Leaning against the tunnel wall with his head bowed, Vincent tried to recapture the vision of Diana that was slowly fading away. He thought of her every now and then but especially around Jacob’s birthday. After all, she had been a big part of his life for three years, and he sometimes wondered what his life would have been like if she had not brought Catherine home two years ago. Not that she could have ever taken Catherine’s place, but he knew that he owed his present happy life to her, and he hoped that she had found her own. Shaking his head slowly and unable to bring Diana’s face back into his mind, he continued his stroll to his chamber.

When he entered, he found Catherine staring into space at something only she could see. “Catherine?”

She started and, without a word, handed him a newspaper turned to the personal ads. Daily, she read them as they were a way that her friends kept in touch with her. The word ‘URGENT’ leapt out at him. Reading further, he discovered that it was a plea for Catherine to get in touch with Diana. The ad read: ‘Catherine, if you are still out there, please contact me at the usual post office address immediately. A matter of life or death.’ and it was signed Diana. The usual post office address was a code word for Dr. Wong’s Herb Shop. “I wonder what she wants?” he murmured. “We haven’t heard from her in almost two years. I had a vision of her just a few minutes ago.”

“It must have been when I read her ad.”

“She has been much on my mind lately. It’s getting close to Jacob’s Birthday and his Naming Day. I hope you don’t mind but I think about her often.”

Coming to him and placing a hand on his arm, Catherine declared, “No, I don’t mind. I know you love her. I’ve known that from the day I returned, but she was never a threat to what we have. We had better get to Dr. Wong’s right away. I have deep misgivings about her message. I hope she’s not in trouble.”

Taking the hand on his arm into his, Vincent accompanied her to the herbal store. Lin Pei, who had taken over the management of her grandfather’s shop, opened the tunnel door after Vincent rapped out the code as security had been tightened since Catherine’s abduction and return.

“Hi, Lin,” Catherine said as Vincent nodded a greeting.

“Hi, you two. What brings you here?”

Catherine showed Lin the personal ad. “Do you have a message for us from Diana?”

“Not a message but I do have her address. She asked me to give it to you if you showed up.”

Catherine glanced up at Vincent. “Well, that tells us nothing.” Turning to Lin, she asked, “How is she?”

“I don’t know,” the young Chinese woman shrugged. “There was a message left on my answering machine.”

“Huh, curiouser and curiouser. How did she sound?” Catherine’s investigative nose was beginning to twitch.

“She sounded tired, you know, beat . . . like she didn’t have any strength left.”

“Could she be ill?” Vincent asked. “She was always thin, but in my vision of her, she looked quite haggard.”

“It’s possible. We can stand around trying to figure it out, or I can go see her and find out.” Lin handed her a slip of paper with Diana’s address and phone number on it.

“She’s in the city,” Catherine exclaimed as she read the note. “That solves one of our problems. Vincent, we should go.”

“Yes,” the leonine man said. “Thank you, Lin. Give our best to Henry,”

Lin nodded. “Glad I could help. Tell Father I’ll have his herb tea ready for him tomorrow.”

“I will; it certainly helps him to sleep, and a rested Father is easier to deal with.” He joined the two women in a chuckle.

The couple waved good-bye to Lin as she closed and locked the threshold door behind them.

*

Back in the tunnels they told Father about the message and their feelings that something was wrong with Diana and that she needed their help. For all that she had done for them, Father had placed her at the top of their list of Helpers. If she needed their help, they would give it more than gladly; she had earned it.

The next day Vincent watched Catherine walk through the park to snag a taxi. The community had worked many long hours to restore the park entrance as the park was one of the favorite places for the children to play and exercise. Diana’s address was only a few blocks away in a moderately priced hotel, which spoke to them of reduced circumstances.

“What room is Diana Bennett in?” Catherine queried, approaching the front desk of a well maintained but older hotel.

