Chapter 18: The Hendersons Depart

(A.N. Get out your Kleenex. You're gonna need it.)

The party began to make their way towards the exit. It took some effort to open the door, but once they did, they were met by a stone spiral staircase with torches on the wall. Carl grabbed a torch and led the way. The rest of the Hendersons followed. Sandy and Courage traveled up the steps side by side. Muriel took up the rear carrying a rather exhausted Eustace on her shoulder. The steps seemed to go on forever, but finally, the steps stopped at a small door, like a small storm shelter door, on the ceiling. It was similar to the secret door that led up into the museum. Carl used all his might to open the door. One by one, everyone climbed out and were amazed to discover where they were.

They had arrived at the other side of the city of Nowhere! They could see the town in the distance. In the east, the sun was beginning to rise, illuminating the sky in a brilliant orange-red. Directly next to the exit stood a sign. "NOWHERE CITY LIMITS" it read. It was the exact same sign the Hendersons had passed when they first arrived in Nowhere!

"C'mon!" said Kevin. And he began walking towards town. Everyone slowly followed. Kevin looked at his watch. It read "6:15 A.M." They had been awake practically all night, and they were all dead tired.

As they arrived into town, they were shocked at what they found. The city was badly damaged. All the buildings were still standing, but broken glass and debris were everywhere. People staggered onto the street trying to figure out what happened. They seemed to recall nightmarish figures chasing them, but it seemed like it was just that. A nightmare. A cry began going around town that it was just a riot, and everyone began to accept it, although they didn't know what people were rioting for.

The two families arrived at the front of the museum. Kevin told everyone to stay where they were as he entered the museum. The door had been broken through and several exhibits were smashed, but the coin's display case remained undamaged. Slowly, Kevin took the silver dollar coin out of his pocket and placed it back in the case. "Rest in piece, guys," he whispered and then went back to his family.

As the Hendersons and Baggs' traveled through town, sirens began to sound from far away. Emergency vehicles began to arrive. They stopped in front of buildings to assess the damages. An ambulance pulled up to the Hendersons. The driver asked if they needed a ride. The Hendersons and the Baggs' ended up traveling back to the house, which was still in a very demolished state. The ambulance driver radioed in backup and a construction team.

For the remainder of the day, both families stayed in the basement. It was a mess in there, but nobody really cared because they all fell asleep once they were all down there. As they slept, the construction crew got right to work on the house. They had helped rebuild this house several times before, so the procedure was fairly simple. They took apart the upper story that had fallen over and reconstructed it over the first story. They fortified the bottom story and carpeted all the floors. The electrical wiring and plumbing systems were installed, including the computer! New windows were set up, furniture was replaced, and lighting was installed. The entire crew was finished at about 3:00. This was about the time all the adults woke up. They were stunned as they walked through the house. It looked as if a giant sand vortex had not even come here! Everything was in its rightful place! Muriel and Eustace thanked the construction workers before they left.

At 3:15 P.M., the phone rang. Diane answered the phone. It was her sister-in-law, Kevin's Aunt Vivian, calling from San Francisco. She asked to speak with her brother, Carl. Carl took the phone. The rest of the Hendersons stood within earshot of the phone.

"Hello? Carl?" asked Vivian.

"Yes? Hi, Viv," answered Carl.

"Carl! Where on Earth are you?! I thought you were supposed to be here by now!"

"Well," said Carl as he looked at his family. "Our car broke down, so we decided to spend a couple nights here in Kansas. We stopped at a lovely little farmhouse here, too. You should really see it!"

Vivian sighed. "Well, our moving has been rather sluggish without you guys here. When are you going to get here?"

Carl thought for a minute. "We should be leaving by this evening. We'll probably stop in Denver at around midnight and arrive in San Francisco late tomorrow."

Courage's heart sank. The Hendersons would be leaving in a few hours! Courage whined.

"Kind of a shame though. I mean, I really expected you guys to be here," explained Vivian.

"Hey," said Carl, jokingly. "I already told you. We just stayed at this lovely little farmhouse on the way over and just didn't feel like leaving."

