A/N: Well. Here we are again. At the site of gloom and despair and heartbreak. But it's okay, right? I'm not…not even sure what this is…ok. The reason I put a question mark at the end of this chapter title is because, well, is this truly the end for everyone? I think not, even if this is the end of this story. Or this part of it all. Maybe there is more to write. (Though if that happened, it would not be soon, probably a little while from now.) I don't know. Who truly knows what the end is? (Okay I'll stop getting all existential just in case some of you have existential crisis a lot or just moments of those sorts of things, which I have had so I do not feel like destroying anyone's life right now.)

Shadowfang14: hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe I told you I had plans. Look at what I've done. Can't wait to see what your reply to this is.

Polydactyly Zodiac: Oh because I'm completely twisted and downright insane. And the whole smiling thing well…maybe we're on the same boat with insanity. I have no idea. You probably didn't smile while reading it. (Now the question is: did I smile while I wrote it? I … I don't remember. Probably when I thought of what the readers would say.)

Also…it's a bit of a confusing twist right here. In fact it's so different from anything anyone may have imagined ever being because well this whole freaking show just doesn't deal with the real world and I just feel that maybe this could be a possibility for Greg. I mean we don't know. He's just a small child in the show. Who knows what the future could bring?

Onward.

Greg's POV:

The bread was soon in the cabinet: the last of the groceries placed where they needed to be. Whistling a little tune, he closed the door to the aforementioned cabinet and gave a wipe of his hands on the towel, and began to make his way out of the house. The sun was shining down, it was a very bright autumn morning and he was beginning to enjoy himself thoroughly. Sometimes all it took was getting last night's shopping items in their correct places and then everything seemed alright. Angel was waiting for him at the car door with her doll in her arms. She was proud of that thing, quite proud, and Greg took pleasure in the fact that she was so happy with it. It gave him something to believe in every day.

"Come along, honey, it's time to go to the library." He gave her a gentle smile and opened the door of the car, offering her a hand in. She took it like a princess and stepped into the car, and seated herself to be fastened in the booster seat.

After making sure she was set, Greg took his own seat at the steering wheel and started the car, all the while humming the familiar old tune that was now stuck in his head. It was the sort of mellow tune that didn't bring too much energy into working it all out but it was still excitable in a very strange way. It wasn't until Angel started calling his name that he snapped back into true reality; and by now they were already on main street and heading downtown.

"Daddy?" She sounded desperate.

"Yes, Angel?" He didn't look back but he could see the look on her face without looking: it was a head craning thing that was happening and she was no doubt unblinkingly looking at the back of his head.

"Where is-"

"He's at the library. Don't worry, honey, he's fine." Greg gave a nod to reassure her because he wasn't risking taking his eyes off the road. Alex had called early to let him know he was going to be late, but to take Angel anyways.

The rest of the short ride was reasonably quiet and once he swung Angel out of her seat and handed her the doll again, Greg found himself breathing deeply. It had been a few months since Alex had been back after being deployed-once again he found himself wondering how he'd ended up dating a person in the military, even if that person did just fix engines on helicopters, but Greg had tried to work that out countless times and it still didn't work. So he lived with it, because it wasn't just dating, at this point in time, it was an actual marriage. But Alex hadn't wanted Angel to be scared by the planes or really anything that was at the military base he would come in from, so Greg had been told to meet him at the library. This was absolutely fine, of course.

They stepped in and were greeted by Samantha, the youngest librarian in the entire building who had made quick friends with the four year old toddler who was clutching his hand and at the same time trying to grab Samantha's. Greg made quick eye contact with her, and gave her a nod.

"Angel, let's go say hello to your friends!" Samantha was brilliant with kids and to prove his belief and point even further, he watched with a small smile as Angel followed the dark haired woman off to a separate corner in the library.

Greg wasn't just thinking about Alex right then-although he wouldn't have admitted it to anyone. There was a constant fear of someone, any of them, for Greg that someone would never come home. It had started when he lost Wirt…and it had never left. There was always the question of what Wirt might have thought to see him as now, with a family, a real family, living in a completely different town not far from where he grew up, and as a part time worker who also acted as the stay at home dad when he was off for Angel. Because if Alex never came home one day, Greg would lose his mind and he knew it. Angel was too young to understand and he didn't want her to ever have to. Sure, Alex would go out of the military one day, considering all he did was fix things, but at the current times with him constantly everywhere, it was extremely stressful for Greg. The fear was gnawing at the back of his mind as it had been for the few hours he'd been awake this morning.

Mrs. Smith, the main librarian who basically ran the entire place, nodded to him with a pleasant smile as she walked past with a cart of books. Greg realized he'd been just standing there for almost five minutes now and a few people were looking at him a little strangely, but most just minded their own business. Clearing his throat a little, he set off for a table and sat down stiffly. And he sat, stiffly. It was nearly 11; only a few remaining minutes till the promised time arrived.