Looking through his files, the short, balding young man looked up at her, smiling, and said, “Room 412.” As the young woman turned toward the elevators, he stopped her. “You’ll have to be announced,” he said.

“Oh . . . all right,” Catherine calmly waited as the desk clerk used the phone and spoke with Diana.

“Go right on up,” he told her. “Miss Bennett is expecting you.”

“Thank you,” the young woman said with a gracious smile. During the elevator ride to the fourth floor, she wondered what she would say to the other woman. Catherine often thought of Diana as the other woman in Vincent’s life. She had become a very close friend of his and Catherine knew that she had loved him. She wondered if she still did. Probably, Vincent was not easy to forget.

Turning left when the lift doors opened, she followed the signs and soon found Diana’s room. Catherine softly rapped and heard a painfully slow shuffle and then Diana opened the door. The greeting she was about to give the other woman froze in her throat when she got her first look at the other woman. She was gaunt almost to the point of emaciation with dark circles under her dull eyes. And she looked as if she would collapse at any moment. Catherine quickly put an arm around her and, steadying her, assisted her back to the bed. “Diana,” she said, aghast at the woman’s condition. “What is wrong? You look very ill.”

At that moment she heard a baby’s gurgle and, looking past the bed, she saw the waving arms and legs of a child not more than two months old in a traveling crib. “Dear heaven,” she breathed, unaware that she was repeating one of Father’s favorite expressions, suddenly she didn’t know what to say. There was nothing she could say that would make things better. “Here, let me straighten up your bed; it’s in an awful tangle. Can you stand for a little while?”

Diana nodded wearily and leaned against the bedside table. “Thank you for coming,” she whispered.

“You are family, Diana, you were told that. We will always be here for you.” Catherine mildly scolded her. “Now, let’s get you back into bed,” she said, trying to lighten the way the ailing woman felt by making a feeble joke, “before you fall down.”

Diana smiled gratefully at her. “I was so afraid that I couldn’t get in touch with you. I needed so much to find you and Vincent.”

“Well, I’m here. And if there is any way we can get you Below, you know we’ll find it. Vincent had a vision of you yesterday as I was reading your personal ad. He said that you looked very thin. What’s wrong, Diana? Tell me?”

Tears came to Diana’s eyes as she heard those two words. Vincent always used them very effectively. She patted the side of her bed and Catherine sat beside her, picking up her emaciated hand and gently rubbing it with her thumb. “What is it, Diana?”

“I’m dying, Catherine. I have only a few months left. Ovarian cancer. I was always too busy to get a Pap smear. It was only when I became pregnant with Thomas that I found out that I had it. The treatments would have killed the baby and I couldn’t do that. I opted to wait until he was born, but by that time it was too late.” Tears were streaming down two sets of cheeks when she finished her tale. “I’ll never get to see him grow up,” she wailed. Catherine pulled the sobbing woman into her arms and cried along with her. She knew how she had felt when she thought that she would never see Jacob grow into a man. Holding the other woman close to her, she tried to mute the feelings of sorrow that she felt because, with the bond, Vincent would know that something was terribly wrong and would be fretting that he could not comfort her when truthfully it was Diana who needed the comfort.

Finally all the tears were spent and, exhausted, Diana laid back on her pillows. “Thank you for letting me cry. I’ve been trying to be so brave.”

“Diana, you are brave. Now, tell me all that’s happened, and then we’ll make plans to take you Below.”

“Oh no, I don’t want to impose on you and your family.”

“Nonsense. As I said, you are family. By the way, what about your family? Do they know you are in such desperate straits?”

“No, I lost contact with my family years ago for reasons I don’t want to get into.”

“No problem.” Going over to the port-a-crib, Catherine smiled into the blue eyes of the little boy laying there, flirting with her. “What a little charmer. He has your eyes, Diana.”

“Pick him up. He likes to be held. I don’t get to hold him as much as I like. I have to conserve my energy.”

