AN - I hope you'll have enjoyed reading this story. I apologize for how brief it is, but there's only so long you can stretch out a bunch of friends remembering a loved one. Still, with any luck, it was something you liked, and you'll continue to read my works. I write in many different genres, so if you like my stuff, keep an eye out for my name. As always, thank you very much for reading, and please feel free to comment or review the work as you feel. Through your feedback, I can craft and write better stories!
Chapter 3
Oliver's words still rung in the air, carrying the crushing weight of finality in them. Kara and Joe both stood stupefied for a moment, unable to do much more than stare at the others, with their jaws agape, blinking and trying to process those two tiny words.
"She's what?" asked Kara in a dumbfounded squeak, when she finally regained her voice. Suddenly, all her vaunted Kryptonian strength seemed to fizzle away like so much steam coming from a teapot boiling over. Her legs felt weak, and she actually stumbled in place a moment, feeling as if the very wind had been knocked out of her lungs.
Joe automatically moved to catch her, still feeling as if everything was moving in slow motion. He couldn't have heard Oliver correctly. There was no way he could reconcile that thought in his mind. His ears had to be playing tricks on him. If shock had been a person instead of a sensation, it seemed it was settling in very comfortably, and rapidly, and Joe could feel that iciness creeping all along his body like a slow moving wind carrying the freezing temperatures over water during winter.
Felicity had reached out and caught her arm, and Kara could see the sadness and devastation in the young woman's eyes. Felicity's voice was quiet as she nodded softly, reaffirming Oliver's rather blunt statement. "Laurel's dead, Supergirl…Kara…what do you prefer I call you? You said your close friends called you Kara, but we're just now meeting you, but you said we could call you…" The computer genius trailed off as she realized she was rambling. The pain of Laurel's passing was still a very strong, very real specter in the room.
Joe's eyes fell to the floor, staying silent. His mind raced, trying to figure out the when's and why's and such, but his silence was out of respect for someone he admired and respected, especially in the presence of those who knew her infinitely better than he himself did.
"You can call me Kara," answered the Kryptonian softly. Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she finally raised her eyes again, looking at Oliver, John, and Felicity slowly, from one to the other. "How? When?" she asked, a lump forming in her throat, of no one in particular.
A fresh tear rolled down Felicity's cheek as she wheeled them both out a chair to sit in. "Back in early April," answered Felicity, wiping her eye briefly with a tissue. Though she and the others knew that it wasn't intentional by their two visitors, their presence was opening old wounds once more.
"She was killed by a brutal, cold, calculating lunatic named Damien Dahrk," finished Oliver, his voice still rough and growling, but his growl wasn't directed at Kara and Joe this time. "A former League of Assassins member who'd expanded his already dangerous repertoire with the addition of magic. He ran an organization called HIVE." His voice went even quieter as he regarded the two visitors for a moment. "He delivered the blow that eventually killed her later, in the hospital, in cold blood, right in front of me, with my own arrow, and there wasn't a damned thing I could do about it."
The young Kryptonian nodded softly, staring down at the ground. She drew her crimson cape around her, as if she were chilled, but it did no good against the chill she felt inside. "Laurel and I talked, a lot, after she returned back here," she said, her voice shaking just a tiny bit, but enough that even Terran ears could register it. "She talked about this Dahrk guy a bit, when we'd talk about…you know…what we all do. I knew from what little she said that he was really dangerous, but I had no idea just how dangerous, apparently. She didn't sound too worried, though. She seemed like she thought you guys could handle him well enough that you didn't need someone like me coming to give you a hand. I even asked a couple of times, but she said it was nothing to worry about, and if it came down to needing backup, I'd be one of the first she'd call."
"That's just how Laurel was," John finally spoke up, as he moved to lean against a column. "She could be hesitant about asking for help sometimes, which isn't something any of us do well. Even though she'd ask for help, she wouldn't ask for it unless she felt like it was really and truly needed. Laurel was the kind that put everyone else ahead of herself, no matter what she thought it might cost her. She put herself between every one of us and danger more than once."
Kara glanced up, looking back towards the way she and Joe had come in. She'd heard what John had said, and both of them had murmured their agreement. As she did so, the reason her attention had been caught stepped into view. The others most likely didn't hear it, but they all seemed accustomed to it.
