Midnight Nation 12 Synopsis

"Beyond the Road"

An ambulance rushes David Grey to the hospital. The paramedic tells the disoriented David that he is suffering from exhaustion and dehydration. When David tells her his name, she calls in to report that the detective who went missing in Los Angeles a year ago has be found.

In the hospital, a female voice calls for David. He hallucinates that it is Laurel, but it turns out to be Sarah, his ex-wife. He has been unconscious for two days. She asks him what happened, and he begins to explain his homicide investigation, thinking that his trip to the place in-between was a dream. Sarah stops him to explain that his investigation was a year ago and that he is in New York now. In shock, the images from the past year flash through David's mind.

David reacts violently, trying to leave his bed to learn if Laurel is safe. The orderlies restrain him and explain to Sarah that he is very messed up.

Some time later, David has recovered enough to sit in a wheelchair outside. Sarah comes to visit him again. She unpacks the food that she has smuggled into the hospital and tries to make small talk. David is unresponsive. Sarah explains that the hope of finding David and talking to him is all that kept her going while he was missing. She was surprised that she cared so much. She vaguely remembers David's presence when she was kidnapped and drugged, although she thinks she imagined it. She remembers him apologizing and saying he loves her. She believes that he is so much a part of her that the mere memory of him saved her. After that, she knew that she had to be here for him.

Sarah asks David if he can tell her what happened. David can't imagine her understanding the truth, so he says he only remembers walking. Sarah understands and tells him that both she and his job will be waiting for him whenever he is ready. She asks who Laurel is because David said the name when he first woke up. David says she is someone from a dream. He wonders if she made it and if he'll ever know.

Some time later, David is released from the hospital. Sarah chats about David's boss and their flight schedule as David is wheeled to the exit. They pass a room with new parents and their baby. David doesn't hear the exchange inside.

The father tells a nurse that they almost lost their daughter twice during the difficult birth. The mother calls the girl a fighter who never knows when to quit. The nurse asks about the name. The mother says they had planned on Anna, but when she first looked in her daughter's eyes Laurel was the only name that would fit.

David arrives at the hospital lobby with Sarah promising him peace and quiet for his recovery. As David leaves the hospital, he is confronted by ghostly images that only he can see. They are the people lost "in-between," and they call out to David to speak and fight for them. David promises to try his best.

Epilogue

Many years later, an older David Grey waits on a deserted road for his rendezvous with his younger self. The two David's meet and have their conversation. The older David secretly longs to enter the nearby house and tell Laurel that he loves her and would willingly make the sacrifice again. However, he knows that he can't risk doing anything that might change the events he has already lived through.

David tells his younger self that they don't get their soul back. He now understands his own irony when the younger David notes that he doesn't look like a Walker trapped between worlds. As much as it pains him, David tells his younger self that they kill Laurel in New York.

As he walks away, David reminds himself that this is what his younger self needed to hear. The thought of killing Laurel helped him to make the right choice. He couldn't risk changing history by missing this meeting.

David returns to a car that is driven by Lazarus. As they drive off, David comments that he would give his soul just to talk to Laurel once more. David thanks Lazarus for arranging the meeting. Neither of them understands how it was possible, but it was apparently facilitated by the angel that guards Lazarus.

Lazarus says that David shouldn't feel so glum since he is a hero, but David doesn't feel like one. Despite David's protests, Lazarus proceeds to analyze his problems. When David indicates that death would be preferable to hearing Lazarus' speech, Lazarus says that David has centuries of life ahead of him.

Lazarus notes that David has helped many people on both sides of the metaphor. In fact, the population lost on the other side is dwindling. Many people have thanked David, but he hasn't been able to hear thanks from the person who matters most to him. Lazarus says David's love for Laurel is unconditional, not expecting anything in return, so he shouldn't expect thanks. However, when the part of him that needs to hear thanks comes to the surface, he feels like a selfish fraud and therefore not a hero. More love leads to more giving, then more needing, and finally to more self-hate for needing.

They reach the city, and Lazarus drops David off. Lazarus offers his help because there are very few people who can cross between the worlds. David realizes that Lazarus has brought him to the wrong corner, but Lazarus speeds away.

David crosses to a park and sits on a bench to eat his lunch. A teenaged girl asks if he is all right because he looks sad. David looks up to find that the girl looks remarkably like Laurel. He is shocked when her mother calls her Laurel. The girl walks off, then pauses and turns. David can sense Laurel's spirit as she says "Thank you." David sputters "You're welcome" as she runs off.

David's police radio summons him to a "weird" homicide. As he hurries away, he observes his charges - both in the real world with Laurel and those lost on the other side - with renewed commitment. He will always be there for them.