Songs I listened to while writing this chapter: Vilain by Brian Tyler (at least the first minute and 47 seconds), then right into The Showdown by Brian Tyler, and finish with Breaking a Promise by Ryan Amon alternating with The Bear by Joseph Trapanese

Yea...so apparently I can't keep things light and fluffy and fun. I always come back to angst and drama and action/mystery. My bad...

Lee didn't even flinch as everyone in the room, except the minister, Emily, and David, gasped in shock. He heard a thud and saw in his peripheral vision to the right that Emily's mother had fainted and her husband was bending to pick her up with Alison's help. He wouldn't be standing here if Tool hadn't called him. After that phone call, there was no way he could let Emily get married.

It also didn't escape his notice that Emily looked relieved to see him.

"Lee," Emily said now, her eyes never leaving his. "What are you doing?"

"Get away from him," Lee commanded. "Right now."

"Lee, you're insane," she said, her voice rising. He wished she would stop pretending that she wanted to go through with this. He wasn't blind, and he knew she wasn't stupid. David was looking at him calmly, but Lee could see the anger in his eyes.

"He's not David Jones," Lee told her, making people gasp again.

"What?" Emily asked, starting to laugh. "Now I know you're insane."

"JANE!" Kevin shouted, bursting in behind Lee. "Jane! Stop the-..." He halted in his tracks, looking at Lee and noticing what was going on, the camera swinging around his neck.

"What's wrong?" Jane asked him. Kevin pointed at David.

"My contact just called me. He's not David Jones."

Lee wanted to kiss him. It made him look less crazy, and that's what he needed right now to convince Emily to step the hell back from David. He took a step forward when David jerked Emily into him, wrapping an arm around her neck and putting a hand over her mouth while pulling out a gun from the back of his pants and aiming it at her head. Erica and Andy screamed. Jane's eyes widened in shock, her mouth open but no sound coming out. Lee pulled out his own gun and aimed it at David. He did not have a clear shot, though. There was a whole lot of screaming and shouting around them now.

"Holy shit," Kevin gasped behind him, ducking behind a pew. Jane and Andy were ducking now with Erica too. Nigel had disappeared.

"Put the gun down, Josh," Lee ordered. "It's over."

"I knew you'd come," Josh/David said, sneering. He started backing towards the side exit, and Lee slowly walked with him. Emily's eyes were wide with terror, and Lee tried to convey to her that she'd be all right. He also tried to convey that she knew how to get out of the hold Josh had her in.

"Yea, well here I am. You can let her go now and fight me man to man," Lee said. "That's what you want after all, right?"

"I've been dreaming of this moment for two years," Josh said angrily.

"Ever since I killed your daddy, right?" Lee egged him on. They continued walking slowly. "Yea, my blade ripped him in half. He never saw it coming."

"Shut up!" Josh shrieked, pressing his gun into Emily's head harder and making her whimper. "I will blow her away! I swear to God! You'll be the one losing someone you love next!"

"You were very good," Lee said. "Almost better than me, but you see, paper trails are hard to erase."

"You don't know anything. You're bluffing," Josh said.

"David Jones was an undercover assignment, and when it was over, you left Emily behind like she was nothing."

"She was just collateral damage from a job."

Lee's heart ached at the sight of anguish on Emily's face at these words. This was not how he wanted her to find out. He'd tried to get there sooner to stop her from going down the aisle, but traffic had gotten in the way.

"You were following your father's footsteps in the same career, and when you found out I killed him, you made it your mission to get back at me, and what perfect way to do so with none other than your old fake fiancée, right?"

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Josh asked, moving to kiss Emily's neck while watching Lee. "You should see her in bed...total animal." Emily tried to twist away but was held fast by Josh's arm. Lee knew it was to get a rise out of him, and he didn't react, but it didn't stop him from feeling rage inside. How had he and Tool missed this information? This whole thing could have been avoided. When he'd gotten the phone call from Tool saying who David really was, he'd almost sent Soapy through the window from yanking the wheel so hard to turn around and come back.

Emily was crying now, and Lee desperately wanted to end this pain for her.

"What made you pick her?" he asked, stalling. "When you were undercover?"

"She was an easy target. Alone. Desperate. She kept my cover very well. After I tracked you down to here, I learned you were working with her, so I decided to come back into her life to get closer to you, and I have been waiting for this moment right here to take you out. How did I know you'd come? I knew you'd come because you love her, right? I can always count on that to make people behave stupidly."

"So what were you gonna do with her after you dealt with me?"

"She was expendable. You're familiar with that concept, right?"

