A/N Thank you all for your reviews. I do read and learn from them. These characters do not belong to me.
The next morning, everyone met at the Funeral Home. Bernadette and the others were honored when Pierre told them they would be allowed to see Monique with the family before the general public was let in.
Pierre and Marie let Leonard and Warren go in first.
As he stood over the casket, Leonard allowed the tears to fall. "I love you, Monique. I will always love you. I would say goodbye but I know you will always be a part of me. I promise that I will do everything I can to be sure Warren gets the love he deserves and let him know how much his mother loved him. After standing there for a time, he gave Warren a big hug and then left.
The others met him at the door and Bernadette greeted him with a hug as his tears subsided. It had been decided that Warren need not be there when the public was allowed to enter and one of Monique's cousin had agreed to babysit him.
After allowing Marie to hold him, the babysitter took him home.
Pierre, Marie, and Gerard went in next. Except at the airport, they had managed to hold back their tears but now all unabashedly cried as the stood over the coffin. It had been over six months since they had seen her in person.
Bernadette, Howard, and Raj went in next. It would be the first time Bernadette had seen her, while the others had only seen her at the morgue. They all felt a sense of loss that they had never gotten to meet her.
All of them sat together as the public was allowed in. It was soon apparent to Bernadette that she had been a very popular person as there was a continuous flow of people during the three hours.
Many of them were young couples and Bernadette realized that Leonard had become part of a new group of friends when he was in Paris.
Everyone was amazed and pleased when they learned Bernadette and the others had come all the way from the states to be with Leonard. It was a little surprise that so many people talked about how much Monique and Leonard had loved each other.
There were also a large group of individuals from the academic community and it became apparent how respected Monique and Leonard were.
One woman, who was pretty and appeared to be in her late thirties came and sat by Bernadette. "My name is Claudette; I was Monique's best friend. I just wanted to tell you how wonderful it was for you to come. I know Monique would be thrilled. Did you get to meet her?"
Bernadette answered, "It is nice to meet you. This is my husband Howard and our friend Raj. I am sorry to say we never got to meet her; she was on the way to our house when the accident happened."
Claudette nodded and then said, "I am sorry to hear that. I know she was looking forward to meeting you.
Then she shocked them by asking, "Was Penny going to meet her too?"
Not sure what to say, Bernadette answered, "Yes, she was there. Why do you ask?"
"Monique called me before they left for California. She told me how she was looking forward to meeting all of you. She especially said she hoped to meet Penny. You have to understand how close Monique and Leonard were. She felt she knew him better than anyone. She knew how much he loved her."
"But she also knew how important Penny had been to him. Don't get me wrong, she knew it was over between them and that Leonard and Penny never had what she and Leonard had, but she was always curious how Penny could let someone like Leonard go, how she could hurt him."
"At the same time, she figured if Leonard could love her, she must be a little special. You have to understand, Monique was the most loving, confident, person I ever met. I can safely say, she did not have an enemy in the world or a jealous bone in her body. She was looking forward to meeting Penny, to meet the person that Leonard once loved." She smirked, "She probably would have exchanged stories."
As Bernadette absorbed that, Leonard came over to them. Claudette got up and gave him a big hug. She stepped back and said, "I am so sorry Leonard. I couldn't believe it when I heard. How are you doing?"
"I am hanging in there." He smiled, "I see you have met the gang."
"Yes, I was telling them how wonderful it was for them to come."
Seeing that the family was now free, she continued, "I am going over to see the family. How are they doing?"
"They are trying to be strong. The funeral will be tough for all of us."
She nodded sadly and went over to be embraced by Gerard and the others.
Leonard turned to Bernadette, "Monique and Claudette knew each other since they were kids. She wasn't thrilled when Monique and I moved to New York."
Bernadette decided now was not the time to say anything about what Claudette had said. "How about her, is she married?"
Leonard smiled, "No, she likes her freedom to much." He leaned in and lowered her voice, "She and Gerard were involved once. Monique said she thought they might get married, but then something happened. Monique said they wouldn't even talk to her about it."
After the visitation, all of them made their way back to the Goddard's. Everyone was pleased about the turnout and how everyone had remarked what a good job the funeral home in the states had done with Monique.
Everyone tried not to think about the funeral the next day. They had decided that Warren would stay with the babysitter.
Pierre and Marie had wondered if they should bring it up, but finally decided the others might be interested. They asked them if they would like to see some home movies of Monique as she grew up. They told them they would understand if the weren't interested.
They were pleased when everyone was excited to see them. They spent the next few hours watching Monique from the time she was a baby to her wedding to Leonard. Bernadette and the others saw how beautiful a woman she really was. And the sight of her and Leonard together made them tear up.
Marie asked Leonard if she could tuck Warren in; he told her would like that.
Afterwards, everyone shared a glass of wine and then said their goodnights as the guys headed back to the hotel. No one brought up the funeral.
After a late supper, Pierre and Marie said they were exhausted and were going up to their bedroom. Leonard and Gerard again found themselves alone, this time sharing a bottle of wine.