“Well, when we get the two of you Below, you’ll be able to hold him all you want. You’ll have more help than you need or want.” Catherine reached into the crib and picked up the child. He started cooing right away.

“See. I told you. He likes to be held.”

“Don’t we all?” Catherine quipped. She sat beside Diana again and handed the baby to her. The woman’s eyes glowed with joy as she searched her son’s face. “He’s beautiful, Diana. You must be very proud.”

“I am.” She took a deep breath. “I met Tom Hayden shortly after I left New York.”

“You know Vincent didn’t want you to leave.”

“I know but I couldn’t stay. I had to find my own way. Do you understand?” Catherine nodded her head in agreement. “I moved to Philadelphia,” Diana continued, “and got a job on the police force there. That’s where I met Tom. He was sweet, pleasant to be around, and never pushed me. Another factor in his favor was that he was blond and blue-eyed like a certain person we know.” With a grin, the other woman concurred. “Well, about a year later we moved in together. The day I learned that I was pregnant he was killed when he pulled a speeding car over to give the driver a ticket. The man was wanted for a murder committed in a bank robbery and shot Tom. I never even got to know if I really loved him or not. But he was a wonderful person, and I couldn’t have asked for a better father for my son.”

“And then you found out you had cancer,” Catherine said.

“Yeah, and had a heck of a decision to make. I decided in favor of my son.” She bowed her head. “But now he will have no mother or father. That’s when I thought of you. Catherine, would you take my child and raise him? You and Vincent?” The grip she had on Catherine’s arm was surprisingly strong for a sick woman.

“Won’t your family want him?”

“They don’t even know I’m pregnant,” she said, and from the tone of her voice, the other woman knew that Diana didn’t want her family anywhere near Thomas. “Please, Catherine, I’m begging you.”

“Oh Diana, you don’t have to beg. Of course, I will . . . if that is really what you want me to do. I’d be proud to mother your child.”

“You’ll tell him about me, won’t you?”

“Certainly, he will need to know the sacrifices his mother made for him and for others. He’ll know you, Diana; I promise.”

“Thank you. Will you take him Below when you leave? I’m getting too weak to take good care of him.”

“Yes. Will you be all right here while I make arrangements to get you moved to your own chamber in the tunnels?”

Diana smiled fully for the first time since Catherine had entered her room. “I’ll be fine. Just thinking of my baby being raised in the tunnels and of me being able to spend the rest of my days there with all my friends gives me the strength to carry on.”

While Catherine wrapped the baby in a blanket and filled the diaper bag with the necessary baby items, they chatted about the tunnels and the people that lived there. After giving the baby a kiss, Diana gave her son into the other woman’s charge.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can with all the help I can find,” Catherine said as she closed the door on Diana’s wanly smiling face. She stopped at the front desk, ordered dinner for the ailing woman, paid the hotel bill, and told the desk clerk that she would return later when she would take Miss Bennett to a convalescent home.

*

An anxious Vincent swung open the door to the herbal shop basement. Lin and Catherine were clucking over a baby in the young Chinese woman’s arms when he entered the backroom of the store. He was surprised when she handed the child to Catherine as he had thought that the child was Lin and Henry’s newborn girl.

The light of his life showed the baby to him. “Meet Diana’s baby, Vincent.”

Solemn blue eyes looked into laughing eyes of the same hue. “Diana’s . . . baby?” Catherine nodded. “What’s his name?” he inquired.

“Thomas.”

He peered even closer at the young child, noting Diana’s steely blue eyes and high cheekbones. As he ever so gently traced the baby’s face with his finger, Thomas grabbed his finger attempting to get it into his mouth. “Well, little one,” Vincent said, “you’ve got quite a grip.” Raising his eyes from the tiny boy, he asked of Catherine, “How is she?”

She sobered instantly. “Not good. We need to get her to Father as soon as possible. Lin, can you go to the hotel and stay with her until we can get the arrangements made?”

“I think so; Henry is free to watch the shop and Suzy.”

