a/n: thanks for the lurverly reviews and here is the last chapter of Eterno. Rojo will be up soon, I promise. Anyways, I'm not Meg Cabot nor do I claim to to be!

Chapter Eleven: Eterno

About one in the morning I heard a car engine outside. I darted to the window in time to see Susannah stumble out the car, looking exhausted. Her brother Jake was yelling at her. She did not appear to be paying the least bit of attention.

She's safe, I thought. Thank you God, she's safe.

Running my hands through my hair I could not help but to grin. She was safe. She hadn't die and I could not help but to feel that I had been a factor.

Still grinning I muttered the Prayer of St. Alphonsus.

"Jesus Christ, my God, I adore Thee and I thank Thee for the many favors Thou hast bestowed on me this day. I offer Thee my sleep and all the moments of this night, and I pray Thee to preserve me from sin. Therefore, I place myself in Thy most sacred side, and under the mantle of our Blessed Lady, my Mother. May the holy Angels assist me and keep me in peace, and may Thy blessing be upon me."

It was a prayer of thanks.

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I spent most of the day at the beach, watching the waves roll in.

Eterno. Timeless.

These waves would always beat upon this shore. Just as I would always walk along it. And while the stars may have faded, the sun would always shine, reflected on the clear blue waves of the Pacific.

Eterno. Changeless.

In the past few days, though, things had changed. I felt like a different person, or maybe one reborn. I had waking dreams. I had... feelings.

I watched the sun begin to set, and then rematerialized next to Susannah in her room. To my surprise she was sitting in the window seat, watching the same sight I had been watching only moments ago.

She jumped, seeing me out the the corner of her eyes. She jumped but I also could have sworn I had seen her smile as well.

"Jeez! Do you have to keep doing that?"

"I'm sorry."

"Look," she said, "If you and I are going to be living together, so to speak, we need to come up with some rules. And rule number one is that you have got to stop sneaking up on me like that!"

I smiled, this was a good one. "And how do you suggest I make my presence known?"

She sighed, "I don't know. Can't you rattle some chains or something?"

Where would, I wondered, get chains?

I shook my head. "I don't think so. What would rule number two be.?"

"Rule number two..." she trailed off. She didn't have a rule number two.

I raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, querida?"

She just stared at me, a look in her eye that I could not discern.

And then something that had been bothering me popped out.

"Let me ask you something,"

"What?" she threw down the magazine she had been holding and stood up.

"Last night, when you warned me not to go near the school because you were doing an exorcism..."

She looked at me strangely, "Yes?"

"Why did you warn me?"

And to my great surprise she burst out laughing. "I warned you because if you'd gone down there you would have been sucked away just like Heather."

I was confused, "But wouldn't that have been a perfect way to get rid of me? You'd have this room to yourself, just the way you want it."

Susannah looked horrified, "But that... that would have been completely unfair."

I smiled, "I see. Against the rules?"

"Yeah," she said, "Big time."

"Then you didn't warn me... because you're starting to like me or anything like that?"

Her face turned red. She likes me, I thought in wonder. I took a step towards her.

"No," she said stubbornly, "Nothing like that. I'm just trying to play by the rules.Which you violated, by the way, when you woke up David."

I took another step closer. "I had to. You'd warned me not to go down to the school myself. What choice did I have? If I hadn't sent your brother in my place, you'd be a bit dead now."

I had overheard Jake talking about the breezeway when they had gotten home at one.

The shade of red on her face deepened. "No way," she said, "I had things perfectly under control. I..."

Under control? I laughed. "You had nothing under control. You went barreling in there without any sort of plan, without any sort of..."

"I had a plan," she took a single furious step towards me, and suddenly we were standing nose to nose. "Who do you think you are, telling me I had no plan? I've been doing this for years, get it? Years. And I never needed help, not from anyone. And certainly not from someone like you."

Oh no, was this the cowboy thing again? I had just saved her life and she was going to bring that up?

"Someone like me? You mean... what is it you called me? A cowboy?"

"No," She said, her voice dripping with venom, "I mean from somebody who's dead."

I flinched.

"Let's make rule number two be that from now on, you stay out of my business, and I'll stay out of yours," she said.

"Fine," I said with equal rancor. I had just saved her life and this was how she wanted to act?

"Fine, and thank you." she added.

"For what?" I said sullenly.

Her voice got quiet. "For saving my life."

I stared at her for a moment in wonder.Without even thinking I reached out and laid my hand on her shoulders. I don't know what I was going to do but I was saved when I heard Susannah's mother.

"Susannah? Susie, it's Mom. I'm home."

I jerked away and dematerialized as Susannah's mother opened the door.

Oh, yes, times have changed. I have watched as roads were paved and as a great red dome was built over the Mission, hiding the bells from sight. I have even seen the stars grow dim.

But all of those things had changed without me.

And now I had a feeling, that I too, was along for the ride.

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The Prayer To Redeem Lost Time

O MY GOD! Source of all mercy! I acknowledge Thy sovereign power.
While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that Thou, Lord, can
in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that
Thou can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Thy grace,
both now and the future, that I may appear before Thee in "wedding garments."
Amen.

a/n: review... i hope you enjoyed it.