Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel, That's So Productions, Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Warren-Rinsler Productions, NBC Universal Television and Tailwind Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories.
Author's Note: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen was the name of the episode that was the series finale of MASH. To this day, it is still the highest-rated episode of a television series in history. The episode's plot deals with the final days of the Korean War at the 4077th MASH and features several storylines intended to show the war's effects on the individual personnel of the unit, and to bring closure to the series. After saying their tear-filled goodbyes, the main characters go their separate ways, leading up to the iconic final scene of the series.
This chapter brings closure to the relationship between Raven and Claire. I thought the title was fitting given the circumstances.
This chapter is dedicated to MASH and two special friends of mine that have a cameo mention somewhere in the chapter. Thank you guys for being my friends.
Continental Divide
Chapter 7
Goodbye, Farewell and Amen
Raven and Chelsea were on cloud nine when they walked into the restaurant at the hotel for breakfast. They were in love with each other. They sat down to breakfast and engaged in idle chitchat as always, only now they gave each other the warm, knowing smiles that two people madly in love with each other give from time to time.
About 20 minutes into the meal, Chelsea's cell phone rang.
"This is Teri." Chelsea said with a smile. "I'll just be a second."
Raven smiled but wondered what it was with those two. They became the fastest of friends. We're not even officially together and I'm gon' have to beat a bitch down? Raven thought about the possibilty of straightening Teri out as she watched Chelsea.
"Hey!" Chelsea said as she waited for Teri's response. "Yes." (pause) "Yes!" (pause) "That's right!" (pause) "YEAH!" Chelsea begins laughing in celebration. (pause) "Yeah. Thank you." (pause) "I am." (pause) "I will." (pause) "Bye."
"Can I ask you a question?" Raven asked with her head cocked to the side.
"Sure."
"What's the deal with the two of you?" Raven said in a curious but playful, non-threatened tone.
"Teri… has been helping me sort through my feelings." Chelsea said with a warm smile. "She's become a good fast friend."
"So I guess she'll be your new BFF, huh?"
"You'll always be my BFF. She can become my BPFF. My Best Platonic Friend Forever." Chelsea said. "I've got a bombshell of a piece of info on her."
Raven leaned forward in her seat in anticipation of some juicy gossip. "What?"
"Teri is Claire's cousin." Chelsea said. Raven sat back in shock.
"Say what?"
"Yeah. I was in Starbucks this morning and ran in to them talking."
"You… saw Claire this morning?" Raven asked. "What did she say to you?"
"Nothing really. We exchanged hellos. I sat down and we asked each other how we knew each other."
"Was she there when I text messaged you?"
"She was in mid-sentence when my phone went off."
"Wow… I had no idea your Teri was her cousin. She only mentioned one cousin, her favorite one, Reese."
"That's her. She calls her Reese. Short for Teresa. Get it? Reese, Teresa, Teri!"
"Oh, okay, now I get it." Raven said, making the connection. "So how did Claire look to you?"
"Like she had something heavy on her mind."
"You think it was us?"
"If I were a betting woman, I'd say yes." Chelsea said.
"I need to talk to her today." Raven said with a pensive look.
"What are you going to say?"
"I'm going to tell her the truth. That I still love her, but I'm in love with you and I want to be with you. It's not fair to her or you to hang in limbo."
"She's going to be hurt." Chelsea said, showing compassion for her unintentional rival.
"She already is hurt. Dragging things out would just make things work. I still love her." Raven pauses. "Does that bother you when I say that?"
Chelsea's face softened even more than it already was. "No. I don't expect your feelings for her to evaporate into thin air. You have a history with her. You share memories. I can deal with that." Chelsea smiled. "We just have to make sure we make some memories of our own."
Raven shifted in her seat as she felt a twinge of good feelings surging. "I thought we came down here to behave." Raven said as she drew breath between clenched teeth.
"You're right. We did." Chelsea said as a wicked smile spread across her face. "So misbehave with me tonight. The desk clerk told me about this club. I'd love to get you on the dance floor."
"I don't know of I'm gonna feel like…"
"You will for me." Chelsea dropped her voice several octaves an purred as she said that, causing a unique sensation in Raven.
"I have a feeling phone sex with you would be dangerous." Raven figured.
Chelsea's smile began to fade. "Not putting the cart before the horse…"
"I know. I have to go do something." Raven said as she mentally dreaded having to talk to Claire about this.
"You need me to come with you for support? I could sit downstairs in the lobby." Chelsea offered.
Raven took Chelsea by the hand across the table. "That's very sweet but I've got to do this by myself. I'll be okay."
"Okay. I've got a couple of errands to run. Call me when you can." Chelsea said.
"Where are you going?"
"Shopping."
"Without me?" Raven was almost offended.
"This shopping is for you. We can hook up later." Chelsea said. A wicked grin crossed Raven's lips. Chelsea caught her double entendre. "That's… not what I meant!"
"I know. I just wanted to see your face when I did that."
Chelsea laughed as she rose from the table. "I'll talk to you later." She leaned over to kiss Raven. Raven quickly diverted Chelsea's head and put her lips to Chelsea's ear.
"Are you sure you want to do that out in the open where people in here can see us?" Raven asked.
"Why not?" Chelsea whispered. "They're gonna hear us tonight anyway." Chelsea said as she brought her lips around to meet Raven's. "Call me." Chelsea whispered as she turned and walked away from the table.
Raven watched her as she walked out of the restaurant. Two contradictory images were in her mind. The very sexually charged Chelsea she just saw leave the restaurant and whom she imagined to be the understandably upset Claire back at the apartment. She recalled the famous line that subjects say when one monarch dies and another ascends to the throne in their place. She says to herself in a whisper "The queen is dead… Long live the queen."
