The morning after the storm dawns bright, but the oppressive and abnormal heat shows no sign of returning. Maggie rises, and assists Finn downstairs. She looks worried, his abdomen has become somewhat puffy overnight, and he is panting, just walking down the staircase. After letting him outside into the rear courtyard, she glances at the clock, goes to the phone, and dials Siobhan's number.

After apologizing for calling a little early, she describes her observations. "I think he's starting to decompensate, Siobhan." Her fear is clear in her voice. She nods, and answers Siobhan, saying, "I'll call her right away, and ask her what she thinks, thanks, Siobhan."

Maggie hangs up the phone, and goes back into the kitchen. Fionn has come in from outside, and is laying on his bed, he is panting. His abdomen is no smaller, and Maggie kneels besides him, lifting his flews. His gums are grey, and her head and shoulders sag. She strokes his head, and stands, going back to the phone.

"Hey, sis, you better sit down," she tells Assumpta, who has answered her phone.

"Why, what's happened?" Assumpta hears the fear in Maggie's voice.

"It's Fionn, Assumpta, he's decompensated. I'll see if he'll take his medicine this morning, maybe it'll reduce the ascites. I know I didn't miss either of yesterday's doses, but if he'll take another dose, we'll see if it helps. If not, he's going to get uncomfortable pretty soon. He's already a little anoxic."

"Maggie, I'm coming down. We knew this was coming, maybe the heat, or all the excitement of coming up to Dublin and playing with the kids, we'll never know. But if he's short of breath, it's only going to get worse, and I know you don't want him to suffer, and neither do I. Is Siobhan coming over?" Assumpta is sitting on her bedside, her shoulders are tight, one arm wrapped around her ribs, the other hand holding the phone.

"Okay, I think you're right, you better come, I don't think he could handle the ride up to you. Siobhan is coming over, she'll be here when you get here. I'll fix him a really yummy breakfast, and give him his pills, they might make him more comfortable." Maggie's face is streaked with tears. "I'll see you in an hour or so, Sis." Maggie hangs up the phone, and goes into the kitchen. She pulls items from the refrigerator, and begins cooking.

Fionn does not lift his head, merely turns his eyes towards Maggie as she puts bacon in a pan, then grates cheese. She mixes some of the cheese into a softer white neufchatel, pokes a pill in the middle of it, and offers it to Fionn, who turns his head. "Okay, son, just one, it'll help you feel better." She takes another pill out of a bottle, lifts his head, opens the lower jaw, and pokes the pill down his throat.

She goes back to the stove, turns the bacon over as it sizzles, and adds eggs to the skillet. Soon, the eggs are cooked as well, and Maggie puts the food onto a plate, and sprinkles cheese over the top. She sets the plate down in front of Fionn, and he licks halfheartedly at first, then begins to actually eat the eggs, and picks up a piece of bacon, chewing happily. Maggie smiles, and begins cooking again. "Hey, you know, that looks good, mind if I have the same?" she asks him. He looks up at her, his tail thumps gently against the cushion of his bed. Maggie smiles again, as Fionn turns back to his breakfast.

About half an hour later, Fionn tries to rise, and whines. Maggie, sipping her coffee, puts it down on the counter, and, bending, lifts his hind end, and steadies him out the door. He barely totters his way out, then, after finishing, totters back to her, panting heavily. Maggie helps him lie down again, bringing him his water bowl. He drinks, and she offers him one of his favorite cookies, which he refuses. "I'm gonna take a shower, okay?" Fionn has already laid over on his side, stretched out, his mouth open.

Maggie races upstairs, showers quickly, and comes back downstairs, hair wrapped in a towel, just as Siobhan knocks on the front door. Maggie opens the door, and Siobhan looks at her with a question on her face; Maggie simply shakes her head. Siobhan sets her bag on the bar, and removes a stethoscope, and the two women go into the kitchen. Siobhan kneels, and listens to Fionn's chest.

"His heart's racing, and I can hear fluid in his lungs, besides what's leaking into his abdomen. I think his kidneys are shutting down, too. Did he eat?"

