I'll Be There

Tea was getting ready to head out the door when Victor came over.

"Are you going out? You seem like you're in a rush." Victor inquired.

"I'm going over to Destiny's to show some support for her, Miracle and DJ." Tea informed.

"You're such a good person."

"They're family and family should be there for one another."

"You realize Evangeline will probably be there."

"We can put our differences aside for this... Speaking of Evangeline, there's something I want to know and I want you to tell me the truth."

"What is it?" Victor was curious.

"Were you and Evangeline scheming to break Shaun and me up?"

"...Scheming is such a strong word."

"Vic!"

"I'm sorry! Ok, I'm not sorry. All I did was flirt a little and play a little Money Honey. You didn't have to fall for it. You fell for it because you just couldn't help it. That's why you were avoiding playing Money Honey with me. You knew you would fall for it. Couple rounds of Money Honey and you were ready to jump into my arms."

"I have to go."

"You're not mad, are you?"

Tea gave him a kiss on the lips. "I'll see you later."

-v-

Shaun and Evangeline were in the middle of an argument.

"I can't believe you were trying to break us up!" Shaun yelled.

"I wasn't trying! I just wanted to know if you had any interest and it just turned out you did. I just thought that if you two were meant to be together you would be and I figured you would see if you weren't but it's not like I was going to do whatever it takes."

"Whatever, you say Charlene."

"Charlene?"

"Yeah because this is something the old you would do."

"I didn't mean any harm. I just love you so much. I don't want to fight. Darren dying is just a reminder that people you love can be here one day and be gone the next. Do I have to sing Tina Turner's I Don't Really Want to Fight? You're where you want to be, aren't you?"

"I don't want to fight either. I'm just a little angry and a lot disappointed."

"I understand, really I do."

"We should get to Destiny's. They need us."

-v-

Dani and Tea walked onto Destiny's porch and heard Mariah Carey and Boys II Men's One Sweet Day blasting.

"She's already brought out the Mariah. Here I was complaining because my man was in jail, that doesn't compare to never seeing him again." Dani said and then used her key to go into Destiny's house.

Dani and Tea found Destiny, Miracle and DJ in the dining room sitting around the table going through photo albums and papers they found. All three of them had eyes full of tears. DJ was sitting closely to Destiny. Tea wrapped her arms around Destiny and DJ and Dani did the same to Miracle.

"We're here for you. Whatever you need." Tea said.

"We're here for you too." Shaun added after just entering the room with Evangeline, his parents and Gavin.

They were all there for support and showed how much they really loved them. The usually talkative Destiny, Miracle and DJ were talking a little to nothing at all.

Dani went over to the radio to change the song before One Sweet Day played for the third time since they had gotten there.

"Touch it and I will chop your hand off!" Destiny yelled.

"Ok, not touching." Dani said and stepped away from the radio.

Phylicia, Evangeline and Tea were in the kitchen starting dinner. It was a bit awkward between Evangeline and Tea but they put that aside. Nothing is more important than family to either of them.

After One Sweet Day played for the third time Destiny used the remote to the radio and changed the song to another Mariah Carey song called Never Too Far. The radio was still blasting through the entire house.

The first time Miracle left the table was when Leon walked in with Evan. She hugged them both tightly and didn't let go for a few seconds Then she took Evan into her arms and went out into the backyard with him and Leon.

After seeing picture after picture of happy times with Darren and their family throughout their lives together Destiny just couldn't go any longer without having another meltdown. She didn't want to leave DJ but she knew if she didn't go out for some air soon she would lose it. After the song finished she signaled to Richard to come over to comfort DJ for her because he had been practically joined to her hip since he came home from Starr's the night before. Destiny finally turned the volume down on the Mariah and then stepped outside on the front porch. When she got to the door Matthew was walking up.

"Hey." Matthew said.

"Hey." Destiny whispered the first word she had spoken since Dani tried to touch the radio.

"How are you holding up?"

"As well as can be expected I guess. It helps having family around."

"What about Miracle?"

"She's about the same. She's in the backyard with Leon and Evan."

"Why are you out here all alone?"

"I just needed some air and to come out here and gaze at the beauty in the world."

"So..."

"Yeah I really don't want to talk though."

"Oh. Ok."

"You can go inside if you want. My mom is cooking dinner."

"Which one?" Matthew joked.

"All of them." Destiny said seriously.

Matthew went inside and the first person he ran into was Dani.

"I didn't expect to see you." Dani said.

"About what happened between us, I'm sorry." Matthew said.

"Why are you sorry now?"

"I guess I was just being impulsive as usual. When I have a lot going on inside and out I tend to just do things without thinking. I shouldn't keep getting you involved but you did kiss me back. You may want to think about why you did what you did."

Matthew went into the dining room to say hello to everyone. They were all surprised to see him but they were also surprised to see him at the hospital too. Miracle finally came back in the house with Leon and Evan and she was also surprised to see Matthew.

"Hi Miracle." He hugged her but she didn't hug back.

"Hi." Miracle said and then took her seat again at the dining room table.

Matthew wasn't feeling the love from Miracle at all but he just tried to take it as her grieving and not read too much into it.

It's been a hard day for everyone and Darren's family came over soon enough but as hard as it was it was just little bit easier with everyone around blanketing them in their love as Michael Jackson would say.

-v-

A few days later, it was time for the day everyone was dreading, Darren's funeral. There were so many people there. Darren had effected so many people in his life. There were even a lot of people in the music industry who showed up. The family and friends closest to Darren got up to speak and Miracle wanted to express how she felt as well.

"Darren has been in my life since before I can remember. He has always been there for me and I don't think I or anyone else had enough time with him. He was such a beautiful person inside and out and he had so much to offer the world. I was able to spend eighteen years with him and I just think its sad that my little brother and my son won't even have that. He taught me so much... and it's because of him that I knew what to look for in a man. He was a prime example of what a man should be. He was so good to my mom and it just warmed my heart everyday to see how much he loved her. I just want my brother and my son to grow up to be just like him; loving, caring, strong, talented... there's a list. You know, when I was little I was afraid of thunder and he would sing to me and tell me that I had nothing to worry about because... because he would die before he let anyone or anything hurt me." Miracle was doing everything to keep from crying like a rain storm, it was drizzling but if the storm came she was done. "I never... I never would have thought that he would actually die trying to protect me. That's what happened you know, he saw danger and he stood guard like Superman to protect me and Izzy. I think this is the first time I realized he actually isn't Superman. I wish he didn't have to go like this. It's not fair but Darren I'll make you proud, I promise and I'll remember everything you've done for me and everything you've ever taught me. You were the best daddy anyone could ask for and I'll always love you." Miracle took her seat next to Destiny and began to cry as soon as she sat down.

Miracle gave the last speech after the many that went before her. Afterward Starr took the floor.

"I've known Darren a long time but I really began to get to know him when we started working together. I won my first Grammy with him. We worked together for years now and we had become pretty close friends and I can't imagine not being able to talk to this amazing person again... In honor of my dear friend, this amazing man..." Starr said and then the music started and she sung her song One Life to Live followed by I'll Be There by The Jackson 5. "We love you Darren."