UPPPDAAATEEEEE!
Mavis stirred in her sleep, the nightmare reaching its climatic phase.
She followed the crimson trail, her nose telling her what she already knew: blood. Her heart sank deeper in her chest with every step she took. A broken bottle lay in the carpeted floor, along with a familiar item: a 7-inch-blade KA BAR knife. Just like the one that…
A low grunt was picked up by her sharp hearing, almost a soft whimper, and she recognized who it belonged to. She crossed the room in a hurry, past an overturned small couch. She paused at the sight in front of her. The despair she had felt turned into complete panic and impotence. She kneeled by his side, picking up his dying frame.
"Mavey… I'm...I'm… sorry… I couldn't…"
"It's ok, you are ok. It's nothing, you'll be fine, I promise!" she quickly replied, trying to calm herself more than him.
"Don't… lie to me… Mavey… I know… I'm messed up…"
"Don't say that, you are okay, you are okay!" she whimpered, trying to fix the situation with pure will power.
"I… I… love you, Mavey… you…you…" the energy left his body, and she could hear his heart giving up slowly. His life was slipping away right on her arms, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She felt powerless, despite being the daughter of the most powerful monster in the whole world. She wanted to do something, anything. Maybe… turn him! But how? They had talked about it, often disagreeing on whether they should or not try it, but she didn't know how to actually do it.
It was late, anyway. His heart gave one final beat, and he ceased to be. He had died a painful death, but he had found enough strength to die as close to her as he could. Through the excruciating pain he had suffered, he left the world with the thin hint of a smile on his lips. But while he was gone and was now unable to suffer neither physical nor emotional pain, Mavis was now alone in a world that had just shrunken a bit more. She cried silently, emotional shock barring her from suffering a complete breakdown on the spot.
"P-p-paddy? Wake up. Please. Wake up!"
Mavis awoke with a startle. She was covered in sweat, and tears streaked down the sides of her face. She desperately grasped to the other side of the bed, hoping to feel her husband's form under her arm, but instead found a note where the Irishman usually slept. If her heart could beat, it would be doing so at a hundred per second. She took the note and began reading, relief beginning to wash over her as she went through it.
Good evening, darling.
Sorry I'm not home. I needed help with something. Old Drac can surely lend me a hand with this. In the meantime, I left something for you by the nightstand. Hope you enjoy them.
Love, the idiot you are married with.
The vampiress rolled her eyes at the last jibe, and she finally relaxed. It was just a bad dream.
As if on cue, little Nate began bubbling and babbling from his crib. Mavis went to check after the baby, who somehow knew there was something wrong with mommy, and began reaching forward with his small arms. The novice mother scooped him up in her arms, and the baby cuddled against her in his awkward attempt of a hug. His mother giggled softly and smiled.
"Thank you, little bat. Are you hungry?" the baby answered by looking at her with his wide eyes.
Mavis decided to busy herself with taking care of her son while Padraigh returned from whatever he needed to do.
O'Donnell walked back to the small-ish cottage he lived in with his wife and son. Dracula's words still occupied his mind, and as such, he was impressed when he arrived in what seemed like a very short time to his destination. He still hadn't made up his mind about the whole thing, so he sat in the steps leading to the door and watched the forest while he tried to sort through the whole mess he had created for himself. Mavis had probably heard him arrive, because she exited the cozy interior and sat by his side on the wooden steps. She leaned on him and cuddled, and he wrapped his arms around her.
"You alright? I got kindda nervous when I didn't find you in the bed" Mavis said, a slight tone of worry in her voice. O'Donnell cringed. He hated when he made her worry.
"I'm sorry, darling. I just needed some help to think about the Ireland thing."
"You know, we don't have to go if you are not sure about it. We can go later, when little Nate is older."
"I know, Mavey, but… I feel like I'm being unfair with you. You've wanted to travel around the world for a few years, and now… I'm not saying little Nate is not a blessing, nor that I don't love him. But I feel like this is my fault. If I had been more careful…"
Mavis stopped him, his words causing her pain.
"It isn't your fault, Paddy, please stop blaming yourself, alright? I know we didn't plan for little Nate, but he's with us and that's what matters. And yes, I wanted to see more of the world before we settled to start our family, but like I said, he's here with us, and I feel very happy about it. Don't you feel happy too?"
