Hello all. Okay, I lied. I couldn't sleep tonight, and decided to finish this up. The story is mostly done...but there are a few loose ends I need to tie up. There will be an epilogue that should answer anyone's final questions. Look for that sometime mid-week. Happy reading!
Virgil had not thought he would be able to sleep at all after Faith left. Eventually, though, sheer exhaustion had won out, and he had tossed fitfully through uneasy dreams the rest of the night. He woke early, years of working with the Bat having considerably lessened the amount of sleep he needed in order to function. For a moment, he lay in his bed, wondering how the hell he had ended up in Jamie's room.
Then he remembered—his nephew would not be born for another seven years. It was still his room, now.
He sat up slowly, the memories flooding back to him. The hospital, Faith, her incredible gift to him…and the hours with Richie yesterday. Virgil's smile threatened to split his face. He had done it. He had actually done it—he had told his best friend how he felt about him…and those feelings had been returned, wholeheartedly. Richie loved him.
Richie, who was soon to die in Virgil's real time.
As quickly as the joy in his heart had bloomed, it faded as he at last remembered the conversation with Faith last night. She had confirmed his worst fears, what he begun to suspect in his heart of hearts almost as soon as Faith had explained her gift.
Richie was going to die tonight.
After ten years of watching his love slowly waste away, Virgil was going to lose him for good.
"But not yet," he said aloud. "Not yet." He looked over at his bedside clock. Seven in the morning. In seventeen hours, Faith was going to take him back to his time. Seventeen hours until he would have to return to that hospital room and watch his beloved breathe his last.
Seventeen hours in which he would not think about what was coming.
What he had told Faith last night had been true. He was not going to waste these precious hours with his friend dwelling on what he couldn't change. Later, he would allow the grief that was lurking on the edges of his mind to overwhelm him. For now, he would do everything he could to make these hours count, and store up as many memories as he could. Enough to last him a lifetime.
Starting right now.
He rolled out of bed and immediately dived for his telephone, dialing the number from memory undimmed even after ten years. It rang four times before it was finally picked up.
"Uh?"
"Richie, it's me. You awake, man?"
"No." There was a click, and Virgil was left with the dial tone ringing in his ear.
"Oh no you don't." He hit the redial button. This time it rung seven times and Virgil grinned to himself, picturing Richie sprawled across his bed, the pillow clutched tightly over his head as he tried to block out the sound.
"V, I'm going to kick your ass when I see you." Richie's voice was still thick with sleep. Virgil laughed.
"I thought you had plans for that. What d'ya wanna go damaging it for?"
Richie was silent for a moment, then groaned loudly.
"And thank you so much for making my morning wood a truly painful experience today. Did you want something, or did you just call to torment me?" Richie sounded more awake now, and Virgil could tell his irritation was entirely feigned.
"What do you want to do today?"
"Huh?"
"You heard me. What do you want to do today?"
"What we always do…we'll rent tons of cheesy horror flicks before Video Gallery closes for the holiday, pig out on popcorn, and then get our party on later tonight."
"Aw c'mon, man, we do that every year. Don't you want to do something special?"
There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. When Richie spoke, Virgil could practically hear the warm smile in Richie's voice.
"V, it'll just be you and me. That will be special. Besides, what would we do? Almost everything is closed today, and I don't want to go somewhere where we'll have to be careful anyway."
It was Virgil's turn to be silent. He hadn't thought of that. Anywhere they went today; Richie would feel obligated to act as though they were still best friends, nothing more. Virgil didn't care one way or the other, but he would never be able to convince Richie to go along with it.
"Oh…yeah, I guess you're right." Virgil couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice. Richie chuckled dryly on the other end.
"I'd also planned on getting some quality necking in, if you're up for it."
"Hmmm, I guess I could be convinced."
"Oh, good. I wasn't going to take no for an answer, anyway."
"Well, in that case, I guess I'd better go along with it."
"Ah, good, I'm glad we see eye to eye on this."
"You wanna come over for breakfast?"
"Yeah, what the heck? I'm already awake anyway." Virgil was pleased to note, though, that Richie sounded as excited as he felt.
"Cool. See you in a few, then."
"All right. Bye."
"See ya." Virgil hung up the telephone and flopped back down on his mattress, staring up at the ceiling.