"And if I hadn't come here today?"

"You'll never know now, will you?"

"Let her go," Lee said again. "It's me you want. Leave her out of this."

"No," Josh said, shaking his head. "I want you to suffer, Lee Christmas, and suffer you shall." Emily screamed through his hand as he cocked his gun, and Lee tried to get a clear shot when Nigel burst through the side door and brought a bottle of wine down on Josh's back, missing his head (his intended target) when Josh jerked it away in time. It was enough to stun Josh, and he let go of Emily after she elbowed him hard in the chest. Lee wondered what the hell had taken Nigel so long after seeing him disappear with a knowing look to Lee first, signaling that he was going to help.

"GO!" Lee bellowed at her, and she stumbled away from Josh and back towards Erica, Jane, and Andy. Nigel hurried after her and grabbed her arm and rushed her away with him. Lee pounced on Josh, and both of them lost grip of their guns. They crashed against the wall, and Lee hated that he hadn't picked up on it until now that Josh looked exactly like his father: James Munroe. CIA agent gone rogue. The one who attempted to take over Vilena.

Josh roared as he managed to slam Lee into the wall. Lee hit the floor afterwards, dodging Josh's stomping foot. He vaguely heard the shrieking and screaming as people rushed out of the church. All he cared about was keeping Emily safe, and he was relieved to see she was gone.

He jumped back up and started trading blows with Josh, who blocked and dodged most of them. He managed to get an arm around Lee's throat in an attempt to strangle him while grabbing a microphone off a stand and wrapping the cord around his neck next. Lee pushed his fingers between the cord and his neck, trying to get air. Josh pulled, and he choked, his mind racing on how to get out of this.

"Josh!" Kevin shouted, making Josh look at him, and Lee closed his eyes as Kevin took a photo and made the big flash go off. Josh was momentarily blinded, and Lee managed to pull away from him and unwrap the cord from his neck. He took the cord then and slid it through his fingers, the microphone in his other hand. Josh put his hands up, eyes still blinking, and Lee started to beat him with the microphone, pulling it back with the cord after each hit. Josh grabbed it after the fourth time and yanked, but Lee let go and dove at his stomach. They fell to the floor, and Lee started to punch Josh's face until Josh blocked and threw him off. They got to their feet and squared off before trading blows again. This time, Josh managed to throw him out the side door and into the alley outside. Lee grunted in pain, trying to get his bearings. Josh was one hell of a fighter. Lee stood up only to get punched in the face and stomach simultaneously. He grabbed a hold of Josh's arm and twisted it, kicking the back of Josh's legs as he did so. Josh managed to slice his leg with a hidden knife after he went down, and Lee growled from the searing pain. He managed to disarm Josh of the knife and proceeded to punch him repeatedly, unleashing all his anger from Lacy and his own idiocy at almost getting Emily killed from not discovering Josh sooner, because he knew that was Josh's plan all along. He'd said it himself: Emily was expendable.

Then Josh somehow managed to get out from under him and slammed his head against the dumpster. Stunned, Lee hit the ground. He felt Josh grab him by the collar and drag him.

"LEE!" Emily's voice screamed. Lee could barely register that she was standing outside, his vision a bit blurry from the head slam. Why hadn't she left?! He saw her being held back by Nigel. Everyone else was hurrying to get away.

"Say goodbye to your pathetic loser of a man," Josh sneered at her.

"No! Leave him alone!"

Lee forced his bearings to come back and grabbed Josh's ankle, bringing him down. He did his best to get on top of him to finish him off, but Josh stabbed him in the side with yet another hidden knife. Lee had really come unprepared for this.

He slid off sideways, hitting the ground hard. He was still trying to get up when he saw Josh heading for his gun on the ground in the doorway.

"Lee!" Kevin called, making him turn to see a gun in front of his face. Kevin was handing him his own gun back that he'd dropped inside.

Thank God for Kevin. He'd saved him twice.

Lee took it just as Josh bent to pick up his. Time seemed to slow as he watched Josh turn to face the crowd, aiming for Emily, who was standing frozen with Nigel trying to pull her back. Lee managed to use the remaining strength he had to stand up and put himself in the line of fire as Josh pulled the trigger. The first bullet struck Lee in the upper left shoulder, and he twisted from the impact but stayed standing. The second landed in his right side, making him lose his balance, but he fired three shots into Josh before hitting the ground on his left side. He was breathing hard and in pain as he felt hands roll him onto his back.

"Lee!" Kevin was shouting. "Hang on, man!"

"He's down! Suspect is down!" voices were shouting. Lee registered that the police were there now. He felt very light headed suddenly.

