This is what happens when you can't sleep all night. Chapter 2 is already done! This is sooooo not the end even though there is not some horrible cliff hanger. Enjoy!

Conan entered Dr. Agasa's house with him, following him in to the basement where Ai waited with the antidote. He swallowed again but couldn't seem to keep his throat clear. His nerves were getting the best of him, which didn't frequently happen. As a detective, especially a pint-sized one, he had to always keep a clear head. This, however, the thought of resuming life as Shinichi Kudo, was too much for him? He grunted in affirmation to his own thoughts; after all, he was ready for this.

Ai greeted him with a small smile. She didn't seem to be quite as excited as he and Dr. Agasa were. While they were all three waiting for the final tests to be finished she had never once taken her mind off of the consequences of Shinichi Kudo's return. This success was more bitter than sweet for her, being so rational.

"Well?", Conan chimed.

Ai responded with a slight glare that took Conan off guard. "Have you thought about this? What's your plan? Just turn up and all is dandy?"

This only cluttered Conan's mind again, only the fears were more dominant. He had pushed them out of his mind this entire time, only thinking of how wonderful it would be to come back in to the world he use to know. Now, though, they flooded his mind. Ai was right. What about the black organization? They hadn't been taken down yet. While they were weak thanks to the FBI's constant work on them, they were still not irritated completely. If they heard of his return they would likely hunt him and his loved ones down. Conan tried to justify his desire to return by telling himself that he would be prepared and much more capable as Shinichi so if they did come he would be able to take on what was left of them. Another thought forced it's way in to his mind. What about school? Three years had passed and he had not actually graduated high school. He was a year and a half behind everyone else his age. Ran was already almost finished cramming for university entrances and yet he didn't even have his high school degree. Sure, he could finish it quickly with all that he knew and all that he had learned up to this point but it would still be difficult to even explain why he would need to be admitted in to high school again without broadcasting his misfortune and attracting the Black Organization and other unwanted attention. His friends, as well. Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta had all stuck by him and accepted him right away and, although childish to him, were still good friends of his. Would they understand? How would this change their relationships? He feared he would lose their trust and friendship and was completely unsure how to break the news to him. The thought of trust slammed his mind with worries about Ran. He broke out in a cold sweat. What if...

"I see", said Ai, interrupting Conan's constant stream of thoughts as she observed his reaction. "So you have thought them through?"

"Enough to know what I'm in for, yeah", he replied.

"Well then, here you go. We'll need to keep you here over night to observe the effects."

"Understood."

Conan, trembling, took the pill from Ai's hand. This felt different than the other experiments. He knew this time it was for real and that there was no going back. As comfortable as he now was as Conan it was time to end the game and face, as they say, the music. So he swallowed the pill. At first it stuck in his dry, nervous mouth. Conan took a large swig of water and felt it travel down in to his stomach. He stood in front of Ai and the Dr. and waited for the familiar pain. Ai knew it would take longer than the failed experiments due to it's thicker outer shell but had no intention of telling Conan this. She decided that instead of easing his anticipation that she would let him wallow in his fears to be sure that he knew exactly what he was getting in to. Conan's mind, however, was blank. He stood, staring at the grey basement floor, noticing the cracks and discolorations. The cracks looked like veins through the skin of a sick animal with grey, cold skin. He suddenly felt sick.

"I can't do this. I'm going to vomit", he urged.

"Why? It hasn't even released yet.", Ai assured him.

"No, it's not that. This is too much. You know what I'm getting in to but yet you're letting me go through with this. Why?", he demanded as he sweat, feeling more ill.

"Look, Kudo-kun. Dr. Agasa and I both have faith in you, right Dr. Agasa?", he nodded, looking concerned. "You've gotten yourself out of every predicament that's been thrown at you.", Ai continued. "Don't tell me you're going to run from this one challenge."

Conan struggled to swallow again and nodded. He knew that it would be cowardly not to face this. Although he was not as prepared for these problems as he had hoped to be when this day came, he was ready. He had successfully dealt with becoming Conan with logic and tricks and had navigated these new relationships with grace most of the time so he had faith in his ability to save the pieces of relationships that he had left behind three years ago.

