Author's Note: Clearly this is a short chapter. People wanted something about the group up on earth so I figured giving in to that wouldn't hurt. Next chapter is Lauren return to earth and I promise you will be a bit surprised at who she finds.
As for the comment of why didn't I include Trick or Tamsin? I can honestly say I just forgot about them. I know that sounds terrible but I did.
Disclaimer: characters belong to showcase
Gathered around a gravesite a small group of men and women looked either at each other or the dark rain filled sky. A wreath of flowers stood to the left of the small grave marker. No hole was dug as no body had been found to bury. Instead the group gathered to pay their respects to a friend and colleague who had helped save their world. A friend they knew would be missed, for though there was no hole in the ground, there was now a large one in their dynamic. A piece of themselves had been lost, a piece none had realized they would ever lose.
"Is everyone gathered?" A quiet man with dark hair asked clutching a bible to his chest. A man of God had seemed appropriate while they were making funeral arrangements but now the small group looked at each other in consternation. A woman of science might not have appreciated a man of God preceding over her funeral.
Stepping forward Patrick McCorrigan nodded. "I think we are."
"Then everyone take their seat and we can begin." Patiently waiting for the small group to settle into their chairs the young priest wonders why so few have chosen to attend the service. Giving the small group a sad smile he opens his bible to a chosen verse. "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die. A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal. A time to break down, and a time to build up. A time to weep, and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together. A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to rend, and a time to sew. A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate. A time for war, and a time for peace. What gain has the worker from is toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to by busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also he has put eternity into man's mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:1-11." Pausing to gather his thoughts the young priest looked towards the grave marker and read the few words "Lauren Lewis. She saved us all." , looking at the dates he frowned softly thinking over the words. For a woman who had supposedly save so many, so few had bothered to attend her funeral. "Though these words may not always sound comforting they are true. God has given us a time for everything, and though death may not give us comfort, it should comfort us to know that we will rise into the arms of God.
"Today we say good bye to a woman who according to her friends treasured life. She was a doctor and a woman of honor. She sacrificed herself for the sake of others, taking no care for her own wellbeing, and always putting the ones she loved first. Today we mourn a woman who was loved and who loved all in return, for her heart was large and her spirit giving. Saying goodbye is never easy, and no time can wash away the ache a loss leaves behind, the hole it creates within us. But as the scriptures tell us, time will lessen the ache, new memories will take away the hurt, and one day we will join them in heaven. Please let us all take a moment to pray for Lauren." Bowing his head low the priest sent out a pray for woman who should have had more people to mourn her death. Raising his head after a moment of silence the priest was shocked to see individuals walking towards the grave site, a variety of flowers and small offering clutched tightly in their hands. He watched in surprise as one after the other they laid down their offering, touched the headstone and slowly walked away. Turning to the small group for an explanation of this odd behavior he found them watching the group, silent tears streaming down their faces. He wasn't sure what was going on and so he held his peace.
"Thank you father." The sudden break in silence made the young priest turn to the small man next to him. Nodding his head, he shook the man's hand and made his way to the entrance of the cemetery, taking the occasional look back as a continuous line of individuals walked to the grave and then walked away.
"Who thought the priest would be a good idea?" Dyson asked the group at large.
"That would be me." Kenzi piped up wiping at her tear stained face. "Clearly it was a mistake. I just assumed it would be the right thing to do. She died Dyson, she deserves a proper funeral."
"We assume she's dead. I still haven't been able to find her body." Dyson argued softly.
"It's been a month and your search has been fruitless." Trick pointed out. "You said yourself that you watched her die. I'm sorry we aren't able to bury her but you have to admit she's gone Dyson. You have to let her go." Laying a hand on the man's arm Trick gave it a reassuring pat. "We all miss her but it was always an inevitability."
