Personal note: My apologies about picking on Garrett so much! I thank Krista for the great jokes, Jenna for the storyline suggestion, Erin for the words to the song "Violet" and for the character, Cassy, who is constantly evolving. And, as always, all my friends back home.

Note to readers: THIS STORY WILL NOT MAKE SENSE UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE LAST ONE!
Now without further ado I give you:

[The firehouse]

The spirit's brown hair floated up and down as she floated through the air. Her black shroud hid her legs and bare feet. "My love, where are you?" she called, as she flew over the top of the firehouse and settled down on the roof of the building across the street from Ghostbuster's headquarters. The moon sent silver beams down and touched every corner. The spirit girl was clearly a ghost, but she looked distinctly human.

"Where are you?" she called again, sounding like a small child calling for her friends in a game of hide-and-go-seek. The spirit looked through the large window in the front of the firehouse. As she looked into the recreation room she saw Eduardo and Kylie watching TV and Slimer hovering around a bag of potato chips. The specter watched as Eduardo, his eyes glued to the television, reached into the bag. He pulled his hand out, and was disgusted. There was green slime on his fingers. He yelled something at Slimer and thrust the potato chip bag into the green goblin's arms. The ghost flew off, happy that Eduardo surrendered his snack. The brown-haired girl watched as the gothic-looking girl, sitting next to the tall Latino, said something with a half smile. Eduardo laughed and the girl smirked at her own joke.

The spirit sighed, "Where is MY love?"

The spirit noticed a new person enter the room. The boy in the wheelchair said something to Eduardo, who gave some form of response, but clearly not the one Garrett was looking for.

"My love!" the girl breathed, watching Garrett.

[The firehouse]

Eduardo turned to Garrett. "Lay off!" Eduardo snapped, "I'm NOT getting involved in one of your senseless fights!"

"It's not senseless this time!" Garrett defended himself.

"If you like Cassandra so much - tell her!" Kylie insisted, changing the channel. "I think you've been being more aloof than I was!"

"WHAT HAS COME OVER YOU IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS?!" Garrett demanded. Kylie turned around and shot a look at him that could melt steel.

"I've made a few changes," Kylie turned back around, "You could say I 'found' myself."

"Gee! I didn't know you were lost!" Garrett cracked.

Kylie jumped up. "THAT'S IT!" She grabbed a pillow and ran after Garrett. Garrett raced out of the room and ran into Cassy, who was entering. Cassy fell to the floor with a loud thump.

"Cassy..." Garrett gulped as he skidded to a stop. Kylie handed the pillow to Cassy, who was getting to her feet again.

"Knock him out," Kylie told Cassy. Cassy arched an eyebrow and smiled. She took the pillow and turned to Garrett.

"Someone has this coming to them," Cassy sneered, looking at Garrett. Eduardo and Kylie laughed as Cassy chased Garrett all over the room.

Suddenly a PKE meter, that was lying on the table, came to life. All four teens stopped what they were doing and looked at the meter. It was going crazy.

"What the?" Cassy questioned.

"A ghost's in the area!" Kylie said.

"What was your first clue?" Eduardo said sarcastically. Kylie held up the PKE meter and waved it around, following the increasingly strong reading to the window. When Kylie looked out across the street she saw a girl standing atop a building. The girl's brown hair floated up and down like she was standing on a current of air. The spirit extended her hand toward the window as if to say, "Come to me".

Kylie stared at the girl. The others came up behind her. "That is the first ghost I've seen that wanted the Ghostbusters!" Cassy said, confused.

"Actually Cass..." Eduardo started.

"Never mind! Get the others over here!" Kylie cut him off.

[The deserted building across the street]

"Why would a ghost want us?" Roland asked, pulling out his blaster. Kylie shrugged, heading for the stairs, Eduardo and Cassy behind her.

"What about me?" Garrett asked, referring to the fact that going upstairs was a problem. Roland grabbed the chair's handles and pulled him towards the stairs.

"Same way we get you up the stairs in other buildings!" Roland grunted.

[UPSTAIRS:]

When all five managed to get up the stairs, they found themselves in a large empty room with no doors, just a few windows. In a corner the brown-haired spirit appeared. "I've been waiting for you," she sighed in her musical voice.

