A brief vignette set after Swan Song.

Disclaimer: Not mine!

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"I miss you."

"I know you do. But I'm here."

Allison Cameron sighed as she curled up on her couch and tugged an old afghan around her slender shoulders. If anyone heard her talking right then, they might have thought she had gone insane, driven there by the one man she'd never fully admitted claimed her heart.

"No, you're not."

He stepped in front of her and knelt down, those piercing blue eyes boring into her. "Of course I am. Look at me."

She turned her head away, her heart aching miserably. Was it possible to feel this much pain, this much despair, and still be alive?

Purgatory. She had to be in purgatory, tortured by the memory of him. She grabbed the wine bottle in front of herself and took a long drink from it.

"That's not gonna help anything, Cameron."

"What do you know?" she snarled before taking another pull.

"I do know." His reply was soft and almost…caring. Where was that when he was still there?

Tears burned her eyes, and this time she didn't hold them back. They spilled down her cheeks as her entire body trembled. "Why didn't I tell you?" she whispered as the memory of his hands on her skin taunted her mind relentlessly. "Why didn't I just tell you?"

"You weren't ready. Now you are." He stood up, watching her with a sad expression.

"No. No, I'm not ready!" Her voice rose in volume and intensity. "Greg, I'm not ready."

"You are."

"Please, I can't do this." Her voice cracked as the bottle slipped from her hand and hit the floor. "I can't."

He smiled at her. "You can. I know you can."

Her tears blurred her eyes as he started to fade. "I loved you." The words felt foreign on her tongue, but she spoke them anyway. "I love you."

"I know. And I'm proud of you."

I'm proud of you…

A sob bubbled up in her chest and she reached out to touch him, but he was gone. She was alone in her apartment, alone with the memories of him and of what they could have had together. What they would now never have together.

"I love you, Greg."

Once you've tasted a love that strong

You can't go back and you can't settle on

Anything less, and that's what gets me

It's like having wine after whiskey

The End.