The sky seemed bluer than Nolan remembered it ever having looked.

Four ducklings quacked after their mother as they paddled across the shimmering lake outside of St. Peter's Hospital in Manchester.

Nolan rubbed a thumb across the white bandages that covered his stump of a leg. He had bandages everywhere. In fact, the only places he wasn't covered was his head, neck, and left arm.

You'd think I'd look a little better after three months in this place, he thought. But it was good to get some fresh air by himself for once, although the doctor still didn't know he'd escaped.

His body carried an ache from head to toe, but he'd gotten used to it.

The authorities found fifty-one bombs underneath the Buckingham palace two days after the Battle for Britain, as people were calling it.

The palace was utterly destroyed, but London still had power, running cars, and appliances.

The EMP had not gone off, nor had any others since.

Arrests were being made across the globe, police apprehending anyone with a history associated with Colossus.

The bombs had only been located underneath the palace, so Nolan and Grace had escaped by a hair's breadth. A search team had come around a few hours after Colossus surrendered themselves and a pair of medics found Nolan and Grace in the dining hall, half dead but alive, nonetheless.

Nolan had heard about Toby's funeral, even though there was no body to be buried. He'd received a long letter from Maddie and James, thanking him for being a man of honor whom Toby looked up to and that they were proud of the hero Toby had become.

Nolan leaned against the wooden bench, smiling at the memory of Toby in Kavala, Greece, loaded down with gear Nolan never dreamed they'd need.

A voice behind him made him jump.

"I didn't think they'd let you out so soon,"

Nolan turned around, winced, then settled back into his seat again. "Miss Grace Evans..." he murmured, grinning.

Grace came around the bench, dressed in a loose blue shirt and jeans. Her brown skin was marked with white in splotches that patched her neck and collarbone from where burns were beginning to heal.

Her right arm was in a sling and Nolan noticed two gaps in between her fingers.

Grace caught him looking at her hand and gave a sad smile. "Took my ring and pointer fingers."

"Good thing it wasn't your left hand," Nolan remarked slyly.

"What?"

"Nothing. When're they going to let you go?"

"Oh, they already did about three weeks ago."

Nolan's brow wrinkled. "Then why on earth are you still here?"

"I couldn't leave you," She rolled her eyes and sat down next to him, looping her good arm around his. "They said you took the brunt of the force from the explosion," she said, her voice smaller than usual. "I...wouldn't have made it if it weren't for you."

"Is that a thank you?"

She laughed and shook her head. "As close to one as you'll get." She nodded towards his leg. "How're you feeling?"

"Lighter," he said. "The doc told me I'd be released in another month, but I say two weeks. My leg isn't going to grow back and I think 75% of my blood supply is from a few random strangers, so there's that."

They settled into silence for a moment as if they were both trying to grasp for a sense of reality. Nothing seemed conceivable anymore.

"It seems so long ago," Nolan said quietly. He leaned over and kissed the top of Grace's head. "We didn't think any of us would make it," he sighed. "But two of us did."

Grace almost looked like she was about to cry, but laughed and wiped away a tear. "If Toby were here, I think he'd tell you to stop being mushy and go back to being a grumpy son-of-a-you-know-what."

Nolan chuckled. "I can hear him saying it now."

He glanced over and saw a tall, balding man coming up to them. He sat up a little. "Is that...?"

Grace peeked around him. "What..."

As Jeremiah Howard neared them, he bowed his head and clasped his hands behind his back.

"Director Howard," Nolan greeted, unamused. "I would stand, but unfortunately I'm missing a limb."

"And I'd punch you right in the face if I had more than three fingers," Grace muttered.

"Mr. Clay, Miss Evans," Howard said. His voice was quiet, meek. "I...I have come here to ask two things. The first being your forgiveness on behalf of myself and the Central Intelligence Agency."

Nolan raised an eyebrow and shared a glance with Grace. "That'll take time."

Howard bobbed his head in a nod. "I understand. Truly. The second thing I wanted to ask was if you would accept this,"

From his coat pocket, Howard unveiled a rectangular wooden box and opened it.

Inside were two golden coinlike pieces with stars crested on the front. Intelligence Stars.

"I would like to award both of you with the highest honor of CIA service, for your voluntary acts of courage performed under hazardous conditions."

He pulled out the first star and placed it around Grace's neck, then Nolan's.

"Thank you, sir," Nolan said quietly, still shocked at the action.

"What happens to us now?" Grace asked. "Are you still going to arrest us once we leave England?"

Howard blinked for a moment as if he didn't quite remember their arrangement. "No, Miss Evans. Each of your charges are clear and America is willing to do anything to assist you in your recovery back to your normal lives."

"That's the thing," Nolan said. "We'll never be able to have normal lives. Not after this."

Howard licked his lips and nodded. "Well...there is a third inquiry I'd like to pose. A proposition for you think over. I wasn't going to inform you of it until things settled down, but I suppose now I will."

"Go on," Grace prompted skeptically.

Howard regained some of his composure and straightened. "It has been many years since we've seen such skill on any human being's part as we witnessed in the efforts and successes of you and Nolan. So we would like to offer you both a position with us, overseeing foreign military operations and tactics. You could work together overseas, investigate active groups, and plan maneuvers."

Nolan slowly got to his feet, resting half on his weight on a crutch as Grace followed suit, holding his arm gently.

"I'm ready to start a new life, Director," he said. "But in the meantime, you need to award an Intelligence Star to the man who really sacrificed for his country. His name was Toby Fairfax."

"I...will do that, Nolan. Absolutely."

Nolan limped away a few feet before turning over his shoulder. "Oh, and Howard?"

"Yes?"

"I'd suggest you retrain the idiot sitting in the directors seat before he overlooks another terrorist takeover. I'd hate to have to his job for him again."

                                                                                            THE END

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That's the end of this adventure! I can't believe it! I hope you all have enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed working on it. It's so amazing how much my writing has transformed in the year (and a few months) that I've been doing WTGL!

Thank YOU so much for bearing with all of the typos, inconsistencies, and just plain bad bits of this story. I've received nothing but kindness and am so grateful for all of the new friends I've made!

~ Any final thoughts to share? ^_^

{~~~~~I will be starting a new story in the very near future!~~~~~)

(Don't forget to comment, vote, and share!)