A/N: Short. For obvious reasons. This chapter was REALLY hard to write. I don't own them. I never will.

Chapter 44- Slipped Away

"Now you're gone, now you're gone
There you go, there you go
Somewhere I can't bring you back
Now you're gone, now you're gone
There you go, there you go
Somewhere you're not coming back

The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same
The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same"

Slipped Away by Avril Lavigne

Greg slept for almost two days straight, in such a deep sleep that Sara almost had to check him to make sure he was still breathing. Then, suddenly, while she was almost nodding off in the chair next to his bed, he woke up.

"Sara," he whispered, eyes blinking in the dimness of the room. "Sara, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, Greg, I'm here," she said, sitting up and grabbing his hand. "What is it?"

He looked at her, calm and content. "It's time, Sara." He closed his eyes and nodded gently. "Yes, it's time." His eyes met hers again and she noticed that there was no fear in them, only quiet peace and love. "I love you, Sara. You are the only woman I have ever loved so fully and so completely, and this love will live until the end of time. You have my heart forever."

Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she squeezed his hand. "I love you, too," she choked out, smiling a little at him. "Wait for me, wherever you go, and I'll find you there. I promise."

He nodded slowly. "Kiss me," he whispered suddenly. "Kiss me as if it were our last."

"Casablanca again?" whispered Sara, raising one eyebrow, but she leaned in and kissed him anyway, deeply and sweetly, and trying to show him just how much she loved him.

They broke the kiss and sat in silence for a few minutes. "Sara," whispered Greg, leaning forward slightly.

"Yeah, Greg?" she asked, leaning forward as well so she could hear what he was going to say.

"Sara, I have to tell you a secret. It's important, really important, and you can't tell anyone," he said seriously.

She swallowed hard, but nodded. "Go ahead. I'm listening."

He took a deep breath. "Sara, my secret stash of Blue Hawaiian…it's in the pantry, top shelf, behind the Hershey bars you hid up there during your pregnancy. And at work, it's in my desk."

She couldn't help but smile even as she shook her head, tears reforming in her eyes. "Greg, you're incorrigible," she whispered. "Even on your deathbed, you can't be serious."

He smiled weakly through the pain. "Sorry," he whispered hoarsely. "I just wanted to see you smile once more."

He took another deep breath, though this one was harder. It was really time. Locking eyes with Sara, he took both of her hands, squeezing them. "Sara," he whispered, "I love you. Never forget that."

"And don't you dare forget that I love you," she choked out through her tears.

He gripped her hands tighter. She watched as his chest struggled to rise and fall. A peaceful look came over his face, and his eyes, never once leaving her face, closed for the last time. He squeezed her hands lightly once more, and then he was still.

Sara knew he was gone, knew it in the sudden emptiness of the room. Feeling the tears streaming down her face, she leaned forward and kissed him gently on the forehead.

She stood and walked toward the doorway, pausing only for a moment to look back and whisper once more, "Good-bye."

A/N: Six more chapters to go, even without Greg.