Lori remained weeping by the newly planted grave long after the mourners had left. Now all that were left was the Loud and Santiago family, and even they had to get back to the city. The sun had already set and it was pitch-black in the graveyard. In normal circumstances Lori would have been terrified to be in such a creepy place after dark, but she didn't even noticed. All of her make-up had run down her face and she was a soaking wet and shivering lump, but she didn't care. She wasn't leaving Bobby.

Suddenly poor Lily began to cough from the cold.

Lynn Sr. and Rita exchanged a glance and Rita gently gathered the remaining children up and they headed back to the awaiting car with Lynn agreeing to stay with Lori and grab a taxi home when she was ready.

Lincoln stared up the hill at his poor big sister, he wanted so badly to help her, but he felt totally helpless. He vowed to try to think of a plan to help her, but he doubted that even he had the planning skills to help her.

Lynn Sr. sat beside his daughter for a long time, rubbing her back and trying his best to soothe her sobs. There was so much he wanted to tell his daughter; he wanted to tell her that it would be alright, and that the hurt would go away one day, but he knew that neither of them were true. He and his wife had told plenty of lies to their children over the years; there were the typical ones that all parents told, like Santa, the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny. There were also lies that were unique to their family, like the true fate of Lincoln's aforementioned goldfish and the real reason they had gotten kicked out of that hotel.

He couldn't lie to Lori about something like love though. It was something that he and his wife were too well versed in, and something that meant the world to them as a family. At times a family this big could be overwhelming and stressful. It required huge sacrifices from all the members of the family from time-to-time, and those sacrifices would be significantly more difficult if they didn't love each other. It was the glue that held the giant puzzle that was their family together.

"This isn't okay…." Lori whimpered.

"I know sweetheart, but I'm here and we can just not be okay together," Lynn Sr. assured.

"Why would he do this to me? Didn't he know how much I loved him? Didn't he love me back?"

"Of course he did pumpkin, he-his mind was sick, just like some people get cancer and some people get heart issues, some people get issues in their mind…and just like with physical sickness, sometimes the mental sickness just wins." Deep down the father was still struggling to process and believe the explanation he had just given his daughter. He knew it was scientifically accurate and that it was true, but it did little to soothe his own anger towards the boy, and he knew that it was doing the same thing for his daughter.

"Will I ever get over this?" she asked, finally looking her dad in his eyes. He could see the redness from the non-stop crying. He wanted more than anything to say something that would make her feel better, but he knew that his answer wouldn't do that.

"No…" he whispered, which caused her to cry harder.

He gently pulled her into his arms and rocked her back and forth, "but it will get easier, little by little, day by day, that wound that's so tender right now will begin to heal. You'll laugh again, and show that beautiful smile again, and one day…you'll even find love again…"
"I WILL NEVER LOVE ANYONE LIKE I LOVED BOBBY!" Lori demanded.

"Of course you won't, but you will love again, in other ways. It's not something that can be helped, us human's have a miraculous ability to love throughout our lives."

Lori didn't seem convinced, but after a few moments she did try taking the very first step.

"I wanna go home daddy,"

Lynn Sr. stood and offered his hand to her, she took it, but her legs still shook like Jell-O.

Without a word the father took his daughter into his arms and carried her.

"I love you dad," Lori whispered as she snuggled into his chest.

Lynn Sr. just kissed her forehead.

It was the first step on a very long road to recovery.