hey all! this fic is finally completed. i put chapters 15 and 16 together bc 16 is so short. enjoy and please review if possible :)

thanks!

Chapter 15

Four days had passed since Gabrielle's hospital stay. Within this short period of time, Rex Van de Kamp's funeral came and went. Bree had put off her husband's funeral for as long as possible. She claimed that she needed time for family members to arrive, but she was actually dragging out her fear of attending the funeral for as long as possible. Bree did not want her neighbors and relatives to see her cry. She accepted the fact that her closest friends bore witness to such behavior, but simply would not allow for anyone else to see past her perfect exterior.

However, the funeral turned out to be a success for Bree. She believed she had no more tears left to cry, and therefore, allowed herself to observe solemnly as her first love was lowered six feet under. She comforted her daughter, and attempted to stand by her son…but Bree never showed her tears.

Within a day or two, Bree found that time no longer seemed to stand still. Her days remained drawn out, but were no longer endless. She would busy herself with various chores ranging from dusting to gardening. Rex's memory continued to linger in her every thought, but at this point, Bree wanted to begin getting her life back in order. She refused to become the woman who stayed in bed; allowing herself to emotionally rot away. She owed it to herself, her friends, her children, and even to her husband to somehow carry on.

Bree was vigorously wiping fingerprints off of a crystal vase when she heard her daughter's footsteps. Danielle too, was desperately attempting to regain her life. She had started making plans with friends, and had even tried going to a party…but with each new step out, she would find herself setback a step further.

"Where are you going?" Bree questioned.

"Just to take a walk." Danielle was being truthful. She did not derive pleasure from being with friends, and felt more relief from clearing her head.

"Oh, okay." Bree sadly smiled. She knew she was slowly losing grip of her daughter, but was unsure of how to patch up their relationship. "Danielle…" she began, causing the blonde to turn around. "How about tonight we rent a thoughtless movie and load ourselves up with food that lacks any form of nutritional value." As hard as she may have tried, Bree just did not sound like the 'pig out and watch chick flicks' type.

"Um…"

"Remember whenever you were sick as a little girl we would do that? I didn't make you eat anything gourmet for a change, and we would just waste our time…eating and laughing…" she paused. "being friends." Bree feared that Danielle would no longer have a place in her memory for such details of her childhood.

"Of course I remember. I think I was the only kid I knew who loved being sick." Danielle smiled softly. "I loved it so much because you would treat me like a normal kid…and you would act like other moms…"

Bree felt the far too familiar feeling of guilt rise up again. She could have gotten down on her hands and knees and apologized to her daughter, but what good would it do? What's done is done. Bree realized that she had to stop dwelling on the past, and needed to start reaching for the future. "Well, what do you say we do that tonight. Just you and I. Andrew has plans anyway." Bree didn't actually know whether or not her son had plans. She had just come to accept the fact that her relationship with Andrew was hopeless for the time being- that she needed to leave him alone for a while. At least until he was ready to accept her and move on.

The young blonde nodded at her mother. "Sure. I'd like that." She sounded relatively dull, but Bree saw a certain spark in her eyes that she hadn't seen in months.

"I'll see you later, then." Bree responded, watching Danielle walk out of their home. She felt herself smile as she realized that she may have a chance of mending their relationship.

Bree was deep in thought and didn't realize how late it had gotten. Earlier in the week she had invited Susan, Gabrielle, and Lynette over for lunch. She spent the entire morning preparing delicacy after delicacy for her three closest friends. The redhead heard a knock at her door and instantly jolted up. She ushered her friends inside, leading them to the dining room table. Normally she would serve hors d'oeuvres and greet her friends with lines such as, "I hope you brought your appetite!", but not today.

As she sat at the head of her table, facing her friends, she found herself at a loss for words. Susan, Gabrielle, and Lynette all exchanged worried glances.

"Oh wow, I'm really sorry." Susan realized she was sitting in what would have been Rex's spot at the table, and quickly switched seats

"No, Susan you didn't have to get up!" Bree instantly snapped back to reality.

"I thought I upset you because I sat in Rex's seat…or what was his seat. I…" Susan cut herself short, realizing that she was making little to no sense.

"Forget it." Bree chimed in, gaining composure. "I want to thank you all for coming here today. I hope I didn't disturb any of your plans." she paused. "I…well I just…" Bree mocked herself through a small chuckle. "This isn't as easy as I thought it would be."

"Take your time." Lynette retorted.

"I wanted to thank you all so much for…well, for everything. This past week has been, to put it lightly, the absolute worst seven days of my life." she glanced down at the table and began fiddling with her jewelry. She was very uncomfortable opening up to just one person, let alone three. "There were points when…" she hesitated- wondering if she should even continue. "…when I didn't even want to live." she quickly started her next sentence. "but before I could get too far into these thoughts, one of you would show up at my doorstep." she smiled. "Even when I lost my temper, you stuck by me." Bree glanced over at Lynette and Gabrielle. "I'm so grateful…so very grateful…" she began repeating herself, once again looking down at the table.

