Summary ~ When a fatal accident occurs, many lives are forever shifted. Elizabeth must take on the challenge of a new role, and Tess must learn how to adapt to her new life.

Genre ~ Mark/Elizabeth/Tess/Kate

Disclaimer ~ Every person you have heard of before are not of my creation. The characters you have not heard of before are mine, although I borrowed their names from Centreville High School.

Need to Know ~ This story takes place in 2015. The last episode that applies to this story is April Showers.

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Tess took a deep breath and then breathed it all out. She looked around her at the rows of headstones. Some with several names on them and some with just one. One only had the name “baby” written on the top. As Tess looked around she wondered what all their stories were. They all led lives. Some long, some short. They all loved and were loved. They all cried and laughed and slept and ate. They felt the same emotions she felt and went through some of the same things. The only difference was she was there, and they were not.

Tess wanted to know the stories off all the people around her. They were all important to somebody at some point. She looked at the headstone next to the one she stood in front of. The name “Evelyn Peterson” was written at the top. 1922-2011. She had lived a long life. She had probably been a lively little girl with cute ringlets and then a beautiful young woman before finally becoming a graceful old lady. She probably had lots of grandkids and made them all cute little sweaters for their birthday. Tess picked a flower out of the bouquet in front of her and put it in front of Evelyn’s headstone. “Hope you were loved, Evelyn.” Tess said quietly.

Tess then turned her attention back to the headstone she came there to see. She knelt down in front of it and placed the white roses at the center of the marble. She then ran her fingers over the words “Doug and Carol Ross-Husband and Wife.” Tess wiped a tear from her eye before it fell. She promised herself she wouldn’t cry on this trip. “Well mom and dad, here I am!” Tess began to say. “I would visit more, but it’s a long flight from Chicago. Um, I bet you have been wondering why I have been acting the way I have been the past few months!” Tess laughed. “Well, I don’t really know, so you wouldn’t either. Or maybe you would, you were always good at reading my thoughts. I don’t know. All I know is that I acted like I shouldn’t have and I’m kinda glad you couldn’t see it. But, I’m okay now, so don’t worry! I worked everything out and Elizabeth and I are on good terms now. She’s pretty cool actually! I mean, not as cool as you mom, but she’s really nice! I’m not one hundred percent in love with Chicago, but I’m getting there. One things for sure, it’s not nearly as pretty as it is here!”

Tess went on and talked a bit more. After a few minutes she stood up and looked around at the beauty of the “memorial park.” If there weren’t so many headstones it would be the perfect place to picnic! Of course a picnic in a cemetery was a bit of a depressing thought. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there but it must have been a while because she heard Julia holler, “Hey Tess, are you ever gonna finish!?”

Tess looked over and saw everyone sitting in the van and answered back, “Yeah, yeah just a second guys!” she saw Mark nodding his head and Tess looked down at the headstone again.

“Well, I guess I have to go. But I will come back whenever I get the chance. I don’t know when that will be, but I will be back.” Tess paused then finished. “I love you guys.” Tess smiled then walked towards the car. She swung open the door and then jumped into the back seat with Kate.

“Its beautiful here.” Kate pointed out.

“Yes, it sure is.” Tess agreed. Tess and Kate began talking about this and that; Elizabeth watched them through the rearview mirror. She smiled when she saw Tess laugh. She was so pleased that Tess was finally doing okay. And she knew Tess wasn’t just putting on her happy face, but that she really was doing okay. Elizabeth silently thanked God as they drove down the street.

When they got to a stoplight Tess looked out her open window. She saw a group of girl scouts, probably a group of seven or eight year olds, having a picnic under a tree at the community park. Over the traffic she could hear them singing “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other’s gold.” Tess smiled, remembering when she was little and use to sing it. But she also smiled because she knew how true it was. Moving on with your life doesn’t mean forgetting someone, it just means moving on. She wished that every one of those girls never had to go through what she went through, but she also wished that they could all realize the true meaning of that song and the real value of life. She wished they all could learn what she learned. Because it’s true what they sing, one really is silver.

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