The Funeral
Chapter 1

September 2019

Dr. Haynes leaned forward across his desk, the file open in front of him.

"Things look good, Lyla," he said, glancing down the paperwork in the file. "I feel confident we can help you have a baby."

Lyla turned to look at Jason and smiled. She tightened her hand around his.

"Now, Jason," the doctor began. "We're going to have to work a little more on your end, you know."

Jason nodded. It was one of the many things they had told him about during rehab. Spinal cord injury messed with everything—it screwed up the way you peed, how you took a crap and how you made love. It really messed up how you had a baby.

"Do you have a lot of trouble with autonomic dysreflexia?"

Jason shook his head. He'd only experienced it a couple of times—the sweating, pain and chills that came with a dramatic increase in his blood pressure. He was lucky. There were a few guys on the rugby squad that had regular problems with AD.

"Good. We'll have to collect sperm and the methods we use to collect can cause AD. So, we'll do that in my office and give you something to try and minimize any issues with your blood pressure."

Jason pulled Lyla's hand up to his lips and gave her a quick kiss. He wanted to do this for Lyla, for them both. Having a child wasn't going to be simple, but if there was a chance of succeeding, of having a baby that was biologically theirs, he wanted to try.

"It's not going to be the way your mom and dad made babies, but we'll do everything we can to make sure you go home with a little one," the doctor said as he closed their file. "Our policy here is to make dreams come true."

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"They do what?" Tim said as he slid the open bottle of beer toward Jason. He tipped his own soda can to his lips and pulled up his chair to the table where Jason sat.

"Well, one of the many things I can't do normally anymore is get the little guys to come out and play, so they have to give me a little shock and that makes the sperm come out."

Tim shook his head. "Damn, Street. Broken neck or no, of course it makes them come out. Nobody, and I mean nobody, needs to be getting a shock like that in the back door."

Jason shook his head and lifted a finger to his lips. "The girls are coming back with Jake. No more talk about sperm or baby-making."

Lyla and Tyra walked over to the table, laughing. Jake ran ahead. "Hey, Uncle Jason—I got the high score on my game!"

"Way to go, buddy," Jason replied as he bumped fists with Jake. "Your mom always did have good hand-eye coordination."

"Nice, Six," Tim shot back. "Way to have my back."

"So, I hear Lyla's getting you a cattle prod for Christmas," Tyra said as she and Lyla sat down.

Tim let out a hoot. It was one thing to tell your best friend that you needed a bolt of electricity to get things moving, so to speak. But telling your best friend's wife was almost certainly off limits. Jay didn't seem to mind too much, just took a real long swallow of his beer. Lyla on the other hand blushed and dropped her head, her hair falling over her face.

"Tyra—what I say in the ladies room needs to stay there."

"What's a cattle prod?" Jake asked as he took a sip of his soda and grabbed another slice of pizza.

Now things were just getting out of control, although Tim could barely stifle his laughter.

"Hey, Jake—you ready for a challenge?" Jason asked, changing the subject. "I bet I can beat that top score."

Jake dropped his pizza back on his plate, cattle prod forgotten. "Awesome!" he cried as he headed back into the arcade with Jason following him.

"He looks good with a kid," Tim said as he picked another slice of pizza off the tray. They tried to spend a weekend together every few months or so, and Jay always seemed to bond instantly with Jake.

The three of them watched Jake and Jason battle it out in the arcade, Jake eventually raising his arms in the air as the champion. Turning back to the table, Tim saw the frown creasing Lyla's face.

She sighed, "I just wish this wasn't such an ordeal—it could be dangerous for him."

Tyra reached over and took Lyla's hand. "Are you sure you want to take that chance?" she asked.

"It's what Jason wants," Lyla replied, then paused and smiled. "And I want it too, but not if it's going to hurt him."

"Sometimes you have to take a chance on that stuff, though, Garrity," Tim answered. He looked over at Tyra and winked. "Like I did."

"The hell you did!" Tyra exclaimed. "I'm the one who had to take the chance on the fact that you had grown up and weren't such an idiot any more!"

