Wheee! Over 100 reviews! Thank you guys so much!

Right...announcement, and this is IMPORTANT- this is only one of the endings. I'll post the next one in a couple of days time when I've finished tweaking it. This is the angsty ending, because I figure that the angsty one can make you sad, then the happy one can make you all cheerful again.

So...here is the angsty ending:

Rei paced nervously, his braid swishing behind him. It was a few hours after Judith had dropped her bombshell, and they had each dealt with it in their own way. The other White Tigers, not having been remotely close to Tala, were trying to comfort the Russian team, or what was left of it. Bryan had simply sat in shocked silence since he'd been told, settled in Lee's lap. Spencer had cried, slept and gotten angry, but still in no way dislodged Mariah from his side. And Ian had just cried. Sobbed and choked out tears that soaked Kevin's shoulder until he thought Ian must be drying out inside.

And Rei was pacing. Pacing to try and take his mind off the horrible thought in the back of his mind. Tala might -die-...

He was still in theatre, they were still trying to do...well, Rei would never pretend to know anything about medical matters, but they were doing -something-. It seemed so unfair...that Tala had never been awake to know how diligently Rei had stayed by his side, how long he'd spent just sitting with him, holding his hand and combing his hair, talking to him...pining over him, giving up all his time for him...maybe even falling in love with him...

After another ten minutes' pacing, Judith appeared at the door of the ward again. "I'm sorry...he..." She stopped and took a deep breath. "There were complications."

"W-What are you saying?" Rei asked, heart starting to thud in his chest.

"He had a heart attack. I...I'm so sorry..." But Rei wasn't ready to accept it, not until he heard it said...

"So is he alive?" Judith bit her lip.

"No, Rei. I'm sorry. I know you-" But her words seemed to blur as Rei felt himself falling.

Lee watched Rei keel over onto the floor, a sense of numbness settling in his chest. It hardly seemed real; they had only just found out there was something dangerously wrong with Tala, and now...he was dead? It just didn't register, not until Bryan burst into tears, grabbing his arm and crushing it, holding him so tightly it hurt. Tala was -dead-...

Holding Bryan to his chest, Lee went over to Rei and picked him up, settling the unconscious neko-jin at the end of the bed as Bryan cried. "Tala...is he-?" Ian asked, voice still thick with tears. Kevin turned to him, shaking his head. Ian swallowed. "But he...he can't be..." Letter by letter, Kevin signed to him 'I'm sorry'. Ian blinked a few times, then started to cry again.

Spencer just sat in stunned silence, ignoring Mariah's hand resting on his knee. "Spencer?" The Russian shook his head. This wasn't how it was supposed to be! They were supposed to get better together, to move on together! They had all found a soulmate and they were all supposed to carry on with them into the future! That was how it was supposed to be!

A few hours later, as they were all still trying to take in the sheer enormity of what had happened, there was the sound of shouting from outside. "Sir, you can't go in there! It's still a quarantine zone!"

"Quarantine, hah! It didn't do much for Tala, did it? Get out of my way! You've been telling me and telling me I can't go in since day one! Well I won't stay outside now! MOVE!" There was the sound of some kind of commotion, then the doors of the ward opened and Kai came in, looking upset and angry. "...I just heard." He pressed his lip together. "They didn't say..." He bit his lip. "He didn't...suffer?" Lee shook his head slowly, cuddling Bryan closer. "What...what happened to Rei?" Kai walked over, touching Rei's arm.

"He fainted, but now he's just sleeping off the shock." Kai sat down beside the younger neko-jin, looking shaken.

"I just can't believe it. I thought they were joking at first, it just seemed so...unlikely...Tala...Tala...well, I suppose you know, don't you?"

"Know what?"

"About what he did for us all while we were at the abbey." Lee shook his head, and Kai looked slightly surprised. "Bryan...don't they know?" Still in Lee's arms, Bryan shook his head. "Tala...deflected the blows from us...so...so to speak." Kai's eyes filled with tears. "He would always try to take our place if Boris tried to...tried to...well...you know..." He hesitated, hands clasped together in his lap. "He saved us as much as he could. He said...his life had been rubbish before the abbey and there was no reason not to make it worse so we wouldn't have to...to s-suffer..."

A single tear leaked down Kai's face. "God...he can't be dead...it's just not right..." He wiped his tears away with the back of one hand. "God, Tala..."

"Tala Ivanov was by no means perfect. He was foul-mouthed, cheeky, and sometimes just downright rude. But one thing he was was a true friend. My best friend. We grew up together in the most hostile environment imaginable, and he helped me and supported me, protected and defended me all the way through. He was honest, brave, and..."

Lee watched from the front pew of the church as Bryan faltered in his speaking, tears overcoming him. "He didn't deserve what happened to him. But I can take comfort in the fact that I know Tala will be going to heaven, because he was the most courageous and amazing person I ever knew, who made the biggest sacrifices for others and never once complained..." Tears ran down Bryan's face, splashing on the wood of the pulpit. Lee took this as a cue to guide Bryan gently back to his seat, steering him round the coffin in which Tala lay.

The redhead had been dressed all in white, his hands clasped around a bunch of white lilies. He looked perfect. The most beautiful he had ever been. He looked so peaceful, so serene...almost as if he were only sleeping and would wake up any second, a smile back on his face, and his blue eyes shining once again. Lee watched sadly as Rei stood up, shaking slightly. "You all know that Tala was in a coma before he died...so...the last words he ever said were to me, in the ambulance." He took a deep breath. "He was half-delirious, but the last thing he managed to say was...'look after them'. And I can have no doubt that he meant his friends. Tala's friends were everything to him, and while he wasn't a model citizen, he was a wonderful person and I'm only sad that I didn't get to know him better while he was still with us." Rei sniffed. "He was well loved. And he always will be." Lower lip jerking, Rei sat down again. Lee watched Kai take tight hold of his hand, whispering to him even while tears streamed down both of their faces.

Finally the priest stood up and said a few words, then handed over to Kai, who stood up with great dignity. "When we were growing up, music wasn't a large part of our lives. But...when we used to joke and talk about the future, there was one song he said I had to play at his funeral. He found it one day when we managed to break into a scientist's office, and even after only hearing it once he never forgot the tune. It's called...A Time and Place." Lee looked around as the song started to play.

He looked at Kevin and Ian, sitting hand in hand.

He looked at Mariah comforting Spencer.

He looked at Rei and Kai crying in each other's arms.

And he looked down at Bryan, whose slim waist he had an arm around.

And somehow...somehow...he knew that everything would be okay.

Fin.

Oo, get that!

Next Ending: In a couple of days. The nice, happy ending.

R&R please!