[For Eddie] - January 6th

[moraldyslexic]

It didn't happen the way Lennox expected it to.

He woke up that morning, got dressed, let Hal and King out into the snow so they could relieve themselves and play a little if they wanted to. He sat on the front steps, wishing he had a cup of coffee or tea or anything warm to keep his fingers from freezing together. As the dogs jumped through

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[single_digit]

Eddie'd been up for a while when he answered the door, Lily and Emmy and little Mathieu already up at the compound. He'd gotten used to pretty early mornings these days, thanks to the presence of small children and pets.

"Hey," he said, smiling and moving aside to let Lennox inside. "What's up?"

[moraldyslexic]

Coming inside, Lennox looked for Lily and Emmy, both hoping they were gone and hoping they were there at the same time. They weren't and he didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed. Nothing felt right.

"Chris is gone," he said, because he couldn't figure out a way that made it sound less awful. Saying he'd gone home wasn't right, because Lennox didn't believe he's gone home. The island was home. "Just this morning, I woke up and he was gone."

[single_digit]

"Gone?" said Eddie, but he didn't really need Lennox to explain what he meant. Gone on the island meant... gone. "Chris? Gone? But...." It was one thing that had never really occurred to him. He'd thought that maybe one day he would wake up to find Cutter and Lennox's hut empty, but never one without the other. "Oh."

[moraldyslexic]

"Yeah," Lennox said softly, because he knew Eddie got it. And what the hell were either of them really supposed to say about it? They'd known Chris before the island, he'd been part of both their lives for a hell of a lot longer than just the past few years and that made a difference somehow.

"I, uh..." He trailed off, his nose wrinkling as he frowned deeply. "I wanted to tell you guys first. Before it starts getting around the island."