Ruben was sitting on the couch in his living room just trying to wrap his head around what had happened to his daughter. His phone startled him when it rang.

"Hello?" he answered numbly.

"Is this Mr. Ruben Enriquez?" came a polite but somber voice on the other end.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"My name is Peter Richards. I work at the morgue of Glendale Memorial Hospital." Ruben had to stifle a sob.

"And what can I do for you, Mr. Richards?"

"Well, sir. We've spoken to your daughter concerning where she would like us to send her daughter's remains and she refuses to answer. You are listed as one of her emergency contacts so I am calling to obtain that information from you." Ruben was silent for a moment. He hadn't even thought about what to do with Mercy's body, still trying to absorb the fact his granddaughter was dead. It had only been two days! Did the hospital honestly expect him to have made funeral arrangements already!? "Mr. Enriquez?"

"We're gonna need a few more days," he replied, merely to give himself more time to think. He had no idea what Adrian's wishes would be for Mercy's funeral. Or even Ben's for that matter.

"Very well, sir. I can give you the morgue's direct number so you can call us when you've settled on the arrangements."

"Thank you." Ruben copied down the number on a spare piece of scrap paper lying on the coffee table and then ended the call. He sighed deeply and leaned back against the couch. Two years ago he never would've imagined he'd be thinking about his granddaughter's funeral arrangements. Ruben wearily rose from the couch and headed to the kitchen to retrieve his car keys. He knew the wound was still fresh but he needed to speak to Adrian and Ben. This wasn't something he could decide on his own; this concerned their daughter.

When Ruben arrived at the hospital he found Adrian lying down and starring off into space, Ben sitting in a nearby armchair watching Adrian sadly. Neither of them even bothered to look up when he came in the room, assuming he was just another nurse or hospital worker. Seeing the two of them so crushed and lost broke his heart and tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He heard footsteps behind him and turned his head just in time to see Leo appear in the doorway. Ruben silently motioned for Leo to follow him outside and then he shut the door behind them.

"How are they doing today?" Leo asked, his voice drawn and sad. Ruben shrugged and shook his head.

"I don't know, Leo. They're both still trying to process what happened." Ruben sagged against the wall and sighed. "Unfortunately, they're gonna have to deal with it before their ready."

"What do you mean?" Leo asked, not understanding what Ruben meant.

"I got a call from the morgue today." Leo tensed at the word 'morgue', his emotions still raw about losing his granddaughter the way he had. "They said someone asked Adrian where she wanted Mercy's body transported to and she refused to answer. So they called me since I'm listed as an emergency contact." Ruben sighed and Leo placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, the small gesture causing Ruben's composure to crumble and the tears began to fall. "I told the guy we needed a few more days because I didn't know what else to tell him," Ruben said, wiping at his wet cheeks in vain. "Two years ago it never would've even occurred to me that I'd be asked to plan my granddaughter's funeral," he sobbed. "And this isn't something I can just plan on my own. I mean, Mercy is their daughter. I don't know how they want her to be remembered because none of us got to even meet her! But they're both so broken right now, Leo, that I also can't bring myself to bring it up, even though that's why I came back here today." Leo embraced him and the two men cried together for several minutes, Ruben sobbing openly while Leo cried silently. As their tears began drying, Dr. Atavi came down the hallway and saw them. Her heart broke at the sight and she walked over to speak to them before she went into Adrian's room to check on her.

"Leo. Reuben," she said gently. The men separated and looked at her. "Here," she said, handing them each a business card. Leo sniffled.

"What's this?"

"It's the number to a family counselor who specializes in helping families heal from sudden and/or tragic loss. We all know that healing takes time and sometimes the length of time required is years," she stated, giving them both a small, sad, empathetic smile. "And sometimes a therapist can help you talk about it when you don't really want to or think you can. I also know that family and friends help the healing process but you all may have a hard time being there for each other while you're still healing yourselves." She pointed to the business card she had handed them. "She offers both family group sessions as well as individual ones." Ruben gave her a watery smile.