"Thank you Ai-kun. Thank you Dr. Agasa. Both of you... You've been more help than you know", Conan smiled and embraced them both in his small body for the last time.

"Lie down, Kudo-kun. You're being a little dramatic", Ai informed him in her usual cool manor.

Conan nodded in response and went up the basement stairs. He was followed by Ai and Dr. Agasa who left him on the couch to go to the kitchen. Conan laid down and gazed at the ceiling. He wondered what was taking this antidote so long as he checked his watch. Almost an hour had passed already and when he checked again another hour had gone by. His eyes felt heavy suddenly and he drifted in to an unusually deep sleep.

Dr. Agasa entered to check on Conan after having a meal an an extensive conversation with Ai about chaos theory. It was quite late in the evening and Dr. Agasa knew that Ran was likely worried about Conan. He was quite aware that she had likely called Conan several times after the sun had gone down to be sure that he was either safe or on his way back home. 'Poor Ran', he thought and called her from his own phone and told her that Conan would be spending the night despite his exams in the morning. She, as he expected, offered to come retrieve him after Dr. Agasa told her that Conan was quite ill but he declined saying that it was important that he rest now and that he would be sure to get him to class on time. As much as he hated lying to Ran, or anyone for that matter, he knew that Shinichi would appreciate him withholding the real information and that Ran would understand sooner or later. After hanging up he and Ai both made themselves cozy next to Conan, who was beginning to sweat and twitch. They knew this was the typical reaction but, although both tired, also knew that it was imperative that they collect data on any changes.

Nothing changed, though. Conan awoke finally, writhing in pain.

"Damn! I hate this part", he screamed, running to the toilet. He felt his body on fire, burning from the inside out. The all-too-familiar bone melting feeling made him stumble and grasp his chest on his way.

Prepared for this, Dr. Agasa had placed a towel and fresh clothes in the toilet that Shinichi could use when he was finally able to stand and compose himself. Over an hour later, Shinichi emerged, cleaned and dressed. His hair was still wet and glistening from the brief shower he had taken to cleanse himself from the sweat he had drenched himself in. The clothes Dr. Agasa had left for him were far from his style of pajama due to the large pink heart print on the shirt and pants. He wondered if the old Dr. had gotten these for this occasion just to laugh at how ridiculous he looked in them. That certainly wouldn't surprise him. He stepped in to the living room where Dr. Agasa was asleep and snoring on the couch where he was last laying. Ai, however, was still awake and had been patiently awaiting the arrival of the real Shinichi.

"So all is well?", she inquired.

"Yes, it seems to be. You wouldn't believe how good this feels...", he replied with a sigh of relief. It had been quite some time since his last transformation, after all.

"I imagine. Let me examine you quickly and then we can both get some rest." She appeared as calm and unimpressed as always.

Shinichi complied and grunted with a small laugh. Ai never showed much excitement and this, her greatest success so far, was no exception to that rule of hers. He wasn't sure if he should feel bad for her for having such limited emotion or to admire her control. Ai knew herself better than Shinichi did, though. Within her hardened exterior she was very pleased with her work. She was also impressed with Shinichi. His body knew exactly how old he was now and had aged as if those three years had been passed in that body. His chest had broadened a bit and his arms were longer and thicker than they had been before. His eyes, though, showed the most age. He had seen more death, pain, and corruption than most see in several long lived lives. This gave his blue eyes even more of a pierce than they had before. He was actually a man now. Ai blushed a bit as she noticed his features, looking past the hilarious pajamas. She was, after all, an adult herself. Although she knew she would likely never act on such impulses, she wished that she was also back in her original body to stun him with her figure as well. Ignoring her surface observations she began checking his temperature, his eyes, and general health. He seemed as healthy as ever and taking to the antidote very well.

"Okay. Looks good."

"Ah, fantastic!", Shinichi exclaimed, clearly overjoyed to hear that things looked well with him. "Shall we get some rest?"

