The blinding white light that had enfolded Derek Barnes, eventually pulled away as he lay on the floor, dazed, and unable to move. Somewhere in the building, perhaps over an intercom, he could hear music playing loudly. It was the soft soothing guitar music of Dejango Reinhardt, and the song playing was: 'I can't give you anything but love …' Derek began to groan. Although the bright light, and the soft gentle music, comforted him, Derek was afraid.

Am I dead?

Tears threatened to flow from Derek's closed eyelids, as he thought of his mother, his brother Adam, Chloe, Jason…and Lan. Thoughts of his friends continued playing through his mind, causing him to finally stir and open his eyes. To his astonishment, Derek found himself, still inside the operating theater, but the place had changed, dramatically. This place, once resembling a scene of darkness and decay, was now clean and brightly lit. The operating table and the instrument stands were all gone. The cabinets remained, but were empty. What's more, Derek could detect the faint smell of roses in the air. He tried lifting his head, but quickly let it fall back down as searing pain shot throughout his body, like a thousand hot knives stabbing him. Unable to move, Derek turned his head to the wall.

He continued to face the wall, even as he heard the sound of a door opening and closing, and footsteps approaching him. Derek shut his eyes tight, and cringed. He whimpered, expecting the worst. But instead, he felt a cool, soft, sweet-smelling hand, stroke his forehead and cheek. A soothing female voice, comforted him.

"Shhhhhhhhhh…don't be scared…you're safe now…Nobody is going to hurt you."

Derek cautiously opened his eyes, and slowly turned his head. A sigh of relief escaped from his lips, when seeing a beautiful young nurse with corn-silk colored hair looking down upon him, with compassionate eyes. She continued to stroke his forehead.

"Mr. Barnes, sir… I know you've suffered so, but you need to stop. Everything is going to be alright now".

She produces a syringe, filled with a strange florescent blue liquid. Seeing this, caused Derek to panic, but the nurse squeezed his shoulder, reassuringly.

"Mr. Barnes, please!" implored the nurse firmly, "I promise I am not going to hurt you…"

Derek looked at the nurse, and saw by her expression, that she was sincere. He sniffled, then nodded to her, and she gently rolled up his sleeve. Once she administered the injection, Derek gasped when feeling the agonizing pain, suddenly vanish. He could now move his arms and legs.

"There…" smiled the nurse extending her hand, "feel better now?"

"Much better" replied Derek.

Derek grabbed the nurse's hand and she helped pull him to his feet. She waited a moment, while Derek got his bearings. He forced himself to smile.

"Thank you" he said, studying the nurse. "who are you?"

"Nurse Knowles" she replied, "but folks around here, usually call me by my first name: Emma…" Derek's eyes widened when hearing that name.

"You…you you're…Madison's grandmother…?"

"Mmm-hmmm" she nodded, smiling, " But enough talk, your time here is very limited. And there are people who wish to see you…"

Derek's expression turned from surprise to apprehension, as Emma took him by the hand, and led him out of the operating theater. Dejango Reinhardt's music, continued playing as they left the theater and entered a clean, bright hallway filled with staff and patients, alike. Warm, positive energy filled the area, and both staff and patients appeared to be happy and smiling. As Derek and Emma walked past the people, they stopped and smiled, warmly at him. This concerned Derek, so he whispered to Emma.

"Why is everybody smiling at me" he asked, nervous. Emma looked at him and smiled.

"They're indebted to you, Derek…we all are…Oh! I'm sorry, may I call you 'Derek' ? " Derek nodded, but he was still confused, so Emma elaborated.

"You helped summon Michael, to crush the Dark Man…and now that he's been slain, we're all free to leave this place…"

"The Dark Man…" spoke Derek, "Don't you mean Ala-"

Before Derek could finish speaking the demon's name, Emma quickly pressed her fingers, firmly against his lips.

"No" she urged, "You mustn't speak its name, even if it is dead. Now come…"

Emma continued leading Derek through the hallway, towards the lobby. At first, Derek felt giddy, believing Emma was going to escort him out of the hospital. But his heart quickly sank when Emma turned right, pulling him away from the hospital entrance. Derek strained his neck to look back at the entrance doors, and Emma continued pulling him along.

"This way" she said, as they came to two green double doors.

