Disclaimer: Pern and the dragons of Pern belong to Anne McCaffrey

AN: So. This is it. The final chapter. That means a lot of wrapping up to be done. Particularly the one thing that I know a lot of you have been waiting for for quite some time now. So without more ado…

Lystar sat on the ledge outside her weyr, leaning back against the cliff that sheltered her from the blazing tropical sun. At this time of day, no one was moving in the Weyr bowl and Caliath was down at the feeding ground, so she could imagine herself alone in the whole of Pern.

She wanted to be alone – except for Caliath, who was so much a part of herself that he never intruded on her. She didn't want to talk to anyone.

She'd told R'lan and Reia about her eye. It didn't seem such a big thing any more. The Weyr had been flying thread without her anyway. But she didn't know what else she could do. There was nothing she was particularly good at.

And she didn't really want to go and find something to do, something constructive to spend her time on. Lystar felt drained. She wasn't physically tired – not any more – but it suited her fine to sit there in the shade, doing nothing very much, thinking of anything but one thing.

She saw K'beth come out of his weyr and make his way round the ledge towards her, and sighed inwardly. The greenrider was another puzzle she couldn't quite make out. He'd taken to dropping in to see her over the past few days, hanging around, not saying much, and then leaving again. She missed the old K'beth, the one who'd helped her through everything and been a staunch comfort in her trouble. But she supposed he had his own life to live. Problems of his own.

'Hey, K'beth,' she said quietly, smiling faintly at him.

'Lystar,' he said. He stood beside her, shifting his weight slightly from foot to foot, and impatiently flipped a strand of hair out of his eyes. She frowned.

'What's wrong?'

'You,' said K'beth. 'Every time I look out I see you sitting here, staring into space, and it's beginning to get to me. Lystar, Bessa's death was sad, but it's four days ago now. The dragons are over it. We won't forget, but – life goes on. Why doesn't it for you? I know she – that letter was addressed to you, but – why does Bessa's death matter so much more to you, Lystar?'

Lystar sighed, her eyes prickling. This was the thing she'd been not thinking about – hadn't wanted to think about. 'Because I could have stopped it,' she said, miserably. 'I saw her, and I saw how upset she was. All she needed was somebody to make her tell them the truth, to reassure her and comfort her. What she'd done was wrong, but it wasn't so wrong that she couldn't have been forgiven. She never meant any harm. And I knew she was hurting and I nearly – so nearly – went to her, and I didn't. I could have saved her and Halith, K'beth, and I was too lazy. It was my fault.'

'Faranth's egg, Lystar!' K'beth groaned. 'What is it with you blaming yourself for everything? I never hear anything from you but "it's my fault". Get a grip! The world doesn't revolve around you.' His voice was rising angrily, and Lystar stared at him, shocked. She'd never heard K'beth explode like this. 'In fact, you're being sharding stupid and self-centred! What you need to do is get up and go find something to do. Right now!' He turned and stormed away down the ledge, leaving Lystar half rising to her feet in surprise. K'beth's outburst had come from almost nowhere, and it was completely uncharacteristic. She stared after him. What had got into him?

Maybe he's right, though, she thought. I have been a bit – distracted, these last few days. I should think of something to do with my life now. Cal? What do you think?

The blue dragon paused eating to consider the question. You have been very boring lately, he said, eventually.

Lystar smiled wryly. Thanks, Cal. I guess I'll go down the Lower Caverns, then, see if I can give Gilda a hand with anything. She'd been avoiding Gilda recently. But Bessa's death wasn't really the Headwoman's fault, either.

Lystar hauled herself to her feet and headed for the stairs.

Gilda was in the centre of a tangle of bustling activity, wielding a ladle with deadly accuracy to bruise the fingers of any Weyrbrat who tried to sneak a fistful of food from the preparations for dinner.

'No, you cannot help me,' she said tartly, when Lystar made her request. 'I have no use for an untrained and cack-handed assistant. Go and see if you and that bony blue monster of yours can give Reia assistance with anything. She and R'lan have ben snowed under with requests for information about that brave stupid good-for-nothing girl.'

