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2025-09-30
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Finally - Peace and Joy

Summary:

I'd like to end our Sidlotte September as a one shot instead of drabble. Inspired by the upcoming Christmas season and using today's prompt ....finally

Notes:

I so enjoyed challenging myself to writing something each and every day, whether it be a drabble, a short story, or this one shot. Thank you all who participated, who left kudos and comments. It's been fun and perhaps, I'll revisit some of these prompts and expand into a story.

For now, enjoy fall adventures, apple picking, halloween and whatever else brings you joy and peace

Work Text:

The first snow of December lay crisp upon the ground, softening the fields around the Parker residence into a vision of tranquility. Charlotte gazed out from the drawing room window, her hands folded neatly before her. She could not help but marvel at the quiet scene. How far she had come from that first bewildering arrival in Sanditon, so uncertain, so full of dreams and adventure, so prone to disillusion.  How unlikely it had seemed in those early days, that her path and Sidney Parker's might entwine at all.

It had been a journey marked by turbulence. His sharp tongue and proud reserve had so often wounded her; though his honesty had likewise awakened her spirit. She had learned to meet him word for word, and, in time, her openness had pierced through his defenses. Yet, there had been much heartbreak through this journey. A bitter interlude when duty and sacrifice had nearly cost them all. How strange, how astonishing, that such trials had only strengthened the bond they now shared.

Behind her, Sidney's step was unmistakable; brisk, purposeful, carrying the air of a man who had long ceased to deny himself the happiness he once thought impossible. He crossed the room, the corners of his mouth curved with that smile which never failed to make her heart race.

"You are lost in thought?" he asked, pausing at her side, "I hope not to any regret?"

She turned to him at once, her expression radiant, "Regret? None, sir. Only immense gratitude."

He studied her with that blend of tenderness and irony so particular to him. "I confess, there are moments I still expect to wake and find myself back in Antigua, alone with nothing but my own brooding for company. That you are here, truly mine, is more than I deserve."

Charlotte reached for his hand. "Do not speak so. We have paid dearly for our happiness. That we finally stand together is proof we were meant to endure. It was and is our destiny."

For a moment, silence reigned, rich with memory. The fire in the grate burned low, casting amber light upon the room, while the fragrance of evergreen boughs, brought in that morning to honor the season, hinted at the festivities to come. Their first Christmas together was nearly upon them. Charlotte's heart swelled at the thought of all it symbolized: not merely gaiety and feasting, but the beginning of traditions that would belong wholly to them.

Sidney lifted her hand to his lips. "Then let us speak not of what was lost, but of what lies before us. For I think...nay, I know, it promises more joy than either of us once dared imagine."

Charlotte's smile deepened, for she carried within her the sweetest of secrets, one she had waited for just the right moment to reveal. With his eyes upon her, so steady and trusting, she felt the time had at last arrived.

"There is, in fact, something that lies before us," she said softly, her tone shaded with mischief. "Something I have longed to tell you."

He arched a brow, amused. "You speak as though you guard a prized treasure. Shall I be made to guess or will you spare me the torment?"

She laughed, though her voice trembled with emotion. "No torment, Sidney. Only joy. For in the coming new year, you shall no longer be husband alone, but father."

For one suspended instant, the words hung between them. Then comprehension dawned, sweeping across his features with breathtaking force. He drew a sharp breath, and in the next moment, he had clasped her to him, his embrace fierce, reverent, tender.

"Charlotte, my darling Charlotte. Are you certain?"

His response was unsteady, a laugh caught between wonder and disbelief. "Finally," he murmured, the word escaping like a vow. "At last,  everything I once thought beyond reach I now hold in my heart and soul. You, our child, our own family. I can scarcely comprehend the enormity of my fortune."

They stood together in the hush of the room, the fire crackling softly, the world outside hushed in snow. Charlotte felt the steady beat of his heart beneath her cheek as she lay her head upon his chest. For the first time since she had set foot in Sanditon, she knew she was wholly at peace.

Later, when their household gathered for the Christmas feast, the news was shared, bringing forth exclamations of delight and hearty congratulations. Tom, ever effusive, declared it a blessing for the whole family, while Mary's eyes shone with maternal pride. Even Arthur, between mouthfuls of plum pudding, managed a tearful toast to the happiness of his brother and sister.

But it was in the quiet hours after, when the house had grown still and the candles burned low, that Sidney and Charlotte exchanged the words that mattered most.

"We have weathered storms enough to know their measure," Sidney said, as he held her hand across the coverlet. "Whatever trials may come, I am no longer the man who fled from happiness. I am yours, entirely and forever."

"And I am yours," she answered, her voice firm yet tender. "From the moment you ceased to fight what your heart had already chosen, I belonged to you. We have suffered, we have doubted, but at last.... finally, Sidney, we were always meant to be…Here, now, and forever.”

His fingers tightened around her, sealing the vow. Outside, the wind swept gently through the trees, carrying the promise of Christmas morning. Within, warmth and love wrapped them as surely as any blanket.

Charlotte closed her eyes, her heart full. Their journey had been long, fraught with sorrow and sacrifice. Yet every step had led them here---to this life, this joy, this family in the making.

And so, as she drifted into slumber, she thought only one word: FINALLY.