Fabian was awoken by the irritating sound of the house phone ringing. He and KT had fallen asleep on the sofa, and she, too, was stirring, groaning.

His eyes felt heavy and his eyelashes were spiky, sticking together slightly from the previous night's tears. He gently untangled himself from KT and reached for the phone, picking it up with his shaky hands.

"Hello?" he asked, as he answered the call.

"Fabes!" a familiar voice said.

"Joy?" he replied. Normally, he'd be delighted to hear from his old friend. But right now, he felt as though he were void from any emotion but sadness. It was creeping in on him from all sides and it was trapping him. It was like being in a tunnel and not being able to see the light at the end.

"Is KT with you?" she asked frantically. "She went to the police station yesterday and she didn't get back to me, I was so worried, I-"

"Joy, she's here." Fabian said, smiling weakly at KT.

"It's so awful, isn't it?" Joy whispered. "About Eddie."

"Joy..." Fabian murmured. "He...he and Nina...were in the same car..."

Silence.

"Oh my god." Joy whispered. "Fabian, I am so so sorry."

Fabian could only let out a broken sob in reply, all the emotion from last night coming back to haunt him all over again. A similar sob echoed from KT's lips as she shifted closer to him, linking her arm through his and leaning her head on his shoulder. Fabian's head rested against hers and he closed his eyes.

"D-do you need anything?" Joy asked shakily.

"I don't know...I can't think straight." Fabian murmured.

"Look. Patricia and Alfie are back from Ireland...I'll go get them, and we'll come over. KT's left her address book here so I know where to go." Joy said.

"Okay. See you soon, Joy." Fabian replied, and hung up, putting the phone back. "Alfie and Patricia are back. She'll bring them over."

KT nodded and got to her feet. She looked so small – her hair was a mess, her eyes puffy, and she was shaking. "Coffee?" she asked.

He smiled weakly once more. "That'd be great."

She smiled back, even if it was only a small smile, and she headed into the kitchen. She poured water into the kettle and left it to boil, looking out of the kitchen window as she waited. There was a light breeze outside, rustling leaves as it passed through them. The sky was somewhat cloudy, and the sun was hidden behind a very dark cloud. She vaguely heard Fabian lighting the fire and turning on the heaters.

She found herself remembering the last time she, Fabian, Eddie and Nina had met up, on a day very similar to this.

"It's going to rain!" KT called out, as Nina and Eddie rushed ahead with the picnic baskets.

"You Americans really don't get deterred, do you?" Fabian commented to KT.

"I'm trying to stay behind here!" KT retorted, with a laugh.

"Hurry up!" Nina called.

"We'll eat the food without you otherwise!" Eddie warned.

KT rolled her eyes, smiling fondly. "Idiots." She commented.

"They are." Fabian agreed, grabbing her hand and dragging her along as he ran to catch up with the others. They were at their favourite park. By the time the two caught up, Nina and Eddie had already laid out the blanket on top of a hill, under a large tree, and they were busy getting out rocks to hold down the blanket.

KT looked at the tree thoughtfully. She knew she had a few minutes before they got the picnic food out, so she figured she may as well do something. Stepping away from Fabian, she took a running jump and clung on to a tree branch. It was thick enough for her to sit on, she mused. She pulled herself up quickly, and decided to go higher.

"KT, what are you doing?" Nina asked, giggling.

"Climbing!" she called back, as she pulled herself higher.

"That much I got. But why?" Nina asked.

"Fun!" KT laughed.

"You're gonna break your neck!" Eddie warned.

"Chance would be a fine thing, Mr Miller!" she called, rolling her eyes as she sat on the highest tree branch.

"Get down here!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Give me a minute, would you? I just want to admire the view." KT grinned.

"I'm certainly admiring the view." Eddie commented.

Her cheeks went crimson. Nina laughed and Fabian facepalmed.

"Eddie!" KT exclaimed. "Just get the food ready, would you?"

He saluted and went to help Nina and Fabian setting up. KT cast her eye over the park, which looked beautiful from the height she was at. A smile graced her features and she wondered how some people couldn't see the beauty of the world. She could see birds flying in the sky, higher than she could ever get, and she heard them tweeting to each other as they travelled. She heard the laughter of children from way further down, the chatter of parents, the rushing of cars as they passed by, the rustle of leaves as a breeze passed over them...it was all beautiful in it's very own way, and KT could never get tired of it.

She began to climb down as carefully as she could. However, on the last branch, she slipped and fell, although luckily, Fabian was there to break her fall.

"Ow." He muttered, as he fell back, KT on top of him.

"Sorry!" she laughed, looking flustered as she got off him and sat on the blanket. He sat up too, laughing.

Nina and Eddie were snickering quietly to themselves. "You're dorks." Nina announced.

"And proud." They said in unison.

Eddie smirked. "Honestly, you could be soulmates." He teased.

"Yeah, we are. We've been secretly dating for a while now." KT joked.

"And we're planning on running off into the sunset together once the picnic is over." Fabian added.

Nina just laughed. "Don't fall over whilst running, Fabes."

He rolled his eyes, but smiled fondly. "You're not the kindest to me, are you, Nina?"

