~DISCLAIMER~ Joseph and Elizabeth are my own characters. Dorothy is the property of whoever owns The Wizard of Oz and David is the property of…well, not me. You'll find out who he is in the next chapter if you don't know already.

Intermission

"Mommy?"

Elizabeth Gale looked up to see her 6-year-old son standing in her bedroom doorway. Fighting down a sob, she answered, "What, sweetheart?"

The child sleepily rubbed his eyes. "Why was Daddy walking around outside my window?"

Elizabeth fought to control her emotions. "It's nothing, Davie. Go back to sleep." She forced a smile.

"Okay." David turned to go back to his room. "Mommy, I love you," he added.

His words ripped through Elizabeth's heart like a knife. "I love you, too, David." She hated lying to her son, but there was nothing else to say to a 6-year-old.

"Captain Joseph Gale, reporting for duty." Elizabeth looked frightenedly at her husband suddenly standing in the doorway. He snapped into a salute. "The premises are secure."

"O-ok."

Joseph seemed to relax and left for the bathroom down the hall. His temper seemed more mellow than usual, which put Elizabeth more at ease.

She had to stop crying before he came back. But interaction with David was more painful by the day. Since she'd realized that Joseph would never return to how he was before he'd gone away, Elizabeth's heart had dried of all real love. Looking at David only reminded her of the love she and Joseph had once shared. That made it impossible to feel anything for the child but sorrow.

Joseph returned from the bathroom. Glancing at his wife, he silently stripped down to an undershirt and boxers. Stoically, formally, he settled himself into bed.

"Good night, Captain," Elizabeth said timidly. Joseph nodded stiffly before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

She lay still, unable to sleep. She was tired. Not tired in the sense of sleep, but tired of things. Of people. Of life.

She was tired of her loveless marriage. She was tired of walking on eggshells to protect herself from Joseph's unpredictable illness. She was tired of having to say "Good night, Captain" every night for fear of violence. She was tired of feeling no love for her child.

It was all too much for her to handle. All she could do was wonder when it would end.

3 YEARS LATER

A bitter wind swept between granite markers. Gray stones melted into a gray sky that threatened rain at any moment: miserable icy rain. The graveyard was largely empty, save two figures cloaked against the biting gusts.

David was nine the year he first looked at that headstone. The words etched in the granite seemed so final. He'd gone to the funeral, but it hadn't been real. No one could be in that casket when they buried it.

Certainly not his father.

Elizabeth stood next to her son, staring at "Joseph Henry Gale" chiseled into hard stone. The world could fool themselves as much as they liked – she knew the truth.

They said he must have fallen. His body washed up downriver where the banks were mossy and shallow but autopsies showed that he'd fallen far into the water.

He'd always loved to climb. The rocky banks of the river were some of his favorite climbing sites. He knew those rocks. He was not some amateur who would accidentally get himself into dangerous situations and fall.  He knew exactly what he was doing.

They'd warned her when Joseph was diagnosed that suicide was a danger. She didn't believe them because she hadn't wanted to believe them. Her husband would never do that!

She couldn't deal with anything right now. Her sister would arrive soon. She was taking David to spend some time on her cattle ranch in Texas. Elizabeth couldn't deal with her son anymore.

David looked up at his mother. He wondered what she was thinking. When she looked down at him, he smiled.

She turned around and walked away.