11:10. That's what Alex had promised, at latest. Angel was still over in the far corner, but Greg could-once again-feel her looking over at him every once in a while. She had known that "Papa" was going to be home soon. He had only told her a few days ago and since then, that was almost all she had talked about. It was obviously a need, and it was fine with him. Talking about the person he was missing most at the moment was almost the easiest thing imaginable, and while it was weird (normally, wouldn't it hurt a person in that situation?-he wasn't sure) he enjoyed it. Angel clearly loved it as well, and Greg had had such a hard time getting her to sleep last night that he was unable to sleep himself, lying awake for hours. He knew that it showed below his eyes.

Maybe he even looked like a raccoon. The thought made him chuckle, as he was suddenly reminded of a distant moment in the past when a raccoon who could walk on two feet wasn't so strange at all-and a twinge of distant pain went through him. Sometimes the Unknown was the place he missed the most, which was weird. A few years before, when Alex and he had first started dating, he'd told Alex all about it. The thing that struck him the most was that Alex believed him. People hadn't, not when he was younger, and not as he got older. All through his teen years he had to try and convince people he had lost his brother to a horrifying place. He had begun studying anything that could give him a clue as to what the Unknown was so he could prove it, but the closest thing he ever found was the word purgatory. A place where the dead were held: in a limbo between life and death. Not a single soul believed he had made it to and from a purgatory, especially not twice. But he knew he had, because hadn't Wirt's soul stayed and his body died?

His parents had only believed it was a tragic accident, and his mother was of course the most distraught, Wirt had been her child. Of course, his father was upset, but his mother never truly recovered. Now they lived together still, but still they did not believe his theories and his stories. And it hurt him so much…so very, very much…because he knew Wirt was not completely gone. Wirt was still there.

These thoughts just made the pain worse and he forced himself out of them. He wasn't going to be in a horrible mood. He was waiting on Alex, who would come back. Greg had to have something to hold onto, and that something had mostly become his small family.

"Thinking again?" A deeper, familiar voice entered his ear. He realized he'd had his eyes closed, and he opened them in an instant, to see Alex standing there with a grin on his face, but his blue eyes spoke of something else, of relief and joy.

Greg shot out of his seat and wrapped his arms around Alex's shoulders, pressing his face into the slightly taller man's chest. For a few minutes all he was hearing was the heavy breathing of someone who was doing his obvious best not to cry. It was almost a joyful sound to his ears, just hearing Alex breath for the first time in months. Then it was time to break apart, because a small tug on his shirt told him Angel had arrived.

She was scooped up into her Papa's arms and flung around and then brought back down again so she could wrap her small arms around his neck and hold on tight. Greg found that he couldn't stop smiling. It was always this way, the reunion was so carefree and eccentric and full of joy. Alex looked over a small head at him, and gave a smile.

"Shall we head on home?" He said this with a courteous grace that Greg shook his head at and nodded.

"And you can tell Angel about the people you met all the way there." Walking past them, he gave a gentle pull on Angel's long, curly golden hair. Alex followed him, and he could hear the whispers being exchanged. Angel appeared to be hardly able to contain her excitement.

The ride home was full of laughter and giggles from Angel as Alex made fun of some of the officers he had dealt with on the ship and talked of the food they were fed, which Greg always found disgusting and Angel took joy in how disgusting it was. She was laughing her little head off even as they let her loose in the yard and she ran around in circles. Sometimes Greg wondered how she could act so much like he did at that age-not that he remembered much of being four, it was just from being told about it countless times-and not even be his own child when it came to terms of blood. Alex often blamed it on just having him around.

They walked into the house, hand in hand and Greg was quickly swept up by Alex's mouth on his; forgetting everything for a few minutes. Angel hadn't come in yet; she was probably talking to the dog that was kept outside most of the time, so they had a few minutes to be completely lost in each other before they had chance of being interrupted. The interruption, instead, didn't come like it sometimes did and Greg took the chance to talk to Alex alone for at least a moment.

"Welcome home, love." It was said with a tiny smile, and Alex shook his dark haired head in almost denial.

"It's been a long six months. She's grown quite a bit. Good to know you kept everything in check."

"Well it isn't easy. I'm just glad you made it home…"He trailed off a bit at this, lost in Alex's eyes and lost in his own thoughts.

"Don't think about that right now. We can talk about it later, if you'd like."

He gave a brief nod as Alex gave a gentle squeeze of his hand and they stood there for a few more minutes, not speaking. Angel suddenly came bursting into the house, and tried to hug them both.

"Jason glad you back, Papa!" She was talking about the dog, and Alex bent down to pick her up.

"I'm glad to hear that, darling. Should I go talk to Jason?" He inquired, and she gave a nod. "Well I guess we're going to check on Jason."

Giving a small wink to Greg, Alex walked out of the kitchen and back out the door again with Angel in his arms who seemed to be giving him a run down on how her dolls were doing in her fragmented sentences. Greg smiled and then turned to sort through the bag of stuff Alex had brought in with him, which was made up of mostly clothing and other things. They could do laundry soon enough. It would be nice as well if they could get things unpacked faster, but Greg knew very well that Angel took up too much time to have any time left in the day to do anything like that.

