Saying goodbye to family is never easy, Mariah has only Kitty to rely upon, but even Kitty has her own motives, and she is coming up with a plan to try and help the woman who saved her.
Mariah did not want to do what had to be done, and it was only with Ian and Kitty by her side that she even managed to make it to the reading of the wills for Tad and Charlene. They met Trisha and Jake outside the lawyer's office, and with Mariah dressed in black, Kitty dressed in a grey outfit, they did look a somber bunch. They all went in to sit with the Lawyer as he went over the joint wills of the people who had mattered most to Mariah and who had now passed on.
Tad's will was complex, with a significant portion of his wealth staying in Scotland to support his extended family, however, he had a clause in the will that Charlene retained all wealth and value obtained outside of the British Isles. That amounted to a significant sum that was now passed onto Charlene.
Her will was set up that 100% of her worldly goods went to Mariah Catherine Douglas, which meant that Mariah was now very wealthy, with a number of properties to her name and no need to really work another day in her life.
After the reading of the wills, they went to the final place for Tad and Charlene. A funeral parlour where according to their wishes, both bodies were to be cremated, and their ashes combined, then scattered over the sea west of Kintyre so the two spirits would be forever joined in the space between their ancestral countries.
Mariah refused to cry, or show much emotion at all, she sat quietly as the service was read, listening and nodding where appropriate. The final pieces were read, she rose, and with a final placement of her hand over each casket, she turned, and with Kitty trailing behind her, Mariah left.
Kitty followed Mariah as she walked out of the funeral parlour, unsure of where her heroine was going, but not willing to leave her as she could see Mariah was in deep pain over the loss. She knew some of that pain, as she was hurting over the knowledge that JJ and her babies were gone to her as well, but this loss to Mariah was much deeper. Kitty had lost her parents years before, Mariah effectively had just lost her second set of parents.
She trailed behind Mariah as she walked down the path to the sidewalk, then began to walk down the road towards town. Always just a few steps behind her, not wanting to crowd her, but unwilling to let her be alone and helpless against the world.
They eventually found themselves standing on the shore of Puget Sound, and Mariah sat on a bollard beside the dock that she had found, watching the grey clouds scuttling across the sky, the waves slowly lapping at the shore, and as the rain began to fall, Mariah began to cry.
Kitty quietly came up to stand beside her, and put her hand on Mariah's shoulder, only to then find her arms full of her duplicate as Mariah fell apart on her. This was something Kitty knew how to handle, and she gathered Mariah into her arms, sitting down on the wet planks, and just held her as Mariah cried into her jacket, heedless of the now pouring rain that soaked them both, Mariah just kept on weeping.
Kitty rocked slowly, holding her copy as Mariah cried out her loss, Kitty also shed tears, letting her own loss leak out, but remaining strong, as she had to do so many times for her children, and for JJ when he had fallen apart on her in the past. She knew how to provide comfort, and she did, giving Mariah an outside strength to hold on to until she could regain her composure again.
She did not know how long she sat on the wet deck, holding Mariah in the pouring rain, but at some point, she knew Trisha and Jake were also there, as a warm woollen blanket was draped around both of the women to begin to keep some of their body heat against the cold dampness. Then Mariah was gently lifted off of Kitty and Jake carried her back to the car as Trisha helped Kitty to her feet and back to the car as well.
Kitty sat in the back, holding onto a now shivering Mariah, both of them wrapped in the blanket as the car was driven somewhere different. Kitty had no idea where they went, but she trusted that these other two knew what they were doing for Mariah, and as such, for her as well. She noticed lights outside and the car pulled into a long driveway beside a large house, lit up with lights against the darkness now falling outside.
Kitty helped Mariah out of the car and half-carried her duplicate into the house, guided by Trisha and Jake, and then into an expansive bedroom where she sat Mariah on the edge of the bed, then began to pull off the soaking clothing from her as she heard the sound of bath water running.
"I've made it quite hot, you both better get in there, or you'll get sick as well, Kitty. We'll be outside if you need anything else." Trisha said, then with a gentle kiss on her cold cheek, left Kitty to finish the task of stripping her duplicate and caring for her.
Once she had finished peeling the wet clothing off of Mariah, Kitty guided her to the bathtub, a large one that she thought looked more like a small pool than a tub, and guided her duplicate into the steaming water. After Mariah had settled, still crying softly, Kitty swiftly peeled off all of her own soaking wet clothes and slid into the hot water with a wince at the heat, but then pulled Mariah to her and held her as Mariah continued to cry.
The water slowly began to cool as Kitty held Mariah, feeling the cold in her skin and in her soul slowly warming as the water penetrated their bodies with exterior warmth. After a time, she reached over for a cloth, and after soaping it up, began to gently wash Mariah's neck and shoulders, letting the sensation alone begin to sink in, as this was something she enjoyed the feel of, so she knew Mariah would also enjoy the feeling.
"I'm glad you're here. You understand this." Mariah finally said, looking sideways at Kitty as she continued to slowly rub the wet soapy cloth over her neck and shoulders.
"I don't understand much, Mariah. Except that you need help, and I am glad to be able to offer you even a small piece of comfort." Kitty said, then tenderly kissed her duplicate on the cheek.
She helped Mariah out of the warm water and gently towelled her dry, then waited as Mariah did the same for her, then the two identical women walked out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom. Kitty went to sit on the bed, but Mariah kept walking. "Where are you going?"
"This is our home, Kitty. I need to eat, and you probably need to as well. Come on." Mariah said, opening the door.
"You said before we should not walk around naked though." Kitty replied.
"This is home, and I am comfortable here in my skin. Are you OK with that?"
Kitty nodded as she got back to her feet, and followed her nude duplicate as she walked out of the bedroom and down the warmly carpeted hallway to the kitchen area where Jake was busy cooking up some food while Trisha sat at the table, idly spinning a glass half-full of wine.
