Tragic Discoveries, a wildfire fanfic

Tragic Discoveries

Disclaimer:
I do not own the characters nor do I own Wildfire...This fic was written strictly for entertainment purposes...

Rating:
T

Genre:
Tragedy/Angst

Pairing:
Kris/Junior

Song Used:
"Whiskey Lullaby"-Brad Paisley f/Allison Krauss

The Loss of A True Love

It had been six months. Six painful months had gone by she'd left him. God, what the hell was I thinkin'?...I never should have left him like that...Kris Furillo thought to herself, reliving the last conversation she'd shared with Ken Davis Jr.; the only man she'd ever loved and the only man who'd ever loved her. He didn't deserve that...She thought. She'd tried to call him and apologize and try to work things out-or atleast see if they could work things out-but it had all been in vain. She either reached his answering machine or Dani would answer and make up some excuse as to why Junior couldn't talk.

Finally, she'd given up, thinking she'd never be able to get through. Though, this morning, things would be...somewhat different. Kris had been sitting in her trailer on her day off, her mind drifting to Junior. Where he might or wondering if he'd moved on and just didn't have the heart to tell her. However, all of her questions were soon answered as her phone rang. Placing the receiver to her ear, Kris greeted "Hello?"

Sighing, Danielle Davis, Junior's sister, tried to compose herself, though her voice cracked ever so slightly from emotion as she replied "Kris?...It's Dani..." Confused as to why Dani would be calling her, Kris asked "Oh, hey, Dani...What's goin' on?" Unable to bring herself to say what she'd just seen, Dani replied "Could you just...come down here a minute...There's something I think you should see..." More confused than ever now, Kris replied "Uhh...Yeah...Sure...I'll be right there..." Nodding, though she knew Kris couldn't see it, Dani replied "Thanks..." Without waiting for a response, Dani just quickly placed the phone back in the charger as she continued trying to compose herself.

He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said I'll love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby

Hanging up the phone as well, Kris quickly grabbed a sweater to shield her petite frame against the cool November breezes and the cowboy hat she'd received from Matt the past Christmas as they'd finally found one small enough for her. Walking into the Ritters' house, she soon found Jean. "Uh, Mrs. Ritter..." She addressed Jean. Turning to see who'd addressed her, Jean smiled as she replied "Oh, hey, Kris...What's on your mind?" Still not quite sure of what was going on, Kris replied "Uh...I just got a call from Dani...She wants me to head down there...She told me there's something she thinks I should take a look at..." Still smiling as she had no idea what lay in store for Kris, Jean simply replied. "Okay...Just don't stay too long...I think Todd wants you to check him out on Midnight Oil..."

Kris smirked as she remembered how well Todd had progressed during all the lessons she and Matt had given him in riding. One of the new horses, Midnight Oil, had been deemed Todd's for lessons and practice. Smirking, she replied "Oh, don't worry...I should be home in plenty of time to check out Todd's riding..." With that, she turned and grabbed the keys to the truck from the key rack and made her way out to the driveway. Climbing inside the driver's side of the truck, Kris started the engine and headed off in the direction of Dani's house.

Walking up to the front door, Kris knocked three times. Stepping back, she only had to wait a moment before the door opened to reveal Dani standing there. Noticing something was wrong, Kris asked "Dani?...Dani, what's wrong?..." Looking at the young hispanic woman standing in front of her, Kris noticed that her usually perfect makeup job had been significantly smeared due to tears. Composing herself, Dani simply ignored the question as she ushered Kris into the house.

Drying her eyes once again, Dani replied "I figured you'd wanna be the first to see this..." Dani simply stated, her face and voice void of any emotion. Baffled, Kris followed Dani upstairs to Junior's bedroom. Confused, Kris asked "Dani, what're we doing at your brother's room?" Dani simply responded "You'll see..." That said, Dani just gently pushed open the door. Immediately, Kris froze when she saw the sight of the room-more importantly its occupant.

Oh, God! No!...No, this can't be happening!...There has to be some mistake...This has to be a joke!...He can't be...Oh, God!...This is all my fault!...I drove him to this...Kris thought to herself. Before her, she saw Junior spread out across his bed, his face buried in the bloodied pillow. Upon approaching the bed, she noticed him clinging to a picture of the two of them in the middle of a field, watching the sun set. Before she even realized it, warm tears were pouring down her cheeks. "Oh my God..." She whispered so softly, Dani barely heard her. Next to the picture, Kris noticed a note scribbled in Junior's scarceley legible handwriting.

I can't take this anymore...I need her...Without her, I have no life...I'll love her 'till I die...Was all that was scribbled on the small scrap of paper. Kris was snapped out of her shocked depression when Dani broke the solemn silence which hung all throughout the room. "I heard a gunshot this morning and when I came in to see what had happened, I found...Well, I found this..." She said, recalling how the event had taken place. "This is all my fault..." Kris replied softly. Resting a hand on the ranch hand's shoulder, Dani replied gently "Kris, this isn't your fault...You didn't put the gun to his head and you definitely didn't pull the trigger...Look, I know my brother...He wouldn't blame you...And he sure as hell wouldn't want you to blame yourself..."