“Good. You know where she’s staying?”

Lin nodded.

“We need to go Below, love,” Vincent said.

Inwardly glowing at his use of the endearment in front of Lin, she said, “See you at the hotel as soon as possible, Lin,” and she followed her man into the tunnels.

*

Mary was thrilled to have a new charge added to her coterie of young wards. And Father was in his glory mobilizing an emergency rescue team to bring Diana to the tunnels. Catherine accompanied the rescue team and Father, while Vincent, remaining Below, organized the readying of Diana’s chamber. If anyone Topside thought the removal of Diana from the hotel by an assortment of oddly dressed people was weird, to say the least, nothing was said or reported about it. The night clerk had seen stranger sights. Before midnight, Diana was safely installed in her own chamber with baby Thomas asleep in Jacob’s old crib beside her bed.

Father had just finished examining Diana, becoming more somber and silent as he proceeded. She had in her possession all the records and x-rays, bone scans, etc. that pertained to her condition. “I’ll have Peter look these over, and we’ll see what we can do to keep you comfortable.”

“It’s good to see you too, Father,” she joked feebly.

“I’m sorry, my dear. I seem to be losing my bedside manner. It is good to see you.” Smiling, he sat down on the side of the bed next to her and took her hands in his. “How are you feeling?”

“Now that I’m here, I feel relief and hope for my son.”

Father affectionately brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek. “Why didn’t you come to us sooner?” he asked solicitously.

“Pride, Father,” she said, embarrassed, glancing away from his concerned face to see the two lovers standing in the entrance. “I thought I could do it by myself.”

“Ah Diana, you always thought that you had to prove that you were stronger and tougher than anyone else. You never had to; do you see that now?”

She nodded. “It looks like life decided to really rub my nose in it.”

Father couldn’t keep from chuckling. Count on her to come up with something totally outrageous.

“Well, at least, you’re here now. We’ll do what we can; you know that.”

“Yes, I do and thank you.”

He could see that she was extremely fatigued by the trip Below even though she was happy and grateful to be where she knew she was loved. Patting her hand, he rose. “Rest now. Someone will be with you through the night to care for you and your baby.” As he passed Vincent and Catherine in the doorway, he whispered, “Don’t stay too long. She’s running on sheer determination and needs her rest.”

Diana looked at them as they approached her bed. Here was a loving and united pair, one that put her in awe of their devotion to each other. Tears stood in the corners of her eyes as she tried to hold her hand up to him. Vincent took her fragile hand in his and bent down to kiss her on the cheek. “Diana,” his voice caressed her name. He’d had no time to talk with her after she was brought Below. Everyone had been so busy getting her and baby Thomas settled in their new quarters that he and Catherine had been effectively dismissed and waited in the background until all had been accomplished. With the departure of Father and the others, they were free to speak with her.

“Oh Vincent, it’s so good to see you,” she cried.

“You’ve been away from us far too long,” he gently chastised her. The twinkle in his eyes took the sting out of his words.

She shrugged, “You know how it is?”

“Your son is beautiful, Diana.”

At the mention of the baby, Diana’s face brightened and she almost glowed. Looking over at him, she agreed, “He is, isn’t he? Vincent, promise me that you’ll raise him as your own.”

“Diana!” he cried, shocked that she thought that she had to make him promise to love her son. “Is there a doubt that I would? He will be as dear to me as you are.”

Brimming with tears, her eyes held his for a long moment then weakly she shook her head, “No, I guess I just needed to hear you say it. Thank you, Vincent, for everything.”

Vincent bowed his head in acknowledgment of her unnecessary gratitude. Then letting Thomas grab his finger again and stuff it in his mouth, he said, “Enjoy him, Diana, while you may. He may not remember you, but he will remember the love you lavish on him.”

“Oh, I will. There’s no doubt about that,” she assured him.

