*Thank-you for all the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated. Thank-you all so much.

That Saturday in the mid afternoon Dave, Alex and the kids walked into the funeral home for Lindsey's funeral. They didn't have a viewing because she was cremated. They didn't want people to see the damage that had been done to her before she died so they figured cremation was the best way to go. The room was filled with flower donations and beautiful flower arrangements. There were pictures of Lindsey showing the good times she had and tons of pictures of her with Reagan. They made Alex cry as she looked at them before they took their seats. "You okay?" asked Dave as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Yeah," she said. "I'll be fine."

"Okay," he said rubbing her back. The guests begin to fill in as they looked at the pictures that decorated not the end of a life but the celebration of a young life that was ended too soon.

Reagan got up and took Alex's hand so they could go look at the pictures. "Mommy," said Reagan pointing to a picture of her and her mom.

"Yes. That's Mommy," said Alex choking back tears. Reagan's face lit up as she saw the pictures.

"Where Mommy?" she asked Alex.

"Mommy is in Heaven but she's in your heart too." She told her pointing to her heart. "And she loves you very much. She's going to be in your heart everyday of your life. She's never going to leave your heart. She's looking down on you from Heaven."

"Mommy," she said touching her heart. "Me Wuv Mommy!"

"I know you do," said Alex as her eyes swelled with tears as they continued to look at the pictures. Reagan was getting better with understanding her mom wasn't coming home. What was hard for her was realizing that she was gone FOREVER. Alex hated being in that position of having to tell her about her mom but since she took on the responsibility she had to be the one to tell her. As they finished looking at the pictures they took their seats again so that the memorial service could start. Just as the pastor was doing the opening prayer Kevin walked into the funeral home. Alex couldn't believe her eyes. "I can't believe it," she whispered.

"What?" asked Dave in a low whisper as the prayer was ended. He looked up to see Kevin standing across the room most of the people in the room had noticed his presence. There were a lot of whispers and side talking. "He has a lot of nerve showing up here," said Dave.

"I know," said Alex. "After everything he put her through he has a lot of nerve showing up." Alex was thoroughly disgusted by his presence. She didn't think he had the right to be there after all the Hell he put Lindsey through while she was alive. She could feel the heat rising in her face and the anger filling her body. She was doing her best to contain herself as the pastor went on talking. He was discussing the life and death process. He was stating Ecclesiastes which explained there was a time for everything. He followed this up with a quick song before he offered Alex the microphone to speak.

Alex got up and walked to the front. She had been contemplating on what to say about Lindsey. She wrestled around with her thoughts for days until she finally came up with the right words to say. She took a deep breath as she said, "I didn't know Lindsey that long maybe just a couple months but in those couple months I learned so much about her. I learned who she was and who she wanted to be. Lindsey had a troubling past like many and fell into the wrong type of life. She fell for what she thought was love but really it wasn't love at all. She had been hurt many times in her life and allowed the hurt to continue until the day she walked into my shelter with her beautiful daughter Reagan. There was just something about Lindsey that made me reach out to her and help her. She was so sweet and quiet. She barely talked while she was at the shelter. She went through some dark times and it came down to her having to leave the shelter or lose her daughter. I couldn't stand back and let her lose her daughter because I knew how much she loved her. I opened my home up to her. I gave her a place to stay. We would have long talks about what she wanted to do with her life but through all the talks she talked about how much Reagan meant to her. Reagan was her life. She did everything for Reagan. Reagan was her reason to live. Words can not express how much she loved that little girl. I'm saying loved like she stopped loving her.. I know Lindsey is loving her from Heaven right now. Lindsey was 20 years old not too far away from being 21. She loved life and she loved everything it had to offer. She was trying to get her life back together. She had given everything up for a man she thought loved her," she said as she glared at Kevin, "She lost everything for love but she was starting to make plans to get her life back together. She wanted to find her parents so she could talk to them because she hadn't seen them or talked to them in years. She was going to get her GED and then go to college for nursing. She was going to better herself not only for her but for Reagan. She wanted to give Reagan the world. Lindsey's life was taken way too soon in the most tragic way. She didn't deserve to leave this Earth like this. I ask myself why it happened all the time but that question hasn't been answered yet. We may never know why it happened the way it did but God had reason for taking her in the way that he did. Lindsey had so much more life to live and in my eyes it had barely even began. I keep wondering what if Lindsey would be alive today? What if Lindsey would have gotten her GED? I can't help but wonder what could have been maybe I should have been there when she left. Maybe I could have stopped her from leaving. Maybe I could have done more to help her. The truth is it doesn't matter what if and the maybes aren't going to change the fact that an innocent angel was taken from this Earth. It's not fair and she didn't deserve to leave us this way. It's not fair that her daughter has to grow up without a mother. The person or people that did this were selfish. They left a little girl without a mother. The truth is we can be mad about it all we want, we can be filled with pain and sorrow, we can ask why a hundred times, we can cry and mourn but the truth is that's not going to change the fact she's gone. She's in a better place now. A place where she feels no pain, a place where she can't be harmed, a place where she can be happy and a place where she's safe. It may not be fair to those she left behind but if I know Lindsey she is up there smiling down on us. She wouldn't want us to mourn or cry about her leaving us. She'd want us to laugh and remember the good times. She'd want us to remember her for who she was. Lindsey may be gone but she will never be forgotten. We all love you, Lindsey and we know you are going to be with us everyday of our lives." She held it together pretty well but as soon as she found her seat she began to allow the tears to stream from her eyes. She continued to cry through out the service. Each song they played, each word that was spoken hit her hard.

