Disclaimer: I do not own Disney or any Disney related characters or themes.
A/N: Surely, Walt had a bigger purpose for Minnie then to play damsel in distress for her hubby. And I always liked the idea of our favourite girly mouse taking over the everyday happenings of the parks-- a bit like the way she ran the House of Mouse. Heck, without her there was no show. So a tribute to the rare father-to-child relationship between Walt Elias Disney and Minnie Mouse.
PS. I am such a nerd for writing this :D
-Keeper of Dreams-
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Minnie swallowed the lump in her throat as she watched her beloved Walt, eyes sullen and forlorn, gazing to the Disney studios in the distance. The nurses were propping him up, each of their faces wearing a betraying mask of hope that fuelled a certain anger in herself Minnie could not understand. They hurried past her, smiling in reassurance.
"Minnie…?" said a hoarse voice suddenly. She jumped in surprise as Walt Disney beckoned her forward with a tired smile. She came to him with hesitant steps and stood by the bed, tears springing to her eyes.
"How are you feeling, Walt?" the mouse sniffed, "Lilly, said Rory and Mickey had come by earlier… I didn't want to intrude."
The old man, the dreamer and her creator chuckled and placed a cold hand over her whitened glove. His eyes sparkled and Minnie could see the young man who had given life to hundreds upon hundreds of her friends, beneath the frail old man he had become. His face lightened and she saw that he had accepted and welcomed a steadfast death in this hospital. Yet, this did nothing to comfort her.
"My dear Minnie," he said, "I am so proud of you."
"Me?" she squeaked through cascading tears, "Why me?"
The man blinked, as though he had not understood the question. Minnie watched emotions of all kinds flash in his eyes, and it simply took an instant for them to vanish suddenly. He grinned at her.
"Why, Minnie, what do you mean by that?"
It was Minnie's turn to be confused and the cogs in her brain worked frantically to give the man an answer. Why should Walt be proud of her? What else had she done, apart from being the damsel in distress for the hero? What had she accomplished in her life so far?
"I haven't done anything like Mickey has. I-I'm simply there." eyes downcast she sniffed and was aware of Walt's hand becoming heavy on her own.
"Now, now, Minnie. You know very well that I created you for something very important!" he chuckled but it turned to wheezing and suddenly he began to tremble. When the fit had subsided, Minnie shook her head and let out a shudder.
"I created you," said Walt, now in a softer, weaker tone, "I created you to protect, take care and love Mickey and everyone that is part of the Disney Company. To make sure the true meaning of Disney shall always remain even after I am long gone. I want you to take the reigns, Minnie."
Minnie let out a tearless shocked breath and blinked furiously, "Me? Wha-what about Roy, Lilly or even Mickey?"
Walt closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again, exhaling softly with a deep shudder, "Roy will be too busy running the animation department, trying to create new toons that will make the world smile. Lilly needs to rest now; she needs a break from all of this. As for Mickey, he is a performer, he will need to perform and move on. He asked many times about taking over the business on my behalf but I wanted it to be you. You will be in charge of dreams, Minnie. You will be in charge of each and every Disneyland."
Eyes wide and mouth agape, Minnie nodded through noiseless weeping.
"I will, Walt! I'll make you proud of me, you'll see!" she leaned forward to kiss his cheek tenderly and extracted her hand from underneath his as a nurse entered the small, decorated room.
"I know that you'll be amazing, Minnie. I am so proud of you already. I was right to have created you. Mickey adores you and I know you can love him and help him in all there is to do." Walt smiled through light tears as he looked at her.
"It all started with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse." the man whispered as the nurse began to usher the toon out, telling her that visiting hours were over.
Minnie turned back mournfully to the man and said, "No, Walt. It started with you."
She tripped out of the room, leaving everything she had ever known and the man she had loved like her own father behind, thinking of all the things to do. Her destiny was playing before her eyes and she decided that seizing it would put her on the right path to fulfilling Walt's wishes. No longer would she simply be the damsel in distress. From here on, she would be holding all of Walt's hopes on her shoulders and she would do her best.
She envisioned children, ten-twenty years from now, scurrying into the parks-- halting in their steps to stare in awe at their surroundings. And she would be the cause of all that joy and wonder and it warmed her heart. However, Minnie would need help, Walt had done enough already-- she would need the help of her devoted significant other and any toon who would generously rise to the task. She would make sure that Disney's essence would always remain.
Mickey would be the hero.
She would be the keeper of dreams.
And Walt was the one who had started it all no matter what he thought. She and Mickey had simply been the outputs of his imagination.
It all started with Walter Elias Disney. Her father.