It was bright wherever he was. Gerard squinted as he opened his eyes. Through the fog of sleep he could hear a faint beeping sound and a series of muddled voices. He managed to crack open his eyes to the bright light. Slowly as his eyes focused a skinny face with glasses popped into his view.

"I'll be damned he's awake!" Mikey said with a large smile.

"Am I dead?" He asked through a sore through. "I have to be…Mikey's smiling."

Mikey chuckled and leaned back into a chair. Gerard looked down at his body. He was in a hospital bed. Frank and Ray were standing at the foot of his bed. They each were bandaged up here and there.

"I can smile!" Mikey said standing up beside the others.

"Not that I've ever seen." Gerard said trying to sit up.

"Easy, you hard boiled idiot." Frank warned pushing him back into the pillow. "You've got a cracked rib, a few bruised ones, they had to pop you're jaw in place, and then stitch that rubber bullet wound back up. You're not going anywhere for a while."

"W-where are we?" He asked looking around. "Where's Victory?" he shot back up only to wince in pain and drop back down.

"Cut it out!" Mikey yelled shoving him back. "She's fine. We're in the hospital down the street."

"The…Hospital? You mean…we're out?" He tried to hold back tears building up. Mikey nodded.

"Pretty swell joint too. It's so clean." He said with a smile as he looked around.

"What happened? How'd we get here?" Gerard asked.

"Well after you decided to take a nap on the floor," Frank said hopping on the bed causing Gerard to since. "The police showed up. Sherri explained everything to them. They were surprisingly willing to believe us."

"That's because everyone in town knows the guys fucking nuts…well was." Mikey said rolling his eyes.

"Any ways," Frank said giving Mikey a look. "We showed them the bruises on Victory and they called an ambulance while another cop helped us find you. We sorta followed the smell of burned Korse back to where you fell. They put you and Victory in the ambulance and ran you here asap. After that they arrested Lloyd and—"

"Hang on, you let him live?" Gerard asked astounded.

Frank nodded.

"Sherri was just as shocked as you!" He said with a light chuckle. "I guess I didn't have it in me to shoot the bastard. I want him to rot." His voice was graver now. "I want that sick bastard to rot in prison for a long, long time."

"Did he confess?" Gerard asked. Frank nodded with a dark smile.

"After he came to, the police had him. He saw me and started to squeal like a pig! They released me of all charges. I'm a free man!" He said proudly.

"Damn…how long have I been out?" Gerard rubbed his head.

"The better part of a week." Mikey said snatching an apple from Gerard's lunch tray.

"A WEEK?" Gerard tensed up again only to gasp in pain.

"Yeah," Mikey said taking a bite into the apple. "They keep sending you food too, weird right? Mmmm but it's sooo good! They have fruit and soup and spaghetti, and little cups of jello and these little chocolate candies in the shop down stairs and—"

"MIKEY!" Ray yelled at him.

"Sorry…"

Gerard was silent for a few minutes.

"What about the asylum? The other patients? What will happen to them?"

"I think I can help explain that." Sherri said with a large grin as she leaned on the door frame. She had a very bright white doctor's coat on and a clip board in her hands. Her hands were still a little bruised from bashing through bricks but other than that she looked in perfect health.

"After they removed Korse's…body," She cleared her throat remembering what was left of it. "With the help of a few nurses in the hospital, we managed to get the patients out of Desolation Row. Some of them needed medical attention due to malnutrition, while the others were placed in proper care. Desolation Row is closed indefinitely."

"Closed? Forever?" Gerard said awestruck. Sherri nodded.

"Looks that way, Love. Oh, and I also took the liberty of speaking with the police and deeming you all mentally stable."

"We're free?" Gerard's jaw opened a little as his eyes widened. Sherri gave another nod.

"What about Victory? Where is she?" His eyes widened with concern. Sherri poked her head out the door.

"Victory! You can come in now, honey." Sherri said in a sweet voice. A small brown head popped into the door frame.

"Is he awake?" Victory asked in a small voice. She looked over to see Gerard and rushed past Sherri.

"Careful!" Sherri warned. Victory ignored her and tightly wrapped her arms around him. It hurt like hell but he allowed her to squeeze him. He wrapped his arms around her thin frame.

She pulled back tenderly. He could see tears welling up in her eyes.

"Sorry, I just…I'm really glad you're awake." She said as a tear fell down her porcelain cheek.