"What do you want?" Roland asked the spirit. She seemed neither to hear or care that he was even there. She walked directly to Garrett.

The spirit knelt down to him and looked him in the eyes. "It's been so long!" she giggled to him. Garrett backed off a bit.

"Are you another of my crazy aunts?" he asked, of course referring to the weird sisters, who he met a month ago. He actually began to think of Deboria as a mother he never knew. It seemed whenever he had a problem, she appeared to him that night in a dream and helped him sort it out.

Eduardo pulled his gun to shoot, but Kylie pointed his gun down. "I don't think she wants to hurt him," Kylie whispered.

The spirit giggled. "Aunt? No! Don't you remember me, Ashton?" the girl smiled as if he should have known her if he hadn't seen her in eighty centuries.

"Oh no! Not another Avalon idiot!" Garrett whined. The other ghostbusters looked at each other, confused.

"I'm Derenia! Durga! Don't you remember me?" the girl looked desperate, like she was almost begging him to remember.

"All I remember is Fearia!" he answered. The spirit stood up and began to glow.

"Fearia?" her voiced cracked as she repeated the name, "FEARIA!" the ghost, Durga, screamed. The spirit seemed to double in size. "ASHTON, YOU BELONG TO ME!!!!" the girl screeched.

"KILL 'ER, KILL 'ER!!!!" Garrett yelled, drawing his gun. The spirit rose into the air. The ghostbusters prepared to shoot, but suddenly Durga disappeared.

"Where'd she go?" Eduardo asked, lowering his gun. Cassy shrugged, heading toward the far wall.

Suddenly Cassy went rigid and leaded back a bit, like there was someone holding a gun to her lower back. She gasped a few breaths and trembled, obviously terrified. "Cassy, what's wrong?" Eduardo asked, cautiously approaching her, the others following. The spirit girl appeared behind Cassy. One of Durga's fingers was pressed against Cassy's lower back. One arm was around Cassy's neck. The girl's head rested on Cassy's shoulder, watching the others.

"Move and I'll kill her!" Durga said icily. "Drop those...those... whatever they are! The weapons!" The teens slowly took off their packs, Garrett slowly approached the spirit.

"Look, I don't remember you, but obviously you're jealous of my, um, past- life wife. But Cassy is different, she doesn't know and this is NOT Avalon," Garrett slowly spoke.

"What are you talking about Garrett!?" Kylie demanded. Garrett ignored her.

"Look spirit girl, uh, Durga, just leave Cassy alone and..."

"What? You'll leave me again!" The spirit growled. The girl turned her head and whispered in Cassy's ear, "Not this time Fearia, you lose!" Durga slowly pulled her fingernail up Cassy's back till her finger was against Cassy's neck. Cassy trembled. The spirit's nails seemed to grow into claws, like Fearia's before she poisoned her father, but Cassy wasn't a demon who had poison running in her veins.

"NO!!" Garrett cried, but was too late. The spirit scratched Cassy's neck. Like what happened to Rayon, Cassy's eyes closed and she fell to the floor. "Cassy!" Garrett called and rushed to her side. The others ran towards them, but were blocked by an invisible wall. They tried to find a way around it, but found they were trapped in an invisible dome. "WITCH!" Garrett screamed at the spirit.

He pulled Cassy into a sitting position and leaned her against his legs so her head was in his lap. "Cassy?" He whispered as he shook her gently, "Cassandra," he called again. Cassy's eyes fluttered open.

"Garrett..." Cassy murmured.

He immediately put his hand to her cheek and stroked it. "I'm here.." he said softly.

Cassy choked out, "...Don't...leave me..." and then her eyes closed, she was unconscious.

Garrett ran his hand down her face. "...Cassy..?" He whispered. No response. He began to sob. "No....Cassy....no..." He said through his tears. His whole body shook with sobs.

Tears welled up in Eduardo's eyes. *Cassandra...* he thought. He began pounding the invisible wall screaming for his cousin. He loved Cassy like a sister. Kylie just stared and slowly backed away, only to run into the invisible wall behind her. She took a few raspy breaths. Cassy was her best friend. Kylie tried to tell herself that this was a bad dream. She shut her eyes.

