I'll Remember
A/N: This is a 9/11 tribute story I thought of while writing "Hide and Seek." I've decided to put it up in honor of those who were lost on that terrible day and their families who are missing their loved ones every day. I hope that you enjoy this story.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are owned by Nickelodeon Studios. Aubree Hennigan and her family belong to me.
Summary: Aubree reflects on the terrible day when she lost her father and how her life has been without him. A tribute to those who were lost on September eleventh and their loved ones who are trying to get through it one day at a time.
I really never thought my father would die the way he did. Whenever we talked about it, he always joked that he would live to a ripe old age and would die when I was already gone myself. Of course, being a cop had risks, and we all knew that things could go wrong at any time. But I never thought that he would die while trying to save others from one of the worst terrorist attacks in the history of our country.
The day started out like any other. I got up and got ready for school. Dad asked if I wanted to ride with him, and I decided it was a good idea. I often reflect on that last ride, though at the time I didn't know it was going to be the last car ride I had with him. We just listened to music and talked a little about things. When we got to my school, I leaned over and gave him a hug and kiss like I always did before I left.
"You have a good day, Annie," Dad said. "I'll see you tonight."
"Okay, Dad, see you then," I replied. "Love you."
"Love you, too, sweetie." He gave me another hug and kiss and waved as I left the car and went to the building. I looked back and saw his smiling face before he pulled away.
That was the last time I saw my father alive.
The day was pretty uneventful at first, and I didn't think that anything was going to happen. Then as I was entering my math class, I saw that my teacher had the television on and that it was set to the news. This never happened, so I knew that something was wrong.
"What happened?" I asked my teacher.
"A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center," he replied.
I was shocked, but I thought that maybe it was just an accident. Maybe the pilot fell asleep at the wheel or had passed out from diabetic shock. We continued to watch the coverage and gasped when a second plane hit the second tower. That was when we realized this wasn't a coincidence. We were being attacked. They reported that police officers were being dispatched to help rescue the victims. My thoughts immediately went to my father. I knew that he'd be in the buildings helping out anyone that he could.
But when the first building went down, my heart sank. I really hoped my father wasn't in that building and that he'd gotten out safely. The coverage continued throughout the day, and none of us had class because of it. When the second building went down, we knew this wasn't good. People had died, and all I could do was hope that none of them were my father.
Near the end of the day I was called to the office. My mother was there, her face drawn in an expression that made my eyes widen in fear. She didn't even need to tell me what was wrong because I already knew by the look on her face.
My father was dead.
Mom took my hand. "Aubree, I just got a call from the police station. Your father was in the first tower when it fell down. They're going to try and see if they can recover his body."
"No," I whispered. "Maybe it's a mistake, Mom. Maybe he got out, and they just didn't see him. He has to be out there."
Mom shook her head. "They didn't see him at the station when they did a roll call after they got back. I'm afraid he's gone, sweetie."
I kept shaking my head, trying to deny what my mother was saying. Dad was a great cop. He was one of the best and knew what to do in an emergency. He just couldn't be dead. It wasn't possible.
Mom took me home where Ben and David were already. Greg was still out in California, but he was going to be coming back home soon. I looked at my brothers who both had different expressions on their faces. Ben's face was full of shock and sadness while David's held only anger.
That was the day that changed everything for us. David joined the military and was actually deployed to Afghanistan two years later. Ben and I became police officers in honor of our father's memory. I wanted to do something that would make him proud of me, and I felt that being a police officer would be the best thing to do.
The funeral was the worst part because we had no body to bury. We had a pot of ashes made to represent him, and that's what we buried in the cemetery. It was so hard for all of us, but especially for my mother and for me. I was Daddy's little girl, and it was hard for me to imagine a life without him in it. That night, I almost made a dreadful mistake, but Ben was right there to stop me and let me know that what I was going to do wasn't the answer to the problem. He told me that I was being selfish and that I had to think about what Dad would want. He made me realize that I had to keep on living for my father because that's what he would have wanted for me to do. So I hugged my brother and cried out all the tears. He soothed me and told me that we'd get through it one day at a time.
And that's exactly what we did.
22222
"Whoa, Aub, that's gotta suck," Raph whispered as I finished telling my story.
"Yeah, I don't know what we'd do if Master Splinter were to die," Leo added. "We'd probably be lost."
"But you'd go on," I remarked. "That's what Master Splinter would want you to do. That's what I did after my dad died. It was hard, but I did it because I knew it was what he would've wanted. Sometimes you can't just think of yourself all the time."
"True, but it would be tough," Mikey remarked.
"We'd have each other though," Don pointed out. "And that's important for all of us. Splinter would want us to do that if anything happened to him. He wouldn't want us to fall apart."
I nodded. "Yeah, that's how I felt, too," I answered. "I was glad to have Ben by my side. He was really my rock in that moment. He kept me together and stopped me from doing something really stupid."
"Well, he didn't stop you from going after Rosolli," Mikey teased me.
I smiled. "Yeah, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met you guys." I ran my hands over the tombstone that had my father's name on it. "I think my dad would've liked you guys. He probably would've had a lot of fun with you."
Leo put a hand on my shoulder. "And I'm sure we would've liked him, too," he responded. "He sounded like a great person."
"He was," I said softly. I bent down and kissed the tombstone. "I love you, Dad," I whispered. "I'll always remember you."
Then I turned and left with my new friends. Sure, my dad was gone, but he'd created some wonderful memories. And if I hadn't had the strength to go on, I never would've met the Turtles or Splinter. Dad would be proud of me and all that I had accomplished. The best thing I could do was to keep his memory alive because that's what he would want me to do.
The End
A/N: I know it's kind of short, but I carried it out as long as I could. So now you know more about Aubree and what happened to her father on that tragic day. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day. And please pause to remember the victims of that fateful attack for just one moment out of your day.