Epilogue

Happy Endings

As promised, there was not much left when the dust had cleared.

The bunker, the sarcophagus and most importantly the Stargate had been buried under a ton of rubble when the explosive charges placed by the SGI team did its worst. They had watched from a distance as a tidal waves of soil and rock ejected into the air with a column of fire that left no doubt as to the totality of the destruction that had followed. The impact of the tremendous roar felt like a force of nature and the horses had been property terrified at the initial detonation. When the thunderous noise had finally died down and the jets of fire had finally dwindled into the nothingness of smoke, all that was left in the wake of the fiery discharge was something of a crater. To the casual observer, it could be believed that this entire site had been the unfortunate victim of a seismic imbalance. Certainly, that was a more plausible explanation than the truth.

When they returned to the site on horseback, they found that Jack O'Neill had been correct in saying there would be nothing to find. At the moment, there were only the dishevelled layers of soil and dirt that would eventually be smoothed back into place by the harsh windstorms that came rumbling across this land on occasion. In a week or two, this place would not look any different from any other parcel of land in the Territory and the bunker and everything in it would fade into obscurity. The truth would only be known the seven lawmen of Four Corners and if God was good, not to the two women who had been the centre of the storm they had just passed through.

Neither Mary or Alex had come out of their deep sleep but Chris and Vin were not overly concerned about it. Sam Carter had told them that the ejection of a Goa'uld was an exhausting process on the body and many of the life functions normal to humans would have to readjust themselves to life without the symbiote. They would wake up eventually but for the moment it was better to let them recover from their experience. Besides, Chris had a feeling the real battle would begin when they woke up.

Vin was grateful to learn from Buck that nothing had transpired between Alex and Ezra because of the state they had found him in. Even though the tracker was resolved to let nothing get in the way of his happiness at having Alex back especially in a matter where she had been powerless to stop Isis from using her body against her will, he was nonetheless glad to hear it. He was sure that if Alex retained such memories had anything transpired between herself and Ezra, she would not be able to tolerate them. Alex was hardly a prude but even she would have a great deal of difficulty knowing that her body had been used in this way.

Chris on the other hand, was more concerned about how he would explain Mary's behaviour to town and decided that he was going to have fabricate a good story not only for the good citizens of Four Corners but also Billy. His mother's actions at the onset of this nightmare had left the child in a thoroughly confused state and Chris had no idea what he would say to the boy. It was one thing to speak an untruth to the town because the reality was too fantastic to be believed but it was another thing entirely to lie to a child.

They returned to town in the dead of night and no one noticed their arrival, which was just as well. Chris took Mary straight home and lay her in her bedroom, letting her sleep, hoping that things would be better the next morning, even though he seriously doubted it.

He woke up and found her staring at the mirror.

Vin had been asleep in the wing chair in Alex's bedroom, too afraid to leave her after what he had been through to bring her back to him. He had brought her home to her bed and removed the dress that had been Isis and told himself to burn the thing so she would never have to see it again. Sheepishly Vin had realized that he had no idea what she wore to bed because she was never dressed when they shared their nights together, although she did take to wearing some of his shirts. Vin thought with a faint smile how he loved it when she wore them because her scent would cling to it all day and he never tired of it. Rummaging through her things and reminding himself that he was after all her fiancee and it was quite proper for him to be going through her clothes, he found a nightdress of sorts though he could not imagine her wearing such a thing.

It did not take him long to realize shortly after he had placed her in the sheets of her bed that her sleep was anything but restful. Thus he remained in her room but at a safe distance, not wishing to overwhelm her with his presence but reluctant to leave her alone either. Nathan had dropped by and wrapped a bandage and stitched up her injured hand, all without her knowing that he was even there. The healer was just as concerned about Alex being on her own and had actually recommended that Vin stay behind, promising Rain would take over the duties in the morning.

He woke up when he heard a slight movement and shifted his eyes immediately to her bed and found some measure of alarm when he saw it empty. It took a further second for him to deduce where she had gone and then saw she was standing before her full-length mirror, staring at herself. Vin rose to his feet quietly, uncertain of what she was doing, only aware that she was examining her reflection rather closely. As he neared her, she did not react to his approach even though Vin was certain that she was aware of him. She glanced sideways long enough to register his presence before looking into the mirror once more.

"Alex." He spoke, breaking the silence that was creeping under his skin.