Spinning around to face Dani, Kris cried out "Why the hell shouldn't I blame myself?...Dani, the only man I ever loved is dead!...It's my fault, any jackass with half a brain could see that!...Just read the God damn note for Christ's sake!..." Understanding how upset Kris was, Dani was just about to reassure her when they were interrupted when a young man about their age entered the room.

"Kris, you left in a..." The young man's voice trailed off when he saw Junior lying on the bed. "Oh God..." Was all he could manage. Finally unable to take any more of this, Kris just pushed past the young man in the doorway and ran out of the house. Looking around as if he didn't know what had just happened, the young man noticed Dani's eyes flooding with tears yet again. In an effort to comfort her, he just took her in his arms as he held her close to him. Stroking her raven colored hair gently, he stated softly "Shh...It's okay, Dani...It's gonna be okay..."

Pulling away from him, Dani just looked up into his soft brown eyes as she asked desperately "How can you say that, Matt? My brother is dead! How the hell can you stand there and tell me 'it's okay'?" Matt understood how upset Dani had to be and simply held her close, trying to comfort her. It wasn't long before Dani and Junior's virtually astranged father entered.

Once they dealt with his break down-which seemed feigned-the police had been notified and the death had been officially ruled a suicide. Meanwhile, back in her trailer, Kris had shut and locked the door and threw herself down on her bed, sobbing into her pillow. I can't believe this is happening...This is all my fault...I never should have left him...She thought to herself, recalling the last time she'd seen and spoken with Junior. God...If only I could tell him how sorry I am for hurting him like that...I'm the one who deserves to die...Not him!...She thought.

Her depression was cut short by a knock on her door. Composing herself, she called out, somewhat shakily "It's open!..." Opening the door, Pablo entered Kris' trailer. "Hey...What's goin' on?" Trying to hide her hurt and pain, Kris simply replied "It's-It's nothing...Really...I'm fine..." Seeing through her façade, Pablo replied "No, it's not...I know you...It's never 'nothing'...And I can tell you're not 'fine'...What's wrong?" Finally realizing there was no use in trying to aruge with Pablo, Kris gave in.

"It's just...I got a call from Dani Davis asking me to stop by 'cause there was something she thought I should take a look at. Well...when I got there, she took me up to Junior's room. When we went inside and I saw everything...I-I froze...He was just laying there on his bed, with his face buried in a bloodied pillow with a gun lying next to his hand. In his other hand was a picture of me and him and a note that said 'I can't take this anymore...I need her...Without her, I have no life...I'll love her 'till I die...'...Damn it, Pablo, he killed himself and it's all my fault!..." Kris could no longer fight back the tears as she recalled the sight of Junior in his bed.

Understanding how she was feeling, Pablo just sat next to her on her bed and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders as he replied gently "Kris...Don't blame yourself...This was just a decision that Junior made on his own...You didn't make it for him-Nobody did...And if I know Junior, I know he wouldn't want you to blame yourself...Nobody else blames you..." Burying her face into Pablo's shoulder, Kris replied "Yeah, but I caused him to make that decision...It was right there in the damn note for Christ's sake!..." Understanding that it would take a while for Kris to get things together, Pablo just sat there with her a while longer until she finally calmed down.

Pulling away from her, Pablo stated "Listen, you're going through a rough time right now...Why don't you take a couple days off...Clear your head...Let things sorta settle down...Come back to work when you're ready..." Half-smiling half-heartedly, Kris replied "Thanks, Pablo..." With that said, Pablo simply returned the smile as he stood to leave. "Well...I got a lot a work to do...You gonna be okay?..." He asked. Thinking a moment, Kris shook her head slightly as she honestly replied "I-I don't know...I guess I'll just have to wait and see..." Nodding understandingly, Pablo replied "Fair enough..."

With that, Pablo just turned and left the trailer. Lying back down on her bed, Kris pulled out a picture of her and Junior sitting in her trailer, watching some fourth of July fireworks. God...I am so sorry, Junior...I never meant for any of this to happen...I never intended to hurt you...If only there was some way I could go back in time and stop myself from breaking up with you...None of this would have happened...You'd still be alive...She thought to herself, recalling all that had transpired over the past twenty-four hours. You didn't deserve to die...If anyone does, it's me...I should've never hurt you like that...You deserved a hell of a lot better...She thought.

As the hours slowly creeped by, Kris watched as the other ranch hands and Pablo and Matt, Todd, and Jean all went about their days as the sun finally began to slowly set over the horizon. Putting the picture away, Kris just slowly drifted off to sleep. Tossing and turning as visions of her and Junior haunted her dreams. God...I am so not gonna be okay...She thought to herself.