Chapter 3

Ennis had frozen where he stood, staring with wide eyes at the sight before him. Jack was here, and looked as solid as any other person. But Jack was dead and he knew it, so what was this?

"Ennis, say something," Jack said to him, looking slightly worried now. "Come on..."

"You...you died," Ennis breathed, feeling slightly faint. He had suspected that Jack was around but he hadn't been prepared for this. "You did..."

"Yeah, I did," Jack agreed, nodding. "But I'm here..." Ennis sank down to his knees, hands over his mouth. Jack was here, back with him.

"I..." he started, shaking. "I..." Jack knelt down in front of him and Ennis felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around him, just like they used to. He had missed this feeling so much, and he slowly wrapped his own arms around Jack.

"Shh..." Jack soothed, rubbing his back. "It's alright..."

"You're solid," Ennis pointed out, not understanding how this was possible. "What...?"

"What am I?" Jack finished for him, pulling his face away. Ennis remembered those features so well. "I'm kind of a ghost, I guess. Things on the other side are more complicated than you think, bud."

"Are you really here? I'm not dreamin'?" Ennis asked hopefully. Jack shook his head.

"Not a dream, Ennis. An' you're not losin' it. I'm here, for you."

"Why?" Ennis asked, smiling slightly when Jack cupped his cheek. Jack was cold to the touch, but he was very familiar and Ennis had missed him too much to care about how strange this was.

"Ennis...that cough you've got. It's serious, bud. You've got lung cancer..."

Ennis bit his lip, nodding. "Shoulda guessed, I s'pose. How did you know?"

"Ghosts can read auras, apparently," Jack said to him. "Like...we can tell things about a person just by lookin' at 'em. On the other side, they told me you were dyin', so I asked to come back an' keep you company until it happens."

"How long?" Ennis asked him, lowering his head.

"You've got a week," Jack told him, as gently as possible. "I'm sorry, cowboy. Wish there was a better way to tell you."

Ennis shook his head. "Well, can't do nothin' now. Guess that's it." They stood up together and Jack took Ennis's hands.

"I'm gonna help you through it, Ennis. You're gonna get weaker an' eventually you won't be able to get out of bed. Dyin' can be real scary, but I'm gonna be here."

They sat down on the bed together, Ennis still taking in everything that had just happened. "Can't believe you're really here," he said shakily, smiling at Jack. His lover grinned.

"I know. I missed you, Ennis. But I was always watchin' you. Makin' sure you were okay."

Ennis felt a lump in his throat. "I missed you so much, Jack. I...I wanted to tell you...I love you." He'd never had the courage to say those words when Jack was alive, but everything was different now.

Jack touched his cheek. "I love you too, Ennis. Always have." Jack wanted to kiss him but wasn't sure if Ennis would be okay with that. "Ennis..."

"Can we...?" Ennis asked, feeling unsure of himself. Jack nodded.

"We could kiss, but that's it for now. Anythin' else has to wait, bud." Ennis shifted closer, need in his eyes. "It's gonna be cold, you know."

Ennis smiled a little. "Don't care, rodeo." They leaned in and their lips met for the first time in nine months; they had both missed this. It was cold as Jack had said, but it felt good.

When they pulled apart, both of them grinned in spite of themselves. "I missed you so much, Jack," Ennis choked out, pulling Jack into his arms again. Jack had been, and still was, the love of his life and part of him was glad that they would be truly reunited soon.

"I missed you too. That was me doin' all the stuff around here. I wanted to get your attention an' you were tryin' to talk to me. But I couldn't appear until you looked in the mirror. Not sure why...things are just complicated with this stuff."

Ennis nodded. "Jack...I know we've got a lot to talk about. But I wanna know now...how did it happen? Lureen said the tire blew up an' got you in the face..."

Jack sighed. "Ennis...I'll tell you more over this week, I promise. There's a reason why Lureen lied, an' I'll tell you later on. But the truth is...I was murdered. I went out for a drive just outside Childress. I was in this field, walkin' around...next thing I know there's three guys with tire irons. I...it was all a blur an' over in a flash. I remember lyin' there for a little while after they left, slippin' away an' thinkin' about you." He sighed. "Then I got up an' saw my body on the ground underneath me. I walked back to the house, didn't know what else to do. Lureen an' Bobby weren't there, but there was this door where there usually ain't one. I walked through it an' that was that."

"Now you're back," Ennis said, squeezing his hands. "I thought it might be guys with tire irons, but I didn't wanna think about it. Keep thinkin' how it was like when Earl died. I used to have nightmares of seein' you like him, torn up..."

"You never told me that," Jack said softly, looking sadly at him. "Ennis..."

"Well...guess there's a lot of things we gotta talk about," Ennis replied, and Jack nodded. "Just glad you're here, darlin'."

Jack smiled at the familiar endearment. "Me too, cowboy. Gonna be here for you, okay? I know it's gonna be scary, an' it'll hurt, but...I'm here."

Ennis felt Jack kiss his cheek and felt happier than he had in months. It was strange to have Jack's ghost here with him, but at least they were back together. That was all he cared about right now.