She did not answer but as he finally reached close enough to be standing next to her, he realized that she was tracing the skin of her face with her finger as if searching her image for some flaw or mark that he could not fathom. Only when he was close enough to touch her did Alex finally manage a response. "I can touch my face." She whispered.

He did not understand the significance but could appreciate that she was extremely distressed. After what she had been through, it was only natural.

"Yeah, you can." He said because it seemed the safest answer all around.

"I wasn't sure." She swallowed. "I don't feel her inside me any more but she's not gone."

Vin was immediately filled with alarm at that statement. Daniel had assured Alex would be free of Isis, what new twist was this? "What do you mean?" He demanded, unable to hide his apprehension.

Realizing what he was construing from that statement, Alex, corrected herself immediately. "You don't understand." She responded, shifting her gaze from her reflection and facing him. "I see things in my head," she stammered. "Vague pictures I don't understand and I know they're hers."

Well Daniel did warn him about that, Vin was forced to admit. The memories would not be gone with the symbiote. Vin had prayed that she would be free of that particular horror but it looked like it was not meant to be. "You'll be getting that for awhile darling," he said honestly, having no wish to lie to her about this. He took a step towards Alex only to have her back away from him like she was terrified.

"I don't want to hurt you." She warned, genuine terror in her eyes.

"You can't hurt me Alex," Vin quickly answered, feeling a thousand knives in his heart by just the look of desolation on her face. She did remember a great deal more than she ought to he realized, including what Isis had done in the bunker before leaving for the other world. "It wasn't you that hurt me. It was her and she's dead."

"I couldn't stop her!" Alex wailed, the wafer thin wall of composure shattering as that image came into her mind. "I tried to warn you because I knew she was going to hurt you! But I wasn't strong enough! Her mind was so strong!" Alex's voice started to break. "So old and so strong. The things she knew! And yet there was no soul! Nothing to appreciate anything except one moment of stolen . ." she faded away unable to voice that particular indignity because it just made her stomach want to heave in protest, just thinking about it. "I saw her kill you!" She finally exploded into tears and crumbled to the floor. "I watched as she used my hands to kill you!"

"I'm all right darlin'." Vin was on his knees in front of her before she could resume her heart wrenching sobs. "I'm here and you ain't gonna hurt me are you? You're a doctor Alex and I can't think of anything worse for you to have been trapped with that thing in control of you but she's gone and you are still here. Its your body again and your life. Don't let her win!" He implored, trying to convince her that he blamed her for nothing and it was not her fault what had happened.

"Oh god Vin!" She wept even harder than before wrapping her arms around him as she sobbed into the crook of his shoulder, drawing comfort from the one person who could make it all better. "I want to kill her so badly I could taste it. I wanted to make her feel pain for all the things she made me do, all the terrible, terrible things! Not just to you but to Ezra."

"Ezra's fine." Vin whispered in her ear while running his palm over her hair, stroking it with a slow moving action that he hoped would soothe her.

"You didn't see," she gasped through her tears. "You didn't see what she did to him. My god! You didn't see how she tortured him!"

Vin felt his stomach hollow at the idea of torture and remembered what Buck had said about the state they had found Ezra in. If it were not for the sarcophagus that had saved his life, Ezra would have died just as surely he had at Isis' hands. "He's okay now, Alex," Vin continued to try and convince her. "We put in that sarcophagus, whatever it's called and fixed him up. He's probably at the saloon now trying to trick some poor bastard out of his money."

Alex shook her head, wiping her eyes long enough to know while Ezra's body was healed, his mind was another matter entirely. "No, Vin." She swallowed, feeling some measure of strength returning to her while his arms were around her, offering support and comfort. "He's not fine." She whispered softly. "You don't know." She shook her head unable to bring herself to say it. "You don't know what he went through."

Alex could not tell him the rest of it because even she had trouble thinking about it. How could she look Vin in the face and tell him that Ezra had made love to this body? She could not even blame it on Isis became there had been one moment, when terrible moment which she loathed the very second it had been over where it had not been Isis who cried out his name in passion but Alex herself.

She had been carried away on the same tidal wave of pleasure that made Isis decide to keep Ezra alive. The goddess had questioned how she remembered Ezra's name when she had never asked him and had not received an answer. Alex knew perfectly well how she had known. She had known because of Alex's own memories. Alex did not know how she was going to face tomorrow when she could not even manage tonight. All she knew for certain was that Vin could never know what transpired between herself and Ezra because even though he might be inclined to forgive her, Alex was not so certain she could forgive herself.

