silver-tongues-blog:

You know the moment when Ned is looking at the stars? I imagine he was humming Country Road to himself as he did

A shot rings out from the crowd behind him as Ned rushes in to tackle Dani.

Ned… slams into her. And it hurts, that– that hurts. The two of them spiral and crash to the ground, and Dani’s on top of him and she leans backward and starts to dive her jagged teeth down into his neck. And just at the last second, Barclay runs in and yanks her away. Dani isn’t there anymore wrestling him anymore, but Ned doesn’t get up. The echo of the shot is still ringing in his ears.

From the ground where he’s laying, he can see Barclay pulling her away. She is restrained and fighting, and alive.

Good, he thinks. That’s good.

Mama looks at Barclay, and then looks down at Ned.

And then it occurs to him that everybody is looking down at him. Kepler, the town that’s become his home. The people who’ve become his family. Loyalty has never been Ned’s strong suit, but after all the years he’s been here, the kindness Victoria paid him upon his arrival, the trust Duck placed in him to take Beacon, the faith that Mama had in him to recruit him into Pine Guard, the joy Aubrey shared with him in their time together, Kepler’s earned his. He smiles, or tries to. He thinks of the song he’d heard carried through the night air from someone’s porch the night he fled.. his mistake. How wrong everything felt then, but how right it feels now, despite everything.

The lyrics, the tune, carry through the damp night air and land softly, weakly on his lips. It comes out a little broken, but then Ned’s never been known for how well he can carry a tune.

Country roads…

The ground beneath him is wet, he realizes, but the sensation soon fades. It’s replaced by a chill that makes his head buzz softly, like static. It seeps into his vision. He looks up into the crowd, and the only rifle that is still pointed outward belongs to Pigeon. He can just make out a whisp of smoke leaking out of the tip.

She looks terrified. It’s a strange look for her. She’d been so brave when they fought the water abomination so many months ago. She’s just a kid, and fighting something she didn’t understand, but she was so brave. Where has that bravery gone?

Take me home…

She collapses. Ned hears Mama speak, something incomprehensible as she frantically gestures to Sheriff Owens. He nods and takes off running. And then Mama asks Ned something, but he can’t quite make it out. He hears what sounds like his name. She’s shouting, but it’s muffled and fuzzy. And then it’s silent.

To the place…

All he hears is the wind in the air and the song it brings. All he sees are the stars.

Where I belong…

They are… beautiful.

And then they’re gone.