Kevin gasped. Those were the same words he had spoken to Courage when the two of them were in the tunnel!

"Hold on," said Vivian. "Mike wants to talk to you." A pause followed. Then Vivian's husband was talking.

"Hey, Carl! Just wanted to ask you one quick question: has anything cool or unusual happen on your way over here? Just curious."

The Hendersons just stood there looking at each other. They tried to think of something to say.

"Hello?" asked Mike.

"Oh....not much," said Carl. Kevin and Courage looked at each other with wide eyes. Kevin had said that to Courage too.

The family talked to Vivian and Mike a little longer and eventually hung up. As they were talking, Eustace sat down to watch TV, and Muriel began cooking a going-away dinner for the Hendersons. Carl and Diane helped as the Henderson kids played around with Courage and Sandy.

Dinner was exquisite. Most of the food was donated by some anonymous citizens of Nowhere. Chicken and rice and beans and gravy. It was one of the most enjoyable dinners both families had ever had. They all talked about their adventure. No one felt more good about himself, however, than Courage. He had fought his fear, displayed his bravery, and had been congratulated by others from another world. The Hendersons almost regarded Courage as one of their own, even though they knew his place was here with Muriel and Eustace. Even now, as Courage ate his dinner, he could see Sandy at the other end of the table looking at him with a look of admiration and happiness unlike anything he'd seen before. He felt so lucky to have known her.

As they all finished dinner, Eustace made a rare announcement. "I'd just like to say," he said. "That I made a call to a car shop in town. They came here while the Hendersons were asleep and fixed up your car."

The Hendersons were surprised as well as overjoyed by the news. "Thank you, Eustace," said Carl.

"Yeah...well...I just didn't wanna see a perfectly good car get all rusty standing here for so long," Eustace grumbled as he sat down. "That's all."

"I guess that guy really DOES have virtue inside him," Kevin whispered to Courage.

Afterwards, the Hendersons began to pack their things. Most of the Hendersons' belongings were recovered from the storm. Kevin's sunglasses and laptop were miraculously undamaged. Everyone's clothes were still inside the basement drawers. The suitcases were opened and filled. Everyone went to the bathroom, one by one, for one last time.

By now, it was about 6:30 P.M. and the sun was beginning to set. The Hendersons grabbed their luggage and headed out to the car which was parked on the side of the road in front of the house. It faced down the road away from the town of Nowhere and towards the setting sun.

Muriel hugged Diane and Carl. "Be sure you don't stay too long over in California. I always feel so sad whenever visitors leave."

"Same with us," answered Diane.

"We'll only be over there a couple weeks. We'll call you guys when we get there, alright?"

"Why not," said Eustace who shook Carl's hand.

"Bye, Katie," said Muriel.

Katie shook Mr. Furry's hand for her. "Bye-bye, lady," she said. Carl and Diane laughed.

"It's been fun," said Kevin to Eustace and Muriel. "We'll have to come back here again on the way back!"

Oh, by all means!" exclaimed Muriel. Eustace sighed with agreement.

"Hey, Kevin," said his father. "Where's Sandy?"

Kevin put on his sunglasses. "Oh, she's out back saying good-bye to Courage. She should be along in a minute."

(Warning: Really mushy scene ahead...or really cute, depending on your age.)

Behind the house, the setting sun bathed everything in a pleasant shade of orange. The road stretched all the way to the horizon, directly under the glowing orb. Silhouetted against the sun stood Courage and Sandy. They were holding each other's paws and staring into each other's eyes. (Also, Coldplay's "In My Place" is playing in the background because I think it's appropriate for this scene.)

"Courage?" asked Sandy.

"Hmm?" answered Courage.

"These past few days have been the most...incredible days of my life."

Courage thought for a second. "Because you saw some of the scariest things you could ever imagine?"

"Well, yeah," admitted Sandy, shyly. "But the main reason these days have been so unbelievable was because...I've spent them with you."

Courage's smile became even brighter, as well as his heart.

"I just can't believe I'll be leaving you, Courage," said Sandy, sadly. "It feels as though I've known you my whole life."