Garrett looked up at the spirit. "She'll die if she stays here, she'll die!" he sobbed, "Let her and my friends go. Cassy will die if she stays here!"

"But you'll leave too!" she spirit wailed. Then the spirit smiled. "If you stay I'll let them go!" she suggest happily. Garrett looked down at Cassy.

"Deal." he said grudgingly.

Suddenly the invisible wall Kylie was leaning against disappeared and she fell to the ground, but was up in a flash. She, Eduardo and Roland ran to Cassy and Garrett. "Take her back," Garrett said to Eduardo.

"We can't leave you here!" Kylie cried, "Not with her!" she pointed to the ghost.

"GO!" Garrett insisted, handing her his proton pack, "Save Cassy!" Kylie nodded. Eduardo picked up Cassy's lifeless body and he, Roland and Kylie ran from the room. Garrett listened to their footsteps and heard the door slam shut.

Durga turned to him. She knelt down to him and reached up to touch his face. Garrett backed away into a corner. Durga smiled and walked to him, she again knelt down in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. "Ashton, you're all mine..."

[The firehouse]

Eduardo looked down on his cousin, Egon had put her on life support. He sat down in a chair beside her bed as Kylie entered. Eduardo looked at Kylie sadly. Kylie walked over to him and sat beside him on the floor. She rested her head in his lap, letting tears fall from her eyes. Eduardo looked at Cassy and stroked Kylie's hair. "Poor Cassy..." Kylie sobbed.

Cassy opened her eyes and looked around. "Oh no, I don't think I'm in New York!" she looked around the dark room. She saw in the center of the room was an alter made of stone. It looked somewhat familiar. "Yes, now I remember!" she thought aloud, "It looks like that pool from the picture in Kylie's book about Avalon!" Cassy got up and walked to the pool and looked into the water.

She saw nothing but the sandy bottom. Suddenly the top of the water rippled. There was a loud splash and Cassy jumped back with a yelp. She was looking into the face of a black-haired girl who looked a bit like Kylie, but not much. Cassy screamed in surprise and shock. Instinctively the girl screamed too. When both calmed down the girl laughed, "I'm SO sorry!" she apologized, folding her arms across her chest, trying to maintain SOME dignity. "I'll be right back!" she said, sinking under the water. Cassy looked into the pool to see where the girl went but the water had become murky, from the sand that got stirred up, Cassy supposed. The girl was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly a bubble popped in the center of the pool. Then the girl rose from the water, only perfectly dry and dressed in a white ancient Greek style dress. "Now," she said stepping out of the pool, "you, if I'm not mistaken, are Cassandra Rivera!"

"Yeah, that's me," Cassy nodded. The black-haired girl walked over to a vanity that magically appeared. She picked up a short rawhide rope and passed it under her hair. She proceeded to tie it up in a ponytail, then looked in the mirror disapprovingly. Cassy walked to her. The girl untied her hair and gave the string to Cassy.

"Hold this, thank you!" The girl took a piece of white cloth and pulled it over her head, hiding her hair. When she quickly pulled away the cloth, Cassy gasped. The female's hair was put up in an elaborate Celtic hair style. She took the rope from Cassy and threaded it into her hair. "Thanks!" she said again, looking approvingly on her reflection. She turned to Cassy. "Don't think me vain, it's just that I can't manage my hair!" she sighed, exasperated. Cassy smiled as the girl walked back to the pool. She seemed so young, but at the same time old. Like she was a young teen, but had the wisdom of centuries on her shoulders.

Cassy followed the girl and they both looked into the water. The girl seemed to be pondering some mischievous way to get revenge on a troublemaker. The girl lowered her hands into the water and suddenly clapped them, making the water splash up. Cassy shielded her face from the spray.

"AHHCK!" another girl's voice screeched in surprise. The black-haired girl laughed as another girl popped up from the water, in much the same way the she had done. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, HELEN?!" the redhead demanded, then she noticed Cassy. The new girl sunk into the water, up to her neck. "Oh, this is strange!" the red-haired girl said. Then she slipped under the water. Then, like the first girl, she rose out, fully clothed and dry. Her shoulder-length red hair perfectly styled.