"Yes, but only because I gave him eggs and bacon. He won't eat his food or even cookies, and I had to force the diuretic down him, he wouldn't take it. He was fine last night, he took his pills like usual, and was breathing normally, but when I got up he was panting, and he's getting worse, just from then. I called Assumpta, she's on her way down."

"That's good, Maggie, I'm afraid there's not much I could do. We could put him in hospital, draw blood, see what his kidneys are doing, but it looks like he's finally decompensating. We knew the heart medicine and diuretics would work his kidneys overtime, too, it was only a matter of time."

A knock sounds at the front door, Maggie lets Assumpta in, and then locks the door again. Assumpta kneels by Fionn's head. His tails thumps, but he does not raise his head, she leans further down and kisses the side of his face, then looks up at Siobhan and Maggie. "It's time, isn't it?" she asks, and Siobhan nods.

Siobhan goes to her bag, takes out a bottle and syringe, and returns to the kitchen. Maggie sits down, and gathers Fionn's front end into her lap and arms, and Assumpta holds his head, looking into his eyes. Maggie leans forward, whispering her love into his ears, and her gratitude for his time with her.

Assumpta is simply whispering, "I love you," over and over, as Siobhan slips the needle into the vein of his front leg, and his heavy panting eases, then his head sags in Assumpta's hand, and his breathing stops, his eyes still open and fixed on Assumpta's face. Siobhan's arm goes around Assumpta's shoulders, and they stand, as Maggie sags forward, sobbing.

A short while later, Assumpta and Maggie climb into the blue van. Fionn's body is in the back. They drive towards the Byrne farm.

Siobhan telephones Orla. "Orla, it's Siobhan. Say, Maggie asked me to call you and ask you to come in and open for her today, we lost Fionn this morning." She pauses, "Yes, it was fast, but that's the way of it with these cases. Say, thanks, and oh, Assumpta's car is 'round back, nobody would know it, but if anyone asks, just say Maggie's friend from Dublin is down, because they lost Fionn. Yeah, they went up to Danny's, he'll help them bury him. Yes, it's very sad, even though we knew it was coming. 'Bye." Siobhan hangs up the phone, then goes out the front door, locking it behind her, as Orla has keys. She puts her bag in her van, and walks across to Hendley's. Kathleen has been peering out, but is behind the counter when Siobhan comes in.

"Kathleen, you ought to know, Fionn died this morning, and Maggie and his former owner have taken his body up to the hills to lay him to rest. Orla's coming to open the pub, I expect Maggie will be out all day."

Kathleen clucks gently, "He was a lovely dog, you know, I always used to see Kevin O'Kelly racing by, and Fionn racing beside him, off into the fields. Assumpta was lucky, and Kevin was, too, that dog probably kept the lad out of trouble. I'm glad Leo McGarvey saw fit to leave him with Kevin after Assumpta died. It's sad, another little piece of village history passing by...." Kathleen straightens her shoulders, and looks at Siobhan. "Still, life goes on, doesn't it?  How's your little Aisling, now, she's growing so fast she'll be off with her Daddy to school soon!" The two women exchange short pleasantries, and Siobhan leaves. She is suprised, Kathleen has not been so pleasant in months.

Later, on a hillside open to the morning sun, Danny, Maggie and Assumpta place turves of sod back over a mound of fresh earth. Fionn has been laid to rest in the green fields where the wind can bring him the scent of the wild birds all year 'round, wrapped in his blanket, and nestled in his soft bed. Assumpta clutches a collar and leash in her hand, Maggie places a silky lock of red hair in her pocket. They walk back towards the farm house and barns.

"Say, Danny, would you mind if we borrowed Razor and went for a ride?" Maggie asks the young man.

"Sure, it'll do the lads good, they've been layin' around all summer, they have!"

The three step into the big barn, and Danny rattles a grain can. Immediate whinnies are heard, and trotting into the stall area come a stocky grey cob and a sleek black horse, tail carried high and floating behind him. Danny closes the gate, and the two women get out brushes and go to work as the horses lip up the small rations of grain.

