"As opposed to what?" Jim said from the doorway.

As the savior came into the room, he was freshly showered and for once didn't have massive black circles under his eyes. In fact, he actually looked about a quarter of a century younger than he had the night before-but that was what twelve hours of good loving could do for a guy.

Ad should know.

Dog leaped off the table and into Jim's arms, tail going a mile a minute, tongue licking, looking every bit the canine showing adoration. And Jim returned the shit, ducking his head, talking softly, petting.

When Jim put him down, the two stared at each other for the longest time, and then Dog let out a soft whine ... before turning around and heading for the door as if he'd said a difficult good-bye.

On his way past, the SOB glanced at him and Eddie as if to say, Chop, chop, boys ... go get me that fool I just burned into the table.

With Dog gone, Ad traced the face. The lines that had been made were still hot.

"Who is that?" Jim asked.

"A nightmare," Ad muttered.

"Our next assignment," Eddie cut in.

"That fast? Really? Don't you get some vacation or shit?"

Ad nodded to the box he'd closed. "We get doughnuts. Yay."

There was a moment of silence. And then Eddie said softly, "You're leaving, aren't you."

Ad looked up in time to see Jim's eyes go to the window over the sink. He seemed to be picturing things as he stared out there, things that were not actually in the backyard.

"It was all about her to begin with," the guy said. "And I don't mean Sissy."

"Yeah." Eddie nodded. "I know, but what about-"

"All taken care of." The savior's stare swung around to the two of them, and he was quiet for a time. Then he said, "You know, when this whole thing started, I didn't want the pair of you involved. I'd always been a solo operator"-he glanced at Ad-"and your singing really fucking got on my nerves."

"Annnnd my job is done," he replied with a nod.

"But you know, when we were trying to get the evil out of Sissy, and I couldn't do it alone ... you two were there. If you hadn't been? I'd have lost her. You two ... saved her with me."

Okay, now Ad was the one ducking his eyes. It was just too much, and he did not do misty. He just ... did. Not. Do- Fuck, his eyes were watering.

Jim was still talking, mentioning things like sacrifice and putting the common good first, all of which in his opinion, Eddie and Ad had apparently done.

Oh, man, the motherfucker had to stop. He really had- Ad went into one of the bags and took out some paper napkins-and at least Eddie had to snag one to mop up as well, so he didn't feel like he was the only pussy in the room.

"So thank you," Jim said roughly. "I owe you my life."

Ad burst up from the table and enjoyed the total lack of pain that came with the sharp movement. "Enough with the talk. You keep this up and I'll end up growing a set of ovaries or some shit."

Ad hugged Jim hard, so hard. And then stepped back so Eddie could do the same.

"Hey, what's going on?" Sissy said as she came in. "Everything okay?"

Ad stared down at the woman. She was glowing from head to foot even though she was dressed in the simple clothes he'd gotten her from Target. She was just ... such a beauty with her no-makeup and her straight, no-fuss hair.

"It's time to say good-bye, Sis," he heard himself say.

"You're going somewhere?"

No, he thought sadly. You are.

Chapter.

Fifty-two.

For some strange reason, watching Sissy embrace each of the angels was hard.

Then again, Jim didn't like to see his woman get teary, and it was clear she really loved the guys, even though she hadn't known them all that long. War, however, had a way of bonding people tight and quick.

"Will I ever see you again?" she asked as she took one of the napkins that Ad offered her.

"I don't know. Maybe," Ad murmured as she patted her eyes.

"Never say never," Eddie said with a sad smile.

There was a long pause, and Jim knew he had to get the fuck out of here before he lost it, too. "Come on," he said roughly as he tugged on her arm.

"Where are we going?"

"Just ... come with me."

He led her out toward the front of the house, pausing only to offer one last wave at Eddie and Adrian as they stood in that kitchen with all those doughnuts.

"Jim? I'm kind of freaking out here."

As they emerged into the foyer, the grandfather clock started to chime, and he closed his eyes. Don't count ... it doesn't matter ... don't count ...

One, two, three ...

