"Thank you, Rose," Fu began in a low voice.

Jake had just fallen asleep, head resting on Rose's lap. She'd just finished covering the sleeping dragon with the blue blanket that was always resting on the back of the couch when Fu spoke. She raised her eyes to look at the dog, confused.

"For what?" She whispered back, not wanting to wake Jake.

He was inconsolable when he was awake; something that was beginning to chew at the very edges of Rose's soul. She didn't know someone could be destroyed that badly. She'd certainly never witnessed such an intense display of grief; she didn't even know that creatures, particularly the dragons, could display emotion to such a degree.

"Helping; being here for him. Lao Shi meant so much to him and to have him ripped away like that, well, it's hard on all of us. Having your support, not just for the fact that you're here for Jake but just for how much you're pitching in around the house, about how you're there for Haley, even helping Susan with funeral arrangements … I don't know how you're doing it and still keeping a hold of the Clan. I admire you Rose, and I thank you."

Rose ran her fingers through Jake's hair, losing herself and the black and dyed green strands. She tried not to look at Fu because his tiny speech had inspired tiny feelings of guilt within her. It was ridiculous: she had absolutely no reason to be feeling guilty. She hadn't been the one to take Lao Shi away from Jake; she was actually helping he and Haley deal with the death; and she was helping with the funeral arrangements. All of these things were true and they all pointed to her being good-guy Rose.

The fact that the Clan was arranging themselves and strategizing how to best disrupt the funeral while taking the most lives was neither here nor there.

(Rose found herself saying this phrase a lot lately.)

"It's no worry," Rose said. "I just want to help out the best I can. He was a great man and I know they're all inconsolable over this. I just want to be here the best I can."

"It's hard to believe that he's gone," Fu admitted, voce rough. "I've been with the old man for decades now and I never thought it would end like this. Dragons … they have extraordinarily long lives, you know."

Rose raised her eyebrows. Actually, she hadn't thought of it. Dragons, while the most lethal, were also the least known to the Huntsclan. She had never thought about the natural lifespan of a dragon before Jake and, after finding out that dragons had a human alter ego, she had just assumed that they lived the lifespan of a normal human. She studied the boy in her lap again, wondering about the life he would have had before him, had she never discovered his identity. It was a little sad, even she had to recognize this, that whatever he had before him was all going to be gone after the funeral.

It was for the best, she also recognized this. Rose knew that it was for the best that the dragons didn't continue exist; no matter how innocent he looked lying in her lap.

"They do?" Rose asked, continuing her conversation with Fu. "How long do they usually live for?"

"Oh, it depends," Fu said, thinking. It was easier to think about the facts of dragons than it was to think about the fact that Lao Shi wasn't here to participate in that conversation anymore. "They can live several hundred years. The oldest dragon I know of, when she passed away, was just a little over three hundred years old."

Three hundred years?

"You probably don't want to think of that," Fu realized quickly. "You, of course, have the normal lifespan of a human –"

"Do I?" Rose interrupted softly. "I don't adhere to any other normal rules of humanity. I'm too fast; I'm too strong; I'm too much in every category when I'm compared to other people. No one knows what that means. Not even the man who created me knew what happened. His notes, the notes of the scientists when I was born … none of it makes any sense whatsoever. My body could give out tomorrow because it can't take it or it could last me longer than the average person's does …" She took a breath. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go there."

"You've got a point," Fu admitted. "And don't apologize. Honestly, I like talking about something other than … you know."

"I understand," Rose replied gently. "So … what else do you want to talk about?"

Fu paused, then answered, "Everything."

Everything except for Lao Shi.

And Friday, when they would bury him.

(-.-)

"Are you feeling all right?" Kyle greeted Nicholas.

They were still holed up in the bunker. Kyle had been slowly nursing Nicholas back to health with stolen drugs and a lot of attention. Nicholas was still weak, though he was beginning to do more and more for himself. He was still unable to talk, though, and Kyle was convinced that Rose had somehow managed to damage his vocal cords. Luckily for the two of them, words had never been needed for communication.

Nicholas offered Kyle a thumbs up, followed by a frown.

"I tried, okay? I went to Jake's last night and she was there."

Nicholas frowned at him.

"I saw her in the window. Not the profile of a woman but I actually saw Rose. If she knew I was out wandering the streets, she would kill me. I can't risk her seeing me, at all! There are probably people out looking for the two of us. I can't risk getting myself killed."

Nicholas' hands went to his hips.

Kyle sighed and then pleaded, "Don't give me that, okay? I know that Lao Shi didn't sacrifice himself so I can hide but, think about it, okay? I need to get to either Fu or Jake without Rose around. Now that Lao Shi is gone, she's definitely got some devious plan which – may I remind you – we know nothing about and she's not letting either of them out of her sight for long. It's too risky for me to camp out by the house and wait for her to leave."

