Ghosts of Philadelphia

Epilogue

January, 1995

        Mechanicsburg, Penn

Six months after defeating the demon that'd apparently been trying to possess him for Years and more or less laying to rest the restless Souls of Philadelphia, Richie was more than content with his Life. He'd latched on to mastering his psychic abilities after officially moving in with his psychic teacher–who was now his boyfriend. Unlike even the Summer previous, now he could effectively tune out Spirits when he needed some Time to himself as easily as he could pay attention to and help them.

        But those weren't the only things that'd Changed after that set of cases was officially closed for good, and not just in his Life. On the first visit that was paid to their house by Rikki, the Truth of Zak's parentage'd been Revealed–and not 'cuz the older brunette'd meant for it to be. Apparently, the lil boy'd been practicing sensing Energy, and he'd quickly realized that the taller blonde wasn't a surrogate uncle, but rather his father.

        Naturally, that'd caused a bit of strife at first, if only 'cuz the taller blonde'd thought that his friend had Intended to hide the Truth from him forever. It'd taken the younger of the brunettes sitting him down for a one-on-one to get him to listen, let alone truly understand. But eventually, he'd come to grips with the fact that his friend had just been trying to avoid embarrassing him since he made it quite clear that he wasn't even bisexual, and that it'd been the alcohol talking the Night their son was conceived. Ever since then, they'd managed to work out a custody agreement between the two of them, so father and son got to spend more Time together than they already had.

        However, it was around what Rob called the Sabbat of Samhain that the biggest Change'd been discovered, and he certainly couldn't say that it was a bad thing. After waking up sick for two weeks straight, he'd finally come to the realization that he'd missed his period and snuck out to the local drug store. Upon his Return home, he'd locked himself in the master bathroom with something that his young boyfriend wouldn't have expected him to buy–and gotten quite the surprise. Finding out he was pregnant again wasn't something he'd have planned in a million Years, but at least the younger brunette'd taken the news well.

        The ecstatically-happy, Love-drunk pair were quick to decide that they wanted to handfast since they couldn't legally wed. Now that they were spouses in the only way they could be, they were all too content to prepare for their baby, which Lynda swore was due in June, considering the Timing. But in between preparing for said baby, working on his psychic abilities, and learning more about Paganism, Richie was content to help out with the restaurant Rob still owned and operated with his cousin. And that wasn't including the mutual Love of Music they'd discovered, nor at least trying to get back on good terms with his brother, Dan. It seemed Life just couldn't get any better for him, and he found it ironic that he'd the Dead to thank for all these pleasant Changes that'd come when he least expected them.

        Only the Gods truly knew what was in store for them around the next corner, but both could agree on one thing–they looked forward to waking up together, and learning something new every Day.