"Thank you." Dr. Atavi nodded her head and then went into Adrian's room to speak with her and Ben about the therapist as well. Leo and Ruben followed her inside, knowing they needed to discuss Mercy's funeral arrangements, even if Ben and Adrian weren't ready to.

At Grant High, Amy, Ricky, Grant, Grace, Ashley and Griffin were all rather somber, Ashley having filled Griffin in on what happened to Ben and Adrian's baby. Ricky silently watched Amy as she placed her jacket and purse in her locker.

"You look tired," he remarked quietly. "I take it you couldn't sleep last night either." Amy shook her head and began to cry.

"I just feel so guilty, Ricky," she admitted. "All night I just watched John sleep and tried to imagine my life without him. I know our lives aren't as easy as our friends' or other teens but even with all the hard stuff and the side of parenting that's not glamorous, I wouldn't change it for anything," she admitted tearfully, reaching for Ricky and wrapping her arms around his waist as she cried. "Does it make me a bad person that I'm glad it wasn't me?" Ricky shook his head as he hugged her back.

"No. It just makes us human." Amy looked up at him and he stared right back. They closed their eyes with a sigh and rested their foreheads together. Down the hall Madison had spotted them and rushed over, eager to tell them her wonderful news.

"Amy! Ricky! Guess what!? I…" she stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Amy's tears and their sad expressions. She was instantly worried.

"What happened!?" she asked, her voice sounding slightly panicked. Amy and Ricky looked at each other, silently debating if they should tell Madison or not. They agreed that they could trust her and Amy turned back to look at her best friend. She glanced around to make sure no one else was within earshot and then motioned for Madison to lean in closer to her, which Madison did.

"Grace called and told me Adrian and Ben's daughter was stillborn." Madison gasped and covered her mouth, tears springing to her eyes. Sure she didn't exactly respect Adrian for her past behavior but still Madison wouldn't have wished that upon anyone. "Grace thinks I should visit her and try to comfort her and I'm torn about it," Amy admitted sadly. Madison pulled Amy out of Ricky's arms so she could hug her.

"You'll do what you think is right; you always do," Madison assured her before releasing her and drying her eyes. "Does anyone else know?" Madison asked worriedly. "About…" she let her question trail off.

"Just Ashley because I had to explain to her and my dad why we were so upset. And she probably told Griffin by now since he's her best friend."

"So Lauren doesn't know?"

"Know what?" Lauren asked, walking up to the little group. She took one look at everyone's faces and was instantly worried. "What happened?" she asked, looking between everyone. Madison whispered the situation in her ear and Lauren's eyes began to become misty too. She looked over at Amy.

"I think you should, Amy. She may not be a friend but she's not a stranger either and I'm sure she could use all the support and kindness she can get right now. Besides, you're probably the only one who could even begin to understand what she must be going through." Amy nodded.

"That's basically what Grace said when she called me." The warning bell rang and the teens glanced around the hallways at their fellow students heading towards their classrooms. Amy sighed. "It just seems so insensitive for everyone to go on with their day when something like this has happened," she said sadly as the foursome headed their separate ways, Amy and Ricky both heading towards the band room. He put his arm comfortingly around her shoulder as they walked.

Back at the hospital Dr. Atavi had just finished telling Ben and Adrian about the family therapist she had already recommended to their fathers.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Adrian said, her voice sounding raw and jagged.

"We know, Adrian," her father began gently, Adrian swiveled her head to look at him and glared.

"NO YOU DON'T KNOW!" she bellowed, fresh tears beginning to fall. "I JUST LOST MY BABY! NO AMOUNT OF TALKING TO A STRANGER IS GONNA BRING HER BACK!" she wailed, dissolving into tears. Ben made a move to go hug her but Ruben waved him off. Ruben sat on the bed next to Adrian and held her tightly.

