Wow, what a bachelor party! Hyde being knocked out by Skinner?!?! What in Heaven's name happened at that bachelor party, anyway?!?!
Don't worry, we'll get to that. But first, the shout-outs:
To Ares: I couldn't help it; I just had to bring PlayVamp back. It would be quite interesting if Mina ends up on the cover. I might try to make that happen sometime!
To Silent Bob 546: Let me enlighten you with a little story. In Stephen King's "Storm of the Century," everything bad seems to happen to the two main characters. Towards the end of the story, when their lives have become absolutely unbearable, one says to the other, "Why did God let this happen to us?" The other replies, "Because there's something about us that just pisses him off!" So, the next time you ask about why everything bad happens to Mina, I'll just say, "Because there's something about her that just pisses me off!"
To Graymoon74: If was bad enough for Hyde to think about going into Mina's room and stripping her naked, but for me to make it actually happen was to be going way off the deep end. I'm glad I mentioned the idea, but I'm even more glad that Hyde never got to it!
To Panzergal: Finally, I hear from you again! Yeah, once I got started writing about Jekyll, I just couldn't stop. I hope you enjoy all of the stories! (Oh, and by the way...when do you plan to update 'A New Era?')
To Raven Silvers: Thanks. I'm thinking that when Jekyll's married, Skinner, Sawyer, and Hyde can get together and have a party celebrating how lonely they are as bachelors. They'll all get drunk again, and...maybe Sawyer will knock Hyde out this time.
To Dr. Griffin (for chapter 1): You're right about the book, but have you ever seen "Jekyl and Hyde: The Musical?" Sir Danvers Carew is the president of the hospital, and Emma is his daughter who's engaged to Jekyll. Neither Sir Danvers nor Emma die in the musical.
To Krisian Rose: You know how people sometimes do strange things when they're drunk (like Sawyer, speaking with a Cockney accent?) Well, I'm thinking that Skinner should speak perfect English the next time he's drunk. What do you say?
To Dr. Griffin (for chapter 2): Edward Hyde is a one-man party. With him around, you don't really need anybody else there! (Nemo, Andre, and Simon don't really drink much anyway, so it wouldn't be much of a party with them.) And about Sawyer...I'm sorry, but you're too late! Graymoon74 was the first one to make a suggestion, so Hyde it was.
To Dr. Red Griffin: You're right. Jekyll wouldn't normally do that, but the key word there is 'normally.' He was drunk when he fought Hyde for insulting Mina.
All right, now that the party's over, what's going on?
Mina tightened her robe over herself. "Skinner?" she asked, dumbfounded. "You're kidding! Hyde must weigh at least 500 pounds!"
"I don't know how it happened. I'm just telling you what I heard from the captain this morning," Batsie replied.
Mina shivered, her chills overtaking her body. She pulled her robe tighter. "Where's Henry?" she asked. "Is Henry okay? Please tell me that Henry's okay!"
Batsie sighed and put a gentle hand on Mina. "Mina, the most important thing is not to be angry with him. He was indeed drinking last night, but he was only trying to let go of some stress, just like you."
Mina nodded. "I can forgive him. I feel like having a couple drinks myself. As long as he's okay, that's all I really care about."
"Jekyll!"
Tom Sawyer burst into Jekyll's room, where Henry was still lying in bed, an ice pack to his forehead. He was too tired to get up and get a cold shower just yet, but he could at least ice his forehead to help the hangover.
"What is it, Sawyer?" Henry moaned. "Can't I just rot in peace?"
"No, you can't rot in peace! What happened last night? Did Skinner really knock Hyde right out?"
"You saw it as well as I did, Sawyer."
"No, I didn't see it, Henry. I was way too drunk to see what happened."
Jekyll sighed. "Well, what happened was, Hyde took a swing at me, and I ducked and then charged at him with the bar stool, and when he was down, Skinner just...attacked him. Got him right in the head. I don't know where he got the strength from."
Sawyer shivered. "I pity Skinner when Hyde wakes up. We should start chaining Hyde up in the dungeon right now."
"Wait. Edward's still unconscious?"
"Yeah. And Skinner's still asleep. What a time for a wedding." Sawyer sighed. "So. Have you thought about a new best man?"