Danny leans on the rails, and speaks to Assumpta as she curries Razor, "Say, I want to thank ya, an all, fer visitin' Uncle Eamon since's he's been in Dublin, I know he hardly seems to know any of us, but it's kind of ya to go, anyway."

"Sometimes he seems to know me, Danny, and he forgets that I was supposed to have died, an' he'll ask me about the pub, or Padraig, or Brendan, and we have a little chat, but sometimes he just stares out the window, so I just hold his hand a while, until he falls asleep again. When the nurse lets me, I bring him a diet cola, it's what he always ordered."

Maggie is slipping a bridle over the black's head, and Assumpta turns to lift Razor's bridle from it's peg, and bridles the grey. Saddle pads, then saddles, and a quick inspection of hooves, and the two are led out. Assumpta accepts a leg up from Danny, but Maggie pushes the black towards the gate, and climbs the railing, then slides into the saddle, and picks up her stirrups.

"No gallops, now, the lads are that outta shape!" Danny says, patting Razor's rump as the horses amble off, out of the yard, and begin to wind their way up the green hillside.

In town, Orla has opened the pub, and as the lunchtime usuals, plus a few tourists, begin to file into Fitzgerald's and sit at bar or tables, she serves drinks and sandwiches. Siobhan, Brendan and Aisling come in, Orla fixes the usual mac'n'cheese lunch and serves the blonde child in the kitchen, while her mother and father eat at the bar. Siobhan and Orla begin to chat.

"So, I guess we might as well tell you, Orla, and you can tell anyone who asks, Sean and Niamh are movin' back to BallyK." Siobhan and Brendan smile, and Orla grins, glad to hear such news. The happy news as well as the sad spreads slowly through town, Frankie Sullivan and Vincent Sheehan hear it as they both make their rounds, each overseeing their part of the community, physical and spiritual. Father Sheehan stops by the pub, and orders iced tea, which Orla serves, and confirms the news of the happy homecoming to occur. Siobhan and Brendan save the news of the baby, to let Niamh and Sean make that announcement themselves.

The lunchtime crowd thins again, Orla cleans up and sets the dishwasher to work, and seats herself on the lounge at the far end of the pub, propping her feet up, and opening a book. The afternoon wears on, and it is nearly five o'clock before the blue van pulls in at the back, and its occupants enter quietly. No one is in the pub at the time, and, after a quick hug for Maggie and Assumpta, Orla tells them both how many people have offered condolences that day. She shares the public announcement of the Dillon family's return.

"I don't know about you, Sis, but I need a shower. Not that I don't love the smell of horses, but I think the customers would object to horse hairs on the top of their pints, don't you?"

"I should think so, but I'm takin' the first shower, I still have a drive to get home tonight!" Assumpta walks up the stairs of her old home, her hand on the railing the entire way. Maggie goes to the pub area and pulls a wooden chair near the lounge.

"Don't need horsehair on the upholstery, either!" she remarks. She and Orla begin to talk about homecoming parties and baby showers, and Orla gets up, moving towards the bar.

"Glass o' wine, Maggie?" she asks.

"Yes, thanks, please, Orla, it's been a hard, hard day." Orla pours out two glasses of a golden liquid, taking them back to the lounge, and the women sit and sip. Only a few minutes pass, however, when the far door opens, and Peter Clifford steps into the pub. Orla stands and walks towards him.

"What can I get ya', Father?" she asks, stepping behind the bar.

"Nothing, Orla, thanks, I just came to see Maggie, Father Sheehan told me the news." Maggie stands, and also walks into the pub area, setting her wine glass on the bar. "I just heard about Fionn, Maggie, I'm so sorry! It was so sudden, I was just here a few days ago, and he seemed fine!"

"Well, that's how it happens with heart failure like his, Father, but thank you. I really must get upstairs and shower now, I went for a ride after Danny and I buried Fionn, and I'm covered in horsehair and sweat." She picks up the glass, looks at Orla, and lifts it, Orla following suit with hers, in salute, then both women down the rest of the wine in quick gulps, and set the glasses down.