Mary slept peacefully.

She dreamed of her son and of her home. She dreamed of the man who had crossed space and untold distances to find her and she was content. Of course no sleep is ever completely peaceful and no dream ever fully pleasant and the memory of the one who had shared her mind still lingered but Sekhmet's power over her was slight. However despite the elusiveness of her memories, there were occasional images that made her shudder and tremble with a cold shiver she could not explain. There were moments of lucidity where she was aware that thing inside of her was insane and had a thirst for blood that made her skin crawl with revulsion.

While it would have been easy to become lost in Sekhmet's dementia, only one thing had kept Mary Travis Larabee anchored to reality and that had been Chris. She was aware of him struggling and fighting to bring her back to him and it was the only thing that made any sense to her when she was trapped in the delirium of Sekhmet's insanity that had threatened to overwhelm them both. Mary supposed that it was a kindness that she remembered very little about what the woman had done while wearing her skin. Mary was aware of some violence directed at Ezra Standish and knew that Sekhmet had particularly hated Chris or perhaps in some ways, wanted him and could not imagine how he would love the host instead of the Goa'uld that had been in residence.

When she woke from her black sleep, Mary found herself in her own bedroom, in the house she shared with Chris. Outside, she could see the sun shining brightly with the promise of a beautiful day. She took a deep breath for a minute, savouring the feel of it in her lungs and more precisely the fact that she had taken it of her own free will, with nothing inside commanding how her body should act. Mary was grateful that much of her memories were fragmented because Sekhmet had been a vile creature that was utterly foul in its creation. Strangely enough, she sensed that the goddess had not always been this way.

There was enough left inside Mary to believe that Sekhmet had once truly been the warrior goddess who did not take pleasure from the art of war as a way to brutalize but as a tool of conquest as any good soldier would say.

Mary was uncertain of what had happened to Sekhmet to change her from a soldier to a butcher but in the end the turmoil she sensed inside Sekhmet's mind as more and more of the Goa'uld began to unravel would have ultimately destroyed them both. There was a part of Mary that would never shake the residual effects of Sekhmet inside her body, even know she ached in a dozen places from wounds she knew Chris had inflicted upon her himself. Mary felt no anger towards that as she felt the tenderness in her jaw and in her throat. He had saved her from more than just death and for that Mary could forgive him anything, least of all some bruises that would take care of itself in time.

She wondered where Billy was as she started to move out of bed and noticed that there was familiar warmth beside her. Chris was asleep next to her. By the looks of it, he had nestled her in bed and then collapsed beside her in sheer exhaustion, fully clothes over the covers. For a moment, she merely looked at him, reveling in the sight of his slumber as the hardened gunslinger she knew and loved was nowhere in sight. All she could see was the man who was willing to sacrifice his soul to see to it that hers was safe. She lay next to him again, stroking the dark gold strands of his hair, relishing the feel of just being with him this morning and felt a swell of gladness knowing it would be the same for every morning throughout the rest of her life.

He stirred at her touch and opened his eyelids to meet her eyes. Mary smiled at him and continued running her fingers against his hair, feeling her heart fill with love and telling him in her own way that everything was all right, that she was his again. He reached for her hand and cupped it with his own, feeling the smooth texture against his skin as he closed his eyes and composed himself. She could see the emotion welling up his eyes, the hard black pieces of obsidian that filled with tears knowing that he had not lost her. For the past two days, he had been fighting to remain strong because his friends needed a leader and he needed to keep himself together to get her back. However, those walls came tumbling down now that he had done all that was required of him and Chris was finally able to be swept away in the currents of his emotions and the intense gratitude of having his wife back.

"Oh god Mary," he said softly, letting warm tears spill down his cheeks because he had not believed it until this moment that he had not lost her like he had lost Sarah. Even with his killing Sekhmet himself, Chris had not known or believed that any of it was real until this precise moment. "I thought. .I thought.."

"Hush Chris," she wrapped him in her arms and held him there. "I'm home now. You didn't fail me. You brought me home."

