--- *** ---
--- The Next Day ---
--- 21st of November, 1969 ---

The day after came as swiftly as a bullet. The former members of the clergy have determined to go in Pennsylvania's orphanage, besides Timothy is going to live in Jude's cabin for the rest of their days as they have planned their wedding to take its place within a few days. First and foremost, they've plotted their wedding to be held private and the sole guest, who's invited is actually their foster child. Nevertheless, the both future foster parents had ginormous and galore plans for their future. Holding a private wedding and being photographed by a professional photographer. Having a lovely honeymoon in Louisiana. Planning to travel a couple of times in the year, when their schedule isn't hectic and fueling with abundance of engagements daily. Spending more time with their adopted ray of sunshine when they have spare time after finishing their chores. Timothy planning to find a job as an university Latin teacher for foreign languages. Having romantic dinners outdoors such as on the beach, in the woods, moonlight picnic in the yard and on the hammock.

When Jude and Timothy came to their senses by having a breakfast and taking a shower, besides getting dressed up neatly to pay a visit to the nearest orphanages in the state. It took them no longer than an hour and a half to find the nearest facility as the former man of the cloth parked the vehicle in the free parking lot nigh the grandiose, marmoreal statue, casting its glinting twinkles at their orbs that glanced it for a split second. The old, monumental building that was housing children, fated whether due to their once biological parents to longing alienation from them, their real parents have passed away, factly, malicious or discreet illnesses or other alternatives of their abrupt death, was also a sinister, inescapable nightmare. Inescapable nightmare for the young children even adolescents to face the crude reality and commence their revolution with their foes and tribulations at such fragile age. The life and tribulations were their sole excellent teachers, guiding them to learn from their mistakes and facing the unspeakable reality behind the orphanage's walls as protagonists. Daily physical, mental and even sexual abuse and harassment were common inside the old institution. Some of the teachers and the nuns were amiable and open-minded without being remorselessly abusive towards the orphans.

The grand, expansive yard was overcrowded with swarm of children from kindergarteners to high schoolers, who were playing, running, crying out loud from the top of their brittle lungs, chatting with the other orphans. The light late autumn zephyr gently stroke the former devotional members of the church's exposed fleshes and hairs as if that was the nature's sole distraction. The sky was pasty with hive of clouds, clouding almost each inch of it, keeping the general population's wits about the impending rain and perhaps storm.

The middle-aged couple was holding hands romantically by passing horde of children until the Bostonian noticed a young girl, whose physical appearance resembled as if she was an eight-year-old girl with olive-tanned skin tone, a long mop of greasy aureate tresses, cascading below her shoulders. Furthermore, the orphan had emerald green pools as its emerald hue pigmented the brightest, compared to the silver. Her emerald-silver pools were mottled with sheer innocence, warmness and love. The juvenile blonde's petite body was donned in an autumn leather auburn jacket, shielding her frail skeleton along with dark denim jeans and black and white stripped top with round neckline. At last but not least, round-framed glasses supported on her the bridge of her button nose, framing her round, chubby due to its baby fat parchment, childish complexion. The little girl was being bullied by a horde of 3 children as they're one girl and two boys that is with a handful of years her senior.

Linda was actually an orphan since her birth, in fact, her parents were adolescents and welcomed her to this world slightly earlier as she was deprived from them lawfully, because they were minors to have their own biological children.

"Hey, darling! There's a group of children attacking this poor little girl!" In the meanwhile, the former pious sister of the church bumped with her elbow her future husband's forearm, earning his prompt attention, squinting her glaring hazelish-brown pools at the bullies, who were mocking pointlessly the young girl. "I think something isn't alright at all." She bit her lip by scouring up to the bullies to confront them.

"Why don't you want to play with us, Linda?" The first boy with the lighter hair's thin lips parted in the crude jeer, smugly, haughtily grinning at his recent victim of his bullying.

"I just don't want to for being so rude to me." The juvenile blonde evoked out with contempt and disgust, seizing her naturally rosy-coloured, plumpish lips in a girlish, sheepish purse. Her heart vehemently hammered in her tiny chest as its heart pulses pulsated into her sensitive, petite ears.