The pastor ended things before his prayer by saying, "Jesus will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4. Like Alex had said, we may never understand why God took Lindsey the way he did but he had his reasons. The moment he took her away her pain was gone, the tears she shed were gone from her eyes, she mourned no more and she was to begin her new eternal life. It's okay to be sad and it's okay to miss someone. In the Bible it says, 'those who mourn shall be comforted.' God is going to comfort each and every one of you as you mourn the loss of this young girl. It was tragic but we're not to dwell on the death of this young woman but dwell on the good times, dwell on the memories we shared with her and more importantly remember her for who she was. She's in God's hands now and she is an angel to her beautiful daughter. When the time comes your pain and your sorrow will be washed away with the mercy of God. And I end it with this, For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. Let us pray," he said as he led them into a closing prayer. As he closed the service they grabbed the ashes and headed to a local grave sight to bury Lindsey.

The pastor spoke some more at the grave spot before lowering her ashes into the grave. Each person threw dirt into the grave. Alex walked up to the grave and tossed a white rose into the grave with Reagan. "Rest Sweet Angel," she said as she wiped away a tear. She handed Reagan a rose and said, "Say goodbye to mommy and tell her you love her."

Reagan still confused but understanding what Alex had said put the rose in the grave and said, "Bye, Mommy. I wuv you." Alex gave a faint smile behind her tears as she took Reagan's hand to head back to the car. It had been a long day for Reagan and all Alex wanted to do was get her home but she was stopped on the way.

Kevin walked up to Dave and Alex and said, "I want my daughter back."

"And what makes you think you're going to get her," said Alex.

"I am her father. She belongs to me. Just like you go out and have this big funeral for Lindsey. Her funeral arrangements should have been done by me. I am her husband."

"Right," said Alex. "A husband that used to beat his wife around that had her so scared she wouldn't leave the house. You didn't love her and you're crazy if you think you're going to get Reagan."

"She's my daughter. I made her. I have those rights," he said. "CPS may have given you temporary custody but that doesn't mean she's not my daughter. The first time I talk to my lawyer I'm having him fight for custody of my daughter. I'm the only person she has left. She just lost her mother. She needs her father."

"Get your lawyer," said Alex. "We can always have it proven you're not a fit parent."

"You can't prove anything. She's my daughter by blood and I have rights to her."

"We'll see," said Alex.

"Yeah. We'll see," said Kevin. "And with my wife dead Reagan is all I have left. I loved my wife dearly and I know she would have wanted me to have Reagan."

"That's why she was coming to my dad for help to get full custody of her because she wanted you to have her. I'm doing what's right for Reagan and what Lindsey would have wanted. Right now you're walking free on these streets but one day you're going to be charged with her murder. I know it was you. You tried to kill her numerous times but never succeeded. There is not a doubt in my mind that you didn't murder her."

"Why would I murder the person I love the most?"

"For the same reason you beat the woman you loved the most because you're a pig."

"Bitch, you better shut your mouth before you end up like Lindsey."

"Is that a threat?" asked Alex. "Did you just threaten my life?"

"Yeah. Yes I did," he said with a smirk.

"You're not going to come here threatening my wife, Asshole. I will break your f**king neck. You had no right to be here today."

"I had no right? She was my wife. I had every right to be here. And you need to get your bitch to keep it under control."

"Get out of here," said Dave. "You're just causing problems. You have no reason to speak to us unless we go to court and you better believe we'll…" he started to say before two police officers came up.

"Kevin Thomas, you are under arrest for the rape and murder of Lindsey Thomas. You have the right to remain silent. Whatever you say or do can and will be used against you in the court of law."