As Sara came into view, the sound of the elevator opening caught everyone's attention, and Thea's gait slowed as she noticed unfamiliar faces in the Bunker. The younger Queen glanced at her brother, Felicity, John, and Sara before looking towards Kara and Joe once more. "Um, I didn't know we were having guests?" she finally asked. It was obvious she wasn't very sure of what was going on, or the two new people who had found their way into the base of operations.
"Come on in, Speedy," said Oliver quietly, gesturing to her. He then nodded towards the two strangers, and let out a light breath, focusing himself. "These are friends of Laurel's from National City that she met during her deposition there last year."
Felicity glanced at everyone, feeling particularly fidgety, and added, "They just found out about Laurel…what happened, I mean. They didn't know."
Sara had leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, and though she didn't move, her voice seemed oddly animated, as if it moved with a life of its own. "Laurel never, ever, backed down, not even if she was clearly outmatched. She would keep getting up and going right back against a threat." She paused, and everyone could see the pain in her eyes, hear it in her voice. "My sister was tough, in all the ways that mattered. Laurel never gave up, she never gave in, and she never gave up on anyone. Not even me. She was a strong person inside, because she knew the kind of person she was, and the kind of person she should be. Laurel wasn't just some vigilante in a mask and leather. She was a hero. A hero. I think if you know anything about her at all, you know that much, at least."
Silence lingered in the air for a long time, a pregnant silence that filled the air to overflowing, the pure vacuum of no sound at all, except breathing. Finally, unable to take it any longer, Thea finally spoke, "I wish meeting you both came under better circumstances. I'm just sorry that this is how you had to find out about what happened."
The pair from National City both nodded softly, and Kara felt very much like she'd been hit in the chest by a Kryptonite warhead. She whispered softly, "It happened in early April, just a couple of days after the last time I spoke with her, then. Her murder, the launching of the missiles, the destruction of Havenrock, it all happened while Kal and I were outside the solar system, looking for clues as to how a Kryptonian pod found its way here, and who the person inside it was."
Kara's voice had lost volume, until it was barely a strained whisper. Thea glanced at everyone else, and moved closer, hesitantly laying a hand on her shoulder. She squatted down, and found Kara's eyes with her own. "Laurel would be the first to tell you that you might very well be Supergirl, but even you can't be everywhere at once, and not even everywhere you're needed at the same time. This isn't on you, either of you," she said, as she tried to reassure the Kryptonian.
"No, it isn't, and Thea's right. Laurel would be the very first person to tell you that," chimed in Sara. She also came closer, and laid her hand on Kara's other shoulder. "Laurel was your friend, and if you earned Laurel's friendship, then you accomplished quite a bit. I should know. I'm Laurel's younger sister, Sara. For what it's worth, it's good to meet you."
Joe returned the nod that both Thea and Sara had given him. He kept quiet, as was his way, but he didn't think it was any mystery to any of the people around him that he considered Laurel a friend as well, and he hoped she did the same. "I was honored to know Laurel, even briefly. I have a lot of respect for that lady. Laurel told us that she considered you guys her family. I feel blessed just to have known her, and to have shared the little time I shared with her."
"I know we didn't know Laurel very well, really. Our reasons to grieve aren't nearly as deep or meaningful as yours all are. For what it's worth, we considered her family, as well, even if we were little more than strangers. I don't know about what Laurel felt, but I felt, we felt, close to her, as if she were a long lost sister that we finally got to meet, or something like that," said Kara, glancing up at Joe, who nodded his agreement. "It was a new relationship, but it grew, and grew fast, at least for Joe, my sister, my friends and myself."
The Girl of Steel took a deep breath, and added, "I'm glad to meet you all, and I'm so very sorry for your loss. I know only a bare sliver of the pain you all must be feeling."
Oliver extended his hand to Joe, and then to Kara, fixing them each with an intense, but understanding gaze. "It's enough for us that Laurel considered you both friends," he said quietly, then met each of their gazes more intensely. "And for her to tell us that she considered you family is even better for us."
"We heard quite a bit about all of you," Felicity finally spoke, pushing her glasses back up after cleaning them where tears had tracked over the lenses. "She remembered all of you, and her time with you, fondly. Well, fondly except for the bad stuff you all had to deal with at the time."