Turning to look at the Blood King, Dyson shook his head. After years of dealing with Lauren he had finally come to realize that he didn't hate her. He wasn't sure if he ever really hated her. She was competition but whatever rivalry had once existed, didn't anymore, at least not for him. Time with Bo had taught him a hard lesson, one he had never expected to learn, a succubus was too much for one person. He could love Bo and after knowing Lauren, he had come to understand that he could love that Lauren loved Bo. He hadn't thought himself capable of accepting a polygamous relationship but for a brief shining moment he understood that he could accept one with Lauren. She was more than a doctor or Bo's girlfriend, she was his friend. She would always care for him regardless of whether or not he wanted to . She would always put him and Bo in front of herself. She would always save him. That lesson was especially hard to learn as he walked away from her. As he watched her slowly die. As he listened for her heart to stop beating. Yet he couldn't believe that she was gone. There was no body when he returned to the operating room. So for him there was still hope.
"I can't believe so many of the Fae actually showed up." Hale joined in hoping to distract Kenzi from Tricks last comment.
"I can, she saved all of you, she deserves more than a small headstone and a couple of flowers." Kenzi wasn't sure why she was so angry, why a part of her raged at the injustice of it all. Lauren was hardly her friend and yet a part of her understood even if only unconsciously what she was really mourning; the loss of the only other human in their group. She was now truly alone and that idea gnawed bitterly at the back of her mind.
"Yeah, we didn't exactly do right by her did we?" Hale asked softy, his mind shifting back to all the times he had dismissed Lauren out of hand.
"She was human Hale and she was treated better than most. She was a ward of the Ash and she got a lot of respect for her position." Trick gave Hale a small smile.
Feeling the bite of Trick's words Kenzi frowned and moved to the headstone. Placing her own rose on top she sent out a silent thanks for everything Lauren had done for her. They hadn't been close friends but they had been connected, she wasn't sure how but she knew that they had been connected. As the line of strangers stopped Kenzi turned to the others. "Do you think we should all say a couple of words before we leave?"
"I suppose it would be the right thing to do." Trick replied looking at everyone in question before moving to the headstone and placing his own rose on top of Kenzi's. "Lauren, gave the Fae all that you could and for that we are grateful. Your actions left me confused but now I understand why you did everything you did. You didn't turn to the humans with the intent to destroy us. You turned in order to save us. I have to admit I thought the worst of you when I first found out. Knowing what I know now I am ashamed of the things that crossed my mind. I don't know how you knew what that madman was up to but I know you sacrificed yourself in order to save us all. We will miss you Lauren. I hope that you find peace." Turning to Hale, Trick motioned for the ex-Ash to take over.
Placing a white rose on the head stone Hale released a sigh unsure what to say. "I don't know what to say. I haven't been to many funerals. The last was Sierra's and then I didn't have to speak. I suppose you could say I don't do funerals. So forgive me Lauren if I have lost my golden tongue. What can I say to you now, when you aren't even here to hear me? I can say that you were my friend and that I will miss you. I can easily say that we will all miss you. I don't know if any of us bothered to tell you but you mattered Lauren. You mattered to all of us. You weren't just a human, you were part of our family. A part of us that we will never forget, a part of us that we will always miss. I hope you found peace in the end but I wish you were still here."
Giving a small growl Dyson walked up to the headstone and laid down his flower. "If you are gone then a part of me can't help but hate you. You weren't supposed to die there. You weren't supposed to leave us, not yet, not for decades to come. I suppose this is the reason why I never associated with humans; you die too soon. You make us like you, you make us love you and then you die on us. We spend years mourning and for what? Why should we keep asking for this type of pain? So you better not be dead, you better be alive and somewhere getting better. One day I will find you and we can laugh about all of this and I might punch you for letting me feel this hurt, this ache in the pit of my stomach."
Watching Dyson walk back to his chair Kenzi smiled sadly. She wished she could hold out hope that Lauren was still alive, but that kind of wishful thinking had never been her strong suit. "You deserved better than you got Hotpants. You deserved a lot better than you got." Walking back to the group she grabbed Dyson's hand and started pulling him towards the entrance of the cemetery. She was tired, she ached, and the only thing she wanted was someone to hold her close and promise that everything would be okay. She knew it would be a lie but she knew that sometimes the only thing that kept you going were the lies you told to give yourself comfort.