Kate's POV

I felt tears well up as I covered my mouth in pure shock. Watching Rick scoop Angel up in his arms as she lay most certainly dead was something I had never dreamed of. I wanted to get closer, to see if what I was seeing was even real, but I Couldn't move. The thought of what I was seeing was real was absolutely terrifying. What was I to do? What could I do? There was nothing. What would the others do once they found out? No, she had to be alive. I went to get closer but I was stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see an officer looking into my eyes.

"Are you with him?" he asked, pointing to Rick. At first I couldn't respond, or even process what was being asked. I simply looked back at the officer with wide eyes. I couldn't speak. The best I could do was nod. "We have to move his truck, there's no way that it can just sit there blocking traffic" he added. I had to say something. There's no way I could just stand here silent. Just spit it out, reply to him. SAY SOMETHING!

"H-he… he left the k-keys in the truck…" I said in almost a whisper. The cop looked back at the truck, and then to me again. He then gave me a nod and walked over to it. I turned back around at the disturbing sight, and this time managed to walk over to them. When I did though I noticed that Rick had managed to lay back against a tree. One of the many that was the outskirts of the forest that outlined this highway. I walked over to him and knelt down as he cried into his sister. He cradled her head as her eyes were shut peacefully, her arm dangled down in the grass as the other was between her body and Rick's chest.

"R-Rick?" I stuttered. Rick looked up at me with tears in his eyes. As I looked into them I saw… he was destroyed, he… there was so much pain. I wanted to say something desperately to just get him to say something to me, I don't even know why. But there was nothing that I could come up with. I took to long, Rick looked back down and put his face against Angel's again and continued crying. Now I could see that his hand had gotten blood on it as Angel's body continued to bleed whatever it could. I felt an ache in my heart as I was forced to watch the disturbing sight.

As I sat there next to the two, I heard chatter behind me. I turned around to see the paramedics talking to one of the officers. And from the looks of it the officer was a higher up. I wiped the falling tear from my eye and stood up, walking over to them. As I did one of them noticed me and stopped talking, making the others do the same.

"What happened?" I asked once I got there. The officer looked past me, and then at me again.

"We're not sure. We'll have to look over the details after we get everything sorted. Right now we just wheeled the other two away. We just need the last one" he explained. He was talking about Angel. "What's his relationship with them?" he asked. Normally I would look back to see what he was talking about, but I didn't want to look back. Not ever again did I want to see what I just saw…

"That's… that's his sister" I cracked, feeling tears start to fall again. I sniffed and tried wiping the tears from my eyes quickly. I couldn't break down, not now. Oh my God, what was Lilly gonna do? And Shaky…

"God damn it…" the officer whispered.

"We have to take her, '' one of the paramedics said. I looked up at them and then saw as the other one gestured over to the pair as if saying go for it. I didn't know what to say to stop them, cold wind blew on me, making me cross my arms for warmth. I tried to muster up something to try and stop them but came up empty. It wasn't long until the pair passed me and strolled over to Rick with a gurney.

"Come on kid, it's gonna be alright" the officer said as he put his arm around me and tried to walk me away from the horrific scene. I couldn't leave Rick, not like this. I needed to be there for him, I needed to be strong for him and make sure he was okay. I couldn't be babied, I couldn't break down, and I most certainly couldn't-

"NO!" I heard Rick scream. Instantly I turned around and ran from the officers grasp and over to Rick. When I got there I didn't even hear what the paramedics were saying, I just instantly went for it.

"Hey!" I yelled. When I finally got there I looked back and forth between the two. "Leave him alone. What the fuck is wrong with you?" I growled. One of the paramedics put his hands up.

"We're not in a rush, we just need to do our job," he said.

"The job can wait God damn it!" I yelled. The two looked down at Rick again and then walked off. My head followed them until they were just out of ears reach where they began speaking with the officer again. Probably about what to do.

"She can't be dead" I heard to the left of me, making my ears pop up. I looked over to the horrible sight and felt my heart ache again. Rick was still cradling her as he rocked her gently. "She just cant be dead" he added.

"Rick" I cracked as I knelt over. Rick cried for a moment before pulling his muzzle out from her.

"Wake up… please wake up…" he whispered.

"Rick… please…" I begged, knowing what was next. There was no use in trying.

"Angel… we need you… your family is still here, w-we'll be broken without y-you… Sh-Shaky needs you… Lilly, s-she n-needs you… Kate, Humphrey… me… please don't make me lose my sister… please wake up" Rick begged. There was no use, there was just… so much blood. Her little jean jacket was completely soaked, as were Rick's hands as it also went up to his arms. Only his forearms though. Rick sobbed as he started rocking her gently again. Finally I found the courage to reach my hand out, and slowly but surely caress her face. Her fur still felt soft even with the blood that ran down her temple. My hand shook and it wasn't long before I pulled it away and had to compose myself again.

