He was dying. Well, the doctors had told him that it wouldn't be long. Too many years of smoking, drinking and a few things that he couldn't remember had finally caught up with him. No sense worrying about it now though. It was water under the bridge.

Hal sat up, suddenly uncomfortable in the hospital bed. He couldn't die here in this hell-hole! It was a damn shame that he didn't have anyone to help him out. Then a thought occurred to him. Michael Guerin.

He picked up the receiver of the ancient beige rotary phone and dialed the numbers the he knew by heart.

When Michael picked up on the fifth ring, Hal mumbled something about kids today being lazy good-for-nothings. "Hi Hal." Michael said smiling. He would know that blustering voice anywhere. All bark - no bite. "What's up?"

"I'm in the hospital kid." Hal said as if he were just talking about the weather.

"Hospital? What happened?" Michael's worry resounding in his voice.

"Life happened. The cancer...well, it's just a byproduct."

"Cancer?!" Michael yelled.

"Look, kid...you think maybe you could come down here? Maybe a quick visit?"

"That's thousands of miles, Hal! I really don't think that Maria's Jetta would last driving all the way to Tampa."

Hal grumbled quietly that things just weren't made like they used to be. "Alright, I'll call the airline and have �em hold you a ticket. All you have to do is pick it up and get on a plane. I think even you can handle that." Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

"Yeah, okay...if you really want me there that badly."

"Fine. It's settled then." Hal's end was quiet for a minute. "You know...on second though I think I will have them hold two tickets. Wouldn't want you traveling alone. Bring that firecracker with ya!" He slammed the phone down before Michael could protest.

After making the arrangements with the airline, Hal sat back against a pile of flat pillows and lit a cigarette with a silver lighter that had been a gift from his alien friend. Images of women he had loved passed through his mind. As always, there was one that seemed to stand out above the rest. His unfulfilled love. He sighed and put out his cigarette. He didn't want that ox of a head nurse in there bitching at him for smoking again. He closed his eyes and tried to rest. Sleep found him quickly.

*****

"C'mon Maria! Hall wants you there!...No I don't know why...I am not...NO, I am not begging you!...Yes...Yes, I know you have better things to do with your time!...Yes...Uh-huh...Yes, I do realize that you have a life outside of my problems!...What?...No!...NO!...FINE! Will you PLEASE go to Tampa with me?...Dammit, Maria-...10 minutes? Great!" With a sigh of relief, Michael hung up the phone.

Michael knew he cared about the old man now. This was gonna be one helluva trip in more ways than one.

*****

"Carver?" A soft southern voice called out. "Is that you?" Slowly his eyes adjusted and Hal could see a giant field of corn. How had he gotten here? "Hal!" The voice was behind him now. He spun around and came face to face with the girl of his dreams.

Smirking, he looked down at her. "How's my favorite reporter?"

"Much better now that you're here." She said, her voice turning sultry. His arms slid around her tiny waist.

"Well Osorio...now that you have me here - what are you going to do with me?" She laughed with that sexy, throaty laugh she saved only for him. His insides warmed at the sound. Her arm slid through his and she lead him through the field.

Before him was a large white house with a white picket fence around it. Three rowdy children ran around the yard chasing a scruffy yellow dog.

"Kids! Daddy's home!" Betty called out. Hal smiled as the children's faces brightened and they charged at him. He was knocked to the ground in a fit of welcoming hugs and kisses.

There were two boys, both younger versions of himself. The third was a little girl that was a carbon copy of Betty, right down to the pouting lips and bouncy blond curls. She had latched herself to his waste and he laughed as she buried her face in his shirtfront.

The family walked to the porch and settled in to a swing. The children, with their short attention spans ran off after a few minutes, to play elsewhere. He was once again left alone with his beautiful wife.

"Betty...how'd I get so lucky?"

"I don't know, Carver. It's your dream."

He frowned at her. She always had to remind him that it was only a dream. He should be used to it. The same dream had been replayed every night for the past fifty-some odd years. Still it hurt. Especially since it was his cue that the dream was about to end.

Hal smiled a lopsided smile and worked up his courage. He could do it. This would be the night. "Betty?"