"What was that you were drinking, Orla?" Peter Clifford asks, as Maggie hurries upstairs.

"It's mead, Father, honey wine, would you like some?"

"Ah've never tried it, I didn't know anyone still *made* it!" he answers.

"You can get it if you know where to look, Father, and Maggie can find just about anything she wants when it's important enough." Orla pours him a quarter of a glassful, "until you know if you like it," she says.

He sips, his eyes open a bit. "It's very sweet, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but don't let it fool you, it's got just as much kick as any other wine, an' it'll let you know you took too much the next morning, too!"

"Ah think Ah'll risk it!" Peter answers her, setting the glass down and pushing it towards Orla, who obligingly fills it. "So, what's this I hear about Sean and Niamh moving home?" He leans forward, asking to hear the news firsthand.

Upstairs, Assumpta is in one of Maggie's robes, talking very quietly on the phone. "Bonnie, I'm sorry, I really am, but I just can't get home right away, I'll be back as soon as I can. No, I'm okay to drive, it's not that, but we went for a ride, and now I've showered, and we'll have a bite to eat, and I'll head out. Can you get Morag in to cover for me?" A short break, then, "Okay, see ya later, thanks!" and she hangs up.

Maggie comes out of the bathroom, towelling her long hair. "Braid it for me, sis?" she asks, and Assumpta quickly twists the damp strands into a plait, securing it with an elastic band. "Thanks, I'll shoo off the 'impediment' if you want, or do you want to brazen it out?"

"Maggie!" Assumpta hisses, then sags, "no, I'm too tired, it's too soon, and after this morning, too much."

Maggie hugs her, then stands with her hands on the younger woman's shoulders. "You look like you could use his hugs more than mine, Sis, but I'm too tired too, and we should plan this out carefully. There's a better chance he'll understand if you break it to him gently, and neither of us has the equilibrium to do that right now. Say, now, show me what you can do with your hair, the cut's great!"

Assumpta takes two tubes of the gel out of her purse, the tubes still there from the salon, just the day before. "Red, or blue?" Her eyes sparkle, and Maggie smiles, too, glad to lighten the mood after the pain both women have shared that morning.

A few moments later, Maggie, dressed, comes downstairs. Assumpta is dressing in her old room, where she still has some clothes stored. Maggie sees Peter Clifford, sipping mead, and steps behind the bar.

"So, Orla let you sample the private stash, huh?" she asks.

"Yeah, it's alot better than your iced tea, I think I could get used to it!" Peter is smiling. "So, you holdin' a homecoming party for Niamh and Sean, then?" he asks.

"Yes, we were thinking of it, Orla and I, and I know Siobhan and Brendan will help. We don't know exactly when they are getting back of course, but I'll be sure and send out invitations to out of town friends." Maggie answers him.

"Okay, I'll be here, and say, do you have their phone number, I've lost it, I think."

"Sure," Maggie steps to the phone area, opens a book, writes a number on a slip of paper, and brings it back to him. "Father, I'm sorry, but I need to close for a few moments to get some supper started, there'll be a few folks in. I don't want to offend a paying customer and all, but I need to get busy, and Orla needs to head home, she's been here all day, since I was out."

"Sure, sorry, I didn't think!" He stuffs the slip of paper in a pocket, and finishes the wine. "Maggie, if you want to talk, you know, about Fionn or anything, you can call me, you know."

"Thank you, Father, I appreciate it, but I'll keep him alive in my memory, and in my prayers. He's just gone physically, you know, what was the essence of Fionn lives on, running free and young across the fields beyond the Rainbow Bridge. The Goddess gathered him gently into her arms, and carried him through the Gate this morning, and together we set him free. I'll see him again someday, I know I will, whenever she calls me Home." Tears brim on her eyelids as she stares out the window at the slanting sunlight.

Peter Clifford finds his eyes welling, remembering the flaming red coat blowing in the wind, and the dark red hair of the woman on the other end of the leash. "They're together now, again, Fionn and Assumpta, I suppose, wherever in Heaven your Rainbow Bridge leads, Maggie." He turns, also looking out the window. His shoulders sag, and he walks out the door, closing it behind him.