Lystar stared at her, wide-eyed. 'What?' the Headwoman snapped.

The girl shook her head. 'I've never heard you talk about anyone like that. You miss her.'

Gilda swallowed. Say what you like about her grandaughter, she had a trick for seeing into people's hearts. 'I'd be mad to miss that manhunting layabout,' she said, gruffly. 'Now get along with you.'

Lystar nodded, and turned away. A flame in the fire at Gilda's back leapt up, casting a bright light across her face as she turned, and Gilda saw her whiteness with an uncomfortable leap of her heart. 'What's up with you now?'

Lystar paused, then shrugged. 'Nothing really. K'beth snapped at me is all, and he doesn't usually –'

Gilda snorted. 'That one! I'm not surprised. He'll be biting everyone's heads off today.'

'What?' Lystar swung back.

Gilda rolled her eyes. 'His green's proddy. Now if that's all, off you go! I'm busy.'

Lystar climbed up the steps into the Weyr bowl, her head reeling. Cal! Did you hear that? Rosith's going to rise!

I know, said Caliath, smugly.

You know? Why didn't you tell me?

You didn't want to be disturbed, Caliath reminded her.

This is different. Lystar paused, and then asked, tentatively. Cal, what are you going to do – when Rosith rises?

Catch her. The blue said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Will you be able to? You're not as fast as a brown, if some join the flight…

I will catch her. What else could happen?

Lystar could feel it too – the sense of inevitablility. When Rosith rose, Caliath would catch her. Or would he? She frowned. She was fairly sure that he wouldn't – if she didn't want him to.

So, the next question would be – did she want him to?

Shouting and splashing broke out ahead of her, and Lystar's thoughts cut off. She broke automatically into a run towards the source of the noise. The Weyrlings! she thought, as she heard G'zul's voice bellowing above the confusion, and felt Caliath taking off from the feeding grounds to head for the lake as well.

By the time that Lystar and Caliath made almost simultaneous arrivals at the lake shore, G'zul had suceeded in restoring order to the situation. He was standing in front of a pair of identical sandy-haired boys, who were completely failing to look chastened by his angry speech. Lystar groaned. She'd never had much contact with the weyrlings, but she – like everyone else in the weyr – had heard all about the famous twins.

Still, it looked like G'zul was in control. Lystar left him to it, strolling over to lazily scratch Caliath's eyebrow ridge.

Valenth is unhappy, Caliath said, with a touch of concern.

Lystar swung around, looking back at the weyrlings. Sure enough, a large bronze at one edge of the group was fidgeting and shifting in the water. She frowned, and looked around for G'zul, but the weyrling master was at the other end of the group, standing over the twins as they scrubbed their dragons, and he was too far away to notice the bronze's distress.

Lystar hesitated. She wanted to find time to think about K'beth – but she remembered another person in trouble whom she had failed to stop and help. Swallowing hard, she dropped her hand away from Caliath's face and walked across to the edge of the lake.

Valenth's rider was a small, slightly built boy, who looked up with strained eyes as Lystar approached. 'Sir, I – oh. I beg your pardon, I thought you were the weyrling master.'

Lystar grinned. 'The weyrling master is breathing down the twins' necks as though he were a dragon himself, so I thought I'd stroll over. What's your trouble? I'll give you a hand.'

'Oh, would you?' the boy breathed, his eyes threatening to overflow into tears. 'He's just so big and I'm not tall enough and I can't seem to reach everywhere and I know I'm not looking after him properly and –'

'Whoa!' Lystar held up a hand to slow the tide of talk. 'Calm down, lad, or you'll upset Valenth. First things first – what's your name?'

'It's Dar – D'rid.' The boy was a new enough rider to still stumble over the honourific contraction of his name.

'Right then, D'rid. Now, you have to care for your own dragon, but I can show you a few tricks I know. My Caliath is only a blue, but he was all bones and angles while he was growing and very difficult to clean. Ask Valenth to lie down in the water and let's see what we can do.'

