Diana lay in the soft sand basking in the sun. She hadn't been here since the end of the FAYZ, and was currently wondering why she was here now. A dark figure loomed in her peripheral vision, and even without looking, she knew it was Caine. She had to see him, needed to see him, needed to ask how he was here, how he was possibly alive. She needed to give him a sloppy wet kiss full of tears. Diana sat up straight. But she couldn't turn her head. Couldn't. Something was stopping her. This is my body, she thought, I control it.But it was no use.And then he was behind her, his strong arms, no longer skinny with starvation, encircling her waist, his nose nuzzling her neck and his soft lips trailing gentle kisses on her shoulder. She wanted, needed to kiss him, but she could not turn around. So instead she let his hands and lips do the work. Abruptly, the unknown force that wouldn't let her see his face, twisted her around to see him. Diana screamed. Perched on the ground with a deadly smile on his face was not Caine. It was Drake.

Diana awoke with a start. No, no not again. She was sick of nightmares. Suddenly she was crying, crying big fat tears for Caine. Caine. She wanted Caine. If Caine was here he would have said, 'so technically you just had a naughty dream about me' and she would have said 'no way, I had a nightmare about you, I think your ego is large enough as it is'. And then they'd have laughed and he would have kissed her and-

She had to stop torturing herself. But she opened her drawer and unlocked his letter from its special box anyway. She read it for the millionth time.

Diana:

I'm sorry for hurting you. I know I did.

I'm most likely dead now, and I guess if there's any kind of fairness in the afterlife I'm probably in Hell getting roasted. But if that's where I am, I want you to know, I still love you. Always did.

Love,

Caine.

Diana knew it off by heart by now, but still, every time she read it, the words stabbed her in the heart and made her smile at the same time. She laughed out loud – he was such an idiot. So dramatic. So self-centred. And yet somehow he loved her and she loved him.

'You sick, creepy guy.' she murmured to herself with a smile, shaking her head. And then she burst out laughing, laughing uncontrollably, laughing hysterically, laughing at the weirdness of it all, laughing at the unfairness of it, laughing at how after everything, Caine, Caine sacrificed himself. Laughing at his dumb letter to the Brattle-Chances, how he had to manipulate even from death. Laughing at how he got his blaze of glory in the end.

Laughing at how wrong he was – if there was any kind of fairness in the afterlife, he'd be in heaven eating grapes, probably trying to overrule God. He'd probably get bored of being around good people, probably wish he was in Hell, but Diana knew one thing: he'd wait for her. And no matter what happened in this life, she would love him forever, and when she died she would kick whatever crappy husband she found to the kerb and run straight into Caine's arms, whether it be in Heaven or Hell.

And with that she started to cry. She fell to her knees and sobbed, sobbed for hours, clutching her letter to her heart, trying to hold on to that last piece of him. She didn't know how long she stayed there for. All she knew what that, after her eyes were sore, and no more tears would materialise and on her legs were the imprint of the carpet pattern, Sam appeared. She must have looked a mess, crouching on the floor like a beggar, but he sat down next to her and put his arm around her. She cried into his shoulder, thankful for the close contact of a human being. They sat like this for hours: her letting go of every locked up emotion, Sam holding her, whispering nonsensical words of comfort into her ear, telling her that it was ok, even though it wasn't. But she was grateful anyway, grateful that she had a friend who cared at all. Two friends, actually. Sam and Astrid. She thanked God for letting her have them, even after everything she'd done.

And then there was a knock on the door, and Sam and Diana looked at each other.

'I'll get it' she said with a watery smile, 'it's probably just Astrid'.

And sure enough, there, standing in the doorway with puffy red eyes and wet cheeks was Astrid.

Taking in the sight of each other, they laughed. What a coincidence; they had both chosen to break down at the same time.

'You look awful 'Astrid sniffled.

'You don't look too good yourself' Diana replied.

And then Sam appeared, and Diana watched the emotions that played out on his face as he looked at Astrid. First, love. Just plain, undisguised, flat out love. Then, as he took in her unhappy state, a worried expression. And then, as if borrowing the emotion from her, a heart-breaking sadness that he struggled to conceal. But he was Sam Temple, and Sam Temple could not hide his emotions.

He embraced her, kissed away the tears, held her, and Diana felt a surprising stab of bitter jealousy. How was it fair that Astrid got someone to kiss away the pain, someone to wake up next to in the middle of the night when she'd had a nightmare, someone to soothe her with love? How was it fair that she got Sam and Diana couldn't have Caine?

Diana felt shame and regret; how could she think that? How could she take away their happiness just because she couldn't have what she wanted? She loved Sam and Astrid, loved them with all her heart. In fact, the two of them were the only two people she really did love that were still alive.

At this moment they remembered her and drew her into the hug. They stood like this for a while, and suddenly a thought came to Diana: she could survive without Caine, just for this life, no longer, if she had Astrid and Sam.