"Patience, how come you get your hair styled so neatly?!" Helen pouted.

"Cry baby!" The new girl, Patience, answered, stepping out. "Where's Deboria?" she asked.

"Here!" A woman's voice answered as a new figure, also dry and clothed with her golden hair styled, came out of the water. This girl, Deboria, didn't classify as a girl, but a woman, she seemed more mature.

"Now I know I'm dreaming, there are people coming out of a pool of water!" Cassy sighed.

"We're sorry, you came rather unexpectedly!" Patience retorted.

"Hey, I don't even know why I'm here!" Cassy shrugged.

"I do!" Deboria smiled.

"YOU BROUGHT HER HERE AND NEVER TOLD US!" Helen exclaimed, more stressed than anything.

"Hey, they have books about us!" Patience said happily. Helen whacked her on the head.

"Shut up!" Helen said simply.

Deboria looked at Cassy, "Don't mind my sisters, I have much to tell you!"

"About what?" Cassy asked, confused.

Deboria smiled. "The past, yours and your friends. Heed my words if you want to survive. Now look into the water..."

[The firehouse]

"I have some good news, bad news, worse news, and even worse news," Egon sighed, sinking into a chair.

Eduardo looked up from watching Cassy, Kylie looked at Egon from the depths of her armchair, Roland turned from his computer. "Well?" Eduardo said, trying not to sound annoyed.

"The bad news is Cassy's in a coma," Egon sighed. Eduardo looked at his cousin. "The good news is, if we catch the ghost, she will awaken." Eduardo and Kylie looked up, a faint glimmer of hope in their eyes. "The worse news is there's a strange force field stopping us from entering the building where Garrett is." The three teens sighed and went back to looking depressed.

"And the even worse news is...?" Roland prompted.

"I can't find ANYTHING on the spirit!"

"This is just great!" Kylie threw her arms in the air in mock defeat.

"NOT ONE THING!?" Eduardo practically screamed.

"The spirit, Durga, as she calls herself, there isn't a thing written on her!"

"Durga?" Eduardo pondered out loud, "Isn't Durga the warrior goddess in Hindu mythology?"

"That Durga is supposed to have eight arms and blonde hair!" Kylie sighed.

"Wrong guess then..." Eduardo sighed.

"Did you try a comprehensive search of all literature ?" Kylie suggested.

"Why?" Egon asked, looking at her.

"Garrett said she was an 'Avalon idiot'. About a month ago I gave him a book on the mythical land of Avalon. I don't know why he wanted it, but he might have recognized her from the book!" Kylie explained.

"You're right!" Eduardo cried, "He also said something about someone called Fearia. And that made the spirit go loco!"

"The spirit called Garrett 'Ashton'," Roland put in, "Would that help any?"

"Yes, all that information helps!" Egon said leaving the room. Roland and Kylie followed. In a minute Eduardo went after them.

[The deserted building]

Garrett thought of nothing but Cassy...was she dead? Alive? He wanted to know.

"What's wrong, my love?" Durga asked.

"Quit calling me that!" Garrett snapped. Durga looked surprised at his outburst.

"Ashton, what's wrong!?"

"I'm NOT Ashton, he's dead! I'm Garrett and I have Ashton's soul but I'm not the guy you want!"

"Same thing, you'll do!" The spirit approached him cooingly.

"No!" he insisted, moving away from her. "He loved Fearia! And I love Cassy!" he pointed through the window, across the street, at the firehouse. Durga frowned.

"You'll get used to me, and love me, eventually."

Garrett sighed. The spirit had used her "magic" to make a wall across where the door once was. He was trapped. He closed his hand around his pendent, the one Deboria gave him. *What do I do mom? Help me!* he begged silently.

[Avalon]

"So, what you're saying is, he was my husband in a past life," Cassy said thoughtfully, impressed by her fortune...Garrett her husband. The thought made her heart soar. "and Eduardo was my brother." Another good thought, she always considered Eduardo her little brother. She was always defending him from Raichu and the others.

Deboria nodded. "My son was always there for you, even now!"

Cassy bowed her head and put her hand to her face. She had seen what happened through the pool, it upset her to the verge of tears. "Durga, who was she?"

