Constantine had not moved. He sat very still with his eyes closed. I squeezed his shoulder. He was not dead yet, but I knew he wouldn't last much longer. "You did it," I told him. "Your plan worked!"

Constantine didn't respond.

"Constantine?" I asked, worry in my voice. "John?"

I looked up suddenly as Satan approached us. I sensed his return due to his sheer evil presence rather than heard his footsteps on the tiles. He placed a hand on the back of the chair. "So."

Constantine struggled to move. He opened his eyes, saw me, and then looked at Lucifer standing there expectantly. He knew the Devil owed him something, and he was not going to leave until he delivered it.

"…so." Constantine said. His voice was a mere whisper.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Satan asked, impatient. "An extension?"

I remembered my words to Constantine. It seemed like weeks ago that I said it, even though it was only the other day. "Think about what other people want for a change." I could tell this was filtering through his cloudy brain. The closest person to him now was Angela. He remembered what she wanted, to change places with her sister if she could.

"The sister…Isabel…" he managed to say. A ghost of a smile spread on my face.

The Devil knew exactly who Constantine was talking about.

"What about her?"

Constantine met Satan's gaze. "Let her go home."

Satan was pleased. "You're willing to give up your life so she can go to Heaven?" This meant that he did not have to wait another twenty years for Constantine's soul to play with. He could have him right away. He didn't even really care about Isabel. She meant nothing to him.

Constantine could only just manage a nod at this point.

Satan's eyes rolled back in this head and he looked skyward. There was a pause and I felt a strange surge of energy. Then the Devil's gaze snapped down again. "Fine, it's done." He grinned and moved the chair out of his way. "Time to go, John."

"Yeah," Constantine muttered, finishing his cigarette. He crushed it out next to me, in a pool of his own blood.

I stood up as Satan moved forward. There was a slight pause for effect as he grabbed John's left wrist, then he unceremoniously pulled him away from the wall. Constantine's body swung around limply as he let himself be dragged away. I walked along side them, my eyes on Constantine. I have never before had an assignment in a situation like this, and I probably never will again. I heard Satan begin to whistle a little tune as he tugged on Constantine's arm.

I looked up to the Heavens. "Any time now would be good," I thought impatiently. I knew that our only hope lay in our faith in the power of sacrifice.

Then, to my delight, I heard the sound of grinding tiles. I looked down and saw the floor bunch up around Constantine, preventing the Devil from dragging him any further. It was like someone put the brake on. Satan noticed this and looked back, puzzled. He pulled as hard as he could, but Constantine would not budge. He dropped his arm as a bright golden light filled the room. A pleasant, warm breeze began to blow that made Satan squint painfully. He knew just as well as I did what it meant. I grinned when he voiced it. "The sacrifice."

Constantine found himself being lifted up towards the golden light. My grin broadened as I caught a glimpse of Heaven with John headed towards it.

"No, this one belongs to me!" Satan raged.

Constantine looked over his shoulder and raised one hand with the middle finger firmly extended. I bet it wasn't just him behind the gesture.

The Devil seethed with anger and lunged forward. He grabbed John and spoke into his ear. "No, you will live, John Constantine." Satan tore open his shirt. John looked down, wondering what would happen. "You will live."

Without any more warning, Satan plunged his hands through the skin on John's chest and into his lungs. As soon as this happened, the Heavenly light went away. John screamed in agony as Lucifer raked his fingers through his flesh, purposely making the procedure as painful as possible. I placed my hand over my mouth to stop myself from crying out.

"So you will have…" Satan continued, his speech as drawn out as his torture to my assignment. I watched and listened intently, somehow unable to turn away. "…the chance to prove…" Constantine screamed again as his skin began to smoke. His legs kicked the air wildly. I winced. "…that your soul truly belongs in Hell."

With that, Satan dropped him. John landed hard on the floor. I rushed down beside him and placed my hand on his back. I assured myself he was still alive and looked up at Lucifer as he backed away. His hands were full of something sticky, dripping and black. I realised with a mixture of amazement and disgust that it was the cancer he had torn from Constantine's lungs.

"Oh, you will live," Satan repeated. "You will live."

