A/N: This is going to be an incredibly busy semester. I'm not sure how much writing I'll get done. But I'll try my best! I have a feeling I'll be doing one-shots for a while, though.

I would like to dedicate this to the fabulous Miss Fenway. She's…amazing. Really. You can see in each of her stories her hard work and heart. It's something I've come to admire greatly. So, this is for you, Laura!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Carlos can't bring himself to look. If he looks, he knows he'll have to face the truth, the unbearable awful truth that he's been evading for the past week. Instead, the Latino looks down at his rosary, his hands shaking as his thumb rolls over the beads in accordance to each Hail Mary he hears. He was once told that out of respect, the vigil is held in connection to the departed's faith. As he stares down at the familiar beads in his hand, he can't help but wish he isn't here, practicing his own faith amongst the people gathered around him.

The teen jumps as he feels a strong hand on his shoulder. He tears his gaze from the beads and focuses on the man sitting on his left. Officer Maxwell Fine gives him an encouraging smile, though Carlos thinks the cop's blood-shot eyes and the steady stream of tears on his cheeks hinder the good man's Fine has been a family friend of the Garcia's as far back as Carlos can remember. In fact, Carlos sees him more as a family member rather than a long-time friend. Through his grief, the boy feels his already cracked heart break that much more at the older man's visage. Tears threatening to spill, Carlos quickly looks back down. As he stares at his hands once more, he fights the urge to look up ten feet ahead of him.

As he battles through the temptation, Carlos hears a choked sob coming from his right. He bunches the rosary and moves it to his left hand, and without changing his position he reaches out to grab his mother's hand. He feels his mother squeeze his hand tightly, her violent trembling causing Carlos to wobble as well.

So lost he is in his mind, the raven-haired boy barely noticed the viewers standing up. Joining the rest, Carlos stands up as a deep voice begins to speak. He hears, but doesn't listen. The eighteen year old tries to understand the man's words, but he fails miserably. His internal struggle reaches its maximum, diverting what little focus he possesses. Soon, Carlos realizes it's futile: he won't win. Giving in, Carlos raises his head, his gaze going straight to the object of his fears. There in front of him, surrounded by the candles he and his family had carefully placed, is a picture of his father, dressed in uniform. He stifles a cry as the truth finally catches up with him.

Officer Carlos Garcia, Sr. is dead.

An otherworldly coldness rips through his body, puncturing his soul. No matter what he does, Carlos cannot rid the sensation. He feels it permeate throughout his entire being, overwhelming his senses. Sinking to the chair, he shakes his head, trying to regain some normalcy. His mother's words pierce through the ringing in his ears, asking if he was all right. Instantly, the feeling lessens enough for Carlos to assure his mother he's fine. Unsteadily, he stands back up and attempts to listen once again.

Before Carlos can properly comprehend what's going on, he hears the shuffling sound of feet. Turning around, he finds several people, familiar and unfamiliar approach he and his mother. A resounding cacophony takes place as they all begin to speak at once, offering their condolences. As his mother graciously accepts their kind words, Carlos feels the same sensation take hold of him yet again. Soon, he finds it difficult to breathe. So concentrated he was on trying to breathe, he almost misses a very distinct voice call out his name.

"Carlos!" he hears it exclaims. He forces himself to look over to where he hears the voice, and sees his three best friends standing before him. But even the presence of his friends can't break the mindset he's in. It becomes more than he can bear. In a desperate attempt to save himself, he switches to autopilot, as his brain feeds him one message.

Run.

"Carlos?" Kendall asks again, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Carlos, are you—" But before the blonde can finish his sentence, Carlos abruptly jerks away and distances himself from the others. Kendall sends a concerned glance to James before his eyes return to the grieving teen.

He takes a hesitant step forward. "Carlos?"

The boy in question remains silent. Kendall falters momentarily in response to his unusual behavior, but proceeds to take another step. This time, rather than backing away, Carlos shoots forward, past his friends, and quickly maneuvers around the straggling crowd as he swiftly exits the police station.

"Carlos!" James cries out as he and Kendall lunge forward. But before they could get too far, a voice causes them to cease.

"Don't," Mrs. Garcia states sadly, "Let him. He needs time."

Kendall and James bow their heads remorsefully, knowing that there's nothing they can do to help him right now. Suddenly, James' eyes widen unexpectedly, a thought entering his head. He looks around the room frantically, looking for something.