What was to come? I would have to go home, and then tell Lilly. I couldn't stop thinking of every horrible outcome. Your best friend is dead Lilly. She's dead, and she's never coming back. All those future memories and promises, gone. Never gonna happen. She would cry, she would scream, she might even laugh at the horrible joke of me saying that Angel is dead. But it wasn't a joke. Our Angel was gone.

Shaky… he finally found someone… someone that he… could he lose someone else? Could he mentally handle even the thought of losing someone else. His mother was more than hard enough but this? His soulmate? What was he gonna do? How was he gonna react? These were answers that I didn't want, but I more than knew I was gonna get. And I dreaded it.

"She can't be dead Kate… she had so much left to do" Rick sobbed. I repositioned myself and sat down next to him. I couldn't think of what to say. He then said something that I hadn't even thought of. "M-my parents…" he said. I looked over as my mouth opened slightly as if I was going to say something. Nothing even came to mind though. I saw the gurneys, and the blankets that were laying over them. They were gone too. I placed my trembling hand on Rick's shoulder. "M-my parents'' Rick repeated. I couldn't imagine the feeling of this, of losing these things in the blink of an eye. I didn't want to. If I found out that my sister and parents had just died I would… I would… I don't know… even so these were people I knew, people I cared about. They were still my family, but still, no one had to feel as bad, as Rick did right now. I needed to be strong for him… for them… for Angel…

"Rick… A-Angel wouldn't w-want you to be-"

"DONT!... don't say it… Angel's… Angel's… oh God, not my sister…" he sobbed. Not once did he look at me. He just kept at his cradling. I wanted to tell him that Angel wouldn't want him to be upset. She would probably say something slick and funny. Poke fun at him and be an ass about it, she would find a way to make us laugh… oh Angel…

To the left of us, we could see people taking pictures of the wrecked car. What happened? When we were on the phone everything sounded fine. The only thing was… was the car messed up? If it was then why would his parents drive it? I find it extremely hard to believe that Rick's dad would drive the car if he knew it was busted, especially with his wife and daughter in it. But if nothing was wrong with the car then how come no one else was around? No other car, no people taking responsibility. Something was off.

My head turned as I noticed a tow truck park on the side of the road to take the car. He wasn't getting into position though, he must have been waiting for the go ahead. I guess he had to wait until the others were done. What then? Would they come to pry Angel from Rick's arms again? They would have to take her eventually. Take her to a morgue, get her ready for a funeral… Oh God…

I wiped a tear from my eyes and looked to my left again where Rick was still crying. This was awful. There was nothing that I could do or say to fix this. Rick's whole family was gone, and now he was left here cradling his dead sister. The future was uncertain. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket which startled me. I was just… on edge… I didn't want to check it but what if it was mom? Or Lilly? I needed to get this out of the way. I pulled my phone out and read the text message which was from Lilly. It was just a short question. How is everything? Is our birthday girl behaving? She didn't even know. My eyes teared up at the short text as the situation dawned on me yet again. I then noticed the time. We had been sitting here for almost an hour. I looked over at Rick who had not stopped, he just kept at it, stewing on his horrible future. I couldn't imagine what was going through his head.

"Rick?" I called very quietly. He didn't answer. I went to pat his shouldn't but caught myself. Just leave the poor guy alone Kate. I sniffled and then stood up and walked away so that Rick couldn't hear me. I then looked back at my phone and dialed my mother. I shakily put my phone to my ear and listened to the rings until she eventually picked up.

"Hello?" she said.

"Mom?" I said in almost a whisper. It was only then that I realized that I too was crying.

"Kate? Kate, are you okay? What's wrong?" mom asked in a panic.

"Mom… go outside, m-make sure that Lilly c-can't h-hear you" I instructed.

"Kate what's wrong?" mom asked.

"Mom please" I said in a panic. I looked over to see if Rick heard me. He didn't, he hadn't even moved. I heard rustling as mom got up and walked over to the back door. I heard it slide open and then closed.

"Alright I'm outside. What's wrong?" mom asked again, this time more sternly. "Did something happen at dinner?" she added.

"Mom… A-Angel d-dead" I cried.

"What? What do you mean she's dead" mom asked.

"They got in a c-car crash" I stuttered before sobbing.

"What are you… Kate if this is some sort of joke-" mom started but I felt myself grow angry over the thought that I would even kid about such a thing.