By the time that Valenth was cleaned to Lystar's satisfaction, all the weyrlings – and G'zul – had noticed Lystar's presence. She sent D'rid – red-faced and profusely thankful – away to feed his dragon, and began to go over to the weyrling master to explain, when a hand tugged unexpectedly on her left sleeve. 'Bluerider –'

Lystar'd trained herself not to jump, but her heart leapt inside her as she whirled round to see who was there. A startled weyrling stepped backwards, splashing in the ankle depth water. Lystar forced herself to breathe normally, and smiled at him. 'Sorry. What was it you wanted?'

'I don't know if you could help me,' the tall, soft-voiced boy said, hesitantly, 'but Maleth won't keep still to let me clean him…'

'Yes, I can help with that,' she said, reassuringly. Cal? Can you talk to Maleth? I think it's just over-excitement.

I will make him be still, said Caliath, and Lystar smiled at the boy.

'Caliath will talk to your dragon and keep him calm. But if you have this problem again, it might help if you chat to Maleth while you bathe him. He moves around because he's bored.'

She smiled, and turned back towards G'zul, then stopped. Most of the weyrlings were not interested in her, occupied with their dragons, but two or three were looking towards her hopefully.

One side of her mouth crooked up into a crooked smile. Then Lystar stepped over to the nearest. 'What can I help you with?'

Lystar wasn't able to speak to G'zul until all the dragons had been bathed and the weyrlings dismissed. Finally only she and the old weyrling master were left at the lake shore.

'I'm sorry for butting into your class –' she began, but G'zul waved her apology aside.

'No, don't be sorry, you were a big help. They're a big group – a mite too much for me, especially with those twins.' G'zul grinned at her. 'Always knew you'd turn out all right, whatever it looked like.'

'Well, it can't have looked promising!' Lystar laughed. 'You said I was the clumsiest, slowest weyrling you'd ever met.'

'Yes.' G'zul was suddenly serious. 'But I've been hearing as some of that might be down to a problem with your eye that no one knew about, young lady.'

Lystar gasped. 'How did you know –?'

'Thanks to a certain chattering green, I think you'll find half the Weyr knows now,' G'zul said, dryly. 'Oreth's got nothing to do with his time except gossip, so I heard early, but he won't be the only dragon Rosith told.'

Lystar swallowed. 'So you all know about me being so stupid and cowardly and…' She trailed off. G'zul had raised a shaggy white eyebrow.

'Don't know about that. What I know about is you and your Caliath being heroes.'

Lystar laughed, incredulously. 'You must be joking! Me?'

'Yes. You.' G'zul clapped her on the shoulder. 'Congratulations, Lystar. Now I have to go and see what those abominable twins are up to now.' He walked off towards the Weyr bowl, leaving Lystar gaping after him.

Did you hear that, Cal? She laughed. We're heroes!

'Oh, by the way…' G'zul stopped and looked back towards her.

'Yes?'

'Those weyrlings'll be learning to fly in another month or so. No telling what tricks the twins'll dream up then.' He looked at her sideways. 'I could really use another pair of eyes…'

Lystar's eyes widened in surprise and delight. 'I've only got one eye. But if it's of use to you…'

G'zul nodded. 'It's good enough.'

'Er – would it help if the weyrlings knew me and Cal in advance?' Lystar suggested.

'Might do, yes.' The weyrling master smiled at her. 'I'll see you tomorrow morning, then?'

'Yes! Yes, why not?' Lystar smiled. 'Thanks. Thanks, G'zul!'

The weyrling master laughed. 'Just wait until you come up against the twins. You won't be thanking me then.' He waved and strode off towards the Weyr bowl.

Lystar laughed. Cal, we got a job!

Did I want this job? Caliath asked her, tartly.

Lystar laughed again. She could feel the waves of smugness and pleasure rolling off the blue dragon, so she knew he wasn't really annoyed. Old fraud. You're going to love it. Not many dragons your age can say they're assistant weyrling master.