"Lee? Lee!" Emily shouted. He felt hands on his face, and he opened his eyes to see hers right there.

"You're beautiful, Em," he managed to say. It had taken his breath away, seeing her in that dress.

"Oh my God," she was whimpering, gripping his face with her hands tightly. "Lee, please don't die. I can't lose you."

His eyes were getting heavier. His tongue felt like a thousand pounds. He wanted to tell her, needed to tell her...

"I was such an idiot," she went on, pulling him onto her lap. He wanted to tell her not to wreck her dress; he was pretty sure she'd ignore him anyway. "I should have just left with you. I shouldn't have fought so hard to not love you. Please. Please don't die, Lee."

He had to say it to her, had to tell her he loved her. He had to, but his mouth wouldn't work. He managed to press a bloody hand to her cheek before passing out. Her crying out his name was the last thing he heard.

...

Barney was finishing up cleaning his pistols when his phone rang. He frowned at the number, feeling like it was familiar somehow.

"Yea?" he answered warily.

"Barney, it's Jane," a woman's voice said.

"Jane," Barney repeated.

"Emily's friend!"

"Oh, right. Wait, didn't I tell you never to call me again?" Barney asked, remembering.

"Barney, Lee's been shot."

It was a stunned silence on his part. Her words weren't quite registering right in his brain.

"Barney?" she asked urgently. "Are you there?"

"Shot?" Barney repeated.

"Yes. He's in surgery right now. It...it doesn't look good."

"What hospital?" Barney asked, already on the move. He started to run as soon as he got outside. Jane told him where to go, and he hung up on her. He got to his plane and flung open the door, climbing in. He knew he should tell the team, but he had to get there. He had to be there for his friend. He'd tell the others later.

"Hang on, Christmas," Barney said, firing up his plane and trying not to feel anxious. "I'm coming."

Then he slid on his lucky ring.

...

Jane was feeling numb. First of all, she'd feared greatly for her baby's life when that crazy jackass was waving his gun around like that. Second, seeing her husband leap into action had shocked her that he could be so calm. Lastly, Lee bleeding out on the ground with Emily holding him and crying was just about the worst thing she'd ever seen.

"Jane?" Kevin repeated, making her turn her head to look at him. They were sitting in the hospital waiting room with Nigel, Andy, Alison, Erica, and Emily's parents and had been for a while now. Emily was pacing, still wearing her blood soaked wedding dress. She'd out and out lied and said yes when they asked her if Lee was her husband. Who was going to argue with that dress?

"Yea?" Jane asked.

"You okay?"

"I don't really know how to feel right now," she answered honestly.

"Me either," he admitted. He took her hand in his and squeezed it tight. "I just keep thinking that it all could have gone down so much worse."

"I know. I can't believe David was going to marry Emily."

"I know."

"You guys," Andy said, making them both look at her. She was hugging her knees while sitting on the chair. "I...I can't take this."

Jane didn't know what to say. Nigel was quiet and looked ashen. Erica was unable to speak for tears, and the Charltons were about the same. Alison was choking and gasping with tears too. They all looked to see Emily arguing with a nurse. Lee had been taken for surgery quite some time ago, and no one was telling her anything.

"What if he dies?" Andy asked, her voice hushed.

"Shut up," Jane ordered quickly. "He's not going to die..."

"It was bad, Jane," Kevin told her, making her look at him. "It was really bad."

Jane felt her throat tighten, and tears threatened to fall. She didn't want Lee to die. A bit of a kerfuffle down the hall made them all look to see a gruff looking man with dark hair arguing with a different nurse.

"Where is he?" he was asking. "What have you done with him?! CHRISTMAS!"

Jane had no idea why this man was shouting about Christmas. She thought maybe he might need psychiatric help when she suddenly recognized his voice.

"Barney!" she called, getting to her feet quickly. She'd only caught a quick glimpse of him before the last time he was here after all. She was more familiar with his voice from the phone. Barney whipped his head at his name and left the nurse without another word. He approached Jane, and she could see Kevin looking a bit nervous in her peripheral vision.

"Jane?" Barney asked.

"Yes."

"Where is he? Where's Lee?"

"Still in surgery."

"Shit," Barney said, putting a hand over his face. He caught sight of Emily then, and he went still. Jane turned to see Emily now leaning against the wall and trying to breathe.

"Oh," she said.

"I got it," Barney cut her off, moving towards Emily. Jane simply watched.

...

Emily was barely keeping it together, and when she saw Barney coming towards her in that moment, she burst out into a fresh batch of sobs and said nothing as he pulled her into a bear hug.

