Clark was sitting in the kitchen talking to his mother when the phone rang. His father picked it up and said a few words to the person on the other side. He became visibly distressed, apologizing several times before thanking them and hanging up.

"Johnathan? What's wrong?" Martha inquired.

Jonathan sat at the table with a sigh, "That was Nell."

He took his wife's hands and looked at her and his son.

"A Chaplain and a Casualty Notification Officer went by the house. Kelly died," he informed them.

Martha began to cry and tears formed in Clark's eyes. They'd all known Kelly for years, she was like family.

"How?" Clark asked.

"They didn't tell Nell much. Something about an accident."

"Will there be a funeral?" Martha questioned.

"Nell said that there was going to be a service. But- there won't be a- there was nothing-" Jonathan stuttered.

"Oh God," Martha whispered, realizing what he was trying to say.

Clark stood up, "I should talk to Lana."

"Clark, let's give Lana and Nell some space."

Clark nodded but continued toward the front door.

"Clark!" Martha called.

"I'm not going to Lana's," he told them, "I have to see Lex. He should hear this from a friend."

"Why would Lex-" Jonathan began, only to be stopped by his wife, who understood.

She gave her son a small smile and nod, letting him go.

As soon as he got to the mansion, he went straight to Lex's study, finding his friend in the middle of a game of pool.

"Hey, Clark. I didn't expect to see you today." Lex greeted.

"Hi, Lex," Clark replied, the sadness in his voice evident.

"Is everything ok?"

"There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it? Your parents?"

"You should sit down."

Lex put the que down and walked over to the couch sitting down with Clark sitting in the armchair opposite of him.

"My parents got a call from Lana's Aunt Nell a little while ago," Clark paused, sighing.

"Clark, whatever it is just tell me." Lex insisted.

Clark took a deep breath, "Lex, I'm really sorry. Kelly was in some kind of accident. She died."

Lex's face dropped. Kelly couldn't be dead. Not his Kelly.

"There's gonna be a service. I'll let you know as soon as I know anything."

"I appreciate you telling me, Clark. But I think I should be alone right now."

"I wanted you to hear it from a friend. Do you think being alone is a good idea?"

Lex nodded, "For now. I'll talk to you later, Clark."

Clark hesitated before leaving. As soon as he was gone, Lex knocked all of his glasses to the floor in a fit of rage.

It wasn't fair. She promised to come back to him. She promised. He was finally happy. They were making plans, they were going to be happy together.

It.

Wasn't.

Fair.

The day before the funeral, Lana received a visit from her former brother-in-law, John.

"I, um, I wanted to come by and explain a few things. How're you holding up?" he asked.

"It feels so surreal. I keep expecting her to call or walk through the door and ask if I'm ok," Lana replied, starting to cry again. "You know, I appreciate you taking care of the arrangements. I don't think I could've handled-"

"It's ok. I understand." John cleared his throat, "Since Kelly and I were still legally married, there's a lot that I needed to do anyway. Um, I have who's supposed to carry the casket all set, Clark Kent and his father agreed to help. And the flag… I don't feel right taking it, I think you should."

"What?"

"Kelly and I were splitting up. And I know she and your Aunt didn't really get along. But you? She loved you more than anyone. It's only right if you take it."

"Yeah. Yeah, ok."

"And something else," he reached into his pocket and pulled out Kelly's dog tags, handing them to Lana.

Lana took the tags and ran her thumb over her sister's name, memorizing the shape of every letter.

"I'm sorry, Lana. I'm going to do everything I can to make tomorrow as easy as possible for you."

She nodded and gave him a soft smile. As soon as he left, she held the tags to her chest and sobbed.

It was too bright for a funeral, most of all Kelly's funeral. Lex thought that rain would've been more appropriate. Kelly loved rain and thunderstorms, she called them beautiful. She would have liked a rainstorm today.

Lex stood in the very back of the crowd, watching the service. His hands gripped the back of the seat in front of him, his grip tightening with every shot fired into the air. Lana flinched, Martha Kent holding her hands tightly while Nell turned to her husband. Kelly's friend, Davis, knelt in front of Lana, handing her a folded-up flag. Her hands shook as she reached for it, pulling it close to her chest and squeezing. It all felt like a dream to him. As if he'd wake up and Kelly would be beside him or he'd have a message on his phone from her, laughing because she forgot the time difference but wanted to say hi, and this would all be a nightmare.

"You ok?"

Lex turned and saw Davis and Quinn standing beside him.

"Did they know that she hates daisies?" he inquired.

Quinn sat in the empty chair beside him, "We know. A friend sent those. I guess she didn't realize."

Davis plopped down onto the chair closest to the aisle, "This just seems like a shitty dream and I for one am ready to wake up from it."

"Hear hear!" chorused Quinn.

