Title: Reap

Fandom: the Crow franchise

Author: ice shredder

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Spoilers: An extended version of the ending scene in 'Salvation' after Alex and Erin kill the Captain. I will blend the movie with dialogue from the original script so it'll sound a bit fuller than what they showed us in the film.

Also there's a severe shortage of Alex/Erin fics so I hope this will help fix that little problem. And Alex is by far my favorite Crow for two reasons: his unflinching brutality and being insanely attractive while killing corrupt cops and making sure Erin stayed alive by any means possible.

Summary: Erin felt her anxiety increase the closer they drew to the prison's exit. She didn't want Alex to leave just yet.

.

.

The tomb silence of the Salt Lake City Prison was broken by the distinct clack of two sets of shoes against drab concrete floor. Two figures traversed the deserted cells of death row as they made their way out of the killing chamber.

Erin Randall shivered as the hellish events of the past several days caught up with her system. Death row was empty, all its occupants long dead awaiting further victims. Three years ago on a similar night she had watched Alex Corvis wrongfully executed from the safety of the observation room and now she'd been the one to help the dead man administer long overdue justice to her sister Lauren and his brutal deaths.

Her head was spinning. She couldn't believe it was finally over. Just a few more corridors and she would leave this nightmarish ordeal in the dust.

With the smoldering remains of Police Captain John left unceremoniously in the electric chair, she wrapped her arms around her body, seeking warmth. Suddenly very appreciative of her heart beating pints of warm blood through her veins, remembering Alex's words in the junkyard only a few hours before everything hit the fan.

I can't believe Lauren and Alex's murderer was so close to home. She shot a quick glance at the ghost keeping pace with hers. The thought sent a chill racing down her spine. If the crow hadn't come when it did…

She started slightly when Alex laid a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Erin? You okay?" His tone was soothing and low, blue eyes soft and calm stripped of the dark rage that had fuelled his previous actions. "You're shaking-"

She stopped and lifted her strawberry blonde head to meet the blind ceiling of the corridor they were in. Closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just…" Erin trailed off casting her gaze at the floor. Prayed Alex wouldn't break contact and felt a surge of relief when he tightened his grip, his touch firm and reassuring, but not bruising. She knew he would never hurt her. "Just gimme a minute."

The closer they drew to the garrison's Witness Entrance, the more she felt her anxiety levels increase. It meant she would be left alone in the big, cruel world and she wasn't ready.

She didn't want Alex to leave just yet.

It was funny how not three days ago, she had been standing in front of Lauren's grave holding her locket, its twin secured around her neck that would become Alex's anchor. She never thought she'd derive comfort and security from a dead man. Even though his fingers were cold to the touch, it didn't repulse her in the slightest. Not too long ago she went from raining wild blows on his chest to clinging to him for dear life. Desperate for the protection only he could give, she found herself urgently attaching to Alex in ways she never dreamed of when he was alive.

And just when all hope seemed lost in that taxidermy room, when she thought she would be traumatized by John and his secretary decapitate his violated corpse before they killed her…she remembered the locket. Next thing she knew he came back from the brink to save her.

"Erin, we can't stay here." She reluctantly dragged her gaze up to meet pools of blue. Even though he was a corpse, he was still attractive, but it was a twisted mockery. Stripped of the madness of revenge, his eyes were calm, clear waters. "It's gonna be dawn soon. And we're kinda trespassing on government property after hours."

She bit her lip. He was right but…

She didn't want him to leave.

Alex sensed her hesitancy. Having the supernatural senses of a Reborn, he felt emotions on a much more visceral level than he did when he was alive and breathing. He put his arm around the living girl's reluctant form and steered her in the direction of the Witness' Entrance and freedom. To his surprise, she placed her warm hand atop his cold one securing it against her body.

They remained locked in this embrace as they exited the building into the raw rays of morning light. It was a new beginning for both of them.

Erin could start fresh.

And he could finally cross over and be with his beloved Lauren forever.

"You, uh, you wanna go get some breakfast or something?"

He blinked at the sudden question, eyebrows raised.

Breakfast? Is she for real right now?

She must've realized her verbal slip because he saw her cheeks flush red.

Erin mentally kicked herself for sounding so needy. Breakfast. Really Randall? Listen to yourself. It's not like you can stroll into the nearest diner like everything's normal. Get a grip. And besides that, he was a damned corpse for God's sake! He didn't need mortal sustenance to function.

Not to mention the blackened burn marks adorning his eyes and lips would draw unwanted attention. Ditto his skin. Upon his second return all the healthy tones had leeched out, leaving it a pasty-white pigment tinged with blue. A shade just above translucent. What it probably looked like when his body had been stored in the prison's walk-in freezer before his resurrection.

"What I mean is…" she said, fumbling for the right words that would make him understand. "I don't know how this works…" Please. Don't leave me.

Alex finally slowed to a complete stop, turning so they were standing face to face. Face and spirit attentive to her inner turmoil as he listened to her ask him the impossible. He was dead. She was alive. This was a delicate situation where certain lines could not be crossed and choices that would be irreversible for both of them.

Finding her courage, Erin pressed her case. She didn't have much time and the sun was getting higher in the sky.

"In the junkyard you said the man with the scar left you with nothing. But you wouldn't, and I wouldn't if there's some way you don't have to go." Tears welled in her eyes and she willed her voice not to shake. "Please. At least not right away."

Ah. He thought as he felt acute pain where his heart would be. There it is. But I can't. As much as I would love to…I can't stay. Lauren's waiting and I promised her eternity.

"Erin, I'll always be with you. And so will Lauren."

The sunlight slanted over the parking lot and for a moment he didn't see Erin but Lauren's smiling face. He leaned forward, wrapping Erin in his embrace and she hung onto him for a long moment.

Then she spotted a sign carried by one of the protestors when it was announced Alex was to be executed. It had Lauren's face with a bold 's' written into the original slogan .

It read: "Remember the Victims."

She bent to pick it up.

"Alex, look-"

But when she turned back he wasn't there. He was gone.

He left me.

Sobs struggled to spill out of her mouth as she fought to keep it together.

Alex, come back! I still need you!

A dust devil whipped up in the parking lot, rustling her clothes and hair memories of happier times with her sister and Alex all the way till the current moment when they both saw justice served flashed through her mind like a high-speed camera. Hope surged and with it, her conscience that things were finally looking up. She was free to live her life as she pleased.

Overwhelmed she dropped to her knees and began to cry.

I promise I'll live on in the world. For you Alex. I promise I'll make you and Lauren proud. I love you both so much.

-end

A/N: Alright guys here's the deal. My laptop died the last week of October, so I had to wait till Black Friday to get a new one. It isn't set up yet so bear with me. I'll have it up in no time and be back posting new material. Until then, enjoy and don't forget to review! :)