Twelve Years Later...

"Good night sweet boy..." Alfred rasped, petting Tiberius on the head with a kind hand. Laying on the edge of the bed next to his owner, the elderly red tailed hawk purred quietly. He closed his sightless eyes and leaned his head into the old man's hand. He could hear the sadness in his voice. It was understandable, knowing what was going to happen tomorrow morning.

That is, if morning ever came for Tiberius.

The last twelve years had been one wild ride for Tiberius and his friends. Their wacky adventures led them all the way to Alaska. At one point they had a huge fight with a dog named Danger. Some of them found love, had kids. Over the years, the group of friends became a family. One big ol' happy family.

Sadly, all good things come to an end.

It began eight years ago with the death of Pepe. The poor chihuahua suffered from a heart attack. A year later, Sweetpea caught a terrible cold that he couldn't fight. A month afterwards, Mel was fatally struck by a car. Old age finally caught up with Pops when he was twenty two years old. That happened six years ago. Even Norman was gone. He had been attacked by a rat in the air vents five years ago. The young guinea pig, bleeding from his numerous wounds, died in Tiberius's wings. Devastated, the old hawk buried him beneath an oak tree in Central Park. Duke was the next to kick the bucket when he developed cancer and had to be euthanized. That was three years ago. His death was followed by Leonard's two months later when the poodle succumbed to kidney disease and Nitro's to food poisoning. Myron, Ripper and Bearded Dragon were gone too. Now it was Tiberius, Gidget, Max, Snowball, Chloe, Buddy and Ozone left.

Well, that number was going down by one after tonight.

Sighing softly, Tiberius reflected on his life. It was good, it was bad. A bit crazy. Actually, it was a lot crazy thanks to Snowball. But it was enjoyable nonetheless. The elderly red tailed hawk smiled as he recalled memories of old. He felt like the luckiest hawk alive with all of his friends. Surprisingly, he had found love - or love found him - with a beautiful red tail named Angel. The pair had two sons, Tobias and Phoenix. Sadly she passed away not long after they hatched. Then Norman died. The old hawk had become a father figure for the young guinea pig and his death just brought even more misery into his life. His eyesight left him not long after that. Fortunately, the hawk found his footing again when his younger son Phoenix introduced him to his granddaughter Galaxy. The month old hawk returned happiness to Tiberius and the elderly red tail promised himself he would live his life to the fullest.

Unfortunately, his life was coming to a close.

As of late, Tiberius had been experiencing nausea and terrible headaches. His blind eyes hurt constantly. The elderly red tailed hawk just felt pain everywhere. He and Alfred figured it had to be because of his advanced age. He did just celebrate his twenty sixth birthday back in late July. That was about two months and three days ago. It had to be old age, right?

Wrong.

Five days ago, Tiberius and Alfred had gone for the hawk's monthly vet appointment. They thought it was just going to be a normal check up. The visit was far from that. Tiberius's personal vet Dr. Laura Green, worried about the old hawk's current state of health, asked if she could take some x-rays and scans. Alfred gave her permission. A few hours later, the results were in.

At first the trio didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Then the horror was revealed. Tiberius had multiple blood clots in his head, including one massive one. Nothing could be done. It was obvious what this meant to everyone in that small room.

Tiberius was dying.

Alfred was probably the most heartbroken by this piece of news. He begged Laura to fix it. The vet could only tell him that it was over. She suggested that the best thing they could do for Tiberius was to put him down. That way, he would no longer suffer from the pain.

Despite the obvious death sentence looming over his head, Tiberius was actually calm about this whole situation. He knew this day had been coming for quite some time. He was on his last legs. He had spent his life wisely, risking it to protect those he loved. He did that. Now it was time for him to rest. But not yet. By the Tribe of the Heavenly Stars he was not going to die yet.

Not until he had a chance to say goodbye.

"Tiberius?" Gidget's voice whispered. Lifting his head up, Tiberius sniffed the air. Sure enough, Gidget was here. Purring, he rasped, "Come on in." He listened quietly as his best friend entered the apartment. Moments later, she was on the bed beside him. Laying down next to him, she asked, "Hey, what's going on? You said you had something to tell me."

"You remember how we met twelve years ago? I couldn't see you back then either," Tiberius remarked, chuckling softly. Rolling her eyes, Gidget muttered, "Don't get all nostalgic on me now. What did you want to tell me?" As she was saying this, she nuzzled the hawk's cheek. Tiberius smiled. Same old Gidget. He was gonna miss her.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Gidget asked. Her question snapped Tiberius out of his thoughts. Stretching his neck out, the elderly red tailed hawk blindly searched for his best friend. His beak brushed against the fur on her cheek. Nuzzling her, he rasped, "Thank you for everything Gidget. I honestly don't know where I'd be if I hadn't met you."

"You're... you're welcome Tiberius," Gidget stuttered. She sounded a little bit surprised. Tiberius thought he could hear a hint of fear in her voice as well. He purred softly, trying to comfort her if that was the case. It worked. Resting her head against his chest, the fluffy white Pomeranian commented, "You're still the greatest best friend I could ever ask for."

"You too. You are the best," Tiberius remarked. His voice felt strained and he was struggling to breathe. This was it. No more playing around, time was up. Nuzzling Gidget's face one last time, Tiberius laid his head down. He just so happened to be close enough to hear his best friend's heartbeat. It was one of the most beautiful sounds he ever heard. His heart, quietly pounding in his chest, was slowing down now. His time had come. And he was ready. Purring, Tiberius whispered softly, "Goodbye... Gidget..."

"Goodbye? Tiberius, what are you talking about- Tiberius?" Gidget asked. Her voice was fading away into the background though. His breathing slow and shallow, Tiberius listened to it a little longer before he at last closed his sightless eyes. He was ready. One moment there was breath. The next there was none. The elderly red tailed hawk laid very still, his last breath having left his body by now.

For the first time in what was a very long time, Tiberius had at last found true peace.

The End