#crashesintocops

"No." Was all she could say. He was already leaning into her, arms weakly grasping her and she had to find the strength to stand for them both.

--

"Oh I'm just so tired." She was trying to help him get ornaments up onto the tree, her first Christmas as an official Williams. Swollen, grumpy and exhausted, she felt like she might just pass out and knock the beautiful tree over, but suddenly she felt strong arms lifting her ever so gently.

"Here, Rach. I gotcha."

"You're a dear." She mused, finishing what she was doing and turning to hug him once he set her down.

"Hey, I'll always be there to hold you up when Danny can't, sis."

--

He wasn't there to hold them up now.

--

It's the next day. Grace is laying in a mommy and daddy sandwich in her bedroom at Rachel and Stan's, her little eyes still puffy from crying. She shivered once in a while and Danny would curl up closer to her.

"Mommy." She sniffled and Rachel looked into her face, seeing shades of her uncle there, making her heart tear a little in her chest. "Mommy someone hurt him. He was hurt?"

"Someone hurt him," Rachel confirmed, cuddling closer, pressing her nose to her daughter's. "But, he didn't suffer, my darling he..." She knew she was probably lying, so did Danny. But he nodded emphatically against Grace's shoulder. "He was gone before he knew what was happening."

--

Standing there she looked over at Danny. Unshaven. Cold and distant as the family looked on. Normally she wouldn't be attending anything with his family, but she had loved Matt. Almost as much as Danny and Grace. Staring at the dark casket that's being lowered, she distantly thought it suited the young man much more than the barrel.

It makes her sick.

She moved closer to Danny, ignoring the questioning glances of his sisters as she pulled him into a hug, cradling him close. It's familiar and comfortable and the divorce and the affair and everything doesn't matter right then. Matt had always begged their civility. He deserved that one last time.

"C'mon," She whispered softly, rubbing at his shoulder. "Let's go get drunk at Tommy's one last time." She offered gently, pressing her nose into his hair for a moment, swallowing a sob as she turned away from the grave. "C'mon, he was a good boy deep down. We know that. He loved you so much, Danny. Don't ever forget."

--

"Hey, if it's a boy," Pulling a chair near hers, Matt turned it backwards, sitting on it to lean his forearms across the back. "If it's a boy, you gotta consider Matt for a name."

"If it's a boy I'm running for the hills." She griped playfully, smirking to herself.

He let out a hearty laugh, winking. "No, you love me. You'll love little me, just you wait. Even Danny couldn't hate me forever."

"Matt," She grew serious. "No matter what you do in your life, your brother would never be able to hate you."

He offered a strange smile, an unsure one, like he had a hard time believing that. But he nodded, reaching to pat her belly as he went to stand up. "Well I gotta get going. But I'll stop in and see you later, Rach."

--

He always did that, stopped in to see her after class or work. Always came just to sit with her and talk. Even after the divorce for  a while.

Yeah, yeah, it does seem to be, it is.