Then what they’d talked about, it had come true. They’d been right. And Desmond had been right when he’d flat out said—we’re fucked. So then where did that leave her? She didn’t want to think the worst, but if Desmond was dead back home and somehow he was here then...were they both dead? Was that why she didn’t know a damn thing past everything going black in Juno’s Temple?

“Desmond, I’m...” Unconsciously, she took another step closer, eyes still locked with his. What was she, sorry? Her gaze then lowered to his chest. A beat passed and she raised her left hand to first graze her fingers over the center, feeling the material of his scrubs, and then she slowly pressed her hand until it laid flat over his heart, an exhale trembling softly at the feel of a hard, steady beat. He was solid. This was real.

There was nothing they could do regarding Juno. Releasing her hadn’t been part of the plan, but she’d fucked them over good.