rapid and neither of them seemed to fully understand that the other was there. 

"Marry me," Christina finally found her voice, staring into the piercing blue eyes she had come to love. "Right now. The pastor hasn't left and everyone I'd want to be here is here."

The ever calm and calculating Christina Evans was asking him to make a rash decision. Every part of Gabriel fought, trying to let the rational and sensible rest to let him be happy and at peace for the first time in months.

"If you will have me, then I will carry you to the ends of the earth."

With a smile, Christina grabbed his hand and gently led him back across the street and towards the church. The reverend had remained rooted by the door, and when asked to perform a wedding ceremony after the baptism of the most popular babe in town he was more than pleased to comply.

Thomas and Edward made no complaints as they gave her away, and the only objection was a small cry from the infant - who was missing his nap time. It was small, quick, and still one of the happiest moments in Christina's life. She couldn't think of the last time she was happy.

The war made her feel guilty. Her brothers made her feel abandoned. Her parents made her feel mournful. Amanda made her feel jealous.

But Gabriel made her happy. He protected her. He cared for her.

That's what love was to her. Giving up everything knowing you won't obtain anything. He made her want to be better, she trusted him, she believed in all the things she was told, but her idea of love was slightly different.

In the end, it didn't matter. She was married to the only man who can ever claim to have had a hold on her heart.