"Well, I'm not ready to replace Edward just yet, but if it comes to that, I'm sure Mina would agree to have Andre McCane step in."
"Yeah, I'm sure she would."
Meanwhile, a feverish Mina was working from bed. She was trying to suck up the pain as best she could, but every couple of minutes, her illness overwhelmed her, and she felt the urge to just lie down in bed. If it wasn't for being sick, working from bed would be extremely comfortable.
"Batsie, I'd like your dress to be maroon, if at all possible," Mina said quietly, spreading yet another quilt on herself. "I just don't want that blood red color at the wedding. It would make Henry uncomfortable."
"Anything's possible." Batsie tapped her lacy Maid of Honor's dress with a slender finger, and it suddenly turned a lovely shade of maroon. "Maroon's a beautiful color, Mina. It'll look beautiful for the wedding."
Jekyll entered Mina's room, tying his bathrobe around himself. He had just taken a cold shower for his hangover, and was still soaking wet. "Mina, honey, I hate to bring this onto you," he told her quietly, "but did you hear what happened to our best man last night?"
Mina nodded. "Actually, I think it's more funny than stressful."
"Well, what do you think about calling in Andre McCane as a replacement?"
Mina smiled. "That's fine with me, sweetie. I'd love to have him in the wedding. Unless Batsie objects."
"Why should I object?" asked Batsie.
"Well, you're the Maid of Honor, and Andre's the best man, and after the ceremony's over, you're going to have to walk down the aisle with your ex-husband, and right in front of Simon," Mina pointed out. Simon Linoge was acting as the priest that would be marrying them.
Batsie froze. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that." There was a minute of silence. "Henry, Mina, you two have been through quite enough. It seriously doesn't matter to me. Go ahead and call him in."
Henry hugged Batsie Linoge. "Oh, thank you so much!" he breathed. "You've just taken a whole load off of me this morning."
Batsie smiled. "I know what you mean, Henry. Mina here didn't do anything to deserve Skinner as the best man in her wedding."
"Nobody here deserves Skinner as the best man in their wedding," Henry added. "Well, listen, Mina. Today, Nemo and I are going to be getting the ship ready for the wedding and the wedding guests. I'd really like you to help me with the menu for the reception, so what time do you plan on getting out of bed?"
"At the earliest, tonight after dinner," Mina said, putting a hand to her forehead.
"Tonight after dinner? Mina!" exclaimed Henry. "You're kidding, right? I mean, we have things to do!"
"Henry, Mina's ill. She has to stay in bed until she's better," Batsie explained to him.
"Ill?" asked Henry, turning pale. "You can't be! Not on the day before our wedding!" He immediately sat down on her bed and put a hand to her forehead. "Oh, no," he cried. "You're burning up! This just can't be! How...how did this...how did this happen?" he stammered, in shock.
"Henry," Batsie said, putting a protective arm around him, "I'm sorry, but you won't be able to treat it with medicine. Mina's illness is caused by stress, and until she becomes less stressed out, she'll have to stay in bed with her fever."
Henry Jekyll wiped some tears from his eyes. "Mina," he said quietly to his fiancée. "Come on, Mina. You can't fall sick now!"
"I'm so sorry, Henry," Mina said quietly. "But don't worry, it'll pass. I'm getting through the day great so far. By tonight, I'll be just fine. Why don't you go and help Nemo with getting the ship ready? I'll be fine here."
Henry nodded. "Yes, honey. Of course. But I'll be back to check on you." And with a kiss on the cheek, he left her.
Batsie smiled. "I'm proud of the way you handled that, Mina. You didn't get nervous or shaky. I think you're learning to control your stress."
Mina smiled back. "I'm never nervous or shaky around Henry. That's why I'm marrying him."
In his room, Edward Hyde finally woke up. He had a hangover, but he couldn't feel it. All he could feel was the pain in his aching head from the blow dealt to him by Skinner last night.
And now, as he recalled the nights of the previous evening and felt the pain in his head, he had only one thing on his mind.
"Must...kill...Rodney...Skinner," he mumbled. "Must...kill...that...invisible... &$#$...."
Mina seems to be getting better, but how can she and Henry undergo their last-minute wedding preparations with Hyde running around like a madman, trying to kill Skinner? And what do the girls have in store for Mina's bachelorette party? Find out in the next chapter!
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Alisonia