1.

The first time it happened was about a year after Michael had first intervened. It wasn't planned really; the ticker tape indicating all of Eleanor's good and bad actions were normal, so he had no reason to visit. But there was a nagging voice in the back of his head that was telling him to at least check in on Eleanor and see how she was doing.

Janet gave him a knowing smile when he got up saying he was going to go to the bathroom.

It didn't take him long to find her. After he had nudged Eleanor towards Chidi, she had moved to Australia and had begun her life anew. He found her at her new job, working as a barista at a local fair-trade coffee shop.

Michael hadn't engaged with her except to order a black coffee and to thank her. He then sat down at a table which faced the counter. He watched her serve drinks to customers and make small talk with a few about a charitable fundraiser that the cafe was sponsoring. Eleanor smiled as she gestured to a poster, talking animatedly about the upcoming event.

She seemed happy enough here, and Michael didn't seem to see anything that gave him any reason to worry that she might fall back into old habits. After all, she had Chidi now.

Michael had been ecstatic to find out Eleanor had stayed in Australia to learn from their former ethics professor, especially when it meant that her good points had gone steadily up since meeting him.

But someone or something in the back of Michael's mind was nagging to look a little further, and he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Stupid little voice in my head..."

"You know a someone once told me, you gotta listen to that voice."

Michael jumped, nearly knocking his cup of coffee over. He looked up to see Eleanor standing before him, hands on her hips and smiling. Michael just smiled and shrugged, trying to cover up his alarm that Eleanor had managed to sneak up on him like that. "Doesn't make it any less annoying some days," he quipped.

"True," Eleanor replied, taking a seat on the chair opposite him, "but it's a pretty damn useful thing to have too. I only just started listening to mine a while ago and, let me tell you, it's really changed my life."

"That's good to hear," Michael agreed, then paused, unsure of what to say. He knew he had to be careful about what he revealed of course; the last thing he wanted to do was to upset Judge Gen's ruling on her chance to redo her life.

"Sorry, I hope I'm not being too forward for your taste," Eleanor said once the pause grew too long to be socially acceptable. "I'm still getting settled here in Australia, and I heard a familiar accent. I wasn't gonna bother ya, but then I heard you talking about that little voice as I was going for break and you kinda just caught my attention."

"Think nothing of it," Michael said with a wave of his hands. "I enjoy meeting like-minded people."

Eleanor's smile widened as he said that. "It's just my boyfriend, Chidi, is a moral philosophy professor. The idea of listening to your conscience has really grown on me since we got together."

Hot diggity-dog, that didn't take long, Michael thought to himself with an inward grin. You go girl!

"I first met him after watching a video of his on the little voice inside your head." Eleanor continued, "Are you a fan of ethics?"

"I wasn't at first, thought it was a load of poop, actually," Michael admitted, "but then I had a friend convince me that I needed to change my ways and I was hooked."

"Sounds like we're more alike than not," Eleanor said cheerily. A woman behind the bar called her name and Eleanor looked up. "It's been tricky at times meeting new friends over here, especially those who appreciate moral philosophy. You'll have to come by more often."

Michael smiled at her words, it seemed Eleanor was really turning over a new leaf here, and even though things may be a bit lonely for her in a new country, she certainly seemed to be settling in well. He did contemplate coming back later, during times when he wouldn't be missed by Janet and he could observe a little more personally how her new life was going. But then he stopped himself. If his experiment was to work, he'd have to remain as removed from Eleanor and the other three as possible. That was the rule he'd set himself after he'd gotten back from helping Eleanor find Chidi.

That being said, he could probably bend the rules, just a little, if only to nudge her in the right direction. "If you're looking for like-minded people, why not go to the charity fundraiser you've been promoting all day?" he asked her non-committedly. "Seems like a lot of the folks you've been talking to about it might be interesting enough people to get to know."

"Maybe," Eleanor said, contemplating, and Michael knew he'd have to push a little harder.

"Who's the charity run by?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"By Tahani Al-Jamil," Eleanor replied. "She's fundraising to build schools that would be closer to some of the outback communities so the kids don't have to travel for hours to get to school. She's really into it too! A lot of people say she's just a giraffe on stilts who raises the money and doesn't really care. I don't think so though. I mean sure, she looks and sounds super pish-posh British, but I think there's more to her than meets the eye."

Michael nodded and Eleanor handed him a pamphlet.