"I don't think it'll ever feel real. Not for any of us." Lex replied.

"Not the ones who really loved her," a voice commented from beside the trio.

They all turned and saw John standing beside them, arms crossed tightly against his chest.

"He makes a point," Lex surprisingly agreed, "The people who didn't truly love her are just going to forget she ever existed. But the ones who really cared, who loved her, that emptiness will never go away. No matter how much time passes, it'll be there."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," Quinn said after a long pause.

"I've known loss before." nodded Lex.

"I just feel like if we can see her, see that she's really gone, then we can have closure," said Davis.

John sighed through his nose, "You don't want to see that, man. Trust me."

"You saw her?"

John nodded, his face growing pale.

"This is all a little premature I think anyway," Quinn stated absently.

Davis smacked him in the back of his head.

"What do you mean?" Lex asked.

John glared, "O'Brian, I swear to God, you'd better shut up right now."

"What's the harm?" he exclaimed, "It's rumor and speculation. And honestly, what the hell is he gonna do?"

"Dude, shut the hell up before you get us all court-martialed." Davis shook his head and stood, dragging John off to where Lana lingered.

"What is he trying to keep you quiet about?"

Quinn held up his hand and watched, waiting for the boys to be out of earshot.

"You didn't hear this from me, but there's an open investigation into the accident that killed Kelly."

"What kind of investigation?"

"They weren't totally sure whose body was who. The only identifier they had was her tags, the body was burnt beyond identification. But that's only a rumor going around the barracks. I can't prove anything."

"Is there a way to?"

"Wait for them to do their thing I suppose."

"So that might not be Kelly? She could be alive somewhere?"

"I want to hope for that, but it's not likely. Listen, I'm sorry man, I shouldn't have said anything. We didn't tell Lana this shit for the same reason. False hope."

"But if there's a chance-"

"Lex, no. There's a better chance of you winning the freaking lottery than Kelly being alive. Everyone was accounted for."

"You're just going to give up?"

"No, goddammit, no." Quinn sighed, "I plan on keeping my ear to the ground. If I hear anything, anything at all, that suggests she's somehow alive, I will fight to get her back."

"Maybe I can do something."

"Yeah, you can. Watch out for Lana and take care of yourself. You know it's what Kelly would want."

Lex nodded and looked at his hands, "You too. And Davis."

Quinn gave him a small smile and patted his shoulder before getting up to leave, leaving Lex alone in the cemetery.

In the days following the funeral, Lex made sure Lana was home resting and that Mr. Sullivan had everything he needed to take care of the teen. He also took some time off for himself, having his assistant reschedule and cancel his meetings, which prompted a visit from his father.

"Pathetic. Pathetic," Lionel Luthor exclaimed while berating his son, "You sit here and do nothing, cancel meetings that have been in place for months, meetings that I may remind you are crucial to the company, over some girl!"

Lex's head snapped up from his desk, "She wasn't some girl, dad. Her name was Kelly and like it or not, I loved her. And she died."

Lionel rolled his eyes, "Lex, son, you did not love her. Lust, I believe, but not love. That girl died, because she was doing something reckless and foolish."

"What Kelly did wasn't foolish," came Clark's voice suddenly, "Kelly was brave and courageous. She was a hero."

"Clark," Lex sighed, "Could you excuse us, please? It's not a good time right now."

Reluctantly Clark nodded and left, leaving a container on a nearby table.

After he was gone, Lex turned back to his father, "Clark's right. Kelly was a hero."

"Yes, a hero. And you loved her." Lionel sarcastically replied.

"I did. I wanted to marry her. I wanted to spend every day of the rest of my life with her." Lex's voice began to rise.

"If you think I would've allowed such a thing to take place-"

"I don't care!" Lex shouted, "I don't care what you would've allowed. Do you know why? Because Kelly made me feel like I was worth more than the Luthor name. Like I could be a good husband and father, that I'd be a successful man wherever we went. I was ready and willing to leave all of this behind for her. Do you think I would have done that if I didn't love her?"

"You would never-"

"Leave? I was planning on it. As soon as I proposed I knew you'd try and cut me out, so I was planning on leaving with Kelly."

Lionel stood with his jaw hanging open.

"Nice seeing you, dad. But I'd like to be alone and grieve."

Silently, Lionel turned on his heel and marched out the door, slamming it open. Lex wandered over to the container Clark left and picked it up, chuckling when he saw this it was more food from Martha Kent. The woman seemed intent on feeding him ever since the funeral. He was grateful for the gesture and admittedly for a nice home-cooked meal. He picked up the fork she packed with it and took a bite, a look of contentment crossing his features.

A/N: For Military funerals, I believe the caskets must be carried by Military personnel. But I figured having Clark and Jonathan help would be more of a home touch. R&R please! Let me know what you think!