Derek frowned, not knowing what to expect, but Emma smiled, and pulled open the doors. Derek's large eyes, suddenly brightened when seeing a beautiful, spacious courtyard, filled with laughing, happy patients, from the very young to the very old. Staff members appeared throughout the courtyard, standing around as if on guard. Derek immediately noticed something about these particular staff members: their eyes were a striking deep blue color, and their bodies seemed to cast a warm beautiful glow. Derek watched as everyone else seemed to be laughing and playing in the sunlight. Suddenly, he felt himself, being gently pushed forward by Emma, so he carefully made his way down the steps. He continued walking and observing everyone laughing and playing until someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Well, well, Mr. Barnes…you're a sight for sore eyes…" spoke a familiar voice.

Derek quickly turned around and saw Vince Elsing, standing near his left side. Derek tightened his jaw and his fists. A part of him wanted to curse Vince and clobber him for not warning him in time, but the other part…was just too exhausted physically [and emotionally] to really bother. All Derek could do was stand there, silently fuming.

"What's a matter, boy…cat got your tongue?" smirked Vince, lighting a cigarette. Derek shook his head.

"Why didn't you warn me about this place?" he asked, as Vince took a long drag from his cigarette.

"I was being watched too closely…they've been watching you too. But by the time I found out about your little side trip, it was already too late. Besides…even if I had warned you in time, would you have listened to me?"

Derek glared silently at Vince, as he continued smoking.

"So I contacted your friend, Chloe…even then I was jeopardizing my safety and hers!" Vince returned Derek's glare. "And you want to know why I did that…boy?…I did it because of your brother. He was prepared to sacrifice himself…again… to save you…!"

Hearing this, caused Derek to feel guilty once more, and he lowered his head. Vince continued to smirk, until he noticed Emma's disapproving look. Vince moved closer to Derek. He spoke more softly…

"You were very lucky Mr. Barnes…but next time, be a little more thoughtful".

Vince backed away from Derek.

"The next time you get in trouble like this…I may not be able to help you". He paused, "there's a war going on, boy… good versus evil…and like it or not, you and your friends are now a part of it…"

Derek stared at Vince. He did not like what he was hearing. "I don't understand…"

"In Cassadega…" spoke Emma, "…you dealt their side a crippling blow. But the war is far from over…what happened to you in this place, Derek, was an act of vengeance, nothing more…"

Emma paused briefly. "But the Dark man… he also wanted to use you as a hostage to draw out Vince and your brother."

"Why" demanded Derek, turning to Vince, "What does he want with you and Adam?" Vince groaned.

"Ahhhhhh Boy…did anyone ever tell you, you ask too many questions?" Derek fell silent. "Anyway…" continued Vince, "I've said all I had to say... Be careful from now on."

Vince turned and walked off. Derek watched silently, as Vince walked into a crowd of people, and disappeared. Derek shook his head, and sighed disgusted, as Emma put a comforting hand on his shoulder. [Another song from Dejango Reinhardt begins to play: Oriental Shuffle ]

"There's someone else here, who wants to see you" spoke Emma, softly.

Derek looked at her, and then looked in the direction she was gazing. Suddenly Derek's eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and he found it difficult to breathe. Standing just a few feet away, was a person dressed in a nice blue shirt, and tan dress pants; his brown hair was slicked back. Although the person had his back turned to him, Derek knew…

….No…it couldn't be…it can't be…this isn't REAL!

Derek gasped when he felt Emma placing both hands on his arms, squeezing. He looked at her as she smiled, sympathetically.

"This is no dream, Derek…I assure you, this is very real…"

Derek swallowed hard, as he vigorously fought back a new wave of tears. His throat ached, as Emma slowly nudged him forward. His first step was clumsy, but he continued to walk slowly and cautiously, to the person standing with his back towards him. When he finally reached the person, Derek stopped. He called out, but his voice was barely audible.

"…Hello Adam…" spoke Derek, scarcely able to breathe.

The person slowly turned around, revealing that it was Adam. He took one step closer to Derek, with a smile that was almost like a frown.

"Hello brother…" he said, moving close.

At first, Derek hesitated. But slowly he moved closer to Adam, and then they embraced; despite his best efforts, Derek broke down, sobbing in his brother's arms. It was the moment he had waited for, and wished for, for so long. There wasn't a day that had gone by, that Derek had not ached for his twin brother, or wished that he would have done more to save him, that horrible night. But right now, in this moment, none of that mattered anymore. He and Adam were reunited. And now, Derek was finally complete.

