Chapter Text
Caroline wiped the sweat from her best friend's face . She was in a trem en dous amount of pain but refused the medication so they could talk one last time . They had met after the war and became fast friends and were almost inseparable since then . But now her best friend was dying and there was nothing she could do for her . She took a deep breath and smiled because she knew there would be plenty of time to mourn her later.
"Are you sure you don't want to take the medicine the doctor left?" Caroline asked as she wiped her face one more time.
She opened her eyes and shook her head no . Any action took a great deal of strength and energy and she needed to talk to Caroline . She reached for Caroline's hand and whispered, "Please don't be mad at me."
Caroline blinked back the tears and said, "I could never be mad at you."
"You know what I'm talking about."
Caroline sighed and nodded her head . Of all the years they had been friends they had always gotten along except for one thing that they disagreed about continuously . She had argued and disagreed with her when she returned from her trip and found out she had not told him anything about their son . The man had a right to know and his son would need his father especially after losing his mother.
" He' s been asking about him a lot and he has a right to know who is father is."
"I told him everything last night."
Caroline looked at her in shock . "You told him everything?"
" He had a right to know and I wanted him to hear it from me."
Caroline asked, "And?"
"And what?"
"Is he mad?"
She smiled sweetly as she recalled the conversation with her son last night . She had been worried once she told him the truth regarding the circumstances of his birth and who is father was but as usual he surprised her with his reaction telling her nothing would change the way he felt about his momma . He was so much like his father it was eerie considering father and son had never meant each other . He of course had numerous questions and she answered each one although she couldn't answer too many about his father since it had been several months since she had seen him last.
"No, he isn't mad . But he has a lot of questions."
Caroline sat beside her and said, "I could only imagine . He was full of questions before and I'm sure now he has even more now."
She looked at her dear friend and asked, "Will you take him to his father, please?"
Caroline sighed and spoke quietly, "Is that what you want?"
"It's what we both want."
Caroline patted her hand and said, "Very well."
She motioned to her dresser . "I wrote him a letter after I returned from my trip that I want you to give him before you introduce him to our son."
Caroline sighed as she spoke, "If that's what you want, I will do my best ."
She patted Caroline's hand, "I have faith in you." She had to rest before she continued. "He's a good man Caroline so please don't be mad at him."
Caroline got up and turned away from her; that would be easier said than done . He knew he had laid with her several times and he never bothered to check with her to make sure nothing had come of their nights of passion . She knew they had parted ways not long after their affair ended but still if he was such a good man he could have checked with her . She knew the sorted details of their relationship and try as she might she could not understand how he walked away after proclaiming he loved her.
Caroline took a deep breath and turned back around and said, "For you I will try."
She smiled once again and said, "That is all I am asking."
"I will do anything for your boy ." Caroline sat back down beside her and took her hands . "He is the son I never had and I will love him with everything I have."
She smiled at her best friend and nodded her head . During the war Caroline had been injured and since medical supplies were hard to come by along with doctors and nurses Caroline's wound never healed correctly which rendered her unable to birth any children . She remembered the first time she met Caroline .
She had volunteered to work in a hospital after the war ended and the two women bonded immediately . Caroline was distraught that her fiancé had ended their engagement after she revealed she could not bear him any children . Caroline was hurt over her lost relationship and she was reeling from her lost love as well . The women talked non stop for hours and when it came time for Caroline to be released from the hospital they decided to become roommates .
When she found out she was with his child she was devastated and thought about leaving but Caroline knew something was bothering her new friend and she finally confided in Caroline. She was worried Caroline would turn her back on her but she hadn't and had been there for her every step of the way . She s miled at her dear friend more one more time before closing her eyes permanently .
Caroline walked out of the bedroom wiping her eyes. She sat down heavily at the table and put her head in her hands and cried. She knew her Godson would be home in an hour and she hoped to be cried out by then but she doubted that.
When he burst in the door he immediately knew. Caroline took a deep breath and opened her arms to him.
He asked between the sobs, "She's gone ain't she?"
Caroline didn't trust her voice and simply nodded her head yes as she comforted her Godson .
He pushed away gently from Caroline as he wiped his eyes, "Can I see her?"
" Of course sweetheart." He reached for Caroline's hand as they walked into his mother's bedroom one more time . Caroline stopped at the entrance to give him a few minutes alone with his mama .
He sat down beside his mother and noticed how peaceful she looked. The silent tears fell down his face as he looked at her beautiful face. His mother told him he looked almost exactly like his father but now he wished he would have looked like her instead of that man .
His mother finally told him last night about his father and although he told his mama he didn't hate his father he knew he didn't like him either . He knew his mother loved his father because he would hear her and Auntie Caroline talking about him from time to time when they thought he was asleep . He promised his mama last night he would do as his Auntie Caroline told him but if that man tried to tell him something he was in for a shock . He had been raised to respect his elders but that man had hurt his mama and he would never forgive him for that.
He reached for his mama's hand and was shocked when he felt how cold it was and it gave him chills as well . He whispered in his mother's ear, "I love you mama, forever and always." He kissed her forehead and was once again taken b ack b y how cold she was . He rose from the bed and covered his mama with her favorite blanket .
Caroline watched him and once again felt the tears sting her eyes .
"Auntie Caroline?"
She wiped the tears from her eyes, "Yes ? "
"I miss her already."
Caroline gasped as she ran towards the young man and took him into her arms . They cried together mourning the loss of a best friend and a mother . After several minutes Caroline finally regained some of her composure and looked at her Godson .
The next few days would be rough on them but Caroline knew they could and would survive. She would fulfill her best friend's wishes and take her son to meet his father but it would be up to her Godson if they stayed or not regardless of what that man wanted.
He wiped his eyes and Caroline was taken back by how much he did look like his father. The reason he was named after his father was due to his resemblance of the man. Her best friend had said on more than one occasion the older he got the more he looked like his father. Caroline had finally saw a picture of his father and had to agree that father and son strongly resembled each other. She knew when they showed up there was no way he could deny he was his son and God help him if he even tried that with her.
Caroline spoke quietly, "JT honey your mama loved you very much and you need to remember that always. "
JT smiled at his Auntie, "I know that Auntie." His voice turned icy, "And if that man says otherwise me and him will have a problem along with those hateful people in the town he lives in."
Caroline laughed and said, "Hell hath no fury."
"I don't care if he's my pa or not he better not talk bad about my mama." He took a deep breath and continued, "And that goes for his family too . I don't care how powerful they are." He put his hands on his hips.
Caroline put her hands on JT's shoulders and said, "The south will rise again ?"
JT looked at his auntie, "If any of them says anything bad about my mama they will all be sorry."
They fell silent for several minutes as they both looked at the closed bedroom door where Julia Saxton took her last breath.