Caesar sat with Toll for the entire funeral. It was a small ceremony with residents from the group home there and Jim. Toll had wet eyes for the majority of the day, and he was listless for the rest.

"Thanks for coming," he said to Caesar afterwards.

"Man, I'm so sorry," Caesar said sadly.

"Don't tell the guys."

"I won't."

Toll cleared his throat.

"There's no reason for me to not do the job I've always known," he said. "I was going to quit and let Linds live with me. I was finally going to be her family."

"Oh, Toll..."

"I don't care if anything happens to me now."

"What about Jim?"

"That's his loss. He wasn't man enough to tell me he was my father until now. I don't have much respect for him at this moment."

Caesar felt his mouth go dry then. His mind went to Hayley and how she was his daughter and didn't know it. Toll had a point. He needed to be a man.

"I'm here if you need me," Caesar said.

"Thanks. I'm going to go home and pretend I don't exist for a while," Toll said, moving away. He knew he was never going to be the same. Losing his sister had been the toughest blow he'd ever experienced. Life would go on, but the pain would never leave him. He knew that. Caesar watched him go, knowing that his friend had a hole in his heart he could never get fixed.

...

"When we get to Heaven," Lindsay said, "will you still be my brother?"

"I'll always be your brother," Toll answered. They were sitting in their mother's empty room where she'd stayed once she got sick. Their father hadn't wanted her near him.

"Promise?"

"I promise, Linds."

"Okay. I hope it's nice," she said, swinging her legs. Toll smiled a little. Her innocence was sweet.

"I'm sure it will be."

"Mommy'll be there?"

"She will be."

"Good. I can't wait to see her again."

"She'll love to see you again."

"I want to go first," she said suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to get to Heaven first. That way I won't have to miss you," she said.

"But I'll miss you," Toll pointed out.

"You'll be okay."

"How do you know?"

"Because you're my big brother, and you're big and strong. You will miss me, but you will be okay."

"That's awfully wise of you."

"Thank you."

"Let's not talk about it anymore, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, Tobee," she said, resting her head onto his shoulder.

"I love you too, Linds."

Gunner

"You have two options," Barney said, looking at Gunner, who was in the midst of withdrawal.

"What's that?"

"You can go back to it and get lost forever, or you can come out of this a stronger person and live," Barney answered. Gunner looked up at him, panting.

"Why are you helping me? After what I did?"

"Because, Gunner, I know that somewhere down inside you're a good man, and you deserve a good life. I'm here to get you through this, and I know you will. Randy would have wanted you to."

"I don't know about that," Gunner scoffed. "My brother wasn't all that interested in my life."

"I bet he'd give anything for a do-over, like the one you're getting right now."

"I know."

"Why did you start?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because it helps sometimes to change the future when you talk about the past."

"Oh."

Barney waited for him to talk. He rested he chin on his arms. They were sitting in Gunner's kitchen, and Gunner was lying on the floor while Barney sat in the chair backwards. Gunner had called him because it had been too hard to bear on his own.

"Well," Gunner began. "I guess I started because I wanted to feel closer to Randy. He was into that stuff, and I thought if it was so great, then maybe it would help me feel better. I was wrong. What started as an occasional thing turned into an every day thing which turned into an every hour thing. It consumed me. Then I realized that this was how Randy probably felt, but he was too proud to admit to me he needed help. You know the rest."

"Mmhmm," Barney nodded. "Think you'll get through this?"

"I have to," Gunner said, breathing hard and fighting off the urge to scream. "I have to because I have to show Randy, wherever he is, that you can have a life after addiction."

"That's my man," Barney smiled. "Here, have some water." Gunner took the glass gratefully. He was glad Barney was with him. He wished now that he had been there more for Randy, but he knew you couldn't go back in time. You could only look forward.

...

After a few days of hemming and hawing, Gunner made his decision. He went over to Grace's house to finally say something. To his surprise, she was in the midst of packing boxes.

"You moving?" he asked.

"Yup," she nodded. "I got a job offer I couldn't refuse."

"Oh," he said, watching silently.

"You seem sad," she commented, pausing to wipe her brow.

"Just disappointed," he replied. "You're a pretty fine neighbor."

"Why thank you," she laughed. "You're pretty fine yourself."

"Do you need help?"

"If you're offering."

"Sure."

"Okay. I have some boxes I need put in the truck," she said, gesturing. Gunner went where he was told and picked up the boxes. He felt heavy hearted as he loaded the truck. He should have known better than to believe that he'd have luck with a woman. When they were finished, she pulled the door down and latched it.

"Well," she said, dusting off her hands. "That's that."

"I wish you all the best," Gunner said, moving to go back home.

"Hang on," Grace said. "If you didn't know I was moving, why did you come over?"

"Um," Gunner said, stalling. "To say hi?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were going to ask me out on a date," she smiled, putting her hands on her hips.

"What gave you that impression?"

"The way you can't seem to form a full sentence around me? How you keep sneaking peeks when you think I'm not looking? I'm not stupid, Ted," she laughed.

"You caught me," he said.

"I'm sorry I'm moving," she lamented. "Can we keep in touch? Maybe I'll come back this way again."

"Okay," he agreed. She wrote down her new address and phone number. She handed it to him, getting on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"See you later," she said, heading for the moving van. Gunner stood in the driveway and waved as she drove away. He looked down at her note, and he smiled. As long as the door was left open, he always had the chance.

Caesar

"Stacy," he said when she opened the door.

"Hi," she smiled. "You're just in time. Hayley is looking for a story."

"I need to talk to you first," he said. "Is that okay?"

