Getting out of the mental hospital was a huge relief. Casey's new therapist, Dr. Otto, was even more helpful than Dr. Barry since he was a specialist. Casey still hated therapy but felt like he was making more progress.
This was probably at least partially because he was more relaxed being back outside. He had returned to his usual routine but better since he had moved in with Vera.
He had therapy on Mondays and Thursdays before work, was at the shop all day, then went to visit Tilly with her afterward. On Sundays, they maintained their habit of checking out estate sales for items to sell.
Life was better than Casey ever thought it would be. He was loved by someone warm, soft, and beautiful. That was more than he dreamed was possible. He thought he would always be alone after Candy supposedly abandoned him.
Vera reaching her hand out to him had saved him in more ways than one. If not for her, he never would have realized the truth. Even trying to overcome his trauma would have been impossible since it was so heavily suppressed. As much as the process sucked, he acknowledged it needed to be done. It was the only way he would know true peace.
Honestly, he cared more about finding that for her sake than his own. He didn't want her to worry about him ever again.
Casey had to be the strong, reliable one now. Not Kane.
His wish had sort of come true though. Since Vera did look out for Casey. They looked out for each other. All that was left now was true assimilation and he didn't know how or when that would happen. Or, more pessimistically, if.
He wanted to say it was possible since he was regaining some of Kane's memories bit by bit. Like what he did to hide Candy's death permanently. Even if anyone looked into her disappearance, they wouldn't find her. You couldn't prove someone was dead without a body.
Was it horrible? Yes. Casey never would have been able to do it but Kane had always been the more callous between the two of them. He was Casey's survival instincts, doing whatever it took for them to survive.
Casey wouldn't have made it this far without Kane. Casey owed him a lot but could never properly thank him since they couldn't communicate with each other.
If not for Kane, Casey probably would have been stuck in a long-term mental health facility years ago. He never would have even met Vera. The very thought made him shudder. She was his whole life at this point.
He hated seeing her suffer. When Tilly died unexpectedly the following fall, Vera was inconsolable. She needed him more than ever.
About a month later, he tried to cheer her up by proposing. She just lost the last of her family. Becoming her family legally seemed like the right call so he painstakingly picked out a vintage ring he thought he would like and proposed in the backyard one night while they were on the porch swing.
She teared up even as she beamed at him, throwing herself into his arms with an enthusiastic "Yes!" before he could put the ring on her finger. That was incredibly gratifying.
Casey NEVER would have imagined anyone wanting him this much. Let alone someone as lovely as Vera.
She was the very air he breathed. He couldn't live without her.
They had a simple courthouse wedding as soon as she was able to find a vintage wedding dress. Neither of them had anyone they felt close enough to invite so they did it by themselves but with a photographer. She wanted to hang their wedding pictures on the living room wall, which made him happy every time he walked past the collage.
Life went on. Vera still struggled on the holidays without Tilly but Casey was there with her the whole time. He went with his wife to an antiques conference she was asked to speak at too.
He had heard everything in the presentation before but she did an amazing job and he was sure to tell her so. She beamed and kissed him for that.
Everything was perfectly peaceful until a couple of years passed and she suddenly felt sick and ended up going to urgent care. She wasn't sick. She was pregnant.
Neither of them had wanted children. Vera's parents never wanted her and Casey's father was neglectful at best, letting his daughter get away with abusing his son right under his nose. But once Vera found out she was pregnant, she was determined to give their baby the best life possible.
Casey could never go against what she wanted but couldn't deny being terrified since he didn't have good parental examples growing up. He read every parenting book he could get his hands on and she thought it was sweet.
It was more desperate than anything but he was glad she thought so. She always thought the best of him though. He needed that more than he could ever say. She was the only one who ever had.
When they found out they were having a girl, Vera liked the name Adelaide. Between the nicknames 'Addie' and 'Ada', he preferred the latter. Call him superstitious but having their daughter's name end in A like her mother's rather than the 'ee' sound like her father's and aunt's might prevent her from turning out like them.
Casey begged the universe to let Ada be like Vera and his wish was granted. She was an adorable, happy baby who grew into an adorable, happy child. A kind one too. He had been worrying for nothing. She didn't get any of Candy's insanity at all.
Once he was sure of that, he could finally breathe easily. Everyone he loved was okay and he truly believed that would continue indefinitely. Look how far he had come!
===
Kane didn't realize exactly how long he had been under until he came to completely at random one day without any visible triggers around. Then he saw a preschool-aged girl with Vera's hair and his eyes come running toward him, holding her arms up.
"Daddy!"
Daddy?! Since when did Casey have a kid?
This was the longest Kane had EVER been under. Why come out at all then? Was this the last time, solely to see how well Casey was taken care of?
Wordlessly, Kane picked the girl up. He had no idea what her name was but that seemed to be what she wanted since she had been straining to reach him on her tiptoes.
"Casey! Ada! The food's ready!" Vera called from behind them.
He turned and saw she had a whole picnic set up on a blanket in the grass. This sort of simple family togetherness was completely foreign to him. They made a beautiful family of three and he wasn't a part of it at all.
Kane could be though. The last time he was out, he thought about how Vera's type of love would be his forever if he rejoined Casey.
That was what Kane wanted. He wanted to remember everything Casey did and experience this sort of unfamiliar happiness for himself. Didn't Kane deserve that too after how much he had done to protect his idiot?
Maybe Casey wasn't such an idiot after all though. He had done very well for himself in the end.
The last conscious thought Kane ever had as himself was that Casey could do things right after all. Nothing seemed more right than the way Vera was smiling at him.
"You want a sandwich, Casey?" she asked cheerfully.
Fully recombined, Casey returned her smile. He would have to tell her about this later when Ada wasn't around. "Yeah. That sounds great."