After a time, when both were lost in their own thoughts, Gerard spoke up, "I see that Claudette was talking to your friends. Did they say anything about what she talked about?"
Leonard was surprised, why would he wonder about that? "No, just that she told them how wonderful it was for them to come. Why?"
Gerard sat quietly for a while and then seemed to come to a decision. "I assume you know that she and I were once involved?"
"Yeah, Monique told me." Leonard hesitated, "She said it was pretty serious, but then something happened to break you up. She said you never even told her what it was."
Gerard went on, "After Claudette and I had been dating for some time and for me was getting serious, Monique started seeing a man named Andre. He was some big producer. I think Monique was more fascinated by him than seriously interested in him."
"I should probably tell you now that Claudette had always thought of herself as an aspiring actress. She never really appeared in anything but kept up with anything to do with acting, etc."
Gerard took a sip, "To make a long story short, I found out that Claudette was sleeping with Andre. I don't know what bothered me the most, that she cheated on me or that she was cheating with Monique's boyfriend."
Leonard was stunned. But then he was struck how in a way, the situation resembled what had happened with him and Penny.
Gerard had gone on, "When I found out, I didn't know what to do. I knew that Claudette and I were over, but I didn't want to hurt Monique. Not only about Andre but I knew how close she was to Claudette."
"While I was wondering, Monique and Andre went their separate ways. I confronted Claudette who didn't seem to be very broken up about me and her. I realized she was likely incapable of really loving someone. But she did beg me not to tell Monique. It seemed their friendship was important to her. In the end, I decided not to tell Monique but always wondered whether I made the right decision."
He finished off his glass. "You are probably wondering why I am mentioning this now. I just wanted to let you know about Claudette. I don't really know why except I wanted you to know what she is really like."
He got up, "Well, tomorrow is going to be a long day. I think I will turn in too. Goodnight, Leonard."
As Leonard said goodnight, he thought over what Gerard had said. He wondered how Monique would have reacted if she had known.
Finishing off his glass, he made his way to bed.
The next day, the guys were almost overwhelmed by the beauty of the church the funeral services were held in. They were also pleased when they were sat in the aisle directly behind the family. Both Howard and Bernadette occasionally would reach out and touch Leonard's shoulder.
Even Howard had to admit that the service was moving. But the most inspiring and toughest parts were the eulogies given by Leonard and Gerard.
Leonard spoke of his love for her and how he felt loved by her. He spoke of her love for their son. Of how they both would miss her. He spoke how Pierre and Marie had made him feel a part of the family. Bernadette and the others teared up when he singled them out for their support in coming to Paris.
Gerard told many anecdotes of Monique's life, including some that were quite humorous.
All in all, it was a celebration of Monique's life.
When they reached the cemetery, Bernadette and the others were again stunned when instead of being buried in the ground, Monique's casket was placed in a huge tomb, surround by other caskets, some dating back centuries.
After the ceremony was over and the guests had left, they all looked at some of the caskets and the dates inscribed on them. They understood how the Goddards were tied to their past.
When they made their way back to the house for a post funeral reception, they were struck again how much Monique had been loved. It seemed everyone had a story that reflected that.
It seemed everyone also wanted to see Warren as a way to look forward to the future, that a part of Monique would live on.
Finally, the guests had left and the rest finally were able to relax in the living room. Fortified with another fine wine, they reminisced about the day.
When Bernadette offered to help clean up, she was told they would leave it for the maid.
Between the stress and excitement of the day, Pierre and Marie again left early for bed, again thanking everyone for their support. They had a special hug for Leonard, telling him how he had helped them get through everything and how they thought of him as their son. With everyone tearing up, they left for bed.
Leonard then said he was going to put Warren to bed. But when Bernadette said she wanted to help, he quickly agreed.
After they returned to the others and they had their glasses refilled, Leonard decided he needed to say something. "I felt a little guilty that I didn't thank Penny and Sheldon in my speech, but didn't want to risk offending Pierre and Marie or anyone else who might have known of her. But now I would like to give a toast to them and all of you. To the best friends anyone could have."
The others raised their glasses, "To Friendship."
After a few moments, Gerard spoke up, "As I remember, you guys are all going home the day after tomorrow, right?"
When they nodded, he said, "If you guys agree, I suggest that I take you and Leonard on a tour of Paris tomorrow. We can end up by eating at a fabulous restaurant I often frequent."
Everyone quickly agreed. He added, "I don't know if Pierre and Marie want to go, but I will check with them in the morning."
Soon after that, they said their goodnights and headed for the hotel, saying once again how impressive and moving the whole day had been.
Once again Leonard and Gerard found themselves alone. Gerard spoke up, "I don't want to get too mushy, but I just want you to know, I think of you as a brother. Knowing that Monique found you has made it possible for me to get through this."
Leonard teared up a little, "Thank you, Gerard, you have all been so wonderful to me. I love you all.
Gerard answered back, "We love you, too."
As they exchanged a hug, Gerard announced he was exhausted himself. They said their goodnights and made their way to their rooms.