Ai nodded and bid him a good night. She acceded to her bedroom and Shinichi took the other couch. He noticed that it wasn't quite as easy as had been to fall asleep on such a small surface. It was more amusing to him that annoying and he laughed to himself out of happiness and drifted in to another deep sleep that was only interrupted by the morning light beaming in on his face. He smelled coffee and breakfast as he became more aware of the situation. Groggily Shinichi stood up and looked around. He stretched his arms, his legs, his hands, and his back, noticing that they were all the right size and that it wasn't a dream. He really was back.

"Oi, Shinichi-kun!", Dr. Agasa called, noticing that Shinichi had risen.

"Hm?", Shinichi wandered in to the kitchen where he heard the Dr.'s voice coming from and smelled the delicious okayu and coffee.

"Here, eat something. I thought this would be easy on you. You had a long night, after all.", Dr. Agasa pointed out and offered him some okayu.

"Thank you!", Shinichi responded, genuinely, as he was quite hungry after all of the stress of the previous night.

"Well, how does it feel?", Dr. Agasa asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe. I feel completely new. I can't wait to see Ran... Ran!", Shinichi remembered his school obligations. "Ran is going to be quite upset if I don't return by this afternoon. She'll be worried sick about me... Conan. Worried sick about Conan. How should I act when I see her? What should I say?", Shinichi begged Dr. Agasa for advice as if he was younger again.

Dr. Agasa laughed, "Well, my best advice is to just go to her. Confess, tell her the truth. Hiding it from her now will only cause more mistrust than has already happened."

Shinichi nodded and engulfed the rest of his porridge to speed up the morning ritual. He then almost ran to bathe and get dressed. Ai walked down the stairs as he was running up them to the toilet. She knew exactly why he was in such a hurry. He had been waiting for so long to hold Ran and tell her that he loved her with his own voice in her presence. She understood why he could hardly wait but was rather concerned about her reaction. She was a controlled person, no doubt, but she knew how women worked and had already imagined several ways that Ran would react; most of them weren't the happy reunion that Shinichi was envisioning.

Shinichi said his thanks and farewells to Ai and Dr. Agasa, who both wished him the best of luck with Ran. His heart raced and beat in to his throat more and more as he got closer to the Mouri residence. Today he wanted to tell her that he loved her, he wanted to explain everything to her, he wanted to feel her arms around him and her kiss on his lips. He had dreamt of this moment ever since he had been forced into that small body.

He walked on, snow now falling once again. It had been a particularly snowy month so far. The sidewalk that passed the Mouri Detective Agency's door had not yet been cleared of the fresh snow and it stuck to the bottoms of Shinichi's shoes, forming a heavy layer. He stood, looking up at the large window, for quite some time. He didn't think of much and instead tried to calm himself before going up the stairs and knocking on the door as Shinichi Kudo. Despite his attempts he could not get Ran out of his mind. Thoughts of her drove him up those stairs, held his fist up, and planted three forceful knocks on the door. He could hear shuffling in the room as Ran put down her school work and came to the door. Shinichi could see her shadow in the door's clouded window. She got closer and closer and finally he could hear her hand on the door knob, opening it slightly and then, after catching a glimpse of who stood behind it, throwing the door wide open.

"Shinichi...", she almost whispered, shocked to see him.

He smirked, attempting to keep from throwing himself on her to feel her warmth and embrace. "Hey, Ran." He almost choked on his own words.

"Shinichi!" Ran yelped and grasped him tightly in her arms. She was normally more angry with him for being away for so long or worried about him in general but this time she felt something was different. Although she had felt his body quiver in her arms before, from what she didn't know was his pain from changing from and to Conan, this time he shook differently. She couldn't be angry at him when she could tell he was unstable.

"What's the matter, Shinichi? Where have you been? ...How long will you stay?" She bombarded him with questions, though she put the most emphasis on her last inquiry.

He couldn't blame her, though. After all, he had left within moments almost each time he had shown up. He smiled at her and took her in to another long embrace without answering her questions. He hoped his actions made it clear to her that he was there to stay.

"Ran-chan... I've missed you.", he whispered in to her neck.