He gathered himself on the reassurance of those words and calmed himself down, still uncomfortable after all the months of marriage to show her that he could be vulnerable. Had Chris bothered to ask, he would have discovered that Mary was well aware of this but allowed him his dignity because he was after all a man and men were never as wise about these things as they should be. "Are you okay?" He asked. It would take a long time for him to forget Sekhmet but as long as Chris could look into Mary's eyes and see the woman he loved, he could stand anything.

"There are pieces of her that I remember," Mary confessed, trying to make sense out of the conundrum that was Sekhmet's mind. "There was so much anger and hatred inside of her. Most of it is a jumble. I know that she did something bad to Ezra because there are moments where I can remember him screaming but its all so far away."

"Ezra was hurt bad." Chris replied, grateful that she would not remember. Daniel and Sam had said that this might happen. The Goa'uld held control of a body by sheer force of will and while Sekhmet had certainly possessed that quality and some, her reason was flawed and her mind was damaged. Possibly that was why Isis and Sekhmet had been battling when they had stormed the fortress on Netjer to retrieve both women. While Sam had remembered something of the Goa'uld that had taken her body, she had not retain many of the memories unless specifically drawn out by the technology of the future. With Sekhmet's state of mind, she had not believed that Mary would remember much of her experience and Chris was never more grateful of that than at this instance.

"I don't know how he'll take seeing me." Mary answered, wondering how Ezra would react to her, particularly if she had caused him the pain she believed she did.

While she remembered his screams and her presence during his torture, she recalled nothing of what she had done and the truth, it had not been her that caused Ezra's ordeal but Sekhmet. Still, Ezra would undoubtedly look at her face and see his torturer and Mary had no idea how to take that.

"Its best you stay away for awhile." Chris advised, unable to think of anything else that could be done for the moment. He had not had the chance to see the gambler himself and nothing could be decided until that meeting took place.

Until he saw Ezra's eyes, Chris could not know for certain how Ezra had fared following his ordeal. He only knew that his advice was the most prudent course of action for the moment.

Ezra kept to himself for most of the day. Even though he was physically in good health, he found himself hiding inside Julia's house, not wishing to see anyone. He knew that eventually, he would have to leave the house and face the fact that he was home again and the nightmare of the past two days was exactly that, in the past. He wished more than ever that Julia was home because he needed her now more than ever and hated the fact that he was angry that she was absent. Even though J.D. and Nathan had left him at his lodgings, Ezra had sneaked away to lose himself in Julia's home, aware that she would not mind him being here while she was gone.

He sat behind her desk and thumbed through the books she had on the shelf, fingering in silent contemplation the pages of Dickens, which she loved so much, without reading a word of it. The memory of what had happened to him preyed heavily on his mind and Ezra knew where he was going to end up if he did not snap out of his melancholic state. He did not want to live his life playing the victim. He was not a victim and yes, he had suffered brutal tortures under the ministrations of the demon wearing Mary Larabee's face but as Ezra told himself a hundred times since it had happened, it was not her fault.

She was not responsible for what had happened.

The creature that had used her body to commit such atrocities was dead. Chris Larabee had put a bullet in it himself, Vin Tanner has assured him when the tracker had stopped by earlier that day to see if he was all right. In fact, all the others had done the same thing, just dropping in to say hello or seeing how he was doing. Ezra hated the attention and he hated it even more that it was his behaviour that was prompting this response from his friends.

It was almost nightfall when he heard the door knock and wondered who it could be now. Ezra did not want anyone other than his close friends to know that he was in residence here because it would do Julia's reputation no good to have people know that she was entertaining an unmarried man in her home. Grumbling as he went to the back door, he pulled it open and found himself standing before Mary Larabee. For a moment, he did not know what to do say to her. The most obvious reaction was to pull out his gun and shoot but as he saw her staring at him, her eyes filled with sorrow at the pain he was feeling, Ezra could not associate her with the woman who had nearly tortured him to death.

"Ezra can I come in?" She asked, still standing at the door.

"No." He shook his head.

"Ezra please," Mary implored. "I am sorry for what happened to you." Her blue grey eyes filling with tears and suddenly, Ezra understood what people meant when they said she had eyes like a dove. She did at that. One could drown in the hope that lay within the depths of those azurite pools. He suddenly had an insight into why Chris Larabee loved her so much. Ezra could have loved her himself, actually he did, just not in the way that Chris did.