And then he was gone, or at least as much as he ever is.

I thought about how my assignment also had another chance now to now prove his soul truthfully belonged in Heaven. It was like he had a clean slate. It was up to him now which way he went. I looked back down to Constantine and gently shook him. "John?"

I could feel and hear him breathe again, and for once those breaths came easily. There was no fiery pain in his chest. The air flowed smoothly in and out. The colour returned to his cheeks and he looked the healthiest I had ever seen him. He opened his eyes and blinked, realising that he was not only alive, but in better shape than he had been in a long time.

He started to push himself up to his knees. "Easy," I said, helping him steady himself. I could not keep a smile off my face, especially as John checked his chest and wrists for any sign of damage. There was none whatsoever. "You did it," I said. I wanted to dance around the room, relieved that the absolute worst of my job here was over. "You saved the world and you're alive. You've been given a third chance at life. Can you believe it?"

John looked at me and actually smiled. "Yep."

We stood up and turned towards the hydrotherapy room. As we walked, John did up the buttons of his shirt. "I told you," I said happily. I could barely contain myself. "I told you that if you stuck with me everything would turn out alright." John gave me a warning look. I grinned and shut up. We could see Angela sit up and look around. She smiled when she saw John. He knelt down by her side and sighed softly. They didn't say anything for a moment.

Angela spoke first. "Thank you."

I smiled. It was a thank you for everything. She could sense what he had done for her, for Isabel, and for the world. She was the only one who would ever say 'thank you.'

"No problem," John said with a small shrug. I rolled my eyes in amusement. He just made the ultimate sacrifice, faced the Devil himself, and all he could say was "no problem." Typical.

He leaned over Angela and for a second she thought he was going to kiss her. She was surprised and disappointed when he instead went for the Spear of Destiny. He tugged it out of the tiled floor and the two of them looked at it.

The sound of splashing and coughing brought our attention to the pool. Gabriel was there, floundering in the water. He stood up and his blackened, charred clothes became visible. What really caught my attention were his wings, or what was left of them. Two bloody stumps stood on Gabriel's back. He felt behind and touched them tenderly.

Constantine stood up. "Human," he declared. Gabriel looked at him, slightly fearful. Constantine put the Spear in his inside coat pocket. "You don't deserve to be human."

"Do you want revenge?" the ex-angel guessed. He was not used to not knowing everything other people were thinking. "Is that what you're thinking right now?"

Constantine was quiet, considering. Angela stood up beside him, wondering what he would do. I crossed my arms over my chest.

Gabriel stood up. He was holding the Holy Shotgun in his arms. "Do it," he said. He waded towards Constantine. "Do it." He climbed the stairs and stood before my assignment. "Seek revenge. End my life." He handed John the gun. The barrel of it pointed point-blank at Gabriel's middle. "Go on," he urged. "Be the hand of God. It's your choice." Constantine grabbed the gun and Gabriel spread his arms wide. Constantine aimed at his chest, finger on the trigger and desperate to blow the bastard away. "It's always been your choice."

"Uh, John?" I said. "Are you really sure you want to do that? I know it's tempting, but…"

"Yeah," John said to both me and Gabriel. There was a pregnant pause, then Constantine punched Gabriel in the side of the mouth. The force of it shocked the former angel, who bent over. There was a brief pause before his face screwed up and he raised his hand to his mouth. It was the first time he had ever experienced this bizarre phenomenon. "It's called pain," Constantine told him. "Get used to it."

John, Angela and I turned away and began to leave. I felt more pride for my assignment than ever before. He probably hadn't expected Satan to tempt him so soon after his meeting with him, and I was glad he saw Gabriel's words for what they really were.

I couldn't help but look over my shoulder at Gabriel as he saw the blood, his blood, on his hand and tasted it on his lip. He smiled. "You could have shot me, John," he shouted. I smiled to myself and looked away. Gabriel's words continued to follow us. He sounded like he thought he had just been proven right about Hell on Earth bringing out the nobility in a person. "You chose a higher path. Look how well you're doing!"

John spared Gabriel a brief glance back. Then he opened the door for Angela and me to walk out of the room.