"Who's calling who an idiot?" Jason asked as he wheeled back to the table.

Lyla leaned over and kissed him. "Me. For loving you," she teased.

"As if," Jason replied as he kissed her back.

"So, what time do we need to get there tonight?" Lyla asked Tyra.

Tyra checked her watch. "We should go pretty soon. Landry said the seats are good, but with the new album and the Grammy and the tour selling out, I have the sense it might be a bit of a scene."

Tim shook his head. It was still hard to believe Landry was 'this' type of famous. His band had released a bunch of albums before Tim got back together with Tyra, but in the last two years, their star had really taken off.

"Landry Clarke—man, who knew?" Jason said as he reached to take another sip of his beer.

"I knew," Tyra said quietly.

Tim reached over and took her hand. "You sure did, babe," he replied as he squeezed her hand. He was happy for Landry, and for Tyra who still worked as a promoter with his tour, and was enjoying the success of the band.

"And Matt and Julie?" Jason asked.

"They're meeting us there," Tyra replied. "They're leaving EJ with Julie's mom and dad for the night and then driving down from Denton. I'm not sure that Julie regularly lets that kid out of her sight."

"I can understand that," Lyla said, quietly, then turned and smiled at Jason. "But hopefully we'll have our own to worry about soon enough."

"Soon enough," Jason echoed.

"There's a limo here!" Jake yelled as he ran up to the table. "And the driver guy came in and said he was looking for me!"

"Oh man, Landry..." Tyra called out.

"Always the cool cat, that Landry," Tim said as he stood up. He reached over and grabbed the check.

"Hey, I'm getting that," Jason said.

Tim pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "Nah, this one's on me, Street. Remember, we're staying at your place tonight."

"Yeah, but you're going to have to help me in and out of that stupid limo," Jason reminded him.

"Hey, that's what friends, and new knees, are for," Tim responded.

Jason nodded and smiled. "Okay, let's go see Country's newest super star."

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"Ohmigod, Julie!" Tyra cried as she walked up to the Saracens in front of the stadium. "You look like you're going to burst."

Julie Taylor Saracen smiled, and slid her hand to her back, trying to relieve the pain that had started while they stood outside the stadium waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. She had definitely wanted to come see Landry and his band, but the fact remained that she was eight months pregnant and everything hurt.

"We had to stop every twenty minutes," Matt replied. "Every twenty minutes between Dillon and Denton, every twenty minutes between Denton and Austin..."

"I'd like to see how often you had to pee if you had a watermelon sitting on top of your bladder," Julie responded as swarms of people washed around them on their way into the concert.

"And how's EJ?" Lyla asked.

"Wonderful," Julie replied, her smile growing. "You're going to love being a mother, Lyla."

"I bet Coach is over the moon with a grandson," Jason added as he set the brakes on his chair. "You planning to add a running back to your quarterback? Y'all could be the Mannings of West Texas."

"What about you?" Matt asked. "You looking to extend the dynasty."

"Absolutely not," Lyla said, tossing her hair with a smile on her face. "No football players. They're going to be girls and if they're not, they're going to be in the orchestra."

"Wow, Street...big talk from the wife," Tim said as he clapped Jason on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, are you the Collette group?" a young man with a clipboard asked.

"Uh, yes," Tyra replied. "I'm Tyra Collette—uh, Riggins."

"Nice one, Landry," Jason said as he looked over at Tim.

"Water under the bridge, Street," Tim replied.

Julie nodded at Tim's response, impressed. He'd come a long way from three years ago when he was butting heads with Landry at every turn.

"Hey, Jake—let's go," Tim called. "We're headed in."

"Mr. Clarke has y'all in a box," the assistant said. "We can head over to the VIP door now, if you would like to follow me."

"Landry Clarke," Julie said, shaking her head. "Who knew?"

Tyra just smiled at her.

"Question of the night," Tim said as he took Tyra's hand. "Let's get in there and see what Lando can do—hopefully it's half as good as the first time I saw him perform with that band in high school...Crucisomething."

