Finally I got to publishing my first Re-Animator fic on this site I have been a longtime fan of. :) And it was quite the adventure to get used to the system, too. This follows the plot of the movie with a couple of twists along the way. I've loved Re-Animator for as long as I can remember now, and Jeffrey Combs is a big time idol of mine along with the other amazing people such as Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, the late great David Gale and the rest of the cast. Stuart Gordon is a magnificent director, Brian Yuzna a fabulous producer and on. So with that said, enjoy this first story I present to you.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own this material. The original story belongs to H.P. Lovecraft (which you will also see similar parts and references to, and this is told in Dan's POV like Lovecraft's unnamed narrator). And the movie plot belongs to its rightful owners. This is the first and only time I'll say it. To repeat it more than once in every chapter is personally a waste of time when it should be obvious, not to sound rude.

Chapter One

First Meetings and Secret Union

Of little over the start of my third year at the Miskatonic University Medical School in Arkham, Massachusetts, I can speak of terror. Well, not terror in the beginning, because things have not always been so horrifying for me.

When I started school with my dream of being a doctor and saving lives at all costs, simply born in me from the very beginning, I concerned myself with only schoolwork and the patients in the emergency room who didn't deserve to lose their lives, and dating and loving the dean's daughter who is the best thing that ever happened to me in spite of everything. But it was in the middle of October that things began to take a turn for the worst that nearly cost everything I loved, as well as costing her what she loved as well.

It is of Herbert West, my roommate and friend in college I'm speaking of. This unimaginable horror began when he first set foot on campus grounds and at my doorstep, as well as generated by his "life work" which he had begun across the ocean in Switzerland. My girlfriend since the beginning of year one knew he was trouble the moment she laid her eyes on him and I didn't see until it was too late, costing the lives of her father and of Dr. Carl Hill, whom West loathed for some time and who I had a bad feeling of from the beginning every time I saw him looking at Megan for an extended period of time. Perhaps the latter's loss was the only one I would ever thank West for, but now that West has been gone and I'm living far from Miskatonic, I can't shake off that knowing fear of the past returning to haunt us both. That fear which started at the beginning of October of the third year of my course.

My name is Daniel Cain, and this is my story.

~o~

I first met Megan Halsey at the start of my first year. I remember seeing her at registration, just spotting her from a distance. She was a goddess, great form and all showed off in the soft white dress she wore then, soft blonde hair bobbing over her ears, blue eyes lively and full of life...and lips full and pink. I was never one to set on a single type of girl, and I'd never had a girlfriend in my life. As a kid, starting with kindergarten, I played nice with the other children and let them borrow toys when they asked, and it progressed to middle school when the boys began to develop "masculine" qualities, most tormenting the weaker guy with glasses to shine in front of the girls they wanted to please.

I was one of the big guys, but I never hit another kid just to make a girl smile. I was always focused on what I did best, wanted a life and happiness, but just because I had people smile and talk to me didn't mean I fit among them. Girls had been a problem and saw me as a tool to get what they wanted. I never saw it until too late when I would catch them talking or kissing another guy for me to see. So in high school, I stopped on girls altogether and was sure in college it would be the same.

But all of that changed when Meg walked up to me on registration day.

She was all smiles when she turned from a group of friends and her eyes met mine. I think my knees buckled because I don't remember feeling this way ever. I needed to know what it was about her that made me so weak at the knees, so I was too nervous to go and talk to her before she made the first move and came up to me.

"Hi," was the single word that came out of her mouth, and now I just fainted when I heard her voice. Too angelic for words. Plus when she stood in front of me, I could suddenly smell her – red apples, white gardenias, roses, and orange flowers. Most bodily aromas turned me off, but this one enchanted me as those eyes did. "I'm Meg. What's your name?"

"Dan," was all I could get out. I had no idea what her last name was at the time until her father walked up to us and introduced me to him.

"Ah, Mr. Cain. Nice to see you again. I see you met my daughter, Megan."

"I sure did, sir," I answered, surprise then coursing through my body. Damn it, I was talking and drawn to the dean's daughter! I remember at the interview, Dr. Alan Halsey was very nice to me, but I'd learned he was the last living Puritan of the world, and Puritans were known to be custom-ridden, intolerant and lacking perspective of the world underneath their shells of kindness and leniency. But I thought as long as I played the cards carefully and did what I came here for, I would be on Dean Halsey's good side. He was barely into elderly years, white-haired and scant lines of age showing in his face, but he looked like he only had a few years left of life that his daughter had to be around to make sure nothing happened to him.

"Megan, I think we should be going now," her father announced, giving me a quick smile before he started to lead her away, not long before another voice stopped them.

"Oh, Alan, good to see you again." This new face I remember reading amongst the staff as I was signing up with my father. He was also middle-aged, gray-haired and a sunken face like he'd taken a toll on himself. He accepted a handshake from the dean and smiled down at Megan. "Meg, beautiful as ever." I did not like the way he said that, but her father didn't seem to notice like I did. And then the other man's eyes landed on me. "Oh, who might this young man be?"

