When You're Gone [Epilogue]

[sectioneightentertainment]

EPILOGUE

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"...When you're gone

The pieces of my heart are missing you.

When you're gone,

The face I came to know is missing too."

When you're gone,

The words I need to hear to always get me through the day

And make it okay

I miss you..."

The radio played the song that best described what was inside Neal's heart. Neal listened to the sad music which mirrored that feeling of longing he had. It continued to play, as if taunting him. Finally, he stood up and turned the radio off.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, at least on the exterior. Nice, warm, sunny day in New York City. It had been three days since Elizabeth was rescued. Peter had taken some time off to be with her. Neal have been considerate enough to give them their space. He didn't want to intrude since the couple needs this time to be together, after the ordeal they have been put through.

All is well...everything should go back to normal soon. Neal thought. Normal...yeah, right! he muttered.

Sure, Elizabeth was safe. Neal was back on Peter's good graces. Mozzie's wasn't angry with him anymore. In the hierarchy of pain and suffering, Neal really shouldn't be complaining. He should be happy. But he wasn't. There was something lacking...or someone missing, rather. Someone who he didn't realize that he missed, until he lost her.

Neal looked around his empty apartment. He had been alone for the past three days. Mozzie had been under the radar. He tried calling his old friend, but he hasn't been answering. Neal merely presumed that he must still be busy moving back in. But more importantly, Neal hasn't seen or heard from Alex either. Not since she disappeared from his sight after she petrified Rietcheck into a confession. He couldn't feel her presence anymore. As much as he didn't want to believe it, Neal had a gut feeling that she has 'moved on'.

Neal needed to make sure though. He sat back on the bed, his eyes closed, took a deep breath, and waited for the familiar scent of white gardenias...it never came. He opened his eyes, sighed and shook his head. He knew that he couldn't keep Alex forever. He knew that she needed to leave sooner or later...and yet, he was frustrated that she wasn't there anymore. There were just too many things left unfinished between them. He didn't have a chance to say 'thank you'. He didn't have a chance to say 'goodbye'. But most of all, he didn't have a chance to say 'sorry'. Too many things left unsaid...undone.

"Alex?" Neal called her. He waited, but there was no answer. "Come on, answer me, please." he pleaded. "This can't be it. I didn't even get to say a proper goodbye. You just disappeared." he continued. "I still need to apologize to you. If anything, you should at least come back for that." he said. Again, he was met with silence. "You told me that I won't lose you! You said that I don't have that kind of luck! LIAR!" he shouted, starting to get angry.

"I don't want you to go! I want you to stay! Right here...with me! There...I said it!" he confessed. "I know, it sounds selfish...but I miss you when you're gone. I miss you, Alex. Come back to me." Neal begged. "I need you back, Alex" he said, this time in a whisper. Once again, no one answered him. Exasperated, Neal stood up and proceeded to get ready to go out.

---

Once he was downstairs, Neal saw June. She was out in the veranda, sitting down as she sipped her morning coffee. She looked up and saw him, and she gave him her warmest smile. Neal soon joined her, taking the seat next to her.

"Neal! Good morning, dear." June greeted him.

"Good morning." Neal replied.

"Have you heard from Peter and Elizabeth?" she asked.

"Yes. Elizabeth is back at home, recuperating. Peter is tending to her." Neal told her of the news.

"That's good to hear." June said. "Please tell them that I would like to invite them over for dinner, once she's up for it." she stated, pouring him a cup of his favourite Italian roast.

"I will." Neal assured her. He continued to observe her, as he drank his coffee. The generous lady who had been kind enough to take him in, never asking for anything in return other than friendship. Neal admired her not only for her strength, but for her heart.

June noticed that Neal was looking at her. "What is it, dear?" she asked.

"Don't you ever get lonely?" Neal asked her pointblank. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry-" he said.

"It's quite alright." June replied. "I am happy. I have my health. I have my family. I have my friends." she answered. "I have no complaints in my life." she told him, looking in his eyes. "But yes...every once in a while, I do get lonely. Especially when I remember my life with Byron." she revealed.

"You really loved him very much, didn't you? The two of you...you must have been quite a pair back then." Neal said.

"Oh, the stories I could tell you!" June laughed. "What was that old adage...'Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future'." she told him.