"Mary," Ezra swallowed, never thinking these words could be so hard to say but somehow in these last few seconds of staring at her at the back porch, seeing her face with all the compassion in the world in her eyes, it escaped his lips with no help from him. Suddenly, he was no longer speaking from his mind but from his heart. "I thought I would never again be able to view your face without envisioning the brutality I suffered at that creature's hands but at this moment, I feel myself locked in paradox of sorts. I remember your face when I see her but I look at you now and I see no sign of her, just the friend you have always been."

Mary let out a sigh of relief but did not delude herself into believing that this was far from over. "I'm glad Ezra," she said with genuine pleasure. "I can't remember fully what she did to you and seeing your reaction now makes me glad I don't. I cannot take away the pain she used me to inflict upon you but I can stay out of your way as much as I can until you feel that we can be friends again."

Ezra did not want that at all. He closed his eyes and steeled himself to follow her as she started to turn away. "Mary," he called out and forced the lady to face him again. "I do not wish that." He admitted. "Your friendship has been one of the brightest things in my life since my dreary existence in this place began. It will not be easy for me in the coming months, I envision that we both have experiences of this entire affair that neither would like to recall. However, I do not wish to compound my misery by chasing away one of the few friends I have."

"Ezra are you sure?" Mary looked at him, taking his hands in hers as she met his gaze. "I know it is hard for you. ."

"It is hard Mary," Ezra confessed. "More than you will ever know but I cannot allow her to defeat me yet again. You are my friend dear lady, one that has always stood up for me when I required it most. I do not take such things lightly and I do not forget it when it becomes inconvenient. Whatever demons plague will do so whether or not I see you on a daily basis or not at all. I will have to overcome them either way."

Mary wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek. "You are scoundrel and a con man Ezra Standish," she said with a bittersweet smile. "But you are a gentlemen and I am honoured to call you my friend."

Amazingly enough as Ezra was to learn later, Mary was the easier of the two encounters he had that night.

When Alex knocked on the door less than an hour later, Ezra was even more reluctant to let her in. As she stood on the back porch, they regarded each other like enemies on either side of the field, preparing to wage a far more costly war than either had imagined. Ezra expected to see Alex at some point, even though he had to admit surprise to seeing her this soon. However, Alex was never one to mince words or put off the inevitable. From the very moment they had encountered each other, Ezra had knew that much about her. Even when they had gone their separate ways, he had still been able to read her thoughts on most things, except when it came to playing poker and at this moment, when she stood before him with an unfathomable expression on her face.

"Alexandra." He exclaimed with mild surprise, wondering who else was going to turn up tonight.

"Let's take it inside." She said coolly, walking straight past him and through the back door into Julia's kitchen.

"Of course." Ezra cleared his throat and followed her in, shutting the door behind him as he left the doorway.

He found her at the kitchen table, already seated and waiting expectantly for him. He could not imagine what he would say to her and for that matter what she could say to him to ease the awkwardness of the moment. Despite his anger at being forced into the position at being made to perform for Isis to keep himself alive, Ezra could not deny there had been a moment in their love making when the pleasure had transcended the need for survival. During that brief instance, he loved Alex the way he never had a chance to before he lost her to Vin.

"What are you doing?" He looked at her in astonishment when he discovered she had produced a deck of cards and was presently dealing them both a hand.

"Shut up and sit down." She said abruptly and Ezra wondered for a moment if Isis had really been expelled from her.

"Certainly." Ezra frowned and sat down before her, still mystified by what she was intending. "Alexandra, it has been a very lengthy day and I wish you would get to the point of your visit. Without going into detail, I am not exactly at my best at present and I seriously doubt that you are in any different state. As engaging as a game of cards may be at this time, I am forced to admit that for once I think I will pass."

"Do you ever shut up?" Alex smouldered, her eyes could have glowed for the annoyance in her voice.

"Stop." He put his hand on hers to stop her from dealing any further. "Alexandra, what is this about?"

"What do you think?" She hissed and pulled her hand away from his and continued dealing.

"I have said nothing about that to anyone," Ezra assured her immediately. "As far as they are concerned, I was tortured for refusing you."

"And strangely enough, that does not make me feel any better." Alex retorted. "Ezra, I have only three words to say to you on this point. Consider this table neutral ground and the only place or opportunity you will ever have to discuss this matter with me. When I leave this table and this house, it will never be brought up again."

"I am agreeable to that." Ezra nodded, not wishing to be reminded of his conduct no matter how mitigating the circumstances were. "What are your three words?" He asked her.

