Author's Note: Hmm, 1.5 months equals 2 years. Oops. Well, better late than never, I say. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and here's the epilogue :

David winced slightly as he tried to open the door to the Manhattan Newsboys' Lodging House with his left hand.

Iris clucked her tongue as she reached around him and opened the door for him. "Dave, didn't that doc tell ya not to use your left arm for another coupla weeks? I mean, that wasn't no pape cut or nothing. She took a whole chunk of your shoulder out with that knife."

"I know, I know. I just thought I'd give it a try," he smiled sheepishly as he entered the door and waved hello to Mr. McDougal, the man who was now running the lodging house, since Denton had gone to Jersey on some sort of assignment.

"How are things there, young David? How's your arm?" he asked, his voice rich with a lovely scottish accent.

"It's still attached," he quipped before speaking seriously, "Mr. McDougal, do you know if Jack is in?"

Mr. McDougal nodded, his brown eyes glinting behind his glasses. "Jack has been waiting for you to return from Unica State all day."

"Good. Come on, Iris. I'll tell you all about it after we find Jack," he said, turning to Iris and taking her left hand into his right.

"Sounds good to me, Dave," she smiled before following him up the stairs. She smiled sadly to herself as she remembered the last time the two of them had run up the lodging house stairs -- the day they stopped Secrets and sent her to Unica State Hospital.

"Jack?" David asked quietly as he slowly widened the bunkroom door and peeked his head inside. He grinned slightly when he spied Jack lying down on a bunk, reading the afternoon edition of The World.

Jack picked his head up and, upon seeing who had entered the bunkroom, folded the paper in front of him. "Dave? Iris? How are you guys?" He slowly climbed out of the top bunk he was lying on and approached the pair. Jack looked at David and awkwardly tried to give him a one armed hug, making sure David's arm wasn't aggravated.

David smiled impishly before throwing his right arm around Jack's neck. "How are you feeling, Jack?

Jack nodded as he back out of David's arm. "Better, I guess. How about you?"

"As good as can be expected, I guess," David replied as Iris rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You guys are hopeless," she said as she continued to shake her head. "Sounds like you haven't seen each other in years. It's only been three days."

Three days. Though three days only translates to a mere seventy-two hours, to both Jack and David, the time seemed to last an eternity. It was only three days ago that truth about Layna Kotliar was discovered and she was taken by the authorities to Unica State Mental Hospital for further study. It was only three days ago that the truth about Layna's parents death, her role in Nicolas', Stress', Morris' and Kloppman's murders and the identity of Kisses came to light.

But, whether it was three days or three thousand, all those involved knew they would never forget the occurrence of the summer of 1899. Especially not Jack, David or Iris.

"So," Jack began, breaking the silence that had fallen over the bunkroom, "how was your visit to Unica State? Did you -- did you see her?""

David looked at Iris before speaking. "Yeah, Jack. It took some convincing to let us see her, but Iris was perfect. Right on cue with the waterworks and everything," he said to Jack, before returning his gaze to Iris and her blush-stained cheeks. When he realized that a second hush had fallen over the room, this time somewhat awkward, David smiled sadly at Jack. "They had her in a room by herself. Small and dark, it was."

Jack nodded slowly and fiddled with the knot on his bandana. "Did she say anything to you, Dave?"

The smile faded from his face. "Yeah, Jack. She asked if Nicolas was mad at her."

"That it?"

Seeing how difficult this was for David, Iris cut in. "That was it, Cowboy. To be honest with ya, she didn't even recognize me and Dave. And, all she did when the nurse introduced us was smile shyly and mention that Kisses didn't like her playing with strangers."

David turned away and, as he did, Jack would swear that there were tears in his eyes. Iris, also quick to notice the sadness that had washed over David, laid an arm on his non-injured shoulder. Then, mimicking the words Jack had muttered that fateful night, Iris said, "Ya know what, fellas? I think now it is over."

And, again, there was silence.

And, that, I promise you, is the end. Finally.