019: The Ends of the Earth

With permission from Jack, Danny and Angela took Friday through Saturday off of the next weekend to fly down to Dallas for the ceremony. Two other agents had been put in temporarily to fill in for them in case an emergency came up.

Angela had been noticeably quieter for the past week since the invitation came in the mail, and Danny and the other seemed to have noticed. She assumed that Danny had given them a small heads up to not ask her any questions because none of them had talked to her about her unusual behavior. She was extremely introverted especially at home, and it was hard on Danny. He tried to be understanding to her situation and was very good at reading her moods. He surprised her that week with making a simple dinner nearly every night, and then just staying the night with her to keep her company.

Late Friday afternoon, the two of them hauled their stuff out to the airport and caught a seven o'clock flight out to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Danny fell asleep soon after they were in the air, but Angela started to become increasingly nervous and fidgety. Although she was more than willing to go to Brady's memorial service, she was not looking forward to seeing her fellow Dallas agents who had scorned her after the Incident.

She had never really liked any of them when she first began working right out of college, but after the Incident, they took to talking about her behind her back and accusing her for not preventing Brady's death. It was more than she could stand.

Nearly five hours later, Danny and Angela had landed, gathered their luggage, and driven to a small motel.

"This isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Danny said as he entered the room, breaking the silence that had been surrounding them for the last few hours.

"You did well," Angela said, giving him a tired smile.

"You look exhausted. Didn't you sleep on the plane?"

Angela shook her head. "I couldn't."

There was a small pause as Danny debated whether to speak the name. "Brady?"

She didn't say anything but fingered the hem of her shirt and then shrugged. "And the other agents…"

"They won't say anything bad, Ang," he said softly.

"I know… but just seeing them again…"

"Hey, we're here for one reason and one reason only, ok?" Danny said seriously walking over to her and taking her shoulders in his hands. "This isn't going to be like a high school reunion. You don't owe these people anything. You're here for Brady. That's it."

Angela nodded. "Yeah…"

"Now go change and go to bed," he said as his tone softened and he tucked some of her dark red hair behind her ear.

Surprisingly Angela slept fairly well that night. It was odd to wake up in the morning and look out the window and see the downtown Dallas skyline. It was all too familiar.

Danny woke soon after she did and they got dressed in relative silence. It was as if they were just acting in a muted television; it all seemed so surreal. Angela still had hard times believing that Brady was really dead, and now that she was going to the one year mark service all of her emotions seemed to be resurfacing.

The service was being held in the cemetery where Brady had been buried, with a few rows of fold out chairs and a fold out table where several large framed pictures were standing and four or five bouquets of flowers. It was May 14th, exactly a year after the Incident. The weather as perfect: the sky was the brightest shade of blue with a few puffy white clouds spread out among the azure abyss. There was a slight breeze, ruffling Danny's short black hair and catching a few of the flower petals that had fallen to the ground. Angela felt it was as if God was shining down his greatest day in honor of one of the bravest and most decent men that had ever graced earth.

The moment that Danny and Angela set foot in the cemetery, heads seemed to turn back. Whispers started to fill the breeze and Angela felt may pairs of eyes on her. Danny seemed to have noticed for he took her hand firmly and gave it a squeeze. They chose seats in the middle of the chairs, though no one sat near them, but it didn't matter to Angela.

The service started soon after they arrived. It wasn't anything ornate, nothing too overly sentimental. A pastor read a few passages from the Bible, and turned the service over to Agent Beckers.

Angela had always liked Agent Beckers; he was very adamant to have her on his team and he was the one who paired her with Brady. He was much like Jack but he probably had a few years on him. Jack's hard and sometimes cold demeanor (though it quickly changed once someone got to know him) was completely different to Agent Beckers' quiet and contemplative manner. He was almost a fatherly figure to the agents, and used this figure to win over the confidence of the suspects. When provoked however, Beckers turned on a dime and became one hell of an enemy.

"Brady Miller was not just an agent on my team," Beckers began in a somber tone. "Brady was a real person. A person with great heart and courage. A person who fought for justice and the lives of people every day. On the job, he was the most diligent and talented field agent I think the FBI has ever seen. Off the job, Brady was still an intense, fierce person, but he brought so much light and laughter to us that it just wasn't a day without him. One year ago today, this great man was taken from us in such a cruel manner that it is too horrendous to mention. But I believe that Brady went the way that he wanted to go: doing his job and saving lives. He'd had close calls in the past, some resulting in long stays at the hospital or months in physical therapy. He used to just laugh off the near-death experiences and tell me that when God planned for him to go, he'd go. Brady Miller was not just a man. He was a hero. God bless his soul and may he rest in peace. Amen."

The pastor may have said a prayer afterwards and then said a benediction, but Angela didn't remember. Her mind was with Agent Beckers' words and with Brady's soul. He was right though: Brady died the way he would have wanted to. He didn't want to go with a heart attack or in his sleep. Brady would have wanted to die doing what he put his heart and soul into.

"Angela?"

She looked up and saw Agent Beckers standing in front of her looking down at her as she and Danny stayed seated.

"Agent Beckers," she said softly as she stood up to greet him. "I, uh… hi."

"I wondered if you would come," he said with his paternal, gentle smile as he cast his tired eyes on her face. "I'm so glad you did."

