PROLAGUE

Gerard woke up the sleeping little Rose, now four years old, at close to one AM. She could barely open her eyes

"Daddy what's going on?" she asked, in a voice so soft an innocent only she could have. Gerard bent down and gently lifted her from her bed. He was dressed in a few layers more than was necessary for walking around the house. He walked over to her closet quickly with Rose in his arms and grabbed an extra fleece blanket from the top shelf. It was Rose's favorite blanket. After her mother had died, Gerard took a picture of Kayla and sent it to someone who was able to stitch her image onto the blanket. Gerard ran with Rose wrapped in the blanket, up the stairs and into the kitchen where Frank, Bob, Ray, and Mikey were waiting by the sliding screen door that led into the backyard. Frank had set up some chairs outside with blankets on each, it was late November after all, and they all went outside, bundled up and sat in chairs. Rose was still confused

"Daddy what are we doing? I'm sleepy. It's cold out here. I want to go back to bed." Gerard ignored his daughter's whines and sat down on a chair, with her on his lap. He covered the two of them in the Kayla blanket and he tilted Rose's chin to the clear night sky. Earlier that night Gerard had been looking up at the sky through his bedroom window, thinking about Kayla. It was the five-year anniversary of when he had proposed to Kayla and he just couldn't sleep. He'd noticed suddenly a white streak flash through the sky, then another, then another. He realized that there was a meteor shower and knew he had to wake up the guys and Rose to watch this. But back to outside. Gerard tilted Rose's chin to the November night sky and pointed to the streaks as they flew by.

"See those Rosie?" he asked, in his "talking to my daughter here!" voice. "See those? Do you know what those are?" Rose shook her head no, a look of awe and amazement in her eyes. "Those are stars. Stars flying right out of the sky. Wherever they fall, another perfect baby is born. And guess what Rosie!" he turned her to face him. "You were one of those stars. You're my perfect baby girl. You're still glowing like those stars. You glow every time you smile, every time you laugh. And I promise you I'm never going to let you stop glowing. And I'll never have to help it glow as long as you just be you forever. Okay baby?" Rose didn't quite understand what her father was asking of her, but she nodded and snuggled against her father's chest, soaking in his warmth. She remembered falling asleep watching the falling stars while Gerard rubbed her back, lulling her to sleep.