“Oh, f**k no,” Finn groaned softly, drawing her attention to him.

Frowning, she looked past him to see a very large and handsome man with short, slightly wavy jet-black hair, and beautiful green eyes walk down the wide hallway towards them. She was about to ask what was wrong when she realized something.

Those were Tristan’s eyes.

“No, no, no,” she said, shaking her head as she stepped back away from the truth and heartache that was heading straight for her.

“Marty?” Her father reached for her, but she shoved his hands away, desperate to get away.

“Macha,” the man coming for her said with an Irish brogue that confirmed her fears.

“No! No! No!” she cried, stumbling back as her father, Tom and Denny tried to grab her, but she shoved them away. “Please, God, no!”

“Shhhh, mo shonuachar,” he said soothingly as he reached for her.

“Calm down, Marty!” her father pleaded, his voice breaking as he wrapped his arms around her. She fought him, needing to get away from the man watching her with kind eyes. If she could put some space between them and keep him from touching her then this wasn’t really happening.

Tristan wouldn’t be dead.

“Shit!” her father snapped when she kicked and struggled to get away from him.

“Can we get some goddamn help here?” Denny snapped as he grabbed Marty by her legs and helped take her to the ground.

“Relax, sweetheart,” the man with Tristan’s eyes said softly as he reached out and cupped her face.

She closed her eyes as she shook her head, tears ran down her face as the first sob broke free. “Please!” she begged softly.

“Yer okay, mo shonuachar,” he said as she felt his lips brush against hers. “It’s not yer time yet.”

“Please don’t leave me, Tristan,” she sobbed softly. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Never.”

*-*-*-*

“What the f**k is that beeping?” Fergus demanded even though they all knew what that meant.

Not even a minute earlier they’d all watched as their brother left his body. Those kind, too goddamn forgiving eyes had locked with his. With a sad smile and a small flicker of his hand, Tadgh had covered his na**d form with clothes and walked out of the operating room in search of his young bride.

“He’s dead,” Liam said flatly as they watched doctors and nurses race around the room, shooting drugs into Tristan’s IVs in between shocking him and pushing air into his lungs in the hopes that they could restart his heart.

No one said anything else as they watched the men and women work in vain to save Tristan’s life. There was no point really, the curse had him and would soon have his wife. They’d be forced to watch her die once again and at that moment he wanted to hate Tadgh, but he just couldn’t.

This wasn’t his fault. It was the fault of the murderous bastard who had gotten off too easily so long ago. They should have made his death last for days before they allowed him any release. They should have-

“They’re keeping his body alive?” Declean asked, sounding curious and cutting into his thoughts.

“Aye,” He nodded, having watched enough television and movies to know that was exactly what they were doing. It wouldn’t help, not in Tristan’s case, but he appreciated the effort nonetheless.

“Tadgh died, right?” Declean asked, sounding thoughtful.

“Aye,” Liam said with a slight nod.

“Then……then the curse claimed him?” Declean asked, starting to irritate him.

“Aye, lad! Do ye really need to have this explained after all this time?”

Declean simply shook his head. “I don’t, but a thought just occurred to me that’s all,” he said with a shrug.

“What’s that?” Liam asked, his eyes never leaving Tristan’s face.

“It’s just that he died and the curse claimed its due for this life. They’re keeping his body alive, so what’s to stop us from putting Tadgh back inside? I don’t think the curse can claim him twice in one lifetime, can it?”

Shayne looked up and met Liam’s gaze. “Is it possible, do ye think?” he asked, trying not to hope for the impossible.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Liam said with a determined glint in his eyes before he disappeared.

“Guard him,” he told Fergus as he followed after his brother, damn near feeling giddy at the prospect of finally getting one over on this curse.

*-*-*-*

“How are you still here?” she asked, remembering what they were told last night. He wasn’t supposed to be here. Once he died he was supposed to be ripped away from her.

“I’m not sure, mo shonuachar,” he said with a kind smile, his hand continued to caress her stomach. “But it might be best not to speak to me, lass, or they’ll think yer crazy,” he said with a wink, trying to tease her into smiling, but it didn’t work and she didn’t care.

She wanted Tristan back. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him, to live even a single minute without him. They still had time left, she could feel it down in her soul.

“There has to be a way,” she said, ignoring the concerned looks of everyone around her.

“There’s not, lass. Believe me, we’ve tried everything,” he gently explained. “The only thing left to do is let ye go now, Macha.”

“No! Please!” she said, trying to reach for him, but she couldn’t move, not with her father’s arms wrapped tightly around her.

“It’s the only way,” Tadgh said with a sad smile. “I can’t keep putting ye and our child through this, mo shonuachar. This has to end now.”

“No! Just one more time! Please! We can do this!” she cried as she felt her heart start to shatter and break.

“I need ye to be strong, lass. I need ye to go on without me for this child,” he said, giving her stomach a gentle caress.

She tried to speak, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t go on without him, didn’t want to and she knew at that moment that the curse had its grips on her. She wouldn’t last long without him and there was nothing that she could do about it.

As her father held her in his arms, rocking her gently as he swore to her that everything would be okay, she numbly watched as Liam and Shayne appeared on either side of Tristan’s soul and with a firm nod, grabbed him by the arms and disappeared, leaving her with the grief that was swallowing her whole.

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