"She was a past lover of Ashton's. Your sister. But when she tried to kill Seth Ashton turned on her, and you, or rather, FEARIA came to him."

"So she double-crosses him and then died but, because she still loved him, couldn't rest till she got him back," Cassy put the puzzle together. Patience looked thoughtful.

"Yeah, that's what happened!" Patience said happily.

Cassy had figured out the three cover to cover. Deboria, the oldest, was wise, gentle and loving. Patience was anything but patient. She was as fiery as her hair color, spiteful and playful. Helen was clever and full of spite. She definitely acted like the youngest sister would be expected to.

"Can you just please tell me how to get home and how to kill that little..." Cassy started

"No need for language." Helen cut her off.

"Fine, the little WITCH so I can get Garrett back!"

"Well, actually, It's quite easy..."

[The Firehouse]

Egon looked up from the computer screen. "Nothing!" he sighed.

Kylie sank into a chair. "All it says is that Ashton was Deboria's son, he was married to Fearia and they both died in the war! Nothing about Durga!" She rested her elbows on her knees and cradled her head in her hands.

Eduardo looked up. "That's it!" he said, as if the sun was dawning on him for the first time.

"What?" Roland asked, confused.

"Fearia! She was married to Ashton!"

"So?" Kylie said, like it didn't matter.

"Garrett called Durga jealous!" Eduardo pointed out. Kylie looked up in a look of revelation.

"A past lover!" Kylie smiled, "She thinks Garrett is her lover before... whoever she thinks he is, was married!"

Egon looked up. "I think you may have it!" he nodded, "But we still don't know who exactly she is."

Suddenly there was a loud mechanical BEEP! From the room Cassy was in. The team ran to the room....

Cassy rubbed her eyes and then stretched her arms over her head, like she was waking up after a good night's sleep. *Deb was right!* she thought, *That WAS easy!* She started to get up, only to be stopped by a connection of tubes and wire all over her.

Abruptly, Eduardo ran into the room. "Cassy?" he questioned, to see her wide awake and looking at him

"Baby eyes!" she called out happily. He ran to her side and held her hand.

"How are you feelin'?"he asked softly.

"Never been better! Now, get me out of this god-forsaken electrical junk!" Just as the words were out of Cassy's mouth, the others came in. "Kylie!" she called, reaching towards her best friend.

"Cassy, you're awake!" Kylie said happily, walking to her side.

"WILL SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF THIS JUNK?" Cassy demanded. Roland smiled

"Yup, Cassy's back!" He laughed. Egon removed the life support system and Cassy sat up. She shook her head to get rid of that tired felling.

"Cassy, Garrett is..." Kylie started.

"I know, I know! He's trapped across the street by a ghost named Durga because she was his past lover, I know I know!" Cassy stretched her arms out in front of her. She let them drop.

"But... but how?" Eduardo gawked.

"I know more than that!" She said simply, "And I think you should all learn about your pasts...lives, that is!"

[Across the street]

Garrett, by now, felt like putting a gun to his head. The spirit, Durga, was almost twice as annoying as his little sister! Following him all over the room. He had yelled at her several times but she didn't seem to care. After four hours of this, he just sat quietly and listened to her senseless ramblings. Well, not listened, more like slept with his eyes open. The matter of Cassy was still heavy on his mind...*how is she?*

[The Firehouse]

"That's SO cool!" Kylie said dreamily, imagining what she would look like as an Avalon warrior.

"Yeah! EN GUARD!" Eduardo cried, wielding an imaginary sword. Cassy laughed at her cousin's antics. "And you, my sister back then!" he said, looking at her, "No wonder we're so close!"

Cassy nodded in agreement. "According to what the sisters said, the two were ultra-close and were almost always together."

"Durga, hard to believe my, uh RYAN'S and Fearia's sister would cause so much trouble!" Eduardo sat down. Kylie nodded and Cassy rolled her eyes.

"The little brat almost destroyed Avalon for her father!" Cassy already hated the spirit. Cassy was not told about Beth and Ryan's marriage, the sisters didn't think it was that important. Nor was she told that all the paths that crossed in the past would cross again, like Garrett was. That secret was for him.