There was Tahani, radiant as ever, surrounded by a few children, clearly very happy. Except gone was her usual fashion sense of fancy dresses and instead she was wearing cargo pants and a t-shirt. Michael remembered back to when she had first woken up after her 'near death experience' and had chosen to cut ties with her sister and to start afresh. He chuckled to himself as he recalled one of the many reboots where he'd managed to force her into wearing a similar attire.

"How far you've come Tahani," he said quietly, probably a little louder than he should have. But he didn't care; he was proud.

"What's that?" Eleanor asked.

"Oh nothing," Michael said quickly. "Perhaps you should consider going to this charity event? She seems like someone you'd get along with."

A woman behind the counter called Eleanor's name and she looked up. "Oops, break time's up, back to work!" she said standing up and dusting off her apron. "It was nice meeting you," she told him.

"Likewise, Eleanor."

She didn't seem to find it weird that he knew her name; then again, it was painted in brightly coloured letters on a pin on her apron, so maybe that was why. He too stood up and exited the coffee shop, heading back to his office in the after-life.

The little voice in his head had quieted so he knew that he had left Eleanor in good hands.

Janet looked up as he entered the office and sat down at his chair. "Did you have a good bathroom break, Michael?" she asked.

"Yes I did, Janet," Michael replied, with a smile, "yes I did."

2.

Michael hadn't actually planned on interfering again, but the opportunity had presented itself in such a way that he just couldn't say no to it. Tahani, Chidi and Eleanor were in Florida for one of Tahani's fundraisers, and were staying not far from where a certain 'Taiwanese Monk' lived.

The three had become fast friends after the Australian charity ball. Both Chidi and Eleanor had accompanied Tahani on her various trips, especially when it coincided with a university that Chidi could lecture at. Michael had to stop himself from jumping for joy when he saw that the fourth soul from his Bad-Place experiment, Jason, was going to be attending a music festival, less than a mile down the road from Tahani's party.

Jason had been doing well for himself; Michael had tipped the police off about Jason's fateful robbery. He had then managed to convince the jury of Jason's trial to let him off easy with community service. From there, Jason had worked with a community service agent and had turned his life around a little. He was still bone-dead stupid, but he had landed himself a solid job at a shipping company and was working on the side to improve his music.

Michael was proud of Jason; his life wasn't anything brilliant, but the kid was still trying after his near-death experience. He knew he shouldn't interfere, but now that Tahani and the others were so close in proximity, it seemed unfair to him that he shouldn't at least try to nudge them together.

Michael made his excuses to Janet and headed down to earth, making plans as he went. He knew he couldn't be as overt as his last two interferences. Judge Gen didn't seem to suspect that he had been down to earth, but Michael knew that there were only so many times he could push his luck.

He made his way to the hotel where the four were staying (another bit of fate that had been too tempting to pass up on). Jason was due to arrive at the hotel just as Tahani and Eleanor were heading out for some girl-time at the bar. That meant that Chidi would most likely be following down a few minutes later.

Michael sat down in the hotel bar and waited. Soon enough he heard the voices of Tahani and Eleanor as they entered the lobby. He watched as they settled down at the bar and ordered their drinks. A few minutes later, Jason entered the hotel followed by a suitcase cart that was being pushed by a busboy. An idea popped into Michael's head.

He stood up and began to walk across the room towards the cart, employing his best drunken swagger as he went. When he was close enough, he threw himself sideways and knocked over the cart, scattering suitcases and bags over the lobby. A small smirk crawled across his face as he caught the look of dismay on the busboy's face. He knew he shouldn't take pleasure in the man's misery, but he was a former demon and some habits took longer to kick than others.

Needless to say, Eleanor jumped up and began to help the disheveled busboy pick up bags, whilst Tahani came over and helped the man to his feet. A moment later the elevator dinged and Chidi stepped into the lobby. Michael's smirk faded into a small smile as he watched Chidi, Tahani, Eleanor and Jason help the poor busboy pick up the scattered suitcases. In the confusion, Michael managed to sneak back to the bar and watch the scene unfold.

Eleanor introduced herself and her friends to Jason and offered to buy Jason a drink as compensation. The four of them then made their way to the bar and order drinks. Michael's smile widened as they fell into easy conversation after a few false starts. With his work done, Michael put a few dollars down on the bar to pay for his drink and turned to go.