John stood from where he'd been leaning, and loosely folded his arms. "She wanted us all to know you guys like she knew you," he said, rubbing his chin with a light touch. "Laurel was always excited to bring one group of friends to meet another group of friends, and everyone becoming friends afterwards. Her friendship wasn't the easiest thing in the world to earn, but once you had it, it was yours."
"You guys weren't just friends to her, but like you said, family. Family was very important to Laurel," Thea interjected, feeling the odd feeling one has when they first start speaking to strangers, but also feeling that sensation that's usually tickling the back of your consciousness when acquaintance starts paving the way towards what may become friendship, and afterwards, even family. A look at the others' faces told Thea that they all just might be feeling the same thing.
Sara glanced at Oliver, then John, Felicity and Thea. Her lips lifted ever so slightly in what passed for a smile those days, and said, "If Laurel were here, I think she'd want us all to have a couple of drinks, tell stories of good times, share our memories with each other, and open ourselves up to each other. She'd want us to remember her the way she lived, rather than when, why or how she died. She'd tell us that as long as we remember her, think of her, and love her, she'll always be alive, and with us."
Everyone agreed, voicing that agreement firmly, as they talked and learned a little more about each other. Finally, they decided to do exactly what Laurel would want, so they got themselves together, changed into normal everyday clothes, and made their way back to the loft that Oliver and Felicity had shared not so long ago.
X
The group laughed and talked for hours, almost like an Irish wake, instead of the usually somber, brooding sort of atmosphere that mourning often brought along with the memories. By the time they'd all started on their fourth drink, they were all starting to settle down, and come to the reason they'd gathered in the loft: to remember Laurel, and to share those memories with the others, so that they became a part of all of them, so that each could know how the others knew and remembered their friend.
With Kara now dressed like any other person you'd see on the street, and like the reporter she was in her "daytime" job, it was like the difference between night and day for the group.
Thea shook her head and looked at Kara again, sipping from her drink. "I just can't get over it," she said, the smile she wore was contagious, as everyone seemed to be mirroring it.
Kara looked down at herself, checking to see if maybe she'd forgotten to button a button on her top, or she'd spilled something on herself. "Can't get over what, Thea?" she asked, a little confused, and a little apprehensive as well.
"You!" Thea exclaimed, laughing now that she'd blurted that out. "When you're wearing your Supergirl clothes, you're like an entirely different person. I just can't believe that putting on a pair of glasses makes that much of a difference. I doubt anyone would even think that you were Supergirl, and all because of a pair of glasses?"
The others laughed, and Oliver smiled lightly. "It's not just the glasses, Speedy," he said lightly, glancing at Kara before looking at her once more. "It's a very subtle disguise, and I don't mean just the glasses. When she's not wearing her suit, she wears the glasses, yes, but she changes the way she stands, the way she walks, and she changes aspects of her outward personality."
He paused long enough to finish his drink and start pouring another. "For example," he continued, "as Supergirl, she stands tall, she's confident, willful, and radiates an aura of being able to handle pretty much anything. As Kara, she's still confident, but she stands more relaxed, and she seems much more like a girl next door than the alien superhero flying around the city, squashing crime. The glasses are just one tiny component of a very subtle, but very complex, disguise."
Felicity almost choked on her drink, as she started laughing in the middle of swallowing. "Think of it like this," she told Thea, giving Kara a smile as she did so. "When she's Kara, she's a bit like me, only nowhere near as—"
"Quirky," interjected Sara with a laugh, and then winked at Felicity. "Quirky but still adorable."
Felicity actually laughed and agreed, "Okay, yeah, I'll go with that. She's not quite as quirky as me. But when she's Supergirl, she's kind of like Oliver. If Oliver were a Saturday morning cartoon character. You know, heroic, sunny, and very solid values."
"Hey," laughed Oliver, taking a healthy drink of his cocktail. "What are you trying to say, Felicity? That I'm not heroic or have bad ways or something?" He knew what Felicity meant, but he couldn't resist giving her a little bit of a hard time about it.
"No, not at all," Felicity said, smiling ever so sweetly. "I'm saying that she's heroic, sunny, etc, without being such a crabby puss. She's a lot like you, only kid and family friendly. You know, 'truth, justice and the American way,' instead of grouchy, brooding and growly scowly."
That got a laugh out of everyone, and once more, the glasses were filled. John held his glass in both hands, and regarded everyone at the table before speaking, "Since we're here, together, friends and family, remembering Laurel, I propose a toast."