"Hey." He raised his head slightly and sketched a wave at Faith, who was standing by his closet door. The black and red outfit of yesterday had been replaced by a funky art print t-shirt and faded jeans. She didn't look anything like he had thought an angel would look. "You want wings and robes? I can do wings and robes," she muttered, as though she had heard the thought. She probably had.
"Don't go to any trouble on my account," Virgil replied.
"Oh good, I won't then." She crossed the room and plopped down on the foot of his bed, drawing one knee up against her chest.
"Big plans, today?"
"Yes and no. We're not doing anything really spectacular…but we are." He waved one hand vaguely in the air, and Faith nodded sagely.
"Anything is special when you're with the person you love," she intoned wisely.
"Yeah." Faith sighed quietly, and her features twisted into an expression of faint displeasure. Virgil frowned and sat up again. "Faith?"
"I know you don't want to think about this, but we have to talk about tonight."
"Faith—"
"Virgil, please…I have to make sure you understand how this works. Then, I promise, you don't have to see me again for the rest of the day."
Virgil closed his eyes, and nodded wearily. "All right, hit me."
"It's a pretty simple deal. Everything will progress as you remember it happening the last time you lived through this. The bang baby will appear in the industrial park at around ten p.m., Static and Gear will get word at eleven or so. You'll go up against him at about eleven fifteen. After that…"
"After that, I have to let Richie die," Virgil said flatly.
"You can't interfere," Faith agreed. Her voice was terribly sad.
"When will you take me back?" he asked quietly.
"A few minutes before midnight."
"That's it?! I only have a few minutes to say goodbye?!"
"I'm sorry."
Virgil shook his head, and pounded his fist into the mattress a few times. He could deal with this...he could. He could fall apart later.
"I—I understand." He did…but that didn't make things any easier. Faith reached out and cupped his cheek gently, in one hand.
"Try to enjoy today, dear. I know it will be difficult, but just remember how much you love him, and are loved in return. I'll be watching if you need me."
He took Faith's advice to heart.
The first time around, he and Richie had wasted the entire day before the party sitting in front of the TV—watching poorly made horror films and playing video games. It had been fun, but hardly a remarkable day in their lives. Virgil had always wished that they had done something more, that he had appreciated the time he had with his friend more.
This time, he did not make the mistake of taking Richie for granted.
They still spent the day in Virgil's room, watching bad horror films and, as Richie had wanted, pigging out on popcorn and candy.
It was still a day of relaxed fun, but Virgil was well aware of the clock ticking down each moment. So, he did what he had always wished he had done the first time…he made more of each second.
They talked about everything that came to mind, neither mentioning anything that had anything to do with Static or Gear. They spoke of plans for college, critiqued the makeup effects of one particularly cheesy movie, discussed their relationships with their families, mapped out the dynamics of the perfect crank call, and argued about who would win a battle royal between Spider-Man and Wolverine.
Virgil committed everything to memory—hanging onto every word, taking in every gesture and expression, determined that not a single thing should escape his notice. This was all he had left.
He wasted no opportunity to touch his friend, either, drawing him close from the moment he entered the house, and refusing to let Richie stray more than a few inches away. The day was filled with badly disguised gropes, gentle caresses, and sweet kisses. Virgil strove to take it all in, to memorize every inch of Richie he was allowed to touch. This was all he had left.
"Virg?" Richie mumbled finally, slumped half on a bean bag, head resting on Virgil's lap.
"Yeah?"
"I'm really glad you kissed me last night."
"Yeah. Me, too."
"This is going to last, isn't it? I mean, we're in it to the end, right?"
Virgil drew in a deep breath, willing his voice steady. "Yeah, Rich, 'til the end." He ran his fingers through the soft, blond hair and tried to ignore the sting in his eyes. "/To the end, bro…I promise./"
Some time later, Virgil snapped awake. His eyes shot wildly around the room. The TV had rolled to a blue screen as the tape they had been watching had run out, and the room was dark around them. He and Richie were still sprawled across the two beanbags they had crashed in, curled up together in a tangle of limbs. Richie's head had ended up resting on Virgil's chest, and he pulled his friend closer, closing his eyes again. How long had they been asleep? He turned Richie's wrist so he could see the watch, and sat bolt upright. It was seven thirty!
"Huh? Whazzit?" Richie groaned as he was unceremoniously dumped onto the floor.
"/Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could you fall asleep!/" Virgil berated himself.
