Disclaimer: I own these people not – except Sammy, who owns me. Vince owns everyone else, except nameless little wannabes that might make appearances – I have a feeling Vinnie Mac doesn't own 'Nameless Passerby #5' and similar acquaintances. Tony Benett owns 'Stranger In Paradise'.
Requiem
Michael, after seeing Spike and Molly together, had asked for a divorce. Molly had protested, saying that she did care about Michael.
"You don't need me anymore, Molly. I love you; and I can't change that, I always will. But I was only keeping you safe, warming his side of the bed – you belong to Spike. You always will. I've been afraid that he'd come back since I married you, but I never really thought it would happen – 'til now." He'd said. Then he'd kissed her, and he'd left. They'd divorced, and Michael had given Molly everything she'd needed to keep, and he'd kept all he needed, and everything was fine. Michael and Molly hadn't spoken since the divorce.
They were on their way to a seafood restaurant that Molly had been wanting to try – she loved shrimp, and so did Sammy.
Suddenly, out of a small side road, a car screeched onto the main road, unable to stop. Molly twisted the wheel as much as she could, and the car swerved. The driver's side slammed into the other car, and the passenger side – containing Sammy – slammed into a tree, just off the road.
Molly felt blood trickling into her eyes, and her last thought was – I hope they're okay…
//Take my hand, I'm a stranger in paradise
All lost in a wonderland
A stranger in Paradise//
Molly was safe, she felt. She was warm, and felt unusually pleasant, and safe like she'd never been before. Thin but strong arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.
She leaned into his shoulder, sniffing his shirt. He smelled the same as he always did. She wanted to remember everything about this moment, although she wasn't sure why.
Spike and Molly slowly spun around, dancing to music they alone heard, in clouds made just for them.
//If I stand starry-eyed
That's a danger in paradise
For mortals who stand beside
An angel like you//
Sammy felt a small trickle of something warm and sticky roll down his forehead. He opened his eyes slowly, feeling pain all over. He wiped his forehead, and looked at his fingertips. He felt slightly sick, seeing the bright red smeared over them.
"This one's awake!" He heard a female voice cry. He looked up, and saw a woman in her thirties, wearing a paramedic uniform, leaning over him. "You okay, kid?" She asked.
"My head… it hurts, and I can't feel my left arm…" He managed to choke. His arm, he noticed, wasn't in pain – but it wasn't in much of anything.
"It's okay, kid, we'll take care of it," The paramedic patted him on his right shoulder encouragingly. Sammy was frustrated – sure, she meant well, but he wasn't about to take anything, well or not - he was in PAIN!
He looked past the paramedic's shoulder and saw a figure lying on the ground. Her blonde hair was spilled around her head, and she was sprawled at an unnatural angle on the pavement. Another paramedic, a dark – haired young man, this time, stood up, shaking his head gravely.
"This one's DOA," Sammy heard him mutter.
It took him a few moments to remember what DOA stood for.
Dead… On… Arrival…
Sammy fell into the familiar, comfortable world of unconsciousness.
//I saw your face
And I ascended
Out of the common place
Into the rare
Somewhere in space//
Spike rested his head on Molly's, stroking her hair. A sense of overwhelming peace had overcome them both, and they knew, without having to speak. But Molly wanted to hear his voice again… it seemed like, even though they were close, they were so far away.
"I love you," Molly said. Spike kissed her neck.
"I love you, too." He said between kisses. His voice sounded sort of far away, like they were underwater, or like Molly's ears needed to pop… and despite this, it felt like heaven to Molly.
//I hang suspended
Until I know
There's a chance that you care
Won't you answer this fervent prayer
Of a stranger in Paradise
Don't send me in dark despair
When Sammy woke again, he was in the hospital, lying in a sterile, white bed, with starchy sheets tucked too tightly around him. He darted upwards, looking around, and felt immediate pain shooting through his left arm. He felt dizzy, disoriented.
He couldn't remember what had happened… and then it all shot through him. Despite the pain, he curled up tight into a fetal position, crying. His dad had died before he was born. His mother had died tonight.
And he wasn't even sure of that. He didn't even know what time it was anymore. Sammy didn't move. His tears blurred his vision, blurred his image of the hospital room. In his eyes, it was a clean, white prison, one that prevented him from seeing his Mom.
No, that's silly, He told himself. She's dead – they're dead. This hospital isn't keeping you from anything.
That was when there was a disturbance at the door. "Sir, sir, please! This boy is under the doctor's observation, and I've been instructed to keep visitors out –" A man shoved the nurse out of the way. "This is my son!" He shouted. "I need to see him!"
"Dad?" Sammy asked, sitting up. He saw the average sized man, pushing into the room, despite the Nurse's efforts and threats.
"Sir! Sir, I'm going to call security if you persist…" The Nurse nagged, grabbing the man's sleeve.
"This – is – my – son! It's my right to see him." He shoved the Nurse to the side, and finally was able to get to Sammy's bed. He sat on the side and hugged him tightly. Sammy ignored the fact that his arm was being crushed by Michael, he was just happy to have someone still able to hug him.
"She's dead, Dad. She and…" Sammy didn't finish the sentence, realizing who he was talking to.
Sammy was surprised to see tears falling from Michael's eyes. He'd never seen Michael cry, and Michael had practically raised him.
"I know. They're both… looks like it's just you and me now." He said softly. "I just… I wish I hadn't let her go. I let her go to Spike… even after he was… and now, looks like she's really with Spike, doesn't it?" Michael attempted a smile through his tears, but he couldn't manage, and Sammy felt afraid. He'd never heard Michael talk like this.
A thought passed through Sammy's mind that almost – almost – made him laugh. He had to be the only kid in the WWF who had two fathers. One among the dead, and one among the living. That made him wonder – where was Spike? They always could have seen him before.
"Dad," Sammy asked, pulling away to look at Michael. "Where's Spike? We could always see him before, and… shouldn't we be able to see Mo –" Michael shook his head, stopping Sammy before he'd even finished.
"Sam, I finally understood it when… when he came back. All Molly ever wanted was Spike back … and that's all that he ever wanted - Molly. You and I, we're just sort of… thrust in the middle of it all. If Spike and Molly… if they were alive, if they… if it was them raising you all along, I bet you'd have the perfect life, perfectly adjusted, perfectly loving." Pain danced in Michael's eyes.
"I thought I had one… until I found out about Spike. Then it all was fake, everything I'd ever known." Sammy said softly, tears threatening to spill once more.
"Sammy… Sammy, I think the reason we can't see them anymore… or Spike, at least… is because… wherever it is you go after death, well… they're there together… without us." Sammy looked down at his lap, the tears he wanted to hide falling at Michael's words. The next thing Sammy knew, he was enclosed in Michael's arms again.
And the two cried together.
//But open your angel's arms
To this stranger in paradise
And tell him that he need be
A stranger no more//
Spike and Molly lay in each other's arms, holding each other tightly. All was calm here. Nothing was wrong. They were together, and they were forever. That was all that mattered.
It was almost as though they could read each other's souls here. Neither of them needed say anything, although they did, just to hear each other's voices. But, where they were, it served as a luxury, an unnecessary triviality, like television.
Suddenly, Molly sat bolt upright, her heart beating fast. Spike sat up next to her.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Sammy…" She whispered…
And Spike and Molly's perfect paradise was shattered into a million pieces.
//Take my hand, I'm a stranger in paradise
All lost in a wonderland
A stranger in Paradise