His head hurts like hell. His ears are overtaken by the pounding in his chest. Neil thinks he could step aside the room to seek for a bucket and empty the remaining contents of his stomach into that bucket. Somehow, all of that is made better with that declaration. That dumb, stupid declaration.

Time again flows as it should. He again finds himself in the present, in the thick of reality, and he chokes back a sob at the sight of it.

"Awesome," he says wretchedly. "I've always wanted a forever companion."