"It's not a joke!" I yelled before crying a little more hysterically. Now she believed me.

"Oh my God… are they're parents okay?" mom asked. I had to catch myself for a moment before answering. Everything was coming out.

"No… they're gone too" I sobbed. Mom didn't respond. I hadn't even thought about her. Her and RIck's parents were such good friends. Friends from high school as well. That's three decades of friendship just gone. For a moment neither of us spoke until finally mom broke the silence with a sniff. She had begun to cry as well.

"Where's Rick?" mom asked. I looked back again at the sight. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. "Kate? Is he-"

"No," I said quickly. No Rick is safe. He's broken right now but he's safe. He's alive thank God.

"Where is he?" mom asked again. Again there was a pause.

"He… he's holding her… oh God mom he's holding Angel… she's dead mom… Angel's dead" I cried.

"Okay Kate okay… where are you?" mom asked in almost a panic.

"The freeway… where on the freeway" I sobbed.

"Okay, you guys stay right there I'm coming" mom said. But she couldn't, what was she gonna do once she got here. Let me tell you there wasn't much.

"Mom no…" I said as fast as I possibly could.

"Why?" mom asked.

"You… you don't want to see this, it's horrible. And what if… what if Lilly sees you?" I asked.

"Lilly" mom whispered, realizing the friendship between the two. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"I… I…" I began, but couldn't think of anything to say. I was at a complete and utter loss.

"Kate…" Mom said, grabbing my attention.

"I… I gotta get Rick home… I…" I sniffled, wiping a tear from my eye. "I gotta take him away from here. D-don't… don't tell Lilly, Lilly cant know" I explained.

"Okay, okay I won't tell her. But she has to find out eventually" mom said.

"I'll… I'll tell her tomorrow… her and Humphrey… and Shaky… oh God, Shaky loves Angel" I cried. Tears began falling down my face again.

"Kate you don't… you don't have to do this by yourself sweetie" mom said. She was now crying too.

"Mom? Are y-you ok-kay?" I asked. There was a long pause. Nothing but upset sniffing into the phone.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you sweet heart. Are you sure you don't want me to come there?" mom asked. Just then I looked over to see the officer from earlier waving me over.

"Yeah… there's nothing you can do here… I gotta… I gotta go" I said.

"Okay… just… is Rick gonna be okay?" mom asked. I could tell that she didn't know what to say to me. But could anyone blame her?

"I don't know… I-I love you mom" I sobbed.

"Oh I love you too honey" mom cracked, now completely breaking down. This must have been too much for her heart to take at once, how was I gonna tell the others? Just be strong for them Kate… be strong… I hung the phone up and slid it in my pocket as I approached the officer and paramedics again.

"Yeah?" I said. The officer took a glance at Rick and then back to me.

"It's been over an hour… the tow truck is ready to pack up the car and leave. We're done here. I know it's hard, but we need the girl" he explained. He was right, it had been awhile since we got here. But it's not like you could rush these things. "Try and reason with him? If he needs more time it's okay but… we'll have to take her eventually" the officer added. I took a shaky deep breath.

"I… I'll try my best" I said. I then began my journey back over to the horrific sight. Slowly I approached him as police lights continued illuminating the two. I felt like I was gonna throw up, this was far too much… for a moment I prayed, I prayed that I would walk over and somehow never reach my destination, but that was impossible and it was now time to do the hardest thing I'd ever dreamed of. I knelt over in front of Rick as he continued to cry softly into his sister and cradle her.

"Rick?" I said gently. Rick only looked up from his sister's body, some blood now on his face. He looked horrible. His eyes seemed so full of despair, and still… I knew what I had to do. I spoke, but already my voice was cracking as I began to move things forward.

"Rick… we… we all loved her so much… w-we still d-do… I…" I began but stopped to view Rick's expression which just seemed as though he could burst into tears all over again. "I know you don't w-want to let her g-go but… th-they h-have to t-take h-her…" I sobbed. Rick began shaking his head as my tears began to fall out. "Rick…" I begged.

"No… pl-please don't let th-them take her… not my baby sister…" he cried. I reached out and caressed his cheek with the palm of my hand to calm him. It didn't do much and he cried harder.

"She had a good life… they have to g-get her ready for-"

"Oh God no… please d-don't s-say it… I don't wanna bury her" Rick sobbed, burying his face into Angel again. I heard crunching behind me which made me turn around to see the two paramedics behind me. I turned back to Rick.

"She's not here anymore Rick… she's… she's somewhere better" I sobbed after cracking yet again. Just then one of the paramedics knelt down next to me to get eye to eye with Rick.