His movement caught Eleanor's eye and he froze as their eyes met. A look of recognition crossed Eleanor's face, although Michael was certain she wasn't sure where she'd seen him before. He nodded in her direction and Eleanor nodded back, then Michael turned to leave.

As he headed for the exit he considered going back and saying hello by pretending to apologize for his actions, but he knew he shouldn't interfere any further. The last thing he wanted to do was be the reason that Judge Gen changed her mind. Besides, the four were back together again, and no matter what the world threw at them, he knew they would be fine. After all, they had literally survived Hell together; the living world should be a walk in the park in comparison.

3.

The next time Michael went down to earth, he made sure to clear it with Judge Gen first. The omnipotent Judge hadn't taken long to approve his request, since after all it was to celebrate.

Eleanor was getting married to Chidi and all their friends were invited. Michael decided that included the friends that they didn't remember.

Michael picked out his nicest suit and had convinced Janet to change her appearance to a more formal style. The two of them arrived on Earth shortly before the start of the wedding and had managed to slip in with the rest of the guests.

Janet had a smile painted on her face throughout the whole ceremony, whilst Michael kept telling himself that he was blinking rapidly because of dust, not because he was holding back tears.

Shortly after the ceremony, the guests all made their way to the reception, which was an instant hit. Tahani had really outdone herself this time. Michael wasn't surprised that Eleanor had chosen her friend to be her maid of honour. Afterall, Tahani's flair for event planning had not dulled upon her return to earth, and Eleanor and her seemed to be very close, despite being at each other's throats most of the time.

Just then, Tahani laughed at something Eleanor said and grabbed her arm, dragging her out onto the dance floor. A few moments later, Chidi appeared, being pushed by Jason, who was wearing a fedora and suit similar to the one he'd worn during their incursion into the real Bad Place. Chidi and Eleanor exchanged a few quiet words to one another as the music started to play, and then they began to dance. Michael was certain the tears forming at the corners of his eyes were not from the dust this time.

"They look wonderful together," Janet commented. "I'm glad Gen let them come back."

"Me too, Janet," Michael agreed.

The two immortal beings watched the other humans joined in to dance, Michael stood back rather than participating. He turned to ask Janet if they should consider heading back to the afterlife, and nearly ran straight into Jason, who had wandered over to them.

"Hey there, wanna dance?" Jason asked Janet, clearly a little intoxicated from the wedding's open bar.

"I'd love to, Jason," Janet replied with a smile.

"Yoooo, how do you know my name?" Jason exclaimed, swaying a little.

"I know everything, Jason," Janet told him.

"Cool!"

If it had been anyone else Michael might have been worried about the exchange, but despite his improved attitude towards life, the Floridian DJ still probably only understood about 30% of what he was told. Michael watched as Jason and Janet headed out to the dance floor and proceeded to dance around in the same strange manner that they had done when Jason had been dead. Michael found himself recalling the last night he'd spent with the four humans in the fake Good Place and smiled.

Soon enough, people were starting to get tired and began to leave the dance floor in favour of the bar. Michael noticed that the barkeeper was busy chatting up one of the party-goers so he snuck over to the bar to take over the shift. From here, he could enjoy the party whilst not standing out too much. After all, who would question a man working behind a bar serving up free alcohol, right?

"Hey, you're not the bartender," a woman's voice cut across Michael's musings.

"Then again…" Michael muttered, and looked up to see who it was. A large smile broke out across his face when he realized it was Eleanor. "He's a little preoccupied," he told her, motioning to the actual bartender, who was now making out with the girl he'd been talking to.

"Fair enough," Eleanor said with a shrug, clearly not as bothered as she had been a moment ago. "One alcohol drink, please."

"Do you always order like that?" Michael asked in spite of himself.

"Only when I think the bartender knows what I'll want," Eleanor replied with a wink. "Don't tell Chidi, but I'm already a little drunk." She said with a giggle. "He'd probably rather I kept my head on straight right now, but come on! It's my wedding!"

"You know if you're going to say things like that, you should probably make sure I'm not right behind you," Chidi chided as he sat down next to Eleanor. "Besides, Kant says that morally we have to act from duty, which in this case means that we need to make sure our guests are happy."

"True, but Epictetus says that the greatest good is contentment and I'm pretty damn content right now!" Eleanor shot back, planting a kiss on Chidi's lips.