"Oscar Wilde." Neal replied.

"Yes. That just perfectly described my life with my Byron. The moment we first met, Byron and I, we were immediately drawn to each other. It wasn't love at first sight...but once our eyes met, it was as if our souls recognized one another. Like our spirits were kindred." she told Neal.

Neal just sat there and listened to her story. He looked at her, as she smiled, as if caught inside a fond memory. After a brief pause, she spoke again. "You see, Neal, I was quite a handful back then. And Byron, as you already know, wasn't exactly a saint. And yet, as flawed and imperfect as we both were, we didn't care. We belonged to each other. I was his...and he was mine." June told him, her eyes starting to well up with tears.

Neal offered her his handkerchief to wipe her tears. She continued her story. "I was at my happiest when I was with Byron. The life we made with each other was less conventional than most, but it was ours. And we made sure that each day counted...nothing wasted, no regrets." she said. "Still, nothing prepared me for the day that I lost him. I still felt that we weren't given enough time, even after decades of spending our lives together." June looked him in the eye. "Not a day goes by that I don't miss my Byron. You see, my dear...the people we let into our lives, they stay with us forever. The ones we care about the most, however unexpected, they leave an indelible mark...not only in our minds, but also in our hearts. And that's where we keep them, even if they don't stay in our lives. Those fond memories are all that we have to hold onto...until we meet them again." she told him.

Neal took her hand and planted a a kiss on her palm. "Thank you, June, for sharing that with me." he told her, the sorrow was clear in his eyes. With that stood up and proceeded to leave.

June closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She caught a whiff of a familiar fragrance, as the smell of nutmeg and sandalwood filled her senses. The smell of Byron's old aftershave. She sighed and opened her eyes. "Oh, Byron." she said. "I do worry about that boy sometimes." she whispered, as she followed Neal's retreating form with her eyes with a glance of sadness.

---

Neal walked out of the mansion with a heavy heart. The truth was, Neal have seen the similarities between Alex and June. And June and Byron's relationship bear an odd resemblance to his relationship with Alex. Only Byron immediately recognized and treasured what he had with June. Neal, on the other hand, well, his brain took a while to catch up with his heart.

She'll never know...I never told her. Neal thought, shaking his head.

After hearing June and Byron's story, Neal realized what he could have had with Alex. They life they could have shared. What they could have been together. Only he realized it when it was already too late. June and Byron's life was filled with reverence and cherished moments. His life with Alex was filled with disregard and missed opportunities. Byron made June the most important person in his life...all Neal ever did was take Alex for granted. And now, he'll never have a second chance. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Alex did give him one chance after another, only Neal just kept wasting it.

To brighten up his disheartened mood, Neal decided to visit Mozzie at his place. It may have been too late to make amends with Alex, but he sure wasn't going to make the same mistake with his other friend. Neal found him inside, talking on the phone, while packing a small travel bag in a hurry.

"No, I want the soonest possible flight you have!" Mozzie said on the phone. "I don't care! Put me in the cockpit, I'll fly the plane myself! Just get me on that flight!" he said, before hanging up.

Neal gave him a puzzled look. "Leaving town, Moz?" he asked his friend. "I already told you, no charges will be pressed against you." he said.

"I was going to call you." Mozzie replied. "I have some news." he said. "You see, ever since you told me that Rietcheck was linked to Adler, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I've been busy the past few days. I cashed in a few markers in exchange for some information. So far, I was able to retrace Alex's steps since we last saw her...alive." he said, while he continued to pack.

"What are you saying, Moz?" Neal asked, confused.

Mozzie stopped what he was doing and looked at Neal. "I'm trying to tell you that I found her, Neal." he told him.

"What?" Neal asked.

"Yes. As I said, I've retraced Alex's steps. One of her aliases came up listed on an international flight the day she left New York after you guys were rescued from Adler. Oh, and guess who else was on that flight?" Mozzie asked.

"Rietcheck." Neal answered.

"Exactly. It seems that Adler paid his lead henchman to follow our Alex, with every intention to kill her." Mozzie revealed. "Anyway, there are records of them being in the same flight that landed in Porto Alegre, which is in Brazil." he added.

"You're kidding me!" Neal said.