"Adrian, I can't begin to image what you're feeling exactly, that's true. That doesn't mean I don't understand that you're not ready to talk about what you're feeling or even what happened just two days ago." Ruben pulled back so he could look at Adrian's face. "Not talking about it doesn't change the reality, sweetheart. And the reality is," he began, tears beginning to fall down his own cheeks. "Mercy was taken away from you. And Ben, and Leo, and me, and your mom, and even your and Ben's friends. We're all hurting, Adrian. But you can't pretend it didn't happen. I can't pretend I didn't get a call from the morgue today asking me what plans have been made for my granddaughter's funeral," he explained. Adrian flinched at the words 'morgue' and 'funeral' and then dissolved into sobs again as her father's words set in. She had to make plans to bury her daughter. Ben likewise dissolved into tears and Leo held him tightly. Ben clung to his father as though he were a lifeline and simply sobbed. "This isn't something I can do for you, Adrian. For a little while at least, you're gonna have to face reality, even if you're not ready to talk to a stranger about it," Ruben informed her. Adrian and her father simply stared at each other for a moment before they once again hugged each other tightly, waiting for the tears to stop.

There was a knock at Adrian's door and Cindy walked in, still in her flight attendant's uniform. She took one look at the red eyes and wet cheeks of the people in the room and felt her own courageous façade slipping. She'd managed to hold it together by sheer willpower as she worked her shift last night. She'd informed her superiors that there had been a death in her family but she found out so close to her shift that there was no time to shuffle any attendants around and Cindy had been forced to fly to New York the evening after they lost Mercy. She'd been able to switch flights with an attendant so she could fly right back and she now had an additional week of bereavement leave on top of the two weeks she'd already scheduled to take off to help Adrian adjust to having Mercy home. She walked in and made a beeline for Adrian's bed, kissing her forehead as she sat down. Dr. Atavi gave Cindy a smile and then left the room so the family could have some privacy. Ruben filled Cindy in on Dr. Atavi's suggestion they all speak to a therapist and the phone call he'd received from the morgue. Like her husband, Cindy was at a loss. Her only thoughts over the past two days had been to comfort Adrian as best she could; funeral arrangements hadn't even crossed her mind. Cindy looked down at Adrian and saw that her daughter wasn't in the mood to discuss it. The room was silent for several minutes as everyone simply tried to process the fact that they would soon be putting Mercy to rest, cementing the fact that this little girl wasn't coming back to them. Finally Leo offered a suggestion.

"Adrian." Adrian looked up at Leo numbly. "If you don't mind, I'd like to suggest we lay her to rest next to Sarah." Adrian looked at Ben and saw him looking gratefully back at his father. Adrian knew how much Ben's mother had meant to him and having them both buried together might help Ben deal with losing Mercy a little better. She also had the sudden thought that maybe if Mercy were buried next to her grandmother then Sarah could watch over her spirit. Or something. Adrian gave Leo a grateful, watery smile.

"I'd like that," she said sincerely. Leo cleared his throat and glanced between Adrian and Ben warily.

"What do you think should be written on her headstone?" He said the question out loud but Ruben and Cindy knew that this had to be Ben and Adrian's decision. Adrian wasn't sure what words to choose but Ben had no reservations.

"Mercy Sarah Boykewich-Lee. Our beloved little angel," Ben replied without any hesitation, his voice cracking slightly with emotion as he uttered the last word. Adrian began to silently cry. Somehow Ben had chosen words to describe exactly how she and Ben felt about their daughter. Despite the circumstances of her conception and the fact Adrian had contemplated abortion at the beginning, they loved their daughter and always would. When Leo looked at Adrian to see if she had any objections she simply nodded her agreement. Leo embraced Ben once more time and then nodded his head to say goodbye to Adrian and her parents. He left the room to begin making the arrangements for Mercy's funeral.

Back at Grant High, Grace, Grant, Alice and Henry were eating lunch, the atmosphere at their table rather subdued. Alice and Grace both looked close to tears and Henry still looked like he was in shock about the situation. Meanwhile Grant felt torn and upset by everything. He suddenly tossed down his sandwich with frustration and grunted with disgust. Grace turned to look at him questioningly and Grant looked away from her for a moment.