Just after the door closes, Assumpta tiptoes down the stairs. She stops at the bottom, staring after the man who has just left, then, seeing Maggie's tears, steps quickly through the doorway into the kitchen. Maggie turns, going through the other door, and the three women hug silently for a brief moment, and Orla leaves, saying nothing, locking the front door.

"Oh, Maggie, I heard you both, I almost came all the way down the stairs!" Assumpta slumps into a chair.

Maggie sits opposite her. She pulls a tissue from a box, drying her eyes and face, clearing her nose. "I'd have been a richer woman today if I'd bought stock in some paper corporation years ago, with all the tissues I've soaked in tears!" She tosses the tissue into a wastebasket. "I almost blew it, there, myself, Assumpta, he's hiding from himself how lost he is!  I wonder if he's learned and grown at all in these years, or if he's hidden that part of his sould even from himself?"

"Well, I've done some growing, whether he has or not, I think I can try and see if he'll meet me halfway!" Assumpta answers. "So, how do I look, would he have recognized me if I had walked right in on you?"

Assumpta stands, then turns slowly. She is wearing a dark blue skirt, and a maroon blouse with a scoop neck, trimmed in crocheted lace. Her hair has been tipped in sparkles of silver, her bangs spiked as Sylvia had done them the day before. Woven silver hoop earrings dangle from her ears, and a silver chain and Brigid's Cross drape around her neck.

"Stay *right there*!" Maggie jumps up, and starts towards the front door of the pub.

"Hold on, you!" Assumpta grabs her wrist.

Maggie turns, smiling. "No, I won't, but I swear, you look fabulous, if he doesn't just about drop over if he sees you looking like that, I'll be sure the Church has made him into a eunuch!" Maggie laughs softly. "Seriously, Sis, you look just great. Haircut and all, though, he'll recognize you in an instant. You're soul-mates, as long as you want him to, he'll recognize you."

"I almost put on an old t-shirt, then I saw this in the closet. I haven't worn it since Niamh's first non-reception wedding party. After I saw it, I found a skirt, then I did the hair. Guess I'll shock the punters in Dublin tonight, eh?" Assumpta steps into the pub, checking her reflection in the mirror quickly, then ducks back into the kitchen. "Say, I'll fix us a bite, okay, then hit the road?"

"Sure, but I need to put on some soup, too, just in case anyone wants supper, so you do sandwiches, and we'll eat." Maggie and Assumpta work quickly, but have just sat down when a knock sounds out front.

Maggie stands. "I'll go, Sis, finish your supper, I'll close the doors." Maggie steps around the table, and she and Assumpta join hands for a minute, then both glance at the corner where a big, soft dog bed used to lie.

"Thank you," Assumpta whispers.

Maggie answers, "Drive safe!" and, picking up her coffee cup, closes first the back door, then, stepping through it, the front doorway into the pub, sets her cup on the bar, and goes to open the main door.

Standing outside are Siobhan and Brendan, Kathleen Hendley, Frankie Sullivan, Danny Byrne, and Vincent Sheehan. Maggie steps back, and one by one the others file in. Siobhan and Brendan hug her, and Kathleen, glancing around, takes her hand for a moment. "I had an Irish Setter long ago, when I was a girl." She steps to a table, sitting down next to Father Sheehan.

Soft conversations start, and Maggie glances at Kathleen, looking back at Siobhan. Maggie goes back behind the bar and gets juices and soft drinks assembled on a tray, along with a stack of glasses.

Siobhan leans over the bar and whispers in Maggie's ear, "I heard you did her a good turn yesterday." Maggie nods, and steps out from behind the bar again, pouring whatever people want. A few moments later, ever so softly, the back door opens, then shuts, and an engine starts up.

People glance up, but Maggie shakes her head, saying, "Fionn's former owner just left, she wasn't ready for company." Conversation resumes, and other patrons of the pub come in, the noise level increases, some people begin to order suppers. Maggie, thankful for the business that keeps her from thinking, serves drinks and food, moving in and out of the now empty kitchen, bar to tables. The front door opens again, and Peter Clifford enters, his face is pale.