"Kendall?" he asks, "Where's Logan?"

He doesn't go very far, just far enough to feel isolated from the others. Spotting a park to his left, Carlos runs to it. Slowing down, Carlos finds a bench located under an oak tree. The teen sits, his breathing slowly becoming more even. Eventually, his heart resumes its natural beat, permitting Carlos to return to his normal state.

His sits on the park bench for a while, allowing his mind and heart to process the harsh reality. Burying his head in his hands, Carlos finally releases what he's been bottling up inside for the past week and weeps.

The sound of leaves crunching causes Carlos to violently jerk his head up from his hands. He whirls around and stands to face the unknown visitor. "Just leave me alon—" Carlos stops himself, his words vanishing as soon as he recognizes who it is.

Logan.

The brunette remains silent, his normally inquisitive brown eyes lackluster as he gazes at Carlos sadly. As Carlos looks into Logan's eyes, his heart drops to his stomach, the sudden insight taking hold of him. Here, standing in front of him, is perhaps one of the few people in the world who could possibly understand what he's going through.

"Carlos," Logan whispers as he pulls the other boy into a tight embrace. Carlos finds himself unable to talk, the sadness swelling within him. As he hugs Logan tightly, Carlos begins to sob even harder than before.

Carlos doesn't know how long they stood there as he continued to cry into his friend's shoulder, but in time, the mourning teen calms down. Logan pulls away from Carlos and leads him back to the bench. As they sit, Logan rubs Carlos' shoulder comfortingly, unable to offer much else.

"He was on duty at the time," Carlos explains quietly. Logan tries to hide his shock, knowing that Carlos had never told he or the others about what happened to Officer Garcia. He patiently waits to see if Carlos will continue to tell the story.

He does.

"There was a robbery in progress at a convenience store. My dad and Officer Fine were the first ones to arrive at the scene. There was a scuffle between them and the robbers, and one of the robbers grabbed hold of this kid they were holding hostage. She must've been scared, you know? I think the robbers were hoping for that. My dad reacted instantly. He saved that girl's life and killed that robber, but in the process, the other robber shot him in the head. With the robber distracted, Officer Fine was able to successfully cripple him. According to Officer Fine, he got to my dad as fast as he could. But it was too late."

Carlos closes his eyes, a pained expression creeping onto his face, "Officer Fine assured us he wasn't in pain for long…"

Logan sits back against the bench, almost unable to process Officer Garcia's demise. He's always seen the older man as unstoppable, invincible. To hear the full story is startling, to say the least.

"I remember when I used to think it was cool that my dad was a cop," Carlos continues bitterly, "He was always the coolest parent on show-and-tell day. But now…I'd give anything for him to have been a mailman or a did he have to be cop? Why did he have to leave me?"

"Your father was a brave man," Logan declares, "Unselfish. His death was not in vain."

"Does it get better?" Carlos asks suddenly, his voice desperate.

Logan sighs. "Honestly? You'll learn how to deal with it, to avoid the things that you know will trigger your emotions. But it's hard, Carlos. You'll never stop missing him."

Carlos' heart clenches. "I know."

They fell into silence, each boy lost in his thoughts.

Out of the four boys, Logan and Carlos have always been the least alike. Where Logan is calm and cautious, Carlos is hyperactive and reckless. There have been times in their friendship where they didn't see eye-to-eye on certain matters. With the exception of hockey, they didn't really have any common interests. At times, Carlos has wondered how their friendship had lasted for so long.

But as they sit there, Carlos realizes they're more alike than either of them could have imagined. Both have come to know the cruelties of the world, the injustices that plague mankind. Both have known the loss of a loved one in the most gruesome fashion.

Both are broken.

They may not have the same personality, hobbies, or dreams, but they now have a bond of the deepest kind, and for the first time in seven days, Carlos feels some solace. In the midst of the chaos, Carlos senses the beginnings of peace. They may both be broken, but they'll always have each other.

And for now, that's all Carlos can ask for.

A/N: What did you guys think? Any good?

And yes, this is another prequel to "If Today Was Your Last Day." I haven't really made any reference to this within the story, but I plan to in the next chapter (once I get the inspiration to finish it).

I was also thinking of making this a two-shot, with the next chapter being about the funeral. What do you guys think? Just know, if there's a sequel, it'll be a while until I post it. But please do let me know.

Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it!