Crash opened the doors of the hospital, rushing past doctors and nurses as he headed toward Frank's room, but he wasn't Crash anymore. He'd never liked that nickname anyways, and now that his past and future selves were gone, there was no reason to use it. Without them, he was just Gerard.

It had been three days since the accident, and miraculously, everyone in Frank Iero and the Patience had survived the crash. Gerard passed by Evan and Paul's rooms, and he quickly waved to both of them. They'd both been badly injured in the accident, but they were thankfully doing better now.

As Gerard approached Frank's room, one of the nurses stopped him. "Visitation hours don't start until two o'clock," she said.

"You let me in yesterday," Gerard argued.

"Only immediate family members are allowed in right now," the nurse said.

"Just let him in already," Frank said, and the nurse obliged. She opened the door, and Gerard stepped into the hospital room.

Not much had changed from the day before. The room was still lifeless and sterile, with only the stack of get well soon cards on the table next to the bed providing a splash of color. There were hundreds of them, from Frank's family in New Jersey, from his friends in California, from his fans all over the world. Frank was lying in bed, watching The Nightmare Before Christmas on the grainy TV in his room. His skin was dotted with bruises, but he was alive, and that was what mattered.

"I hate this fucking place," Frank said as he turned off the TV. "The doctors say I'll be out of here by next week though."

"That's good to hear," Gerard said as he sat down on the hospital bed. He missed Frank's energy, but he'd be back to his old self soon. It would just take some time.

"I couldn't sleep at all last night," Frank said. "I just keep replaying the accident in my mind..."

"I can't stop thinking about it either," Gerard said. It was true. Every time he closed his eyes, he was back in the comic book shop on Park Street. He watched Frank flying through the air, and he remembered how he felt in that moment, how he thought that Frank might not make it. Before the adrenaline set in, he saw that miserable future flashing before his eyes, a future where he would live and die alone. It was a fate worse than death, and it had appeared in his nightmares every night since the accident. He wondered if it would always be like this, now that he had seen just how fragile life could be.

"It's crazy," Frank said. "I could be dead right now, but I'm here. If it hadn't been for that enormous rucksack I was wearing, I probably wouldn't be alive right now."

Gerard laughed. "Do you really think it was the rucksack that saved you?" he said.

"Yeah," Frank said.

"It wasn't," Gerard said. "It was me."

"What are you talking about?" Frank asked.

"I caught you," Gerard said. "You went flying, and I kept you from hitting the curb."

"I remember that, but I didn't think it really happened." Gerard looked confused, so Frank said, "Do you remember when we were making The Black Parade, and you said something about death coming for you in the form of your strongest memory?" Gerard nodded. "You're my strongest memory, Gee. You've always been there, no matter what, and you're probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. So when I saw you, I thought I was dying. I thought you were death, coming to take me away."

Gerard leaned over and gently kissed Frank's forehead. "You're a fucking idiot, Frank, but I love you."

"I love you too," Frank said. "So you really were there? You really saved me?"

"Yeah, I did," Gerard said.

"How did you get to Australia so quickly?" Frank asked.

"Time travel."

Frank took a moment to think. "When I talked to the version of you from 2002, he said something about trying to save me from a bus crash," he said. "I guess this was the accident he was talking about." Gerard nodded, and Frank said, "I thought the version of you from 2019 was going to sacrifice himself for me."

Gerard hadn't even thought about that possibility. "As far as I know, Figment's still alive. He left shortly after the accident," he said. "I'm still not sure why he went back in time, but I don't think it matters now. I'll figure it out eventually."

"Yeah, you're right," Frank said.

"I shouldn't have let you go to Australia in the first place," Gerard said. "We both should have known that the accident was going to happen."

"I tried to avoid touring in Australia for the longest time after I heard that I was going to die in a crash," Frank said. "I felt like I was letting down my fans though. I figured that if I was going to die anyways, I might as well die on tour."

"But you didn't die."

"But only because I have the best boyfriend in the world."

