Claire woke up in the Lab chair, glancing around the room to make sure no one was there, and she returned to her computer. Grimacing at the text open on the screen, she searched all over for a way to reverse Lilli's 'curse' permanently. But she didn't find one. And she was slowly realizing that they'd lose her very soon. Vaguely hearing the Lab door swish open, she turned her head to see who was entering. It was Eberts.

"So what does The Official want?"

"Nothing. I came here of my own free will," he answered.

"Then what do you want?"

"Lilli is our friend, and I wanted to know if I could see her..."

Claire stopped him. "Eberts, she's going through a LOT, and I'm not sure she'd feel like talking to you right now..."

Now Eberts cut her off, a hurt look crossing his face. "I'm her FRIEND. I want to comfort her since I know she may not be living in a few days."

Claire choked up. The knot that she had felt earlier in her throat tripled in size, and she found her breath coming in sobs. Eberts, being the caring man he was, led her back to the chair in the middle of the room and forced her to sit.

"Listen, you've been through a lot also. I think we just need to face it. And sooner or later, everyone's going to die, including you and me."

She took a deep, interrupted breath and sighed. There was no way out of it, and if they just left her in her present state, the symbiotic would take her over totally, and it would most likely be a painful thing for her.

"Why...why don't we both go talk to her, Eberts. I need to tell her something too."

He nodded knowingly and helped her stand.

*************************

"...Lilli?" This was the third time Claire had to call her name. She stirred in the semi-comfortable bed and turned to face her. Her hair was falling out of the small ponytail, and it looked as if the light was burning into her eyes-she squinted against it.

"Hey Claire, Eberts," she turned her head a second, listening, "Darien. What's up?"

"Lilli, I have some very bad news."

"I know. I'm gonna die anyway. But we can't risk it. I don't know what to do!"

"It's OK-"

"NO! If I don't die by next week, you're all in danger! I can't risk it! You'll have to-" she choked on her own words, finishing that thought.

"Lilli?" Darien eased himself over to her side, the quicksilver falling away from him, and he put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"-k-i-i-i-ll m-m-eeee..." she hiccuped, suddenly feeling nauseous.

Darien grabbed her head and held it to his chest, letting her hiccup and cry all she needed to. Claire sat on the end of the bed, speaking very softly.

"Lilli, I might be able to synthesize that last hormone that Meyer was going to use on you-I think it was supposed to stop the growth of the symbiotic, but keep you in a rather psychotic state..."

"N-n-no. I don't want to be insane. I want to have known I tried to live my life the best I could, and I had friends who'll care for me when I'm gone."

Eberts sat on the opposite side of Darien and put his own arm around her shoulders too. Claire looked up at the picture being displayed before her, tears refusing to stay in place.

"Lilli, you don't have a week. It's less. An hour, maybe the rest of the day at most, but not enough time..."

"The symbiotic?"

"No, I never saw it before, but there's too much R3 in your blood, and it'd painlessly killing you-"

"You made her OD?" Darien clutched Lilli's head tighter, feeling her shake in fear from the thought of dying within the hour.

"Darien, I know even less about Lilli's condition than I do yours. I don't know what to do anymore, I thought the continuos R3 would help her, but-"

"Did you say it would be painless?" Lilli's muffled voice called.

Claire swallowed the lump forming in her throat-it wouldn't go away. "Yes."

Lilli sucked in a deep breath. "Then I think I'll be OK with that."

Her three friends were shocked. Too shocked to even speak, much less comprehend fully what she had just said.

"You're what?" Darien held her out to look at her.

"I said I'm OK with it. I mean, sooner or later we're all going to die."

They all took that into thought and decided they'd let her do what she needed to do-or at least what she wanted to be done...

*************************

The hours passed by slowly, Lilli's state deteriorating with each move of the second-hand of the clock mounted on the wall. It was so quiet that she could hear every little tick from inside the clock, along with her slowing heartbeat. Hobbes and everyone else, including Charlie, were standing by her bed, silently offering her comfort with the touch of a hand. Her eyelids were too heavy to keep open, and she allowed them to fall, slowly letting go and hearing a short prayer from Bobby, feeling five short kisses on her cheek. Enveloped in the love of her friends, Lilli Andrews passed on.

*************************

Sadness weighed heavy in the Lab, everyone's face shining with silent tears for Lilli. Hobbes gently lifted the pure white sheet covering Lilli's body over her peaceful face, sobs beginning to wrack his whole form. He fell on his knees, his face buried in his palms and his sobs strengthening, overtaking him.

Darien was next, his whole body quicksilvering in loss of control over his emotions. Drops of quicksilver hit the floor repeatedly, revealing his tears of anguish.

Claire stepped to him, hugging his freezing body and crying into him, her own tears turning to ice on his chest. Bobby stood up slowly, mechanically, and he joined her, as well as Eberts and Charlie, creating an odd circle of sadness. They stayed that way even after Darien had calmed down a bit, shimmering back into view.

Silently, one by one, they all left the room to Bobby. He stood by the bedside for some time, holding her limp, cold, lifeless hand.

"I'll miss you, Lilli," he whispered.

Part 4:

Days turned into weeks, everyone at the Agency was low on humor, and high on a feeling of loss. Bobby had to go to Karyn Andrews' house to inform her that her daughter was dead, and he barely made it through "Hello." Karyn had handled it pretty well, most likely losing it completely after he left. He had an extremely hard time getting out of her driveway.

*************************

"So, how are you today?" Darien sauntered into the Lab; hands thrust deep in his pockets. Claire looked up from her notes, blonde hair swinging in front of her eyes, and she tucked the stubborn strands behind her ears. "I'm better, Thank-you."

He looked over her shoulder. "Whatcha workin on?"

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that."

"And what would this and that be?"

"I'm going over what I did wrong," she looked extremely guilty, and he pursed his lips at her.

"Claire, don't worry about it any more. She's probably in a better place now. Don't worry about it," he repeated. It did help her feel better hearing him try to comfort her like this. She smiled sheepishly.

"Thanks."

"No prob. Well, how about lunch? I'm starvin, feel like Mexican?"

Claire opened her drawer and shoved the papers in it. "Sure. How about that restaurant down the street that just opened? I'm sure we can walk that far..."

"OK, get your stuff and let's go."

She gathered up her purse and he led her out the sliding door.

"You're paying, right?" he grinned, only to be hit in the bicep by her purse. "Ow!"

*************************

Hobbes had visited her grave for the past week, placing fresh, red roses and carnations on her tombstone. He vowed not to shed another tear over her, but broke it many times, never realizing that he liked her that much. He also decided he'd dwell on losing her less, and more on what time he had with her. Her smile, her laugh, her jokes, her hair, her eyes... She was a wonderful person, and that's what her wanted to remember about her. Hopefully those memories wouldn't fade away like Darien quicksilvering. She'd at least live on in Bobby's mind. He smiled at that, turning from her grave with one last glance. *Lilli Andrews-beloved friend and daughter- 1976-2000. *

*************************

There's a Chinese proverb that says, "Shed no tears until seeing the coffin." It is a little hard to follow that, considering how much we felt for her at the moment. It wasn't right for her to die so soon. I only wish Lilli were here to be with us. You have no idea how much we miss her. But I keep thinking, would she want us to be fussing over this? The answer is no. She'd want us to get on with our lives and keep her in our memory, but not worry about it so much that our hair falls out. Well, most of us don't really need to worry about that anyway...

**********

The end...