Author's note: technically this is the last chapter of this fanfic. I have been thinking about what kind of future Vimes would return to and I realized there are so many ways it could go and it would be less confusing on everyone if I just wrote it up as a sequel. I've already thought of about 4 possible futures that can be stories in their own right. All of them would be AU of course.

P.S. I don't own squat.

All the lilac boys and the one lilac girl followed Sam. They ran for what felt like a thousand years until they found Vimes and Carcer… for lack of a better word duking it out. They were about to rush at Carcer when Vimes held up a hand. "Stay out of this, all of you!" Sam was about to object when he felt someone tug at his hand. He looked down and saw Nobby pointing behind him. Sam turned around and saw more of Carcer's men running towards them.

There was fighting again. At one point, someone kicked Nobby and he stayed down, 'unconscious'. As the fighting continued, Dickins went down, as well as Coates. Time seemed to stop, for two people it really did and when time started again, Sam turned around and saw Sergeant Keel on the ground and Carcer was gone. Something told him not to go to him but his feet didn't listen. He ran to Keel and started to shake him frantically. "Sarge! Sarge!" It was cliché, even as Sam did it, he knew it was cliché but he couldn't stop himself. He looked up at the sky and screamed, loud and long and painful.

Everyone stopped, even Carcer's men stopped and they all looked at Sam. Then just as suddenly as he had started, Sam stopped screaming. No one had to say anything. They all knew that Keel was dead. Sam stood up slowly and looked around. "Carcer?" He looked around some more. "Carcer!" He ran to one of Carcer's men, grabbed him by his collar and shook him roughly. "Where did he go?! Tell me, godsdammit!" The man looked up at Sam, shaking and shook his head. "I-I I… don't know!" Sam pushed the man to the ground and drew his sword.

He raised it. He could hear a voice whispering to him. Kill him. They killed Sarge. They're unmentionables… Remember that woman? Remember what they would've done to Sybil? Then he heard another voice, a much more familiar voice, a dead man's voice. Once we break down, it all breaks down. You won't feel better if you do it, you know. Sam swung down his sword at the man and hit him across the face with the flat side. There was a definite puddle around the man but except for a red mark on his face, he was unscathed.

That really should have ended things. That should have been the point when all of Carcer's men turned and ran but they didn't. One of them shot an arrow that went through Snouty. So the fighting started again and for some reason everyone started listening to Sam, even Sergeant Colon. From a rooftop, if one looked really carefully, one would have seen a mass of dark colors that didn't fit exactly right into the background but that was only because the mass wasn't trying to fit exactly right into the background.

The dark colors, picked a sprig of lilac and held it in its mouth and jumped down to join the fray. Once on the ground, one could see that the mass of dark colors was a young man. Sam was about to ask who the hell the young man was but the man just smirked at him. Somehow, Sam, Sybil and the young man found themselves back to back and surrounded. Sybil looked at the young man, her eyes widened. "Havelock?" Havelock turned to Sybil and smiled. "Oh hello, Sybil." He didn't even seem surprised to see her, which was what really got to Sam.

Sam blocked a man's sword and pushed him back with his foot. "Wait a second! You two know each other?" Havelock shrugged as he slit a man's throat. Sybil coughed as she punched a man. Sam narrowed his eyes at Sybil. "There something you want to tell me?" Sybil chuckled nervously. "Oh you know how it is. All aristocrats know each other." Sam nodded and then it hit him. "Oh my gods! Are you two—"

"Oh course not!"

Havelock pushed the lilac into the corner of his mouth. "We only went out once. That hardly counts." Sybil gritted her teeth. "Havelock!" Havelock shrugged. "Oh relax, what does he care anyway. It's none of his business." His face became one of realization and he grinned widely at Sybil. "Sybil. Have you been slumming it?" Havelock heard Sam yell, "Excuse me!?" Sybil's face turned tomato red. "I'll have you know Sam is a very nice boy and… Why am I explaining myself to you?"

The fighting didn't take much longer. After a few minutes, the last of Carcer's men, crawled or hobbled away. What remained of the lilac boys didn't exactly cheer for their victory so much as sigh of relief. Sam stomped off back to the Treacle Mine Road watch house and everyone followed close, but not too close, behind him. The only ones that dared to get close were Havelock and Sybil. Sam heard Havelock say to Sybil, "You really should get that shoulder looked at."

"I know but it hasn't exactly been practical to do so."

Sam stopped suddenly and turned to Sybil. She absently took half a step back when he spoke, "You said it was fine." Never has such an innocuous statement carried so much accusation or venom. Havelock blended himself into the background with only a hint of a grin. Sybil stared at Sam trying to think of something clever to say. "Huh?" Sam pointed an accusing finger at Sybil. "When I said you should see a doctor about your shoulder, you practically called me sexist! He says you should see a doctor and you make excuses about why you haven't!"

Some coughing was heard from somewhere in the background but when Sybil looked around, she didn't see anything. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I can't believe you. You're actually jealous. You're the one who said we should call it quits." Sam almost hopped with fury. "I'm not jealous!" There was some more frantic coughing. Sam looked disdainfully at nothingness since he really had no idea where Havelock was but he was damn sure the man was laughing at him.

Sybil smiled at Sam suddenly and took a few steps toward him. She was about to put her arms around him but her shoulder was really killing her now. So she contended herself to stroke Sam's cheek softly. "You're so cute when you're being unreasonable. I can assure you, you have nothing to worry about." Sam relaxed and tilted forward. Sam and Sybil's lips touched lightly but only for an instant and then Sam was dragged back and tossed against the doorframe of the watch house entrance.

