SWITCHERS: GOODNIGHT KEVIN.

Kevin closes his eyes for the last time and slips into the final land, leaving Tessa on earth to mourn for him. The only comfort she can find in his death is that at least he can be what he wants now, but even that doesn't help much. Short story documenting Tessa's grief when she looses the only person who really understood her.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Switchers characters, they all belong to Kate Thompson.

His face was blank and his eyelids closed. Underneath them Tess could almost feel his blank eyes, staring up at her. 'Oh god, oh Kevin,' Tess thought, her eyes filling with tears. 'Why did he have to go like this. What has he done to deserve death, what have I done to deserve him dying.' Poor Kevin, but at least he was at peace now. Tess wiped away a tear and looked back down at the body in the wooden coffin. She and Kevin's savings had paid for this coffin, the savings they had from the past six months and which were supposed to pay for a good holiday for them both. No chance of that now, she wasn't going to go on a holiday for a long time, especially as she had no money left.

The loss of Kevin fell heavily on her heart as she turned away from his coffin. 'We's all switchers when we's die.' The words of her old friend Jessie came into her head and made her smile. Yes, Kevin was at rest now, most probably in the form of a rat, the form he had always preferred before he settled as a human. Four and a half years, only four an a half years since he had chosen a life with her as a human above a life as a rat where he always felt comfortable. For Tess it had only been three years since her choice and she had not even begun to forget what it was to be a switcher. Oh her Kevin, how was she going to manage without him. It would be so hard; she couldn't honestly see how things would work for her.

They had been engaged, her and Kev, not officially, but they had been preparing to tell her parents and make it public knowledge. Oh God, there was so much pain coming from loosing him, from loosing her best friend.

"Rest, Kev." She whispered to her feet. "I'll find you when I can." At only nineteen Kevin had been barely a man when he died, and it was going to be a lot longer before Tess had lived her full life and went to join him in whatever went after. She had no doubt in one thing though, Kevin was in a lot better place, a place where he didn't need to try and save animals to make himself feel better. Better about what though? He had lived his live happily enough, but he had always told Tess that he felt something was missing. She understood, because of course Jessie always said exactly the same thing, and Tess felt it sometimes herself. She had made her final decision to stay as a human, but she always felt that she could have very easily kept her powers if she had become one of the fairy folk.

The crowds were surging forwards and Tess was getting swept along with them. She was scared, but she couldn't stop herself. All around here people were in a mad rush to get into the shops but to Tess it all seemed pointless. What was the mad rush, there would always be something left to buy, it was the luxury of being human. She didn't like the city, and was terrified when she felt her feet leave the ground. But even when she had thought she was lost Kevin had been there, his hand reaching out to pull her away from the crowds, pulling her too him, not letting her get lost again.

She had still been fifteen at the time, and had still not adjusted to not being able to switch in difficult situations. She wouldn't have been able to manage that first year without him, and she knew it. Oh god, not Kevin, it just hadn't happened to her, he hadn't died. After all, he'd practically died before now and he'd come back to find her hadn't he? While her body still clung to this single hope her heart knew deep down that it was impossible this time, that there was no going back from the real death. Kevin was gone; he wasn't coming back. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and turned round slowly.

"Come on darling, you've said goodbye now, maybe you should just come away." Tess shook her head slowly.

"No, I can't leave him here like this. I've got to stay here with him, I owe him that much at least."

"No, Tess, listen to me. You don't owe him anything. Trust me, you don't." Tess shook away her mother's hand and moved away slowly. No way could she just go away now. She wasn't going to live at home with her mother and father either, too much had happened for her just to go back. She would return to Jessie's house where she had lived with Kevin. The three switchers may have become two but the remaining two weren't going to let themselves be separated. Jessie was the only one who could understand Tess now, Jessie and her cousins and uncle down in Clare. Maybe her and Jessie should move down to Clare and stay with her cousins for a while, or if Jessie wouldn't go then maybe Tess would go by herself. No, she wouldn't go herself, what was she saying. She would be completely lost without Jessie.

"He's a switcher now, he's whats we all wants to be now." Tess turned round and smiled at the familiar face.

"Jessie, I didn't think you were coming to say goodbye to him."

"I come to say bye to nobody. I come to wish Kev the best possible as a switcher again, but that be all I come to say."

"I'm going to miss him so much Jessie, I don't know how I'm going to live without him. Life is going to be so strange."

"Life be weird all the time, all matters that we stick together 'n' Kev will come see us in time."

"You really believe that?"

"Course I believes it. Kev was rat, Kev still be rat. Come home now, it not good for you to stay here and be sad. Kevin wouldn't want it." Tess started to cry gently to herself and turned back to his graveside once more.

"I know, I know, I'm just being stupid, it's just, I don't know, part of me feels that the one thing keeping me going through the hard times is gone."

"Don't cry Tessie. You rat too, you know he safe. Don't cry Tessie."

"I'm sorry. I just feel so sad without him."

"He's fine Tess, I promise." Tessa smiled at the old lady and turned away. It was true: Kev was in a better place, and she would still see him eventually, when she too died and became a switcher once more.

THE END

Thanks for reading, I know it didn't really go anywhere but I always loved the idea of the switchers, and maybe it was only me but Kevin and Tessa getting together seemed to be the obvious move. Please review this, I want to know whether I should bother posting up anymore short stories. Love Stargazing Maiden x.