She didn't respond and instead held him tighter as if worried that he would slip away from within her arms. He knew it meant that she had missed him just as much, if not more. It had been over a year since she had looked in to the eyes of Shinichi Kudo. Unknowing to her, he had spent every day with her. He doubted that even after he told her that she would really understand that he was there the whole time, watching her grow and change in the past three years. She had missed so much of his life, though. It almost seemed impossible to him that Ran could ever feel as if she knew him as well as he knew her. Shinichi tried not to let it ruin this moment, though. It was beautiful to him that even after all of that time apart and after all that she had missed about him, she still held him as close as ever.

"Ran-chan...", he pulled away.

She looked at him with glassy eyes and invited him in. She was so shocked to see him after so long that she hardly knew what to see. Her heart pounded so loudly that she could hear it in her own head. Ran hardly knew what to felt but she invited him to sit with her on the couch anyway. She feared that he would disappear once again and leave her yearning for his presence once again so she watched his every movement as if guarding herself from surprise. She caught his gaze and blushed.

She admitted, "I hardly know what to say. It's been so long. You look... Older."

He smiled, "As do you. More...", he swallowed that same thick saliva, "More beautiful than ever".

"What...?" Ran thought she simply misheard him but flushed anyway.

"C'mon, clean that fluff out of your ears", he spoke gently and winked. "So tell me, how much have you missed me?"

"Not at all, stupid cocky detective!" She spoke harsh words but Ran was still almost in tears. He was really there, right in front of her, calling her beautiful. This was what she wanted.

Shinichi grunted in delight. It was time to tell her how he felt. He could feel that she was ready to hear it. They weren't anywhere as special as he had imagined them being. They were instead only in the dingy apartment where they had spent the last three years together. It wasn't romantic like he had planned or as exceptionally beautiful as he had hoped. They had both waited so long to hear and say those words when a kiss could follow so he knew that it was time.

"Ran-chan, I have something to tell you. I've been waiting since before I left to tell you this and... Maybe this isn't the best time to tell you but I need to." Shinichi paused and Ran waited in silence, unsure as to what he could be talking about. "I... Well, Ran, I love you." There was silence for a brief moment. Shinichi felt the need to fill it, "I knew when you had waited for me that one time back when we were younger when I was two hours late for our outing. You're not just a friend, not at all..." Ran stopped him.

"Shinichi..." She stood up and he quickly followed. "Do you really? Enough not to leave again?" He nodded and took her hands in his. She spoke softly, "Then, I love you too."

Shinichi smiled and kissed her passionately. He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, as if all of his built up love was being set free in this kiss. Ran kissed him back with a passion that matched his. She had thought of those lips on hers many times before. They were soft, softer than she had expected. She felt the force of his strong arms holding her closely but the gentleness of his hands ran down her neck and to her waist. Finally they broke the kiss, gasping out of excitement and stimulation. Shinichi then grasped Ran tightly with his whole body and told her over and over that he loved her. It was as if a flood of emotions had come over him and knocked him down. This time Ran was the strong one of the two who held him closely and simply listened to him weep.

After quite some time Shinichi finally calmed down and controlled the flow of his emotions. He broke their long embrace and smiled at Ran.

"Thank you, love." He half smiled, feeling rather weak now.

Ran smiled in return and nodded. She had never seen him like that before and it scared her as well as comforted her to know that the strongest person she knew was also weak within himself. She told herself that he must have been through some tough cases and that being away for so long only added to the mix of his powerful feelings. She knew he would be fine in the end. That's the way Shinichi was, strong.

"Ran... I wish that was all that need to tell you. But... I can't hide it any more. Not now at least."

Shinichi was afraid to tell Ran about being Conan for many reasons. They had just confessed their love for one another so it could easily stain this memory in a foul light. He knew, though, that she had to be told. It wasn't fair to her for him to continue to hide it and lie to her about why he had always been away. He wanted to build their love on trust, as he knew it should have from the start. Ran was afraid of what else Shinichi had to say. Him loving her was big enough news so she wondered what else could he possibly have to tell her. She considered several smaller things while he composed himself but none of them quite prepared her for what she was about to hear.

Shinichi took a deep breath and clenched his fists. "We should probably sit down."

Ran nodded and sat down. Shinichi sat down next to her, holding her hand tightly as if to keep her from running from what he was about to tell her. Then, almost as if she knew, Ran stood up and looked at the time on her phone.

