It Didn't Have to Be This Way

Epilogue

18 months later

Village life suits him. Emir walks out onto the porch of his home, a home that he built himself, and looks down at the small dog in his lawn. The dog had been brought to Emir by the owners a few weeks ago for healing but still comes back every day to see him. Most of the animals follow suit. Emir has become the de facto village vet.

"That dog is back again," Reyhan sighs, coming up behind him to hand him a cup of coffee. "Deniz is going to try to kidnap it again."

Their daughter is just as much an animal lover as her father. Emir just laughs at some of the antics his almost 2 year old baby girl has been up to in her short life. Reyhan is right. The girl probably will try to kidnap the dog. As it is, they have to check her room every night to make sure she hasn't snuck in any small creatures from outside when they take her to play. That has happened more than once.

"Like father, like daughter," he laughs again. "But maybe she'll calm down once this one is born."

He rubs a hand on Reyhan's still flat belly.

"Maybe a boy this time," he says wistfully.

"Do you still miss the baby you left behind?" she asks him quietly. She can't call him his son. The baby had no connection to either of them. Reyhan never even laid eyes on him. But Emir had time with him. Whether he realizes it or not, there was a connection there.

"A bit," he admits after some thought. "I think deep down I always knew he wasn't mine. I didn't get attached. I barely even touched him."

He looks at her, ashamed at his actions.

"I couldn't keep my promise to you. I couldn't love him knowing he took you from me. I couldn't live without you, Reyhan."

"As it turns out, I couldn't live without you either," she tells him, wrapping her arms around his chest. "Deniz and I both almost died without you."

He hugs her closer to him, not wanting to think back to those days. Not wanting to remember. But not able to forget.

"Do you think he's okay? Really okay?" he wonders aloud. "Baba, too?"

He misses his father, his home. But his whole world is right here hidden in the midst of the mountains surrounding Van. They've been safe so far and he doesn't plan on doing anything to jeopardize that.

Maybe one day he'll go back. Maybe one day he'll have the power to stop his mother and the various henchmen she employs to do her dirty work. There seems to be no beating her. All he can do is hope and pray that good will eventually win. That his mother will get what she deserves for the evil she perpetuates.

But that day isn't today. Neither is tomorrow. Or any day in the foreseeable future. Emir has his life to live. One stolen from the hands of death. One he won't let go of for anything in the world. For now, that's more than enough.

The end.

More notes: Like I said, this was just a quick little something. I wanted to show a season 3 possibility where Emir and Reyhan could have their happy ending (as well as that daughter Emir wanted LOL) with plenty of story left to explore for a non Emir character played by Gökberk. I left all the stuff with Cavidan and the Imposter Emir vague on purpose because all that could be expanded on and revealed on the show during season 3. This is a show I might consider watching again! But alas, we weren't quite so lucky.