Her neighbors sat in silence, listening to Bree intently as she spoke. Although she was very much the same person, there were certain characteristics which seemed somewhat different. For instance, the sound of her voice. It was usually exceedingly polite and had a hint of falsity, while today it was soft and genuine. Her hair as well appeared softer- the infamous flip not quite as rigid. Even her face seemed natural, with less foundation caked on. Bree Van de Kamp looked real, rather than a cookie-cutter image of what perfection is supposed to look like.

Bree had finished speaking, but had yet to look up at her friends. Though she was proud of her accomplishment, she was also slightly embarrassed. She felt a hand move on top of her own, and shifted her eyes to see Susan gently looking back at her. She slowly moved her hand away, bringing it down to her lap.

"This is what I needed to talk to you all about." Bree said, referring to the comfort which Susan attempted to provide her with. "I want…no I need to start getting my life back in order. Now I know that things won't just go snap back instantly, but I want to move forward."

Susan nodded. "I understand that…"

"I mean, my home life is already getting back to itself." Bree interrupted. "Danielle speaks to me on occasion and Andrew basically ignores me." She added, unsuccessfully accomplishing her goal to sound humorous…

"Nothing's improved with the two of them?" Lynette asked.

"No, no. I exaggerate." Bree shook her head. "I'm trying to form a relationship with Danielle. She's not completely grown up just yet, and I know she still needs me in her life. Andrew, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with me. We barely speak. He just wants to run to his father and complain about how awful I am…but well, he can't."

"I'm so sorry…" the blonde responded.

"No, please. Don't apologize. We've gotten sidetracked." Bree glanced down at her watch. "The reason I asked you all over here this afternoon was because I don't want this anymore."

"This? As in…" Gabrielle responded, speaking out for the first time since the four women got together.

"As much as I appreciate all of the sympathy you've provided me with…I need you to start treating me normally again. Each one of you seem as if you're on thin ice whenever we hold even the most casual of conversations. Worried about what you say, what you do…I just want you to be yourselves again. Please."

The three women remained silent for a few moments, unsure of how to respond. Each wanted to comply to Bree's request, but didn't know how they possibly could. The woman had lost her husband, and to act as if nothing had happened would not be an easy task.

"I'll try." Susan broke the awkward silence. Eventually Lynette and Gabrielle agreed as well.

"Thank you." Bree gently smiled, but soon found herself stuck in another awkward silence. "Well, I hope you all brought your appetite!" the return of the corny pre-meal line brought a smile to the faces of those surrounding Bree. "Because I've prepared an exquisite lunch."

The four women ate and chatted with one another. It was quite obvious to Bree, however, that her friends were still being quite careful with their words. Lynette and Susan made sure not to speak of Tom and Mike. If one of the two men did arise in a conversation, they instantly changed the subject. Bree found it difficult to hold a discussion with these two. She didn't want her friends to hold back… but, although she wouldn't admit it, Bree most definitely did not want to discuss their love interests either.

Bree went to speak to Gabrielle, but noticed she had still not returned to the table. She had excused herself to use the bathroom, and had disappeared for quite some time.

"Excuse me." Bree proclaimed, leaving Lynette and Susan to talk amongst themselves. She headed out of the kitchen, finding Gabrielle almost instantly. She was sitting on the couch glancing through an old photo album in which Andrew and Danielle were infants. She didn't notice that Bree was watching her, and continued to flip through the pages. Bree smiled sadly, taking a seat next to her friend. "Your time will come again." She spoke softly.

The brunette nodded. "So will yours."

The two women simply looked back at one another. Both were forced to face a terrible loss on their own. Although Bree's loss had deeper roots, both women had a tough journey ahead. Neither had a male counterpart, nor a strong foundation to turn to. However, they still had more than many could dream of. They had each other.

Chapter 16

The rest of the afternoon progressed relatively quickly. Eventually Bree's three neighbors left her home, leaving her alone once again. After cleaning up from her busy day, Bree retreated to her bedroom to lie down. She had broken out of the phase in which she would sleep non-stop, but was still compelled to dream of her husband. To be safe, Bree decided to take a cat nap, setting her alarm for exactly thirty minutes.

Once she felt her eyes close, she instantly dozed off into a peaceful rest. Within a few moments, she found herself with Rex once again. Only this time they were not alone. They were in a chapel, each looking significantly younger and full of life. Bree subconsciously realized she was reliving her wedding day. Although she could not see herself, she looked across at her husband, Rex. He was smiling back at her, with an expression of pure bliss. She had forgotten how handsome he looked at their wedding. She longed to speak, but could not find the words.

Before Bree had the chance to completely assess her surroundings, Rex began to utter the words which she would never forget…

"I Rex, take you Bree, to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish" he paused… " 'till death do us part."

And with those final words, the scene slowly began to diminish. The church, the priest, the guests, and eventually even Rex faded out of the dream. Bree knew that her husband was leaving her for good this time, but did not call out to stop him. She let him slowly disappear- allowing all of her surroundings to completely fade away until she found herself alone. It was then she began to whisper…

"I Bree, take you Rex, to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish…'till death do us part." …and with that Bree's alarm sounded…bringing her back to the harsh reality of life. A life which had never been easy, and would continue to challenge her each day. The road ahead would be difficult, but all roads eventually lead to the same place…and when she finally arrives at this destination, Rex will be there waiting for her.

THE END