The large man raised his glass, and paused only a moment. "To Laurel Lance, one of the kindest and most genuine people I've ever known. Friend, sister, family to all." The others confirmed the toast, and after glasses clinked together, they all took a drink of their respective drinks.
The friends all looked at one another for a long moment, all of them having the same thing in mind, but none of them exactly sure of how to proceed. Finally, it was Felicity that finally spoke first.
She cleared her throat, and looked around the table at everyone. "Everyone used to say something particular about Laurel," she began. She could feel her eyes welling up, but she pressed on. "They always said, 'Laurel Lance…always trying to save the world.' They said it with good reason.
"But it wasn't just the world that Laurel tried to save," she continued, though she felt her hands shaking a little. "She tried to save all of us, she did save all of us, more than she ever really knew."
The air had grown silent, except for Felicity speaking, and she felt a little self conscious, but she pressed on, "When I first met Laurel, I had been…interested…in Oliver for quite a while, even before I knew what he did with his nights. I knew their history, their past, and I was a bit intimidated. Okay, I was a lot intimidated. Here was this strong, passionate, fiery, heroic lawyer that stood up for people every day, that tried to make the world a better place for everyone, a fair minded and good person. Beautiful, with a beauty that went far beyond simple looks. And there was me, a nerdy computer geek IT nobody.
"More than that, though, after I joined Oliver's little crusade, and she discovered the truth about all of us, she didn't hesitate to step up and try with all her might to live up to Sara's example, to do the kind of good she always wanted to do, not just in the courtroom, but out on the streets as well," Felicity continued, wiping her eye absently.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "It wasn't easy trying to be noticed and seen with Laurel and Sara both around. It was even worse trying to find some meaningful way to contribute. Somehow, typing away on a keyboard and being an annoying voice in everyone's ear didn't seem enough. Laurel thought differently, though. She always made me feel needed, valuable, like a true part of the team, and not just glorified tech support."
Everyone remained silent, listening to her, staying so silent in fact that she grew even more fidgety and nervous, though she tried to hide it. "When I felt heartbroken and beaten, Laurel always had a hug and a kind word. When I felt useless, Laurel always knew what to say to prove to me that I was wrong. When I needed someone to listen, to be a friend, Laurel was always there. It didn't matter if I was pining for Oliver, berating myself for making some stupid mistake, or if I were feeling like I was having a meltdown, I would always look up to see Laurel holding out a hand to help me across whatever bridge I was trying to cross.
"I never had a sister, and I know she certainly wasn't my sister, but if I had ever had a sister, I'd want her to be like Laurel." Felicity took another long drink, emptying her glass, and she set it down, turning it slowly. "There's so much more I could say, so many things I could tell you about what Laurel was like and what she meant to me, but they'd all come down to the same thing, more or less. Laurel was like the family I didn't have, but I definitely needed, and she never for a moment hesitated to treat me that way."
Glasses refilled and everyone seemed to be reflecting both on Felicity's words, and their own thoughts and memories. The silence didn't last too long, however, when Thea cleared her throat.
"I've known Laurel and Sara literally my whole life," she said, catching Sara's eyes with her own for a second before moving to everyone else's face. "They were always around the house, and Tommy, and of course Ollie and I were always in the middle of it all as well.
"Ollie and I have always been really close," Thea continued, brushing her hair back from her face with a light sweeping gesture. "But when he and Laurel were together, when they were just friends, whenever, it didn't matter. Laurel was always, always there to listen, and help me in any way she could. Sometimes, all she did was listen, but that was more than enough."
She stared into her glass a moment, as everyone listened, and drew a deep breath. "After Ollie and Sara disappeared, after everybody thought they were dead, I got into a lot of things I shouldn't have. Drugs, being stupid, you name it, I did it. Nobody could reach me. Tommy tried, but I just kept going right back to the same old thing. I was hurting, hurting in a very bad way."
Her glass had left a ring on the table, a standing ring of water where it'd run off her glass, and she absently began doodling with the water, using her finger. "Laurel was hurting too, hurting bad. She'd just lost the guy she was in love with, that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and found out that not only had he been involved with Sara, but that she'd lost them both in one swoop. She was angry, hurting, and probably felt everything but nice and friendly. Even so, she was there for me. She kept me from falling when I'd stumble. She'd help me up when I fell. She constantly reminded me that I hadn't lost everything because I'd lost Ollie, and my friend Sara was gone too. She reminded me I still had family. Maybe not blood, but family."