Michael laughed at the couple's exchange. "Seems like I've got a couple moral philosophers here," he told them, handing them both drinks (he made sure that Chidi's drink had a little extra alcohol in it, just to spite him).

"Chidi maybe, but I'm still learning," Eleanor explained. "It's part of the reason I turned my life around. Did you know he and I met because I watched his video lecture series on 'What We Owe Each Other' and then I flew down to Australia just to meet him? Without this nerd, I'd probably still be back in Arizona being a horrible human being."

"Sounds like quite the adventure," Michael commented.

"I can't take all the credit," Chidi added, "I would still be deciding what I wanted for breakfast right now, if you hadn't come into my life the way you did."

Michael listened to them idly as they told him stories about how they had grown close and become better people as a result. He tried to look like he was hearing them all for the first time, but it was difficult since he'd essentially watched it all happen through the ticker tape.

Soon enough the young couple went back out to the dance floor and before long, the party was drawing to a close. Michael slipped away to meet Janet, who was still talking with Jason, and touched her shoulder to indicate it was time to go.

Janet said her goodbyes to Jason, who clumsily placed a kiss on her cheek, and the two immortal beings began to make there way to the exit. They didn't get far when Michael felt a hand on his shoulder; he turned around to see Eleanor standing behind him, looking a little less intoxicated than she had been earlier.

"Thanks for coming and helping out when we needed it," she told him. "I gotta ask though: do I know you from somewhere?"

"Wouldn't that be something?" Michael replied, "I'll see you around, Eleanor."

Eleanor looked like she was going to say something, but it was Michael's good fortune that Tahani called her at that moment. Michael watched her go and was glad he had been able to come to the wedding. He turned back to Janet who gave him her usual smile and the two of them headed back to the afterlife.

4.

Something was wrong.

Michael wasn't sure what, exactly; none of the numbers from the four humans had shown any signs of dropping down significantly, but the former-demon couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. He triple checked Eleanor's recent numbers. "Hey Janet?" he asked his partner in do-good-checkups. "Check out these numbers: Eleanor has been doing all sorts of little good things like helping old ladies to cross the street, and picking up trash, but doesn't something seem off?"

Janet took a moment to look over Eleanor's numbers, "It seems that Eleanor's good deeds have declined a little over the past month," she reasoned. "She's not committing any negative acts, but she does seem to be slipping. Do you think something's happened?"

Michael sighed and pinched his nose. "I don't know," he said honestly.

"Well there's one way to find out," Janet told him, motioning to the door that lead to the human world.

"Janet, you know I can't go down there again," Michael protested. "If she were to figure out who I was…"

"She won't," Janet interrupted. "It's impossible for her to remember any of her time in the fake Good Place. So go down, find out what's wrong. If anything, she probably needs a friend right now."

"You always know the right thing to say don't you, Janet," Michael commented.

"Of course I do," Janet replied. "After all, I know everything."

Michael found Eleanor sitting at a bus stop about 30 minutes away from her house. It didn't seem like anything was wrong, but as Michael approached her, he could see that wasn't the case.

"I'm fine, Tahani," she said, and Michael realized that she was talking on the phone. "It's just gonna take time… Yeah I know. Love yah girl, we'll talk soon."

She hung up the phone as Michael took a seat next to her at the bus stop. He noted that the sky was a sort of hazy grey colour, and briefly wondered if the world was trying set the mood for him. Just then, the bus pulled up and Eleanor got on. Michael followed, pausing only for a moment to drop some human coins into the bus token box.

The bus was fairly full, so it wasn't too weird for Michael to sit down in the seat next to Eleanor. He watched her wipe a tear away and he knew that he had to say something. "Rough day?" he asked, trying to sound non-committal.

Eleanor laughed a humourless laugh. "Rough month." She turned and looked at Michael for a moment, as if she was contemplating something. "You know, I try my best to be a good person and to not think about rewards and such, because you know, moral dessert and all that." Michael nodded to indicate his understanding. "But it still seems like the world is against me some days." She looked away suddenly, as if embarrassed to be admitting this to a stranger.

"What happened?" Michael asked.

Eleanor heaved a sighed and turned to look back at him. Michael noticed she had tears in her eyes. "I just found out I miscarried for the second time…" she admitted. "The doctors think that it's highly unlikely I'll ever have kids."