He took her by the hand and brought it to his lips.

"I was so worried you wouldn't wake up." She said as the tears began to pour. She collapsed into him.

"Shh. It's alright. It's all over." He whispered as he patted her head.

"Well give you a few moments." Sherri said tenderly as they left the room.

She shut the door behind her as Frank, Ray and Mikey filed into the hall. Frank eyed Ray and Mikey and then glanced at Sherri.

"Why don't you guys take a walk?" Frank said hoping they'd take the hint.

"But the food cart is coming." Mikey pouted. Frank tensed his lips and quickly glanced at Sherri.

"But all I had to eat today was a pudding cup, some jello, a banana, and a turkey sandwich." Mikey moaned.

"Mikey, scram!" Frank gritted his teeth and rubbed his temple, trying not to lose his patience. Mikey looked at Sherri then to Ray then to Frank.

"…Ooohhhh….We'll just be….not here." He said as he and Ray walked down the hall.

Sherri turned back to Frank after Mikey and Ray turned down the hall.

"Well that wasn't obvious." Sherri said with a sigh and began to walk away. Frank grabbed her by the arm.

"Wait." He said turning her around. She made a point to not look him in the eyes. "I'm not exactly sure why you're avoiding me this whole week but—"

"I told you, I've been busy working out everything with Desolation Row, the patience, Victory, everything…" She kept her eyes low as she spoke.

"Is this about Lloyd?" Frank's voice shook a little as he spoke. Sherri let out another sigh and closed her eyes as she shook her head.

"No, actually I'm very glad you didn't kill him…I know he deserved it…You …did…well." He could feel her body quiver under his hand.

"Then why have you been avoiding me?" He asked. Then his eyes slowly dropped to her left hand. Her skin was lighter around her ring finger. And then like that, it hit him. The ring was gone. His eyes widened as he put it all together.

"You feel guilty about it." He said softly.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any feelings for you." She said pulling her arm back and starting to walk away.

"I never asked you if you did." He said with a slight tilt of his head.

She stopped in her place. She turned to him slowly.

"Look, it's complicated!" She said angrily. "I am a doctor! I can't just go around picking up patience. I have to be professional if I want to get any credit around…" Frank was already pressed into her lips. His hands cupped her face gently. She tensed at first but slowly melted into him. He pulled back but left his hands around her face.

"Here…" She said gasp. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink.

"Complicated, huh?" He said with a smirk.

"Oh shut up you crazy idiot." She said grabbing him by the hair and pulling him in.

The door next to them opened causing them both to jump back. Victory's head popped out.

"Gerard says to tell you 'It's about time'." She said with a large smile. Sherri and Frank looked beside the door at the window on the wall. "And he also says 'If you're going to make out, do it some place more private.'"

Sherri cleared her throat as her face turned deep red.

"Yes..um…well…Frank, take Victory to go get some lunch…I need to speak with Gerard." Her voice got more squeaky as she spoke.

"Sure thing." He said with a grin leaning in to kiss her. She put a finger on his lips and pushed him back, closing her eyes in frustration.

"Just go…please…" She tried to hide her smile as she gritted her teeth. "Well…talk later."

"Is that what the kids are calling it now a days?" He said trying not to laugh.

"Frank!" She put two fingers on the bridge of her nose holding back her laughter.

"I'm on it." He said taking Victory by the hand and leading her away.

Sherri entered Gerard's room with a heavy sigh and shut the door.

"You two seem to be getting along." Gerard said with a grin. Sherri closed her eyes and opened her mouth as if she were going to say something but simply closed it again and shook her head.

"Not important." She said opening her eyes again.

"So what do you need to talk to me about?" Gerard asked in a more serious voice. Sherri sat on the bed beside him.

"Well…it's about Victory." Sherri said trying to figure out the right way to word things.

"What's wrong? Is she ok?"

"Well," Sherri scrunched up her nose and pursed her lips. "Yes and no."

Gerard sat up a little more.

"Well what is it?" He asked concerned.

"Gerard, she's been in that asylum her whole life…she's bound to have some sort of problems handling the regular world. She already shows signs of Post Traumatic Stress, and social disorders."

His hands balled into fists.

"I won't let you put her in another institution!" He snarled, gasping in pain. Sherri shook her head.

"Oh no, no!" She assured him. "I wouldn't dream of doing that to her. Actually, I was thinking quite the opposite."

He tilted his head still not sure of what she was saying.

