I lay flat on my back, and my entire body was racked in pain. And I was so tired, I couldn't remember ever being that tired before. The heart monitor beside me beeped, it's rhythm skewed, and I longed for it to just stop. My Gerard was gone, he'd been gone a month, and it seemed as though there was nothing left to live for. The sound of a sob beside me made my eyes pop open, and I glanced to the chair beside my bed, in which sat a tall, thin, grey haired woman, clutching my hand as she cried.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Helena, will you get a hold of yourself? Your sixty-six years old, you have grandchildren for fuck's sake, if you can't manage without your mother, than I did a very bad job raising you," I said, my words much harsher than my tone. The sobbing merely increased, however, and I looked to the other side of my bed, to see the tall, middle aged son I had given birth to sixty three years ago. "Andrew, will you take your sister to get some coffee or something, I want to talk to your aunt." He nodded, and stood, moving over to his sister, and putting an arm around her shoulder as he helped her to stand.

"Sure thing, Mom. We'll see you in a few," Andrew said, and I waited until they had left the room, before turning my attention to the tiny, thin, lined old woman with a shock of long, pure white hair over inquisitive, bright blue eyes. She stood up, and with the use of her cane, moved to the chair my daughter had vacated. She patted my hand.

"Give her a break, will you Koko? She's just sad, I mean, here we are, and so soon after losing her father? Can you blame her?" I smiled wryly up at her. "She just wants you to hold on a little longer."

"I know, Charlotte," I replied weakly, "but there's not much reason for me to stick around. Gerard's gone, and I'm tired. I'm ninety-four fucking years old, I think I'm allowed to let go." I noticed the beating of the heart monitor becoming a bit more erratic. Charlotte smiled at me.

"Is it time?" she asked, and I nodded. I could feel it coming, and I welcomed it. "Well, who would have thought I'd out live all of you? Especially Gerard AND Angel Way? I thought you both would live forever." I gripped her hand a little tighter, I was afraid, but only a little. I was mostly relieved. "Do me a favor?" I nodded, feeling what strength I had left seeping away. "Say hi to everyone, and tell Frank I'll be along soon." I nodded once, and heard the heart monitor flat-line. A white mist was beginning to fill the room, obscuring Charlotte's face.

"Gerard," I breathed, as everything was obscured in white light.

And then, very suddenly, I was standing on a beach, staring at the ocean. I had only a few moments to wonder where I was, when I realized that the pain in my back and legs was gone, and I was standing without my cane. A breeze crept over me, and a piece of black, wavy hair whipped in front of my face. I touched it, the iron grey I had been used to for so many years now was gone, replaced with the black I had known in my youth. I looked down at my arthritic, lined hands, they were smooth, and I used them to touch my face, it was soft and smooth, and at once I realized: I was young again.

"Angel!" I heard that so familiar voice call, and I turned to the right. He was running up the beach towards me, his wheelchair gone, his hair jet black. He looked as he had the day we had met. My heart turned over, my Gerard.

As I ran to him, I could see behind him figures moving around in front of what appeared to be rough huts, which sat in a clearing. Behind them, surrounded by fruit trees, a massive waterfall cut through a sharp cliff face, running into a small pond, which then trickled into a stream that led out into the ocean. I knew where I was.

Gerard's arms were around me, and we clung to each other for several minutes.

"Is this... The island?" I asked, as Gerard wrapped an arm around my waist and led me towards the others. He nodded.

"It's paradise, Angel. It's heaven," he whispered, as the faces of all my closest friends, young again and happy, came into view. Mikey and Alicia, playing cards in the sand with Bob and his wife Anna, Ray and Christa swimming below the waterfall, and Frank, fiddling with a huge bonfire, all called hello's to me as I approached.

"Hey Frank," I called, and he turned and smiled at me. "Charlotte says she's on her way."

Notes

The end!

Yeah. I killed 'em all off. Now, I literally can't cave to peer pressure and write a sequel that kinda sucks... And be honest. It kinda does! I mean, reading it back, I could see the exact spot where I got bored with it...

But, for all that, I hope you enjoyed it!