"It was an innocent baby!" he declared. "Sure she wasn't planned and her parents are teenagers but why kill an innocent baby!?" He turned to speak directly to Grace. "I know God allows bad things to happen to good people sometimes but why her? Why Mercy?" he demanded. Grace sighed as she gave her boyfriend a knowingly look.

"I don't know, Grant. Just like I don't know why God took my father from me," she told him honestly. "I just trust that he knows what he's doing and there is a reason things like this happen."

"Oh yeah? What kind of reason?" he asked sarcastically. Grace understood that he was lashing out and didn't take his tone personally.

"Grant, Mercy could've had a birth defect God was trying to spare Adrian and Ben from having to deal with. Or maybe God knew that something in their lives was going to hurt Mercy in the long run so he took her before she could get hurt. Or maybe God is going to use this tragedy to make them both stronger for something they'll have to deal with later in life. I don't know the answer, Grant, and I'm not supposed to." Her last statement caught him off guard.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"I mean that God created me, not the other way around. I didn't create the universe so I have no idea how everything in it works or is gonna play out. All I know is that he left me a book with enough directions and examples to teach and show me how to live the kinda life he wants me to and in that book he tells me that there's a much bigger picture that I can't see or even begin to comprehend. All I can do is follow where he leads me, trusting that he's got a plan for everything that happens and it will all work out the way it's supposed to in the end, even if I don't enjoy every part of the journey along the way." Grant had to pause for a moment and process her words. In the past he'd thought that people who said they had faith in someone they couldn't see where a few fries short of a happy meal. Then he met Grace and she showed him another way to look at God and people with faith in a higher power, regardless of what they called him or her. And now she'd just shown him another way to look at life itself. So maybe he didn't understand why a loving, just God would take the life of an innocent child but maybe he just wasn't seeing the big picture. Alice and Henry were likewise looking at Grace with a mixture of awe and contemplation. They didn't understand why their best friend was going through something so painful but maybe, just maybe, something good would come of all this. What that good thing was, however, they had no clue. In the courtyard Griffin was attempting to cheer up Ashley, or at least get her mind off Adrian, but he wasn't having much luck.

"Ash, if the doctors don't even know what causes it to happen and they have to go to school for like a decade to become a doctor, how are we supposed to figure it out during our lunch break?" Ashley shrugged.

"I don't know but I just feel like I wanna be able to give her an answer if she ever asked me," Ashley responded, playing with the French fires on her lunch tray.

"But why would she? I thought you hadn't spoken to her since your folks banned her from the property," he stated, pausing to take a bite of his hamburger.

"I don't know," she admitted with a deep sigh. "But when I did talk to Adrian we got along just fine and we might've become good friends. If I hadn't found out how much she was actually hurting my sister and all."

"You could send her a card or something," he suggested. "Your folks wouldn't object to that would they?"

"Maybe. But then again since she and I haven't spoken, she might wonder how I know, don't you think? And then that would just make things awkward and uncomfortable for everyone and she's got enough to deal with at the moment." Griffin looked at Ashley sympathetically. Most people might think Ashley was just another cynical, sarcastic, snarky teenager but Griffin knew that underneath the façade she liked to put up for people Ashley was really a warm and caring person. She doesn't like it when people she cares about get hurt or are hurting and she does what she can to try and fix the problem. Behind the scenes of course; Ash wasn't one who liked having her good qualities pointed out, preferring people to be wary of her until she knew she could trust them. In another shaded area of the courtyard sat Amy, Madison, Lauren, Ricky, Justin and Jesse, also eating their lunches rather quietly.

"What's with you guys today?" Justin asked the table, taking a bite of his cheeseburger. "Why the long faces?"

"We recently got some bad news," Ricky said, not bothering to elaborate.

"Anything we can do to help?" Jesse asked. Amy gave him a small smile.

"No, but thanks for asking." Amy looked down the table at Madison. "What were you going to tell us earlier this morning, Madison?" Amy asked, dipping her spoon into her Yoplait container of yogurt and swirling the yogurt and fruit around. Madison looked at her blankly for a moment as she tried to recall and then her face lit up with pride.