The sound of the clock on the wall, an ornate brass affair, ticking loudly echoed through the room for a moment. "When I wasn't sure about becoming involved with Roy, Laurel encouraged me to follow my heart. When Malcolm…I refuse to call him Dad…brainwashed me and had me kill Sara, after she'd so recently been discovered to be alive, she could have done like pretty much anybody would have done. She could have hated me, and wanted nothing more than to see me dead. Instead, she struggled with herself to understand that though I killed Sara…sorry about that, again, by the way, Sara…it wasn't my wish to, my plan to, or anything I set in motion myself. No matter how you slice it, brainwashed or not, it was my hand that killed her. Yet, she refused to let me blame myself, and she kept her faith in me, even still."
She sighed softly, and felt the sting of tears welling in her eyes, but she fought to hold them back for the time being. "Like Felicity, I could go on all night about how Laurel was this amazing, wonderful person, and friend, and family member. I could sing her praises to the high Heavens. It all means the same thing. Laurel was loved, and she's missed."
Kara and Joe listened as intently as everyone else, and neither of them had any trouble imagining exactly what was being said, because even in their limited experience, they knew what was being said was the truth, without a doubt. It seemed like stories were going in a sort of round robin around the table, and each thought about what they might say, anything that might even approach the tiniest relevance of what the others were recounting.
John finished his drink, and studied the others in the silence that had gathered after Thea's words. Finally, he started speaking, "I wasn't sure about Laurel coming in at first. I knew she was Sara's sister, and Sara had just started going out with us on our little nightly excursions, but she and Sara seemed like completely different animals. So, being trained to be suspicious of everything and everybody, I was cautious."
A smile graced his, Oliver's and Sara's lips as he spoke, each apparently remembering the things he was speaking of. He didn't lose a beat in his narrative, though, as he continued, "It seemed like the blink of an eye before I not only trusted her, but she was my friend. Laurel is one of the best people I've ever known.
"She seemed like she knew things that you, yourself, didn't know about you. She knew how to get to the heart of things. When I thought my brother, Andy, was dead, and his wife and I grew closer than we already were, I wasn't sure if I was trying to start a relationship with her, just be there for her and Andy Jr., or what. It was Laurel that told me to follow my instincts and my heart. When Lyla and I started coming into contact with each other more and more frequently, though we'd been divorced some time, Laurel convinced me to be open to whatever might come or develop, and here we are, married again, and happier than we've ever been.
"Every time I've needed someone to listen, someone to just nudge me in the right direction, even if I knew which direction I needed to be headed in, Laurel was there." His voice sounded odd, a little different as he drowned whatever might be threatening to spill out in the rest of his drink.
"There aren't words enough in the world to describe how good, and special, Laurel was to everyone she knew. She's definitely and sorely missed." He poured himself another drink and studied it for several moments.
Oliver looked over at Sara a second, as if silently asking who should go next, then began, "I've known Laurel practically my entire life. We were the best of friends as kids. As we grew older, we were sweethearts. In high school and college, we were lovers. Through all of that, regardless of our relationship at any given time, we were always family. Laurel inspired that feeling in all of us, I think, in different ways.
"I loved, and still love, Laurel in many ways. We were no longer lovers, but more like two parts of a greater whole, like a wheel of which she was a hub, and I was more like a spoke." He paused for a moment, as if playing a memory back in his mind.
"To make a long story short, no matter what, no matter where our lives were going, what we were doing, or what was happening around us, even if we were on completely opposite sides of a subject, that bond that we shared was always there. Family. Even as we spoke our final words before she went into defib, she told me that she was glad that I found real love, and she hoped very much that I could find my way back to it. Every time I feel defeated, every time I think I can't go any further, I can hear Laurel urging me onward. She always inspired me to try to be the sort of man that she saw inside me, that I never seemed able to see."
As everyone's words seemed to sink in, Sara fidgeted with her glass, turning it in circles. Her voice was quiet as her blue eyes moved over the different faces before her. "Laurel was my big sister, yes. She was my best friend. She was almost everything I ever needed at any given time. Everything except the obvious things she couldn't be, of course."