Gerard blushed. "Thanks," he said. "Do you need anything, by the way?"

"A drink of water would be nice," Frank said.

"Alright," Gerard said. "I'll get that for you."

He stepped out into the hallway, and as he headed toward the water fountain, he thought about the other Gerards, the ones from the past and the one from the future. He wondered if they were okay, if they'd made it out of there before the police caught them. He wondered if Figment was finally happy, if he was living the life he'd always wanted to live, if he could smile without feeling like he was faking it.

His mind drifted back to the crash. In those ten seconds, when the bus and the van were colliding, he'd seen how beautiful, scary, and strange life could be, and he was only a bystander. Frank had looked death in the eye, and somehow, he'd made it out alive. He could only imagine how his boyfriend must be feeling right now, after having gone through all of that.

Gerard got Frank his glass of water, and he went back into his room. "Thanks," Frank said as he took the glass.

"No problem," Gerard said as he lay down next to him in bed. "I've got some more cards for you. Do you want to open them, or should I save them for later?"

"Let's open them now," Frank said.

Gerard handed Frank the stack of cards, and he opened them one by one. Some of them were from people that he didn't even know, but every time he read some kind words, he smiled. He even cried tears of joy when he saw that Bandit had drawn a picture of him playing guitar to an audience of puppies. Finally, he reached the bottom of the pile, where there was a letter from Billie Joe Armstrong.

"It says it's for both of us," Frank said with a smile.

"Open it," Gerard said. "I want to see what Billie has to say."

Frank tore the envelope open, and he read the letter out loud.

Dear Gerard (and Frank, I suppose),

It's hard to acknowledge that you've made a mistake, but that's exactly what I'm about to do. When I heard the news that Frank had been involved in an accident, I knew that I had made a serious mistake, and I deeply regret it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for arresting you back in 2006. I should have trusted you, but all I did was hinder your mission. Of course, it all worked out in the end. Time is inevitable, after all.

But I'm NOT SORRY AT ALL for chasing you through time. You resisted arrest, and that's against the law. I had every right to hunt you down. And I'm DEFINITELY NOT SORRY for kicking Supervisory Special Agent Toro out of the Watch. Our rules clearly state that Watch agents should only stop time in emergencies. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if we stopped time every time someone was about to die! We'd be hitting the pause button all the time, and that's no way to live.

Anyways, I hope Frank gets better soon. Can't wait for his new album.

Good riddance,

Billie Joe Armstrong

Gerard stared at the letter for a few minutes before he turned to Frank. "Do you know what he's talking about?" he asked. "Because I sure don't."

"No, but I got a letter from Billie Joe Armstrong!" Frank said. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah, that is pretty neat," Gerard admitted. "Here, I'll put it with your other cards." He put the letter on the table, and then he snuggled closer to Frank. "Hey Frank?" he whispered.

"What is it?" Frank whispered back.

Gerard took a deep breath. It was now or never. "I've been thinking about something," he said. "I really miss making music with you. I miss writing songs with you, I miss recording with you, and I miss being on stage with you every night."

"Yeah, I miss that too," Frank said.

"Really?" Gerard said.

"Yeah," Frank said. "I love playing with the Patience, but it's...it's not really the same."

"That's how I felt about my solo career."

There was a long period of silence. "I don't think I'm going to be doing anything for a long time," Frank said. "I can't even play the guitar right now. As soon as I'm better, I want to go back on tour with Frank Iero and the Patience, but maybe we could make time for a jam session or something. We could even ask Ray and Mikey to come. Only if they want to, of course, but I think it would be a lot of fun to get the gang together again. It might have to wait until next year. But I want to do it."

"Me too," Gerard said.

"Let's do it then," Frank said. "Let's get My Chemical Romance back together."

Gerard smiled, and for the first time in a long time, it was a real, genuine smile. He and Frank had been through so much together, but they were alive, they were in love, and now, they were making music together again. He couldn't ask for more out of this twisted, ugly, mixed-up world.

He held Frank closer, and he never wanted to let him go.