though, he was
working until he couldn't stand up.
When he came out into the hall he had a glass with some water in it. He paused, looked her way
with a frown… but then kept going down to his bedroom.
She heard the shower. Footsteps. Then a soft curse, as if he were stretching out on his bed, but
was stiff.
She waited and waited… then finally went down the hall.
Manny was on the bed, a towel around his hips, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.
The man was not going to sleep anytime soon.
She stepped into the light thrown by the lamp on the dresser. «Hey.»
His head snapped toward her, then he jerked upright. «What-«
«You're dreaming.»
«I am?»
«Yeah, I mean, ghosts don't exist.»
He rubbed his face. «This feels real.»
«Of course it does. Dreams do.» She tucked her arms around herself. «I wanted you to know I'm
okay. I really am. I'm okay and happy where I ended up.»
No reason to mention that she was still in Caldwell.
«Jane…» His voice cracked.
«I know. I'd feel the same way if you'd been… taken away.»
«I can't believe you died. I can't believe you…» He started to blink fast.
«Listen, it's all okay. I promise you. Life… well, it ends okay, it really does. I mean, I saw my
sister. My parents. Some of the patients we lost. They're all still around, just not where we can
see-I mean, you can see them. But it's all right, Manny. You shouldn't be afraid of death. It's
just a transition, really.»
«Yeah, but you're not here anymore. I have to live without you.»
Her chest ached at the tone of his voice and the fact that there was nothing she could do to
relieve his suffering. It also hurt because she had lost him as well.
«I'm really going to miss you,» she said.
«Me, too.» He rubbed his face again. «I mean… I miss you already. I'm sick from it. On some
level… hell, I thought we were going to end up together, you and me. Felt like destiny. Shit, you
were the only woman I knew who was as strong as I was. But yeah… guess it wasn't meant to
be. Plans of mice and men and all that shit.»
«There's probably someone out there even better.»
«Oh, yeah? Gimme her number before you go back to heaven.»
Jane smiled a little, then got serious. «You're not going to do anything stupid, right?»
«You mean kill myself? Nah. But I can't promise you I won't get sloppy drunk a lot over the next
couple of months.»
«Just do it in private. You have a reputation as a son of a bitch to uphold.»
He smirked a little. «What would the department think.»
«Exactly.» There was a stretch of silence. «I'd better go.»
He stared across the room at her. «God, it feels like you're really here.»
«I'm not. This is just a dream.» She let herself start to fade as tears landed on her cheeks. «Bye,
Manny, my dear friend.»
He lifted his hand and spoke through what was clearly a tight throat. «Come back and see me
sometime.»
«Maybe.»
«Please.»
«We'll see.»
Funny, though, as she dissipated, she had the oddest sense that she was going to see him again.
Yeah, it was weird. Just like that vision of the car accident as well as the feeling she'd had that
she wasn't going to be at St. Francis anymore, she knew that she and Manny Manello were going
to cross paths once more.
The thought eased her. She hated leaving him behind. She really did.
Epilogue
One week later…
Vishous took the hot chocolate from the stove and turned the burner off. As he poured the cocoa
into a mug, he heard a yelp and an, «Oh, my God!»
Across the mansion's kitchen he saw Rhage standing halfway inside of Jane, as if she were a
pool he'd waded into. The two of them leaped apart just as Vishous bared his teeth and growled
at his brother.
Rhage held his hands up. «I didn't see her! Honest!»
Jane laughed. «It's not his fault. I wasn't concentrating, so I faded-«
V cut her off. «Rhage is going to be more careful, aren't you, my brother.»
The implication being either the male would be, or he'd end up in traction.
«Yeah, absolutely. Shit.»
«Glad you see it my way.» Vishous picked up the mug, took it to Jane, and handed it to her. As
she blew across the surface, he kissed her on the neck. Then did a little nuzzling.
To him she was just as she always had felt, but to others she was a thing of a different sort. She
wore clothes, but if she wasn't keeping herself solid and someone bumped into her, the fabrics
compressed like nothing was inside
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