After The End

Chapter the Fourth: Blue Skies and Teary Eyes

Word Count: 1428

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Violet stepped forward, in front of Fiona and around the corner, "Quigley?" She asked, and Quigley dropped the flashlight he had been holding, just in case they had needed it. The two ran into each other's arms and held each other tightly, afraid that letting go meant the other would disappear.

"Duncan, Isadora!" Klaus exclaimed and ran forward to his friends as he stepped out, hugging them tightly. Sunny ran up to them as well. Fiona walked forward, next to Carmelita who stood awkwardly to the side.

"You're here?" She asked, and Carmelita nodded.

"The Quagmires are my friends, they've been helping me with changing to be a better person," She explained, and Fiona nodded, "From what I've heard, it seems like something they would do."

Meanwhile, Violet and Quigley had been holding each other tightly, and now pulled back just enough so their foreheads rested on each other's. "I can't believe that this is happening... I can't believe you're here," Quigley whispered, not able to hold back his grin. Violet looked into his eyes and smiled wide too, "Me neither... we were going to find you three... but now you're here... that's even better," She whispered back. The two the smiled at each other with soft gazes that drifted back and forth between one another.

The two stayed like that for a few minutes, before gently pulling away from each other. Violet then turned to Duncan and Isadora, hugging the two. Quigley and Klaus gave each other a quick hug, and Sunny tapped Quigley's leg. Quigley knelt down to Sunny's level and she gave him a hug too.

Finally, after the hugging fest was over, they all stood around, looking at each other.

"Wow," Isadora said, and everyone else nodded. It really was all they could say. They had been waiting for this moment for so long, and it had finally happened.

"Dom!" Beatrice said, which meant, "Introduce me to these people, please!", and Violet walked over, picking her up. Violet carried Beatrice over to the others and she stood by Quigley.

"Quagmires," Violet started, then she noticed Carmelita, which made her confused but she remained polite, "Carmelita, this is Beatrice Snicket, she's Kit Snicket's daughter, and now our adopted sister, since Kit..." Violet told them, not finishing up the sentence since everyone got what she was saying.

"Beatrice, these three are the Quagmire triplets; Duncan, Isadora, and Quigley, and that girl is Carmelita Spats," Violet said, introducing them. They all offered the baby a small wave.

"Hi!" Beatrice said.

"Umm, no offense to you, Carmelita, but I think I can speak for myself and my sisters as well when I ask why you're here?" Klaus asked.

"Oh, right. Well, let's see..." Carmelita began to explain why she was there. She told them how she figured out what Esme had done to her parents, how she was yelled at, then she fled the hotel. She told them how Quigley had found her and convinced his siblings to give her a second chance, then how they met Justice Strauss by yelling for the Baudelaires, "She heard we knew you three and she offered to take us in when she found out we were orphans. We've been visited by her every month since, but we haven't stayed with her because we're worried she'll be in danger if we do. Oh, and the Quagmires have been helping me with becoming a better person," Carmelita explained, the remembered something, "Oh yeah! Justice Strauss sent us with food and water for you all," she added, then she picked up the picnic basket and walked over to them, handing them the food and water.

"Thank you," Violet said, then the Baudelaires sat down, as did everyone else. They let the Baudelaires eat as they told the four how their last year had went, individually. Once the Baudelaires had eaten, they took their turns telling their stories.

"Wow... we've lost a lot of people..." Quigley commented, and everyone else sadly agreed...

"But now we have each other, and we can all stay together now," Violet said, looking over at him, then her lips turned upward slightly to form a small smile as Quigley nodded.

"You all should head back to Justice Strauss. Baudelaires, I'm sure you want a nice place to sleep," Fiona said, and they agreed.

"Will we see you again?" Klaus asked as they all stood up. Fiona nodded, "I can stop by tomorrow if I know where it is," she said, then Isadora stepped forward, "Here, I know it," she said, talking out her commonplace book from her jacket pocket, which she had brought just in case. She wrote the address down, then she gave that piece of paper to Fiona.

"Thank you, I will see you all tomorrow," Fiona said, then leaving.

The Baudelaires packed up what they had, then followed the Quagmires.

. . .

The Quagmires and Carmelita had tried to not get the Baudelaires recognized as best as they could, and apparently it had worked pretty well. Once they all hopped off the trolly, they made their way back to where they had been staying as quickly as possible, and thankfully, they hadn't run into anyone.

They all ran right into the building, where they were greeted by Justice Strauss.

"Baudelaires! You really are alive!" Justice Strauss exclaimed, running over to them and hugging them.

She stood back, gently placing a hand onto Violet's cheek, then her other hand on Klaus's.

"I'm so glad that the city news was wrong about your death," Justice Strauss told them, then removing her hands from their faces.

"The city news said we were dead?" Violet asked, and everyone nodded.

"We were so scared that it was true..." Quigley told her, and Violet turned toward him, offering a sympathetic smile, "I suppose you can't always trust what you read in there," She said, and they all agreed.

"Well, now we're all here, and you children can all live together safely," Justice Strauss started, "Quagmires, Carmelita, I know I've offered many times, but I will again. I really think you all should come and live with me. I know you would have to share rooms and a fairly small house... but it would be safe."

"But if anyone figures out that we're all living with you, the VFD villains could set your house on fire," Klaus explained, "Maybe we can get jobs until we can afford a small apartment for the 8 of us, and you could visit us?" he asked Justice Strauss. She looked sad, but she agreed, "I suppose that could work... but let me help you out at least a little bit. I can get you that apartment, I have enough money. I can get you all food and new clothes too," She offered.

The children all looked around at each other, nodding, "That would be very nice," Duncan said.

. . .

They spent the next week or so searching for an apartment. Justice Strauss and Fiona (who had been filled in the next day) came to them every day and helped. Finally, they had found a fairly cheap apartment. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a study, a kitchen, and a living room.

They ended up buying it, then some minimal furniture. They already had the mattresses and bedding, and they took their couch, and the couple tables they had. The children all packed up their own things and brought them to the apartment.

They had also bought some silverware, cups, plates, and personal hygiene items. They arrived at the apartment the day after they bought it, spending their first day planning out how it would look in a few months when they had it furnished fully. Then they were all sitting on sheeted mattresses with their pillows and blankets, book piles to the sides. The Quagmires and Carmelita shared the bigger room since they were used to being together, Klaus took the small room along with Sunny and Beatrice, then Violet decided to sleep on the couch. They all said that the study should become another bedroom for Violet, and the desks should be out in the living room. Violet had agreed, but for the first few nights she wanted to be closer to where everyone else was.

After setting up their sleeping places, they all sat on the floor of the living room and ate dinner. They stayed up, talking, which was really nice. Then, once it got late, all of them went to bed.

Sure, it was small, simple, and bare, but it was home, because they were all together.