Epilogue
Shaggy's wound was so obviously a bite that neither Shaggy nor Scooby made any effort to hide it. On seeing it, Velma immediately took Shaggy to the Emergency Room where he received four stitches, a shot, and a painful coating of iodine. Scooby stayed behind and tried to entertain and distract Bettie while Amanda, her mother, was working to regain equilibrium. Fred and Daphne arrived right after Velma and Shaggy left. Fred was of no use in the emotional environment at Velma and Shaggy's apartment, so he went back to his house to gather some supplies and tools and then returned to work on the door. The paint on Amanda's door was fresh enough that Fred's paint thinner along with extreme amounts of elbow grease removed it all. The group went over and looked closely at the door. It appeared to be gone but Scooby felt that he could still see that word emblazoned across it. Maybe it was an optical illusion or maybe there were some words whose eradication required more than mineral spirits.
Daphne started speaking with Amanda who was sitting alone on the sofa in Scooby's apartment. By appearances, Amanda seemed to be watching Scooby trying to make Bettie laugh. But when Daphne sat with her, it was clear that Amanda was staring into space and taking slow, deep breaths. Scooby's effort to entertain the child was also robotic and half-hearted. Little Bettie sensed that something was wrong and did nothing but watch her mother.
All of Daphne's instincts told her to reach out and make some form of physical contact. She physically wedged her hands under her thighs to keep from acting on that impulse, "Amanda?"
The other woman's head turned toward her, "Hi Daphne, I appreciate you and Fred coming over to help." The words were robotic.
"Are you okay?"
"No. I don't think I am."
"What are you thinking?"
This took Amanda a moment. Putting her thoughts into words, "This had to happen."
"Because you're dating Scooby?"
"No. Because its me."
"I don't understand."
Another pause. Then, "Every day is another possibility of the disaster happening. Today, it happened… again."
Daphne played and replayed these words in her head but just couldn't put together the meaning, "I'm sorry. I'm still not getting it."
"I'm happy for you that you don't understand. I wake up every morning and I wonder if today is the day for the disaster that ruins my life and Bettie's life. Some people go through their entire lives and never face this day. This is my second one this year."
Daphne remembered a day years ago when, in the heat of a raging argument, she had screamed at Fred "I want a divorce!" And he had calmly replied, "I think that might be for the best." She understood a disaster day. But waking up every morning thinking that this might be it? That was foreign to her. Her world was a world where every morning brought new opportunities. But this wasn't about her, it was about Amanda.
Daphne asked a question for which she knew the answer, "How did you get through the last one?"
Amanda's eyes were on her little girl, "Bettie."
Daphne talked toward the answer they both already knew, "How are you going to get through this one?"
"Bettie."
The final question was harsh but necessary, "When is that going to start?"
Amanda's gaze had drifted away during the conversation, but it returned to Daphne. And then to Bettie. "Now, I guess."
"I don't see you having much option."
Amanda nodded, "It's hard."
"Being a mother?"
"Life." Amanda scooted off the sofa and sat on the floor with Bettie and did her best fake smile and fake laugh in response to Scooby's fake antics. Bettie chose to be fooled because she wanted to be fooled.
By the time that Shaggy and Velma returned, the door was cleaned, Amanda was emotionally functional, and she and Scooby had returned to her apartment. Scooby wanted to be gone before Velma got back. He could have handled a glare but her emotionless questioning looks were somehow too much.
On first seeing Shaggy's wound, Velma had been dumbfounded. She understood what she was seeing and understood the cause of the wound. Her powers of deduction rendered an accurate version of the situation which had led to the wound. But the idea of Scooby biting Shaggy was so outlandish and far-fetched, her logical mind could not accept that as the solution. By the time she had bandaged his hand and it was clear that professional medical attention was needed, She had come to grips with the facts. They got into her car and she focused on driving until she had cleared the parking lot.
They drove for a few minutes in silence before she said, "Scooby bit you." There were three people in the world that could detect the slight quaver in Velma's voice. Shaggy was one of them.
"It wasn't his fault."
She was, as always, way ahead, "There were mitigating circumstances. That's different from it not being his fault."
Shaggy's hand was throbbing. A dog bite is a tearing wound and it hurt like hell. He was having trouble concentrating. The part of the conversation that he had mentally rehearsed was already passed. "Okay. There were mitigating circumstances."
"And you forgive him."
"Of course, I forgive him."
Velma engaged the right turn indicator as she turned into the emergency room drive, "Then I forgive him, too."
If Shaggy could have married her right then and there, he would have.
Back in the days of the old show, Scooby Doo always knew that, in the end, the good guys were going to win. Even when the gang was being chased. Even when the traps didn't work. Even when Velma seemed befuddled and the clues didn't add up. Even when they pulled off the latex mask and had no idea whose face they had just revealed. Through it all, he had no doubt that there was no monster scary enough or villain smart enough that The Gang would not overcome.