"I owe it to Brady."

"Yes… what a great man…"

There was a small pause before Angela realized that Danny was standing rather awkwardly behind her.

"Oh, um, Agent Beckers, this is Special Agent Danny Taylor. Danny, this is my, uh, old executive agent, Special Agent Michael Beckers."

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Danny said as they shook hands.

"Agents in love?" Beckers asked with a small twinkle in his old, grey eyes.

Angela smiled gently. "Yes, sir."

"Agents do make the best lovers," he said with a small smile. "Hold on to this one, son. She'll treat you well."

"I plan on keeping her for a long time, sir," Danny replied softly.

"You'd work for Jack Malone then, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, sir. For about seven years now."

"Excuse me," Angela said, pulling away from the two male agents. "I've got someone I need to talk to."

She walked away from them as they continued to exchange facts about their respective FBI offices. Angela walked slowly between the small groups of people who were talking softly among themselves. Several of them cast knowing glances towards her, but she ignored them. She wasn't here for them.

Angela came to the large, forbidding grey headstone away from everyone else and her eyes were wet as she read the inscription.

Here lies Brady Miller

A son

A brother

A friend

An uncle

An agent

A hero

June 6th 1971- May 14th, 2005

"It's kind of depressing, isn't it?"

Angela turned quickly and saw neither Danny nor Agent Beckers standing behind her. It was Brady.

It took a few second for Angela to realize what was really going on. Last year after the Incident, she had been plagued with several hallucinations of Brady still being alive and having conversations with her. It had scared her half to death, and she called the federalist therapist saying that she was completely sure that she had gone crazy. The therapist had soothed her worries and told her that it wasn't completely unusual for people to have hallucinations of people whom they have recently lost especially right after something as traumatic as seeing Brady getting shot. The therapist said that it was a way for a trauma victim to recover from their grief.

"A little bit," Angela replied with a small smile. "But I like it."

The Brady hallucination walked over to her with his hands in his pockets, tilting his head as he looked at the gravestone.

"Yeah, I suppose. It's kind of hard to say 'Oh, yeah, that's an amazing gravestone.' But they did a nice job on it."

There was a small pause. Angela motioned towards the gravestone. "I didn't know you were an uncle."

"A niece," Brady said, flashing her one of his infamous toothy smiles. "She was six months old when I died. She must be a handful now."

"I bet."

There was another pause as the two of them looked at the gravestone.

"So who's that over there with Mike?" Brady had been the only one who had called Agent Beckers "Mike," and it always made Angela smile.

"Oh, that's Danny. We're… he's my boyfriend."

"Yeah?" Brady's grin grew wider. "Angie's got a boyfriend?"

"Hey, don't look so surprised," she teased.

"Oh, yeah, right, Miss I'll-Never-Have-A-Boyfriend-Because-All-Men-Are-Stupid."

"Danny's different."

"He must be if he's going out with you."

"Hey, play nice."

"He's not an agent, is he?"

Angela nodded. "Field agent out in New York."

"New York? Good God, how did you meet a guy out there?"

"I moved there."

"You left Dallas?" Brady asked incredulously. "You've lived here your entire life."

"Well… after… what happened in May, I just thought it was time for a change."

"Oh…" Brady said softly. "He looks nice."

"He really is."

There was another short pause.

"I've missed you," Angela said, looking at her feet.

"I've missed you too, Angie," he said gently. "But you know it was just my time."

"You don't… blame… me… do you?" Angela asked. The question had been burning in her heart for the past year. She had never stopped feeling guilty for making it out of that building while he had died trying to save everyone.

"Blame you? You're not serious," Brady said, turning towards her. "Angela, my death had nothing to do with you. It was a cruel act of fate. That's all it was. Don't in any way blame yourself for what happened. It was a year ago. You need to let go."

"Let go?"

"Let go of it. Please. For me. Just put it in the past and leave it there."

"I don't want to forget you though."

"Angela, I'm not asking you to forget me," Brady smiled gently. "You just need to let this go. You've got a great guy in your life, your career is really taking off, and your life is finally starting to piece together again. Just let go. Let Danny take care of you."

She paused and was then about to say something when she heard her name from behind her.

"Angela?"

Angela turned away from Brady and saw Danny standing behind her.

"You ready?"

She turned back to look at Brady but he had gone back into the depths of her mind. Her eyes traced over his headstone once more before turning to Danny.

"Let's go home."

A/N: No, Angela is not crazy. I think there is some actual post-traumatic stress side affect that's something like what Angela had, so I just expanded on it. It's kind of an interesting way with dealing with death and people you miss.

Anyways, exams are NEXT WEEK! GAH. I'm gonna cry. But this time next week, I'll be DONE! YAY!

Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in five minutes to post Tuesday's chapter. I don't think it'll be a problem. So look for that.

Once again, thanks for your support and reviews! It's absolutely amazing! Thanks so much!

However, this story is slowly coming to an end. There are twenty-two chapters, so after this one there are only three more left! It's so scary! I can't believe that this story is almost over:(

But, don't fear because the pace picks up once again. This wasn't the major twist that I've been planning. We see some nice team interaction next chapter and then I'll hit you with a twist. It won't hurt. That bad…

Heh.

Have a great weekend everyone! For those of you who are also taking exams, good luck! Study hard!

-Laura