Hello here the final chapter, I hope you will like it. When I started to write this fic it was exactely the ending I wanted. I hope you will enjoy it. Thank you for all the reviews 

VERO

Title: second chance 12/12
Authors : veronique
Email address:kyomine2002yahoo.fr
Category: romance / supernatural
Pairing: Alexander/Hephaistion slash
Date:18/08/2005
Feedback: please, but if you don't like it, be constructive , I don't want to read sarcasm or snarks.
Archive: if you want I'm okay
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own them. They're characters belonging to Warner Brothers Pictures, to Oliver Stone, to my imagination, and to the ages. This is a work of a fan, done for no remuneration save the satisfaction of the work.
Special thanks to my beta Rothalion .
Summary: After Hephaistion's death Alexander had a second chance

Second chance 12/12

Alexander opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the Babylonian ceiling of his room then Bagoas who was looking at him with a worried look as he put a little wet tissue on his forehead. Alexander felt horrible. He had a great difficulty breathing, he was burning up and all his entire body was in great pain. He also felt incredibly tired and didn't have any strength left. It took few minutes of an extreme effort to finally say two little words to Bagoas.

" Call, Hephaistion."

Bagoas became pale and he looked at the door before asking some page to go to search for Ptolemy. Alexander was confused he felt like it was just yesterday that he was in Mieza talking to his younger self about his time travel. As he remembered all that happened he recalled the cruel events. He had done what his older self told him, he didn't leave Hephaistion for the games even when his lover got better, he had taken a great care of his lover to be sure he couldn't eat anything but the precaution had been useless Hephaistion still died of his fever, the only thing it had changed was that he was there when the love of his life had died. Until his last breath he never believed that it could have happened, he had made plans for the future, he was very worried but he trusted that this tragedy couldn't be happening until he saw Hephaistion had in fact passed away. He never recovered from his pain and from his anger. He immediately started to fear that the same gods who had sent him back in time to save Hephaistion were now laughing at him and punishing him. Alexander was not even sure he would be reunited with the love of his life when he, finally died. He stopped to taking care of himself, he lost his hopes, distraught he simply passed the time trying to make sure that the gods promoted Hephaistion to such a level that they would be reunited in death.

Time had passed since Bagoas had called Ptolemy, he didn't know how many but now he was surrounded by all his men even his wives. Roxanne was begging him to stay alive but he knew that it was useless. He was dying, he could be dead at any moment. Ptolemy asked about who must take care of his empire, but Alexander's mind was confused and he didn't really care, he said with a lot of difficulties to the best or something near to that. He didn't even recall for himself exactly what he'd said. He was dying and now his life was passing in front of his eyes like it was all a dream, He thought about his poor mother how much he had disappointed her, how much he missed her how much he loved her and hated her at the same time, how much he regretted it all. He often said that at the end all that matters was what you've done and now it was at that end he felt like he had been all wrong because now all what matter was being reunited with Hephaistion and he tried at his best to take off his beloved's ring, with the last of his last strength. Bagoas had helped him and he raised the ring as it was his key into Hades, as it was he was guaranteed to meet Hephaistion and then he saw it one last time, his eagle, he was coming for him. He sighed a final time and he was dead.

"Alexander, son of Phillip." Said a loud and calm voice.

"Yes." He answered he was in the dark, feeling much better than his previous state.

"We offered you a second chance, why didn't you take it?"

Alexander was surprised.

"I took it, I tried to save my Hephaistion but you didn't allow him to live, you took him from me anyway. Why?"

"Alexander, your second chance was never to save Hephaistion, we decided his death long ago, your second chance was to fix our mistake of taking him from you while you were away."

" I don't understand." Queried Alexander

"We thought that because you weren't there when he died you couldn't get over your pain and your guilt. We wanted to know what Alexander alone without Hephaistion, who received absolutely no credit for his part in your success, what YOU Alexander could do and how much further you could go. What you did was admirable but you tended to not acknowledge you didn't do it all by yourself, including that time when you told your lover "He was nothing without you."

"I didn't say it after I came back from that past."

"We know, that is why we sent you back at that time too when Hephaistion had to sacrifice his family for you. To let you know exactly what you had never known the first time but still your second chance was for you to not feel guilty and show us how far you could have gone alone."

"Then I failed because without Hephaistion I am nothing, sometimes I forgot it and I felt ashamed for it. In fact I surely could have done nothing without all my generals, my parents , my father, the army."

"Don't be too hard on yourself you still have your own success in this, you just got lost sometimes."

"I guess, but I could never continue without Hephaistion."

"We know that now."

"You doubted it." Alexander felt insulted. «How could you have?» The Gods were so cruel he thought.

"We had to put you to a test no matter what we believed; it's important for the next step."

Alexander felt confused. What did these gods really want? What kind of game were they playing he knew he would never know the truth about it.

"Will you allow me to pass into eternity with him?" He said with hope

« Eternity! That depends on you two, but you are going to join him Alexander, he is waiting for you behind that door."

At the same time a white door appeared.

" Your lover stayed behind, he didn't want to go further, he said he would wait for you even when we said he could wait forever he refused to explore the new world without you."

Alexander smiled, his Hephaistion was waiting for him. He was actually behind that door.

"Thank you." He said as he walked quickly toward the door and opened it.

Hephaistion was there sitting on a rock. He looked so much younger he was around twenty and not a scar in sight. His blue eyes were shining when he watched Alexander come through the door.

"Hephaistion." Whispered Alexander hoarsly as he ran toward his lover. He held him, then kissed him. As they broke the kiss he said

"By the gods you look so young, Hephaistion."

" So are you Alexander, you are twenty surely no more."

"You too. All yours scars have disappeared, my friend."

"I have missed you some much, I m so sorry I wish I could have fought that fever but it wasn't my power."

"I know. They put us to a harsh test."

Hephaistion nodded. He took Alexander's hands and they watched the new world in front of them not so different than the earth. Suddenly a strange and huge animal flew across the sky.

"What is that?" asked Alexander.

"A guy I talked with when I was waiting for you told me it was a dragon."

"A dragon?"

"Seems this new world is not really the after world we imagined but just another world to continue our lives traveling in."

"Another world? Another life?"

Hephaistion nodded.

"As long as I m with you my love, I'm ready to conquer this world too!"

" I knew you would say that." Said Hephaistion as he grinned.

They finally decided to leave for their new life, happy to be together again.

THE END