The Irishman had to admit that the vampire girl was right, but he still felt very responsible about the situation at hand.
"I guess you are right. But, I was thinking about it, and… well, your Dad doesn't mind having little Nate around…" His wife giggled to herself, shaking her head.
"I wouldn't expect any less. But are you sure? We don't have to do this"
"It's alright. I'll tend to my problem in Ireland and then we take our last trip. Sounds good?"
"Yeah. I'll miss little Nate's crying, though. I think I'm getting used to it" They both laughed at this, in a light moment that broke the uncomfortable atmosphere that had permeated the place. O'Donnell hugged his wife closer and kissed her deeply. So deep that they had to part for air, but they didn't really want to. In the end, they returned back home to their sleeping child.
Two days later
Johnathan stood straight, his Dress Uniform neatly pressed and worn. The loud report of the rifles echoed through Arlington cemetery, and reminded him once again of the many firefights and ambushes they had survived in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Nobody really knew about the nature of his deployment in these areas, neither that he had been fast-forwarded to Ranger School thanks to a very observant Drill Sergeant. It was something that he didn't want people to know, and he was happy to keep it to himself. The twenty-one –shots salute ended, and the service was officially over. The affair was incredibly discreet, with only him and a couple other squad mates accompanying Jessica and Tommy, John's three-year-old son. The kid held on tightly to the flag given to him, as if it was his father himself. It broke Johnny's heart to see someone so young having to deal with the loss of someone so close to him. His squad mates left the place, not before offering help and encouragement to the widow and her son. Johnathan stayed behind until everyone except for the family left.
"Johnathan, right?" Jessica asked, holding back some tears that she hadn't gotten around to shed. Not in front of her kid anyway.
"Yes. I'm… sorry… I know it doesn't change anything. If you ever need something…"
"Thank you. I'm glad John had friends like you. He… left a letter for you. We found it in his will, and were told to not open it and deliver it personally to you." She produced an envelope from her purse, sealed, as she promised.
Johnathan took the letter, not sure what to say. Jessica hugged him, and then left without a word. Tommy waved at Johnny with sad eyes, following his mother. The envelope was open in less than ten seconds:
Johnathan
If you are reading this, then something real bad happened. I wrote this for you to know two things.
One, that you are one of the best people I've ever met, and that the friendship that we forged among the dust, mud, mountains and blood is one of the things I'm the proudest about. You became the little brother I never had, and I'm thankful that we crossed paths, even in the worst possible place on Earth. It pains me to realize that I never told this to you in person, while I had the chance, but it's better late than never, right?
Two, you are not crazy about that dream of yours. I know you, and I know that you are not someone that breaks easily, especially not to something like this. I wish I could tell you that I have the answers you are looking for, but I would be lying. The only way for you to get to the bottom of it is to dig. Not only in your mind, but out there too. It's a longshot, we are, after all, seven thousand million individuals in this planet. But you gotta try, brother. Remember what good old Sergeant Hartman told us: the only time wasted is the time you spend overthinking the situation".
I'm sorry it has come to this, but you know death, it loves to taunt at us in the cruelest ways possible. Don't give up. I might not be there anymore, but I'll be watching you, brother.
I'll see you on the other side, and remember…
RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!
-John
P.S. No flowers on my grave! Only the Red, White and Blue. I mean it.
Johnathan finished reading and couldn't avoid feeling mixed emotions. On one side, his friend was dead, and nothing could change that. On the other hand, John had found a way to lessen the blow of his very own death, and was encouraging Johnathan to not stop and dwell on it, but rather suggested that he had to move forward and fix his own situation. Johnny left Arlington, leaving a miniature red, white and blue flag, just like his friend requested.
He didn't know when he would come back and pay a visit to his fallen brother, but he was sure John would understand.
This one was a bit hard to write. So... I know (and I think you know too), that this story has wildly deviated from the HT story. I know some don't mind and others have a little problem with it. You'll be glad to know that I've already planned other fanfics, more related to the movie than this one (one of them is an AU, a retelling of the story but with more action and and OC instead of Johnny). In the meantime,bear with me, please. I'm trying to create aa good story, so if you feel like I'm failing to do so feel free to say so in the reviews. If you like it, well, I appreciate it. See you in the next update!