Together At Last

He went to the entrance of the cave they shared and looked out. Lush green meadows were dotted with white daffodils and purple lavender. He and Charley planted those same rows of daffodils and lavender together years ago after they helped liberate Mars. Fifty-five years had passed since the Plutorkian War ended. After the Biker Mice saved Earth from the Plutorkians, They went back home. Now Mars was on its way back. He remembered how she always loved flowers.

"Her tongue was sharp when she was pissed at me but her eyes became soft when she saw flowers of any kind. I loved her eyes. That was one of the million or more reasons I fell in love with her." He thought, dreamily. Then his smile faded. It had been twenty years since her death. It came so suddenly. It began with headaches and persistent coughs.
The doctors told him it was Mars' climate. Bad for humans since their immune systems were weaker than Martian Mice.
She was cooking dinner when she fell out. He ran to the kitchen area and found her on the floor. He raced her to the Martian hospital. But it was too late.
She went into unconsciousness and never woke up. The loss was painful. He shouldn't have let her follow him back to Mars, but she was persistent. Wanted to be with him and no one else. Throttle and Modo were glad to see her. So was he.
He was her and she was his. They saw each other for a whole year. Then began planning for their wedding.
At least she had wanted a wedding but on Mars they do things differently.

"Don't Martian Mice get married?"She asked him.
"Yes, but not the way Earth people do. We have a Bonding ceremony. The bride wears a bonding bracelet presented to her by the groom before the ceremony. It's kind of like what your people call going steady." He replied.
"What's this bonding bracelet look like?" Charley asked.
"It's a gold chain with a meteor rock embedded in it. It goes on your right wrist."

"Oh, well when in Rome do it Rome style." She said,"'Guess we're going shopping for a bracelet."
"No need." he said.

Charley got the shock of her life when he took a small black jewelry case out of his pocket and opened it up. There inside was a beautiful gold bracelet with green meteor rock embedded in it.

"Found this meteor one time I escaped from a raging volcano. It took me weeks to get it made into this." He said, watching her smile happily as he put the bracelet on her wrist.
"Charlene Davidson, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He asked, tears in his eyes. This was the first time he didn't joke with her.
"Yes, Vinnie. Yes."She replied, tears in her own eyes as happiness welled up inside her.

He remembered their Bonding Day. He was so nervous.
Afraid he would forget his vows. "I Vinnie Van Wham, pledge my undying love to Charlene Davidson. I vow to be true to her and no other."
"And I Charlene Davidson, pledge my undying love to Vincent Van Wham. I vow to be true and loving to him and no other."
Throttle and Modo congratulated them at the ceremony. They were so happy for their bro and their Charley-girl.
The happy couple kissed eagerly and were truly bonded on their first night alone.

He cried tears of joy the day his son and his daughter were born. They were Martian Mice but they had some of their mother's features. Their son, Victor inherited his father's wicked sense of humor and was a thrill-seeking daredevil when he was a teenager while his sister, Cara, had her mother's love of riding and repairing motorcycles.
She even had her eyes.

Like their father had done, they enlisted in the Martian military. They helped in the reconstruction of Mars' major cities. Little by little, Mars prospered and grew back to its former glory before the Plutorkians came. They each rose up in the military. Victor was now a commander and his sister a captain. They each had spouses and families of their own.

"Sweetheart if you could only see them now you'd be so proud." Vinnie said.

He continued to gaze at the hills. God, he missed her! Life seemed so empty without her. It was like something died within him after her death. His bros, well into their eighties, had already passed on. He was now eighty-seven. He felt a pain in his back. Aches and pains. He hated old age. He picked up a mirror and saw an old mouse staring back at him.

"I wish I was young again. I'd give anything to have my Charley-girl back." Tears of sadness came into his eyes.
He went to the rocking chair by the entrance and sat down in it. He felt his eyes grow heavy and weary as he drifted off to sleep.

"Hey, Wiseguy. What'cha doing?" asked a voice. He jerked himself awake. He was taken aback. There standing before him was his Charley. The one he remembered. Young and beautiful. Her brown hair shone like gold. He went to her as she held out her arms to him.
He held her feeling the warmth of her body as well as the faint scent of lavender in her hair. He inhaled the wonderful aroma not wanting to let her go.
"Sweetheart..."
"I came back for you, Vinnie. We belong together. We shared one love, one lifetime. I want to share eternity with you."
"I'm too old.."
"What're you kidding? Bro, you're as young as me. Even younger." Said a voice.

He looked up to Throttle and Modo on their bikes. They were no longer old. Young and full of life.

"What're we waitin' for? Let's ride." Modo said, triumphantly.

Vinnie looked at the mirror in his hand and beheld his reflection. He was shocked. He looked the same as he did when they first crashed on Earth and met Charley.

"Van Wham is back!" He cried, then laughed hysterically.

He climbed on his bike followed by Charley who sat behind him putting her arms around his waist like she used to do.

"LET'S ROCK AND RIDE!"They all cried out, fists pumped into the air. They rode down a lighted path that led into a lighted tunnel.

Hours later, at Martian Mouse Command center. Commander Victor Van Wham began going over a floor plan of a new hospital.

"And so gentlemen if there is no new business, then it's settled we'll began construction within a ..."
"Commander!" A young Martian mouse girl secretary came rushing in.
"Sally! What's the meaning of this? We're in a meeting."
"Sir, your father has passed away. I've already contacted your sister." She replied, frantically.
"Good God!" He exclaimed, running out of the room.
They raced to the cave their father lived. A crowd had formed. Victor broke through the crowd. A beige colored mouse with greenish-blue eyes filling with tears rushed over to him.
"Victor..." She began.
"It's okay, sis. I'm here. Where is he?" He said, breaking away and racing to a rocking chair in which sat their father.

Vinnie Van Wham sat there with his head laid back. His eyes were closed and his mouth broke into a peaceful smile.
He appeared to be sleeping rather than expired. Clutched in his left hand, was a bouquet of lavender flowers. His right hand was empty.
At his feet was a broken mirror. Cara took one of her father's cold hands and cried.

Her brother just sadly glanced at his father with tears in his eyes.
"Passed away in his sleep." The doctor told them.

"Dad told me he missed Mom. He's been wanting to go to her. Now they're together at last." Victor said, in a low voice.