2008-08-17: DF: Farewell, Laurel

Starring:

DFRudyard_icon.gif DFDaphne_icon.gif

Summary: Laurel's laid to rest, and Daphne continues a small but important legacy.

Dark Future Date: 17 AUGUST 2009

Farewell, Laurel


Bronx Zoo

The showdown at sunrise wasn't supposed to end like this. Daphne can still picture the plan in her mind, sitting at a table in one of the concession stands with her best friend, talking about how this whole thing was a mess. They'd be laughing about old times, they'd be planning for the future. Happy - they'd be on the same side again. That was the plan.

Now she's watching as some of the zoo staff push dirt over a shallow grave in one of the gardens.

They moved some of the food that'd been growing there. Every little bit is important, but this area is so pretty, she knows Laurel would want to be buried here. Scratch that - Laurel wouldn't want to be buried at all. She'd still want to be alive, and she would be, if it weren't for Daphne jumping the gun as she had. This mistake isn't going to happen again, and the photo album she has tucked under her arm is going to see to that.

Her eyes are red, she looks tired. That makes sense, though… Somehow, she has to get a message to Laurel's parents, if that's even possible. She has ideas; she could go through the president, if he's ever found. Then again, with what she's been doing, she might not walk out of that meeting alive. "I dunno what to do, Laur," she mutters to the dirt. Why'd you have to die? Help was on the way, damn it.

—-

Rudyard is right there with Daphne, and will need to be chased off with a large animal if she wants him to go away. He has an arm comfortably around Daphne's waist, almost trying to encourage her to lean against him. He's not sure just what to say to comfort the grieving woman. It could have been a kill or be killed situation? The animals do in fact have minds of their own and willfully protected their keeper? Rather than put his foot in his mouth, he stands silently and remains present for his wife.

—-

Now Rudyard really is all she has left. She's glad he's there, even if he's silent, and when he pulls her to him, she turns and presses her face against his chest. It's impossible not to cry, and she's not even making any attempt to stop the tears at this point. Daphne almost feels like she has no right to do so, though. If it weren't for her, Laurel would still be here. And it hurts.

The photo album really drove the point home, though. It was confusing at first, but it didn't take long for her to figure it out. Stepping back, she brings the book up so she can look at the cover. "It was so easy to— I thought she was on the wrong side. Now I don't know who's right— All these people in here…" She holds the book out to him. "Had families and friends. Now they're all dead." It's a book full of agents… Beautiful portraits and candid shots taken by Laurel. It also contains their obituaries. "Did I ever tell you Laurel was a photographer?"

—-

Rudyard places a kiss on top of Daphne's head, as he brings his arms to wrap around her. Words really won't help right now, and he's fine with comforting Daphne this way. He lightly rubs Daphne's back with a hand before letting her go when she steps back. As the album is offered, he takes it and looks through it. "You mentioned it a few times," he says quietly. "It's difficult to say who is right these days.. it is however easy to see just what is wrong."

—-

There's no smile, really, not through the tears. Just a brief upturn of her lips as she steps around next to Rudyard's shoulder, so she can point out something in a few of the photos. "Just after Laurel discovered what she could do, she found this in her pictures." It's a weird-looking symbol; they never did figure out why it appeared. Seems like a long time ago… It's not in all the pictures, just a couple here and there. "She wasn't a bad person. She didn't deserve this. If I hadn't— Told her to— " Closing her eyes again, she takes a few steps toward the grave, bringing an arm up to rub at her face. "I don't know what to do now." It doesn't seem real. Laurel can't be gone. Daphne's been fighting the whole time to bring her back. "Are we on the wrong side, Rudyard?"

—-

Rudyard appears at a loss.. He normally looks lost when dealing with people in general. It's only Daphne he's gotten really comfortable around.. except for when she's upset. "No.. she, like many others, probably just found herself on the wrong side." He closes the album and tucks it under his arm, watching Daphne. His expression is sober and serious as he reaches to place a hand on her shoulder. "No darling, we are not.. We are helping people.. not imprisoning them. Do we have to resort to harsh measures? Yes."

—-

"I killed my best friend," she says, voice barely above a squeak, breaking. "How is that okay? How's that right?" If she could go back and do things differently, she would have told Laurel about the baby as soon as they met. She wouldn't have assumed that Laurel was somehow evil because she was working for the president. It wasn't Laurel she lost - it was herself. Unfortunately, the wrong person paid for it. Allowing the contact, she reaches up for his hand as she has so many times in the past, but this time, she grips it tightly. "She thought— She didn't know what was going on. She had no idea. She didn't know the conditions, it wasn't her fault." Releasing Rudyard's hand, she kneels down next to the pile of dirt. They'll need flowers. She can talk to the Saints about getting them, maybe. "How many people before someone realises that— We're both— " Wrong. There's no right in this at all.

