A/N: As always, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. Hope you enjoy! I don't own anything.

Chapter 3

The parents went first, showing the others what to do. The candles were short, wax dried onto small glass bowls. They each set one alight, then pushed it off into the water. Everyone watched silently as the flickering lights grew smaller. Then Rachel stepped up and without a word, they handed her a candle one. She lit it up, long shadows growing down her face. She closed her eyes, breathing in the smoke, then gently set it in the water, not opening her eyes. Finn walked over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, lighting his own candle, almost imagining that he could see the dead girl's face in the flames.

Mike's hand was shaking so hard when he tried to light it that he dropped the match, burning his other arm. "Shit!" he shouted, leaping backwards. The curse was unbearably loud in the silence and her parents glared at him with the same expressions on their faces. Sensing that his friend was about to explode, Matt stepped over and helped him light the candle and set it in the water. His face was inscrutable as he watched it sail away.

Santana lit the candle and Brittany set it in a water, the two linking hands as they watched it float down the river. Mercedes and Kurt each did one, dropping them into the water at the same time. Kurt's tipped over and fizzled out but Mercedes' sailed away with no problem. Quinn stepped forwards and lit her own, silent tears streaking down her face, her other hand resting on her stomach.

Puck emerged out of the shadows, ignoring Finn's tentative smile and lit his, more anger than sadness on his face as he watched it sail away. Artie slowly reached forwards and picked up his, running his hands over the glass bowl, reaching out and taking the proffered match. He held it up to the wick, watching as it flared to life, dropping the discarded wood into the mud. "I'm sorry," he whispered, so soft the others could only see his lips moving. "I love you, Tee. Miss you." He pressed his lips to the cool glass, squeezing his eyes shut, then placed it in the water, watching as it drifted away.

Emma and Will sat silently, side by side, a little ways downstream, watching as the candles floated past. He was immersed in mud and she sat on a spread blanket, knees tucked up to her chest.

"I see these kids," he murmured, "And they just look so… crushed. Defeated. She was such a good girl, you know? She wasn't bossy like Rachel, and never complained like Mercedes and Kurt tend to. She really cared about Glee Club, just the way you were supposed to. She was so sweet."

Emma was watching him curiously. "Say her name," she said at last, gently.

"What?"

"You know what I mean. Say her name."

He turned away from her. "Why?"

"Have you said her name since she died?" she asked.

"Have you?" he retorted.

"Tina Cohen-Chang," she said calmly. "Your turn."

"Tina-" He choked on the words, tears springing to his eyes. Emma reached out and took his hand. "Tina Cohen-Chang." He blinked up at the stars. "We miss you. We're thinking of you. Can you hear me?"

"I'm sure she can," Emma answered. "Wherever she is."

Will reclined in his chair, head back, eyes closed, barely listening to the news playing on the TV. Something about the warfare in Darfur. The oil spill in New Mexico. Then something about the living impaired. Everyone knew about them- the American teenagers (and now there were two or three in Canda) who were coming back to life. Everyone knew about them, but at the same time, they didn't seem quite real. There were fewer than a dozen in all of Ohio, and none anywhere near Lima. He raised his head at last and changed the channel, just a knock rang out on his door.

"Coming," he called, turning off the TV and stretching. He opened his door, slammed it shut, and toppled over backwards with a shriek he would later deny.

Tina stood outside his door. He climbed to his feet. It couldn't be. He was imagining it. He rose to his feet, whole body shaking, and peered out the peephole.

"Mr… Schue?" she asked in the flat, slow speech they all used.

"Tina?" he whispered, his voice cracking.

"Please," she said, and if there was any expression on her lifeless face, it was despair. "My parents… wouldn't… let me in…"

"Yeah," he said, licking his lips, mind working over time. She was back. She was back.

"Thank… you," she said, walking in painfully slowly. He shut the door and backed up against it, staring at her. She turned around.

"I shouldn't… have come… I'm sorry," she whispered. "But I didn't… know… where else to go…"

"No," he responded quickly, a thousand different emotions racing through him. Shock was foremost. "You're fine here. We can… we can… hang on, I need a minute."

He raced into the bathroom, leaned against the sink, staring into the mirror. He was wild eyed, his face pale and shining with a layer of sweat. He ran his hands under the water, as cool as it went, and wiped his face off on the towel. When he went back in the living room, she was still standing in the same position he left her in, staring blankly at the door. At the sound of his footsteps, she turned around and attempted a smile, the very corners of her mouth twitching up briefly then falling. He looked her over- she still looked the same, mostly. Pink streaks in her dark hair, wearing the same clothes she had been in at school on Friday. The shirt was stained with dried blood. She was pale, however, her eyes glassy and unfocused.

"You can sleep in here," he said blankly. "We can fix the couch up…" He shook his head. "I'm sorry. What am I doing? You're alive again." With an only slightly forced laugh, he quickly hugged her. "We need to get this sorted out. You can't stay with your parents?"

Twice as slowly as the… er… normally biotic would, she shook her head.

"Alright, then, you can stay here, at least for now. Do you… okay, do you want to go back to McKinley?"

"Not… yet," she answered. "But eventually."

"Alright then," he said. "Planning. We need a plan. Tomorrow I'll get you re-registered, and you can go back as soon as you're ready. Do you want to stay in Glee?"

"I don't… want to make… things hard… for anyone," she said. "Ask… the others… first."

"I'll do so," he said. "Do you… you know… sleep? Or eat?"

"I don't… know," she said. "I don't… think so." She hesitated. "I'm… scared."

"No, Tee, we'll take care of you," he said at once. "I'm here for you, and I'm sure the others will be too."

A/N: Awesome. You know the drill- review!