"He's a fighter," Barney told her. "He always has been. Tough as hell and enough sarcasm to make the Devil send him right on back to Earth. He'll be alright, Emily."

"How can you be so sure?" she whispered, clinging to him. She was slightly aware that Lee's blood was going to be on Barney's clothes after this.

"Because he's survived so much since I've known him, and more before that. He ain't done here yet. Trust me."

Emily could only take his word for it, but she still cried anyway. She was mentally beating herself up for being so foolish. If she had just been honest with Lee and herself that she loved him, this would not have happened. The entire business with David was also so shocking, and she hated herself for not realizing he'd been lying to her for years and again recently. She felt horrified that he'd been intimate with her, but there wasn't much she could do about it now.

"Did they get him?" Barney asked, referring to Josh.

"Lee got him," Emily answered. "He's got a carry permit, and the police deemed it self-defense after so many witness statements, so they're leaving him alone thankfully." The officer had looked so sad when asking her questions earlier. Emily knew they had to, but she'd hated it all the same.

"Good."

She finally calmed down enough to have him let her go. They sat down side by side away from the others. Emily was grateful they were there; she just didn't know what to say to them right now. She rested her head against the wall, thinking about Lee. She was scared of losing him. She didn't want to go through this kind of loss again. It was bad enough she'd spent all this time thinking David had died only to have him return and then turn out to be someone else entirely.

She might need the number to her sister's therapist after this.

"Mrs. Hendricks?" the doctor said. Barney gave her a surprised look.

"Long story," she told him, getting to her feet. Barney stood as well and crossed his arms, listening. She didn't like the look on the doctor's face.

"What's happened?" she asked, feeling incredibly anxious. She felt Barney's hand on her shoulder and tried to get some comfort from it.

"Your husband sustained serious injuries. They were able to remove the bullets and stop the bleeding, and they've stitched up his stab wounds. No vital organs were hit from them, but he's unconscious for right now. We are monitoring him, but it could go either way."

"W-What? What does that mean?" Emily asked.

"He might not make the night," the doctor answered sympathetically. "I'm very sorry. We nearly lost him in the OR, but he responded to the CPR."

"Oh my God," Emily whimpered.

"Can we see him?" Barney asked.

"One visitor at a time," the doctor answered. "He's in room 302."

"Okay." Emily felt stunned. Lee had almost died. Lee could still die. This was bad.

"He's tough," Barney said again, squeezing her shoulder. "Have faith."

Emily desperately wanted to have faith, but she feared it wouldn't be enough.

...

Lee looked around him, noticing it was somewhere familiar but not knowing why it was familiar to him. Then he froze, catching sight of the person whose memory he'd been running from for the last few months.

"Billy?" he asked. The Kid smiled slowly.

"Surprised?" Billy countered.

"You...you're dead," Lee said, feeling confused. He looked around him again. He now knew where he was, and he could see Billy's grave covered in rocks over his shoulder. Hold on...

"You're right," Billy agreed.

"So, does that...does that mean...?" Lee couldn't even finish that sentence even though his thoughts were coming at him like a freight train.

"Not yet," Billy said, "but you're awfully close."

"So...why are you here?"

"To help you out," Billy answered with a shrug.

"With what?" Lee asked, feeling sweaty. "I don't...I don't understand." He gripped the back of his head anxiously.

"Moving on."

"But...I don't want to."

"Have you looked at yourself lately? Kind of a mess," Billy chuckled, tilting his head and making Lee turn to see himself on a hospital bed. He looked like he was on death's door. His heart gave a lurch.

"No," he said, taking an involuntary step back. "I can't be dying. That...that's not right. You're lying."

"I wouldn't be here talking to you otherwise," Billy said reasonably.

"I can't die!" Lee exclaimed, panicking a bit. "I can't leave her behind!"

"Who? Emily? She'll be fine," Billy replied with a slight shrug. "They're always fine after a while."

"You don't understand," Lee started.

"What? That you spent all this time trying to bury your pain and guilt from my death by planning on marrying the worst woman you've ever come in contact with? That you met your soulmate and spent months denying it? That you finally got over yourself and admitted you loved her only to get shot to death? I understand completely," Billy said.

"I ain't dead yet," Lee pointed out, jabbing a finger towards himself in the hospital bed.

"It's only a matter of time, though," Billy replied. "We all die eventually."

"Not yet!"

"I know how unfair it is," Billy said softly. "Trust me."

"Billy," Lee said, rubbing his face and feeling bad all over again. "I...I didn't mean that. I know you were gone too soon..."