"Jim, are you okay?"

... four, five, six ...

"Jim?"

... seven, eight, nine ...

"Okay, it's official," she said. "I'm totally freaking out."

He held up his forefinger.

... ten, eleven ...

"Jim...?"

... twelve.

After a moment of nothing but pure, beautiful silence, he popped his eyes back open and saw only her. "Oh, thank God."

"What?"

"I'll tell you later."

Drawing her out in the warm spring sunlight, he took her over to the steps and sat her down, exactly where they'd been before. God, he thought, what a long distance they'd traveled, just so they could be here side by side again.

"Jim?"

"You remember when we went by your house last night on my bike?"

She nodded, and brushed her hair back. Her eyes were a complicated mix of sadness and peace. "Yes. And thank you for that. Did I tell you thank you?"

"Yeah, you did."

"It was good to see my family sleeping so soundly, you know? It gives me a little hope that maybe as time passes-"

"I want you to spend eternity with me."

The smile he got in return was wide and instantaneous. "Are you asking me to marry you in the immortal sense? Because if you are, my answer is yes." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips once. Twice. "Very much yes."

"Even if it means ... maybe you don't see your family?"

"You mean, like, go out west with you?" Sissy took a deep breath. "Well, the truth is, I can't really see them now, can I. It's not like I can ... be with them. In fact, it's almost more painful to stick around Caldwell. So yes, even though I can't believe I'm saying this ... yes, I think I would like to get out of town."

"You sure?"

She fell silent for a while. Then looked at him. "I can get through anything as long as I'm with you."

For a long moment, he memorized her face, from the way the afternoon light fell across her forehead and her cheeks, to the beauty of her blue stare, to the curve of the mouth he had kissed for hours.

"Okay," he murmured. "Close your eyes and hold my hand..."

A big spin, and a second later he said to her, "Now open them up."

Her lids slowly rose and she recoiled as if the fact that the landscape had completely changed was a shocker. "Where are ... is that a castle?"

"Yeah, it is. Come on."

He pulled her to her feet and led her across the bright green grass of Heaven, steadying her as she craned her neck to look up at the brilliant blue sky.

"This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen."

Funny, he hadn't really noticed that ... until he'd come here with her.

They came to a stop at the moat that ran all around the ancient fortification, its water so clear that you could see the koi fish that lolled around, their butterfly fins waving back and forth in the invisible currents.

There was a resounding ker-chuck up above and then the rattling of great chain links going through a pulley system.

The bridge across the water came down slowly, as if it were giving them time to reconsider. And he figured he should let her know what they were about to do-except when he glanced over at her, she had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"This is Heaven, isn't it," she choked out.

"Yes. Once we cross over ... there's no going back. You'll have to wait for your family to come to you."

She brushed her hands over her cheeks. "But I thought I wasn't allowed."

"Nigel said you were welcome. You're pure now-we got the evil out of you. Out of me, too."

Sissy started to laugh through the crying. "Are you serious? Are you..."

"Yeah." He smiled down at her. "So what do you say? You want to take the plunge with me?"

She looked up at him. "I love you."

"I'll take that as a 'yes.'" As the bridge landed with a thunk of heavy weight, he indicated the way over with a gallant hand. "Ladies first."

Sissy hesitated for a moment. And then all but exploded in laughter and dance, her spirit soaring as she skipped across the ancient, well-worn planks with such joy, she lit him up from the inside, too.

Jim shook his head and had to smile as he took his first step. His second. A third.

This was so not how he had pictured any of it ending, but, man, he'd take this over whatever he could have dreamed up.

Walking steadily a couple of yards behind his woman, he discovered that the farther you went across the bridge, the farther the destination seemed to become, like a funhouse kind of distortion was at work. Except all of a sudden, he looked back and the green grass and the blue sky and the trees seemed a hundred miles away.

Turning around, he- Stopped dead.

Sissy had slowed ... and then halted, too, some kind of lighted fog threatening to eclipse her. With a sudden burst of sheer terror, Jim bolted over the planks to catch up ...

Except she wasn't in any danger.