"I didn't do anything. I didn't kill my wife!" he yelled as they cuffed him. He continued yelling at them as he was taken to the car.

"Are you okay?" Dave asked Alex.

"Yeah," she said. "At least he's being charged."

"That's a good thing," said Dave as he saw a woman and a man in a wheelchair coming over to them along with the social worker.

"Dave and Alex, these are Lindsey's parents," said the social worker.

"Nice to meet you," they both said.

"We wanted to see Reagan," said her mother.

"Reagan," said Alex as she picked her up. "This is your grandma."

Reagan looked at her but didn't say anything. "Hi, Reagan," said her Grandma. "I'm your mommy's mom. You are so beautiful. I can't believe I haven't gotten the chance to meet you before. You look just like your mommy. Can I hold her?"

"Sure," said Alex handing Reagan to her grandma. "So are they taking her?"

"No," said Lindsey's mom.

"No?" asked Alex. "You seem so happy to see her."

"I am happy to see my granddaughter for the first time in her life. I've waited for this moment for two years now almost three. The day Lindsey called to tell me she was pregnant with a little girl was the last I ever heard from her. I tried calling her but her phone was disconnected, I sent letters to her but they were returned, I tried to keep in touch with her but nothing ever worked out. I tried to be in her life but she never called, she never wrote, nothing. It was like my daughter was taken from me. I knew when she got involved with Kevin it was bad but I didn't do anything to stop it. I wish I could have but I didn't. We kicked her out of the house not too long after that. I never wanted to lose my daughter. I wanted to be in her life but Kevin took that from me. Reagan is the only thing we have left of Lindsey but unfortunately my husband and me can't take her."

"Why?" asked Alex. "She knows you're family. It's like she can feel it. She's being so good for you."

"I know," she said, "but this is the last time we can see her."

"But why?" asked Alex.

"Because my husband is ill. We can't take care of a two year old. If the circumstances were different we would take her in a heartbeat but we can't. Not with my husband the way he is."

"I see," said Alex, "but that doesn't mean you can't visit her."

"I know," she said, "but I don't feel comfortable popping in and confusing her. I love Reagan and I loved Lindsey but I can't mess up Reagan's life."

"You won't be messing anything up," said Alex. "You should be in her life. You've gotten the chance to meet her. She's a great kid and as long as we have her you can visit her as much as you want."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," she said, "you're her grandmother. You have that right."

"Thank-you," she said. She got Alex's information so that she could keep in touch with her and visit Reagan when she could. "Well, I think we're going to go. Here you go," she said handing Reagan back to Alex. "Reagan, I love you and I will see you soon," she said.

"Wuv you," said Reagan hugging her grandma.

"Bye, Reagan," said Lindsey's dad as he leaned forward for a hug.

"Bye," said Reagan.

"And Alex," said Lindsey's mom before walking away, "thank-you for everything you've done for my daughter. And thank-you for everything you're doing for Reagan. You called Lindsey Reagan's angel but in my eyes you were Lindsey's angel that was trying to get her on the right track. Thank-you so much," she said with tears in her eyes.

"You're welcome," said Alex as she too had tears in her eyes. She hugged Lindsey's mom and soon they parted ways. Alex and Dave now knew that Lindsey's parents were unable to take Reagan, Kevin was arrested for murder so there was no one to take care of Reagan. The next option was for the social worker to find a family for her or for Dave and Alex to take her. Even though Dave said he would be willing to take her permanently they both had a lot of thinking to do and had to decide if taking Reagan into their home was the best idea. The social worker was giving them two weeks to decide. She understood that with all their children plus the other on the way it would be hard for them to just take her in. She knew it was a big decision for them that took time. She was giving them the time that they needed not only to make the decision but to also get over everything that had happened with Lindsey. They both had a lot of thinking to do and they were going to take their time to make sure they made the best decision they could make and were doing the right thing. Sometimes the best decision wasn't always the right thing and sometimes the right decision wasn't always the best. They kept that in mind as they thought about it.

*A/N: So Lindsey is finally laid to rest. She is no longer in pain. She's safe now. Reagan is getting better with understanding her Mommy is gone. I almost teared up when she was looking at pictures of her mom. Kevin wants Reagan, confronted Alex and threatened her life but he was arrested for murder.. maybe the police found something they didn't before. Lindsey's parents are unable to take Reagan because of LIndsey's dad being ill.. it's up to Alex and Dave to decide if they want her or not. They have a lot of thinking to do and hopefully they make the right decision. So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.