"Hey, don't worry," replied Courage, softly. "You'll be coming back the same way, won't you?"

"I certainly hope so," answered Sandy. She paused for a second. "Y'know, I never did thank you for saving my life."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. On the bridge." Courage was definitely feeling nervous at this point. "Well...I'm ready to accept it now," he said with a smile.

"I thought you would," whispered Sandy.

Then she closed her eyes, leaned in, and gave Courage his first kiss. Of course, Courage was a bit bewildered for a moment, but then he closed his eyes and kissed back.

(Now I could go on and on about what each dog is thinking right now, but I don't wanna bore you all with description...especially when it's this personal.)

Ten seconds later, the kiss was broken and Courage came back to the real world. Before he could say anything to Sandy, he felt something odd happening behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw his tail wagging! It had never done that before! It felt so strange for some reason that Courage began to laugh.

"What?" asked Sandy. Courage pointed to his tail.

"It's never...done....that...before," gasped Courage between giggles. Sandy began giggling too when she suddenly showed Courage that her tail was wagging too! Before they knew it, the two dogs collapsed into each other's arms, laughing like crazy.

After a minute, Courage and Sandy calmed down. "You really are something, Sandy," gasped Courage.

Sandy brushed a paw through the fur on Courage's head. "I know," she answered. Then, Sandy got to her feet. "C'mon, my family's waiting." With that, Courage and Sandy walked "paw-in-paw" to the Henderson's car.

"Awwww," said Diane, as the canine couple approached the car. "They look so sweet together."

Kevin rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Mom, you're making a scene," he whined.

"Go on, Sandy," said Carl. "Say good-bye to Courage."

Sandy gave Courage a final hug. Courage held her tight, knowing that it would be a while before he would have another opportunity like this again.

The Hendersons finally got into the car. They said a few more audible good-byes as they started the engine. The car lurched into gear and began to head down the road. Courage began running down the road with the car. Kevin and Katie were waving at him. Courage waved back. As the car picked up speed, Courage saw Sandy waving to him in the rear window. She had a sad smile on her face. "Good-bye," she mouthed in the window.

"Good-bye!" yelled Courage as he stopped running. The car zoomed away into the distance.

"I love you, Sandy," mumbled Courage to himself. The Henderson's car disappeared on the horizon. Hanging his head and sighing sadly, Courage turned back to his house.

Muriel carried Courage in her arms as she entered the house. Eustace was looking underneath the couch cushions.

"Hey, Muriel! I can't find me paper!"

Courage sighed again. It looked like things were back to normal around here.

******

The Hendersons arrived at a motel in Denver at around 11:30 P.M. Carl called Vivian and Mike to tell them that they would be arriving at their house tomorrow evening.

At midnight, the lights were out. The Hendersons were all asleep in the two motel beds. Sandy, however, stood at the window. Her eyes swept over the beautiful Rocky Mountains. The city was spread out before her like a field of fireflies. Somewhere beyond those mountains was the dog Sandy couldn't stop thinking about. Her eyes traveled up to the moon, which hung in the sky like a giant silver coin.

"I miss you already," she whispered to her self, as she sat on the floor and stared up at the moon.

At that exact moment, Courage was lying at the foot of Muriel's bed. She and Eustace were fast asleep, but Courage was looking out the window at the exact same moon. He was bathed in moonlight as he sighed. Courage rolled onto his back and fell asleep, dreaming of the day when the Hendersons, and Sandy, would return.

The End

(I can't believe I've spent a month and a half on this incredible story!...And now it's finally done! Yahoo! I'd like to say thanks to all the readers who have read this story. I dedicate it to you.)

(I'd also like to give an extra special thanks to three fanfic readers who have stuck with me since day one: Sailor scout Darkest Moon, Gareth Paul Barsby, and the one and only Chris Gammon. Thanks!!!)

Couldn't get enough of the Hendersons? Fear not!! A SEQUEL IS IN THE WORKS!!! Who knows? I might even include the previously mentioned readers in my next story...and anyone else if they're interested!

(This is Jonathan R. Signing off).