"No, I'm not...Porto Alegre really is in Brazil." Mozzie replied.

"Moz...just continue, please." Neal told him.

"Alright. After even more digging, I found out that Rietcheck followed Alex to a place called Bar Opinião. They later found her body in a dark alley in Cidade Baixa. She was shot multiple times, a few on the chest and one bullet grazed her on the side of her head. Witnesses' description of the shooter fits Rietcheck." Mozzie told Neal. "Since all of the identification she had on her were fake, Alex was listed as a Jane Doe. That's why we didn't hear any news of it." he added.

Neal's face went white once he heard the details of Alex's death. He looked at Mozzie and spoke once he found his voice again. "So...what are you going to do now?" he asked.

"Well, given your current situation with your electronic leash and all that, I thought I'd volunteer myself to go to Brazil." Mozzie replied.

"You're going to Brazil? And then what? You're just going to demand that they exhume her body so you can bring her back here?" Neal asked. "That's not gonna be too easy, Moz...not even for you!" he said.

Mozzie looked at him with confusion. "Huh?" he asked. "Okay, Neal. During the pacing of this conversation, certain details seem to have gotten lost along the way." he said. He looked at Neal and smiled. "She's not dead, Neal!" he revealed.

"What do you mean she's not dead?" Neal asked.

"I mean, she's alive!" Mozzie answered.

"Yeah, we've established that! Details, please!" Neal told him.

"Right. I made some calls, and found out which hospital she was brought to. Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. It seems that due to her injuries, she slipped into a persistent vegetative state. Neal, Alex has been in a coma for months, but she's not dead!" Mozzie divulged. "And here's the kicker...she's awake now! I talked to her doctor...she woke up three days ago!" he added.

Neal had to sit down to the chair next to him. His mind was spinning from all the information he just learned. Three days. he thought. It had been three days since the last time he saw the ghost of Alex. Three days since she faded away, back in the FBI interrogation room after scaring Rietcheck. He wasn't sure what happened or how it happened, for that matter...nor does he care. All that's important was that Alex was alive.

"Alex is alive!" he said, needing to hear himself say it in order to believe it.

"Yes! Now, I don't know much about her current condition...but she is talking. The doctor told me that she said something, the moment she opened her eyes." Mozzie divulged.

"What did she say?" Neal asked.

"Not exactly a word, but a name. Your name, Neal. She was asking for you." Mozzie revealed. "Boy, is she gonna be disappointed when she sees ME by her bedside." he chuckled.

Neal was overwhelmed with happiness. He couldn't hide his delight over the fact that Alex is alive and safe. He was exhilarated over the anticipation of seeing her again...touching her again. There are so many things they needed to discuss...words left unsaid, things left undone. Neal was being given yet another chance, and he vowed not to waste it again. If it were only possible, he would go with Mozzie to Brazil to see her.

"She'll understand...right?" Neal asked.

"She will. She's Alex...she knows you." Mozzie replied. "Anyway, I have to go. My flight leaves in less than an hour." he told Neal, then picked up his bag and headed towards the door. "Tchau!" he said.

"Moz, wait!" Neal called him back.

Mozzie turned around to face him. "Make it fast!" he told him.

"Just tell her I said..." Neal let his voice trail off.

"Tell her you said what?" Mozzie asked.

"Never mind." Neal answered. "I'll tell her myself...once she's home." he smiled as he stared Mozzie in the eye. "Bring her home, Moz. Bring her back to me." he told his friend.

"I will, mon frère...I promise!" Mozzie replied. With that, he turned around, and left for the airport.

---

~FINI~

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FOOTNOTES :

*The song "When You're Gone" by Avril Lavigne. All rights belong to Butch Walker and Avril Lavigne.

*I know, I know, the whole cliché comatose state/astral projection twist was such a convenient trope to use, but I couldn't bring myself to really 'KILL" Alex. What kind of ending would that make?

*Couldn't resist finishing this story without June (and Byron...and his nutmeg and sandalwood aftershave).

*Like it was said before, not everyone can be Peter and Elizabeth Burke. Maybe Neal needs a 'June' and not an 'El'. What? I'm a NeAlex fan!

*Thank you for taking time to read my first ever (and quite possibly my last) supernatural-ish fic. If you enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a comment.