"Do you know how many times I wanted to give all you guys a shake? It wasn't your fault," Billy interrupted. "I was really pissed that you gave Vilain what he wanted. I was a soldier, Lee. No offense, but part of our job is to sacrifice ourselves for the greater good if needed. That's what we signed up for."

"It should have been one of us," Lee argued. "You were getting out of the game. You were going to live your life. We...we always knew eventually we'd go down in a hail of bullets."

"And why is it okay for you to make that sacrifice and not me?" Billy challenged. "And don't say it's because I'm younger." He raised a brow, waiting for Lee to respond. Lee exhaled roughly, trying to think of an answer.

"You deserved the happy ending," he said after a moment. "We didn't. Don't."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Billy snorted. "Who said you guys don't deserve a happy ending? Huh?"

"I'm not arguing with you about this," Lee said, turning away and looking at himself again instead.

"I don't see why you think you deserve to be so hard on yourself," Billy went on, walking around so that he was in front of Lee again. "What is it gaining you? A miserable existence?"

"That's the whole point," Lee retorted. Who was he kidding? He'd leaped for the chance at a happy ending, and he got shot down with said hail of bullets. Someone was telling him that he'd been right all along: he didn't deserve the happy ending.

"But why?"

"Kid, I'm not talking about this anymore," Lee said, frustrated. He didn't want to delve into why he deserved to be miserable. He thought it was pretty obvious.

"So you live your entire life killing other people. They haunt you, so you feel that your punishment is living a shit life," Billy said on cue.

"You win. Can you drop this now? Please?"

"My death was the final straw," Billy confirmed. "Right?"

"Yes, because it was senseless and pointless, just like everyone else's death I was responsible for."

"Not all of those deaths were senseless or pointless. Dude, you killed some really bad people. Would you feel better knowing they were still out there running around causing harm to others?"

"No..."

"Then knock it off already!" Billy ordered, smacking Lee in the shoulder. "Quit feeling guilty. Quit thinking you made wrong choices. Quit feeling sorry about something that needed to be done!"

"Easy for you to say," Lee said back. "You're dead."

"Ha, ha," Billy said sarcastically. "Nice try. I mean it, Lee. Let it go. All of it."

"Is that to help me cross over better?" Lee asked. "Be free of my guilt first? Is that why you're here?"

"Sort of," Billy said, shrugging. "But it doesn't really matter. Come on, it's time to go." He held out his hand.

"What are you doing?" Lee asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Don't make it weird, man," Billy said. "Come on. We gotta go."

"I'm not going anywhere," Lee insisted, crossing his arms and standing firm. He could hear beeping in his ears now, getting louder and louder.

"Okay," Billy sighed. "You're not ready yet. That's fine. I've got all the time in the afterlife."

"Now who's being funny?"

"I tried," Billy said with a smile. "But seriously, Lee, what are you waiting for? Let go and move on. You'll feel better."

"No."

The beeping was now a shrieking in his ears, and he turned but couldn't see himself anymore. Their surroundings changed to a long hallway, and the door at the end was open with light spilling out onto the floor.

"Not far now," Billy said, and Lee shut his eyes, trying to drown out the noise.

...

Barney had to hold Emily back as everyone rushed around Lee's bed. She'd been in the hallway watching through the glass when Barney had gone in to see him. He'd let her go first, of course. When it was his turn, he felt like he couldn't breathe. He'd just started telling Lee how sorry he was when Lee started to crash.

"What's happening?!" Emily cried, her fingers digging into Barney's arms. "Barney? What's going on?!"

"I...I don't know," Barney answered, having an idea but not wanting to tell her about it.

"Is he dying? Tell me he's not dying!" Emily shrieked. In response, he held her a little tighter, which made her break down more. He could see the others hovering in the background. Jane and Andy both had their hands over their mouths. Kevin's hands were crammed into his pockets. Nigel was looking on the verge of tears, his jaw working overtime. Erica and Alison were sobbing, as was Emily's mother. Emily's father was blinking rapidly and trying to keep his composure.

The whine of the defibrillator was deafening. Barney turned Emily away to shield her from seeing Lee's body getting jerked by the shock. She was howling now, clinging to him hard with one hand and pounding on his chest with her other. He took it because he knew how it felt to need to unleash grief and anger and sadness onto someone. He knew what it was like to try and do it alone, and he didn't want that for her.

"No!" she sobbed. "No, no, no, noooo! LEE!"

Barney felt a tear slide down his cheek as the defibrillator went again and again and again, and he wanted to scream along with her.