"Daniel Cain, Dr. Hill," I answered politely. This was the first time I met Dr. Carl Hill in person, and his neurology class I would be having. He was a well-known brain researcher, although I noticed the similarities between his theories and another scientist I recall reading about in school, a Dr. Hans Gruber who believed that the brain could survive an unlimited amount of time after death, but Carl Hill had a limit on it. "I believe I'm in your class, sir." I felt like an idiot for saying that, but it only made Meg and her father laugh; Hill managed only the slightest trace of a smile.

"I recall. In that case, I'll see you there, Mr. Cain." I had no idea if he was only forcing himself to be polite or if he really meant it. All I knew was that I had another person whose good side I needed to get on. Hill was also the university's grant donor; I knew for sure I needed that Wellman Scholarship as soon as I graduated.

Halsey then cleared his throat. "Um, Carl, we're having our grant meeting next month if you remember, so we..." He nodded for his daughter to agree with him. "...would love you to come to dinner with us."

Hill nodded briefly. "If I remember. One of you will have to remind me," he added with a little wink to Meg, who uttered a little nervous laugh in response. "And, Mr. Cain, nice to meet you, and I look forward to seeing you in class. We hardly have bright young minds who leave this school at the top. I hope you do better than that."

I watched him leave, wondering if he was just trying to scare me. But Halsey relaxed me with a gentle laugh. "Don't worry, Daniel, I know you will. I knew you had it in you the moment I laid my eyes on you. See you around, son." With that, he took his daughter by the arm and began to lead her away; however, she turned her head back and looked at me briefly, hooking me once more.

After that, I started seeing Meg Halsey around more often even though we didn't have any classes together. I knew her father wouldn't want her in a serious relationship, but I knew that I wanted her, already saw a perfect life with her from the beginning: my dream career as a doctor, married to her, living in a beautiful home with kids and a cat. The kindly dean as my father-in-law. Everything idyllic.

Meg went to the medical school where her father was dean because she wanted to be a physical therapist. She hated it when people lost their limbs and ability to function whether they were army men and women, or accident victims who barely survived. She didn't want to depend on anyone else but herself, but that didn't stop me from wanting to treat her like a princess. I always felt it my job to make the woman happy, but as it turned out, she wanted to do the same for me. Meg was the first person I felt in my life I truly could talk to.

~o~

For the next two years, we kept our relationship low-key because of her father. I have worked long and hard, so there were times we didn't see much of each other because I worked in the ER, and Dr. Hill wasn't a bad teacher, to be honest. But it seemed there were times we went through the same things time and time again without something new. And I wondered if Meg ever noticed those looks he would give her, but I didn't say anything because of how he and her father were so close. It sickened me that these things weren't taken seriously.

I was two years away from graduation when it came to us at the end of the year dance of our second year together. By then I couldn't wait any longer when I finally had gotten a hold of something I'd saved up for the last year while at the same time finally getting myself a house near the campus. I remember the figure-hugging, vivid blue sequined dress with the fishtail skirt, like she was a mermaid, when I found it in me to lean in and whisper to her. "Meg, we've been together for almost two years, but I feel like I've known you forever."

She stared at me through the flashing rainbow lights and let out a little sigh. "Dan, I know what you're going to ask me, and I don't –"

"Meg, please marry me."

She shook her head. "We can't just yet. Remember Daddy would want you to graduate first before taking this step?"

She was right; I should wait until graduation, but two years after the one coming up was a way off to me. I just loved her so much I couldn't wait any longer. "I know, but..." She cut me off with a finger to my lips before removing it and pecking her mouth on mine.

"But nothing. We wait for now. All good things can wait."

Everyone around us was still dancing, and I didn't see her father or Dr. Hill around, so I assumed it was safe to pull it out from my pocket and hold it out in front of her eyes. The ring was thick with nearly three hundred brilliant round diamonds into the surface, creating an effect of sheer shimmer. "Oh, Dan..." Bull's eye; now she was speechless. I grinned at her, knowing she couldn't say no now, but I was actually in no rush anytime soon; I just wanted us to be married soon before we finally broke the news to her father.

But then she had to break the moment short. "I still say we should wait. Like...a few months or so. I don't want Daddy to break us up," she said sadly.

I sighed with heavy sadness. More waiting and more distance from her than ever. I was never a patient man, but I had no choice really. So I put the ring back into my pocket and finished the rest of the night just holding my girlfriend close to me and leaning my face into her shoulder, wishing life wasn't so hard. I wished it was simple and clear even though I knew it was never meant to be easy.

But then in the middle of August, luck blessed us when I was leaving work nearly late. Meg ran up to me since we had no classes in summer, and she dragged me to the local courthouse. I was confused before she told me we should legally get married so that her father wouldn't have to find out until we told him and decided to have a real ceremony. It shocked me because I never thought her so reckless, and I still wanted her to have the big once-in-a-lifetime moment all brides dreamed of, and she surprised me again: she wanted to meet me late again tomorrow night for us to finally become one.

