A gust of wind hit Leland's wet cheeks as he exited the Benbow Inn. He and Sarah had said their good-byes, and he'd promised to write to her once in a while. He didn't know if he really would – after all, commitment still came as a tough chore to him. But he finally had his closure that he had craved for so many years. Or did he? A part of Leland was still empty – the part where Jim belonged. He had secretly hoped that he'd be able to speak with his son. Still, seeing Sarah and obtaining her forgiveness was more than he had expected. He knew that he should be grateful, but still... how he wished he could see his son.

Another gust of wind chilled caught Leland off guard, and sent his hat flying through the air.

"Damn it," he muttered.

"I've got your hat, sir!" a young voice called.

Leland looked up to see a little boy – maybe six years old – running to pick up the hat.

"Here, sir," the boy had approached Leland with the hat.

Leland knelt down and looked at the boy more carefully. "Thank you...Jim!" he gasped. The boy reminded him of his son. His face was round and his cheeks were pink with the vitality of youth. His hair was brown, as were his eyes and his smile looked so much like Jim's had.

"Why do you look so sad?" the boy inquired.

"Because I'm thinking of my own little boy," Leland told him.

"Really? What's he like? Is he..."

"Hey, hey Brad!" a man's voice called out, interrupting the boy's questions. Leland followed the voice to a man, who might've been in his thirties. He wore a uniform with the insignia of the Interstellar Navy. Although the man was fairly far from youth, Leland knew instinctively who it was – his own little boy.

The man approached the two and raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Brad, didn't I tell you not to run too far ahead?" He chuckled and then looked at Leland. "I'm sorry if he bothered you, sir. He's been a bit hyper these days."

"Oh, no, that's all right. I was just..."

"Daddy just came home from a trip," the boy interrupted. "He's an important captain. And when daddy comes home, we always go to the park and play pirates. Then we go to grandma's and eat cookies and milk. Well, dad gets coffee I think. But we're going to grandma's now. This is grandma's restaurant, you know!"

Leland grinned at his grandson. "Yes, I actually spoke to your grandma. And she's such a nice lady. I might have to try the cookies and milk next time."

The boy laughed and nodded. "Yeah! They're the best cookies in the whoooole etherium!!!"

"Well, then that leaves me no choice." Then Leland smiled at his own son. "So you're a captain in the Navy, sir?" he asked.

"I am."

"Well, that's quite a prestigious position. I'm sure it took a lot of hard work and dedication to get there."

Leland watched as the younger man studied his face. He looked confused for a moment, as if he was trying to solve a puzzle.

"Do I know you?" he finally asked.

Leland shrugged. "Maybe. We might've crossed paths several years ago."

The other man nodded slowly, as if he was still trying to figure something out, then looked down at his son. "Well, Brad, we'd better get going. Grandma doesn't like it when we're late, does she?"

"No way!" the boy shouted and ran toward the door of the Benbow Inn.

As Jim and Leland sidestepped each other, Leland couldn't help but turn and clamp a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Sir?" the younger man asked.

"I just have some words of advice for you, son," Leland said. "This is something that I should have considered many years ago, that I think you should know. Your little boy, there..." he nodded at his grandson "...take good care of him. I lost my son a long time ago, and there's no way that I can ever get him back now. But in my heart I know that he's grown up to be a good man. So you take care of your little boy because there's nothing more important in this world than being a good father. Do you understand me?"

"I do. I'll remember your words."

"And Brad," Leland called. The little boy turned with eager, excited eyes. "You take care of your dad. I think he deserves it, don't you?"

"Yup! He's a captain and I need to watch after the house when he's on trips. But he takes care of me and mom. Dad's got a really important job..."

"But it's never more important then you," Jim said to his son.

"There you go," Leland said. "You both are smarter than I ever was. Take care of yourselves."

"We will, and thank you," Jim replied slowly. He watched for a few moments, still pondering, as the older man walked down the path and away from the Inn.

Leland found himself several hundred feet away from the Benbow Inn before he turned to look back. He stared at the place in silence for a few moments. In a whirlwind of a few hours he had found more answers than he had ever hoped for. His heart had healed more in those hours than it had in the many years that he had been searching.

Leland raised an arm and waved at the Inn, just slightly. The fact that nobody would even realize his actions no longer concerned him. He was free. Then, drawing his coat around his thin form, the man began to walk away again. Into the distance... until he was a stranger to Montressor once more.

I was wrong to keep you underneath my finger

I was wrong to try and change you like I did

Oh I was a fool, I was to blame

And I put myself to shame

Now you and your love can show me the way

(You gave me your heart and one last chance)

Now I, I feel like an aeroplane above the rain

This time, I won't make the same mistakes I used to make

It was love and evolution

It was tearing it us apart

I prayed for absolution and I found it in your heart

Now I, I feel like an aeroplane above the rain

I can fly...

-Tal Bachman "Aeroplane"

finis.

Author's Notes: Well, I don't know where this one came from. All I know is that it felt like it had to be written. I tried to make Leland and Sarah seem as human as possible, which hopefully didn't take anyone out of character. I think I'm speaking more about Sarah as far as that goes, since we didn't really get to see much of Leland during the film. I really enjoyed writing the "Doppler girls." They were fun, although they didn't play an overly-large role. For those who were wondering, "Mea Culpa" is Latin for 'through my fault' (I looked this up) – I thought it was appropriate for the title. As usual, this story was inspired by music (wow, there's a surprise). Ok, well the thing that surprised me was how many songs actually inspired it, for there were QUITE a few. Some of the songs include "You're Still Here" (Faith Hill), "How You Remind Me" (Nickleback), "My December" (Linkin' Park/Josh Groban), and "You're the Only Place" (Josh Groban) – to name several. However "Aeroplane" by Tal Bachman turned out to be the 'big winner' – aka the song that fit the best. I mean, I thought of putting different lyrics from various songs in each chapter, but that would've gotten too confusing, don't you think? Is anyone still paying attention? Well, if you are, thank you for reading this story. I really appreciate it, especially to those who reviewed. Till next time...