Hello again, everyone! Sorry for the (REALLY LONG) delay but I didn't want to half-ass this and I wanted to make sure it was written well. Also, school kind of got in the way so yeah. I will be uploading the story chapter by chapter and most probably months apart of each other's posting but I will try as much as possible to make sure every chapter's worth the wait. Enjoy!

Chapter Two: Angel's Gardens

Most evenings at six o'clock, Meg would be at home. She would be doing her homework, watching TV, helping around the house, sometimes touching herself whenever she was home alone. Never, in her wildest dreams, would she ever have thought she would spend her evenings hiding behind a statue in the middle of Angel's Gardens, covered in insect bites, spying on her parents while praying some thug didn't find her bike and take it. Yet here she was.

The foliage, the flowers and the newly-clipped grass didn't change the facts that the place was: a) littered with tombstones, and b) deathly quiet save for a crow or two cawing in the distance. To make matters worse, the St. Michael that hid Meg from sight was far from a sight for sore eyes: its sword pointed in Meg's direction, and it seemed to stare right down at her, its eyes screaming accusation.

Meg wished she hadn't come. She had deduced from the place what this visit was all about, and had seen enough. She had half a mind to turn tail and run back to the safety of her home, even if it meant getting caught and being grounded. But the mystery of Shannon, as well as the fact that her parents had just stopped at the tombstone right in front of her, rooted her to the spot. She peeked out from behind the base of the statue and struggled to hear.

"Happy birthday, Shannon, sweetie!" Lois said as she set down the lilies in front of the tombstone.

"Yeah, happy birthday, kiddo," said Peter. He kissed the tombstone and crossed himself before speaking again. "Sorry we're so late. Your Mommy here got a tummyache and she spent all day in the john."

"Well, honey," Lois said through grit teeth, "Mommy wouldn't have gotten a tummyache if Daddy didn't feed her those laxatives at lunch."

"Hey, they were chocolate!" protested Peter. "I thought they were real chocolate, y'know? But—" he saw the look on his wife's face and changed tack. "Anyway—" he addressed the tombstone this time "—we can't stay long, we promised the others we'd be back by dinner. But we're gonna make the most out of your special day. We got you something!" He nudged Lois, who produced the cupcake. "Surprise! And it's strawberry, too, your favorite!"

"Come on, let's light it up and sing, huh?" Lois suggested. Peter nodded, then took out a lighter and lit the candle. "Ready when you are, honey!"

And they sang. For ten seconds, the Happy Birthday song filled the air, and then there was silence, which Peter broke by saying, "S-so do we leave the cupcake here, or what?"

Without a word, Lois took off the candle and broke the cake in half. She nibbled on a piece, then gave the other half to her husband, who wolfed it down. She polished her half off, again in silence.

"Fifteen," said Peter without warning. Lois gave a start.

"She would have been fifteen today, Lois." Peter's voice was unusually small. His eyes were glued to the tombstone. "What d'ya think she'd be up to by now?"

"Well, in high school, obviously." Lois took Peter's hand. "She was a straight-A student so she'd probably be in the Honors class. Maybe she'd go out for Mathletes, or-or even have a boyfriend by now, who knows? Who knows..." her voice trailed off, and she found herself staring at the tombstone too.

"Hey, you remember that time when she was four and we caught her painting the walls?" Peter said. "You were furious!"

Lois chuckled. "I know! I was fuming! Smoke coming out my ears and everything!"

"Yeah," Peter sighed. "And just when we were about to put her in the corner she went and told us she drew us! To be fair, she was pretty good for a kindergartener."

Lois nodded. "Yup. She even got your big old belly right!" She laughed at her own joke.

"And your tail!" came the retort.

Lois' jaw dropped. "Peter, for the last time, I do not have a tail!"

"Yeah. Sure you don't." Peter winked.

Lois rolled her eyes and turned back to the tombstone. After a while, she sighed and shook her head. "God, I miss her, Peter."

"I miss her too." Peter's voice turned shaky. "It's not fair, Lois. She was seven, for Chrissake! Her whole life was ahead of her! Why'd it have to happen to her? To us? Why'd she have to go like that?" He took off his glasses and shoved away a tear from his left eye.

"I don't know," Lois whispered. She put her arms around her husband and leaned her head on him; her eyes were beginning to water, too. "Who knows, anyway, at this point? Sometimes life deals us a bad card and all we can do is play it."

Peter's face turned wooden. "You know what'd be a great card? If Shannon were back there at home and she were here rotting in the—"

"No!" Lois hissed. "We've talked about this, Peter, a million times over! What happened to Shannon was horrible, yes, but it was all a very unfortunate accident. An accident that no one really wanted and would not have to exist in our family's history if no one ever brought it up." She rammed her forefinger into Peter's chest as she said those last few lines.

Peter's eyes narrowed. "How long are you going to keep playing this game, Lois?"

Lois shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what you're talking about. All I know is that even though I miss Shannon, I forgive and accept the person who did this to her with all my heart. And you should, too." She looked her husband in the face, half-expecting him to answer back.

In response, Peter checked his watch. "It's six-fifteen. We better go." He turned back to the tombstone and kissed it one last time. "'Bye, sweetie, and happy birthday! We love you so much." Lois followed suit.

Meg heard her parents' make their way to the car and knew that she should head on home too. Yet despite this, she could not bring herself to move. She spent the sunset glued behind the statue, her head swimming with the conversation she had just overheard.