Author's note: Hey, guys. So I promised I'd get a story up. Still working on the origin stuff, but I reached a small block. So this is a one shot after Kor'i (Starfire) dies in my story The Faults In Our Lives. I hope you enjoy it.

EDITS: So I went back through and edited this story because I love it so much. Anyhoo. I'm a little better from last week (not massively, but kinda.)

It's been a few weeks since Kor'i had died. To say things were back to normal would be a lie. The adults who had just spent three years in captivity are still getting use to being with their kids again and dealing with the fact they aren't kids anymore. The teens are adjusting to having their parents back in their lives, because at this point they had a routine of their own and their parents are out of place. For some it's been easier, but for others...not so much. The Graysons being in the latter category.

Having lost their mother after spending a few hours with her, the young Grayson triplets had changed. Sapphire now had screaming fits whenever she messed up and hurt herself as she trains, the latest being a broken wrist. Richie hadn't said a word since the funeral, which wasn't uncommon, but Matt swore to the others he'd heard Richie breaking furniture in his room and screaming. The most drastic change was Emerald. She'd always been the most like her mother, laughing and babbling at top speed, slipping in and out of Tamaranian, flying around the tower more than she walked. No one could get her to laugh or even smile in over five weeks. She just sat quietly, looking out the window, trying to hold herself together. The two that no one saw major changes in were Nightwing and Sophie. This doesn't surprise anyone, since the two having years of suppressing their emotions under their belts to keep them normal.

No one knows how much it's been eating away at both of them. Sophie's heart seems to break every morning because for one moment she would forget her mother was gone. Dick has pulled away frrom everyone, even his children. Neither knows how to ask for help. So they go about their days as normal. Training, hacking, fighting bad guys, making sure the league has up to date records, more training, calming Sapphire down when she gets into one of her rages, pushing food away, staying up well into the night working, working, working. Everyone knows it's a matter of time before they break.

Sophie helps Emerald button up her blouse after her nap. The little girl looks her big sister in the eyes and Sophie feels her heart break. Emerald is a carbon copy of their mother, same pure green eyes and same fiery red hair that curled or straightened as it pleases. Sophie pushes the heart break down.

"Is Daddy angry at me?" Emerald asks.

"Why would you think Daddy is angry at you?" Sophie frowns. Their father had more or less locked his children out, but Sophie knew it was just an emotional response. It didn't mean that he was angry… did it?

"When he looks at me, his face tenses up. He never talks to me. Did I do something wrong?"

"Daddy is just… sad, Em. I promise he isn't angry." Emerald doesn't look convinced. Sophie pulls her sister into a tight hug.

"You seem angry too." Emerald mumbles into her sister's ear," You and Daddy get the same face when you look at me."

"I just miss Mommy." Sophie sighs. A flash of a ghost passes before her. Her mother picks her up, tickling her belly and singing to her. Sophie bites her lip, hard, to keep from crying.

"I miss her too." Emerald says," But I don't understand why you look at me like that."

Emerald and her siblings are much smarter than most four year olds, but Sophie forgets that they're still naive about somethings. Sophie closes her eyes and sighs.

"Emmy, I am sorry if I've made you think you've done something wrong. You look so much like Mommy, that it hurts to see you." Emerald's eyes well up with tears.

"I'm sorry! I can't help it." She cries.

"I know, baby. I know. It's not your fault and to be honest I'm jealous. You get to see Mommy every time you look in the mirror, and Mommy was very pretty." Sophie offers her sister a tense smile that the toddler doesn't return. Sophie sends her to the living room so she can get a snack and goes in search of her father. She finds him, where else, in his office working. She knocks on the door frame," Dad, do you have a second to talk?"

"I'm busy, honey." He says quickly.

"It's about Emerald." Sophie sees her father's head perk up at his youngest daughter's name," She thinks we're angry at her."

"Why would she think that?" He turns to face her. His thick black hair is streaked with grey and his once bright blue eyes are dull and surrounded by dark bags. She briefly wonders how she looks in his eyes. She isn't the his little girl anymore, she's been through too much shit to be that, but some part of her wants him to grab her and tell her everything is ok. Dick studies his daughter, and wonders what's going through her head.

"She says every time we look at her we tense up." Sophie steps in so the door closes.

"I'll talk to her." He turns away, assuming that will be the end of the conversation.