"Conan! It's already so late. Where is he? He was suppose to be at Dr. Agasa's and then at school. I haven't heard from him, from Dr. Agasa, or anybody else. Shinichi, we have to look for him!", Ran shouted in a panic.

"Ran..." Shinichi bowed his head and looked at his feet, still clenching Ran's hand.

"Please, Shinichi... He could be in trouble and I know, with all of the cases you've been solving, that you could easily find him..."

Shinichi sighed heavily and deeply, "Why don't you try giving him a call first?" He was well aware that he still had 'Conan's' phone with his belongings.

Ran nodded and dialed his number on her phone. She waited a moment and it rang once on her end. It rang again on her end and then Conan's phone rang in the room they were in. Ran looked around and shouted Conan's name. Shinichi wouldn't let go of Ran's hand and stared blankly at the coffee table with Ran's scattered school work on it. It was all a blur to him. Conan's phone rang in response again. After the fourth ring Ran had identified where the ringing was coming from and saw that it was in Shinichi's jacket. She laughed an uncomfortable laugh at first, assuming that Shinichi had ran in to Conan and that the two were playing a trick on her that she didn't exactly find funny. When Shinichi didn't look up or respond to her laughter, though, she knew. All of her past suspicious were correct. She knew there had always been something wrong with Conan. He was too smart, looked too much like Shinichi, shared his birthday, so many things. Rain didn't know how it was possible but she didn't have to be a brilliant detective to add up Shinichi's reaction and her suspicions. She pulled back but Shinichi still grasped her hand desperately. He knew she'd try to run. It was too much for a girl, no, a woman like Ran. She pulled harder, trying her best to get away and catcher her breath. She started to choke on tears and pleaded for Shinichi to let her free. So he did. Shinichi let go of her hand and flew away from him, taking her coat and going outside in to the heavy, sticky snow that was still falling. Shinichi hurried to the window to watch where she was going. She ran down the sidewalk away from the apartment. Shinichi wanted to follow her to offer some sort of explanation but he knew that in this state she would hear nothing that he had to say. He slumped down next to the window and cried. Coming back as Shinichi was painful and not nearly as easy as he had hoped it would have been.

An hour passed and another followed. Shinichi picked himself up off of the floor near the window and gathered his things. He knew it would be best for him to be gone before either Kogoro or Ran came home. His next goal was to go to his old house and get comfortable. From there he had no idea what to do. The person who he cared about most was likely far too upset with him to even see him at this point. As Shinichi wandered back to his house in the deepening snow all he could think of was Ran. He wondered where she had gone to, when she would speak to him again, if he should call her the next day, if she would ever trust him again. Ran knew she would trust him eventually but in the arms of her best friend Sonoko she didn't care to think much of it. Ran wanted to be upset with Conan, no, Shinichi forever. She had trusted Conan with even more information then she had Shinichi but now it didn't matter. Shinichi knew all of the things that only Conan was suppose to know and it made her cringe to think that she had been so open to the child. She told herself that there was no way for her to have known and that because of this the blame was all on Shinichi for severing her trust beyond immediate repair. Sonoko did her best to stay calm for her friend but inside she was quite angry with Shinichi. She had never really trusted him to begin with because of his constant absence but had always supported, and teased, her friend's feelings for him. 'If nothing else he was at least attractive', Sonoko thought.

Shinichi arrived at his house far past dinner time. He wasn't hungry anyway, even if he knew he should eat. He opened the door and stepped in to the large, hallow mansion. It felt cold and empty to him as he looked and walked around, tracing his fingers through the dust that had been building on the dark furniture. His observation was broken by the ringing of 'Conan's' cell phone.

"Hello?", he answered.

"Kudo-kun? I thought this was suppose to be Conan's phone..." It was Heiji.

"Well it turns out that I have a lot to tell you", Shinichi chuckled.

Heiji waited in silence, already having deduced what likely happened. He had picked up on Shinichi's rather somber tone of voice and could hear the echo that likely meant he was in the library of his own house.

"There was a test antidote, Heiji, and I took it. Haibara had told me that it was successful but I guess I didn't really think that I would be here, finally back to myself for good. It's really all happened today..."