But what about when the monster was everybody and the latex mask was a metaphor for the veneer of civility worn by the entire human race to hide who they truly were and what they truly believed? How smart did you have to be to outsmart the entirety of the human species? Were all of the smiles and the hugs and the handshakes and the conservative political dogma and the liberal political dogma and all of the sound bytes regarding equality... was it all just a mask? A mask hiding the fact that the human race was nothing but a conglomeration of frightened, frustrated, and angry individuals? Was every human being terrified of anyone and anything different or new?
Velma had admitted as much. She had told him that when she was faced with the reality of Scooby Doo being truly her equal in all ways, it had frightened her. She professed to love him but not as her equal - only as a subservient and entertaining sidekick that did what he was told. Neither Fred nor Daphne and certainly not Shaggy had ever said any such thing to him. But wasn't Velma the one with years of therapy? Wouldn't that make her the one most able to accurately self-assess her true thoughts and feelings? Couldn't the rest of The Gang be deluding themselves?
Amanda was the wild card. Since she was dating him, didn't that mean she considered him her true equal? Or was that just the biggest self-delusion of all? I'm dating a dog, so I can say and think whatever I want, and no one can accuse me of speciesism. The racist, genderist, religionist, speciesist get-out-of-jail-free card.
The evening was now quiet and he, Amanda, and Bettie were alone in the apartment. He was in the living room and the mother and daughter were in the bedroom with Amanda attempting to get Bettie down for a nap. But the child was fighting – knowing something important was happening although her young mind couldn't put a name to it. She wanted to understand and be included. And she would be, in time. In time, she would get caught up in this issue with the rest of the human race. If she understood what she was asking, she would delay it as long as possible.
There was a knock at the door. Amanda's door hardware had not been retro-fitted and Scooby could not operate the round knob, "Rome in."
Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, and Velma came in through the door. Scooby focused on Shaggy to avoid looking at Velma's face. He spoke to Shaggy, "Are roo okay?"
Shaggy's smile was slightly overdone, "Right as rain, compadre."
Scooby looked at the ground, "Rye'm rorry."
Shaggy's smile didn't waiver, "You said that already, Scoob. It's nothing. Forget about it."
Scooby believed that Shaggy meant what he said, but Shaggy was not the person who's reaction he feared. He tried not to look but could not avoid seeing Velma's face. He would have considered that her expression was inscrutable but, since her grandmother was Japanese, that particular adjective was off-limits. Her expression was unreadable to him and all he could do was wait for her reaction. He could not stop himself from flinching as she stepped up in front of him. His ears went flat and his tail was motionless on the floor. She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. Placing her mouth next to his ear, she whispered, "It's okay."
Over her shoulder, he could see their reflection in the full-length mirror next to the door. His eye spotted something in his fur near where her arms were joined behind his neck. His eyesight was not great but coupled with his sense of smell he realized what it was. It was the dried drops of Shaggy's blood, still staining his back. In that moment, both he and The Gang found out something they had never known. Dogs can cry.
Even with Velma's arms wrapped around his neck and the rest of The Gang and now Amanda gathered around him, Scooby Doo knew that he was completely and truly alone. These people who he loved so dearly did not even know themselves. How could he know them? How could he trust them? His life was no longer a group narrative in third person. It was now a dark solo story in the first person.
XXXXXX
A request from the writer.
When I wrote the first fan fiction Scooby Doo story, I intended it as a one-off. I was taking a mental break from my other projects and hobbies. I found, however, that I liked the storyline and enjoyed continuing it. I have ended up with a plan for ten stories and we are at the halfway mark. I am still enjoying it. But I also enjoy my other projects. So, I am having to choose whether to go ahead and finish out the ten stories or to work on something else for a while. Honestly, I would be happy either way.
What I am asking is, if you are enjoying this storyline and would like to see it written to a conclusion, please review one of my stories and tell me to finish. Am I pandering for reviews? Hell yes! But we don't get paid for this and statistics are a hollow echo of real feedback. Reviews are where the fun is. They are what tell us that someone is out there really reading what we are writing. Please throw a guy a bone. :)
To give you an idea of where this is heading, I write in 3-episode story arcs. The first three focused on Velma and Shaggy's relationship. The second three (that we are in now) is focusing on Scooby's relationship issues. You can probably figure out what the third arc will focus on. The tenth episode will be a finale that hopefully ties up all the loose ends.
The 6th episode has been written and will start uploading on Monday (I wouldn't stop writing in the middle of a story arc, that would be gauche!). So, if you would like to see stories 7 through 10, drop me a review or two and let me know that you're out there. Thanx.