“I’ll stay with you tonight,” Catherine spoke up. Diana didn’t need any more reminding that she would never see her son become a man. “We’re setting up a schedule. Everyone wants to help, even the children.”

“Oh, I’m causing everyone so much trouble,” she exclaimed.

“It’s no trouble, Diana,” Vincent said. “We do it because we love you.”

“You love me?” She was amazed at his confession; he had never said that to her before. She glanced at Catherine to see what her reaction was.

“Yes, Diana, we all love you” the other woman said.

Even you, the ailing woman thought, even you love me. And she began to cry wholeheartedly at the comfort she found in that statement. She had been alone and had fought her wearying battle against her disease for so long that there were no words to describe the emotions she felt lying comfortably in an old bed surrounded by loving friends.

Catherine dropped on the bed beside her and took her into her arms. “Shh, shh. You’re safe here. We’ll take care of you and your child.”

Tired and emotionally drained, Diana fell asleep on Catherine’s shoulder. Together, the two lovers eased her back into the pillows. Pulling the covers gently around her, Catherine softly touched her wan cheeks. “Oh god, this is going to be so hard,” she said.

Vincent snuggled her against his chest and said, “Undoubtedly, but we will be strong for her.”

The honey brown head pressed against his heart bobbed up and down as Catherine quietly wept for the woman who had always wanted to be her rival. “It’s quite a responsibility she has laid on us.”

Smoothing his hand over her velvet soft hair, he agreed. “But I think you are up to it.”

Damp green eyes stared into his. “Me? You’re in this too, you know, but I know you’ll make a good father for Thomas.”

“We will do our best. Now, I must collect Jacob and get him ready for bed.” He kissed her tenderly, grateful that she had been returned to him by the woman who lay dying in the bed. She would want for nothing if it was in his power to give it to her. He owed her so much. It saddened him to know that she still loved him and that he had never been able to return that love. But by leaving her child in the tunnels, she had made sure that her presence would always be there.

*

Diana’s health slowly declined over the weeks after a short rally during her first days Below. True to Father’s words, the entire community took on the responsibility of caring for her and Thomas. William prepared nourishing meals for her, and when she couldn’t take solid food any longer, he fixed a variety of broths to tantalize her appetite, the children made decorations for her chamber, Rebecca made special candles that soothed her with their aroma, the list goes on and on. Even Mouse wanted to make a motorized wheelchair for her from parts he had found behind a medical supply story, but thankfully, Father squashed that idea as soon as it was broached. Vincent and Catherine spent as much time as they could with her. But when she wished to be alone with her son, all of them honored her request.

To raise her spirits Father arranged a Naming Day ceremony for the baby. Rebecca and Catherine had Diana looking almost healthy with the judicious use of make-up and had arranged her hair most becomingly in a French braid with miniature red roses plaited into it. Cradling Thomas against her breast, she was carried to the Great Hall in Vincent’s strong arms. She wished, oh how she wished, it was under different circumstances and gave herself up to the enjoyment of the feel of his arms supporting her. Catherine had a special chair waiting for her when she was carried into the huge chamber. The hall was filled with people, gaily chatting.

Calling the crowd to attention, Father began the ceremony. Diana named her baby Thomas Vincent, after the two men who meant more to her than her own father. Long after she and the baby were asleep, the party was still going. The tunnel community made the most of any party they had. They were few and far between.

So, the days turned into weeks and the weeks became a few short months. She was kept relatively pain-free as much as Father and Peter could devise, but the end was in sight. People would come in, stay a little while, and then leave. It was as if they were saying goodbye, which in truth they were. Her last days were spent in the company of Father, Mary, Catherine and Vincent. Peter had spoken with her that morning before leaving for rounds at the hospital. Extremely weak, she had rallied enough to be able to speak privately with each one of them.

*

While Mary was changing the sheets on her bed, she thanked the maternalistic woman for all she had done for her and for her son.

“It was nothing, Diana. It gave me great pleasure to be able to care for you. You are special to us, and we will never forget you.”

