Author's Note: Greetings, Gentle Reader! Okay, I know this story's a bit off the beaten track. It was requested by dewey32, and her requirements were Abby and Sully together at the end, and Jimmy had to live. Say it with me: oi vey. I rewrote basically the last half of "Sigh", this chapter is mostly little tidbits and snippets to set things up. Enjoy!
-Manda.
Doubts
Sully watched as Shea and Madison floated off, without him. He waited almost ten minutes, until they were out of his line of sight, then sullenly made his way back to the boathouse to alert the Coast Guard of what he hoped wasn't a bad decision on his part.
He sighed, unsure of how much he liked this newfound selflessness.
--
Henry approached the boathouse, taking a deep breath before relaxing back into the role he'd played so well up until now. The payoff was just out of his grasp—he couldn't afford to lose sight of it now.
"Sully?" he called as he opened the door. There was no answer. He looked around. There were only so many places to look—the boathouse was only the one large room.
And that one room was empty. Henry stopped and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and remembering again not to panic, and opened them again. This was okay, or at least it would be. He just had to regroup with Dad, figure something else out. They'd done it plenty of times before when their plans were changed unexpectedly.
Just then, he noticed something. The room was...off somehow. Wait a minute, he thought as his eyes traveled upward.
Hadn't there been a boat hanging there this morning?
Shit.
--
Huh, that's funny. I don't remember leaving the door open when we left, Sully thought as he walked into the boathouse. He shook his head and dismissed it; there was no time to worry about it now. He had to get in touch with the Coast Guard about Shea and Madison.
"This is Chris Sullivan on Harper's Island calling the Coast Guard, over."
"Captain Murdock here, go ahead Chris."
"Hey, yeah, there's a small boat with two passengers, Shea and Madison Allen, heading your way. They're uninjured, but could probably use some food and rest."
"Roger that, Chris, we'll keep an eye out for them. How's everything else on your end?"
"When the hell will you be here? He's still out there, as far as I know."
"We're looking to be there within the hour. Start heading to the marina if you can. Be careful."
"Roger that, over and out." Praying to run into his friends, alive, on the way there, Sully grabbed the shotgun and headed out.
--
Abby stopped short and looked around. Jimmy, she saw out of the corner of her eye, was doing the same thing.
"But...she was here, right here...," Abby whispered. Her eyes met Jimmy's and she saw a flash of suspicion there, suspicion she couldn't begin to understand. Before she had a chance to think about it, Henry spoke.
"Then she must still be alive...wounded somewhere. Trish!" he yelled, running through the woods again.
--
Henry slowed a bit just outside the church to be sure Abby and Jimmy were following him. Luckily, he had managed to catch up with Dad and they'd agreed to meet at the church, where Trish's body would be on the altar, an unwilling sacrifice for their cause.
Where the hell are they?, he thought anxiously—no, not anxiously, angrily. He didn't have time for this! Just then, they came around a tree.
Henry breathed a sigh of relief. Jimmy stopped and looked at Abby, whispering something he couldn't hear, before they started after him again.
Henry put it from his mind. Probably saying goodbye or something.
Just as well. If Henry had anything to say about it, Jimmy wouldn't have another chance.
--
"Kinda weird, don't you think?" Jimmy muttered to her, as Henry disappeared around a tree.
"What do you mean?" Abby whispered back. He stopped and took her arm, turning her around so he could look at her properly.
"I'd never leave you like that," he replied, his eyes meeting hers meaningfully. She could only blink in response. Jimmy didn't give her a chance to respond, just kept walking.
Henry was running into the church. I wonder how he knew to come here, she thought fleetingly, then quickly wrote it off as...what? Instinct, knowing intuitively where his beloved was? Or was it something more sinister?
No, of course not...this is Henry we're talking about!, she thought next, dismissing the possibility of any other explanation immediately.
--
Trish was laying on the altar, dressed in the wedding dress she'd had custom made and flown in from New York specially. It would have been a beautiful sight, if not for the blood and dirt caked on the once-pure white dress.
Henry stood there, staring at her. Somehow, he hadn't wanted it to be this way. If only there'd been another way. He didn't dwell on it, though, because he felt Abby's hesitant hand lay on his shoulder and squeeze it softly.
"I'm so sorry, Henry," she whispered. Then she sniffed and let out a choked sob. He almost wished it hadn't been necessary, only because it was causing Abby pain to witness.
But it had to be done. It was part of the plan.
--
A sudden yell and crash behind her spun Abby around. Jimmy was struggling against Wakefield, before they both went flying into the pews. Henry turned as well and held the gun up, but not really at-the-ready. "Henry! Shoot!" she cried desperately.
She shook his arm and he looked down at her, then quickly pulled the gun to his shoulder. Then he hesitated, despite the fact that Wakefield's back was presented to him. Then the shot was gone as Jimmy was swung back around.
"Abby...run!" Jimmy yelled, flicking his eyes to her for a fraction of a second. That fraction cost him valuable time, and he was thrown to the ground. She stared for another second as Jimmy lit a flare and rammed it into his chest, then ran for her life. She didn't hear Wakefield's yell for Henry to follow her.
Footsteps and her name yelled behind her caused Abby to stop and turn. Henry ran up to her.
"Where—where's Jimmy?" she asked slowly, looking behind him for any trace. His eyes caught hers and he took a deep breath before shaking his head.
"Wakefield got him. I'm sorry," Henry whispered, coming toward her. Abby's heart stopped as Henry brought his hands to the front of him, revealing a pocket knife. Her eyes flew from it to his face as she backed away, shaking her head.
"Abby...stop. It'll be fine, I promise," he said gently, advancing on her again. She hesitated—something felt...off about this, and she suddenly wanted nothing more than to keep running. Her eyes flickered to either side, finding a cliff to her left and a steep incline to her right. Making a snap decision, she turned around to run and saw Wakefield standing behind her, a smug smirk on his face. She gasped and started backing away.
Before she could get very far, Henry was there, pushing her to the side to stab Wakefield in the chest with the knife. Just as relief flooded through her, Abby's blood ran cold. Wakefield was looking at Henry, his eyes full of shock and...betrayal?
"He-...Henry...," Wakefield gasped as he went to his knees, then fell back, dead before he hit the ground. Henry stared at the body for a few seconds, then looked at Abby.
"The way he looked at you...," she whispered, gesturing vaguely between Henry and Wakefield. Henry advanced again, his eyes pleading with her to understand. She backed away, shaking her head as her eyes widened. "How did you know to go to the church?" she asked.
"Abby...I did it all for you. Remember, when we were kids? You said you wanted it to be just the two of us..." he began. She shook her head again, more urgently this time.
"No...you—you killed them...your brother... and Trish..."
"I had to, Abbs, they were in the way. I love you, I couldn't let them stand in our way..."
Before Abby could respond, Henry went toppling off the cliff, a blur of blue going after him.