"Look kid… when I was young I lost my brother, I know how this feels. And let me tell you this is not how you want to remember her. Don't you want her to get cleaned up? Get her pretty for her parting? We can only do that if you let us take her" he explained. Rick looked at him and then over at me as if to ask for my help, but as much as it pained every fiber of my being I couldn't.

"He's right Rick… you have to let her go" I said. more tears fell slowly down his face as he breathed extremely shakily from all the crying. After a few moments of just that the paramedic then reached his arms out and scooped Angel up slowly. It was only when he began to slowly pull her away from Rick's grasp that Rick broke down again.

"No… no…" he sobbed, trying to get her back. But I did another really hard thing and instead wrapped my arms around him just in time for the paramedic to completely take her out of his arms. Rick hugged me extremely tightly and wailed into my shoulder. I began to cry as well as I kept my back turned to the paramedic.

"I'm sorry" he said before walking off. We both stood crying as he walked away until I took a few steps to the left to turn Rick away from the sight.

"Don't look… just… just don't look" I sobbed as I watched. Rick kept crying hard as he continued to squeeze me in this tight hug, wailing with everything he had. I'd never seen someone so broken… once I heard the two ambulance doors shut I opened my eyes to see the paramedics hopping in the ambulance on the passenger and driver side. They were all done here. I rubbed Rick's back as I waited for them to drive away. It didn't seem to do much but Rick's crying did calm just a bit. But then I realized that his muzzle was no longer in my shoulder. I took mine off top of his to make the best eye contact that I could, he was looking at something.

"Rick?" I Said before turning to see what he was looking at. It was some sort of glisten in the grass. I couldn't quite tell what it was though. Rick broke the hug to go over there which made me follow him. It was only about ten steps until we reached it and Rick picked it up. It was Angel's locket. During the crash it must have flown away from her, how bad was the accident? Was it quick or?...

Rick's hands trembled horribly as he held the locket. As long as you have this on you and I have mine we'll always be together. I felt another heartache as I stared at it. Rick quickly turned around to go to the ambulance and give his sister the locket but when he did, he only saw the ambulance taking off, driving away to the hospital. He didn't say anything, he just stood quietly…

"Come on… let's get you home" I said, walking over to the truck which by the looks of it wasn't parked too far from us. Rick followed me and got in. I had to adjust the seat to fit in his truck but who was I kidding? Rick couldn't drive right now. But could I? Last thing we needed was another accident. I just had to suck it up though. I turned the truck on and placed both hands on the steering wheel only to notice that my hands were shaking.

The ride back was quiet and heavy. Not a word exchanged. Not even the radio was turned on. Every once in a while I would hear Rick sniff which made me look over to check on him. Each time tears were slowly going down his face and showed no sign of letting up. I drove slow so as not to crash which made it take all the longer to get back to the house. I pulled into the driveway and then turned the truck off. It was only then that Rick spoke.

"Look" he said, shakily pointing at the clock that was still being displayed. The time read twelve eleven. "Its… it's her birthday" he said in almost a whisper. Another heartache passed as he stepped out of the truck. I followed and watched as he fumbled for his house keys and then dropped them once he failed to put them in the key hole.

"I got em" I said, trying my best not to upset him. I unlocked the door and pushed it open and was met with the dark, empty house. There was no one, and there never would be anyone coming back anymore. Rick stepped inside. I followed him and shut the door behind us, locking it and then taking Rick's hands.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Stupid question I know but what else could I say? Rick shook his head no. "why don't you take a shower… wash all this off" I suggested, looking at the blood. Rick nodded slowly and then went to do that. When he left I began crying again, getting mad at myself. Why? I have no idea. I was just frustrated and upset. Are you okay? Are you fucking stupid Kate? I put my hand on my temple to calm myself and then slowly made my way through the empty house. As I reached the upstairs just before I went into Rick's room I heard Rick crying on the other side of the bathroom door as the shower ran. I put my ear to it and listened to see if he was alright. Again he wasn't.

I went to go turn around but then I came face to face with Angel's room. The door hung open, giving me a good view of the dark room. I felt another pain in my chest as the realization hit me again. She is gone… Angel is gone… I felt my lips quiver as I began crying again and went into Rick's room where I laid on the bed. I cried for a good minute before realizing what was to my side. I reached over and grabbed the picture on the nightstand and just studied it. I remembered that night again. What an amazing night, the whole family was there. At our best. I smiled as I remembered and brushed my finger across Angel. She seemed so happy then…

"I… I l-love you A-Angel…" I sobbed. I didn't interact with her for too long, but the little bit of memories that I did make with her, I would cherish forever. She was so much more than a friend to me, or even a sister in law. She was my sister, and I loved her.