Emma stood watching, as the two teenage boys, Richard and Stanley, joined her. She smiled, teary-eyed, as Derek and Adam continued to hug one another, tightly. They continued to hug, as they, and everyone else in the courtyard, were enfolded by a beautiful, blinding, white light….

The blinding white light eventually faded away, revealing a waiting room, inside a modern day hospital. Inside the waiting room, sat Chloe, in a comfy chair. Lan, was sleeping fitfully, on a couch next to her, and Jason paced back and forth, in front of a large clock that read: 12:46 a.m. He stopped, however, when seeing Nathan enter, carrying his laptop, and a large pizza box. Amy followed behind him, carrying drinks, and a large bag stuffed with pillows and blankets.

"Hey guys" spoke Nathan, "have you heard anything new? How is he?"

Jason and Chloe exchanged tired looks.

"The doctor said Derek gave paramedics a bad scare on the way over here…but his condition is stable now. The doctor's trying to make arrangements for us to go see him…"

Chloe added, "He also said that Derek had two cracked ribs, and his left Tibia had a simple fracture…but remarkably, his Thoracic Vertebrae didn't appear damaged…"

Everyone gave Chloe a confused, annoyed look, and she smiled apologetically, when realizing she was speaking in a foreign language.

"Sorry" continued Chloe, "what I meant was, he said Derek's throat and neck appeared undamaged…although the burn marks on his throat, suggest someone used incredible force to strangle him…"

Chloe rubbed her eyes. "Jesus" she muttered, "that thing really wanted him dead…"

Amy and Nathan exchanged troubled looks, and then they slowly looked at Chloe and Jason.

"There's something we should show you guys" spoke Nathan, beckoning them to another part of the waiting room.

Chloe and Jason looked confused, but they followed Nathan and Amy to the opposite side of the room. They watched as Nathan opened up his laptop, and with a couple swift key strokes, accessed his video files.

"Amy found Derek's video camera and downloaded the images to our laptop"

He suddenly lowered the screen half way, so Jason and Chloe couldn't see what was on screen.

"I managed to edit some of the more gruesome stuff out of this slide show. But I gotta warn you. This is NOT pretty. There are over an hour's worth of footage containing Derek tied up, tortured, and…ra…assaulted…"

Jason and Chloe collectively held their breath, as Nathan slowly lifted the screen… Chloe clapped her hands over her mouth and Jason tightened his jaw, when seeing images of Derek, bound and gagged, screaming and struggling as strange shadows covered him in the morgue. Another, more disturbing one showed Lan, struggling to administer CPR in the death tunnel. They watched as Lan pushed herself away, crying for several minutes…and then to Jason and Chloe's shock, they saw a translucent white figure, press its hands on Derek's chest, instantly reviving Derek…

Jason and Chloe turned away, speechless. They had seen and heard enough. Nathan ended the slideshow.

"In addition to this, however, Derek also managed to get lots of other ghost footage and poltergeist activity on camera. Images that don't show him and Lan getting hurt…"

"Guys…" spoke a small voice.

The group turned and saw Madison standing in the waiting room with her father, Eric Knowles. She was clutching a small, plush tiger doll.

"…Is Derek going to be okay? I want to give him something…"

She stretched out her hands, showing the group her stuffed animal. It was a plush Tigger doll (designed, not the Disney cartoon version, but the classic story book version). Her father put his hands on Madison's shoulders.

"Maddie, please…" her father spoke, gently. "Folks…I just wanted to thank you and Derek, for saving my daughter. Also, I'm sorry we bothered you…I tried explaining to Maddie, we shouldn't intrude, but she insisted…"

"No, it's okay" answered Chloe, "we're waiting to find out if we can go see him, ourselves".

No sooner did Chloe say this, a doctor entered the waiting room.

"Well speak of the devil" said Jason.

"Derek Barnes…?" asked the doctor.

Lan immediately woke up from her sleep, and everyone in the room, gave the doctor their full attention.

"I was able to make arrangements for you to go see him, but only for 10 minutes. He's on the fourth floor in room 410".