Cassy suddenly perked up. "I know how to get through the force field and destroy the ghost, if that matters to anyone!" Everyone's heads shot up and looked at her.

"How?" Roland asked. Cassy turned to Egon.

"You wouldn't happen to have any black leather clothes that would fit me, would you?"

[Across the street]

"Why don't you remember me?" Durga asked for what seemed like the hundredth time that night.

"I told you, all I know is what I was told!" Durga frowned at the answer. She raised her hand to strike him. Garrett closed his eyes, preparing for impact, but suddenly a voice stole Durga's attention.

"He may not know you," said the female voice, entering the room, "but I do!" The wall parted and a figure walked through it, the wall closing over behind her. Durga looked to see a brown-haired girl in a tight leather dress. Her hair was loose over her back and her bangs were brushed to one side, covering one eye.

"Fearia..." Durga growled. Then the spirit ran out of the room.

Fearia, or the girl who appeared to be Fearia, walked over to Garrett. She knelt in front of him and placed a hand on his cheek. Garrett finally opened his eyes and looked at the girl in front of him. "Fearia?" he questioned.

"No, Cassy!" she giggled. Garrett starred at her. Cassy let her hand drop from Garrett's face. Garrett looked at her.

"Angel face?" Garrett used Eduardo's name for Cassy, but she didn't seem to care. He put a hand on her shoulder, solid. He let his hand go up into her hair...it was so soft, and the back of her neck was warm. She was living, breathing, right in front of him. "It's you!" he breathed, "Really you!"

"Of course it is!" she mocked, "Who did you think it was, a dead girl from Avalon?!" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"How did you get through that force field thing?" he asked.

"With this!" She answered, holding up a silver amulet. "Deboria gave it to me!"

"You met the sisters!" he gasped.

"When I was out, yeah. They told me everything. That's quite a past life you have!" she laughed, "Deboria is real nice, Patience is crazy, and Helen whines as much as Eduardo!"

"That's them!" Garrett laughed.

Then Durga entered the room again, only she held a sword in her hands. "Fearia!" she called. Cassy slowly stood and turned around.

"Aw, big girl with a sword gonna kill me?" she taunted in much the same way she did when she beat Garrett at anything. Durga screamed in rage and swung at Cassy. Cassy ducked just in time. "Come on, we gotta go!" she yelled, grabbing the handles of Garrett's chair and pulling him around. They rushed to where the door was supposed to be. Cassy threw the amulet against the wall, which parted to show the door and they charged through it, Durga hot on their trail.

Garrett bounced down the stairs. "Try that!" he said to Cassy at the bottom.

"I'd normally argue, but right now I don't feel like it!" she scoffed, running to the door, Garrett right behind her. Durga screamed in rage, floating into the air and flying after the two fleeing people.

When Cassy and Garrett burst out of the building, the other EGBs were waiting. "KYLIE, THE TRAP!" Cassy yelled just as Durga flew out the door. Kylie slammed her finger on the button, and from under a pile of leaves, a tall vortex of light shot up, consuming the enraged spirit girl.

"ASHTON!" she screeched as she was pulled into the trap. The trap closed with a metallic 'clank'!

There was an odd silence which was broken by Eduardo "The ghost has been busted!"

"Good riddance to bad rubbish!" Cassy smirked, picking up the trap, "I'm personally putting YOU in the containment unit!" she gloated, as if Durga could hear.

"No WAY! I am!" Garrett demanded, grabbing the trap.

"FORGET it, Roller-boy!" Cassy snapped, taking the trap back and walking towards the firehouse. Garrett quickly followed. Roland, Eduardo and Kylie sighed before following.

[The Firehouse]

Cassy sat down at the kitchen table. Cassy and Garrett were on the graveyard shift. She half-heartedly stirred her tea. She closed her eyes and replayed the night's events in her head. It was amazing how something that happened in another time, in a place that exists only in another realm, could effect here and today. She cradled her head in her hands, she had a splitting headache and her shoulders throbbed. Finishing her tea, she deserted the mug and walked to the living room.