"If you," The other boy snatched violently, blatantly her round-framed eyeglasses from her face, lifting them in the air by doubling the humiliation over Linda as he and his buddies guffawed blatantly at the young girl. "Take back your glasses, it means you won't play with us. On the contrary, you're going to play with us! Now!" The second bully emphasized stiff-neckedly at the lonely infant, who crossed her pudgy arms at the three children.

"No and no matter if you give me my eyeglasses or not, I'll still not play with you, asses!" Linda attempted to keep it cool on outside, nibbling on her lower lip by confronting the bullies, consequently pouting her rosy-coloured lips balefully at her foes. She opted to reach for her pair of eyeglasses, in spite of the same boy tossed them on the grass as their garish, half-hearted sniggers scratched their throats.

"You're so pathetic, Linda! Didn't you know that, did you?" The only female bully added until the both boys sensed the couple's hands, pawing their shoulders lightly, squeezing them by ushering them to turn to the intruders, who were interrupting the enjoyment of the hooligans. Meantime, the horde of orphans swallowed hard as they turned to Jude and Timothy, meeting their piercing, antagonizing glares, darted to their tiny, pale faces. Linda shrugged bashfully her shoulders being caught off guard, when she noted 2 strangers defended her. "Oh!"

"You little shits! Leave the poor young girl alone!" The British compatriot bared his ivory, still firm teeth at the bullies, seizing violently one of the boys' pudgy shoulder. His undertone was as menacing as burglar, who menaces his robbed prey whether to give him the cash and prominent paraphernalia without any sequelas or otherwise, the robbed prey's going to be harmed barbarous. The horde of hooligans' hearts raced not only at the sudden, haphazard appearance of the adults, moreover of their vindictive cautions. "Or the consequences for you will be much worse,"

"Timothy!" The older lady snapped at him, hissing aggressively as she was livid at the both sides. At the group of orphans and her lover. The group of orphans, who were tyrannizing in infantile, banal manner the young girl. In the same time, Judy was livid at her former boss for addressing them with strong language since they were too young and it was a bit too much, in her humble opinion. However, Timothy's adrenaline verged to erupt as a volcano as its lava boiled incessantly into his veins, fury attached to the energy he consumed. "Language!"

"W-Who are they?" The juvenile blonde girl's crossed arms uncurled, scratching uneasily with her small fingernails her scalp, chewing on her lower, plump lip unnerved. Muffled whisper zinged her lips.

"If you dare to hurt her ever again, I promise you how much you're going to regret for messing up with an innocent child, who did nothing wrong to you!" Meantime, the bullies fled in no time as they were beyond mortified by the former devotional Monsignor's noxious caution like serpentine venom, lacing his tongue by spitting it on his preys.

"Are ya fine, darling?" The older woman quickly became fond of Linda by lifting up the tossed eyeglasses, handing them to her as she put them gladly. "I'm sure these eyeglasses are yars."

"Yes, ma'am! Thank you so much!" Modesty and mousiness feuded in her politeness, bobbing meekly, faintly her head as a slight, blameless smile grazed upon her face.

"Excuse me, sweetheart! Are you alright? Did they do anything dreadful to you?" Once the hooligans fled as quickly as a light summer breeze, the younger man enquired in mellow, honeyed voice the young girl, landing his warm chocolate brown irises on Linda as he instantly figured out he was dumbfoundingly fond of her without any doubt.

"They were teasing me for months for not playing with them, because they're so mean. And they've snatched my eyeglasses a couple of times for rejecting their offer to play with them."

"Aww, don't worry, sweet cupcake! Everything will be fine." In the meanwhile, the former religious sister of the church crouched down against the schooler, cupping her cheek in the palm of her leather gloved, amusingly warm hand, tilting her head to meet her friendly gaze with its glowing, maternally doting caramel brown eyes. "What's yar name?"

"L-Linda!"

"Aww, Linda! What a beautiful name for such a lovely girl like you!" The British compatriot evoked out, gasping by offering his hand along with Jude for a handshake. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Timothy Howard. And that's my girlfriend, Judy Martin!" He introduced his girlfriend to the orphan, offering her benevolent, trustworthy smiles, smeared across their lips.