Whatever Michael had been expecting her to say, it wasn't that. The news she had just told him hit him like one of the trains from the afterlife. He had to take a moment to centre himself. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

And he was, but he was also feeling, what he believed, were the two most human emotions: anger and confusion. After everything she had done, how could the universe have thrown this at her?

Logically Michael knew that, despite human belief, there was no karmic forces that dictated a human's lot in life. But at the same time, he was dying to talk with someone to try and give Eleanor a miracle.

"Me too," Eleanor said after a moment, derailing Michael's train of thought. "I mean I was angry at first, but then I remembered all the good things in my life. I have my husband, my friends, even a little dog which I never thought I'd get, but here we are." She smiled as if she was remembering something good. "It's rough right now, but whatever happens going forward I know I have them."

Michael's negative emotions dissipated at that, and he was filled with a small sense of pride. Despite everything she had been through, Eleanor remained optimistic; this was growth he hadn't seen before, even in the 800 reboots that he'd done with her in the fake Good Place. Of course that didn't mean she was happy at the moment though, and that meant that Michael wanted to do something to make her feel better. His mind ran through the possibilities and he was surprised to find that 'Real-Eleanor', one of the first tortures he had tried on her, and her life story, came to mind.

"What about adopting?" he asked her. "I knew someone back in the day who helped provide aid to orphans. She was always saying that the best thing someone could do for them was to adopt." He bit back laughter as he recalled that the demon Vicky, who had played 'Real-Eleanor', would much rather have tortured children then adopt them. He realized that Eleanor was turning out to be more like Real-Eleanor than he'd ever anticipated and briefly wondered what Vicky would think if she ever saw the human girl now.

A small smile crept across Eleanor's face as if the thought of adopting had only just occurred to her. "That is a good idea," she said slowly. "Thank you… uh…" She paused.

"Michael," the former-demon supplied.

"Thank you, Michael," Eleanor said. "Your friend seems like a good person."

Michael laughed. "I wouldn't say that. Most of the time she was literal torture to be around."

Eleanor laughed along with him for a moment, and then the bus called out the next stop as it slowed down. "That's me," she told him. "Thank you for listening to me. I know I've got people who love me at home, but every now and then it's nice to have an unbiased opinion."

"Anytime, Eleanor," Michael replied.

She didn't seem to be bothered that he knew her name, as she stepped off the bus. Perhaps meeting random strangers who knew her name throughout her life was a norm for her now. Or maybe she just knew that she knew him somehow; Michael had a feeling that he would never really know.

5.

Michael didn't intervene in Eleanor's life again until the very last day. He stayed loyally in the ticker room as the numbers kept ticking for Eleanor, even after Chidi's, Tahani's and Jason's had all stopped. Janet continued to work beside him, even though there was only one counter between the two of them to keep track of now.

As the numbers began to slow for Eleanor, Michael knew he had to visit her one last time. He didn't even need to say anything to Janet; a simple nod from her, and the architect was heading down to the land of the living again.

He found her in a semi-private hospital room, hooked up on life support and barely hanging on. Sitting beside her was a young woman who looked neither like Eleanor or Chidi, but could only be their daughter. Michael smiled as he sat down next to Eleanor, opposite the girl, and brushed some of her silver hair out of her eyes.

Eleanor stirred and opened her eyes, "Hello, Michael," she said, her voice soft and weak.

Michael smiled kindly. "You remember me." He didn't say it like a question, but Eleanor answered him anyway.

"Of course I do, dummy," she replied. "You were always there when I needed you most, like a guardian angel."

"Oh I don't think I'm quite that," the former-demon told her.

Eleanor laughed quietly. "Well whatever you are, I don't think I would be where I am today without you."

Michael didn't quite know how to describe the warm feeling he was feeling in his chest at her words.

"It's my time isn't it," she asked after a moment of silence. Michael nodded. There was no point in denying the inevitable. "That's good," she said, "I've lived my life, and there are many here who love me, but Chidi is waiting."

"You'll be missed," Michael agreed, looking at the sleeping girl across from him. "You've lived a good life, Eleanor."

"Thank you, Michael." Eleanor replied. "I hope you did too."

Michael chuckled. "Well it wasn't great to start," he explained, "but I had a really good friend who helped me along the way."

"Sounds like we have a lot in common, then," Eleanor said.

"I guess we do," Michael agreed. "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded and closed her eyes. Michael took her hand and the two of them passed into the afterlife.

