A/N: This chapter's a little different than the rest, it's all about Natalie and her trip up to heaven. I considered a lot of people for who she would meet while her life was in the balance, but I think these three balance out different perspectives pretty well. As always, I hope you enjoy it!
"I'm not," Natalie insisted. "I'm not ready. I want to go back, Megan! I have to live…I have to!"
"Natalie, I know you're scared," Megan said, taking her sister's hand again. "And I know this is hard to hear and even harder to accept. Believe me, I've been where you are now. It's not easy to be ready, but Natalie, if you are, there's so much waiting for you on the other side. We could finally have the chance to get to know each other, to be sisters…to be together like we should have been all those years ago."
"But my son…"
"Has grandparents who will love him," Megan said. "Liam has Jessica and Kevin and Joey and Rex and Cord…that little boy has more aunts and uncles and cousins than he'll know what to do with. He's got a whole family who will rally around him. And don't forget, he has his father. John McBain will be there for that little boy."
Natalie shook her head. "It's not the same, Megan. Liam needs his mother…he needs me! I have to live!"
"You tell her, kid."
Megan rolled her eyes but Natalie gasped happily at the powerful voice behind her. Quickly turning around, she grinned and clasped her hands to her mouth before throwing herself into the man's arms.
"Grandpa!"
Asa Buchanan smiled proudly as he put his hands on her shoulders and looked her up and down. "Look at my little Natalie, all grown up."
"Oh come on, I wasn't a little kid the last time you saw me," Natalie pointed out.
"No, but you're different now," Asa said. "Having a kid does that to you, I guess. And it looks damn good on you, kiddo."
Natalie blushed. "I've missed you so much."
"And I've missed you." Asa hugged Natalie again before turning to face Megan. "Now, what's this about trying to convince my granddaughter to die?"
Megan sighed and cast her eyes upward. "Really?" she muttered. "Of all the spirits who know her, you send Asa Buchanan to help?" Shaking her head, she glared at him. "Asa, I only want what's best for my sister."
"Your sister? You mean my granddaughter, who is not dying today and leaving my great-grandson on his own."
"No, I mean my sister," Megan said forcefully. "You know how this works, Asa. It's not our job to decide who lives or who dies. It's only our job to make sure she's ready if it's her time. You think I want her to die?"
"You're the one blabbering on about finally getting to know your sister, and how the kid's going to be okay," Asa said.
"I'm starting to see why you don't get that many of these assignments," Megan said. "Don't you see? Everything I've told her is true. She has to know that if she chooses to let go, the ones she loves will grieve, but that they'll be alright in the end."
"You think that boy's going to be alright growing up without his mother?" Asa asked skeptically. "That's a load of bull, of course he won't be alright!"
"Asa," Megan said, her tone gentle but firm. "You and I do not get to decide if she lives or dies. Our job is to make sure she's ready to let go if that's her fate."
"And if I'm not ready?" Natalie asked.
"Then you go back and you fight like hell," Asa said. "Your parents have been here, your Uncle Bo, your cousin Matthew…they've all come and they've all gone back to fight, and you will too."
"It may not be that simple, Asa."
Natalie felt the tears returning to her eyes at the new male voice in the room. Turning around slowly, she nearly broke down completely when she saw the man behind her.
"Oh my God," she gasped, staring in disbelief. "Jared?"
"Hiya, Sparky." Jared grinned and opened his arms. "What, I don't get a hug?"
Natalie smiled and nodded through her tears as she stepped forward and he pulled her into his arms. Leaning back slightly, he brushed a piece of hair from her face before he leaned down and kissed her softly.
"I missed you so much," Natalie sighed as she reluctantly pulled back from the kiss. "When you got shot…"
"Hey, that's all over with now," Jared assured her. "We're here, and I love you."
"I love you too," Natalie said.
Jared smiled and kissed her again. "I've waited so long for the day you'd be here with me again."
"Excuse me!" Asa bellowed from behind Natalie. "What the hell happened to not dying today?"
