"This is ridiculous," James McKinley shouted, banging his fist on the table of the interrogation room. "I can assure you, officer, my son had nothing to do with this. He loved that girl and would never do anything to harm her. You can't charge him for setting the nail gun down where her head happened to collide with it!"

Ian's stomach lurched and he covered his face. "May I be excused?" he muttered weakly. "I'm gonna be sick." As the officer opened the door, he bolted from the room and down the hall. He found the men's room and shoved his way inside, collapsing in the first stall and retching into the bowl. His eyes swam with tears, but he was terrified of closing them for fear of seeing her death again. It had been almost ten hours since the horrifying accident and he had been reliving Erin's last moments non-stop ever since. Their questions certainly weren't helping. "Get out," Ian commanded as the door behind him swung open.

"They're letting you go, son," his father said from somewhere behind him. "They know you didn't do anything wrong. Do you need a ride home?"

"No, I've got my van," Ian replied. He coughed and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, flushing the toilet as he stood up.

"I'm so sorry, Ian," James said, reaching out as if to pat Ian's shoulder. He seemed to think better of it, though, and his arm dropped to his side. "Erin was a great girl and I was looking forward to having her in our family."

Tears fell from Ian's eyes and he nodded. "Yeah, me too," he murmured, walking to the sink and washing his face. He walked outside with his father, agreeing to meet him and the Fletchers for lunch later on so they could discuss the funeral arrangements. There wasn't much to discuss, he knew. Erin had always wanted to be cremated and it would be for the best at this point. He climbed into his van and simply sat there, trying to collect his thoughts. He took a deep breath through the nose and realized that the air still smelled like her. Vanilla. His body shook as he fought to keep in the sobs that threatened to overtake him. How could she be gone? His Erin was gone. She wasn't sleeping, she wasn't just staying at the fosters' for the night. She wasn't coming back.

His expression hardened when he saw Wendy and Kevin walk out of the station, already deep in conversation. They were probably discussing how they could save the next person from dying, not even caring a bit that Erin was gone. They wanted him to believe? Well, he believed alright. Something seriously fucked up was going on here, and it was all Wendy's fault. Her and her stupid vision. First Jason died, now Erin. Not to mention the other teens that had lost their lives in the meantime. As Ian watched Wendy break away from Kevin after a tender looking embrace and climb into her car, he made the decision to do something about it. He didn't know what yet, but he was going to do something. Maybe he'd just stick to the girl and wait around to watch her die. Make sure no one intervened like she had with his. At the very least, he was going to avenge Erin, and their lost child.

"I'm sure it's nothing. It'll pass," Ian replied, furrowing his brow at her explanation. She usually wasn't the superstitious type. He chuckled as she puckered her lips, standing up slightly to press a soft kiss there before sitting back down. He watched her for another few moments. His sweatshirt hugged her body in all the right places and he loved it. "That's a nice outfit, by the way. You should just wear it all day. Or at least until I pull it off of you."

"No can do, Zip," Erin replied, making his face contort into a slight pout. "Work tonight. We go in at three and work until closing."

"Well, at least it's our favorite shift. We're the only ones who ever get slapped with closing." It was a sad truth, but it usually went over well that way. If they were the only ones in the store after hours, the work got done and they got to spend time together. It was a win-win, if you really wanted to call it that.

"I'm hungry," she whined softly, making him laugh. He glanced at the clock and realized they were already pressed for time. They always slept way too well after a kinky night. Just thinking about it made his insides squirm a bit so he pushed the thoughts from his mind. He never thought he could fall more in love with Erin, but last night proved him completely wrong. After the way she stood up to his father, something most people older than James McKinley were frightened to do, Ian knew she was the one he had to be with for the rest of his life.

"Well, we had pancakes, eggs, and bacon last night," he thought aloud. "What do you propose we dine on, Pip?" He finished his coffee and walked into the kitchen, pouring another mug and looking in fridge. "We have stuff for turkey sandwich melts."