"Oh yeah. I wanted to tell you that I got a solo in the Christmas concert." The mood at the table suddenly lightened.

"That's great, Madison!" Amy said, giving her friend a smile. Justin beamed proudly but remained silent since Madison had already told him the news.

"So what are you gonna be singing?" Jesse asked curiously, taking a bite of his apple. Madison smiled brightly.

"O Holy Night," she replied, taking a drink from her can of soda.

"That's great, Madison," Lauren said with a smile before turning to look at Amy and Ricky.

"Where in the program will that song be?" she asked before taking a bite of her chicken sandwich.

"Towards the middle I think?" Amy replied, looking at Ricky for confirmation.

"I think so," he answered her. "I'll have to double check the packet." Jesse turned to look across the table at Lauren.

"So is the Nutcracker before or after the showcase?" he asked her.

"Before," Lauren replied. "They scheduled the ballet recitals and the nutcracker first so the little kids wouldn't get antsy waiting for the concert to finish," she explained. The teens continued eating their lunches, chatting about the upcoming Christmas events and school break.

Back at the Boykewich residence, Leo had just ended a call with the funeral home that had handled Sarah's funeral. He placed the phone back in its cradle and sighed just as there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," he answered, his voice sounding tired. Betty walked in and shut the door behind her. She walked over to his desk and sat on it, facing his chair.

"How are you holding up, Leo?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. Leo gave her a tired smile.

"As well as could be expected I guess." His smile fell and he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I just got off the phone with the funeral home." Betty rose to stand behind his desk chair and gave him a hug. "Thanks, Betty." She moved back so she was once again sitting on his desk and in his line of sight.

"Is there anything I can do to help? I mean, I'm not really sure what my role is in this situation but I'd like to help out any way I can." Leo reached for her left hand and leaned down to kiss the back of it.

"Just being here is enough for me, Betty. As for Ben..." There was a pregnant pause as Leo looked off into space for a moment. "That's just gonna take time. A long, long time. All we can do is let him know we love him and we're here to help in any way we can," he told her with a sad little smile. Betty nodded and then slid off the desk to sit in Leo's lap. She put her arms around his neck and he put his arms around her. They sat there for a while just taking comfort in each other's presence.

At the butcher shop, Bunny was busy in her office adjusting her employees' schedules for the next couple of days. Leo had phoned earlier to let her know Ben and Adrian had lost the baby and Ben wouldn't be in until next week. Bunny had wisely chosen not to let Leo know that she already knew and simply said she understood. She had been in her office all morning calling employees she knew could possibly manage to take over Ben's shift today and tomorrow and she had just finished updating the schedule sheet. She printed off the updated schedule for tomorrow and then posted it by the time clock, taking down the old one and shredding it. Nora happened to be walking by and noticed that Ben wouldn't be working his shift that day or tomorrow and she smiled to herself. Guess Adrian had the baby she thought as she headed to the cooler to retrieve her customer's order.

Back at the hospital Adrian was sitting up in her bed and staring off into space. Ben had gone down to the cafeteria to get something to eat but she had barely noticed his departure. She had been going through her shouldacouldwouldas for hours trying to figure out what she'd done wrong. Dr. Atavi assured her that she hadn't but she still blamed herself. Maybe if she'd gone into the hospital in the middle of the night when she felt something was wrong Mercy would still be alive. Then again, maybe she would've found out that night that Mercy had died and she would've been all alone when she found out. She simply couldn't understand how this could've happened to her. Was God punishing her for something? She had thought, at first at least, that maybe getting pregnant was her punishment from God for sleeping with Ben for the wrong reasons. But if God had wanted to punish her for some reason, why'd he have to take it out on her innocent baby? Adrian placed the heels of her hands over her eyes and took a deep breath. She held it in for a moment and then let it out slowly. She didn't know why God took her daughter away from her but she knew that if anyone would have an answer for her it would probably be Grace. She reached over towards her nightstand and picked up her phone, speed dialing her best friend. Grace picked up on the first ring.