"Sure," she agreed, letting him in. He hesitated, unsure of how to even start.

"Stacy," he said again. "Um, I need to know something."

"Okay," she nodded, leaning on the counter and waiting.

"Hayley. Is she...is she..."

"Yours?" Stacy finished. Caesar stared at her, taken aback.

"How did you-?"

"It's obvious isn't it? She has your features. If you do the math, it was around the time we were together that I got pregnant. So yes, Terry, she's yours."

"Oh, wow," he said. "I...I don't know what to do right now."

"You could go upstairs and tell our little girl that her Daddy's home," Stacy smiled. Caesar looked at her.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. I did some thinking while you were away, and I've realized that I've grown just too damn fond of you to let you go again. I'm sorry for everything before, for pushing you away, for not wanting to talk about it. When you left, I was scared that you wouldn't come back. I realized that I wanted you to know, I wanted you to be our family. I'm sorry it took me this long to say it. Can we promise not to let the past happen again?"

"I will never let that happen again," Caesar reassured her.

"Terry!" Hayley squealed, coming in and seeing him.

"Hey, baby," Caesar said, picking her up. She hugged him tightly. Stacy gave him a nod then.

"I wish you were my Daddy," Hayley said, giving him the best opening he could ever ask for. He set her down then and looked at her.

"Well," he said. "Today is your lucky day."

The rest of it just flowed. Hayley shrieked and squealed. Stacy laughed. Caesar hugged his girls tightly, glad that he had finally opened his mouth, and he had Toll to thank.

Lee

He found Lacey in their bedroom. He stood in the doorway, looking at her. He felt grateful for her and the normalcy she brought to his life.

"Hey," she smiled, seeing him. Then she frowned, seeing his new scars. "Did you win?"

"I always win," he grinned. She came over to hug him tightly.

"I'm glad you came home."

"Me too."

"Can we go on that holiday now?"

"Of course," he smiled, kissing her. "Where do you want to go?"

"Surprise me," she grinned. "I'll go pack." He laughed as she pulled out her suitcase and started throwing stuff into it. His phone vibrated then, and he saw it was Barney.

Bar?

Sure, Lee wrote back.

"Barney?"

"Yea. He probably wants advice about Helena," Lee answered. "I won't be long."

"I'll be waiting," she winked. Lee shook his head, smiling, as she modeled a bikini for him over her clothes. It was going to be a great holiday.

Yin Yang

It hadn't taken long to find the bomb, disarm it, and carry on with life. Yin didn't think much about his brother either, although the image of him dead popped into his mind every so often. He didn't feel as sorry as his parents would have wanted him to. Wei had been a terrible person all around, and an even more terrible brother. Yin didn't want to think about him anymore.

"Is it done?" Trent asked when he returned.

"Yes."

"Good. Yoshi has been taken care of by Church."

"Where's Church now?"

"He's...retired," Trent answered. "That's all I know."

"But he got it done..." Yin said, confused.

"Not the way they wanted it. He's out. It's too bad, but maybe he can have a semi normal life now."

"Well, the world can breathe for another day," Yin noted.

"Yes," Trent nodded. And that was it.

Barney

"What happened to Yin?" Barney asked Lee. They were sitting in their usual bar having a beer together.

"No idea," Lee lied. Yin's warning echoed in his mind.

"I guess we'll never know if he is still a good guy or if he got turned," Barney sighed. Lee rubbed a hand over his head.

"I guess not," he nodded.

"I've been thinking about death lately," Barney mused. Lee looked at him, surprised.

"Seriously? Why? Cos you're wife came back from the dead?"

"No, no, not 'death' death. Death. As in Dr. Death," Barney corrected.

"Oh," Lee said, getting it. "We gonna bust him out?"

"I've heard there's an opportunity."

"It's your call."

Barney sipped his beer, thinking. The door opened then, and they turned to see Helena standing there.

"Thought I might find you here," she said, coming in.

"I should go anyway," Lee excused himself. "I promised Lacey a holiday."

Helena took his stool once he was gone.

"Get it all sorted out with Church?"

"Yes."

"So what happens to you now?"

"I'm a free woman," she smiled.

"Good."

"Barns, I know you don't trust me..."

"It's not that I don't trust you. I just can't believe you couldn't find some way to tell me in eight years that you were undercover but still alive."

"I told you..."

"Not a good enough reason for me," Barney said.

"Then we are at an impasse," she commented.

"I guess so."

"I wish we could let go of the past," she lamented.

"Then let's just focus on the future," Barney said.

"It's hard when you resent me."

"What do you suggest then?"

Helena thought for a while. Barney didn't know if a future together would work, not after this.

"I don't want to say it," she said, starting to cry. "I missed you so much, and we're here now. Why can't we just start again?"

"Tell you what," Barney started. "Let's just date. Keep things simple. If it goes, it goes. If it doesn't, it doesn't."

"I'll take it," she replied.

"Cheers," Barney said, holding his fist out. She bumped it with hers, smiling.

"Cheers."

He looked at her for a moment before talking again. He cleared his throat.

"Hi, I'm Barney," he said, holding out his hand. Helena looked at it and then took it, shaking it slowly.

"I'm Helena," she answered. They started talking then, and time seemed to slow. Barney had hopes for the future. He always did. If things worked out, maybe he'd quit being an Expendable. For now, he would keep on keeping on, and he was just fine with that.

The End

It always feels good to finish a story. Thanks for reading! If you haven't already, don't forget to check out my crossover of The Expendables with Edge of Tomorrow featuring Lee Christmas: Edge of Expendable. Until next time!