The Douglas Legacy 2.2

But Emily just couldn't run away from the situation. She was more hurt and sad by the sudden death of her grandmother than scared of the immortal being who came to separate her grandmother's immortal soul from it's mortal frame.

Cody and his parents were hurting as well, but Cody seemed to realize that maybe even the reaper himself was upset by the situation.

But no, it seems he was only gathering his powers to complete his burdensome task. Karim just wanted to get the shiny green thing off of his face.

Jeremy went to visit Chris and Chace at their house to inform them of what happened and to get some kind of consolation those at home were not able to give him.

Karim did try to comfort his family, but he was only able to do so much. He couldn't be there for everyone simultaneously.

Emily had a birthday, but the family was much too upset to have a celebration.

Erin looked on at Emily standing beside the empty buffet table that had been purchased so she could have a big sweet sixteen party before the tragedy.

Jack wanted to try and keep his family going strong, so he invited Chris and Chace over for their birthdays and had a party for them.

He knew that it was something Ruby would have wanted. She really loved having parties for their family.

They invited a small group of family friends over for the celebration and Chace blew out his candles, giving everyone an aloof look. He was more upset than he let them realize, over the years he had learned to shut himself off from his emotions.

Karim watched uneasily while his wife prepared a meal for their guests. At least she had her paramedic uniform on. It was fireproof so she would be safe if the stove did happen to burst into flame.

Suddenly Jack realized that he was looking down at his family and he seemed to be floating well above the floor.

His children and grandchildren gathered around the table and watched as he turned a ghostly shade of white.

The Grim Reaper returned, standing back reverently while Jack gave his family a lingering look.

Jeremy decided he was tired of all this. They were just barely managing to hold things together through his mother's death, but now with his dad gone he wasn't sure what he was going to do.

They looked over at Grim, upset by his presence. They wanted so much to get rid of the bringer of doom, but they knew that was impossible. He was much too powerful.

Cody hid his face in his hands, not wanting to see Grim anymore. Jeremy wanted to as well, but he knew that he had to hold things together for the family.

Sensing the families hostility towards him, Grim told them that they'd better cool it or Jeremy would be next. He plotted possible ways to make that happen as he floated around their house....

...gathering up their dirty dishes.

Karim cautiously approached Grim, thanking him for cleaning up.

He said that it was the least he could do, considering how much they'd been through lately.

Cody cautiously approached as well and Grim turned to him, telling him how he was only doing his job and just how necessary it was to control the overpopulation problem.

That night Ruby decided to pay the family a visit, just to see how they were coping with everything. She sat down to play a game of chess with Pearl.

And then took a nap in one of the spare bedrooms.

Cody attempted to go on, pretending that everything was okay but he eventually began venting his pent up emotions on his friends, unable to hold it in any longer.

Erin grew up without any fuss. The family just couldn't bring themselves to celebrate.