Chapter 1: Goodbye

The alarm echoed the room loudly. A hand slammed on it before it could do any real harm. She rolled back over and into the arms of her lover. Meryl slowly opened her eyes. Johnny was still fast asleep. Without disturbing him, she snuck out of bed and into the bathroom.

She snatched a box hidden in one of the cabinets and slowly pulled out a pregnancy test from the box.

Johnny slowly woke up as he could hear the sound of Meryl taking the test. In doubt, he remained in bed.

Meryl waited a few more seconds and then checked the results. "Negative." Meryl closed her eyes. "Damn it." She heard Johnny roll over. "You awake?"

Johnny slowly turned around. "I don't know what's going on." Meryl sat on the bed. "We checked with several doctors. I'm not sterile. You're completely health. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to have a baby."

Meryl sighed. "Maybe we're just unlucky." Both remained silent. Meryl looked at the clock. "Come on, love. We've got to go."

The two dressed up for a grim occasion. Both in complete back. Johnny glanced at Meryl. "You're wearing a suit? Why?"

Meryl started putting make-up on. "To hide my man arms."

Johnny tilted his head. "You don't have man arms!" Meryl gave Johnny a glance. Johnny rolled his eyes. "Okay, so you do. Who cares? You're the most attractive woman I've met." He hugged her as she continued to put make-up on.

"Johnny". Johnny made a noise as if he were listening. "I'm making myself a promise. I'm not going to cry."

"It's okay to cry."

The two walked out of their apartment and quickly moved to the limo that awaited them. Meryl opened the newspaper. Across it, it read, "Legend, Solid Snake, is Dead." Meryl quickly closed it and threw the paper on the floor of the limo. The driver spoke soon after. "It'll be a while. Are you alright ma'am?"

Meryl nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Be sure to thank my father for sending us this limo."

For the rest of the drive, Meryl and Johnny were resting on each other.

As soon as they both arrived, the stood in front of Campbell's mansion. Both walked in in a swift pace. As soon as they entered, the handful of people they expected to be there were the only people in the house. Campbell, Mei Ling, Sunny, Raiden, Rose, and John. Otacon was nowhere to be found.

As soon as they both walked in, Campbell rushed Meryl for a hug. She accepted it. "Dad." She had been comfortable with calling him father for several months. "I'm not going to cry."

"Then don't, my dear." Campbell let her go. "Don't be afraid to though." Campbell gave a glance to Johnny and nodded in acceptance. Johnny and Meryl didn't understand why Campbell accepted Johnny as Meryl's husband at the day of their wedding. However, they were happy either way.

Both Meryl and Johnny separated to talk to different people. Meryl first noticed Sunny, who was by herself crying. "Sunny? That's your name right?" Sunny slowly looked towards Meryl.

"Meryl? Hi. I was at your wedding, remember?"

Meryl laughed. "Of course I remember." Sunny wiped a few tears.

It was two years after the Guns of the Patriots incident. After the mission, Snake went off by himself. Shortly, he found Otacon with him in the middle of Alaska, where Snake first was before the Shadow Moses incident. According to Otacon, Snake slipped and suddenly fell off a cliff. Helicopters and rescue teams searched for Snake for hours. No one could find his body. He was presumed dead a month ago.

As Meryl tried to cheer Sunny up, Mei Ling confronted Johnny. "Johnny! I haven't seen you since the wedding. How's Meryl?"

"She's fine. She promised she wouldn't cry."

Mei Ling giggled. "I already failed that self-promise. How's your". Mei Ling paused. "Problem?"

Johnny laughed. "Meryl taught me deep breathing techniques. I haven't had any over the top diarrhea problems since the Guns of the Patriots incident."

Mei Ling smiled. "That's good to hear. If you're hungry, feel free to get something at the table over there. Campbell made his famous 'pigs in a blanket'."

Johnny smiled and nodded. Once Mei Ling left, he sped over to the table. He snatched one of the breaded sausages. "Good God! This is amazing!" He shoved two more into his mouth.

Meryl rushed to Johnny. "What are you doing? Stop stuffing yourself like a pig!"

"Meryl! You have to try these."

Meryl took one of the 'pigs in a blanket'. "This is no time to be eating." She took a bite. Her eyes widened. "This is good!" She joined in. As they were both shoving their faces, they heard a voice behind them.