"Hi, Adrian," Grace said, her voice still happy as usual although not quite as chipper as it normally would be. Adrian wasn't in the mood for pleasantries, however.

"Grace, I'm tryna wrap my head around why God punished me by taking away Mercy and I can't get my head around it."

"Adrian, you can't think of it like that," she assured her.

"Why not?" Adrian asked with irritation, shifting in her bed to get a little more comfortable. She was really starting to get sick of the bed and her hospital room. There was no immediate answer. "Grace? You still there?"

"I'm here. I was trying to think of how to phrase this."

"Phrase what?"

"Ok think of it like this. You know how growing up our parents always told us what we could and couldn't do?"

"Yeah."

"And as we got older we hated it because we thought we knew enough about life to make our own decisions?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Sooooo our parents told us what we could and couldn't do because they knew more about life than we did. They could see the potential consequences of our decisions and behavior and tried to spare us those potential problems and pain, right?"

"I guess but I don't see what that has to do with this, Grace," Adrian said grumpily. There was a click at her door and she looked up to see Ben standing there holding a paper sack of food. He gave her a small smile as he shut the door behind him and took a seat in the chair near her bed.

"God is like our parents, Adrian. He knows more about life and the world than we do, not because he's been around long enough to see or experience it but because he created it. So just because we don't understand why he does or doesn't do something doesn't mean there's not a good reason for it. And, like our parents, he may not always explain what the reason is. We just gotta trust that he knows what he's doing and there's a reason for everything." Adrian sighed deeply.

"Grace, I'm not sure I can be as trusting as you are." Adrian began to tear up and her voice began to waver from her angry tears. "The dude killed my baby! I'm not sure I wanna trust someone like that. If it works for you then fine but right now do me a favor and tell God to stop messing with me!" She ended the call and tossed her phone onto the bed. She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them, lowering her head and having herself a good cry.

The hours ticked by. Adrian drifted off to sleep in the afternoon and Ben went home to shower and change so he could head right back to the hospital. His dad had already told him he'd called Bunny and he wasn't expected at work today or tomorrow and he was thankful. He wasn't sure he was ready to face Ricky right now, knowing that Ricky's child had made it while his hadn't. Ricky on the other hand headed home to change and then headed downstairs to work his shift. After he clocked in he found himself working the counter with his mom.

"So'd you hear the news?" she asked him.

"What news?"

"Ben and Adrian had the baby." Ricky looked at her with confusion.

"Who told you that?" he asked uncertainly, not sure how his mother had arrived at her present conclusion. Nora appointed to her right towards the back office.

"I saw Bunny putting up a new schedule for today and tomorrow by the time clock this morning. Other people are working Ben's shifts so Adrian musta had the baby," she explained, shrugging as though it was perfectly obvious. Ricky knew it wasn't his place to set his mother straight on the subject and simply nodded his head, letting her believe he agreed with her logic. Nora looked perplexed at his reaction.

"What, no comment? Don't you care that now you and one of your co-workers have something else in common? Aren't you two gonna bond over baby-daddy stories?" Ricky rolled his eyes at his mother's last statement.

"Ben and I aren't exactly best friends, mom. We're just co-workers who both happened to have dated and slept with the same girls. Our friendship is strained on a good day," he informed her as he noticed the fruit basket was low and took it to the storeroom to refill it. At the nursery Diane was surprised to see Amy.

"What are you doing here, sweet pea? Are you sure you're ready to come back to work? We filled Sam in and she said you could take today off too if you needed." Amy gave her a grateful smile.