It was no surprise that they wound up in Judge Gen's chambers. Michael looked around and saw that the familiar setting hadn't changed much since he had brought the others there at their given times.

"Welcome to the afterlife, Eleanor," Judge Gen said to a now much younger Eleanor. "Before we get started, I guess it's only proper I give you an explanation as to why you're here. Although it'd probably be better just to… Janet if you will?"

Janet appeared and touched her finger to Eleanor's head and the girl blinked a few times.

"Holy fork…" Eleanor exclaimed, "Michael?"

Michael laughed. "It's good to see you again, Eleanor."

"So," Eleanor said, turning back to Judge Gen, "I guess it's judgement time. I'm dying to know, or maybe I've died to know? Who can say?" she laughed a little at her own joke. "How'd I do? Did I pass? Do I get to go to the Good Place?" She asked.

"Oh Michael, you didn't tell her?" Judge Gen replied.

Michael shook his head and grinned. "I wanted to keep it a surprise!" He told the judge.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Eleanor asked confused. "What surprise?"

"Eleanor, I made my decision to send you to the Good Place a long time ago," Judge Gen told her.

Michael watched as a large smile broke out on Eleanor's face. "Cool!" she blurted out. "Best surprise ever!"

"Actually that's not the surprise," Michael told her. "May I?" he asked the judge.

"Of course," Gen replied, waving her hand to open the portal to the Good Place.

Michael offered Eleanor his hand, which she took and the two of them stepped through the portal.

On the other side, Michael's eyes adjusted immediately to the bright light, so he turned to look at Eleanor as she blinked rapidly trying to take in her surroundings. "Wait a minute," she said, "this looks an awful lot like…"

"The fake Good Place, I know!" Judge Gen added from behind them, making the two jump. Michael hadn't realized that she'd followed them through the portal. "I assigned Michael to be the architect of this Good Place. He wanted to make sure it was special for all of you."

"All of us?" Eleanor asked curiously, and then realization dawned on her. "Wait does that mean…?"

"Eleanor! Eleanor!" Three familiar voices called from not far away.

Michael turned around with Eleanor to see Chidi, Tahani, and Jason all running towards her. Eleanor gasped in delight and took off towards them, tears of joy streaming down her face as she ran. Michael and Gen followed at a slower pace and were joined by Janet as they approached the four humans.

"It's so good to see you all again!" Eleanor cried, as she pulled the other three humans into an awkward group hug. When she finally pulled away Jason wandered over to Janet and took her hand, grinning like a lost puppy as he did. "So this is the real Good Place?"

"Of course it is!" Michael replied, being 100% honest about his response this time, "All four of you earned your places here fair and square. And all the residents here are actual humans this time, most of them you should recognize from your lives."

"Thank you Michael," Eleanor told him.

"No thank you, Eleanor," Michael said. "None of this would have been possible if it weren't for you."

Some of Eleanor's friends were calling her and Michael made a shooing motion as if to say, go on, enjoy your afterlife. He watched as the four humans headed towards the centre of town, with Janet in tow, and a feeling of completion filled his heart.

"Seems your experiment was a success," Judge Gen commented as they watched the humans go. "So what now? You gonna stay here and work to improve this neighbourhood as they go along?"

Michael considered it. He certainly loved the idea of spending eternity with his four human friends, making sure that they were happy. "Perhaps on a part-time basis," he told her, "but I was thinking of something a little different as my main job, with your approval of course."

"Go on," Gen encouraged, arching an eyebrow in curiosity.

"These four humans have proven that if they meet the right people in life, they can become good. No matter where they come from." He began, "I would like to go back to the human world and pick people who might be headed down the wrong path, and nudge them towards each other in hopes that they can become better people."

Gen laughed and clapped her hands together, "What a crazy, dangerous, ingenious idea!" she said. "And it was exactly what I was hoping you were going to say. I've already got the paperwork signed and have chosen four new applicants for you," she added, handing him a file folder.

Michael didn't open it just then; instead, he slipped it into his jacket pocket and watched the neighbourhood's residences greet Eleanor. Never in his wildest dreams in the Bad Place had he thought that he would befriend humans and end up designing a Good Place for them.

Yet here he was. It was quite remarkable how Eleanor and the others had changed his life, and he didn't think he would ever be able to pay them back for everything they had done for him.

Human life was still a mystery to him in many ways, but Michael knew that he would understand it more, day by day, as he moved forward with his experiment.