He watched as though staring through a piece of glass as they each placed a rose on the casket, lingering for a few moments. They were no doubt remembering some kind of memory that would make them laugh, or cry, or just shake their head in disbelief. Watching them do this made him wish that he had a memory to think of once he made his way up to his beloved's casket.
Sometimes he would walk pasted where she worked, just in order to see her, even if it was useless to go up three floors only to go back down again to reach his car. She would be there, reading some report off to her boss or dealing with the badgering from Tony. But she was always there, and getting to see her always brought a smile to his face. And now, even though the casket was closed, he would get to see her one last time.
He couldn't face the others; that's why he was waiting until they were gone. They would look at him, thinking that he shouldn't even be there to begin with. They barely knew each other. He admired from afar, and she looked right passed him, yet he felt as though he had to say goodbye.
So he stood off in the distance, holding a single white rose that would stick out from the rest of the red ones that were laid so gently upon the casket. He watched as they stood and stared at the casket one last time before turning around and walking away from the troubling sight towards their cars, where no doubt they would be heading to some sort of reception. He shook his head silently. No, he wouldn't be going. He would simply pay his respects and leave. Once all the cars were gone, he made his way slowly forward.
It seemed like he had been walking for miles until he had finally reached the platform. He slowly lifted his head and stepped up, then gazing down at the sight he almost couldn't bare to see. The priest looked up with almost a sad smile and then silently said with his eyes, you can have a few minutes alone with her, son. He inclined his head briefly as the priest turned away, heading off to give him a few minutes with his first love.
She never knew what he had meant to him. She never knew how much he affected his sad, lonely heart. She had faced her untimely death, while he was stuck on Earth left behind. He felt his eyes tear up and he pulled off his glasses to wipe his eyes on his sleeve.
"Goodbye, Kate," he said softly, setting down his white rose in the middle of the casket. The red ones surrounded it almost naturally, like they had been waiting for it all along. "I wish you could've known how much you meant to me."
He stood there for a few moments, the tears freely falling for his troubled eyes. She was his first love. Even though they might think that he was too young, too immature to know what it was, the feeling he had once brought to her would be kept forever in his heart.
He stepped down from the platform and turned away from the sight. He stared at the tombstone, all decorated with flowers and small American flags. He sighed to himself and started the long walk about to his car. She was the American hero, dying for her country. He was the forgotten member of the team, the man who was kept in the shadows.
Jimmy Palmer gave a small smile to the world around him.
They might not have known it, but he had gotten his chance to say goodbye to the woman who never saw him. The woman who was his first true love.