"When?"

"When I'm not busy."

"Dad, we both know that won't be happening anytime soon." He whips around.

"Excuse me, young lady?"

"You're going to keep yourself busy and you're going to ignore them." the words come out more bitter than she meant for them to be, but she does nothing to change her tone.

"I'm doing my best-"

"To bury the pain. Don't you think I did the same thing when you all got captured?!" Her volume begins to raise as the pain she'd forced down comes back up," It's not going to work and you're going to hurt them-"

"Don't you dare tell me how to raise my children!" He's suddenly towering over his daughter. She laughs, too loudly and too short to be real.

"You haven't been here long enough to raise them! Who do you think changed their diapers?! Who stayed up all night with them when they were sick?! Who sang them to sleep after they woke up from a nightmare?! Who let them stay in their bed when they couldn't fall back asleep?!" She growls," You've been gone for three and a half years!"

"That wasn't my fault!" He shouts.

"I'm not saying it is," She shouts back," But ignoring them isn't going to help!"

"IT'S WORKED BEFORE!"
"BEFORE ISN'T NOW, DAD!" Sophie yells," I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU, BUT YOU'RE BEING SO FUCKING STUBBORN!"

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO HELP ME!" Her father yells," I AM YOUR FATHER, I DON'T NEED YOU TO FIX ME!"

"I'M NOT TRYING TO FIX YOU! I'M TRYING TO KEEP YOU FROM DESTROYING OUR FAMILY! WE DON'T HAVE OUR MOTHER ANYMORE AND YOU'VE MADE IT SO WE BARELY HAVE OUR FATHER! IT'S NOT FAIR THAT YOU'VE PULLED AWAY FROM US!" It feels good to scream. It feels good to get angry. She's never seen him this angry. His eyes narrow and his face turns red. He keeps his arms at his side, fist clenched tightly. He gets angry just like she does," I HATED IT WHEN YOU DID THIS TO ME WHEN I WAS LITTLE! YOU DIDN'T LET ME IN AND I AM THROUGH TRYING!"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT, MAR'I?!"

"I WANT MY DAD BACK! I WANT TO STOP ACTING LIKE A FUCKING MOTHER TO MY BROTHER AND SISTERS! I'VE HAD TO DO IT SINCE I WAS 14 AND I AM OVER IT! YOU'RE HERE, YOU'RE BACK, YOU'RE ALIVE! IT'S FINE TO MOURN MOM, BUT NOT LOCKING OUT YOUR KIDS! I WANT YOU TO BE A FUCKING FATHER TO YOUR CHILDREN!" She screams so loud it feels like her throat is tearing in half,"AND THE ONLY WAY THAT IT FEELS LIKE I CAN GET THAT IS TO HELP YOU! SO WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU?!"

"YOU WANT TO HELP?!" He shouts," BRING YOUR MOTHER BACK!"

"DON'T YOU THINK I'VE TRIED!" It's suddenly very quiet. Sophie's voice breaks as she talks," Don't you think that I've asked Aunt Rae and Aunt Zatanna and Lila and everyone I could think of? I've researched spell after spell, spending hours and hours trying to find someone or something that can help. I have spent weeks looking for an answer, but there's nothing. Mom is gone. And she would hate you for abandoning your children."

"I haven't abandoned you!" He meant to shout that, but seeing her holding back tears, he can't bring himself to.

"Yeah, you have. I'm use to it, but Emmy, Sapphy, and Richie had six months with you before you all were taken. They don't remember you. Now all they know is how distant you are, how cold you can be. They know the worst of you." The two look at each other in silence. The few times they'd fought in the past, this has happened. They reached a point in their fights where there was nothing left they could say. That's usually where her mother would come in, and she wouldn't say anything, just look at them like she knew everything they felt no matter how hard they pushed it down. Kor'i was so much better dealing with fights. She was better at being a mom. She was just better.

And now she's gone.

Author's note: DRAMA! no seriously. i know i left the last officially chapter of The Faults in Our Lives, meaning pre-epilogue, on a cliffhanger and the epilogue didn't capture how much the death affected the Grayson family. This is still early stages of grief, but I figure it would pave the way to some other stories involving the triplets.

EDIT: DRAMA! Sorry couldn't resist. I still love this story. It didn't spawn the stories I thought it would, but the stories I did write have been good.