"I see. And the girl? I imagine you've already told her, judging by your lack of excitement.", Heiji smirked and Shinichi could hear this through the phone.

"Heh, yeah. I don't think I need to explain why it turned out badly to you."

"Nope. I know women wa-a-ay better than you do.", he laughed a bit, trying to lighten the mood.

Shinichi laughed a bit, "Yeah, right."

"Well I called to tell you that Kazuha and I will be in Tokyo this weekend for A police conference and I thought we would stop by and see you and Ran. We can at least give you some support while we're there now."

"Thanks, Hattori. You know I can manage myself, though.", Shinichi laughed, a bit more light heartedly than before.

"Sure, Kudo, sure.", Heiji said and abruptly hung up, holding true to the end of almost every phone conversation that they had together.

Shinichi smiled and put the phone back in his pocket. He figured it might be wise to keep in on himself until he had cleaned up some more Conan created messes. With that thought he let out a sigh. There was much more to this than he had considered. He knew at some point the Detective Boys would call or stop by the Mouri's house looking for Conan, who wouldn't be there. He decided his parents would be easiest, most likely, and gave them a call.

"Hey mom.", Shinichi said.

"Oh, you sound like an adult!", his mother exclaimed.

"Yeah, heh. Things are back to normal now. My friend, you know the one Ai, was able to come up with an antidote. So far, so good. Well, not good per say, but my body is back for good."

"Well, my dear Shinichi, that's wonderful news! Your father and I are at an American film festival but we will be sure to come home and see you soon. It's been quite some time since I've felt like the old mother of such an old boy! I kind of miss feeling like a new mother... Sigh."

Shinichi laughed a bit, "My deepest apologies mother." His sarcasm was evident.

"And the disrespect continues! Well I've got to get going, old son. Good luck with Ran!", she said, hinting that she knew that he would likely struggle dealing with her.

Shinichi smiled, feeling warmed by his mothers eternally optimistic perspective on things. She offered no advice to him and he was aware that this was likely because she had some sort of faith in him and knew he was more than just a logic relying detective. From there Shinichi went to bed, once again sleeping a deep sleep that was only ended by mid-morning sun streaming into the windows.

Ran had spent the night at Sonoko's house like they had done in high school. She was feeling much more calm that morning and, because Sonoko always slept in so late, sat at a window to watch the sun glisten off small pieces of the dirty city snow. Ran knew that she had every right to be upset with Shinichi but, now beyond the initial upset, she longed for another kiss and for his strong arms to be wrapped around her. She almost felt as if it was wrong to already feel forgiveness setting in but she couldn't exactly help it. Ran got up and left Sonoko's house before she had even stirred.

Shinichi had gotten dressed and decided that his day would be spent trying to at least get Ran to speak to him. He knew that she was delicate but not so much that she wouldn't have moved on to at least being angry now, which he knew he could handle. He wasn't sure where she had gone to but knew that a good place to start would be her house, just in case she had come back later after cooling down. As he approached the outside door he heard the squeak of footsteps in the snow approaching him. It was Ran, who had just made her way back from Sonoko's house. They looked at each other and fell in to a loving embrace.

"I... I can't stay angry at you. I mean, I can and I am still angry, but rather I can't stay away from you.", Ran said, looking in to his deep blue eyes.

"Ran... I'm sorry. I really am sorry for all of this. For everything. For being the way I am, for deceiving you, for keeping you waiting. I've been here, though. I've been by your side, I swear."

Shinichi smiled, letting his honesty shine through. Ran believed him, of course.

"It's cold...", Ran said.

"Hmm, yeah it really is", Shinichi replied, flicking some snow off of his shoulders.

So, to warm up, the two went inside the Mouri apartment. They set their coats aside and, since Kogoro was out once again, sat on the couch. Shinichi turned towards Ran and held her hands in his.

"So are you ready to know the whole story?"

Shinichi's eyes looked deeply in to hers, begging for her honest answer. Ran nodded in response. She wanted to know, waiting intently, returning his grasp on her hands.

He took a deep breath, "Well it all began at Tropical Land after your karate tournament..."