Author's notes

Hey guys! Here's the last chapter of the story. I know this hasn't been easy to read but I hope you've enjoyed it :)

My next story is called Wait For Me, a story of Ennis in the Navy and meeting Jack while on shore leave. If you know anything of this subject you'll know that there can be several months between shore leave stops, so this next story will have an unusual structure. There will be quite a time jump between chapters, as this is the only way to tell the story without having it drag and become boring. I will however try to plug the gap as much as I can with the narrative, so I hope you like it :) The first chapter will be posted on Tuesday.

Kathryn xxx

Chapter 10

Jack didn't have to wait long. No more than ten minutes had passed before he became aware of a presence behind him. He turned to see Ennis standing there, looking confused. "Jack?"

"Hey..." Jack stood up and took his hands, smiling slightly. "You okay?"

Ennis looked at him for a few moments and nodded. "I think so..." He then looked at his own body in the bed and grimaced. "Shit..."

"I know, but it don't hurt no more, right?" Jack asked him. "You feel better now?" Ennis finally smiled.

"Yeah, I do. Jack...the things I saw..."

"I know...saw 'em myself before I got up in that field. But it's okay now. It's all over."

Ennis sighed. "So...what now?"

"We can cross over, if you're ready. But ain't you forgettin' somethin'?" Jack asked mischievously, a familiar glint in his eyes. Ennis's smile widened and he leaned in, capturing Jack's lips with his own, and feeling that sensation running through him once more. The kisses they had shared over the week had been good, but nothing like this. It was more like the kisses they used to have.

He drew Jack into his arms and gently pushed his tongue into that warm mouth, having missed this so much. Jack grinned against his lips and blinked several times when they pulled apart. "Damn..."

"I missed this..." Ennis murmured, bringing their foreheads together. "You were here all this week, but...I still missed you..."

"We can do even more when we're on the other side," Jack replied in a low purr, nuzzling his face. Now that everything had come together at last, he was looking forward to the next part.

Ennis smiled and became aware of something happening in the main room of the trailer. He turned and could see a white light coming from somewhere. "Jack?" he asked unsurely. Jack squeezed his arm.

"It's okay, bud. Come on." He guided Ennis through the doorway to the main area. The light source was a white door that had appeared in the place of the normal door, which filled Ennis with both anticipation and fear.

"We're supposed to go through that?" he asked, and Jack nodded, taking his hand as the door opened.

"Yep. You ready?" Ennis took a deep breath and thought of his girls, knowing that they would be alright. It was time for him to move on now, with Jack.

"Yeah." He was aware of them walking through the door, squinting against the light and eventually closing his eyes against it.

Before he opened them, he immediately sensed that something was different. He could smell pine and fresh air; he could hear a river running. Jack's hand was slotted into his and he slowly opened his eyes.

They were back on Brokeback, just as it had been when they were alive. Everything was the same, right down to the tent at the edge of the campfire and the hillside behind them. He gulped, the emotions filling him up. "God...Jack..."

"I know," Jack replied, smiling and kissing his cheek. "Told you it'd be like this. What d'you think?"

Ennis looked around him; it was like travelling back in time. "Just like how it was back in that summer..." He looked at the tent. "Do we need that? We don't need to sleep, right?"

Jack gave him a look. "It ain't for sleepin', dumbass. Unless you wanna do it out here all the time..."

His lover shook his head. "Guess not. Um...you said I could see people if I wanted. Like my folks. How?"

"I'll tell you about that later. It's kinda tricky to explain." Jack turned to face him, taking Ennis's hands in his own. "Ennis...is this alright for you? I mean...when we die we're allowed to spend it in a place that meant a lot to us when we was alive. I chose this place an' I figured you'd wanna be here too." He shrugged. "That okay? If you wanna be somewhere else we can..."

Ennis smiled and squeezed his hands. "This is just fine, Jack. This camp...it's where we fell in love. I ain't never been as happy as I was here with you. This is great."

Jack grinned and kissed him again. "Ennis...what d'you wanna do first? We don't need to eat or sleep or...other stuff," he said, nodding at the bushes and grinning wider. "But we can just enjoy each other, you know? Have a kinda life here."

"It ain't a ranch, like you wanted," Ennis pointed out. "You sure that's alright?"

"Ennis, that's somethin' I never told you. It didn't matter to me if we had a ranch or just lived together. I just wanted to be with you...I suggested a ranch 'cos I thought it might appeal to you an' it might make you agree to do it. I thought that if I could convince you to give it a try, it'd get to a point where you'd be happy with me. Where we could say that we love each other."

Ennis pulled Jack into his arms, rubbing his back. "Darlin'...I'm sorry for all that. I did want it, right from when you first asked. But I was too scared 'cos of what happened to Earl, an' I didn't wanna hurt Alma. Didn't wanna leave the girls..."

"I never said you had to choose," Jack told him. "I thought we'd arrange somethin', like seein' our kids at the weekends an' in the summer. I would never ask you to choose between me an' the girls."

"I know that now," Ennis replied, kissing his neck. "I just wish it hadn't taken you dyin' to make me realise what I really wanted. An' then I thought it was too late..."

"Ain't never too late," Jack said as they pulled apart a little. "We're together now, an' nobody can hurt us." He kissed Ennis and bit his lip, thinking. "Um...Ennis...can we...?"

Ennis smirked, feeling himself becoming aroused and knowing that Jack was responding. "Reckon so. Been long enough." He took Jack's hand and led him to the tent, ready to re-establish the connection that had been forged long ago.