A/N: JAS, the random proximity deaths confuse me too :p But based on the comic, it works out like this: Ned, Chuck and Emerson go to the cemetery to dig up dirt on the Blue Berets. Unbeknownst to them, the Poppy Temple People are about to commit suicide nearby. Before the cult members can drink their cyanide flavoured Kool-Aid, Dwight makes it past the one minute mark (remember, he escaped at the end of Chpt 3). Thus, something else has to die, "or in this instance- a lot of something elses".

Bryan Fuller must have had big plans for Ned and his gift, because on the show only one person dies. Methinks his powers are evolving and nobody knows how or why...

Chapter 7: A Million Reasons

As the Charles Clan loaded the last of their luggage, Charlotte looked back at her friends. There were so many things she wanted to say and do; kiss Ned, hug Olive, thank Emerson. But her feet seemed rooted to the ground. She realized then that the only thing worse than leaving would be staying. And yet she could not bring herself to say goodbye...

"So is Jimmy Neptune paying for this cab?" Lily asked, sparing the need for tearful farewells. "'Cause we are not made of money. Not yet."

"Sorry, ladies, no dice," said Emerson. "I woulda driven you, but my car is...otherwise occupied."

Vivian wrinkled her nose at the implication his words. "What happened to that blue bus?"

"I returned it to its rightful owner. Not that Marlowe will need it where he's goi-"

"Okey dokey!" Olive interrupted. "None of that now. Bon voyage, Mesdemoiselles."

Chuck nodded, wowed by how the waitress could turn her cheer on like a light bulb. And worried about the darkness it concealed...

"No goodbyes," said Ned, speaking for the first time since their cab arrived. "Just...see you later."

Chuck turned to him, her sight blurred by abrupt tears. There were so many things she needed to say. But "take care of my bees" was all she could manage in that moment.

Lily glanced between them and cleared her throat. "Ned," she croaked, as if coming down with a cold. "We never-" She wiped her eye impatiently and coughed. "We never thanked you..."

"For saving her life," Vivian filled in. "You're a good man and your father would be proud."

The Pie Maker stood stunned, like they had slapped him. "I..." he managed at length. "I'm sorry for keeping her from you. If I could give back the time I took-"

"You didn't take anything, kid. You gave. And you have nothing to be sorry about."

He nodded feebly, as their cab driver stuck his head out the window. "Ladies. Are we going or what?"

"Cool it, Bickle, we're comin'," her mother snapped. She turned back to them and saluted. "Later, folks."

"Later," her aunt echoed, waving sadly.

The girl named Chuck stood rooted to the spot, swallowing the swollen sob in her throat before speaking.

"Stay safe."

And with that she clambered into the cab, closing the door quickly and refusing to look back...

XXX

Olive stared after the car as it disappeared around a corner. She could have cried, but all of her emotional energy had been spent last night. The waitress wondered if her mental fortitude was fractured, following the events of the pie party. If so, she would cover up the cracks, paper over them for the sake of her team. Her team that was now down one very important player...

"All right, boys," she said at last. "Pie Hole?"

"Uh-uh," Emerson grumbled. "I'm gonna dig up dirt on the Blue Berets."

Ned paled and shook his head. "No. Not now, please. If I have to hear another word about any of them I..." The PI narrowed his eyes at him and the Pie Maker sighed. "Just not today. Come home with us. Eat something. Get some sleep."

Emerson eyed them irritably, knowing that resistance was futile, before he sighed and slumped against the porch railing. "Fine. But NO pie. Man cannot live on dessert alone..."

By the time their cab crawled to a stop, Olive had mapped out a meal for her partners: macaroni and cheese, with caramelized sweet potato and a side order of...Randy Mann?

"Hey!" Olive exclaimed, climbing out of the car. "What are you doing here?"

The timid taxidermist frowned and scratched his head. "I came round yesterday," he mumbled. "But the Pie Hole was closed so I called. When you didn't answer I got worried and waited for hours. Until this police officer saw me and told me not to loiter...so I came back today and - where were you?"

Olive hesitated, glancing back at the men behind her. "Well, Chuck and her aunts are travelling, so we decided to throw them a going away party. We all stayed over and-"

"We?"

"As in me, Ned, Emerson, Maurice, Ralston..." Olive trailed off, stumbling upon the sudden realization that she had forgotten to invite him. Forgotten him completely. "Oh, Randy, I am so sorry. We had a lot going on and-"

"And you never thought to include me in the 'we'?"