Big name for a thankless job, said Caliath, wryly. Come on. I want to sleep.

You go on up to the weyr, then. I'll walk – I've got a lot to think about.

Caliath drew himself up, spreading his broad wings, his wedge-shaped head swivelling down to look at her. Are you happy, little one?

Yes. She was, she realised. There was still K'beth to work out in her head, but – she was home. She and Caliath were well – and so was Jarrin, over in the Healer Hall. Somehow it had made it better – about Bessa – to know that Gilda missed her too. The sun was shining. And she had a purpose again. She was going to teach the weyrlings. She'd be good at that. She knew she would.

Lystar strolled through the Weyr in a quiet golden glow.

K'beth stepped into the corner of the uneven rock archway to let Caliath slide past him and into his weyr, the dragon pausing for a second to regard him with a brilliant sapphire eye.

'I'm waiting for Lystar,' K'beth explained.

Caliath watched him for a second longer, then dipped his head and slid past, leaving K'beth standing in the shadows.

When Lystar came up the stairway, drenched in brilliant sunshine, K'beth's heart clenched. She looked so bright and carefree. 'Hey there, Lystar,' he said.

Her eyes widened. 'K'beth. Hey,' she said, neutrally.

He frowned slightly. Something was off in her voice or her manner. He couldn't pinpoint it, but he knew something was wrong. He swallowed. 'Lystar, I just came to apologise… about shouting at you this morning. I'm sorry. It's just… I guess I'm nervous. Rosith's going to rise, and…'

Lystar turned faintly crimson, looking at the floor. 'Yes, I… I know…'

K'beth looked at her in sudden alarm. Weyrbred Lystar was used to seeing mating flights, and the idea itself didn't disturb her. It was obvious that she knew what Rosith had told him – that the flight could have only one outcome. 'Do you – do you mind so very much?' he asked, desperately, trying to keep his voice steady.

Lystar'd been surprised to find him there, waiting for her, his tall, dark shape blending with the shadows of the weyr entrance, and suddenly apprehensive. It was too early; she hadn't had time to think things through properly.

But she heard the pleading tone in his speech, and the way his voice cracked in the middle, and she took half a step forward without even thinking, lifting a hand to try and reach out to him in his distress.

And stopped. It was as if the whole world took a breath, an instant of complete stillness, and in that perfect moment Lystar looked up and met K'beth's eyes and saw him with a sudden clarity: the broad, laughing mouth and the dark eyes, asking her a heartfelt question that she had to find an answer for; shoulders braced to take her troubles as he'd been doing for so long; and a heart… a heart big enough to accept a clumsy, triumphant, one-eyed mess of a girl – and a tough, bony monster of a blue dragon into the bargain.

And she loved him. How could she not?

K'beth saw the tiny pause in her step, and his heart thudded against his rib cage so hard he felt sure that she must have heard it too; but as she looked up he could read her answer in her eyes.

'K'beth –' she began, but he held up a hand to silence her. Nothing needed to be said.

On the ledge, in the blazing tropical sunshine, not caring who might be around to see, K'beth drew Lystar into his arms and kissed her.

THE END

AN: All together now: Ahhh

I finished!!!! Whooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! (t-d jumps up and down screaming and her family look at her like she's a total nutter) Excitement!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very happy. As you can probably tell. So I think at this point it would be appropriate to stop and thank all you guys; thank you, your reviews have made my day many times, and it is such a big help and a confidence boost to hear all your comments (this is because you spoil me; but I won't complain). If you haven't reviewed so far, shame on you, but don't worry, it's not too late. Now is the time to reach for that little button on the left hand side of the screen. I do accept anonymous reviews, so it's no excuse that you don't have an account on FanFiction.

My exams are beginning this week, so I'm taking a break from writing until they're over. But if you liked Lystar's story, you might want to start looking out for a sequel sometime at the end of June or beginning of July…

Bye for now!

t-d

Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!