Too weak to even cry, Diana whispered, “Take good care of my boy.”

“Oh honey, you don’t have to worry about that. He’s stolen everyone’s heart with his cheerful disposition. I’m afraid that we might spoil him.”

“Catherine won’t let you,” Diana said softly.

“No, she probably won’t but that will be best for him.” Mary smoothed the covers over the slight body resting lightly in the bed. “There now, doesn’t that feel better. Nothing like clean sheets to perk a body up.”

Diana nodded.

“Do you want to take a nap now?” Mary asked.

“No, I’ll soon be sleeping forever. Is Father close by?”

“I’ll get him for you.” Mary bustled from the room and in a short while Father entered with a smile on his face.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as he took her pulse. It was very weak and he looked at her in concern. “Diana, are you going to leave us?”

“Yes, I’m tired, Father. I’m ready to rest; I just don’t want to leave my son, but I know I will and I pray that he will understand.”

“You’re afraid that he might feel that you have abandoned him?”

“Some children do.”

“Yes, I know, but I don’t think that he will. Vincent and Catherine will tell him how much you loved him, and how hard it was for you to leave him.”

“Thank you, Father.” She tried to squeeze his hand, and he did feel a slight pressure from her hand.

“You’re entirely welcome. I’m very pleased that you thought to come home when you needed us. You see, we need to be needed, to justify our existence as a community and you gave that to us. I am eternally grateful to you for that.”

“Oh, Father,” she sighed. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to admit that I needed help.”

“My dear child,” he said, with an arched eyebrow, “you are talking to the most famous stiff-necked, prideful man in the tunnels. I could teach you a thing or two.”

Smiling wearily, she shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she replied.

“Well, we’ll never solve that argument. And you look like you need to rest. I’ll leave you to sleep for a while. Good night, Diana. Rest well.” He kissed her on the forehead, and as he turned to go, she saw tears on the end of his eyelashes. Tiredly, she closed her eyes and didn’t see him look back at her from the entrance. Shaking his head, he thought, Poor child, she’s not had an easy life. He disappeared into the corridor.

*

When she awoke, she became aware of someone moving about the room. Opening her eyes, she saw Catherine arranging a bouquet of flowers on the old dresser beside her bed. “Catherine?”

“Oh, hi,” Catherine smiled at her. “Did you get a good sleep?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to sleep. I’ll sleep long enough as it is. How’s Thomas?”

Catherine pulled the one chair in the chamber over next to the bed. “He should be waking up from his nap about now. Do you want me to go get him?”

“No, let Vincent bring when he comes because he is coming, isn’t he?” she asked, suddenly afraid that he would be unable to visit her.

“Yes, he’ll be here. We’re taking turns with the children. Diana, I have something to ask you. Would you mind if Vincent and I were to adopt Thomas? He’s claimed a piece of our hearts and made it his own.”

Shaking her head slowly, she said, “Oh no, I was hoping that you would. I want him to have a mother and a father, to grow up in a loving family and yours is the best I know of.”

Catherine took Diana’s hand in hers and raised it to her lips. “Thank you, Diana, I’ll do my very best with him.”

“I know you will.” Diana’s eyes shone with happy tears. “Does Vincent know?”

“Yes, he was the one that suggested it. And how could I refuse? You gave us back our life, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather share it with than your son. He’ll be loved, Diana, don’t worry about that. We have more love than we know what to do with.”

“I know; that’s why I wanted him to be with you.” Like longtime, close friends, they fell into an easy silence for several minutes. Suddenly uncomfortable, Diana stirred.

“Are you in pain? Do you want me to get Father?” Solicitously, Catherine leaned over her.

“No, I don’t know how I feel. Sort of suspended. Waiting to see what will happen next.” She glanced up at her concerned friend, realizing that she truly was her friend and wishing that they had become better friends before this. Now there wasn’t enough time. She smiled crookedly, “You know, Catherine, this dying business is weird; it’s common to all but a first-time experience for me.”

