Elaine woke the next morning to the sound of birds. Her first thought was What a lovely morning! Her second thought was oh, shit. She didn't want to open her eyes. She wasn't ready for what was waiting for her in the world of reality, beyond the mask of the dark.

She opened them quick, like she was ripping off a Band-Aid. He, too, was awake; their bodies weren't touching, but he held a strand of her hair in his hand. His face was serious, something she hadn't seen in a long time. She was glad she hadn't seen it last night.

Slowly, sadly, surely, with eyes of stone she pulled her head back. He did not meet her eyes but instead kept staring at his hand. She, too, watched it slip through his fingers, strand by strand, until he was clinging to a wisp. She felt a tear on her cheek and wondered why it was there.

And then he held her hair no longer.

"Good morning," Jerry said.

"Good morning," Elaine said back.

Alternate ending

Elaine woke the next morning to the sound of birds. Her first thought was What a lovely morning! Her second thought was oh, shit. She didn't want to open her eyes. She wasn't ready for what was waiting for her in the world of reality, beyond the mask of the dark.

She opened them quick, like she was ripping off a Band-Aid. And there he was, looming above her. A sheepish grin was across his lips and for a moment while her vision was still fuzzy she wondered why. Then she saw what he was balancing on his arm: two bowls of cereal.

He handed her her Apple Jacks. She could hear his parents bustling around in the kitchen, probably calling all their friends to notify them that Jerry was finally back with Elaine. Probably all of Del Boca Vista knew by now.

But was Jerry back with Elaine?

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she said back.

He smiled at her. She smiled back.

As Jerry came around to the other side of the bed and climbed under the covers with her, Elaine wondered what this meant.

He flipped on the TV. Die Hard 2 was on.

She didn't know, but she had a pretty good idea.