Sam looked up at a mustache bristling with rage and milky blue eyes looking down at him. Captain Rust grabbed Sam's collar and shook him vigorously. "All right you, gutter trash! Where's Keel?! He's got a lot to answer for and don't think I've forgotten your little stunt either!" Sam opened his mouth to say something but Sybil interrupted him. "He's dead, Ronnie." Rust turned and noticed Sybil at last. He tossed Sam against the doorframe again and walked over to Sybil. "Sybil? What are you doing here? What happened? Why are you bleeding?"

Sybil sighed. "Willikins and I were shopping for this home economics project I have and we got separated. I ended up here since there was anarchy everywhere else and then I was stabbed during the fighting." Sam was really should have been amazed at how Sybil recounted the events of the last two days like she was listing off her grocery list but he really couldn't get over the fact that Sybil had called Captain Rust 'Ronnie'. Havelock appeared out of the background again and was standing next to Sam. Sam just looked at him and didn't even flinch. "Are they…"

Havelock nodded vaguely. "Once but it hardly counts." Sam couldn't stop himself from laughing. "I thought posh girls weren't allowed to even talk to men unless they were married to them." He sighed. "And here I thought I had been so smooth." He noticed that Rust, despite his many flaws was actually fussing over Sybil a bit. He put his coat around her shoulders and led his horse to her so she could get on. Sam found himself wishing that Rust would act like a jerk at least, so he could hate him properly.

He sighed and looked at Havelock again. "Does he—?" Havelock shook his head slowly. "No, he just feels responsible." Once Sybil was sitting side-saddle on Rust's horse, Sam walked over to her slowly. He looked up at her and smiled. "Bye." Sybil looked down and smiled back. "It doesn't have to be this way…" Sam shook his head. "Yes it does." Sybil belonged on a horse and Sam belonged on foot. Sybil bent down slowly and Sam stretched up so they could share one final kiss but then Rust tugged sharply at the reins. "Come along, Sybil."

Sam watched Sybil ride away slowly. She'd turn to look at him and Sam fought every urge he had to run after the horse. He knew it would be less painful if he could just turn away. Walk away, something told him in his mind but he couldn't. He wanted to keep his eyes on her as long as possible. He sighed loudly when the horse turned a corner and Sybil was completely out of sight. Havelock walked over to Sam and stood beside him.

"So Keel is dead."

"Yes."

"Such a shame. He could have been great. He should have been made Watch Commander. That comes with a knighthood, you know." Havelock paused when Sam looked at him. "I know his type. He would have done great things for this city. Not just for the aristocrats but the whole city. In time, he would have become one of the most powerful men in Ankh-Morpork. Can you imagine it? A simple guard, someone men like Rust think of as gutter trash. He had such potential."

Sam closed his eyes for a moment then looked at Havelock again. "I know what you're doing." Havelock blinked. "Oh?" Sam rolled his eyes. "You're trying to manipulate me. You think I'm going do anything you tell me just by dangling Sybil in front of me like some prize?" Havelock shrugged. "I didn't say anything about you. I was talking about Sergeant Keel. I've had no indication that you two are anything alike."

Sam nodded uncertainly and then turned to look back at end of the street. He crossed his arms and tried to stay angry. He did feel angry. Sarge was dead, Nancyball was dead, Snouty, Dickins, Reg Shoe, Coates and Wiglet were all dead. He knew that Sarge was right and things weren't going to change and that he'd never see Sybil again and what made him really mad is that eventually, she'd marry either a man like Rust or a man like Havelock.

But as angry as he was about everything, he felt more heartbroken. He felt lost and alone and he just wanted to kick Havelock for even saying those things about Sarge. He knew Havelock was trying to play him, but he had no idea if he was just doing it for his own amusement or because he really thought that Sam had potential. He stopped thinking when he felt eyes on him. Havelock was watching him. There was no clue to what the man was thinking. Sam sighed. "What?"

Havelock tilted his head and after a long time put a hand over Sam's right eye. When he removed it, it left a dark smudge over his eye and parts his cheekbone. He didn't say anything. He just made a little sound that could have been a cough or a laugh or a 'huh' and then walked away. Sam turned around but Havelock was already gone. "What the hell was that?" He walked into the watch house and poured himself some cocoa. He sat at one of the desks staring into the mug until it had gone cold.

He drummed his fingers on the desk impatiently and tried not to think about anything Havelock said. He went to the privy then up to his barracks rooms. He really wanted to sleep, to sleep forever and to not dream because he knew what he'd dream about. But he couldn't bring himself to get into the bed. He rubbed his cheek and decided that maybe he should try shaving. Not that he had anything to shave. He walked over to a little mirror and picked up his razor and finally looked up at the mirror and his reflection. He saw the dark smudge on his eye and cheek. He cautiously closed his right eye and saw that the smudge was on his eyelid as well. It did look like an eye patch.

"Sod!" He picked up a rag and wiped his eye roughly trying to get the greasepaint or whatever it was off his face. After a few seconds, it was spread around but most of the greasepaint was on the rag. Sam growled and threw down the rag. He ran over to the window, looked out and yelled, "Yea, real godsdamn funny, Havelock!" He shook his fist out the window and then heard Colon shout from below. "What the hell are you going on about, Vimes?" Sam gritted his teeth as he pulled himself back inside. He closed the window carefully and after counting to ten, he thumped the wall.

The End. Sorta...