Ray finished sharpening the long blade he had been working on and set it to the side. Even on this day meant for relaxation, he couldn’t fully let himself stop working. Though, he had managed to contain it to just the one item. Donna would have killed him if he did any more than that.

And he wouldn’t have blamed her, either.

She was a volatile woman at times. Necessity had forced her to move past her husband’s death quickly, and then when she had been confronted with his spirit, it had shocked her. It had put their burgeoning relationship on the skids while she worked through her own issues.

Donna had managed to settle her feelings enough that they were back together again. He wouldn’t say it was the strongest relationship, but everyone had their own problems these days. He certainly had his, and he liked Donna enough to want to be there for her.

That would have to be enough for now.

Ray splashed some cool water on his arms, washing off the metal flakes that the flying sparks always left behind. He would need to take a proper shower, but he hated to track the small pieces of metal inside the apartment.

“Are you almost done?” The voice of the large woman with muscles nearly as big as his own came from the door of his blacksmith's shop.

“Donna,” He smiled and used a nearby rag to wipe himself down. “I was just thinking about you, and yes, I’m just cleaning myself now.”

Her lips twitched upward. “I hope they were good thoughts.”

“They were… thoughts.” He grinned and dropped the rag. “Let me just take a shower and then I will be all yours for the rest of the day.”

The Christmas celebrations were already well underway by the time he had finished cleaning himself. The fact that it wasn’t even lunchtime didn’t seem to matter to anyone. Boozed up eggnog was being passed around the adults, who tried to discreetly keep it away from the kids.

They all just wanted to relax and forget that the world had collapsed around them. Everyone had lost people they loved, or at the absolute least had known. The information requests at the post office was always densley packed as new people came in, or a few days had passed since they had last checked. It took a toll on people.

They threw themselves into the task of surviving, and then when there was a chance to relax. They threw themselves into that as well. All in an effort to not think about what had happened. Sadness, tears, and a nearly bottomless pit of despair were all that awaited them whenever that inevitably occurred.

He had gotten off lighter than most in regards to all of that. Not that he recommended his own path to anyone else, it had plenty of its own downsides.

Donna filled the doorway to his bedroom as he pulled on a clean shirt. “You seem quiet today. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just thinking about how much everything has changed for everyone is all.” He shook his head and stood up. “Come on, let’s go enjoy this celebration before all the food is gone.”

“Little chance of that happening. Everyone has been rationing all week, just to make sure we had enough of everything to last all day.” Donna had even helped make a couple of the pies.

Together they ventured out and saw that the group that had gone up to the space station had returned for the day. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the space station still. Charles had asked him if wanted to go up and live on it, but he had firmly refused. To him, it sounded like more of a nice vacation destination than a place he would want to live.

It was the new Hawaii, or the Caribbean for him at least.

He knew a few of the others were saying everyone who went up to live on the space station was abandoning Earth. He thought that was the biggest pile of garbage he had ever heard. Charles and the people with him had already done more to help the ungrateful people on this ball of dirt than anyone else.

Besides, just because he was being pigheaded and didn’t want to leave didn’t mean he would fault others for taking the chance.

There were no monsters in space that they knew of, at least. It was safe up there. Maybe it was just him, but people tended to put too much weight on where they were raised. Who cared that they had been raised on Earth?

Everyone had literally just realized that the gods of old existed. Did they really still think they were alone in the universe? He was just a blacksmith now, but it seemed to him that the answer to that was no. The only thing that made Earth special was that it was ‘their’ home. Nothing more.

Ray waved to everyone he recognized, and just generally tried to enjoy himself. Donna pulled him to a stop, staring as a few teddy bears trailed after a girl in front of them.

“I think I’ve seen everything now. First, it was Charles’ companion that could turn into a human with a tail and adorable wolf ears. Now I see stuffed teddy bears walking around on their own. This world has gotten crazy, Ray.”

He nodded, watching the little girl and her bears himself. “Things are indeed getting stranger by the minute. What do you say we get some food and then walk around the town?”

Donna patted her stomach just as it rumbled. “I think that sounds like a fantastic idea to me.”

He pulled her close and laughed. It was during moments like this that he remembered she was a couple of years younger than him. Not by a lot, but the seven or so year difference was there all the same. She made him feel younger than he had in a while.

Then again, all the changes that had been going on also made him feel younger. The increased stats in his constitution had left him feeling like a man in his twenties instead of his early forties. It was one of the things he actually liked. No one looked forward to growing old.

That was especially true for a man like him who enjoyed physical activities.

A few minutes later, they were walking hand in hand down by the river. In their free hands were giant burritos. They had even grabbed a couple extra and stored them in their inventory while they were in the line.

“Have you ever gone inside the tower?” Donna asked suddenly, staring across the water at it.

Ray shook his head and swallowed. “I never had a reason to. I take it you have?”

She nodded. “Right after Halloween, when my husband’s ghost visited me, I went in. I don’t even know why I did it at the time, but I saw Kira’s younger sister and her friend going inside… and it just suddenly seemed like such a good idea to blow off some steam.”

“And? Was it?”

Donna let the hand holding her burrito fall limply to her side. “I’ve never gone inside since, have I? I got absolutely wrecked, I barely made it out alive. That place is not somewhere you can go alone if you’re not prepared, and I should have known better.”

Ray gripped her hand tighter. “Did you know that going in, or were you truly just looking to blow off some steam and hit something?”

She hesitated and finally shrugged. “I don’t know anymore. I want to say I didn’t know, but who can say for certain? Maybe a part of me was looking to get hurt inside or punish myself for surviving when he didn’t.”

“You can say his name, you know. I don’t mind.”

Donna shook her head. “No, I’ve put all of that behind me. It’s probably not the healthiest way to deal with his death, but it’s all I can manage right now. Maybe in another year or two I’ll have better clarity and can do more, but not until then.”

Ray squeezed her hand and pulled her to a stop. “Are you sure you want to be entering into a relationship so soon after his death, then?”

“No, and yes. If it was with anybody else, I would say no, but it’s with you, and that makes things different. I’m not entirely sure how, but you found some way to sneak in when I needed someone the most.” Donna looked out over the cold, raging river. “That’s the only reason I can even think about it right now.”

He held her close as they continued to walk.

“Why the sudden question? We’ve been back together for a month now. Have you been wondering about that this entire time?”

He shoved the last of the burrito into his mouth instead of answering right away. “It’s been on my mind, yeah. Just thinking of the future, and where we fit into each other’s view of it, I guess.”

Ray kicked a rock into the water, not looking at her. “I know it’s too soon to be thinking of those things, but I wanted to know we actually had a future. That this wasn’t just a coping mechanism for you. I didn’t think it was, but I couldn’t be entirely sure until I asked.”