I would like to dedicate this fic to the memory of Timothy Scott, who played the original Mr. Mistoffelees on Broadway and passed away from AIDS on February 24th, 1988. Though he left this world before I was born he seemed like such an amazing person and yet hardly anyone seems to give him any recognition.
I plan to change that. I've been looking on here for any sort of story with the Original Broadway Cast playing the characters and came up with nothing so if no one else will write about him then I WILL. He has been such an inspiration to me and deserves respect.
If you don't know what they look like there's links to pictures on my profile, and also a link where you can find a BOATLOAD of OBC photos! :D I'm sorry I can't post them right here on the story for your convenience...FF Won't let me. :(
I do not own CATS. (Shame... :( ) It is property of T.S. Elliot, Andrew Lloyd Webber and RUG.
Anyway, by now you all probably want me to just shut up and get to the story, so here it is.
The white queen sat on a bed in her best friend's den, watching the tom below her fight for every breath. The rest of the Jellicles had piled every blanket they could find in the junkyard on top of him yet it hadn't appeared to help. She could still see him shivering slightly because of his fever that had been plaguing him. His grey and white forehead was wet with sweat. To think that this was the tom who was once so strong and free! No one would know it now. He was unrecognizable.
Mistoffelees was sick. He was very sick. Victoria had been here with him for awhile now. It killed her to see him like this. What was worse was knowing she was powerless to help him; angry with herself for feeling so helpless. This was the tom that had been like an older brother to her! After all the things he had done for her, she couldn't repay him when he needed her the most?
The others had tried to tell her not to be so hard on herself. No else knew what was wrong with him. But still they understood why she felt the way she did. No matter how hard it was to see him here now, she had to stay with him. The least she could do was stay by his side.
The rest had begun preparing for the worst. They knew that Mistoffelees wouldn't be here with them for much longer. And despite their desperate attempts to cure him of his mysterious illness, he had been growing worse.
Victoria was holding on to whatever hope she had left, trying to forget what she knew deep down in her heart. He wasn't going to get any better. She would lose him. She didn't want to accept it. She couldn't. If she lost her best friend, she'd lose a part of herself. She couldn't even imagine her life without him by her side.
She let the memories take her back. Back to a time when he was healthy. They had been inseparable friends. "Siblings by love, not blood"; That's what Misto had told her one time. She had always loved the way he described themselves together. Of course she had agreed.
Her mind went back to all the times she heard him sing. That one moment every year when she would signify the beginning of the Jellicle Ball with her traditional dance. At his cue he'd run up behind her and begin to sing, his beautiful voice ringing so clearly throughout the Yard. The rest of the Jellicles would eventually join in after him, the whole invitation seeming so...magical.
And how could she forget the time he entertained Bustopher Jones with his puppet show about Mungojerrie And Rumpleteazer? Well, really it was just Etcetera and Coricopat pretending to be puppets. The kittens would always ask for a retelling of that story. It quickly became one of their favorites. He loved how happy it made them whenever he sang it to them, even though sometimes he wasn't feeling up to it, given his health at the time. But it was worth it just to see them happy. Victoria would smile as they cheered while he danced for them.
And of course all the times the two of them danced together. He had loved dancing so much they didn't need wait for any Jellicle Ball to perform together. The tom seemed to dance constantly, and he never ceased to amaze her or anyone else with his incredible talents.
"Vicki?" a soft, strained voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up at the head of the bed and saw that Mistoffelees had awakened. She crawled nearer to him, leaning in close. "I'm here, Misto, I'm here. What is it?"
Misto lifted his head as much as he could, his blue eyes meeting Victoria's brown. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, Victoria realizing just how sick he actually looked. He'd lost so much weight over the course of his sickness the bones in his face were showing. But looking into her best friend's eyes was the most heartbreaking part. She could see the pain that filled them. She remembered the time when they were so happy; so bright. But now...
The light in his beautiful blue eyes was dying.
"I have to go, Vicki." he finally said.
Victoria could feel tears starting to build. She already had a feeling of what his sentence meant, but still she asked "Where?"
"I...can't...take it anymore." he whimpered, starting to cry as well. "I wanna go to Heaviside."
She sat up on his bed again. Hearing this was horrible. To hear that her best friend was in so much pain that he actually wanted to go to Heaviside. Victoria was at a loss for words. She didn't even know how she could comfort him. All she could do was let her tears fall. She looked down on the bed, away from his gaze.
The tuxedo laid his head back down. He couldn't hold it up for long, he was so weak.
"Vicki?" he asked her again, after she was silent for awhile.
She sniffed, looking up at him a little."Yes Misto?"
He smiled at her, though only slightly. Still it was enough to make Victoria smile and forget the painful reality for a moment. Every time Mistoffelees smiled she had to, too. He just had that kind of contagious one. If only she could see him smile the way he used to!
"Thank you."
Now her smile was a little puzzled. She cocked her head slightly. "For what?"
"For everything. For...always...being there...for me. You never...gave up on...me when...I doubted...myself." It was becoming more difficult for him to get enough breath to speak. "And" his eyes began to fill with tears again. "When you...accepted me..."
"Oh, Misto, why wouldn't I accept you? I would love you as a brother no matter who you loved."
Mistoffelees had a long awhile ago fallen for Grizabella's brother Norman. Norman felt the same. Victoria was the first Jellicle he told, though he was still scared to reveal his long-kept secret.
"You were...the only one...for awhile."
"I know. I couldn't understand why the others felt the way they did. It shouldn't matter. It doesn't change who you are. What you are to me. The fact that I was the first to know means you trust me more than everyone else. For Heaviside's sake you told me even before you and Norman told your parents! Just that alone means so much to me."
