As Lucy slowly regained consciousness, she felt the distress of Maya and the chief before becoming fully aware. She knew that something was terribly wrong, but didn't know the cause until she opened her eyes and saw them both holding Ian's arms to keep him still. He was shaking his head and moaning, his body trembling so hard that it shook the entire pallet. The room was sweltering from the fire and she found herself to be perspiring heavily, as were the chief and Maya.

The guards entered the hut, having been called by Maya, and took over in holding Ian still while Maya assisted Lucy in rising from the pallet.

"What's going on? Has something gone wrong?" Lucy asked anxiously.

She looked from Maya to the chief and realized that she didn't want to hear their answer, because she felt in her heart that Ian was slipping away from her. She ran to him, calling out to him not to leave her… but he continued to tremble violently, too far away for her to reach.

She turned accusingly to the older couple, "You knew this would happen! You knew that he wouldn't survive!"

The chief nodded and Lucy collapsed on the floor imploring Ian not to leave her again to live on without him. After all she had seen she couldn't bear another lifetime of waiting to meet him again. As her weeping quieted, she sat and watched Ian fight for his life… for their life together… quietly with the tears streaming down her cheeks. Maya put a hand on her shoulder, which she immediately shook off, "No! Stay away from me!"

Lucy seated herself at Ian's side and held his hand, making sure that she did not get in the way of the guards, who were holding Ian down to protect him from himself as he thrashed about. She stroked his hand and spoke words of love, hoping to calm him and knowing that her love was the only thing that she had to offer him. In that moment she realized how helpless Ian had felt as he watched her dying the summer before, and she sent a prayer into the universe that a miracle might save him as it did her.

While Ian's body struggled, his soul remained many lifetimes in the past, searching for Lucy one last time. He could feel that his time was nearing an end and he wanted to find a life where he could seek the comfort of her arms as he died… and hope that she knew how much he loved her. As the darkness surrounded him, though, he was denied that comfort. The blackness that surrounded him was stronger and more powerful than any that he had experienced to that point. He felt himself being pulled to a place that he didn't recognize… and so tormented was he that he was able to physically cry out Lucy's name before lying still and quiet.

At first Lucy was certain that he was getting better, he had stopped trembling and thrashing about, and he had called her name… she continued to say soothing words as she pushed aside the guards and knelt beside Ian to pull him into her arms. It wasn't until she leaned down to kiss him that she realized he was no longer breathing… and she began to sob uncontrollably.

"Ian! Don't leave me, Ian! I can't do this without you! You promised me you would never leave me! IAN!" she called to him over and over until her voice was raw and raspy and Maya signaled the guards to pull her away from him.

Maya led her out into the starry night, holding the woman in her arms as she continued to cry in her grief, "There, there, Lucy. You know the truth now. Ian will be with you again, in your next life…"

"I want him in this life, not the next," Lucy sobbed. "He has suffered more than any man should have to suffer… and I… I've made everything worse! Why did I let you and the chief talk us into coming here! I would rather have him alive as a vampire than to lose him like this… this is all your fault… we should have never listened to you!"

"Lucy… you know that Ian wanted a life with you… but he wanted a whole life, not tainted by the affliction. Can you truly say that he would have chosen to remain as he was? You must be strong now, and take comfort in the knowledge of your next life together," Maya said urgently.

"I'm tired of being strong, Maya… please, give me the herb… I want to go with him…" Lucy answered calmly.

Maya looked at her, startled by the statement. Lucy had always seemed so strong and sure. She and her husband were both certain of Lucy's ability to continue on after Ian's death… she had never once considered that Lucy might wish to join him…

"Lucy! No… you have the children… you must live for them. You cannot join Ian. He would not wish it that way!" Maya told her emphatically.

"No! Maya! You don't understand… I have just watched myself and Ian in so many lifetimes… we always find each other… we always love each other… but one of us loses the other, over and over again. If I take the herb right now, we can be together… we don't need our bodies, we learned that from the morca… let me go to him, Maya! Please!"

Maya looked at her in shock before leaving to find her husband. Lucy needed more help than she knew how to give her.


When the chief found Lucy, she was wandering along the beach. He stood and watched her as she walked beside the water, her shoulders slumped in grief. He knew that she would find in herself the will to live on… to raise Danny as Ian had requested as well as her own daughters. He waited patiently until she turned towards him before speaking.

"Maya tells me that you wish to join Ian… I am sorry Lucy, but that is not our custom… we cannot give you the herb unless your path is clear…" he said firmly.

"No… I'm sorry… I know that I can't go with him… but everything is so much worse now that I know we'll always be together. I know that you thought you were giving us a gift, but it's a curse! Knowing that I'll have to live out this life alone… knowing that I'll have to wait for another lifetime to see him again… knowing that we'll never be able to share with each other what we learned in this life… No! I wish I didn't know… I thought that I couldn't bear it if Eve was his destiny, but now I can't bear that it's me. Why couldn't you leave us both alone?" Lucy said quietly. "It's so unfair that I finally understand and then he's gone."

The chief took her hand in his and pointed out the wedding band on her finger, "Ian had hope to the very end… this is proof of his hope. Do not let hope out of your life now."

"I have no more hope… Ian was my hope… and it died with him. Don't worry, I will find a way to go on… just as he wanted me to… but I don't want to do it right now," Lucy whispered. "I need to be with Ian. Can you please leave us alone together? Just for a little while?"

The chief nodded and accompanied her to the hut, where he gestured for his wife and the guards to leave. After they were alone, Lucy lay on the pallet and took Ian into her arms, kissing his face, and rocking him gently. She allowed herself to cry quietly as she remembered the brief time that they had been together. She sent her love out into the universe, hoping it would reach him wherever he was as her tears soaked his skin.