Day 21: I promised I would protect her, and I didn't.
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Year 2037
TW: death, cancer
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On their 29th wedding anniversary, Alex and Olivia decided to renew their wedding vows on their 30th anniversary. They planned to have a big ceremony at the house in Connecticut where they were married. Alex would write her own vows, like she had for their wedding, and Olivia would scrap a speech she had written to say something she would come up with on the spot.
Their son would take a break from being a hotshot prosecutor in Boston and their daughter would come home from her mission with the Peace Corps to see the ceremony. Elliot and Kathy would round up their kids and grandkids and come up from Florida.
There would be eating and drinking and laughing and crying. Embarrassing stories would be told throughout dinner. Elliot and Olivia would get into an argument over who was in better shape and would have to solve it by arm wrestling while Alex and Kathy stood off to the side and shook their heads disapprovingly.
And everyone would be happy.
But even the best laid plans go awry.
Alex is diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer just five months before their planned celebration. The cancer is aggressive and untreatable and it eats away at Alex until it has eaten everything and there is nothing left.
That takes just over a month.
The day of Alex's funeral is appropriately cold and rainy. Her coffin is made of cherry wood and ornately decorated. She is buried in the Cabot-family plot next to her father. The spot next to Alex's is empty, but Olivia knows it is reserved for her.
Over 100 people attend the service. Olivia has a speech prepared, but she finds she is can't say anything as she stands at the podium. Elliot comes to her rescue and gives the speech in her place.
After the funeral, Olivia goes home and does not speak to anyone but her children for four months.
On the morning of their 30th anniversary, Olivia drives to the florist and buys thrity of the most beautiful roses she has ever seen. Then she drives to the cemetery and sits in front of Alex's headstone. She places the roses on the ground in front of her.
"On our first anniversary, you told me that you hate roses that aren't red, something about sticking to tradition. Every Monday from then on, a bouquet of colorful roses would be delivered to your desk." Olivia wipes at her eyes, a light chuckles escaping her lips. "I haven't stopped doing that."
"We did this backwards, Al. I was supposed to go first. That was the way things were planned. But I couldn't protect you. I couldn't…I…I promised. I promised!" She puts her head in her hands, sobs wracking her body. "I promised. I'm sorry."
As her sobs begin to taper off, Olivia stands up, looks down at the headstone, and whispers, "I love you, Al. Forever and always."
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AN: This is the end of week 3, everyone! Thanks so much for your reviews, follows, and favorites. They mean the world to me.