"Hmm?" She looked up from where she was curled in his arms.

"I l-," Suddenly he couldn't speak. He began to fade. He could barely hear Betty as she called out to him.

"Carver? What...where?" She began to cry, as if every time wasn't the same as the night before.

Hal let his eyes close and slowly opened them, knowing what he would find.

The hospital room was cold. It smelled of disinfectant and sickness. It was too much. Hal wanted the dream. He wanted Betty. He knew he was being irrational - Betty had died over fifty years ago. But the Betty in his dreams lived on. It was the only reason he wasn't fearing death. Death was to be his eternal dream filled with the perfection of his lost life. The life that should have been.

*****

Maria drug the suitcase behind her as she followed Michael through the small New Mexico airport. "You could have at least offered to carry my bags!" She said, out of breath.

"I wasn't the one that decided to pack my entire wardrobe." He said distractedly. Michael looked around and finally found a departing flight for Tampa. He took off in the direction of the ticket counter, while Maria struggled to keep up with him.

"May I help you sir?" The cute red-head behind the counter asked. Michael might have thought she was beautiful if her hair was blond and her eyes more of a hazel color instead of blue.

"Yeah, I think you are holding two tickets for me."

"Name?" She smiled at him.

"Michael Guerin." She looked for a moment in a pile on the counter. Obviously this airport wasn't so advanced that they felt the need to use computers for things like reservations.

"Ah, here they are. Two tickets for Guerin. May I see your licence?" She asked.

"Uh...licence?" Michael looked uneasy.

"Yes sir. To confirm that you are indeed who you say you are."

"I didn't exactly bring it."

"And you accuse me of being an air-head!" Maria said, incredulous. "Can I show you mine?"

"No, I'm sorry. The tickets are only under Michael Guerin." the girl said firmly.

Michael leaned up against the counter and smiled his most charming smile. "Don't you think you could let us by...just this once?"

"Um...well, I'm not supposed to." The girl said locked in place by Michael's gaze. "You've got, beautiful eyes, Mr. Guerin." she whispered.

"Michael." He corrected softly.

"Michael." The redhead blushed.

"So...its really important we make this flight." He said, reaching over the counter to push a lock of her short hair out of her face.

Her blush intensified and her eyes never left his. "Okay...but don't tell anyone." She handed him the tickets.

"Its our little secret." He took the tickets, smiled and turned to go.

"What the Hell was THAT?!" Maria shrieked as they boarded the plane.

Michael waited until they had taken their seats to answer. "It's a little trick I picked up from Isabel."

"What, flirting people to death?"

"No. Getting what you want, by a sort of mind link. You will the person to do what you want, and they do it. No questions asked."

Maria stared at him for a second. "Wait. Have you ever used this...mind link thingy on me?" She demanded.

Michael sat back in his seat and pulled on his headphones. He smiled slightly as her mouth opened in disbelief.

"Michael?!"

He ignored her the entire flight.

*****

Hal stood up slowly and carefully. His bones where getting old and he got tired easily now. He hated it. He used to be able to run with the best of them. He was a pilot, a lover, a fighter...now he was the one thing he never thought he would see himself become. An old man.

He leaned against the window, taking in what view the five story hospital allowed. It was in the middle of nowhere. The least they could have done was build it next to the ocean. He was watching a woman and man kiss goodbye in the parking lot as a taxi caught his eye. Well, rather the people getting out of the taxi.

They were here! He hurried to the small cupboard that they liked to call a closet and got his bag, which he had already packed. Hal made sure he had everything he needed.

It took a few minutes for them to make it up to his floor. He sat patiently waiting in a chair. Michael, in his usual brusque manor, crashed into the room. Hal looked up stunned.

"Okay...we're here!" Michael said, moving inside the room. Maria followed him in, for once in her life, looking timid.

Hal moved to hug Michael. Maria looked on with a mix of shock and sentiment touching her eyes. He turned to her.

"Wanna introduce us properly?" Hal looked expectantly at Michael.

"Uh...sure. Hal Carver - Maria Deluca." Hal took Maria's small hand in his own and pulled it to his lips brushing a small kiss over her knuckles. Maria beamed.

