A/N: For Tara... 'cause I HAVE TO FIX EVERYTHING.

Flowers for a Ghost: Chapter 1

"Dear, Sean…" Alex scribbles hastily. She took one look at her messy handwriting and instantly drew a thick black line through the paper, unable to write more.

No amount of words could ever express how much she loved him or how much she missed his touch everyday. It had been almost a year now since the war was fought and won. Amanda was no longer a threat, the shop was extinguished and the memorials were in place... all except one. Alex frowned, thinking back... The world was beginning to shine again, but somewhere deep, buried under the rumble of Division laid a token she could never get back: her heart.

"I'm sorry, Sean." Alex whispers quietly to herself. She had given him everything, laid it all out on the line at the last minute, but there were still moments of regret.

From the heavens, a bright light cracked through her curtains, shinning a radiant warmth upon her skin. Alex smiled and glanced out her window, picturing a vision of Sean seated outside on her fire escape. She watched him with a gleaming eye as he motioned for her to join him, ravel at the sky and share this last sunset together.

Despite his appearance, Alex shook her head and gazed at his magnificent form. "This isn't right." Alex tells him, conflicted. She carefully climbed out the window and sat down next to him, trying her best to avoid his gaze. "I can't keep meeting you here..."

Sean smirked at her, his smug expression always drawing her attention. "If you really believed that, you wouldn't be thinking about me."

"I'll always be thinking about you." Alex admits. She cracked him a smile and glanced in his direction, wishing he was real. "But this doesn't make it right..." She sighs. "If they knew I was still talking to you, they'd think I was crazy."

"Who cares?" Sean argues. "You never cared what people thought about you anyway." He winks.

"That's true." Alex smirks. She shook her head fondly at the memories and gazed at the sky, embracing all the rays of the sun. "You always knew me so well, didn't you?" Alex smiles.

"Not always." Sean admits.

Alex frowned, feeling another moment of regret. "It's not fair..." She whispers sadly. She turned to glance at Sean, her eyes squinting in the lowering sunlight. "We were supposed to have more time..."

"Life isn't fair." Sean replies matter-of-factly.

"Says you." Alex rolls her eyes. She always hated that phrase, even though it was true.

Sean smirked at her, knowing he was right. He was always right, and she was stubborn. She didn't want to accept the facts, or let him go...

After awhile Alex sighed and turned to face Sean again, a serious look in her eyes. "I miss you..." She says sadly.

"Why?" Sean questions. "I'm not going anywhere."

She sighed again, not wanting to admit this, but she could no longer hide the truth from him, not after everything they've been through. "Sometimes I can't see you anymore." Alex says, frowning. "And it scares me because I think I'm forgetting about you."

"That's good." Sean replies. He appreciated her honesty. "Means, you don't need me."

"But I do." Alex argues. She looked him directly in the eyes, almost pleading with him now. "I need you."

"No, you don't." Sean retorts. "You've never needed me, or anyone..." He frowns. "But that doesn't mean you should live your life alone." He says glancing toward the street. "And I wouldn't want you to."

Alex followed his gaze, catching the sight of a silver KIA pulling up to her apartment building. "Come with me." She says hopefully. "You don't have to be alone either."

"You know I can't." Sean frowns. "But they can..."

Alex narrowed her eyes at the sound of a car door slamming below her. She briefly looked toward her front door and shook her head defiantly as a giant gust of wind blew in her hair; always having to be the stubborn one.

They were running out of time. Alex knew any minute now a knock would follow but she didn't care, she stopped caring for a lot of things after he died...

"I don't care about them..." Alex tries to argue. "I care about you!" She exclaims, looking back at him but he was gone. "Sean?" Alex looks around confused. Her eyes grew wide, there was no response. "Sean!" Alex screams.

She watched him disappear again with all his good intentions, leaving her with half of his heart, and a hole in hers.

Another strong gust of wind blew against her skin. She shuddered, panicking as she called out his name in agony. "Sean!" Alex cries. She stood up on her fire escape and leaned against the thick railing, calling his name again. "Don't go..." Alex whispers sadly.

She desperately waited for a sign from him, but there was none. All she could hear were the sounds of the bustling city below her, followed by the annoying sound of her name...

"Alex?" Nikita's voice called her. She knocked on the door, patiently waiting for Alex's answer. "Are you ready to go?"

Alex glanced toward her door in frustration, wishing for once Nikita wouldn't be on time. "Ugh." She groans. She glanced back to the spot she had imagined Sean sitting in and frowned at the empty sight. "No." Alex mumbles to herself as another cold gust of wind blew in her hair. She shivered, no longer feeling Sean's warm presence. "Why did you have to go?" Alex cries, she never wanted to leave his side.

After another moment of silence, Nikita called out Alex's name again. She was starting to get worried. "Alex? Are you home? I thought I told you we were coming to pick you up... Alex? Don't make me kick down this door, you know I can." Nikita smirks.

"Dammit, Nikita. HOLD ON!" Alex shouts through her window. "I'm coming!"

"Okay, gezz you don't need to yell at me." Nikita retorts.

Alex sighed and carefully climbed through her window, she made her way toward the front door and greeted her friend, "I know, I'm sorry..."

