Princess and Trouble (girlxgirl)

Chapter Fifteen - Pictures on the Wall

Third Person Point of View

The wall of the hall was lined with framed photos. A beautiful montage of a happy life as you walked through the house. Happy memories displayed for the world to see.

The first photo was of two smiling, young ladies. One with blonde curls and a bright smile, the other with jet black hair and grey eyes. They had their arms around each other, smiling up at the camera from where they sat on a picnic blanket.

The next two photos were taken at graduation ceremonies. The first of the blonde girl, her eyes filled with tears as she stood there, her girlfriend's arm wrapped around her, her mother – having left the house for the first time in years – sat in her chair to her daughter's left, and her father and brother standing beside them. The other girl's graduation photo was a lot happier. She was glad to get out of there. She smiled at the camera as she posed with her girlfriend and foster family. No one expected her to make it. But she did. And they couldn't be more proud.

There was a photo from a university graduation. The blonde in her robes smiling proudly at the camera. The other girl, once her girlfriend, now her fiancé, had an arm wrapped around her waist, oh so proud of the love of her life.

A wedding photo followed. Two girls in white dresses, massive smiles plastered on their faces. They were so happy, nothing could bring them down. Their love filled the picture as they prepared to spend the rest of their lives together. Dakota had sworn she'd never take a man's name, would make him take hers instead. She supposed it didn't count as breaking that promise when she took Alex's name – she wasn't a man, after all.

The blonde girl in a hospital bed, a baby bundled in a blue blanket in her arms, her wife sitting beside her. The labour had been long and painful, but the little boy to call theirs was worth all of it and so much more. Alex Jr was just perfect.

The black-haired girl was in the bed in the next photo, a baby wrapped in pink in her arms. The blonde girl sat beside her, their two-year-old son, Alex Jr, in her arms. The happy family was growing, Caroline Jr the perfect addition.

The blonde-haired girl was back in the bed for the next photo, her wife having refused to go through another pregnancy. Two bundles – one pink, one blue – rested in her arms. Ebony-Rose and Blake. Seven-year-old Alex Jr sat on the bed beside his Mama, his Mummy standing beside with five-year-old Caroline Jr on her hip. Their family was now complete.

There was a family photo from Alex Jr's graduation. The seventeen year-old-boy stood proudly between his mothers, his fifteen-year-old sister and the ten-year-old twins kneeling on the ground in front of them.

A family photo from Caroline Jr's graduation came next. The seventeen-year-old girl stood between her twelve-year-old twin siblings, their parent and nineteen-year-old brother behind them.

A final graduation photo, the twins now eighteen and finishing school. They stood together, one mother either side and their twenty-three-year-old sister and twenty-five-year-old brother sitting on the ground at their feet.

A wedding photo. Alex Jr in a suit, his beautiful red-haired wife beside him in a stunning dress.

Another wedding photo. Ebony-Rose in a simple but stunning dress, her husband's arm wrapped around her waist.

The final wedding photo showed Blake and his husband in matching suits, proud smiles on their faces.

A family photo of Alex Jr, his wife and their five beautiful children. Three girls and two boys.

A photo of Caroline Jr and her dog. She never married or had children, but that didn't mean she missed out on a 'family' photo on her mothers' wall.

A family photo of Ebony-Rose with her husband and their three boys.

Blake and his husband, with their son the day the adoption was finalised. There were tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces. They finally had a family.

The final photo was from the couple's fortieth wedding anniversary party. They sat on chairs in the middle of the room, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. At sixty-three and sixty-two, they were no longer the young ladies who first fell in love, but their love was stronger than ever.

The old lady sat alone on her back porch. Her blonde locks long gone, replaced with short grey hair. She sipped at her tea, filled with a sense of loneliness. The chair beside her had sat empty for the past eleven years. Smoking in her younger years had taken its toll on her wife. At sixty-seven she had lost her battle to lung cancer. Now at seventy-seven, the widow spent her days alone on her porch. Sure, her family came to visit, but it wasn't the same as having her wife there. She'd had enough of living.

When death finally came, she accepted it with a smile on her face. She was to be reunited with the love of her life again, after all.

She was buried under the tree, down the row from Caroline Springson's grave, and right beside her wife's. There they stayed together for the rest of eternity. For true love never dies, it only grows stronger.

~THE END~

!@#$%^&*

A/N

That is the end of this story. I hoped you enjoyed it. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for reading to the end. It means a lot to me.

- Sean