Jason and Chloe helped Lan up from the couch, and the group wasted no time pacing towards the elevator…

Upstairs, in room 410: Derek Barnes slowly woke up, with a start. When his vision cleared, he observed his surroundings, and suddenly felt sad, and closed his eyes, groaning. Derek did not want to come back to the land of the living; he wanted to stay with Adam. Just then, he heard footsteps entering his room. When he opened his eyes, Derek saw Lan, Chloe, Jason, Amy, Nathan, and Madison's father standing around his bed, smiling. Madison moved up close to Derek, on the opposite side of the bed from Lan.

"Hello Derek" smiled Madison, "I wanted to give you Tigger…"

She gently picks up Derek's right arm, and places her Tigger toy on his chest. But before she let's go of his hand, Madison notices, the red tattoo on Derek's wrist. She stretches his arm out and studies it intently, as her father shifts, uncomfortably.

"You have a tattoo?" asked Madison. Derek smiled and nodded.

"Dad says only Bikers and Carnies have tattoos…you don't look like a biker…"

"Maddie!" cries her father, mortified, but the whole entire group erupts with laughter.

Derek grins, trying hard not to laugh (because it hurts to do so), but it was obvious that he was amused.

"Thank you Madison" smiled Derek, weakly, squeezing Tigger. "and you can tell your dad, that he can now add 'Surfers' to the list of people with tattoos."

Everyone laughs as Madison is gently escorted away by her father. Madison waves goodbye as the others move in closer to Derek.

"So how are you feeling, man" asked Jason.

Derek's lips slowly formed into a lop-sided smile.

"How do I feel?" he asked, "like I've been run over by a truck. But I'll live…"

But suddenly, Derek's smile faded as he looked at his friends. For the most part, Lan, Chloe, and Jason looked okay; but Derek was quick to observe the various cuts, bruises, and bandages each person had. He swallowed hard, shaking slightly.

"I really screwed up…" he said, glancing at the wall.

He was trying to avoid eye contact with everyone, but Jason moved closer to Derek, patting him gently on the shoulder.

"What are you kidding, 'D' ?" spoke Jason, "You were awesome back there…you kicked that thing's ass..!"

Jason smiled as everyone else tried forcing a smile. Nathan and Amy started for the door.

"Well guys" spoke Nathan, "Amy and I are going to go get everything set up in the waiting room…If you need us Derek, we'll be downstairs…"

"We'll see you Derek" spoke Amy as she followed Nathan.

Derek looked confused and a little concerned. "What are they talking about?"

"Oh…" spoke Chloe, "Nate's brought over some food, blankets and pillows. We're all going to camp downstairs for the night."

Derek's expression was sad. "You guys…you really don't have to do that…you should go back to the house and rest…"

"But we want to stay here with you" said Lan, touching Derek's shoulder.

The doctor pokes his head into the room.

"Guys…a couple more minutes…" he says, and the group nods.

"Well, hey" spoke Chloe, "I'm going to go see if Amy needs help in the waiting room".

Chloe pats Derek's uninjured leg, and smiles. "If you need anything Derek, we'll be here."

Chloe turns and slowly walks towards the door. As she does this, she elbows Jason in the back. At first he bellows out in pain, but suddenly he gets the hint, and he quickly follows behind her. Jason waves and says 'goodbye' to Derek one more time, before ducking out of the room. Lan then pulls up a chair, and sits close to Derek. He studied Lan with large, sad eyes, as she held his hand. Derek's heart began to race, and he felt himself grow increasingly warm. Suddenly, everything they had endured, the past several hours, was coming back to him. He shook a little, as images of Lan being frightened and hurt, flooded his mind. His eyes became misty.

"Lan" Derek spoke, "…are you okay?"

Lan smiled, squeezing his hand. "Of course…why wouldn't I be?"

Derek squeezed her hand, as he fought back tears.

"…I've been so stupid, Lan…" he said, sniffling, "…when I saw that thing grab you…"

"Derek, don't!" Lan begged.

"…I thought I was going to lose you… I -"

Before Derek could finish his sentence, Lan pressed her lips against Derek's lips, and kissed him. As she did this, Lan continued holding Derek's hand, while with her other hand, she ran her fingers through his hair. Eventually, Lan pulled out of their kiss, and she continued to hold Derek's hand and stroke his hair. Lan smiled, near tears.

"I love you Derek…" she said, "But I swear to God, if you don't stop blaming yourself… I'm going to have to smack you…"

Derek looked at Lan, confused, but then he forced himself to smile once more as they continued to squeeze one another's hand, tightly…

***********Cut to Commercial Break**********