"How do you mean?"

"She's going to need someone to keep an eye on her. I think it would be best, in my medical opinion, to show her the outside world, travel." She said looking out the window. "What I'm asking is…"

"Will I take care of her?" Gerard finished for her. Sherri nodded. "You make it sound as if I didn't already plan to." He laughed. She looked at him puzzled.

"Since the day I first saw her I already had my mind…my heart set on looking after her. Mikey and I had a game we'd play at night where we'd talk about all the places we'd go when we got out. New York, LA, Paris, London, Italy, you name it. Even with the war going on in Germany, we still talked about how beautiful the country side must be. We talked about staying in the country until the war was over and tour all of Europe. The thing was every time talked about it, she was always there. I never said a word to Mikey about it…but in my mind she was always there. So if you're asking me if I'll take care of her…excuse me for laughing. It's not really a question."

Two Years Later:

Frank stepped off of his porch and on to the cement path leading to his mailbox. It was a warm summer day. His white button up shirt rustled in the breeze causing his tie to fly over his shoulder. He adjusted it as he reached into the mailbox and grabbed whatever was inside. His hand stopped short as his fingers slammed into a small cardboard box. He pulled it out and examined what was written on the brown paper wrapped around it.

To:

THE IERO FAMILY

From:

GERARD AND VICTORY

Under the box was a small post card with a picture of a bottle of disinfectant colorfully drawn on the front reading:

To:
FRANK AND SHERRI

From:

RAY AND MIKEY

He ran inside quickly trying not to drop the package and the post card.

"Ducky! The mail's in!" He shouted up the stairs.

"I'm right here you idiot!" She said smacking him on the back of the head. "And stop calling me Ducky!"

He leaned in as he kissed her cheek.

"Well you waddle like a duck, my sweet Ducky." He smiled pulling back.

"The medical term is pregnant! Call me duck one more time and I swear the kid's name'll be my choice!" she threatened.

He rolled his eyes and waved the packages under her nose.

"Mail's in." He said again. Sherri took the post card first.

"'From: Ray and Mikey.'" She read aloud and flipped the card over. "Looks like their business is doing well."

"If anyone knows clean, it's Mikey." Frank said shaking his head.

"Yeah, but selling cleaning products? I expected them to do a little more than that." Sherri said rubbing her large belly and sitting on the couch.

"They get to travel a lot and it's all paid off as business expense." Frank argued. Sherri shrugged her shoulders and began to read the card.

"'Dear, Frank and Sherri,

Glad to hear Sherri's doing well! Sorry we couldn't stop through town to visit. We're traveling through Boston next week. After that we'll see about making a trip to Kansas and see you guys. Try not to have the little thing without us! We'll make sure to bring lots of dippers and disinfectant when it does! Lots of Love.

Torro-Way Cleaning Service" Sherri finished and handed the card to Frank.

"They'd better be getting here soon. I'm ready to pop now!" Sherri said rubbing her stomach. Frank was already tearing into the package.

He opened it up and handed Sherri the note inside.

"Dear Sherri and Frank,

Here's a pair of baby booties we picked up in Sweden." She stopped as Frank pulled a pair of yellow silk booties from the box.

"Hope they fit." She continued. "Sorry we won't be able to make it before the baby's born. Victory wants to see Stone Henge next week. I'm amazed, we've barely nicked into our tour fund. Who'd a thought old bastard Korse would have had so much money! We'll be stopping by New York in July to see the Statue of Liberty. We'll have to drive by and visit everyone. Victory's making some real progress. She still is having nightmares but they're getting better. She's getting better. I've never seen her so happy or healthy. Don't tell the Ray and Mikey yet but if things go right I plan on popping the question in New York. Gotta go, Victory's coming back from shopping. Wish you all the best.

—G"

"I'll be damned." Frank said taking the letter. He got up and set the box on the kitchen table.

"I know they're all doing so well." Sherri said getting up. Frank got a glass from the cabinet.

"I know. We'll have to throw a Bar-B-Q when they all show up." He said reaching for the faucet.

"Ah Frank…" Sherri said. His back was to her as he poured himself a glass. "The water broke."

"No it didn't it's fine." He said taking a sip.

"No you idiot!" She shouted. As he turned his eyes fell to the floor. The glass slipped from his hand and shattered.

"I'll get the bags!"

A/N: There you go. A happy ending! Please leave a review. It's been fun. I hope you enjoyed it.