"I know; Sam left me a voicemail. But honestly I'd rather stay busy right now." Diane nodded in understanding as she watched Amy head to John's play room. Ricky and Amy completed their shifts with subdued attitudes, both doing their best to stay focused so their minds wouldn't have time to wander and fixate on Adrian and Ben's situation. After her shift Amy carried her son to the car and buckled him into his car seat, taking a couple of extra seconds to ruffle his hair and kiss his cheeks. When she and John arrived back home, even the family dinner was subdued, everyone thinking about what Ben and their next door neighbors must be going through. Everyone kept glancing at John as they ate too, each thinking about the love, joy and entertainment he had brought to their lives as well as how he'd added Ricky and his parents to their family. Amy focused entirely on John as she gave him his bath that night, committing to memory everything about the moment. She'd bathed her son countless times over the past year and a half and she cherished every second she spent with him. Now, however, she cherished John and her time with him on an even deeper level, realizing her life could've turned out much differently. When Ricky came by to pick John up for the weekend, it was especially bittersweet for Amy. On one hand she felt immensely saddened that she'd be separated from her son that night and wouldn't be able to watch him sleep. But on the other, she knew that he'd be in the care of the only other person on the planet who loved John with the same intensity that she did. She comforted herself with the realization that Ricky had been separated from John last night and so she knew he needed some quality alone time with John too. Ricky picked John up and then took his overnight bag from Amy. He leaned in and gave her a goodnight kiss.

"We'll see you tomorrow," he reminded her and she nodded. She stepped forward to kiss John's cheek.

"Be a good boy for daddy, John." He smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back at her healthy, happy little boy. She stood on the porch watching as Ricky buckled John into his car seat. She watched as he backed out of the driveway and continued watching until his car disappeared into the night.

The next morning found Adrian sitting on the bed of her hospital room dressed in a black dress. It had sheer sleeves and was mid-calf length. Her hair was down and held back at the sides by simple black clips. She was wearing simple black low heeled shoes and waiting for Dr. Atavi to return with her release papers. Her mother sat next to her in a black dress of her own. The dress had no sleeves but came with a plain black jacket that stopped at the waist. Her hair was also down and held back at the sides by simple black clips and her feet were also adorned with simple black low-heeled shoes. They sat side by side holding hands, neither saying a word. Adrian was being released from the hospital and heading straight to her daughter's funeral. She was holding her emotions in check by sheer willpower. She was tired of crying but tears kept threatening to fall.

There was a knock on the open door and Adrian and Cindy looked up to find Dr. Atavi and Ruben standing in the doorway. She handed Adrian a clipboard with her release forms and a pen. Adrian signed on the dotted line and then stood to hand the clipboard back. Dr. Atavi gave Adrian a sad smile and then left the room, knowing that there was nothing she could say that was going to make Adrian feel better.

"It's time," Ruben said sadly. Cindy rose from the bed as well and the three of them made their way to the parking lot. When they reached his car, Ruben opened the door for Cindy and then did likewise for Adrian. The drive to the cemetery was eerily silent and thankfully brief. They climbed out of the car and made their way over to a small group of people. Leo, Betty and Ben were joined by Grace, whom Adrian had called and asked to be there, a minster Adrian had never met before, and four men in suits, who she guessed were from the funeral home. Next to Sarah Boykewich's grave stood an open grave with a pink child-sized casket raised above it and a small bouquet of white roses resting on top of it. At the head of the grave was a small granite headstone with a rounded top. It was polished to a smooth finish and etched into it were the words:

Mercy Sarah Boykewich-Lee

Our Beloved Angel

Dec 2011

Etched beneath the words was a rose that had been painted white. There were chairs set up to the side of Mercy's casket and everyone took a seat. Once they were seated, the minister got up to speak.

"We gather here today to lay to rest a sweet child who was taken from this earth much too soon." Adrian felt a tear roll down her cheek but refused to give into the sobs that were trying to force their way out of her. "It's always hard to bear the loss of a loved one and even more so when they were taken from us unexpectedly. We simply must strive to take comfort in knowing that they are resting in peace and feel no pain." Grace was sitting next to Adrian and reached over to hold her hand, tears falling from her own eyes. "Would anyone like to say a few words?" the minister asked. Leo rose from his seat but stood facing Mercy's casket instead of those in attendance.

