Meadow567- No, the Steelers are doing okay, I just hate them. I hate everything about them. Don't get me started, I can go on for hours about hating them! LOL And it's John Cena. And the thing about Rizzo- had to throw that in for my Chev muse.

Flowersc721- I wish that form of Bah would come help me feel better when I have bad days! LOL

Prettypinkcheer5- Congrats about your finals! And whatever made you start liking Craig, I am glad you do. I fear I lost some readers when I hooked them up.

Lia06- I want to include world events to show why the game was so exciting in a time of hardships.

LJ9- Glad you liked it. I never thought much about using that phrase, just threw it in there.

Tygr Lily- What does Kylah need to forgive herself for? Your review confused me.

Happy Holidays everybody! I probably won't update again till after Christmas because I'll be out of town and such. Hope everyone has a great holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Author's Note- This chapter contains sensitive material. It doesn't reflect all my personal beliefs. It is also not meant to influence anyone else's beliefs. It was written to go with the story, will be part of the plot in the future. If you do not believe the material in this chapter, I hope you're not offended and take it for what it is- part of a fiction story. I enjoyed writing this chapter and it's been planned as part of the story since the beginning, so I hope no one is offended, but just in case, I've included the disclaimer. Also the title of this chapter is a George Strait lyric, I own no part of the song.

Mid-November

I woke up lying on the ground. The sun was shining and the air was warm. Confused, I sat up and looked around me. Tobacco fields surrounded me; in the distance I could see my house on the hill. The tractor was sitting outside the barn as if daddy had just left it. I looked around but saw no one. I stood up, and looking down realized I was barefoot and wearing an old sundress I hadn't worn in years.

I started walking towards the barn. Maybe daddy was in there having a soda after working in the fields. I looked down and saw Granny- the old cat we kept in the barn to keep mice away. She was nuzzling my feet. I reached down to pet her when it dawned on me that Granny had died several years ago. I must be mistaken, another stray kitty must have come along that looks like Granny. Daddy always like having cats around the barn. I patted the kitty, which looked ready to have a litter of kittens at any moment.

I walked a little farther and heard a dog barking. I looked for the dog but couldn't see it. I shrugged; maybe the neighbor's dog got loose and was running nearby. The barking continued as I walked closer to the barn.

"Kylah!" someone was calling me. I knew that voice.

I turned back and saw Jake standing at the edge of the vegetable garden, our old dog Bear by his side.

"Jake, you're home!" I yelled and went running towards him.

He looked the same as always. Wearing worn out jeans and his muddy work boots. His hair was short and his blue eyes shining. His smile was bright, just like old times.

I leaped into his arms. He even smelled the same. I hugged him so tight, it'd been so long since I'd seen him, or talked to him.

"Jake, I can't believe you're here. I've missed you so much." I told him

"I've missed you too little sister. You've grown up so much." Jake said.

"The military, they made a mistake, they told us you were dead. They told us you'd been killed in a POW camp. They must have mixed up the dog tags or something." I gushed, looking at Jake again.

"No Kylah. There was no mistake. I am dead. I really was killed." Jake said.

"You're dead? I don't understand…you've come home. It just took a long time." I said.

"Kylah, I am dead. Just like Granny cat over there died years ago. And Bear died a few years ago too." Jake said and patted the dog.

"Then…am I dead too?" I asked.

"You're not dead. I just came back to talk to you." Jake said.

"Why are we home? Last I remember…Minneapolis, The team?" I asked, growing concerned.

"Everyone is fine. I know you're the PR agent for the Olympic Hockey Team. Way to go baby sister. You've done well in the years since I've been away." Jake smiled.

"Where are we exactly? This looks like home." I asked.

"It is home. Heaven is about being at peace and eternal happiness. I was always happy at home, on the farm, with my family." Jake smiled.

"Heaven is our farm?" I asked.

"Not quite. Peace and happiness is different for everyone. And I've been to other places around heaven." Jake said.

"Really? Heaven is real? What's there?" I asked.

"Of course it's real. And there are all kinds of things. I've seen Pappy." Jake said.

"Pappy? Is he okay?" I asked.

"He's great. He and Memaw live just down the road at the next farm." Jake smiled.

"Heaven is full of farms?" I asked.

"I already explained this; it's whatever makes the individual happy for their final reward." Jake explained. "You'd like these farms, the animals never die, harvest is always good, and you can hear crickets and frogs every night."

"I can't believe you're here. And you're okay. No burns, no scars, no broken bones from being at war." I said, looking at him again.

"Kylah, you know we get new bodies in heaven that are perfect." Jake said. "Have you forgotten everything we learned in Sunday School?"

"I haven't believed in that since you were killed." I told him.

"So I've seen. You turned your back on God." Jake said.

"No god would ever let what happened to you happen. No god would let such a wonderful person die so young and in such a horrible way." I said.

"Kylah Caroline Jenkins, I don't want to hear you talk that way anymore. There is a God, and my death had a purpose." Jake insisted.

"I don't know what purpose killing you could've been." I said.

"You're not meant to know or understand. But it was part of a plan. Let go of your hurt and anger." Jake said.

I started crying. "I can't. I missed you for too long. I've been hurting for too long. I've been through so much, wanting you back, wishing you were with me."

"You have to. I've been watching you all along and I saw that you needed me is why I came for you now." Jake said and hugged me.

"I've missed you so much. I thought about you every day." I cried.

