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A/N: This is the sequel to I Wish I May, way back in April, 2015. NCIS Fan wanted to know if Tim would live a mortal life or still be a genie. Here's the answer. Warning: This is not my usual happy, fluffy fic. It's debatable whether it has a happy ending, though I like to think so.
Tim sat by Tony's bedside, holding Tony's cold hand, listening to the heart monitor. Tony was dying. The genie had known all along this day would come; Tony would age and eventually pass away; Tim wouldn't. Oh, Tim looked like an 80-year-old man, he had enough magic left to see to that, but he'd live for centuries yet; Tony was down to his last few hours, the doctors said. Tim was grateful he'd had as much time with Tony as he had; 40 years was a long time, just not by genie standards.
Tim couldn't stand the thought of a life without Tony. His future stretched endlessly ahead of him, bleak and lonely. It was almost enough for him to find a magician to bind him to another bottle; at least when he was confined, time passed in a blur. It wouldn't stop him from thinking, though. He'd still miss Tony; it just wouldn't seem like quite as long. Still too long, though. Besides, there weren't many magicians, if any, left who could perform the ritual.
"I wish I didn't have to live without you," Tim whispered to the still form of his lover. He laughed bitterly to himself. Wishes didn't work anymore, and even if they did, a genie couldn't grant wishes for himself. He didn't know what would happen anyway; it's not like Tony would suddenly live forever; that just wasn't plausible, and it was all about plausibility.
Tony suddenly gasped, squeezing Tim's hand convulsively. "I love you," he managed to choke out. Then the beeping of the monitors flattened out into one long tone.
A pain suddenly gripped Tim's chest. The hand holding Tony's went numb, and it was hard to catch his breath. His vision grayed. He didn't know what was happening.
He thought he heard Tony's voice calling to him. "Come to me, Tim, join me," but that wasn't possible. Tony was gone.
"I'm still here," Tim heard Tony's voice whisper. "We can be together." It wasn't Tony though, just a ghostly voice in his head.
Then the hallucination appeared. Tim saw Tony's hazy form appear across a field, reaching out to him. "Come, Tim. Come home to me."
Tim reached out. He felt Tony's hand wrap around his, as solid as if it were real. With a last gasp, he joined his lover in the realm beyond.