"And what happened to helping her decide for herself if she's ready?" Megan countered.
"Would both of you just back off?" Jared snapped, still holding Natalie close to him. "Look, Asa, as much as I would love to have Natalie here with us, I hate the idea of it happening this way…but the fact of the matter is, it's happening. And Megan, I know you're used to there being a choice, but this may not be one of those situations."
"One of what situations?" Natalie asked in confusion.
Jared sighed and ran his hand over her cheek. "A lot of times, when a person is close to dying, there's a moment where they have a choice - to live or to die, to stay or to go, to decide if they're ready to move on."
"That's why you're here," Natalie said knowingly, turning to Megan. "To help me make that decision?"
Megan nodded. "That's what I thought, anyway. But now…Natalie, it doesn't always work like that."
"What do you mean?" Natalie asked anxiously. "If there's a choice, I'm making it. Jared, I love you so much, and there hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't missed you. And the thought of staying with you…it's amazing. But I have to live, I can't die now. I have a son who needs me, my whole family needs me, and John…"
"And John needs you," Jared said with a sad smile, noting the guilt in her eyes. "It's okay, Sparky, I know about you and John. But what we're trying to say is that there isn't always a choice to be made. Sometimes, evil has already made the decision, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"I don't understand," Natalie said.
"Natalie, when I died, I'd lived a good, long life," Asa said. "I'd made my share of mistakes, but I'd loved my children and my grandchildren and even some of my great-grandchildren, and I'd loved one hell of a good woman. As much as I would have loved to have stayed and been a part of your lives for a little bit longer, I was ready to accept that it was time to let go and time to go be with another part of my family, the ones who had passed before me."
"Being ready doesn't mean it's easy," Megan added. "And it doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt to leave your loved ones behind, but sometimes you have to. I was young, Natalie, too young. I had wonderful parents and a sister that I grew up with, and later on, I had been blessed to have Viki as another mother, and Jessica and Joey and Kevin as my little brothers and sister. And I found a man who loved me more than anything in the world. When I got sick, I fought so hard to stay with all of them…but in the end, I was just so tired, and when the time came…well, I knew that I had done all that I could in my life and fighting for a few more days or weeks spent in a hospital bed wasn't going to make a difference. As much as it hurt to do it, I was ready to move on. In different ways, Asa and I both came to the same decision when our time came."
"But how is this different?" Natalie asked in confusion. Megan sighed and looked over at Jared, who nodded and slowly turned Natalie around to face him again.
"Natalie, when I got shot, I would have moved heaven and earth to stay with you if I could have," Jared explained. "When I got here, I fought like crazy to not move on, because damn it all, I wasn't ready…even now, I still know I wasn't ready. You and I, we'd barely even gotten started. There was so much more we should have been able to do, so much of life left for the two of us to experience. We were supposed to have a honeymoon and babies and a house and I was prepared to fight like hell to go back and have all of that…but in the end, I didn't get a choice. There was too much damage…there was no body to go back to. As much as I wanted to fight it, as much as I wanted to hold on for you, I had to let go."
"What are you saying? It doesn't matter what I want? It doesn't matter if I fight? That doesn't make any sense, Jared! I can't just let go!"
Megan stepped forward and took Natalie's hand, pointing to a nearby wall. "Natalie, look," she instructed as the white of the wall slowly faded and was replaced with the image of Natalie's motionless body.
"Oh my God," Natalie gasped. "Is that me?"
Megan nodded. "Natalie, look at where you are."
"Llantano Mountain," Natalie said, recognizing her surroundings. "So what?"
"So there are people looking for you, Natalie," Jared explained. "John and Bo have a large search party out to find you."
"That's a good thing," Natalie said. "That means they could still find me, Jared. There's still a chance."
"The idiots are combing the area surrounding where your car was found," Asa said.
Natalie frowned. "But…I drove south that night," she said, her eyes widening as the realization hit her. "Llantano Mountain is north of town."
"They'll never find you in time," Megan said gently. "I'm sorry, Natalie."