"It. .never. .happened." Alex said firmly.

"And strangely enough, that does make me feel better." Ezra confessed. "Alex, I am not proud of what I had to do to convince Isis to keep me alive. I felt as if I had betrayed you, Mr. Tanner and most of all Julia but if it makes any difference at all. I did not make love to her, I made love to you."

Alex's expression softened and she reached across the table and slid her fingers in between his. She let out a deep sigh, dispelling all the hostility and forcing herself to recognize the situation for what it was. What had happened on that world was a done deed, there was no changing it and Alex supposed she would just have to live it. In fact, they both would have to and she could begin by conceding that what happened was not his fault or hers.

"Ezra, you did what you had to do. She would have killed you otherwise or implanted you with one of those things. Trust me, as one who has endured that particular hell, I would have done anything to keep that from happening to me as well. I hate what happened Ezra, I won't lie to you about that. It was bad enough that she took my body away from me and made me hurt so many people but to use it that way, I can't stomach even thinking about it."

"Thank you." Ezra frowned. "The earth moved for me too."

Despite the situation, Alex could not help but chuckle as he said that. "Well I don't want to know." With a faint smile she squeezed his hand once more and then decided it was time to leave. There was nothing more to be said on this subject. "I better get going." She declared, glad they were able to clear this up. It would be strange looking at him for the next few months, trying not to think of him so intimately and Alex almost wondered whether he would have the same kind of thoughts and then realized she did not wish to know if he did. "Are you okay?" She asked, aware that he had been healed by the Goa'uld device but preferred to hear it from Ezra himself.

"I am getting better." Ezra said with a smile and was astonished to realize that it was the truth. The months ahead would require much healing not only for himself but for Mary and Alex too but then this was never about happy endings.

SGC COMMAND, 2000

Five months later. .

Daniel Jackson could only stare at her.

He could not feel anything as he saw her lying on the slab, her skin turning grey from the cold surroundings of the refrigeration units used to keep bodies fresh before they were shipped to whatever burial their particular faith required. He supposed he would have to be responsible for making the arrangements to have her brought back to Abydos. The least he could was to ensure that she had a proper burial, he owed her father that much at least. When she had first been taken, Daniel had promised her father that he would bring her home some day. He supposed he had not failed entirely. He was returning her home, just not alive.

There was a well of tears inside Daniel Jackson that was poised on the edge of bursting forth in a torrent of grief. He could no longer remember how long he had stood by her side, watching her in her eternal sleep, knowing that finally she was free even if that freedom offered him no comfort. Instead, he had studied her closely, examining the small changes that the Goa'uld who had possession of her body, had made over the years. Her hair had been cut and styled, which he hated for he had always loved running his fingers through it and savoured the simple joy of watching her brush it at night, in that blissful year when she had been his wife. He remembered the delicate movement as she ran her brush made of bone and animal hair through the luxurious strands, its lustre bouncing off the dark mane. .

Daniel did not even notice when he started to weep.

Sharee was dead. For three years, he had prayed and dreamed of having her with him again. He lay awake at nights, knowing that one day the endless journeys through the gate would lead him to her. In a way it had brought her to him except the Goa'uld inside of her would not let that reunion be a happy one. He did not blame Teal'c for doing what was necessary even though by rights he should be angry because the Jaffa had killed his wife. However, Sharee's beast had been hell bent on killing him at the time and Teal'c had no choice but to act in order to save his life. Daniel drew small comfort from the fact that Sharee had some how managed to say her goodbyes in the last few seconds before she was finally granted the freedom she needed so desperately.

"I love you Daniel."

Those had had been her last words to him. Even as the life bled out of her, he was the last thing in her heart. He had just enough time to make that same declaration of love before she slipped away and the light in her eyes faded forever. He had remained lying next to her on the floor of the tent where she had died until the others found him and took them both home.

"Daniel." Sam stepped into the room. There were tears in her eyes as she took up position next to him. She reached for his hand and held it tightly, knowing that no one should have to be alone at a time like this. "Are you okay?" She asked softly, feeling her heart go out to him as she saw the tears behind those steel rimmed glasses and immediately scolded herself because it was a stupid, stupid question. His wife was dead. How could he be okay?

"She's free." Daniel whispered as he looked at Sam and allowed her to take him in her embrace as the tears started to come more freely.

Sharee was dead but she was also free and this was never about happy endings.

The End

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