Conan gasped from the hospital bed, his clothes soaked with sweat. His eyes were clamped closed, his glasses on the drawer positioned next to his bed. His blood coursed through his veins like hot iron. His heart beat like it had before, but not with this intensity. He feared that his heart would run blood so hot it would burn him up.

"Conan?" Ran's voice trailed through the doorway. "Are you okay?" Conan could only answer with a wheezing cough that left him breathless. Ran stepped in, her face grave. She pressed her hand against Conan's forehead. "The doctor told me that nothing should be wrong with you, but you are burning up!" She sighed and then stroked his hair lovingly. "You know what? Without your glasses, you remind me exactly of Shinichi. I love him." She smiled a sad smile then looked out the window. "I really miss him."

Conan opened an eye, causing spikes of pain coursing through his face. "I'm sure he loves you too."

"What?" Ran turned her head back, and saw that her wish had come true.

"I…" he coughed, "love you a lot!" Shinichi gave a half-hearted smile.

"How?" Ran pressed her hands against Shinichi's red face. "Wait, so you were Conan all this time? The times I gave you a bath? The time Hattori came in and asked for you? The time where I went to the beach with Sonoko and you? ALL THOSE TIMES?" A tear dropped from her eye, shimmering as it fell through empty air, finally shattering as it hit Shinichi's clothes.

Shinichi shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Well, why didn't you tell me?"

"I…" His voice was muffled as Ran threw herself against his hot body, finally letting loose a torrent of long withheld tears. Shinichi felt his pain return. He writhed in Ran's grasp, the pain like bolts of lightning striking through his skin. He started to hyperventilate and his vision went blurry. Shinichi thought his head would burst from the pressure. The pulse oximeter went crazy, sending out beeps like there was no tomorrow.

"AAH!" Shinichi's screams rang through the hall. Then silence roamed the halls.

"Shinichi? Shinichi?" Ran tried to stir him from his unconsciousness. She could not- no, she WOULD NOT lose him now! The doctors ran in, called by that bloodcurdling shriek which had so disturbed their peace of mind. They heard it before they saw it- sobs and a sound they hoped they was a fake. Here was a boy who was supposed to have nothing wrong with him, but now he had succumbed to the will of God. They saw the girl frantically shake him, calling him name, hoping, wishing. They all knew about hope. In their minds, they all made a decision which they hoped they had not been too slow to make.

"Bring the defibrillator!" the head doctor called, and two nurses came around, wheeling it around the corner and accidentally knocking down a plant. He slathered gel onto Shinichi's chest, and took hold of the two metal paddles. He vigorously rubbed them together. "CLEAR!" he shouted, and Shinichi's limp body jumped. Ran cried, her sobs barely heard through the commotion.

The doctor charged them again. "CLEAR!" Shinichi's body jumped again, but the oximeter would not show a change. The doctor held his breath. Maybe just one more time. One more. He put them together once more. He gathered his strength and did it as fast as he could. "CLEAR!" the body jumped once more, but then, another sound had emerged from the dark.

Beep, beep, beep, beep. A rhythmic beeping had returned yet again to invade the air. All the doctors and nurses let out silent sighs of relief. Shinichi opened his eyes.

"Shinichi?" a fearful, sad voice drifted from the corner. Shinichi cracked a smile.

"Hey, Ran. Look at how your Shin-chan is doing now." Those few words took the breath away from Shinichi, and again he hung limp against the pillow.

The doctors approached Ran, and the head doctor stepped forward. "You truly are a lucky girl," he whispered, and then he left the room, a swirl of white that blended into the bland hospital walls. Shinichi looked peaceful and Ran stepped over. She sat by him.

"So, wanna' tell me how this ever happened?"

7 months later in Tropical Land…

Shinichi and Ran walked the same path they had done before, passing the same cotton candy stand, the same teacup ride, the same rollercoaster waiting line. Ran hugged his arm closer to her, and his warmth filled her with happiness.

"You know what, Ran?" Shinichi's voice stirred Ran from her daydream. "It's true that your life passes before your eyes when you're about to die. When I lay dead in that hospital bed 7 months ago, my life flashed by. All my memories rushed over me, and all the feelings I ever had flooded over me. The most prominent feeling there was the love I had- for you. I wanted to live. I didn't care any more about the pain. I loved you, and I wanted to see your face again. I think that's what made me live." Shinichi stopped, and Ran floundered for a second. "Ran?"

"Yes, Shinichi?"

"I love you."

"I know." Ran smiled slowly. "I love you a lot too."

"How much?" Shinichi spread his arms. "This much?"

"To the moon and back."

"Let's go on the roller coaster and see how far that really is." Shinichi pulled on her sleeve, and led Ran to the line. He bent down so close that his breath tickled her ear. "Well, I love you to the end of the universe… and back," he whispered.