Nikita frowned at her friend, not liking her attitude. "What happened to you?" She asks. "You look like you were in a tornado."

"I was just outside..." Alex replies as Nikita attempts to fix her tousled hair. "So I didn't hear you the first time."

"On the fire escape?" Nikita asks. Alex shrugged and walked away from her friend, heading toward her bedroom to grab a coat. "Alex..." Nikita frowns. She followed her friend into the room and stopped to block her path. "It's been too long."

"What are you talking about?" Alex plays dumb. "I just wanted to get some fresh air."

"Alex, you and I both know the fire escape is your special hiding spot." Nikita glares at her. "You only go there when something is wrong... Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"You wanna know what's wrong?" Alex laughs. She disappeared into her closet and emerged with a pile of coats. "I have enough clothes to probably clothe every single starving kid in this city, yet I can't decide which one to wear to this stupid thing tonight."

"It's not a stupid thing..." Nikita retorts. "You're getting an award for all your hard work with the UN. You should be proud of yourself. I know I am." Nikita smiles. She picked up a simple black coat from the pile of clothes Alex had thrown on top of her bed and handed it to her friend. "How 'bout this one?"

"Wait, no!" Alex grabbed it immediately and hugged the fabric close to her.

"Okay... now I know something is definitely wrong." Nikita glares at her. She took a step around the bed and gently took the jacket away from Alex's hands. "Talk to me Alex."

"You're going to think I'm crazy..." Alex tries to avoid the question, but Nikita crossed her arms and stayed put, pestering her friend further.

"Alex..." Nikita frowns. She flipped the jacket over in her hands and inspected the tag on the inside. "Is this-"

"Nikita, please..." Alex begs her to drop the subject.

"Sean's?" Nikita asks. Alex nodded sadly and sat down on her bed, on the verge of tears. "Oh Alex," Nikita feels guilty. She walked over to her friend and sat down on the bed next to Alex, trying her best to comfort the young girl. "It's okay to talk about him."

"No, I know..." Alex shakes away her stubborn tears. She sighed, knowing she could never hide things from Nikita.

"What is it?" Nikita asks, concerned.

Alex gave her a look then suddenly stood up, making her way toward the windows in her living room. "I saw him..." Alex finally admits. She stood in front of the windows, eyeing the metal railings on her fire escape and sighed. "Nikita, he was sitting right there." She says, pointing toward a cold shadow cast upon her red brick walls. "Next to me... and for a moment, I believed everything was perfect..." She frowns. "And then, just like that... he was gone..."

Nikita walked up behind Alex, wishing she could trade places with the girl. Alex sighed and turned to face Nikita, a single tear running down her cheek. "That jacket is the only reminder I have left of him..."

Nikita didn't know what to say to Alex. She knew anything she could say Alex would just throw it back in her face and continue to wallow away, always the stubborn one. So instead, Nikita sighed, backing away to give her friend a little space.

Alex appreciated it. She glanced out her window again, watching the last of the sun set behind the towering New York skyline. "I know it sounds crazy." Alex sighs, "But I want to believe that he's still out there... watching over me." She smiles at the thought. "Like my own personal guardian angel."

"I don't think its crazy at all." Nikita smiles at her friend. Alex looked at her confused, waiting for a better explanation. "You know, in the beginning, I used to see Daniel too." Nikita admits.

Alex looked at her surprised. "Really?" She asks.

Nikita nodded. "And sometimes I still see Ryan."

Alex smiled, taking in that thought. After a moment of silence she turned to stare out her window again, fixing her eyes on a small American flag waving in the distance. The sight of it reminding her of everything Sean stood for.

After another moment, Nikita looked at her watch. She hated having to break Alex away from her thoughts but it was getting late, and if they didn't leave soon, they'd be late for her awards ceremony.

"Alex..." Nikita begins to say. "It's getting late." She places Sean's jacket on a chair next to Alex and walked toward the door. "We should go, Michael is waiting for us downstairs."

"Can I have one more minute?" Alex asks. She gave Nikita a look, pleading for more time. "I'll meet you downstairs… I just need to grab one last thing before we go."

"Okay." Nikita gives her a smile, "I'll see you soon." On that note, Nikita quietly slips through the door, giving Alex a moment alone.

After Nikita left, Alex returned her gaze toward the windows in her living room. She took a step forward, poking her head out into the fire escape. "Sean?" She calls out. "Are you there?" No response. Alex sighed and closed her window, knowing it was wishful thinking he would appear whenever she wanted him to.

Time was slowly ticking by again, Alex knew it was time to go. She took a deep breath and picked up Sean's coat off the chair Nikita had laid it on, hugging it close to her body. She could almost feel his warmth again, along with his scent. With a heavy heart, Alex dragged her feet toward the door. She passed by the note she had hastily scribbled Sean's name on top of and picked it up.

"Dear Sean..." Alex reads. She opened her door and turned around, whispering into her loft, "If you change your mind... I'll be waiting for you, forever and always."

A/N: Tell me the truth, did you cry? If so... GOOD! My sole intention for this story is to rip your hearts out, because Sean Pierce deserves some mourning... Rest in peace, boy scout.

Continue? Of course... that shouldn't be a question. I write too much for this to be a one shot. Please Review.