Hundreds of fluffy clouds littered the sky, they almost looked like sheep grazing on the blue expanse of space, Chase looked down and it was as if someone had given him a telescope, a way to view the world below without disrupting it.

Down there, were the people he loved, it was as if half of his heart carried on singing down there, though no one could hear him he smiled and sent down a silent prayer, that the two of them would always be there to look after each other because he wasn't anymore, it was like all of his plans had worked out, like he was a puppeteer still managing to pull the strings.

Cole and Florence had each other now, and each other was all they would need even as he lingered on here he knew it wouldn't be for much longer, his time was coming he could feel it.

But just because he was gone it didn't mean he couldn't love more than he ever had loved before, Chase conjured up the most perfect of messages, the clouds were perfectly white for a winters day.

He imagined icicles assembling, tiny droplets forming together into one perfect snowflake, one last memory that he had been down there once and he was still here, always to watch over from afar... or maybe not for much longer.

As the snowflake fell, the first of many he began to feel the familiar floating sensation but this time it was more intense, he'd done his watching and waiting, this felt like the right time to leave.

Chase smiled and then let go cutting away the strings that had been holding him as he left.

Thousands of kilometres down Florence sat at her kitchen table smiling down at the meal she'd assembled.

"Mummy!" Elise screamed from the garden, the girl had some powerful lungs, her screams could be heard from counties away.

"Yes honey, is your brother out there with you?"

Florence took off her apron and walked outside to the garden where Elise and Chase sat cross legged on the bench.

Chase's chubby cheeks broke into a smile as she scooped him up.

"Look!" Elise shouted impatiently.

Florence looked up and to her surprise saw what looked like a snowflake, but it didn't look like any old snowflake, it was utterly perfect and lined with silver, he mouth opened in a perfect circle as she watched its descent.

Elise reached up, trying to catch it not understanding that her warm little hands would melt it right away, but it danced out of her reach and travelled down to Florence's outstretched hand where it landed, to her shock it didn't melt it just stayed there like it was a jewel embedded into her hand.

It felt oddly comforting to stand there with her two children as more snowflakes fell around them, Chase stuck out his tongue as one fell and then giggled when it melted.

Her snowflake had began to dissolve which made her sad for a reason she couldn't explain, Florence looked up and she couldn't shake off the feeling that someone, somewhere was watching out for her like her guardian angel.

She heard the clink of the key in the door and was broken out of her reverie.

"Come on sweets" she took Elise's hand in hers and led her inside to the table, putting Chase in his highchair as she did so.

"Daddy!" Elise's eyes lit up as Cole came into the room, setting down his briefcase and opening up his arms, which she gladly ran into.

"Wow" he said surveying the table.

"Don't tell me you made all of this, and is that a snowflake?"

He reached out and plucked one from Florence's hair, she grinned as he passed her a massive bouquet of red roses, a card and a box of expensive looking chocolates.

"Yes I did make all of this, you are fifteen minutes late and everyone's going to be here in half an hour! I need your help moving the chairs"

"I'll help" said Elise, though they all knew she would do nothing of the sort.

"Sure baby" Florence kissed her head.

Half an hour later the house was cleaner than it had possibly ever been, Florence's many dishes were all laid out, her golden roast chicken and potatoes accompanied with her medley of vegetables and her centrepiece in the middle was a three tiered chocolate cake that had taken her the entire day to make.

It had so been worth it.

"Happy 2nd Anniversary Flo" Cole came up behind her and put his arm around her waist, pulling her close, she felt happy tears coming to her eyes.

Everything was amazing.

Her Mother and Father were the first to arrive, hugging them all close and shivering at the cold outside.

Elise immediately sat herself on her grandmother's lap fiddling with her many rings, she had a habit of reaching for pretty, shiny things like a magpie and then sneaking away with them when she thought no one could see, Florence's Mother adored Elise and it made Florence's heart happy to see the two of them together.

Next came Cooper, Amberly and Sam, Amberly made her way towards Chase as far as her legs could carry her, she loved babies even though Cooper insisted she technically still was one.

Natalie arrived soon after accompanied by her 'just friend' Justin and then finally came Annie and Andrew hand in hand, smiling like most newly-weds did.

The dinner was one of the best of Florence's life, everyone was happy and the four walls of the room seemed to boom with contentment, the food and laughter seemed too fill everyone's bellies.

Elise had nodded off in her lap before the third course was served.

"I'd like to make a toast" Cole clinked his glass and then stood up, Florence would have joined him if it hadn't been for her sleeping daughter.

"A toast, to all of you thank you so much for coming and helping us celebrate this momentous day, you all mean so very much to us all and having you with us is amazing, I'd like to also thank my gorgeous wife for making us this lovely spread and for being such a committed Mother to my beautiful children, to Florence"

"To Florence" they all echoed, raising their glasses.

She still had something to say, she nudged Elise gently scooping her up and passing her to her grandfather who cocooned her in his arms as she snuffled, Florence stood up.

"Like Cole I want to thank you all for coming, your amazing but you all already know that and I couldn't ask for better friends and family, I'd also like us to remember the people who aren't here with us today but who nevertheless still shine as bright as ever, we lost Levi last year and we also lost Chase many,many years ago, but he still lives on in memory. I'm happier than I've ever been and that is partly due to you wonderful people, to my husband and my little angels, so here's a toast to the living, to the departed and to all of you"

They finally clinked glasses, Andrew smiled up at her and then mouthed.

"Go you"

She smiled back at him, tearily, but it was a real smile.

Once everyone had left Florence walked around the quiet house pausing to straighten books on the bookshelf and pick up Elise's discarded book.

"You going to come upstairs?" Cole hovered on the staircase smiling at her, with his reading glasses on he looked like a nerd, a very cute nerd.

"There was one announcement we didn't make"

He smiled at her.

"That's an announcement for another day"

Florence cradled her stomach.

"Boy or girl? What's our guess"

He shrugged.

"I have no idea, and I don't really want to know don't you find that sometimes the best things in life are just unexpected?"

She kissed him.

"Yes"

Florence Clarke had achieved so much, more than she'd ever thought possible, she had published three books, fought a disease many people hadn't even considered a disease, beat grief that had the potential to stop her life and learned to love again, loving was probably the most important thing she had managed to do.

And by all accounts she was happy and successful, what no one knew was that in her brown notebook  she had written a new story, a story that was now complete, perhaps the most important story of them all.

Natalie would know by tomorrow, then she would tell her family.

Florence was going to publish Chase's story, one chapter had ended but another was definitely beginning.

She turned off the bedside lamp and snuggled closer to Cole closing her eyes.

The pages of her book fluttered in the night breeze as one page turned over to the next.

And the chapter came to a close.

THE END