She looked around. Garrett, she supposed, was upstairs sleeping. Cassy was a night owl. She loved the dark, the moon and stars. Night was when she felt alive. But tonight she felt like sleeping wouldn't be a bad idea. She sat in her favorite place, a beanbag chair in front of the TV. Again she cradled her trobbing head. "I hate headaches," she muttered.

"Head hurt?" a familiar voice asked. She sighed.

"Garrett, it feels like there's a vice clamp crushing it!" Cassy rubbed her temples in a desperate attempt to stop the pain. "And the radio doesn't help!" the radio was playing the song "Violet" by Savage Garden, already in the third verse.

"Lem' me help," Garrett said, cautiously placing his hands on the back of her neck. He pressed his thumbs deep into the center. Cassy fidgeted, the pressure hurt a bit, but not much. Her headache slowly began to subside. In a minute or two the pain was gone. Garrett took his hands away.

"Hey, the headache's gone!" She smiled, rubbing her neck, "Where did you learn that trick?!"

"I'm taking physical therapy in college, they teach that junk." he said, grinning.

"I hardly call it 'junk' if it cures headaches," she said, pausing for a minute, "What can you do about shoulders?" Garrett laughed, her put his hands to her shoulders and rubbed them. He felt a small knot where the bone had slid, a common injury.

"I think I found your problem," he said, pressing his thumb into the knot in her shoulder. It made a loud CRACK, and Cassy yelped, pulling away.

"That HURT!" she scowled.

"But at least you can MOVE your shoulder now!" Garrett tilted his head to the side. Cassy shifted her shoulder. To her surprise, it no longer hurt.

"Good job!" she laughed. Then out of the blue Garrett asked a strange question.

"Why do we fight so much?"

Cassy thought a minute. "Because we're both too headstrong to admit when we're defeated?"

"Friends?" she said, holding out her hand. Garrett looked at her.

"I thought we were!"

"We are, but this is like a peace treaty." Garrett considered the remark.

"No more fighting?"

"No more fighting. Unless you deserve it!"

"Friends!" he said, taking her hand. Cassy smiled and stood up. She walked behind him and leaned down.

"Good!" she whispered, "Because the past always repeats itself!" she smiled, then walked to the kitchen, laughing quietly to herself. Garrett was confused for a minute, then it clicked in his head.

"DEBORIA TOLD YOU, DIDN'T SHE?" he yelled, following her. Cassy only laughed.

[Battery Park]

Eduardo and Kylie walked by the moon's light down the stone path. The park was thankfully deserted so the two lovers were undisturbed. They walked arm in arm 'til they reached the lake. It shone like a mirror, reflecting everything in the sky. Kylie leaned into the warm body behind her. "Eduardo, do you believe in fate?" she asked.

Eduardo wrapped his arms around her. "I believe everything happens for a reason. I found you, didn't I? That was fate," he smiled, his Spanish accent smoothing every word. "Whoever is running the piece of junk we call life has it all planed out."

Kylie closed her eyes. "A cosmic plan..." she sighed dreamily, "like a big play that someone is constantly writing, and never ends!" She opened her eyes and looked at the stars. "You know, it's so funny when you think how big the universe is. And that there are maybe hundreds, or thousands just like it. It makes you feel so small."

Eduardo looked up through the huge black expanse, stretching what seemed like forever. "Life is so short. A few days, a few minutes, that's all. It has an end."

"Yes," Kylie folded her arms across the ones holding her close, "It doesn't last forever."

"It was never supposed to last forever," Eduardo said sadly.

"But you wish it would," Kylie sighed, summing up both of their feelings.

"Everything has a time, I guess." Eduardo looked down at Kylie. She turned around and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Everything has a time," she sighed, "A time to live...a time to die... and a time to be born again..." her voice trailed off in deep thought. Eduardo put a finger under her chin and tilted it up. He looked into her deep green eyes, so fiery and full of life.

"...and a time to fall in love," he finished for her. Slowly, their lips met and they kissed long and deep. They both savored every moment of this kiss.

* Okay I hate to say it, but it's true, the Rivera Chronicles have come to an end. But don't despair, the story will continue! My next series "Cosmic Plans" will pick up were the Rivera Chronicles left off, so enjoy!

Helen-Kylie =Þ

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