Nicholas continued to stare.

"I'm not leaving you alone, either, okay? I can't make myself do it."

Nicholas crossed to the other side of the room, wrapping one arm around his friend's shoulders for a quick hug before he dropped away, shuffling over to where they kept the food.

"I know you appreciate me!" Kyle called after him, smiling.

(-.-)

Susan sighed heavily into her hands. "Rose, what do we do? I can't tell Jon he can't come to the funeral but I haven't told him about the magic thing. How do I get around that?"

Rose studied Susan, thinking, then, "Well, does Jon know much about Chinese culture?"

"No," Susan responded. "He tries to but his mind always gets carried away and he ends up with this completely skewed perspective. Why?"

"There's your answer, then. Tell Jon that it's a custom for only blood relations to attend the funeral itself and then have a separate viewing for the body that Jon can attend. That way he feels as though he's not being excluded but all of the magical creatures can attend the funeral without fear of revealing themselves."

"Oh, Rose, that's a brilliant idea and it just takes that much more stress from my mind. Thank you."

"It's no worry," Rose assured her, dropping a kiss to Susan's temple, knowing how the woman loved physical affection. "I'm going to go upstairs and see Haley, okay?"

"Sure, Rose."

Rose left the kitchen and went upstairs to where Haley was (Jake was on his way over, making sure that Fu was taken care of before he spent the rest of the afternoon with his family). She knocked gently on the little girl's bedroom door and let herself in.

"Hi, Haley," Rose greeted, taking her usual seat on Haley's bright green bean bag chair. "How are you feeling?"

Haley shrugged, crawling to the end of her bed so that she and Rose were near each other. "Have you ever been to a funeral?"

"Not really," Rose answered.

"I know that you've been there when people died," Haley admitted. "I know that you've killed people."

Rose wasn't surprised. Haley probably knew that the Huntsgirl was a killer before she knew that Rose was the Huntsgirl.

"So?" Rose pressed.

"So you know what people look like when they die," Haley said. "The Dark Dragon killed Gramps. Jake hasn't found any proof yet that it was him but we don't know who else it could be. So, that means that Gramps didn't … that is, it wasn't peaceful. And I … what do people look like when it's not peaceful? No one ever wants to talk about the kind of death but I need to know!"

Near the end, Haley's voice grew with every word and stress broke out on every line of her face. Within an instance, Rose had vaulted onto the end of the bed, drawing Haley into her arms.

"Shh, shh," Rose comforted, rubbing circles between Haley's shoulder blades. "It's okay. It's okay. If you need to talk about it, I'll tell you about it but I don't think that's what you should be thinking about."

"I can't," Haley hiccupped, "t-think ab-b-bout any-y-y-thing else. I n-n-n-need to k-n-n-now what he w-w-was thinking-g-g about when-n-n it happened."

"You," Rose said with confidence. "He was thinking about how much he loved you and Jake and Fu and your mom and your dad and everyone. He was thinking about how he wished he could see you again and how sorry he was that he couldn't. He was hoping that he could leave the world a better place for you, because he wanted you to grow up happy. That's what you need to know."

"Could we have stopped it?" Haley looked at Rose, usually bright eyes red and dull. "What could have stopped this from happening?"

"Nothing," Rose soothed. "Evil can be found everywhere, no matter what we do. Your grandfather dedicated his life to making the world a better place, just like your brother is. I'm not saying their fight was futile because we both know that Lao Shi and Jake have made the world a better place by being in it. What I'm saying is that as long as there is light there will also be darkness."

"I thought light was always supposed to win," Haley whimpered into the front of Rose's shirt.

"It will," Rose assured her, "But sometimes the torch has to be passed. Lao Shi has not lost the fight but he has passed it onto Jake. Do you understand where I'm coming from, Haley?"

Haley nodded. "But I still want him back."

"I know, honey. It's hard and that's okay, I'm here for you. It's all okay, I promise one day, it'll be okay."

Haley melted into her and Rose encircled the girl with her strong arms. She stroked Haley's hair and waited. She could hear heavy footsteps on the stairs; steps she had become familiar with. Jake stepped into the room and she lifted one hand and just motioned him over. Jake didn't say a word. He simply sat down behind Rose and put his considerably long arms around the two girls. He laid his head on Rose's shoulder, putting his hands over hers and against Haley. He held them both to him, reveling in the fact that they were here and alive.

Rose kissed the top of Jake's head, comforting him just as she was Haley. The role of nurturer was, admittedly, getting old. She also didn't like the disheartening feelings, the disloyal feelings, that being so active in this role inspired within her.

Luckily, she didn't have to wait long for it to be over.

Tomorrow …

Tomorrow.

I don't own anything recognizable.

~TLL~