"Oh, come on." Nina said. "I've said worse."

"Yeah, I bet you have." Eddie smirked.

"I feel excluded." KT said, pouting.

"It's okay, KT, we still have each other." Fabian joked, wrapping an arm around her.

The click of the kettle, signifying it was ready, brought KT out of her flashback with a start. The house had warmed up considerably, and she realized Fabian was in the room. She had tears in her eyes. Remembering was painful.

"I was thinking about that day, too." He said quietly.

He knew her so well.

She began making the coffee, making sure to leave out a few cups for Patricia, Alfie and Joy.

Speaking of, the doorbell rang out shortly after KT had made Fabian's coffee as well as her own. She began making Alfie's, Patricia's and Joy's as Fabian went to answer the door.

The coffee was done as soon as they walked into the living room. KT was setting it down when she spotted them. She made sure she'd put everything down before she straightened up.

Tears filled Patricia's eyes as she rushed forward to hug KT. Although the two had been off to a rough start, they were rather close these days. And both KT and Fabian needed their friends right now. Joy and Alfie hugged KT as well, and then Fabian. They all sat down, sipping at their coffees.

"It's so awful." Joy murmured.

"How...how did it happen, again?" Alfie asked.

"Alfie!" Patricia scolded.

"No...it's okay." Fabian murmured.

"They were hit by a lorry that flunked a red light." KT said softly. "They...they died instantly."

Patricia bit her lip, Joy closed her eyes, and Alfie's face had pain written all over it.

"I'm so sorry." Alfie muttered.

"It's okay, Alfie." KT replied.

"I just...how are you feeling?" Joy asked.

KT looked at Fabian. "Numb." She murmured.

He nodded in agreement.

"So it hasn't...set in yet?" Patricia suggested, trying to be gentle. It wasn't her forte, granted, but she was trying, and that counted.

"Not completely." Fabian replied, sipping at his coffee. Honestly, he was dreading the moment that it did finally hit him properly. If it hurt now, how would he feel then?

They all sat in silence for a while. After all, what could they say? There weren't enough ways to say that they were sorry for KT and Fabian's loss. Even if there were, however, all three of their friends knew that it was an overused phrase, and apologizing wasn't going to make it better. However, there wasn't much else to say.

"Have...have you guys thought about funerals?" Joy asked.

Everyone winced.

"God, I'm sorry." Joy muttered, after a short pause. "That was so horrible of me. Forget I asked."

"I...I think we should make them have a joint funeral." Fabian said, looking at KT.

She nodded. "I think that's...a good idea." She said. "But not just yet."

"No." Fabian agreed. "We need to wait at least a little while. A few weeks, at least."

"Well, we're back for good now." Patricia told them. "So any time works for us."

"We can get everyone else from Anubis House there. And their families, of course." Joy added.

There was so much to plan – music, reception, flowers, seating, speeches...although funerals and weddings were very different, they were similar in the fact that they took planning. And in the fact that they needed quite a few of the same things. For different reasons.

"What are you going to do about the house?" Patricia asked Fabian.

"I don't know. Every inch of it has a memory, and I'm not sure how long I'm going to be able to deal with that." He admitted. "But for now, there's not much I can do. There's a lot of stuff I need to handle first, and then after that, I'll focus on stuff like me and the house."

It was a good plan, and they all knew it.

KT reached over and squeezed his hand in hers. Fabian knew, 100%, that he didn't have to go through this alone.

He loved all his friends, but only KT really understood him.


Once Joy, Alfie and Patricia had left, Fabian found KT clearing up the plates and such they'd all used when eating.

"You don't have to do that, you know." Fabian said softly.

"I know. I figured...I figured I'd help out some before going home." KT replied.

She didn't want to go home. She didn't want to be there alone. But she also didn't want to bother Fabian too much. He was having the same dilemma – he didn't want her to leave, but he didn't want to bother her by asking her to stay. They'd been through a lot and neither were sure if the other wanted them to stay any longer than they had.

"You...you know..you don't have to leave..." Fabian murmured. "If you want to stay, you can, is what I mean. Obviously, if you want to go, then that's fine by me, but the offer is there if you want it..." he trailed off.

KT put down the dishes she was holding, turned around, and flung her arms around his form without a word. He hugged her back, relaxing immediately and gently rubbing her back. Relief flooded through both of them.

"Thanks, Fabian." KT murmured, after a few moments.

"No, thank you." He replied. "I didn't want to be alone."

"Well neither did I." She countered.

"You can have my bed tonight, okay?" Fabian told her gently.

"What about you?"

"I'll take the couch."

"No, I can't make you do that."

"It's fine, honestly."

"Why don't we share the bed?"

Fabian's eyes widened ever so slightly. Although he knew she meant nothing by it, he was still a little surprised. She flushed.

"I didn't...I didn't mean..." she began.

"N-no, I know." Fabian said. "I'm just a little surprised. But it's better than arguing over who sleeps where, so...yeah, we'll share the bed."

KT smiled weakly. She wasn't sure if she could even stomach sleeping alone, so the idea of having comfort – as she had the night before – was greatly appreciated.

"Let's go, then." Fabian smiled, gently taking her hand in his.