Lyla fell in step with Julie. "So you're feeling good and everything?"

Julie shrugged. "Pretty good, I guess. I mean, it was a pretty big surprise. EJ will only be a year old when the baby is born, but we want a big family and after everything we went through with the first baby, this was just kind of a blessing. Are you still planning on trying?"

"Yeah," Lyla responded. "As soon as possible." She smiled at Jason.

Tyra fell into step on Julie's other side. "More baby talk?"

"Of course," Julie replied, laughing. "And what about you? You and Tim going to give Jake a baby sister or brother?"

Tyra smiled at Jake walking alongside Tim. "We haven't really talked about it. Tim's still getting used to having one kid, I think."

"Are you women still talking about babies?" Jason asked as he joined them.

Lyla leaned over and slid her arm around his shoulder. "We've got babies on the brain, Jason Street. What do you expect?"

Julie looked over and smiled at them. Hopefully everything would work out as well for them as it had for her and Matt.

/-/

Landry Clarke looked in the mirror, the large bulbs seeming to highlight every line on his face. He touched his hair, moussed and hardened by hair spray. The costume he put on for the stage never seemed very real to him.

"Landry?"

Landry looked over to see his manager Joan standing at the door. "Yep?"

"You up for a visitor?" she asked, a smile on her face as she opened the door a bit wider.

Jake burst through the door. "Landry!" he called as he launched himself into the singer's arms. "I missed you!"

Landry tightened his arms around the boy. It had been too long. He loved the crowds and the energy of being on the road, but not seeing Jake for months was almost too hard to bear.

"I totally beat Uncle Jason at Pacman," Jake said.

"Pacman?" Landry asked. "Isn't that like an antique?" Man, Pacman had been old when he was Jake's age.

"C'mon, Landry—it's vintage," Jake said with an exaggerated sigh.

Landry shook his head. "How does an eleven year old even know what vintage is?"

"Cause it's what Mom likes," Jake replied. "Dad even got her a vintage ring for her birthday this year. I helped him pick it out."

Landry laughed and just shook his head. "So, how are the seats?"

"Awesome!" Jake shouted. "We're in this box thing all by ourselves and we'll totally be able to see you and the whole band and they have food and drinks and stuff and Dad moved some stuff around so that Uncle Jason can totally see and everything!"

Jake was such a good kid—Tyra had raised him so well. And Tim had been good for him, too, Landry had to admit. He had finally sold his share of the house to Tyra and Tim, and bought another one nearby. Not that he was ever there. His band had been travelling so much in the past few years. He was looking forward to this tour ending and getting back to Nashville. He was going to take a nice long break over Christmas and spend some quality time with Jake, with his family.

"So, where's your mom?" Landry asked. He had really been hoping to see Tyra before the show.

"Right here," Tyra said as she slowly walked into the room. "Crowd looks great, Landry."

"Totally sold-out, but I'd hope you knew that," Landry replied.

"You must have a good promoter," Tyra said, a smile crossing her face.

"Team Landry—best in the business," he answered.

"We'd better get back to our seats. I think the opening band is about to wrap up," Tyra explained.

"One more hug!" Landry requested as Jake flung his arms around him again. As he tightened his arms around the boy he looked up at Tyra. She smiled. And he knew she probably understood that he wished the hug was from her as well.

"Okay, Jake, let's go," Tyra instructed. Jake headed for the door, but Tyra waited an extra moment. She walked over and touched his arm. "Break a leg, Landry." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then turned and started to follow Jake out the door.

"Hey, Tyra," Landry said.

She stopped and turned back to face him.

"After the concert—there's a party. I, uh...I want you to meet someone. And I want to see everyone, so bring Tim and the rest of them."

"I'd love to, but it'll be awfully late for Jake," Tyra said.

"Please mom," Jake cried.

"Just a few minutes?" Landry asked, watching Tyra's face for a break in her resolve.

She relented, her shoulders dropping and a smile crossing her face.

"Excellent," he said, rising up to give her one last hug. "And then brunch tomorrow, right?"

"Absolutely," Tyra replied. "I know Jake is counting on it."

