Summary: Piper visits an old friend

Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot: Teddy's Adulthood (crucial), this O-S gives major spoilers for that story.

…

Piper's POV

I haven't been in a while. I know I should have but I've just been so busy. What with newborn Paige and moving into our own house, I just haven't had time.

But now I'm here.

There's snow on the ground, and I'm wearing a scarf that does very little to block out the cold. It's February. The anniversary of her death.

Fresh tears come to my eyes as I look at the bronze cat with Mayfair's likeness. "I'm so sorry," I whisper. "I never ever wanted you to find out about Teddy and I the way you did. I-I wasn't nice to you. I can't apologise for loving Teddy but I can for the way I acted about it. I knew how you felt about Teddy and I was still really horrible about it. Heck, I fought you. I called you selfish and hit you in the face. I know you said some things but I've already forgotten them. That's how little they mattered. I loved you, Mayfair. You were an amazing person and an amazing friend."

My voice grows hoarse as I fight to control the tears. Even two years after it happened, it still affects me. "I was horrible to you!" I wail. "And the worst part is I never told you any of this while you were still alive! You died still thinking I hated you when you never did anything wrong, all you did was love Teddy and that's not a crime, it's not-."

I end up babbling. I take a breath to control myself and say, more quietly, "It's tearing me apart, May. Even two years on. You sacrificed yourself to save your brother and we never even got to speak since I left you in that cell."

I sniff. "Parker. You'd be so proud of him if you could see him, May. His training is going so well. He's going to be a great OWCA agent one day." I pause. "Poor Parker. He still hasn't gotten over your loss. He feels responsible, like he could have prevented it. Everyone tells him he couldn't have but he's pushing himself. I've seen it with Luke, he's trying too hard to be the best, to prevent it from happening again."

I wipe the fresh tears out of my eyes, to no avail. "It's me…" I sob. "I-I'm the one responsible. It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so unnecessarily cruel to you when you found out about us, you wouldn't have reacted the way you did, and you'd still be with us."

I finally put the roses I'm carrying beside Mayfair's statue. My knees buckle and I collapse across Mayfair's statue, crying my eyes out.

I'm sure at some point Teddy comes to find me and sees me crying at Mayfair's memorial. But to my relief, he doesn't interrupt me nor mention it when I get home that night. I know that he has seen me because he's looking at me with sympathy every time I look at him.

I wish I hadn't said the things I did. I wish I hadn't hit Mayfair.

But it's too late now.

It will always be too late.

And these regrets will follow me to my grave.

…

*is unable to say anything through crying*