"Wonderful to finally meet you Ms. Deluca."

"Nice to meet you too. Michael never really mentioned how much of a gentleman you are." She said a little breathlessly.

"Because he isn't." Michael laughed. Hal scowled at Michael. "What? Hal, you aren't a gentleman. A lady's man, maybe...gentleman...uh-uh!"

Maria rolled her eyes. "Michael, do you always have to be a jerk?"

"Jerk? Why am I a jerk?"

Before Maria could launch in to a full and detailed description of her reasons, Hal jumped in. "Well, why don't we go."

"Go? Go where?" Michael was suddenly suspicious of the man's motives.

"You two are getting me out of here."

"What?" They both said at once.

"C'mon...Michael you know I'm not the type of person that wants to be cooped up in some hospital. I just need for a relative to check me out so they know I'm in good hands. I figure my grandson and his wife are stable enough to keep me for a while." he motioned towards them.

The two teens stood with their jaws slack and eyes wide. Finally Michael spoke. "You cannot be serious."

"Why not?"

"Well...um..." He searched for an reason. "Look, I guess you could stay with me for a while. I mean, my apartment is small, but..."

Hal laughed. The kid was so naive sometimes. "No, you see, I'm going to be staying here. You two are only my means of escape."

"Oh, well, are you sure you need to check out? I mean, this is a hospital. They specialize in taking care of people. I know I don't know you very well or anything but...dude, you look, not so good!" Maria said frankly.

Hal nodded. "Now I see why you two fit together so well."

Michael smirked. "What do we have to do? Lets get this show on the road."

"You just have to sign a few papers and that's it."

"Alright. I'll go talk to the nurse." Michael walked out into the hall leaving Maria and Hal alone.

Maria began to feel uncomfortable as Hal sat staring at her. "What?" She asked, letting manors be overridden by annoyance.

"You just look...amazingly similar to a girl I once knew." He shook his head as if to clear the image that had entered his mind.

"Was it your sweetheart?" She asked, captivated by tone of his voice.

Hal shook his head. "Nah...she, um...died before I could even tell her how I felt."

Maria frowned. She could tell the subject was a sore one with the man. She decided to change the subject. She walked over to the hospital bed and flopped down facing him. "So, Michael tells me that you were there for the crash."

"You know?" Hal asked in awe. Maria nodded. "He must really care about you then, to tell you such a secret."

"No, I actually found out by accident. See, these two guys were in the Crashdown, that's where I work, well they were there eating and..." Maria recounted the entire story to him. When she was done, Hal just stared at her.

"They are very lucky to have such a wonderful friend."

"Yeah...well, I actually wanted to thank you. Ya know - for saving them." Hal nodded slowly. At least he would die knowing he had made such a wonderful difference to someone. Maria leaned over and precariously wrapped her arms around him.

Michael picked that moment to walk back in. "Well, well, well...Hal it looks like you haven't lost your touch!" He laughed and Hal shook his head. The kids today were just so disrespectful.

"So is everything settled?" Maria asked, suddenly anxious to leave.

"No, they actually want proof that we are related."

"Can't you just do that link thingy like you did at the airport?"

"Well, no offense but there is a big, burly male nurse on duty and...well, I just don't think flirting with him would go over too well. We can wait until the next shift when the new nurse comes in."

"You gotta be kidding!" Maria screamed. She hated hospitals with a passion. They gave her the creeps and Michael new it. He looked at her for a moment as if he was going to say something but stopped himself. "I'm going to go get some coffee or something. Do you guys want anything?"

"I'll take a coffee." Hal said. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Sure." Maria shut the door quietly behind her. Michael finally let a laugh escape.

"What did you say to her?! I've never seen her act so...sweet."

"You need to wake up and smell the coffee, kid."

"Huh?"

"Are you completely clueless? The girl is a knockout. If she had been alive in the 1940s she would have been a pin-up girl." Michael shrugged uncomfortably. "Look, kid...do you love her?"

"I...I don't know."

"I think you do know. I just don't think you should make the same mistake I did."