"Five minutes to curtain," the stage manager called out as he walked down the hallway.

"Later," Tyra said as she kissed his cheek again.

"Later," Landry replied, watching as Tyra tucked her arm around Jake and headed back to their seats.

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"You look good with a baby," Tami Taylor said as she walked into the family room. EJ was sound asleep in Eric's arms. He was such a natural with babies.

"We should live closer to them," Eric said, his finger sweeping gently along the soft skin on EJ's cheek.

The baby's eyes stayed close, his breathing even as he slept on, not bothered by his grandfather's close attention.

"I think that's a very good idea," Tami said as she sat down next to Eric on the couch. She smiled sadly. "It doesn't seem like we should take time for granted."

"Probably not," Eric said as he continued to stare down at the sleeping baby's face.

Moving would be a big step, but with their second grandchild due in a month, she knew she was going to wish she still lived in Dillon anyway. But she had her practice to consider, and then there was Eric's health. He had a rapport with his doctors, and his care had been top notch both here in Denton and at the cancer center in Dallas.

If she could take it all back—turn back the clocks to before Eric had gotten sick—she never would have left Dillon. Family was too precious to separate by distance.

Tami leaned her head onto his shoulder. She wished it could always be like this—that they could just hold this time for a little bit longer.

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"That was some pretty nifty dancin', Saracen," Tim drawled, elbowing Matt in the ribs as they made their way backstage.

Matt felt his cheeks grow red. He'd never been one of those 'scream your head off at a concert' teenagers. He'd always felt stupid jumping around and yelling out the lyrics; like everyone was staring at him and his bad singing voice. But tonight, he had to admit he'd felt a bit of the crowd's energy seep into his bones.

"I was being supportive," Matt tried to explain.

"You were gettin' your groove on," Tyra chided, laughing.

Matt laughed, unable to deny it. It was official. He was a member of the Hometown Hero fan club.

"Hey, over here!"

Landry was waving at them from across the room. His hair was damp and he'd changed clothes since the last encore.

"Landry, you were awesome!" Jake cried, latching his arms around Landry's waist.

Landry beamed, tousling Jake's hair. "It was a good crowd," he said, brushing off the compliment.

"It was a good concert," Tyra said firmly, leaning in to hug him. She pulled back and wrinkled her nose. "But you need another shower."

"Hey, playing guitar is hard work," Landry protested.

"Performing for the ladies is hard work, Lando," Tim teased. "Did you hear them screaming? You must be the straightest gay guy in Nashville."

"Oh, there is nothing straight about this guy," a male voice interrupted.

Matt turned to see a man approach them from behind. He circled around to stand behind Landry, placing his hand on Landry's shoulder.

"So," the stranger continued. "Introductions?"

Landry grinned, his cheeks reddening even further. "Everyone, this is Ken. Ken, this is Tyra and Tim and their son, Jake. My friends Matt and Julie and my soon to be god child and...where's Jason and Lyla?"

"They're meeting us at the car," Tyra explained. "So, you're this person Landry said we had to meet, huh?" She winked at Landry.

Matt shook his head. Well, so it had finally happened. As far as he knew, Landry had dated. But he'd never brought someone home to meet his friends, so to speak. As Landry made formal introductions around the group, Ken's hand slipped off Landry's shoulder and down to grasp Landry's right hand in his. The smile on Landry's face was obvious. Matt grinned and reached out to shake Ken's hand in turn.

Way to go, Landry, he thought to himself. Way to go.

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Five Years Later...

Julie heard the phone ring. She tucked her head under the covers. It was too early. Good news never came in an early phone call.

Beside her Matt fumbled for the phone, finally stopping the incessant ringing. His voice was quiet, then Julie heard the dreaded one-word questions. "What? How? When?"

Fear filled her heart. She knew without even having to ask. It was bad.

/tbc/

Disclaimer: All characters who appear in these stories belong to their respective creators, including Imagine Entertainment, NBC Universal Television Studio and Film 44.
Authors' Note: Thanks to our special guest beta, you know who you are.

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