"Mercy," he began, his voice thick from his tears. "You never met me but I'm your grandpa Leo, your father's father." Ben was slowly losing the battle with his own tears at hearing his father's grief-stricken voice. "I just wanted to tell you I love you, I miss you and you'll forever be in my heart little angel." Leo kissed his fingers and then placed his hand over Mercy's casket. He stood there for a moment before slowly returning to his seat. Ruben rose after him and likewise spoke to Mercy, but in Spanish.

"Misericordia, soy tu abuelo, el padre de tu madre. Nunca me conociste bien pero te quiero, te extraño y que siempre estará en mi corazón, mis pensamientos y mis sueños dulce niña." (Mercy, I'm your grandfather, your mother's father. You never met me either but I love you, I miss you and you will always be in my heart, my thoughts and my dreams sweet little girl). Cindy and Adrian lost their battle with their tears at his words. Ben and Grace didn't understand everything Ruben had said but Leo did and Ruben's words tugged at his heart. He would have to remind himself that he wasn't the only grandpa who Mercy had been taken from. Betty got up to speak to Mercy next.

"Hello, Mercy. I'm Betty, your step-grandma. And even though we're not related by blood, I still love with you sweet pea, and was looking forward to loving you like a grandma," Betty paused to wipe her eyes. "I miss you little one, and I'll never forget you as long as I live." She walked back to her seat beside Leo and he gave her a watery smile as he took her hand in his. Cindy rose next to speak to her granddaughter. Her emotions nearly brought her to her knees in front of the casket.

"Oh mi nieto precioso. Usted fue un regalo inesperado que no podía esperar a apreciar, al igual que su mamá era para mí. No sé por qué te fuiste tomado como éste cariño, pero sé que siempre será amado y perdido. La abuela te quiere niña." (Oh my precious grandbaby. You were an unexpected gift that I couldn't wait to cherish, just like your mommy was for me. I don't know why you were taken like this sweetheart but know that you will always be loved and missed. Grandma loves you baby girl). As before, Ben didn't understand what Cindy had said but he could hear the emotion in her voice and see it on her face. Cindy returned to her seat on shaky legs and Ruben put an arm around her. Cindy leaned into him and sobbed. He put his other arm around her and gently rocked her. The minister looked at Ben and Adrian but they were both staring at their daughter's casket, unable to form into words how they felt at that moment. Unlike their parents, they had each had a chance to hold Mercy and tell her goodbye. That didn't make this moment any easier. When neither Ben nor Adrian rose to speak, he closed out the service.

"Let us bow our heads." Everyone did so and Adrian squeezed Grace's hand a little tighter. "Lord, we come to you now asking for peace and strength. We ask that you grant Mercy's loved ones peace of mind and strength of spirit as they weather this storm of loss and emotions. We ask that you provide healing as time progresses so they can continue to cherish each other and we ask that you grant them courage to continue living, one day at a time. Amen." Leo rose from his seat with Betty, her hand still in his, and they made their way towards Mercy's casket. They each kissed their fingers and then placed their hand on the casket briefly, giving their granddaughter one final goodbye. They took several steps back to make room for Ruben and Cindy, who rose next to do likewise. Ben numbly followed their example and then slowly Grace and Adrian rose. Adrian released Grace's hand and placed both of her own on her daughter's casket as she leaned forward and kissed its cover while Grace kissed her fingers and placed a hand on the casket as Ben and their parents had done. She and Adrian joined the others beside the casket. One of the funeral home workers removed the bouquet on top of the casket and handed it to Adrian, who took it numbly, and then the little group all silently watched as the workers lowered Mercy's casket into the ground. They watched as they removed the lowering mechanism and then shoveled the nearby mound of dirt on top of it. When Adrian noticed that the mound of dirt was almost gone she had to bite her lip to keep from sobbing. Once the casket was fully covered and the dirt had been tamped down, Adrian knelt down and placed the bouquet at the head of the mound just below the headstone. She stood back up and simply stared at her daughter's grave. The finality of the situation hit her suddenly and she broke down. Grace pulled Adrian into a hug and the two best friends wept.