"I know. And I was always with you. I saw you go to prom and graduate high school, and go to college. You've grown into quite a woman." Jake said. "You're a Steel Magnolia."

"Oh go on. I fall apart at the drop of a hat." I said.

"You underestimate yourself. You're soft and gentle woman with nerves of steel. You've lived through hell several times over and you got through." Jake said. "And you're not a victim. You don't want pity."

"It's not been easy…but Craig has helped a lot in recent……" I trailed off and looked at my big brother. "Yeah, do you know about Craig? He's…"

"I know about Craig. I like him. I am glad you're with him. He takes good care of you. And you're happy." Jake smiled. "And I think he'll be understanding when you tell him everything."

"You knew about that too?" I asked.

"I'm always keeping an eye on my little sister." Jake winked.

"It's so good to talk to you again." I hugged him.

"Kylah, my time is getting short. I'll have to leave soon." Jake said.

"Take me with you. I don't want you to leave me." I said.

Jake smiled. "You have to go back."

"I don't want to go back. I want to stay with you." I insisted.

"You always did follow me around everywhere. But you can't follow me here, not yet. We're not ready for you yet." Jake said.

"Well when? I miss you." I said.

"Not for a long time. You've got a long great life ahead of you. You'll be a great-grandmother someday." Jake said. "Don't be sad, it's meant to be that way. And I'll always be near you, even though you can't see me."

"But things are so bad; I don't want to go back. Things are so wonderful here." I was determined.

"Kylah, a great event is coming. You're life will be forever changed." Jake said.

"A great event……the hostages are going to be released?" I asked.

"Let's just say a miracle is coming." Jake winked.

I sighed. "Since you have to go, how do I get back to Minneapolis?"

"I'll send you back the way I brought you here." Jake smiled. "What do you know about Pittsburgh?"

I shrugged. "The Steelers hate the Browns? That's about it, why?"

"No reason." Jake smirked. "It's almost time."

"I miss you so much." I told him.

"I miss you too." Jake said and pulled me into a hug. "Take care of mom and dad."

I nodded. "I love you, Jake."

"I love you too, Kylah." Jake said. "Goodbye, I'll see you again someday."

"I'll be waiting." I whispered.

I woke up with a start. I looked around. I was in my bedroom in Minneapolis. Smokey was asleep next to me. I looked at the clock- 3:24 AM. My pillow was wet, I had cried in my sleep.

"It was a dream." I whispered aloud.

But it couldn't have just been a dream. I could feel Jake. I could smell him. Had he really come back to talk to me? Had I hallucinated? I felt at peace somehow. I looked over at a picture of me and Jake on the farm. I was wearing that same sundress I'd been wearing in the dream/vision/ whatever it was. Suddenly it dawned on me that Jake had once told me that dress was his favorite because it brought out my eyes.

I jumped out of bed and ran through my apartment. I pulled open the door and hurried to Craig's apartment door, and began pounding on it. It took a few minutes but a disheveled looking Craig opened the door.

"Kylah…what is…?"

"I saw Jake. I talked to him." I said and rushed into his apartment.

Craig closed the door. "The same Jake that's been dead for six years?"

"Do you think people can come back from the other side and talk to us in dreams?" I asked.

"I don't know. I never gave much thought to ESP or psychics or anything like that." Craig said.

"But it's possible. I mean people all over the world report the dead returning to give them messages or seeing ghosts and stuff right?" I asked.

"Kylah, calm down. What happened?" Craig asked.

"I saw Jake. He was back home on the farm. And pets we've had over the years were with him. And he said he'd seen our grandparents." I said.

Craig looked at me. "You had a dream?"

"Yeah, except Jake came to me in a dream, or a vision. It was so real. I could feel him. He smelled the same. And I was wearing his favorite dress. I don't even own that dress anymore. But before he went to Vietnam, he mentioned one day that he liked it…and that's what I was wearing in heaven with him." I said.

"You're shining. I think you really saw Jake. Or whatever happened has done you a lot of good." Craig smiled.

"I feel better. I mean I am sad that I can't be with him, but he said he's always near me, and we'll be together again someday." I said.

"What else did Jake say?"

"To make amends with God. And that great things would happen in my life and something about a miracle, and I'm going to be a great-grandmother someday." I said.

Craig smiled. "Sounds like Jake had a reason for talking to you. You going to be okay?"

"I feel great. I don't exactly understand what happened, but I feel peaceful." I said, and remembered what Jake had said about peace in heaven.

"You want to stay the rest of the night with me?" Craig asked.

"You know, when we first got the news that Jake had been killed, I didn't want to accept it. I had this fantasy that it was all a mistake. That the wrong dog tags had been put on a dead body and we only thought Jake was dead, and someday Jake would come home and it be easily explained." I said. "And tonight, I really thought that was it. I thought it was all a big mistake and Jake had been freed from the camp and came home."

"You know that's not true." Craig said.

"I know. But it's like now I can be more at peace with Jake's death because I know he's okay. I've seen and my imagination can't play tricks on me anymore." I smiled. "I'll always miss him, but I know he's watching."

Craig smiled. "You gonna stay the rest of the night or what?"

"Yeah. Let's get to bed, so you can rest." I said. Craig and I started walking towards his bedroom. "What do you know about Pittsburgh?"

"Not much, why?" Craig asked.

"I don't know. Jake said something about Pittsburgh tonight." I shrugged.