"It's a pleasure to meet ya, Linda! As Timothy said, I'm Judy! We would love to be your adoptive parents."

"D-Do you truly mean all this?" Dew of salty moistness immersed the young girl's fragile eyelids, incarnadining them as salty, crystal tears of pure felicity verged to bud under her eyes by freely gushing down her cheeks as twin tears of a heavy rain. Reassuringly they nodded their heads in strong agreement outright. "To be my parents?"

"Yes, of course, Linda! We'd love more than anything to be yar parents."

"You're incredible, you know!" All of a sudden, the couple heaved the young girl by scooping her in a tight, kindhearted embrace as their chests were pressed. Little did Linda know that somebody would like to spare their time to look after a bonus life in their property especially a foster child like her, fated to wander the orphanage's grand yard daylight and sharing a room with her peers during the night. Blossoming content smiles flexed their jaws, molting in the embrace.

--- *** ---

--- A Few Years Later or So ---

--- 25th of November, 1971 ---

The years elapsed as swiftly as dripping rose petals, recently torn off from the rose until they carpeted in a rich, roseate carpet the ground.

Linda was nowadays a ten-year-old young girl, who was still attending regularly school, besides she immediately became fond of her foster parents without an ado and vice versa. Not only the juvenile blonde pleased them with her decent marks at school, moreover her ginormous inquisitiveness to learn cooking and baking sweets like the former promiscuous jazz nightclub singer and repair broken items around the house like her father, although he cautioned her every time to be wary, in case, if she harms or leaves a track of welt anywhere on her body. Her childish, full of vim and vigor enthusiasm to discover the world circa her and everything that grabbed her interest was miraculously delighting for the both former religious members of the clergy.

Nonetheless Jude has exposed in front of her contemporary and sole husband until the death apart them about her grim past by discovering each petty sleazy detail which was concealed, thanks to the chaste, dark shapelessly rigid attires of the cloth. It was only Timothy and somewhat Mother Claudia, Jude's former mentor who knew about her grim past. At last but not least, the British aristocrat fell even more in love with his rare bird without being disgusted by anything she's leaked about herself and her deepest, most sinful secrets.

Even more Linda has told to her adoptive parents which she worshipped platonically more than anything about her early childhood and how she's a love child of teenagers, from whom she was deprived as a baby due to their fragile ages to look after a fresh life.

Notwithstanding the circumstances, Jude and Timothy held a private wedding on the day after adopting Linda and they were officially married for 2 years. Although the trials that have blocked their way to fulfill ultimate happiness for ages, they still found somehow peace at last.

Today was actually the former woman of the cloth's birthday as she was turning 67 years old. Despite her elder age, the Bostonian yet looked indisputably, unspeakably stunning for her age.

At the moment, the young blonde was drawing on a sheet of paper with colorful crayons and pencils her family altogether, colouring the contoured figures and shapes by filling them with the correct nuance by being unarguably parallel with her imagination, poured in an artwork. The sheet of paper laid on the low coffee table as the schooler was working on her artwork for almost an hour exquisitely.

All of a sudden, the infant could hear even recognize familiar footsteps in a choir, approaching in front of her as Jude and Timothy have finished with washing the dishes after dinner.

"Aww, look at our little angel what is she drawing!" The elder blonde's cocoa brown pools, fueled with maternal love and warmness transfixed on her foster daughter's drawing in awe, admiring the genuine talent she's poured in her creation and being doted on each petty detail. The esthetic background. The drawn figures of her, Timothy and Judy. The colours and the amalgamated nuances together.

"You're so talented, Sunshine!" In the meantime, the former ambitious holy man leant down to plant an affectionate, delicate kiss on the top of his adopted daughter's head, consequently playing gently with her lion mane of flossy golden curls. Radiant, doting smiles, kissed their lips. "We're very proud of you, Linda!"

"Thank you, dad!" The young girl molted in the tender kiss by turning to her. "Mom?" She nodded excitedly. "What do you think of my drawing?"

