A/N: Well... this is it. The last chapter of Accidental Reality... I hope you all enjoyed the story, as I now that Mythyx and I have enjoyed writing it! Thank you to all who have reviewed the story. And thanks to DodgerMommy and PaintedLuv for the latest reviews! I know that the end is short, but it is what it is... '' Ok, so tell me what you think!

Chapter Tweleve

A small frown marred Ashlee’s face as she peered up at her nurse. “Am I in Kansas?” She asked, her lips forming a slow, tired smile. She saw her brother and his wife exchange worried glances and held out her hand to them, paying no mind to the hospital personnel swarming around the tiny room. “I’m sorry.” She murmured to them.

With tears coursing down their faces, her family whispered thanks to a deity that she did not believe in and words of love as she let her mind reflect over all that had happened. The journey that she had gone weathered seemed to have been a long one. She felt tired, right down into her bones. But her mind, her mind hummed with the energy. With thoughts and ideas. I’ll write it, she thought, I’ll tell the world what happened to me. Us. She suddenly frowned and struggled to sit up, Blake! Her mind raced frantically. Where’s Blake? Oh god, oh god. Where is he?

Of all the people, Devi- the nurse, seemed to understand her abrupt anxiety. “Miss Pierce,” She murmured, “We have been informed that your friend has awakened as well. He is down the hall and it seems that he is asking for you.”

Relief swamped through her veins and she let out the breath that she did not know she had been holding. But before she had the chance to ask to see him, the doctor shook his head. “As anxious as you are, Miss Pierce, to see your friend, you are in no shape to travel about the halls of this hospital. You may see your friend when we see fit.” As he spoke, she realized that she really did not feel all that wonderful. Her neck, in particular, was stiff and painful. With little energy, she nodded to the doctor and looked over at her guardians. “Where are the girls?”

Tracy looked surprised, “With my Mom. We didn’t know if- if you… The doctors said…” Her voice was thick with emotion and Ashlee felt her own eyes fill with tears. “Oh Ash!” She breathed, “Thank god you are all right! I don’t know what we would have done!”

“It’s ok.” Ashlee murmured, “I’m all right.” She looked to her brother, who stood there with a look of amazement on his face. Ashlee held out her hand to two of them and pouted, “Come ‘ere and gimme a hug.”

As her family wrapped her up in their arms, projecting their feelings of love and comfort onto her, she felt at home, for the first time in a long time and smiled.

-

Three days passed by her. Three long, boring and doctor-filled days. The staff of the hospital was at a complete loss as to what had happened with the two teens and they wanted answers. Answers that neither Blake nor Ashlee were prepared to give them. Ashlee knew that Blake was feigning ignorance as well, because the doctor had advised her to be the one to help them, since her ‘little friend’ was not. But she couldn’t. She had no desire to trade one type of hospital for another. Finally, the doctor seemed to accept that their ignorance was genuine and moved on.

Lost in thought, she did not hear the padding of bare feet on the linoleum floor nor did she see the figure cross to her bedside. She felt something brush her arm and turned towards it.

Blake’s handsome face smiled down at her, “I had to know. I had to see you and make sure that…”

“That this is real?” She asked, gesturing around at the impersonal décor of the hospital. When he nodded, she agreed, “I know. I keep thinking that this is something else that we are imagining. That we really aren’t awake.”

He reached out and stroked her cheek, “But we are.” She leaned into his touch, “Yeah,” she breathed, “We are.” They did not move for a few moments, reveling in the fact that they were back where they were supposed to be, and that they were together.

Ashlee glanced at the clock and then raised an eyebrow at Blake. “You aren’t supposed to be here.” She told him with a sunny smile. Blake merely shrugged, “Yeah well, neither is the food.”

She laughed and pulled him down to sit next to her on the little bed. “I know this is hardly the time to making plans but I was wondering, when we are both ‘free-agents’ again, if you wanted to maybe get together. Have some burgers and swap horror stories? See a move about youth-gone-wrong?”

Blake threw his head back and laughed and she clapped her hand over his mouth, telling him to be a little quieter. When he licked her palm, she dropped her hand and mock scowled at him. “Kindly keep your salvia to yourself.” She told him haughtily, her eyes dancing with amusement as he stuck his tongue out at her. “Yes, Milady.”

She sighed and sank back onto the bed, leaning her head against his shoulder. “Blake?” She asked, hesitantly, “Do you have her as a nurse?”

Blake looked at her oddly, “Who?”

Ashlee looked around, as if making sure that no one was there before replying. “Devi.” Blake frowned, “Devi isn’t real, Ash.” Ashlee let out a frustrated sigh, “I know, I know. It’s just, I thought… I could have sworn that it was her.”

“You were probably just tired.”

Ashlee nodded, but couldn’t help but feel that it was something more than that. That there was something that she hadn’t thought of yet. She shook her head, clearing it of all the muddled thoughts.

Blake watched her with a slight frown, having had similar thoughts himself in the past three days. He decided that it had been the shock of getting back to their world. To the ‘physical’, as they would come to call it.

All that mattered was that they were back, safe and together. He smiled and gently bumped his head against hers. “I would love to go out with you, Milady. But I have one request.”

Ashlee grinned, “Name it.”

“This time… we go for Italian.”

“Deal.”

This time, it was Ashlee’s laugh that echoed down the hall. Down the hallway to the ears of a woman with short black hair and electric blue eyes. She looked down at her furry companion and shook her head, a soft smile on her pale face. His form wavered, and took the shape of a man. Hand in hand, they faded.

The End

So? What did you think? Yes, I realize that it is very open-ended and somethings are not resolved... But you know what that means... Sequel... Maybe. So... that is it. The End. All done. (sigh) Wow. I feel accomplished. Thank you for reading this, for taking the time. And if you'd like to waste more of your time, please go read my other stories. (Ex, go read Ex) Heheeheheeee, my version of being subtle amuses me. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Cat