Catherine couldn’t control herself; she hugged Diana firmly but gently. “Oh, Diana,” was all she could say.

“Catherine?” Diana’s voice mumbled from the area of the other woman’s shoulder.

“Umm?” Her friend pulled back, allowing the dying woman to relax onto her bed.

“I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you in any way.”

“You mean by loving Vincent?”

“Uh huh.”

“I’ll tell you a secret, Diana. The first time I saw you look at him I knew you were in love with him.”

“You didn’t mind?”

“It’s not up to me who loves who. My concern is with the love between Vincent and me. And nothing and no one can change that. Not even death as we, so painfully, have found out.”

“I sometimes wondered if he even knew that I thought of him that way.”

“I think he knew but wouldn’t acknowledge it. You know,” Catherine shrugged, “if you ignore it, it’s not real.”

Diana let loose a weak chuckle. “It doesn’t work.”

Catherine laughed with her. “No, it doesn’t.”

Closing her eyes, Diana said, “I’m tired; would you sit with me while I close my eyes for a little while?”

“Sure.” For reassurance Catherine clasped the fragile hand again. Settling back in her chair, she prepared herself mentally for what was destined to happen. She stared at the softly breathing woman, thinking, If I had died would I have minded if Vincent had decided to have a life with her? Thankfully, it was a question that she didn’t have to answer.

*

Diana became aware of quiet sobs and subdued voices. “Oh Vincent, she apologized for causing me any pain because she loves you.” She opened her eyes to find Catherine seated in Vincent’s lap, with her face buried in his shoulder.

“She is an extraordinarily sensitive woman, my love.” He bent his head to kiss the crown of her hair. Diana’s heart lurched with a longing ache. She had wanted his lips to kiss her hair for so long.

Thomas’ cooing and gurgling suddenly filled the chamber. Turning her head in the direction of the baby sounds, she saw Catherine scoop him up, trying to quiet him. “It’s all right. I’m awake. Let me have him.” Thomas’ soon-to-be-mother placed the active child in his birth mother’s arms.

“It’s about time for his feeding. He’s probably getting a little hungry.”

Gazing down into the face of her child for what she thought would be the last time, Diana said, “He looks so much like Tom that people will think that you are the real father, Vincent.”

“Let them; it doesn’t bother me,” he said, looking at the woman he loved to gauge her reaction. She smiled and nodded. He knew that it would not matter to her at all.

After being held for a few minutes, Thomas began to get fussy. “Take him, Catherine, please.” “She kissed him with all the love she had then relinquished him to the other woman. “Goodbye, my son. Have a happy life.” Three sets of eyes were filled with tears as Catherine took him from the room.

“May I have a drink of water?” she requested, more to ease the tension in the room than to assuage a thirst.

Vincent got a glass, poured it half full, then brought it to her, but she was unable to drink it lying flat. He gently lifted her shoulders, and shoving the pillows to the side, he settled on the bed just behind her. With a sigh, she leaned back against his sturdy frame. Gently he supported her as he held the glass against her lips. This was where she had yearned to be for many long years.

“Catherine said that you seem to be making your peace with the world, are you going to leave us today?” He asked the same question of her as Father had.

“Yes, I can’t fight anymore. I long for peace.”

Once again Vincent was experiencing the agony of losing to death someone that he loved. For in truth, he did love her, just not as she wished.

Diana gazed at him from his cradling arms and reached a trembling hand to caress his cheek. “You’re free now from any worry about me,” she whispered.

“I would not be free this way, Diana. I am sorry.”

“I know . . . I am too, but sometimes you have no control over whom you love.”

Vincent bowed his head until it rested on hers. “You understand then. I have no choice. Catherine is and will always be the one for me.”

He could tell from the peacefulness on her face that she had, at last, accepted the truth of his love for her, and he could safely say, “I love you, Diana. And I promise that you will never be forgotten in these tunnels as long as this world exists.”

