"Skilynn McKenzie," I whispered and cradled her to my chest. I looked over at Freddie only to notice the tears in his eyes. I knew that saying her middle name would be hard for us. "I miss her too" I told him as I reached over to grab his hand. He looked up with a sad smile on his face.

"Can you believe it's been almost five years?" He asked as he stroked my hand with his thumb. I shook my head, looking down at the beautiful, dark-haired doll in my arms.

"Do you think we should get her tested too?" I said as I looked in his eyes again.

"It wouldn't hurt," He said as he adverted his eyes from mine. "It is genetic," He muttered as I began to see the tears falling slowly to the floor.

*Flashback*

"Freddie, are you at all worried that our 15 month daughter isn't attempting to walk?" I asked, worried that something was wrong. I thought that there was a chance she could be mentally challenged, but I wouldn't hold it against her. It was just that I would rather know than be left in the dark.

"Calm down, Sam, I'm sure it's nothing. She stands doesn't she?" Freddie asked. Every time I brought this up, he would always say the same thing.

"Freddie, she hasn't stood by herself in almost three weeks. Can we just please take her to the doctor?" I begged. If there was something wrong with her then I wanted to know.

"I guess, but I am telling you, Sam, that there is nothing wrong with our child." He said, kissing me on the head. I knew that I really should fret over something as simply as that, but I couldn't help it.

"Thank you," I told him, picking up, McKenzie."

*End of Flashback*

"Freddie, it isn't your fault, you know. No parent wants to believe their child has something wrong with them." I tried to calm his nerves. He never did forgive himself for not noticing earlier.

"But, if I had listened to you, maybe McKenzie wouldn't have died." He said, now angry. I knew that even the mention of her name would set him off. I had hopes of the name not being a skeleton in his closet that he lived with, if I named our newborn it.

"Freddie, you have to let go off the past. You have a daughter now. I'm not saying that we should forget McKenzie, but we shouldn't make our living daughter suffer for it." I nearly yelled at him. I couldn't take him constantly talking about it.

"How can you expect me to just forget about her? She was your child too." He matched my tone. I glared at him. I couldn't believe he thought that I would forget my own child. I'm sorry that I had to watch my child die right in front of me and I couldn't do anything about it.

"How could you expect me to forget my child? I was the one who carried her." I spoke softly after Skilynn woke up. I gently rocked her back to sleep like I did when McKenzie was still here.

*Flashback*

I watched as she took her final breaths. I knew that I had to stay strong, if not forever, just until she took her final breath. I didn't want the last picture painted in her head to be one of me crying over her body. I knew that this was the best thing at the moment. She was in a vegetation state. I knew that the pain she felt was worse than the one that I would feel for the time to come.

I watched as her tiny body gasped to find the air that she needed to fill her lungs. "It's okay, baby," I told her as I stroked her forehead. I bent down to kiss her cheek, as a single tear made its way down my cheek and pooled on her face. I thought about how no parent should have to go through this. No parent should have to sit there and watch there child die. No parent should have to bury their own child.

*End of Flashback*

She died that night. At the age of 2 ½, my baby girl left this world Being only 19 at the time, I didn't see the future ahead. The one thing that I was grateful to have at the time was Freddie. He honestly helped me through the time.

"Look, I'm sorry; just can we go see her? It will be Skilynn's first time meeting her big sister." He smiled sadly but yet lovingly at Skilynn.

"Yeah, we'll go right now." I told him as I shifted Skilynn in my arms. I grabbed her diaper bag before we headed out the door. I grabbed Freddie's hand as we headed to the grave site.

As we walked down the grassy area, I grabbed Freddie's hand. Every time we came here I got chills. I sat the car seat down and unbuckled Skilynn from it. "Skilynn, meet your big sister." I told her as I faced her towards the tombstone.

McKenzie Lynn Benson

February 17, 2010-August 29, 2012

An angel visited the green earth, and took a flower away

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Kelsey