"Well, I..." she halted, Alfredo Aldarisio coming to mind like a hologram. "No. I didn't."

"...because of him?"

Randy looked over her shoulder and Ned yelped in alarm, as if the quiet accusation had been a gunshot. Olive whipped round, her first instinct being 'deny, deny, deny'. But lying seemed cruel, especially when the truth was so well-known...

Before she was forced to say anything, Emerson spoke up. "All right. You two obviously need to talk. We will be inside if you need us." He wrested the restaurant keys from Ned, took his arm and tugged him away.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Olive sighed. "Yes," she confessed quietly. "Because of him."

"But he doesn't feel the way I do about you."

True. He did not. Not now. But not never. He wouldn't say 'never'...

"Randy, you are a great guy. And I would be lucky to have you. But you deserve someone that can give you their whole heart. Not just pieces of it."

He nodded, lifting his head so slowly and laboriously it could have been filled with lead. "Well," he murmured, "I hope he knows how lucky he is to have yours."

Olive smiled softly, sadly. "So do I..."

XXX

"No peeking."

"I am not!"

The PI rolled his eyes as the Pie Maker forced himself to focus on anything other than the couple currently breaking up. Undead Girl may have been on the next flight out, but she had left a lot of emotional baggage behind. And at that very moment, Emerson resolved to pack it away, to keep it safely out of sight, until she returned to claim it...

"He was wrong, right?" Ned fretted, wringing his hands on the table. "About Olive still...not that she ever really...I mean it was just a-"

"Dough Boy, do not try to figure out how that woman feels. She can handle herself. All you gotta do is keep it professional. All right?"

"...all right," he exhaled, shoulders relaxing. "I can do that. I can...wait. No," he said suddenly. "I can't do that. She's my friend. There's no way to keep it professional without the personal spilling over and spoiling everything."

"Sure there is. You ignore it. Like I do."

"How can I ignore her being unhappy? I hate that she's unhappy."

"She's human. She can't always be your pocket full o' sunshine. That wasn't in the job description."

With that, he flipped his newspaper open impatiently, trying and failing to pay attention to its contents...

"Can I read that after you?"

Emerson felt his heart free fall as he folded up the paper. "No," he snapped, knowing that the details of the Deadly Dozen had to remain a mystery. At least until he could figure out a way to help the Pie Maker deal with it, without renouncing his powers...

Fortunately, Olive walked in just then. "You boys hungry?" she chirped with forceful cheer.

"Um...yeah," the Pie Maker uttered. "Do you...can I help you with anything?"

"Nah," she smiled dimly. "I'm fine."

They nodded and watched her work for a minute, before turning back to each other...

"She can do better."

"Say what?"

"She can do better than Randy. I mean...he was a really nice guy. But she deserves something more. Something bigger and better than nice. Someday Mr Right will waltz through that door and..."

"Take her away from you."

"What?"

"Well, how do you think that story will end? Happily ever after, amirite?" Ned nodded. "And does waitressin' for an unrequited crush sound like a fairytale to you?" Ned shook his head. "Right. So when her Prince Charmin' rides in on his steed - or sports car - you best believe that she will be outta here faster than you can whip up a meringue. And you better not stand in the way. You can't have your pie and eat it, too."

Ned shrugged, as if to shake off his confusion. "What are you saying?"

"I'm sayin' the times they are a-changin'. You can't keep askin' her to settle for second best. Either give her a reason to stay or let her go."

The Pie Maker frowned, his brow furrowing as he contemplated the cryptic advice. Emerson sighed and rolled his eyes in the direction of Itty Bitty. She was bustling round the kitchen, oblivious to their gossip, bound in a bubble of her own troubles. The PI tried to picture another waitress in her place, but could only imagine a vacuum of dark space. He realized then that he would miss her, he could miss her, just as much as Chuck. And despite the nature of his ultimatum, he found himself hoping that Ned would give her a reason to stay...

A/N: The cancellation left us in a promising place with Nolive :) Ned was jealous of Randy, who had yet to become more than a rebound guy. Everybody knew how Olive felt but nobody was willing to deal with it. And Chuck was going to be out of the picture, living with her family. So as far as I can tell, Nolive was potentially canon :p And now it is headcanon. Huzzah...