"With Betty?" Hall didn't answer, his expression suddenly withdrawn. "Hal, I can't let Maria get hurt. Being with me...well she would get hurt if she was with me."

"Believe me when I say...she can get hurt just as easily if you aren't there for her." Hal flashed back to the phone call, when he had learned of Betty's death in a car crash. What would have happened if he had asked her to stay, like he had wanted to?

"Can we just change the subject?" Michael was suddenly irritated. "What's the big rush to get out of here? It seems nice enough."

"Well, kid, I'll give it to you straight. I'm gonna die soon. When I say soon...I mean, any day now."

"You don't know that, the doct-,"

"Would you shut up and listen?" Hal seemed winded and he waited until Michael nodded to go on. "Before I die, I want to do the one thing I've never done. I want to watch a sunset."

"You've never seen a sunset?" Michael was astounded.

"Never thought about it. I mean, sure I've seen �em, but I've never really watched one. There are an awful lot of poems about sunsets and I think if its that wonderful...maybe it's something I should see for myself."

Michael looked at Hal for a long time. It was as if, within the last five minutes the man had aged another decade. For the first time, since he had walked into the room, he saw the wrinkles that creased the man's forehead. His eyes had grown dark and sunken. His coloring was a pale yellow. He really wasn't going to get better. This man had done so much for him. He would do anything to help him now.

*****

Maria slammed her fist against the coffee machine. "Ugh!" She stomped her foot in aggravation. She needed coffee! She was so jet lagged and there was no telling how long they were gonna be there.

Suddenly someone was behind her. "Excuse me. Is this damn machine giving you trouble?" Maria turned her head to see who had just spoken. The woman was beautiful considering she had to be in her sixties or seventies. Her hair was a soft silver and was pulled back by clips. Maria thought briefly that she resembled her grandmother. She nodded at the older woman and stepped aside at her insistence. She put her hand up as if searching for a certain spot. She made a fist and hit the contraption right over the "O" in Coffee. Maria laughed as a cup instantly dropped down and began to fill with the deliciously hot brown liquid.

"How did you do that?"

"Ah, it was nothing. Machines are just like men - you give a little push in the right place and they'll give you whatever you want!" The woman smiled.

"Well I'm glad you were here. I needed this." Maria scalded her throat as she sipped at the drink. "I'm Maria, by the way."

"Sarah Allen. Good to meet you Maria."

"Nice to meet you too. So are you a patient here?"

"Afraid so. Hate it like Hell. I had a slight stroke about three weeks ago. The doc says I should lay up in that bed and take it easy. I haven't taken it easy in the 72 years I've walked on this earth - why the Hell would I start now?" Maria was beginning to like Sarah Allen.

"What floor are you on?" Maria asked as they walked toward the cafeteria.

"Fifth." Sarah motioned to a table and Maria sat down across from her.

"Thats the floor my friend is on. Well, it's actually a friend of a friend. I was kind of roped into coming here."

"So...this friend of yours? He's a boy right?"

"How did you know?"

"Its written all over your face. Maria blushed and Sarah laughed gleefully. "Besides, it is a talent of mine to know everything about a person just by looking at them. So, you want to talk about it?"

"Well...sure." Maria wasn't sure why she was telling this perfect stranger her life story, but she was easy to talk to and somehow, she felt a connection to the woman. She told her everything, excluding the E.T.ish details. When Maria finished she looked up to see the woman on the verge of tears. "Oh, my...what's the matter?" She shook her head.

"You just remind me so much of myself. You listen here, Maria Deluca...You hold on to this boy with both hands! You will regret giving up on him for the rest of your life if you let him go now. I don't care what he says...I think he cares!"

"Did you let someone go?" Maria asked quietly, hoping she wouldn't upset her new friend.

"Yes...and as a result, he was killed. I never had the chance to tell him how I felt. I pushed him away." She was beginning to get choked up again. Her hand flew to her heart and she faltered for a moment.

Maria searched for something to cheer her up. "Um...hey, would you like to meet Michael?" The woman smiled, the fire back in her eyes.

"Oh yes. I have to see this one. He sounds like a real dish!" They laughed and walked to the elevator.