"Geez, it's late! I'm surprised your dad didn't wake us up. Man, Mom'll be here soon to help you guys start setting up." Richie stretched languorously, arching his back until it popped. "V, you okay?" he asked suddenly, as he noticed the stricken expression on the other boy's face.
"I—I can't believe we fell asleep!" Virgil exclaimed. Richie grinned wryly.
"Okay, not the most exciting date I've ever been on, but I could get used to waking up like this. Except for the crick in my back. Ow." Richie rubbed the offending section of muscle awkwardly. Then his expression turned to one of concern. "Virg…it's okay. I'm touched that you wanted today to be special, but don't get all bent out of shape about it."
"Richie, man, you don't understand!" He had less than five hours now.
"Sure I do, V, and I'm telling you, don't sweat it. I had fun today. If I'm not mistaken, so did you. We have plenty of time for real dates…today I just wanted to be with you." Richie leaned over and pecked Virgil on the mouth, then stood up, cracking his back again as he went. "Now come on…I don't know about you, but I'm starved. Let's go see if Sharon'll let us taste anything." With that, he ambled out of the room, obviously expecting Virgil to follow. Virgil sat frozen for a moment, staring after him.
"That's just it, Richie…we don't have time."
Virgil had always had fun at his parents' annual Christmas Eve parties. There was good food to be had, great music, laughter, friends, and presents. What wasn't there to like? He had fond memories of weaving through the throng of adults in the living room, Richie usually at his heels, getting into any mischief that was to be had and just generally having a good time.
This party was torture.
He knew he was starting to worry his father and Sharon, and had started worrying Richie nearly an hour ago, but he couldn't help it. Every second that ticked by, h could feel like a noose tightening around his neck. It was nearly nine now…only another hour before the bang baby would make his entrance. Another hour after that until Backpack would pick up the activity at the industrial park on its sensors. Richie would pull him aside, tell him what was happening, and together they would sneak away to take care of the problem.
Only it hadn't ended up like that.
He stayed as close to Richie as he possibly could, to the point where he knew I was starting to make Richie nervous. He couldn't help himself, though. He hadn't seen Faith since she had left him that morning, and wasn't sure if he wanted to. On the one hand, he had taken a great deal of comfort in being able to talk to her…but on the other hand, when he saw her again, she was going to take him back to his time.
Time marched on. He couldn't stop it, no matter how much he might wish to.
Ten o'clock came and went, and it was all Virgil could do to keep from vomiting on the floor. He and Richie happened to be in the kitchen, just before the clock chimed eleven, hiding from Sharon's attempt to get them to start a sing-along.
With a final, despairing look at the clock, Virgil pulled Richie close and kissed him, uncaring of who might walk in and see them. He tried desperately to put all his love, all his longing into the kiss, knowing full well it might be the last time he was ever able to touch Richie like this.
"Mmph, Virg…Virgil! What is with you, man? You've been jumpier than Ebon at a light show all night!"
The clock chimed eleven. A high-pitched beeping sounded from Richie's pocket.
Richie immediately pulled back, jerking a small, pager-like device from his pocket. He read a rapidly scrolling stream of data on the device, a frown slowly deepening on his face. Virgil closed his eyes and turned away.
"It's Backpack," Richie declared after a moment. "It's got a bead on something going down at the industrial park. Looks like a bang baby…huh, I don't recognize these readings."
"S-so it's not Ebon, or Hotstreak?"
"Nope…don't know who it is. Dang, you'd think we'd run out of these guys eventually."
"Let the cops handle it!" Virgil said suddenly, desperation tingeing his voice. Richie literally looked at him as though he had grown a second head, his mouth hanging open.
"You're joking, right? V, this probably won't be much of a problem for us, but he could make mincemeat out of a bunch of cops! They haven't gotten that new body armor, yet, remember? Backpack's reading a lot of concussive energy out there."
"Richie—"
"C'mon, V, we can be there and back before they're finished with the Christmas carols. This guy doesn't look so tough."
Virgil barely choked back a scream.
Richie slapped his arm, lightly, then turned and jogged back through the swinging door that led to the living room. When the door swung closed, again, Faith was standing behind it.
"You can't change things, Virgil. You know that," she said quietly.
"I can't do this! I can't let him go, Faith."
"V, c'mon!" Richie poked his head back into the kitchen, frowning at his friend.
"You have to go, Virgil…there's no other way." She was gone again.
Virgil was left with no choice but to follow Richie.