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I’ve always assuie lives the way she does partially out of sheer contrariness If everyone expects her to run around partying with the kids she greith, uards and the sort of safety that only money can buy, fine; she’ll live in the s instead of a purse poodle and a posse If people expect her to have three brain cells to knock together, she’ll becoe a crew of twenty ie, even if the way she lives iht barely had ti, You’re one to talk

I didn’tto ood to know that I can still ave ," she protested

"It was George," I said, with a quick shake of my head

"You know," said Kelly carefully, "if it’s anxiety that leads you to continue conversing with her, there are medications that will--"

"New topic ti to lead to so punched in the face It could be you"

"Shaun has no corowing up with George, see how irls you coie’s kitchen It was decorated like the rest of the house, inabout the side a platter of sliced vegetables, a big bowl of et the plates," said Becks

When Maggie and Alaric finally came in fifteen minutes later, they found the three of us seated around the kitchen table, stuffing our faces Becks and I were stuffing our faces, anyway Kelly atching us with a sort of horrified beone so terribly wrong in just one day She’d catch on If she lived long enough

Maggie and Alaric had clearly both been crying, although it showed more on her than it did on him; her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were even redder, whereas Alaric looked about as normal as he ever did He tried to explain his consistently caely because I didn’t care

"Alaric tellsin on Kelly with the laser-point accuracy that has hout the Fictional world "Nice trick Explain it"

"Hello to you, too, Maggie," I said brightly, reaching for the uest, or do you prefer the tornado approach? Just so it’s said, she’s had a pretty shitty week, and I wouldn’t blame her if she freaked out on you I mean, it’s been a shitty day for all of us, so I’d really appreciate it if you could take it easy on the Doc"

Maggie stiffened I looked at her caling flood or anguished trickle

Finally, her shoulders dropped, and she said, "Mahir kept Dave’s last post froht youhere That’s why I sent everybody hoood idea," I said, neutrally

"I didn’t get to say good-bye, Shaun" Maggie shook her head "I should’ve been able to say good-bye I should’ve been able to tell hirief I can handle Sadly enough, it’s the kind I’ve been on the inside of, because even saying good-bye isn’t enough There’s always oneyou should have had the ti to be that one s out of the ith the side of ie She looked atthe tension in her shoulders "I won’t tell you it’s going to be all right, because it’s not going to be all right," I said "I won’t tell you I understand what you’re going through, because nobody who isn’t inside your head can understand, and I won’t say that we’re here to help We’re not We’re here to save our asses, and we’re here to find out what the fk is going on But I’ll say this: Daveto put hi to be there forever because of what he decided was the right thing to do I guess I can’t be too angry at hie wouldn’t have hired him if she didn’t think he kne to make the hard calls, and I wouldn’t have kept hiie, her voice soft and alainst the side ofover her head toward the others Becks and Alaric had barely had ti Buffy and George I’d barely had ti And noas all starting up again The conspiracy theories, the confusing evidence, the deaths, the whole fking mess