Everyone shared a soft chuckle at that, and even Sara smiled wanly. After a deep breath, she went on, "A lot of people helped shape what I became, who I became. Mom, dad, people I admired, people I knew. Of all those people, though, I think Laurel had the most impact on me.
"I never thought I was capable of making the kind of difference that she made, of being able to do the sort of good that she did. The funny thing was Laurel didn't believe that for a minute. She saw all that inside me, even though I didn't. I want her, wherever she is, to look at me and be as proud of me as I am, and always have been, of her.
"Like Thea said, she was always trying to save the world, and she tried to save everyone in it. Even if they didn't think they deserved to be saved, like me. Laurel never gave up on what she knew to be true."
The mood seemed serious, but bittersweet at the same time. Everyone had wistful smiles on their faces, faint though they might be, as the others all voiced a very tiny portion of what they thought and felt concerning their fallen comrade. Nobody in the room was under any illusion that everything that everyone wished to say had been said. Even as summaries, they were far more brief than what they wished to bring to light. But they had been a beginning, an introduction to a much longer narrative.
Kara felt out of place, to be honest, and if Joe's expression was any indication, it seemed like he did as well. All of these people had known Laurel most, if not all, of their lives, or had known her for years. Kara and Joe had known her barely a year, and hadn't had contact with her in a large portion of that time.
"I know I didn't know Laurel as well as all of you did, and I don't pretend to even try to think I did," Kara began, nervously looking from one person to the other. "But at the same time, Laurel told me that friends and family are measured by the quality of their relationship, not how much time had passed between their first meeting, and the present. She said if the quality of the relationship is low, you could spend centuries having known one another, and the relationship would be as superficial as a cloud. But if the quality of the relationship was good and strong, a single day of a good quality bond far outweighed a low quality relationship of decades.
"I think we all know what kind of person Laurel was, and most likely have a good idea of what she was, specifically, to every person she knew," she continued. "Laurel and I met under the most terrible of circumstances. I was fighting for my life against a drone, specifically configured with the right weapons that could very well kill me. I had no real defense against the thing straight on, because its weapons were literally deadly to me. Suffice it to say that if I'd had to go against it any longer than what I did, I wouldn't be sitting here right now, telling you this.
"She didn't know me, didn't know anything about me other than what she'd heard on the news, or read in the paper or something, but it didn't matter. She wasn't invulnerable, she didn't have super strength, or vision powers, or any of the sort of abilities I have. She was just a human being, restricted by the same physical limitations as any other person on this planet is. The drone could very well have killed me, and much more easily than I care to think about, which meant it could be absolutely devastating to her if it turned its weapons on her.
"That didn't matter to Laurel. She charged in, anyway, her and Joe here. They helped keep the drone occupied until we could destroy it. Even so, it still almost killed me, and the pair of them stepped up to keep National City safe until my sister could figure out a way to help me. They inspired me, they had no powers, they were just ordinary people, but they didn't hesitate or flinch in the face of whatever dangers they might have come across. My powers make things I do look easy, sometimes ridiculously so. Their power is one that all of my powers together can't top, the power of human bravery and selflessness."
The rest of the night was long. They all stayed up, and relayed funny stories, anecdotes and other little memories of their experiences with Laurel. The new friends laughed together, were sad together, and experienced an entire spectrum of other feelings until the morning light started peeking through the overcast sky.
By the end of the night, when they all decided to catch a little sleep, Team Arrow and the two visitors from National City had gone from strangers mentioned in relayed stories and memories to starting down the path towards friendship. Each side had learned and gained a lot from the other. Both were stronger for having opened up to the other side of the coin.
The following afternoon, after everyone had awoken and gotten themselves together, they all found themselves at Laurel's grave, each bearing a single yellow rose. One by one, they laid their roses at the gravestone, said their silent farewells to their fallen family member, and waited to welcome each of them back into the fold of the bond between them that had been forged the night before.
The new friends spoke for a short while after every rose had been placed, and finally had exited the cemetery, heading back to the loft. Meanwhile, behind them, the wind blew gently through the crisp early winter air, and the petals of the yellow roses fluttered until the seven roses settled into a half circle in front of the gravestone, looking for all the world like a bright sunny smile, beaming towards Laurel's family, both blood and extended.