"I think your father is absolutely right. No wonder yar incredible artist, sweetie!" In the interim, the older lady dangled her both lean, secure arms around Linda's shoulders, pulling her in a tight, maternally affectionate hug for a half a minute.

"Thank you so much, mom and dad! You're amazing parents."

"That's so sweet of you, Linda! Is this drawing a present for your Mommy's birthday?"

"Yes, it's!"

"Aren't ya a bit sleepy?" The Bostonian inquired mockingly, nibbling on the silken skin of her lower lip.

"Nah! I'm fine." The former orphan exhaled sharply.

"You seem tremendously courageous and determined to finish your drawing, sweetheart!" The younger man cleared his throat as his long as piano keys, dexterous fingers delicately played with his foster daughter's long mop of gilt curls, admiring the crispy softness of her long beautiful hair. "I love these traits of yours."

"I'll do always anything for you, mom and dad!" Huskily beatific chuckles dripped from the both adults' tongues as serpent's lethal venom which once stained its oral caverns. "I love you so much than anything!"

"We love you more than anything, my ray of sunshine!" The married couple peppered the young girl's chubby cheeks with delicate kisses. "You deserve everything!"

"We're ready for anything just to sacrifice ourselves for yar happiness, my darling!"

THE END

Author's Note: I'd like to apologize a bit for the sloppy epilogue, nevertheless, I wanted to update it as quickly as possible this short book by ending it in no time without dissatisfying my followers.

What I want to express as my immense gratitude to my followers is not only their continous support for my stories whether by taking their time to read them, voting for them even commenting them especially if they've genuinely enjoyed it. I had so much fun to write this brief journey of Without You from the coq-au-vin Friday dinner night up to the happy ending with Jude and Timothy as a married couple with an adopted child.

A quick question especially for the daredevil ones: What are your top 3 favorite short books/stories and why?

My top 3 are actually:

1. Daredevil Feelings- It has always been my favorite book of mine even if it's the second Nunsignor story I've ever written after the New Beginning. Despite for containing only 4 chapters, I think there's something charismatic about this second oldest Nunsignor book I've ever written. It's a dynamic roller coaster from the exorcism up to the happy ending which Jude and Tim eventually accomplish by living far away from Briarcliff. I know there are people with variety of opinions, lingering on their tongue tips, nonetheless, that's just a very unpopular opinion of mine for choosing Daredevil feelings over anything. More than Wings of Light. More than The New Beginning. I think this story of mine is perfect so far, in my humble opinion.

2. Seperated in Pittsburgh- Well, this short book is a runner, in fact, it's another different book how Timothy confronts Arden and being blackmailed, subsequently warning his right hand to flee Briarcliff within a few days, in order to protect her. She accepts the offered position, in spite of the crude, relentless consequences. The ending is fantastic. Not only they're biogical parents of an only child, moreover they're foster parents for 2 girls from the wayward home for girls. 

3. Without You- Another unpopular opinion, I bet, however, I'm so proud of writing this story so far and how it's an Alternate Universe by pouring my imagination into changing the scenery shortly after the coq-au-vin's dinner they shared back. The concept of their reunion years later is the crucial reason why I genuinely enjoyed writing this. I tormented not only Jude and Timothy, themselves, moreover self and the readers to await for their iconic reunion 5 years later after Jude's sudden disappearance. As the people who know me well, I'm a keen fan of the slowburns such as the New Beginning, Wings of Light, somewhat Seperated in Pittsburgh (it's semi-slowburn) and Without You along with Unholy Atonement. The slowburns are challenging.  The slowburns are always full of surprises and that's why they're exactly my type. 

Anyway I'd like to express my gratitude to my loyal readers, followers and fans once again for following this story eagerly. 

At last but not least, I'll currently work on the one-shot series along with Wings of Light and an eventual short book if it pops up in my mind otherwise. If you've any questions about any forthcoming or current projects even about my stories, whether ongoing or already finished, you can DM me anytime. 

I sincerely hope you liked and enjoyed this roller coaster which we've been through in Without you! 

So much love for everybody and stay awesome!

Alex xoxo💕💕✝