"I can't thank you enough." With a slight hesitation, Elizabeth held out her hand to Alexis. It felt odd, inadequate in a way. But other than a nice handshake, all Elizabeth could think of was hugging Alexis for helping through the mini drama.

"No problem." Ignoring the offered hand, Alexis wrapped her arms around Elizabeth and gave her a tight squeeze. The weird feeling from the simple exchange made Elizabeth slightly uncomfortable. Having someone invading her personal space with friendly intentions was new for her. "Thank you for sticking up for Joe. He's not bad when you get to know him."

Joe. Dear ole Joe. She hadn't seen him in two days since St. Peter announced she'd be going back. It wasn't like she blamed him for avoiding her like the plague, seeing she'd shut him out the second Petey boy banged the gavel, dismissing court. She'd been so confused over the emotions rolling through her, that she needed air and time away from the man she was starting to trust.

Her first best friend wore a diaper. Her first thought of the day brought a smile to her lips. Staying with Alexis, waiting for the paper work for her departure to clear, Elizabeth had the time alone she'd needed to come to terms with a few issues.

One. She was a bitch. Perhaps she was softening a little around the edges, but not enough to completely erase the truth.

Second. Given a chance, she was a loyal, protective bitch.

Third. No matter how irrational it was, she was totally head over heels with a man she'd never spoken to. It was cheesy and a great plot for some low budget B movie but it didn't make it any less true. Geez, people got married after knowing one another for only a week. So what if she was half dead and following him around with a Pamper wearing Cupid. Stranger things had been known to happen, she hoped.

No matter what happened she was ready to return to the living. Heaven was great and all, but she had some unfinished business to see to. There were some changes in her life she wanted to make. Places she wanted to see. Things she needed to do before she became a full time resident of the afterlife.

"Are you excited?" Looking relaxed in a white jogging suite, Alexis led her to a park just blocks from her heavenly condo.

"A little." Chewing on her lower lip, Elizabeth took a moment to take in her surroundings. Her eyes scanned the faces on the street and she couldn't help but feel disappointed. "I thought Joe would be here."

"He's in the middle of a project right now." Alexis said. "But he promised to be at the garden before your departure."

"I was hoping to be able to talk to him before I left." She's never been sad over a loss of a friend before. Leaving meant she wouldn't have Joe around nagging her to be a better person. "Let him know I appreciated everything he did for me."

"I think he already knows." Alexis reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Joe told me I wasn't going to remember any of this when I woke up." The words brought a sharp pain in her chest. As fear gripped at her insides. "Why? Why put me through all this? Make me see how wrong I've been only to take it all away?"

Looking thoughtful, Alexis paused in the middle of the sidewalk. "Joe isn't very good at explaining the dynamics sometimes."

Elizabeth swallowed the sarcastic retort on the tip of her tongue.

"Are you going to remember Joe, or me? No." This time Alexis's smile was a little sad. "But your subconscious will remember what it learned."

"To be honest, I'm scared to wake up and be the bitter person I was."

"Elizabeth you are going to wake up and be the same person. You've always had it in you to be more, to be better. Everyone does. It just takes courage to make a change. To take a chance."

"What if I mess things up worse than what they were?" Thank goodness Joe wasn't around right now. She'd never hear the end of it.

"A little advice." Alexis placed her hands on Elizabeth's shoulders. "You are going to mess up so many times in your life you're gonna lose track. It's what you do with yourself afterwards that means anything."

"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "Now can we talk about something else, I feel like we're in some freaky after school special."

"Absolutely."

Covering his face with his hands, Jason let out a frustrated growl. The two men arguing in front of him paused and looked over at him. They'd been going at it for hours. Both repeating themselves to the point where Jason wanted to stab himself in the eye with a sharp pointy stick.

"Listen, I don't care why I am here." Honestly, he wanted to believe he'd had an aneurysm and was hallucinating the last two days. "I just want to get back. Now."

"Dr. Morgan I do apologize, but you aren't on the list." The last word was spoken through clenched teeth as the little gray haired man glared over at the other man. Joe, he'd said he was a Cupid and was there to help him sort through the mess.

"Then put me on the damn list." At the end of his rope, Jason snapped. Typically he was patient. With a family like his he'd learned to keep control over his emotions. A person had to when Edward Q was around. But there was only so far a man could be pushed.

Having woken up surrounded by a group of murmuring men wearing an assortment of white garments, Jason knew something horrible had happened. Never fully convinced that there was a God and everything that went along with it, but never quite able to turn his back on the possibility, Jason got his answer first hand. It also dawned on him he wasn't ready to be here yet.

After the initial panic faded and his practical side took over, he'd convinced himself this was all just a dream. That he must've bumped his head on his mad dash through the airport and was now dreaming.

Nothing like a few dead relatives to bat that thought out of the park and put things into perceptive. Once he had a firm grasp on his current situation and stopped trying to rationalize everything acceptance had come relativity easy.

He'd been told he wasn't supposed to be there. Which was just fine with him, seeing he didn't want to be there either. Well not at that precise moment, but perhaps several decades from now. Something about misplaced files, misspelled names and a systematic glitch brought him to heaven. His very much alive body was now resting in the same hospital he worked in, waiting for his soul to return.

But not before a complete investigation and the proper sign off. As luck would have it, no one seemed no one know who actually looked into the matter. Or who signed off the paperwork to get him back.

Sitting back and watching, Jason felt he was back at work, fighting with the insurance companies to cover needed medical procedures.

"I need to get back. Now. I'm done waiting." Standing up from the bench his butt had been rooted to for the last hour, Jason ignored the stares he was now receiving. "What part of emergency did you guys not get? A patient of mine flat lined. I need to be there for her."

"But that was days ago Dr. Morgan." The little old man answered with a frown. "From our records Miss Webber is just fine."

"What?" The word barely passed through his clenched jaw.

"Elizabeth Webber." The gentleman offered in a kind and irritating tone. Turning to the pile of paperwork on his desk he riffled through it before picking up a file. "She pulled through and is waiting in queue to return."

"See kid, I told you she was fine." The balding man who'd introduced himself as Joe, rolled his eyes over at him and turned back to the smaller man. "Now Winston what's it gonna take to get this guy home?"

"The proper paperwork." The gentleness the other man had displayed disappeared.

Jason's eyes remained on the file as his heart raced in his chest. Did he just hear them right? Was Elizabeth Webber really here, nearby?

Without thinking he snatched the folder from Winston and started flipping through the file. His eyes skimmed a few lines of each paper before going to the next.

"Today. She's leaving today."

"Give that back to me young man." His hackles up, Winston claimed his property with a disgruntled sniff and stalked behind his desk and sat down. "Until he has the proper papers he wont be going anywhere. Good day."

"Come on kid, I know someone who can help us." With a sneer at the other man Joe waited until Jason started to move toward the door.

"I want to see her."

"Who?"

"Elizabeth." A twinkle danced in Joe's eye and Jason wanted nothing more than to punch the fool. But hitting a man wearing a diaper seemed wrong. "I'm going to find her with or without your help."

"Calm down buddy, all you have to say is please."