Mistoffelees gave her that slight smile again. "Thanks, Vicki." he said, and closed his eyes. Victoria smiled back sadly.
There was another silence, though this time it seemed so...peaceful.
"Victoria..." Mistoffelees began, weaker than before.
Victoria froze as fear suddenly washed over her. Misto had never called her by her full name, unless it was something he deemed serious. When they were just chatting together, it was always, always, 'Vicki'.
She swallowed hesitantly, dreading to answer. "Yes, Mistoffelees?"
"Say goodbye...to the others...for me."
Victoria began to panic. "What? No, no, no you can't-"
"Tell Nommie...tell Nommie how...much I...loved him."
"No, Misto, you can't! You can't do this! Not now!" But Misto wouldn't listen to her.
"Everlasting...Everlasting's gonna...take...me...soon." There it was...his real smile now spreading across his face. "I know it."
At this moment she hated seeing that smile. Not when he was about to leave her.
"Misto...please..." The white queen was reduced to tears. She lowered her head, unable to look at him anymore. "I'm not ready to let you go. I'll never be ready. I don't know how I'll live without you...I need you..."
"I love you, Vicki..." The faintest whisper from Mistoffelees.
"Please, don't go..." She whimpered, although she knew it was useless. Her "Brother By Love" was leaving her, and she could do nothing to stop it. She cried to herself softly.
When she finally got the courage to look at him again, he appeared to be asleep.
"Misto?" He didn't answer her.
"She leaned over him. "Misto?" She began to worry when he didn't respond to his name. She shook him slightly. "Wake up..."
And then she suddenly noticed how still her friend was. And quiet. She couldn't hear any of his breaths anymore.
No, he couldn't be...
"No, please...don't do this to me! Mistoffelees!" She continued to shake him, though she knew in her heart he was already gone. She just didn't want to believe it.
Victoria sat up and buried her face in her paws, sobbing. This had to be a nightmare; It had to be. It was too terrible to be true.
"Everlasting Cat, let it be just a nightmare." she desperately pleaded over and over. "Everlasting, please, let this just be a nightmare!"
She woke up with a start in the junkyard. It took her a moment to get oriented with her surroundings. She looked around the yard and saw various Jellicles sleeping peacefully.
Just as in the nightmare, she buried her face in her paws and began to cry. Not only because it had been awful but now she was also weeping with relief that it was over.
"Vicki? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" asked a familiar worried voice.
Victoria stopped in surprise and turned her head toward the direction of the voice.
There sat Mistoffelees. He looked healthy again! The light was back in his incredible blue eyes as they pierced through Victoria. There was concern in them as he wondered what could be troubling his best friend.
Wordlessly she fell into him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close. Misto was initially taken aback a little by how forcefully she grabbed onto him, but then placed a comforting paw on her shoulder. Victoria was crying so hard that she couldn't speak for awhile, so he just held her and patiently waited.
"I...I had a nightmare, Misto...you were so sick...I couldn't save you; no one could." She paused a bit as she sniffed."What that...that thing inside you did to you..." anger in her voice now, "It took you from me. It was so awful."
"Shh...it's alright" Mistoffelees soothed. "It was just a nightmare. And it's over now. I'm right here, Vicki. Don't cry."
Her tears eventually subsided. They were both silent for a moment after. Victoria closed her eyes, taking in her best friend's presence. She could feel the warmth of his body as he held her close, his breath softly brushing against her. It was so relieving to hear that he wasn't gasping for them anymore. They were coming normally. She could feel his gentle touch on her shoulder as he rubbed it slowly, comfortingly. She let herself become lost in the moment, so thankful he was alive.
Eventually she had to break their embrace. Something important had crossed her mind. "Mistoffelees, I need to tell you something. The nightmare made me realize how much I needed to thank you. Thank you for being there for all the times I felt alone. For all the times I cried. For being the one I always know I can trust and count on. Thank you for never letting me down. Thank you for being like the big brother I never had."
"Hey, what about all the things you did for me?" Mistoffelees said playfully with his signature grin. "You're like the little sister I never had. I mean, the times you defended me for falling In love with Norman. I'll be forever grateful for that. I'm forever grateful for you."
"Victoria smiled. "Me too". Although the smile quickly left her when she remembered the reason she told him those things.
"I knew you needed to hear that before...before the monster takes you. The nightmare reminded me how I much I needed you. I don't want to lose you, Misto...I can't imagine you gone from me. I can't imagine seeing my nightmare come true; seeing you so sick." Her voice was beginning to break again.
"Well, that monster's not gonna take me for awhile. At least, I'm not planning on it." He chuckled a bit. "But when it does..." he continued softly, becoming more serious "I want you to remember that you'll see me again. I won't be gone from your life forever. We'll meet again in Heaviside."
"But I'll just have to leave you again when I start my new life." Victoria protested.
"When your nine lives are through, you'll stay with me forever in Heaviside. We'll never be apart again."
Victoria nestled into her best friend with a sigh and closed her eyes. He always had a way of making even the worst of her worries disappear.
"I love you so much." she breathed quietly.
Her best friend closed his eyes, the grin reappearing. "Love you too, Vic."
Just to clarify, Norman is Betty Buckley's (Broadway Grizabella's!) real-life younger brother. And he and Tim really did fall in love with each other. I think Nommie can be a nickname for Norman but I'm not sure.
This story was also inspired by a nightmare I had where my mom was dying of cancer. I kept praying "Please God, let it just be a nightmare." Sure enough, I woke up. :D
Rest in peace, Timothy. I pray your nightmare is over.