"That sounds good," she replied from right behind him, making him jump. He smirked, shaking his head at her form of payback. He pulled out the turkey, lettuce, tomato, and cheese, setting it all on the counter. She jumped into action and started slicing, heating, and melting. He held up his hands in defeat and walked back to the table, sitting back down. One of the thousands of things he loved about her. She could cook almost anything, and he couldn't even make blueberry muffins out of a box. She was never taught anything, either. It just seemed to come naturally to Erin, like her ability to draw. Never took an art class in her life, but she could draw a picture of him so well that it was frightening.

After lunch, the two jumped into action. They got ready for work with minimal conversation. It bothered him a bit, and he could tell that she hadn't shaken that feeling of dread. He wished he knew what to do to take her mind off of it, but he couldn't come up with anything that didn't consume too much time. In the end, he settled for grabbing her before they left and kissing her heavily. He knew it had worked from the way her breath hitched in her throat. He had wasted so much time over the past four years not being intimate. Looking back on it, he doubted he would have changed a thing, though. It only made the kisses and the sex better now. They were stronger for it.

"Remember, no heavy lifting," he muttered, swatting at her ass gently. He enjoyed the way she squealed and fought to get out of his grip.

"Yes, Dad," she replied sarcastically. She realized the irony in the statement and giggled softly, walking out to the van. He smiled and watched her climb in before turning to lock the door. Today was definitely going to be another good day.

"Get the fuck out of here, McKinley!"

"Hey, I'm just celebrating our town's Tricentenial!" Ian replied, swatting a bouquet of balloons out of his way. He was walking perpendicular to them, and he wasn't far from cutting them off. Wendy and her younger sister, Julie, were covered in blood and carrying a weak-looking Kevin towards the first aid tent. Ian had watched the madness unfold as a horse dragged Julie through the field, nearly strangling her. Then, something pierced a gas line, nearly blowing Fischer's face off. He found it amusing in a sick, twisted sort of way. Maybe he was a sadist.

"You followed me!" Wendy called, sounding as though she were on the verge of tears. He smirked and kept his pace.

"Oh, you are paranoid," he replied, wincing slightly as the fireworks exploded overhead. "But, hey, I saw what happened. You're next, right? You're the end of it, aren't you? Man, I would be paranoid, too."

"You didn't even believe me!"

"Yeah, well, seeing is believing," he muttered, his expression turning dark.

"You have to stay away from me!"

"Have to? Wow, that's extreme," Ian replied, coming to a stop in front of the first aid tent, blocking their way. They stopped, too and just stared at him. Wendy had a panicked expression on her face and she was looking at him as though he was going to snap at any moment. Well, it was too late for that. Then something dawned on him. "Oh, no way," he murmured, a humorless smile spreading across his face as he looked around before locking eyes with her once more. "Do I cause your death? Just like you caused Erin's?" They darted to the side to move around him, but they were carrying most of Fischer's weight for him so Ian was faster. He darted to his left, continuing to block them. "Whoa, whoa whoa whoa whoa what? Did you have a vision? Was I in it? Was I-was I in a PICTURE!?" His voice raised to a holler as he held his arms out around him, the pyrotechnics still going off above. "JUST TELL ME HOW TO START IT OFF, LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH!"

"You'll save me if you just stay away!" Wendy replied, sounding rushed and frightened. "Then it'll all be over!"

Ian laughed and shook his head. "What do I care? It skipped me! For me, it is over. I'm not dying. I'M NOT DYING!"

Ian's focus landed on a trailer that was about a hundred feet behind the group in front of him. He watched as the front of it tipped downward, exposing dozens of lit fuses. Wendy caught was he was looking at and turned. She threw the three of them onto the ground just in time as fireworks zoomed in their direction, heading straight for Ian. He hissed softly as the heat radiated onto his skin, but no other pain came to him. It seemed the way he was holding his arms out permitted the bombs to fly right past him, exploding into the base of the cherry picker behind him. He laughed and turned back to the small group on the ground.

"You see?!" he screamed. "I'm not gonna die! It's you, Wendy. You're dead!" He raised a hand to point at her when a popping sound came from behind him. He looked up and saw the top of the machine sway a bit. This was it. He could move out of the way, or be crushed. As another pop erupted from the base, he made his decision and just stood there and watched as the McKinley sign swept down on him. He didn't want to live without his family anyway. There was a split second of intense pain through his abdomen and then nothing.

The End. :) Told you it was sad.