Alex had been right to ask if he wanted to talk about it later, though. It seemed reasonable anyways. It was nearing that time of year again in which Greg heavily had the thought of Wirt on his mind. Fall was always a rough season anyways, and Halloween was one of his least favorite holidays: had been, ever since he was a child. Ever since they'd fallen into the pond; and it seemed like some horrible anniversary every year since. Now at least he had someone who could take care of him better than his parents had every year when it came around. Alex, for the past five years, had made sure to talk about it and then allow him whatever he wanted. A bit of pampering maybe, but it worked and Greg was rather relieved he was able to get his mind off of Wirt when the pampering was going on.

Not to mention that they had been lucky Alex was never deployed when fall came around. He was always home before anything really started for Greg. It felt like whoever controlled that schedule had done that almost accidentally, but it was a good accident and one Greg wanted to keep repeating.

Once again here he was standing and thinking about Wirt. It didn't do one much good. The pain had indeed lessened, Greg observed, but it was still a sort of longing, a feeling of missing something. He had tried to write to Wirt before, when he was 10, but it hadn't worked. All he knew was that Wirt was still out there, like he'd said, like he'd thought, because he felt that connection. Wirt was still there in the Unknown. And at least Alex believed him about it.

Alex returned almost half an hour later, with Angel still outside. Apparently she was entertaining Jason, which clearly Alex found adorable. Greg saw that there was no hiding the enjoyment he had gotten out of that. At least she was entertained. Greg had been sitting at the kitchen table staring pointlessly at his phone for the past few minutes after giving up on thinking about anything else and Alex was the one to drag him up and out of his chair and to pull him into yet another hug. This one was much longer, though, and involved more conversation.

"I'm sorry…I almost left you alone for this time…they were going to keep me but I convinced them. I knew what would happen if I didn't," The whispering began with Alex, "I told them you suffered without someone there to help. That it was actual, serious depression… and I know it is, darling, I know it is. That's what I was trying to prevent…I'm sorry I almost lost it all right there, but I didn't tell you. I couldn't."

This was indeed news to him, but Greg could only choke back a sob. It was almost too good to believe, that anyone, anyone would sacrifice such a thing for him. Alex was the only person he ever knew who would have done something like this for him. And of course he would, because he genuinely cared.

"That's…Alex…I…" There were no words for the feeling in his gut.

"It's okay, hon. I get it…It's hard to believe, isn't it? But I had to…they understood. And you've only got a part time job…but the pay check will still come."

"Thank you." He whispered, and gripped Alex tighter to him than he thought humanly possible.

"I love you."

They broke apart after almost ten minutes, and then Greg pulled him in by the back of the neck into another kiss because he didn't want to start crying like a baby and have to explain it to Angel. That would be too hard anyways. The girl didn't take "it's nothing" for an answer and she was only four.

Alex's lips were rough and coarse and yet that didn't put him off. It was always how they'd been, and it was a comfort to Greg. Only once they were finished and Alex had pulled him into the den to sit on the couch did he dare to speak. Something about the way Alex was so sincere about all that he had done convinced Greg that there was another question on his own mind.

"What would he say now, Alex? What would he say? I wish I knew…"

"I'm sure he'd be happy, Greg. For you. If he has any sense, he's already and has been. For everything you've done…don't feel remorseful now. That's an old question." Alex looked over with a bit of amusement on his face. "You haven't questioned that since we were dating."

"I have no idea what he thinks, Alex. And I hardly have a way of ever knowing. But something about you makes me realize he would be okay. And something about myself makes me realize he's fine now…I do worry about him. But he's Wirt. He survives everything."

And in that moment, as Greg sat there on the couch with his hand gripping Alex's and the sounds of Angel shouting to Jason in the backyard and the feeling of Alex's head now on his shoulder, Greg felt completely confident that Wirt had somehow sent this wonderful man into Greg's life as the person who would always come back to him no matter what happened to make up for what had.

A/N: *tries to breathe through the absolute pain and stress and relief of this all* Well…ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that is indeed your ending. Wow. One whole entire year and a few months later or so. Alas, I could not write what happened to Wirt because it wouldn't come out in any sort of good form, so yes, I left you with a bit of a cliffhanger as to what Wirt's life was like so be open minded: what happened to him in the Unknown after he was left there can be assumed to be what most say when it comes to this sort of story (where he lives with Beatrice and is happy aside from missing Greg) or maybe something else happens, I don't know. Think creatively. (Oh my god I don't know why I made that reference I don't I just-)

(Before I continue) –IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE HATEFUL OR HOMOPHOBIC OR PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING IN THE REVIEWS, PLEASE DO NOT, I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOU HORRIBLE PEOPLE MESSING IT ALL UP FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST HERE FOR THE STORY AND AREN'T HORRIBLE PEOPLE, ANY HATEFUL REVIEWS WILL BE IMMEDIATELY REPORTED- I hope you truly enjoyed this long saga of insanity and that you will thank me for writing it or give me something to use in the future for future stories or perhaps you think all of what could be from this fic should be and that I should write more from some of the context in this story-whatever floats your boat in a review is fine with me. Thank you all for reading and please, review, review, review!