Marcus woke up next to Irene at the hospital.

 

For precautionary reasons they had kept her for a day. She only had bruises. But her blood pressure had made her pass out, and the doctors didn't want to risk it. Marcus had slept in the chair next to her bed after Mr. Pressley left.

 

The morning light filtered through the hospital blinds. The room smelled of antiseptic and flowers. Someone had sent a bouquet. Probably Tyler.

 

When Marcus squinted his eyes open, he saw Irene looking at him. She was sitting up in her bed. Smiling.

 

"You didn't cry or scream in your sleep." She said.

 

"What?" Marcus rubbed his eyes.

 

"I am trying to say I didn't catch bad things in your nightly talks."

 

Marcus was now fully awake. He remembered his counterpart's day. The battle. The chase through the woods. Malachar's capture. The execution.

 

"Bad things certainly happened, but..." He reached out and put his hand through her hair. Smiled. "He did it. He finished the war."

 

"You mean you finished the war, my hero." Irene said.

 

Marcus's eyes watered. He tried to block the tears. "Doesn't matter now. It's over. Malachar is hanged and people are free to their own will."

 

"Don't cry, you crybaby." Irene laughed.

 

"Thank you." Marcus said.

 

"What are you thanking me for?"

 

"Without you I was throwing my life away here..."

 

"Nooo..."

 

"Yeah. It's true. I was just existing. Going through the motions. You gave me a reason to actually live this life. Not just the other one."

 

"Don't worry." Irene raised her arms, smiling in her hospital bed. "Now we can throw our lives away together. We're free."

 

Marcus laughed. Really laughed. For the first time in what felt like forever, there was nothing hanging over him. No war. No Malachar. No cosmic weight pressing down on his shoulders.

 

Just this. Just them.

 

"When you get out of here," Marcus said, "I want to take you somewhere."

 

"Where?"

 

"I don't know yet. Somewhere beautiful. Somewhere peaceful. Maybe Turkey. We can visit the Keepers. See Göbeklitepe without running from anyone."

 

"That sounds perfect." Irene squeezed his hand. "But first, can we just... be normal for a while? No other worlds. No secret organizations. Just us."

 

"Yeah." Marcus kissed her forehead. "Just us."

 

The door opened. A nurse came in to check Irene's vitals. Behind her, Mr. Pressley appeared with coffee and a box of donuts.

 

"Good morning, you two." John said. His voice was rough but warm. "The police called. Alex is being held without bail. Given his history and the witnesses, he's looking at serious time."

 

"Good." Marcus said.

 

John set the coffee and donuts on the bedside table. He looked at his daughter. At Marcus.

 

"I wanted to apologize again. For everything. I should have seen what Alex was a long time ago. I should have trusted you both more."

 

"Dad..." Irene started.

 

"Let me finish." John held up his hand. "Marcus, you were right. About everything. I've spent too long trying to control things. Trying to protect Irene by keeping her close. But that's not protection. That's suffocation."

 

He took a deep breath.

 

"From now on, I'm going to do better. Be there when you need me. Step back when you don't. That's all I can offer."

 

Irene's eyes were wet. "That's all I ever wanted, Dad."

 

John nodded. Cleared his throat. "Well. I'll let you two rest. Call me if you need anything."

 

He left.

 

Marcus looked at Irene. "That was..."

 

"A miracle." She laughed through her tears. "An actual miracle."

 

"Seems like a day for them."

 

Marcus pulled his phone from his pocket. Checked his messages. Gerald had sent a video. The wellness device was going viral. Pre-orders were flooding in. They were going to be rich.

 

Tyler had texted too. The Kickstarter for the Technology Seed had already hit its goal. Apparently preppers and tech enthusiasts were very interested in off-grid AI systems.

 

And there was a message from Beau in Turkey.

 

*"The portal frame is safe. Philippe tried to have us arrested but Hasan's connections got us released. The Keepers want to rebuild. Properly this time. A stable connection between worlds. It might take years but... it's possible. Thank you, Marcus. For everything."*

 

Marcus showed Irene the message.

 

"A stable portal." She said softly. "You could actually visit. Both of you in the same place."

 

"Maybe someday." Marcus put his phone away. "But not yet. First, we have a life to build here."

 

He looked at her. At the morning light on her face. At the future stretching out before them.

 

"I love you, Irene Pressley."

 

"I love you too, Marcus Chen."

 

And for now, that was enough.

 

That was everything.