TITLE: It's So Hard To Say Good-bye
AUTHOR: Ragna (writinggoddess@aol.com)
RATING: FRC
CLASSIFICATION: Angst fic.
SPOILERS: Set in the future...
DISTRIBUTION: Any sites with my fic up; you all have unspoken permission. I write it, you can post it. Everyone else just keep my name on it and let me know.
DISCLAIMER: If you don't recognize it, chances are it's my own creation. If you do, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kazui Sandollar, FOX and the WB own it or them. I'm just holding Spike and Riley hostage. Carolyn's got Xander, May's got Oz & Giles, Cathryn's got Ethan & Wesley, Melissa has Forrest, Shelly has Angel, and Gillian has Doyle. You may see them by appointment only. The song is ‘It's So Hard To Say Good-Bye To Yesterday’ by Boyz II Men.
FEEDBACK: Sorry I'm not home right now I'm walking in the spiderwebs so leave a message and I'll call you back...in other words, I want it. Don't care if it's onlist or not.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I know I don't name a single charachter. You pick who you think would be there, you know?

And this fic is dedicated to one of the best people I ever met, May-Lin Martinsen. She was hurt in a car accident recently. I found out that she talked about those of us in hher RPG, and I am glad to be able to say I knew her.

It's also dedicated to Cathryn, Carolyn, Gillian, Mandy, Nikki, Erica, Robbie...we all miss you, May! Come back soon!

***

They stood around, not knowing what to say or do. It was a horrendous time.

But it was a beautiful day. The sun was out, and there was the faint smell of lilac in the air. One woman stepped up, her hair glinting in the sun, as she began to sing.

"How do I say good-bye to what we had? The good times that made us laugh outweigh the bad."

The others faced the casket, not sure what to do or say. They were a motley crew, and no one thought they would have some together for anything at all.

But they did.

"I thought we'd get to see forever but forever's gone away. It's so hard to say good-bye to yesterday."

The flowers weren't tossed on the casket, just carefully laid there, in a reverential way. She had been their friend, their confidant...and now she was gone.

Things were never going to be the same because she was gone, and they all knew it.

"I don't know where this road is going to lead. All I know is where we've been and what we've been through."

It was something they couldn't accept, something they just couldn't. If they did they knew it would hurt too much. So they were surviving.

And surviving was something they were good at.

"If we get to see tomorrow I hope it's worth all the wait. It's so hard to say good-bye to yesterday."

They were crying now, all of them. And they didn't care. It was a way for them to grieve. Grieving was good.

They looked away from the casket, looking around anywhere but at each other.

"And I'll take with me the memories, to be my sunshine after the rain. It's so hard to say good-bye to yesterday."

And then they all felt an urge to look up at the sky, which was filled with a vibrant, beautiful rainbow.

The tears slowly lessened as they took each other's hands and walked away from the casket, giving each other the support they were going to need.

"And I'll take with me the memories to be my sunshine after the rain. It's so hard to say good-bye to yesterday."