This was one hell of a big risk we were taking, but I couldn't be even more happier. I was finally getting married to the woman I loved. We met in the local park under a tree, and I didn't dress much except for my suit from the dance, but my bride left me speechless. The dress had been her mother's, she told me, the fabric chiffon fitted to her body and draping softly over her hips. The sleeves were delicate lace, the bodice and scalloped neck conveying romance that you would find only in fictional stories. Her hair was set with a headband bejeweled to the left side of the head with an intricate setting of vintage pearls and crystals. And finally, around her neck, was a strand of luminous pearls in pastel colors.

Megan...my Meg...words did her no justice when she joined me under the tree and we took our vows, sealing it all with a kiss under the starlight, more realistic than the stories.

There had been no witnesses; who had to be there besides God above us and ourselves? We could always have a do-over ceremony and no one else would find out our secret union tonight. Her father would know of our court paperwork legalizing our marriage, but I don't think he'd accept us for marrying in secret. I looked up at the sky with a little smile. "The night's still young," I told her. "You want to...?" I wanted to ask "consummate our marriage" right here, right now, and she nodded eagerly without letting me finish.

I reached behind her back, finding the buttons, and wondered how she got this on by herself. She grinned and answered, "Becca helped me." She had one of her friends do it for her; I panicked at the thought of word getting out at school and eventually reaching Halsey's ears, before she calmed me down. "She won't tell anyone, promise."

I'll admit, I was really nervous because I'd never done this before; she was, too. But she was smiling in assurance the whole time and kissed me, driving me to a frenzy where I could no longer wait and hurriedly finished the last of the buttons, then began to pull the dress down from the shoulders. I exposed her breasts to my eyes for the first time; gulping nervously, I reached up with my hand and trailed it over her shoulder, stopping above her left one. She shivered beneath my touch even when I moved further, her nipple hardening beneath my palm as I cupped her breast, the heavy flesh silky smooth. I felt myself twitch in my pants.

She moved to help me shed my jacket and unbuttoned my shirt, which I shred from my body, too, dropping them onto the grass. We weren't going to be here long, but we both still wanted this night to last while it could. Who knew when her father would wake to notice she was gone. By the time we were done undressing, we were both naked before each other's eyes for the first time. My skin shivered in the cool breeze of the summer night, mostly from seeing Meg for the first time; everything about her was as I imagined, from her perky breasts to her flat stomach, flared hips and toned legs, finally the soft dark blonde triangle between her legs. The languid heat in her eyes told me she loved what she was seeing of my body, which was, in a non-narcissistic way, muscled from years of working out and in the hospital trying to save lives. Now I couldn't wait anymore because the ache below my waist was needing to be anywhere but in the open air, so I moved over to kiss her again and pull her close; she wound one hand through my hair and the other on my shoulder, digging her nails into my skin so I could make the first move and lay her down on the grass.

"Oh, Dan...Dan, yes..." Meg gasped when I started at her collarbones and nibbled and licked, moving down to the valley between her breasts, then suckling them both and making her cry out and arch upward into my mouth. Down lower, I went to her navel within her soft stomach, then lower to kiss her nest...oh, God, she smelled amazing, but while she tasted equally amazing as I found the exquisite little pearl there and made her scream a little louder, I didn't want her to come so soon, so I raised my head up and my whole body into position to slowly enter her; the first time always hurt for a female, so I entered as slowly as I could, but she still cried out no matter how gentle I was, and I panicked for a second, stopping as soon as I was sheathed all the way into her. Then she bucked her hips against mine earnestly. "No, don't stop," she begged.

I grunted as I obeyed her wish and began the in and out rhythm I remembered learning somewhere I couldn't remember, but it was one of the key elements in these things. I knew that if I took it slow and gentle first, we would both be wanting more. I couldn't even describe how wonderful it felt to be doing this with my new wife under the starlight, out in open air and surrounded by park, enough for a person to take a late night stroll, but we both decided we didn't care. Meg wrapped her legs around my waist, begging me to go harder and faster, so I did. We continued on that way until we both found our release and screamed each other's names for the whole town to hear.

We both lay there, dazed and sweating, trying to catch each other's breaths and kissing, before we decided it was time to get dressed and get back home for our daily lives.

So one of the twists you saw is that Dan and Meg are already married, and in secret. ;D Thought it would make things even more romantic. Also, other stories I read before besides on this site before finally publishing didn't get the chance to explore their relationship that much. Or maybe if they did, I haven't come across yet.

I should add that the inspiration for Dan's early life came from one of my favorite stories on the site, titled "Imago" by Tendo Rei. I didn't plagiarize, I promise, but it was promising and fit the ever kindhearted Daniel Cain. :')

Meg's dress is the Lyla dress designed by Maggie Sottero, one of my favorite designers.

Reviews are appreciated. :)