A/N: Here's chapter 21. I think this is going to be my last chapter. sob Hope you enjoy! I forgot to add in my last chapter that the song I used was 'Be Strong' by Delta Goodrem. I know that Leo only featured in season 5/6/7 but he gets a mention here.

Another year older
A little bit stronger
A little bit wiser than a year ago today

Olivia and Mason had been dreading today. It had been exactly a year since Karen had died. Since then, they'd been legally forced to live with Stan. He didn't try to control them. He didn't act like a parent to them. They only went home when they really needed to. Olivia and Mason spent most of their time with Will, Grace, Jack or Elliot. It was them that Olivia and Mason turned to when they needed something.

Looking over my shoulder
I was so much younger then
I can't believe what happened
A year ago today

'What are you doing today?' Elliot asked Mason and Olivia.

'Going to Karen's grave.' Olivia answered gloomily. 'It's been a year today.' Elliot already knew this. He had just been checking if they had any plans.

And I just can't forget about it
It wouldn't mean a thing
You went away
A year ago today

A great deal had changed in the last year. Grace had moved out of her and Will's apartment two months ago. She'd got married to Leo, a Jewish doctor she'd met in Central Park a few weeks before they'd been wed. Grace's wedding had been the first major event since Karen had died. However, she wasn't forgotten. Grace had asked that Karen's favourite song had been played and made a toast to her dead friend. Some people thought that it was distasteful to remind people of Karen at such a happy occasion, but Olivia and Mason had told them that even though this was a happy occasion, they were still reminded of Karen because she wasn't there, so it was only right that she be remembered, because it would have been wrong to forget about her.


Another year gone by
The tears have run dry
Life seemed so unkind
A year ago today

Olivia and Mason didn't cry much anymore. Sometimes they felt that they'd cried so much that they simply couldn't. It still hurt them every day that Karen had killed herself. She'd ended her own life.

And I just can't understand it
And I don't think I ever will
You went away
A year ago today

'Why did she have to kill herself?' Olivia asked after placing flowers at Karen's gravestone.

'I don't know. And we probably never will. God only knows what was going through her head.' Mason answered his sister. 'It's something we're never going to understand. As much as we can try we never will.'

'Do you think it was deliberate?' Olivia asked even though she knew Mason didn't know.

'I guess we'll never know.'

And how many times have I questioned myself
What more could I do?
And how many times did I fool myself
Over you?

Olivia's mind kept going back to the morning of Karen's death.

'You know, every day I think about when I didn't go into her room that morning. I should have gone in. I shouldn't have assumed she was sleeping.' Olivia said while sobbing.

'Liv, you can't blame yourself. You didn't know that Karen would do that.' Mason tried to comfort her.

'Yeah, but if I had nearly two hours earlier, she might still be alive. And we wouldn't have live with dad. And we could have helped her. We should have been there for her. We weren't. Now she's dead. It's like she's punishing us for not being there for her. She is going to make us feel guilty for the rest of our lives.' Olivia said through heavy sobs.

'That's not what she was thinking. I know as much as she wouldn't do that to us.' Mason said while hugging his sister. 'She wouldn't hurt us like that.'

'If she wouldn't hurt us, why did she kill herself?'

You've gotta pick yourself up,
Take another look
And dust yourself off cause life's too good,
I'll say it to myself and I'll say it again
Love will never end

'She loved us really. I don't think she would have deliberately tried to kill herself. I just can't be sure. And she had any sense she would know that we love her too. And that we miss her.' Mason was trying to reassure himself as much as he was trying to reassure Olivia.


And though we're so far apart
You're forever in my heart

'We've got to remember her as who she was before she died. The Karen who would take us to the zoo when we were little. The one that was always there for her when Dad screwed us over. The one who would always make sure we were okay before she would see to herself. You can't be mad at her for all this. You have to forgive her. Because it's just going to hurt you more over time if you don't.' Mason said while still hugging Olivia, who was also still crying.

'I know. I know.' Olivia sobbed onto Mason's shoulder.

Another year older
A little bit stronger
On this anniversary
You're watching over me

'Do you think Karen went to Heaven?' Olivia asked with a little smile playing on her face.

'Karen? Are you kidding?' Mason joked sarcastically. 'Of course she did. Should we head back to Uncle Jack's apartment?'

'Yeah. Let's go.' Olivia replied.

You went away
A year ago today

'See you later Karen.' Mason said to Karen's gravestone.

'We'll be back soon. Honey.' Olivia added as they walked away from the graveside. Mason and Olivia took one last look in the direction of Karen's grave, before making their way out of the graveyard.


You ran away
A year ago today

A/N: Wow, that's me finished! There's chapter 21! Thanks to Panema, karengraciewalker, keisha4, all4christ0398, Lindsey Grissom and anybody else who reviewed but who I've accidentally missed out. Linds, thanks for all the help you gave me! You're great, hun! If anybody's interested, I might include a missing scene at Karen's funeral. Hope you enjoy! The song I used was 'A Year Ago Today' by Delta Goodrem.