He sits at the bar next to Brendan, and Maggie asks, "What would you like, Father?"

"A whiskey, Maggie, please," he answers, then, turning to Brendan, says, "Ah think Ah've just seen a ghost!" Maggie sets the whiskey on the bar, Peter picks up the small glass, and downs it in one gulp.

"A ghost!" Brendan answers him, "Now, Peter, you of all people would never fall prey to superstition! What makes you think such a thing?"

"When Father Sheehan came down here, I went into the church for a few moments," Peter begins, "and when I came out, I saw a car driving past, a strange car, and I swear the woman that was driving it was glowing silver! I stared, and I actually ran out in the street, I know it's getting dark, but I swear, she was glowing!"

"Did ya see her face, Father?" Siobhan asks.

"No, not well, she had short hair, pale skin, dark clothes, but I couldn't tell much else, I suppose I was too startled to notice much else."

"Well, Father, you didn't see a ghost." Maggie tells him. "Didn't you know the Fairy Folk drive cars, nowadays, since the Pookas refuse to compete with automobile traffic, it's too hazardous even for them, with all the tourists on the wrong side of the road!"

Chuckles erupt, and Brendan pats Peter's shoulder. "How many years here in Ireland, Peter, and you finally get your first sighting of one of the Good People!"

More laughter, and Peter's face regains its color, he is being teased by several other people, good natured camaraderie is evident. He sits at the bar, and feels very much as if he has truly come home, these are his friends, he knows them, they know him, they share a history. Soon he accepts a bowl of soup and a sandwich, he notices Vincent Sheehan and Kathleen leaving, and waves goodbye.

Danny Byrne rises from his stool, too, and Maggie reaches across the bar, and they join hands for a moment. "Gotta get home, Maggie, I fed early, but I can't leave the place alone too long," he tells her.

"I know, Danny, and thank you for coming, and for helping us this morning, too. He'll rest easy there on your hill."

"He will, Maggie. Tell yer friend thanks, too, Razor needed the ride, an' I hardly have time any more."

"I will, Danny, thanks, and bless you!" Maggie smiles as the young man leaves. "Emma Dillon is a lucky, lucky woman!" she remarks.

Siobhan nods, "Aye, they'll make a fine pair, and with them, that farm will bloom like it hasn't done in years."

Peter begins to question his friends about the Dillons and Byrnes, and the three of them talk on, Peter learning about Eamon's placement in a nursing facility since his stroke. Their conversation continues on subject after subject.

Maggie is kept busy, as the supper crowd leaves the drinkers start arriving, and she serves every request. Eventually, as the night goes on, the crowd thins until it is just Brendan, Siobhan and Peter. Siobhan stands up, Brendan joins her, and they take their leave, hugging Maggie briefly before going home to their daughter, watched over by a babysitter. Peter stands up, and is suprised to see almost no glasses on tables, and no ashtrays.

"I try not to get too far behind with the dishes, Father," Maggie answers his unspoken thought.

"I'll say goodnight, then, Maggie. I'm really sorry about Fionn!"

"Thank you, Father, good night." She follows him to the door, and he hears it lock behind him. He glances at his watch, and walks back up the street to the church, where his car is parked.

Maggie glances around, turns off lights, and goes into the kitchen, sitting at her table. She glances around, sees pill bottles on the counter in the corner, a water bowl on the floor. She lays her head on her arms for a moment, then gets up, locks the back door, but opens the kitchen windows. She dumps the water out of the bowl, and puts the pill bottles in a paper bag, then into the pantry, above the bin where the dog food sits. She opens the refrigerator door, pulls out the soft cheese, looks at it for a moment, then slowly drops it into the waste bin, turns around, goes out the doorway, shuts off the light, and walks up the stairs, in the dark. No lights go on upstairs, but the bedroom windows open, then the doorway onto the little deck, and Maggie steps outside. She gazes up at the moon, bright white in the sky, and stretches her arms towards it for a second. She turns, steps across the floor, and, pulling down the covers, crawls into the bed.