—-

"Daphne.. you didn't kill her. The animals.. these are still /wild/ animals, with instincts of their own. Hard wired. Some cannot be domesticated despite your abilities and control. They acted on their own to protect you." He's /sure/ of this. "You would never kill unless you had no other choice, I believe this about you." He remains by Daphne's side, even as she kneels. "this is a time of war, political uprising, a change, it will take a bloody revolution to right the situation.. more lives will be lost, more mistakes made, but some of us can learn from them."

—-

She's going to go on believing it was her fault, and there's no way she can ever make it up to Laurel now. No apology is going to right this wrong. "If I'd kept them in the zoo…" She says. "If I hadn't — I blew up her car so she couldn't leave." Expect a fight, and you get a fight, essentially. "Out of all the people in the world who deserve to die…" The statement ends with a shake of her head. Whoever's out there who deserves to meet their end, Laurel certainly wasn't on that list. "She was a good— She was a good person, Rudy. She was a good friend, and sweet, and she wouldn't hurt anyone. I did this to her, and now I don't know what to do to make it right. I'm tired of — I've killed before, but it's never hit me like this. And I wonder how many people I killed who didn't deserve it." Traitors who never got a chance to tell their side. Why.

—-

"You did what you had to do. She used her ability, you used yours.. and I'm still a bit miffed you had Magilla the Gorilla holding me back." Rudyard isn't really /mad/, but yeah, miffed and he was panicking about his wife. "If it hadn't of been you, I would have used the means at my disposal to protect you and our child." He settles himself to sit on the ground and tries to pull Daphne against him, "Don't think like that.." He's sure he hurt a lot of people who didn't deserve it in his attack on the White House. It's war. It happens, it's to be expected.. it's not exactly /right/.. it's cause and effect, a fact of life. "Come now.. have a good cry.. get this out of your system.. then we'll work on what comes next." He murmurs against Daphne, calling her his pet name for her.. Bumblebee.

—-

"His name's not Magilla," she mutters absently. Ah, the baby. Daphne has a name for her now - or him. They'll have to adjust the name a bit if it's a boy, but… She's kind of breaking her promise here, to give the baby a unique name, but it's what makes sense now.

She doesn't need permission to cry, but somehow when Rudy says it, it seems okay. Necessary. The tears have been slow so far, a trickle compared to what comes now. It starts with a sniffle, a whimper as she tries to hold it back, and then she has her cry - a good, loud cry that no one in the zoo seems to pay heed to. People look the other direction, the animals continue doing what animals do, and Daphne just grieves as loudly as she possibly can. It hurts, so much. And because Laurel has no way of expressing her own pain anymore, the responsibility falls to her best friend. This will go on for awhile.

—-

Rudyard doesn't give a meerkat fart about the gorilla's name right now. It's not important, so he doesn't press his choice in nicknames. Quieting down, he lets Daphne have her cry, no matter how loud she gets. It's warranted. With his arms around her, he rocks slightly, trying to be as soothing and comforting as he can.

—-

It takes a long time for her to calm down again, as she leans against Rudyard for comfort and warmth - despite the fact that it's rather hot, she still feels cold. The wailing continues until she's too tired to do so anymore, and only then does it taper off into stilted breathing, gasps at intervals as her eyes remain fixed on the pile of dirt. "I'm sorry," she says eventually, not to Rudy, of course. As she says it, though, her arm wraps around his. She'll allow herself another moment…

Rudyard is right. This is a war. Casualties happen, and while she will never ever forgive herself for this, the only way it's going to be prevented in the future is if she's still in the fight. So she can't bow out yet. Still leaning against her husband, she says, "We still have a whole day of work."

—-

"Yes.. there is a whole day of work, but not for you. I want you to rest. You should sleep," Rudyard states in a gentle yet firm tone. As soon as he says it however, he's probably sure that his wife will feel better if she keeps busy. Yet he doesn't want her working herself sick. So he amends with, "Try and get in a needed nap.. then we can get to work." We means he will be keeping an eye on her.

—-

"Yeah, nap is good," she says, reaching out to take the photo album back. Even if its intended purpose wasn't to be a source of comfort for Daphne, that's what it's ended up being. It's the only thing of Laurel's she owns, and… There's another picture to be added to it now. It won't be the last, either. She intends to keep this project going for as long as she's able, except the remainder of the book will depict pointless deaths on both sides of the fence.

It takes some doing to push herself to her feet, but eventually, she makes it. Her eyes move from the grave to Rudyard… "I love you, Kip. If anything ever happens, I just want you to know that." That said, she'll turn her back on the pile of dirt so she can go find a picture of Laurel. She knows she must have one somewhere.

—-

Rudyard hands the album back to Daphne before helping her up from the ground. He doesn't rush her movements. He's overly kind and patient with her. A mildly embarrassed half-smile is made at the woman's words.. as if saying such an openly emotional thing is something to be embarrassed about.. or maybe he's still trying to wrap his head around such closeness. "I know you do.. j'adore tu." It sounds much better in French, no? "Let's get you to bed," he says before readying to lead his wife back to their room.

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