"Are you two Meryl and Johnny?" Meryl and Johnny froze. Both looked at each other in a state of embarrassment. Quickly they chewed like wild animals and swallowed. Then they both turned. In front of them was the silver haired soldier, Raiden.

Meryl wiped her mouth with her hand. "Hello. Yes we are. You must be Raiden. I never had the chance to meet you." She offered her hand in handshake. She quickly realized that that same hand was used to wipe her mouth. Raiden took it anyway. "Sorry."

Rose slowly caught up to Raiden. She had John following close to her. "Raiden. Who are these two?"

Raiden pointed both out. "This is Meryl and this is Johnny."

John immediately jumped. "You and I have the same name. Sort of."

Johnny looked towards Raiden. "His name is Johnny?"

"John." Raiden answer. "And this is my wife, Rose."

Rose reached over for a handshake, which both accepted. "It's very nice to meet you both."

Raiden awkwardly laughed. "Sorry we weren't at your wedding."

Meryl fake laughed. "That's alright. I hope you don't mind, Johnny needs to talk with me privately. We're just going to sneak by if you don't mind."

"We do?" Meryl gave Johnny a glace that screamed 'shut up or I'm going to kill you'. Johnny corrected himself. "I mean, we do! Maybe we'll catch up sometime later. Buh-bye." Both rushed off. Johnny caught up to Meryl. "What's your deal?"

"I don't know. Those three crept me out!" Meryl rushed straight to the outdoor garden. "He was a pretty boy who had eyes that wanted to molest me. She was seemed passive aggressive. And the kid looked like the zombie kid on the Internet that says, 'I like turtles'."

Johnny laughed. "You're horrible, Meryl. Also, are you saying you were attracted to that guy?"

Meryl laughed as well. "I thought he was a woman for a minute! Maybe that's a wig."

"Got a thing for pretty boys?"

Meryl crossed her arms. "Excuse me, flashy eyelash boy?"

"Are you calling me a pretty boy?"

"Yes. Yes I am. You're like a mix between Snake and that guy."

"So, I'm not the porridge that's too hot or cold. I'm the porridge that's just right?"

Meryl sighed. "Yep. Snake was the one that was too hot. I was hoping for him to cool down. He never did. So I guess that does make you just right."

"Well thanks a lot." Both laughed and slowly sat on the floor next to a hedge. "I can't believe he's really dead."

"I know." She slowly moved towards Johnny for a hug. "I'm not going to cry."

"I know, Meryl. I know."

Within minutes, the ceremony that everyone had been waiting for began. Every guest in the mansion collected together in the heart of the garden. At that point, a gravestone had already been placed.

Campbell began his speech. "When I look amongst us, I see a family. A group brought together by one common benefactor: this man. He was a man who hardly said a word. He was a man who hardly needed to say a word. He may have seemed grim and cold, but we all saw right through that." Mei Ling was the first to start crying. Campbell continued. "He claimed that he was not a hero, but we see differently. He saved us all." Sunny began crying. "He never cared what people thought of him. He didn't care when the world slandered his name as a terrorist. He continued to fight."

Rose quickly picked John up. John hugged her head. Rose began crying.

"If he were alive today, I think the one thing I would want to tell him is the truth about all of us. And that truth is that we all love him. We all love him as family. We all love him as a brother. We all love him as a protector. We all love him as a friend." Meryl slowly noticed Raiden crying. Campbell tried to continue his words, but began crying to. He still continued. "It is with heavy heart the we say goodbye to him. So, let us not say goodbye to him. Instead, let us say the one thing we all want him to know."

Everyone said in perfect sync, "We love you. Thank you." At that moment, Campbell covered his face in tears. Meryl looked around. Everyone was already crying. Meryl slowly looked next to her. Johnny had tears rolling down his cheek. Meryl looked back towards the grave. 'Should I be crying' was all that rushed through her mind. But she didn't cry. She kept her promise and went back into the mansion without a tear. Campbell promised everyone a bed in the mansion and everyone accepted.

Meryl rested her head on the pillow. Johnny grabbed hold of her in the bed and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Meryl."

Meryl hugged him. "I love you too." Meryl slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep. She kept her promise. She didn't cry.