I spun to find Sarah looking at me from the study threshold. I briefly registered Gwen must have left. 

"Yes!" I said "Very confused."

"What did you see?" she urged.

I explained the amber-eyed Elf, which I could recall as being the one who carried out the spell. But Illidan? I couldn't understand because I knew he'd not been present during my transformation.

Sarah smiled and came forward, taking Atiesh from me and leaning it back against the shelves. Then she led around my desk and gestured for me to sit, perching herself upon my desk. She held my hands.

"It was Illidan," Sarah said.

I shook my head. "No, it was the Elf with amber eyes who..."

"They are one and the same, Khadgar."

"What? No, that's not..."

"Possible?" She laughed, light, gentle.

My puzzled expression must have been a picture.

"Illidan is not as you remember him. Neither is his wife, Arcaena. They have been - de-demonised - if there is such a word." She laughed. 

I remained dumb, my mind trying to absorb what I was being told.

Sarah continued. "He is a sorcerer, a mighty one at that. But, more importantly, he is still your friend, completely and utterly at your service should you need him."

"But how? What happened?" I asked.

Sarah reminded me of the time we, along with our friends - Ocel, Drew and Eric - visited Shattrath for an audience with A'dal, one of the Naaru. Sarah had requested A'dal's help in restoring Illidan's spirit so that we would have a fighting chance against the Burning Legion. The Naaru had mentioned the Void as well as Illidan's role in the war. But, we had all assumed the war A'dal spoke of, was the one against the Burning Legion. We were wrong.

The saviours of Azeroth, in the battle with the Void Lords, were benign spirits, imbued with the power of the Light. But Illidan and Sarah had been the ones to call forth these allies through the power of the Naaru.  

When the portal collapsed, with me inside, Illidan blamed himself for my "death" - for not reaching me in time. Self-loathing, questioning his validity, his purpose, all resulted in his stepping down as Lord of the Illidari. 

He also requested an audience with the Naaru. Illidan sought release; no longer did he wish to be reminded of all which had passed. But being a Demon Hunter, and immortal, denied him such peace. He then asked the only beings with the power to release him, to do so; to end his life. 

I finally found my voice. "But it wasn't Illidan's fault the portal collapsed, nor that I was trapped."

"I know," Sarah agreed. "But he thought otherwise." 

She stood up, pulling me with her, and we left the study. We moved along the hall as she continued to tell me how Illidan became a Night Elf again. "I saw his torment; I felt it. Illidan and I are 'connected' ever since he saved me after we rescued his soul from the Twisting Nether."

I nodded, I knew of the bond between them.

"After the collapse of the Dark Portal," Sarah continued. "We all believed you had perished. Then I too received a visit from the Naaru." She laughed, soft. "Incredible is it not, that such supreme beings thought to seek me out? A little Earthling who just dropped in on your planet years ago."

I smiled. "Not at all. You've served Azeroth and her people well and the Naaru know your heart is pure."

She smiled, modest. "It was because they held you in such high regard, my love; that was why they visited. They asked if they could do anything to help, and I thought about it very carefully. Then I told them I sensed Illidan would approach them with a request to end his time on Azeroth."

We reached the nursery, and there in his crib lay my son. He was sound asleep, breathing softly, his legs and arms akimbo, twitching a little in dreams. I ached to hold him, but as he was sleeping, I did not wish to disturb him. I turned to Sarah. 

"Go on, please."

"Remember Tiene?" she asked.

"Yes. The little blonde Demon Hunter from Quel'thalas." I smiled, then I remembered something. "Did you know Lor'themar Theron was her 'adopted' brother? I overheard him telling Varian when he arrived - for my funeral." 

Sarah cocked an eyebrow. "I did not know that! I wish I had; I could have perhaps told him of her efforts in fighting the Legion."

"Yes. And, did you know she was..." I halted, not wanting to cause her any more hurt.

"I do, yes," Sarah said; her eyes a little moist. "But not until recently, and strangely, that's where more wondrous, yet sad events occurred." 

With a deep sigh, Sarah outlined Tiene's story. The Blood Elf had offered her services to Illidan when she was driven to seek vengeance on the Burning Legion. It had erased all those who meant everything to her, including her husband, Camnath. She became one of Illidan's loyal Illidari.

I saw tears simmering as Sarah spoke of Tiene. I gently pulled her to me, allowing her time to compose herself. 

"After the war, Tiene wanted to join her husband in the Twisting Nether," Sarah said, hugging me. "But once a Demon Hunter, always a Demon Hunter, even in death." 

She turned her face up to mine.  "Illidan rewarded Tiene's bravery against the Legion by absorbing her demon, thus setting her free to join her husband in the afterlife as she so wished. I discovered this through her husband's spirit which had somehow become a passenger in Drew's body. And miraculously, Tiene's spirit travelled in Bernie, Drew's girlfriend, also from Earth."

I now knew the redhead's name who accompanied Drew.

Sarah stepped back a little. "So, knowing what Illidan had done for Tiene, I asked the Naaru to do the same for him; absorb his demons but let him live as once he had. I'd once caught a brief glimpse of him lost in nostalgia and thought if he could return to his former life, it may give him comfort. His immortality remains intact and his wife, Arcaena has also been blessed."

I was lost for words once more. Throughout all Sarah's pain, her grieving, she had still found it in her heart to think of what others were going through, namely Illidan and Arcaena. 

I thought I'd planned everything carefully, down to the last, minute detail, but my preparations had all been merely technical. I had not anticipated people's emotions or how they viewed events at the Dark Portal. 

A small gurgle from the crib made us look at our son. He was wide awake, kicking his legs and waving his arms. Sarah lifted him, and there we stood – mother, father and son, embracing the fact we were reunited. 

She pressed him to me, and I held him for the first time in what seemed an eternity. He chortled happily.

An urge overcame me, and for once, I decided to go with it, without stopping to analyse everything. There really was no need - not for this. "Sarah," I said, smiling.

"Yes?" She cooed at Ocel, letting him grab on to her finger as I held him in the crook of my arm.

I tried not to laugh, but the memory of the term she had once used so long ago, still tickled me to that day. She looked at me, her brow furrowing. "What?"

Once I could speak without ruining the moment, I cleared my throat and asked, "Would you consider becoming ... Mrs Khadgar?"