The brilliance of her smile washed the room with a light that outshone the candles burning on every surface. “I wish you happiness, Vincent . . . you and Catherine. You have my blessings. I love y . . .”

She stiffened with pain then fell back with a terrible relaxation, her hand dropping lifelessly to land on his knee.

He gathered her tightly to his breast, crooning, “I’m sorry; I’m sorry; I’m sorry.”

Gently he kissed her, then just as gently he laid her back onto her bed. He rose to his full commanding height and left the chamber to inform the community that Diana was gone.

*

Standing at the edge of the Mirror Pool, Father began to softly speak. There was no need for him to raise his voice as the group gathered around the pool was unnaturally quiet. They were here to honor a woman who had saved the best and brightest of their members and had restored the woman he loved to his arms. Not only that but she had left a part of her with them in the person of her son. Nearby, Catherine watched the ceremony through red-rimmed eyes. In her arms Thomas laid contentedly, and Jacob pressed against her not understanding the seriousness of the occasion. Even Mouse was uncharacteristically subdued.

Somberly, Vincent stood beside Father holding an urn with Diana’s ashes. She had heard of the rite of passage that the tunnel society used where the ashes were poured into the pool to become part of the tunnel system forever and had requested that she be cremated. In this way she felt she could be part of her son’s life and part of the life of the community.

Father’s voice strengthened as he spoke of Diana’s courage and of her love and devotion to Vincent and the tunnel society. He recounted her many deeds: solving Catherine’s assumed murder: bringing Vincent back to health after the explosion of the Compass Rose, finding Gabriel’s home, helping Vincent rescue his son, and killing Gabriel. Then the greatest of her feats: bringing Catherine home. With deep sadness, he spoke of how she had turned to the tunnel society on finding out that she had a fatal disease, giving the family the gift of accepting their help, and of her courage in the face of death. By giving her child to Catherine and Vincent, she had graced the tunnels with her presence. “We have lost a dear friend but we will not forget her.” As Vincent poured the ashes into the water, the tunnel patriarch continued. “Let the waters carry her to every part of our tunnels and to every part of our world. Diana will always be part of us.”

When the last of the ashes had sunk out of sight, there was a collective sigh and spontaneous movement by the assembled crowd. “Before you leave, I have an announcement to make.” The group turned back to Father. “Kanin has offered to make a memorial plaque to Diana that will be placed in the catacombs. He will carve a niche behind it that anyone who wishes can place some memento in it. He will let us know when it is ready.” Murmuring their approval, the gathering began to disburse.

Soon only Father, Vincent, Catherine and the two children were left in the chamber. With a deep sigh, Father said, “Another chapter of our life over. I shall miss her; she gave our world a purpose these last few months that I have felt we were sadly lacking. It had all come down to hiding and surviving. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yes, I think I do; we’ve had such horrendous things happen to us that we were in danger of becoming a stagnant society. We must always care for others and their problems,” Vincent said as he placed an arm around Catherine’s shoulder.

“We might be separate, but we certainly are not immune to the world Above and it’s difficulties. We sometimes forget that.” Catherine leaned her head against her man’s shoulder. Looking down at the child sleeping unafraid in her arms and at her son safely ensconced in his father’s arms, she said, “We have here the future of the tunnels, and we need to teach them to accept the world Above as just another extension of the world Below. They must find their own accommodations with that world.”

Talking quietly amongst themselves, they meandered back to the home tunnels, taking their time, speaking of the woman who had profoundly changed their lives by giving them her most precious gift.

Fini

Every Now And Then

I walked down to the park last night
Warm breeze stirring up a soft moonlight
And my mind started drifting to way back when
Yes I do think about you every now and then

I love my life and I’d never trade
Between what you and me had and the life I’ve made
She’s here and she’s real, but you were too
And every once in a while I think about you

Bobby Mundlock and Garth Brooks