It was around 10:30 in the morning when Raven reached her building. She knew in her heart it was the last time she was entering the building as Claire Bennet's girlfriend. It was the first time that she realized that she was soon going to be looking for another roommate. The walk from across the lobby to the elevator and the ride upstairs seemed to take longer than usual. Everything seemed to be in slow motion.
She approached her apartment door and heard the sound of the television. Okay. This is it. Raven pulled out her keys and opened the door. Claire was sitting on the couch, feet propped up on the edge of the coffee table, remote in hand. She didn't acknowledge Raven's presence. Raven closed the door behind her and walked over to the couch. She looked at what was on the TV.
"The Megan Mullally Show? Raven was puzzled by Claire's choice. Claire once told her she hated talk shows.
Claire never looked at Raven. "Yeah. She's talking to the cast of some crappy NBC show about people with superpowers. Real bunch of winners there." When Claire was upset, nothing escaped her wrath. She turned the TV off and dropped her head.
"You're going to break up with me." Claire said in a clear, unemotional voice.
Raven stood frozen in total disbelief. She was about to ask her where she got such an idea from until she remembered the promise she made to herself to always be honest with Claire. "It's not that simple."
Claire put the remote down and moved to the far end of the couch; her non-verbal communication was inviting Raven to sit down. Raven did. "Sometimes, you can just feel these things. It's weird. It's like, you're mind knows that you need to be prepared for something big and it does." Claire paused. "Are you in love with her?" Claire looked Raven in the eyes for the first time since Raven walked in.
Raven felt an uneasy tumble in the pit of her stomach. She simply nodded her answer to Claire's question.
"How long have you known?" Claire inquired.
"A year. But I swear when we got together I thought I was over that feeling. For a long time I was… until she said she was coming to see me." Raven admitted. "All those feelings that I had came back. I didn't plan this at all."
"I know you didn't." Claire had a tone of defeat and resignation in her voice. There was a pause. "Did you sleep with her this morning?"
"No… No… I would never do that to you." Raven looked at Claire's face. Even heartbroken, Raven thought to herself how beautiful Claire looked and how she would have no problem finding someone else. "You may not believe me when I say this, but I still love you. You did nothing wrong to me. You are attentive, sweet, caring, funny, sexy…"
"Just not Chelsea." Claire said Chelsea's name for the first time in the conversation. Raven could only muster a half-hearted smile. "The funny thing is I'm not mad at you. I still love you too. And I always will." Claire then dropped an emotional hammer on Raven. "You are my first real love." Claire dropped her head as her first tears silently fell. Raven's eyes welled up with tears. Raven closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the flow of tears but it just seemed to make matters worse. Several minutes went by as they allowed each other these moments of grief. Deep down both of them were determined to end the relationship on a positive note.
Raven was the first one to pull herself together enough to formulate a question.
"Are you going to be all right?" Raven was concerned about her in the short term.
"No!" Claire said with a half-chuckle, half-cry. "I'll probably throw some stuff, cry, call you a few names and play Irreplaceable a few dozen times… but I'll manage." She sniffed up some of her tears as she grabbed a few tissues from the box on the coffee table. "My friends Crys and Kennedy are gonna let me crash at their place until I can find another place. Their storage is empty. I can stick my stuff in there."
"Okay." Raven was relieved to know that she had somewhere to go.
Claire looked at Raven again. "Just do me a favor."
"Anything."
"Promise me you won't forget me. Because I'll never forget you." Claire looked at Raven with a wide-eyed innocence. Claire was scared that Raven would forget her.
"I promise." Raven said as she smiled.
"Crys and Kennedy are waiting down the street for me. So I should get going." Claire said. There was a small part of Raven that wasn't quite ready to say goodbye. Claire had that same feeling. "One more favor, Rae?"
"Of course."
"May I have a last dance with you?" Claire said with another round of tears beginning to well up.
Raven felt her eyes sting again as she nodded her approval.
Claire turned the stereo on. A familiar intro began to play. Raven began to sob. She and Claire embraced for the last time. They began to dance.
I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston
If I should stay,
I would only be in your way.
So I'll go, but I know
I'll think of you ev'ry step of the way.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
You, my darling you. Hmm.
Bittersweet memories
that is all I'm taking with me.
So, goodbye. Please, don't cry.
We both know I'm not what you, you need.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
(Instrumental solo)
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of.
And I wish to you, joy and happiness.
But above all this, I wish you love.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I, I will always love you.
You, darling, I love you.
Ooh, I'll always, I'll always love you.
Raven and Claire shared one last, goodbye kiss.
"Take care of yourself. I love you." Raven said as she held both of Claire's hands in her own.
"I love you too." Claire said as she slowly turned toward the door, breaking contact with Raven for the last time.
Raven watched Claire disappear as the apartment door closed behind her. She allowed herself one last grieving session as she sat down on the couch and wept. Although Claire was not her true love, it was painful nonetheless. She hated breaking her heart. Claire had been so sweet and loving to her. She could only hope that Claire would find her true love out there somewhere.
Raven was not ready to call Chelsea yet. She had to get herself together. Raven decided to zone out for a little bit. She turned on the televison and hit the previous channel button. She turned to the Hallmark Channel where they were playing the last episode of MASH. She really didn't care for MASH, but she had turned to it just as the final episode started. The title card was what caught her attention. "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen."
Raven said to herself out loud, "I will never forget you Claire Bennet. Goodbye… Farewell… and Amen."
Thank you for coming this far with me. Claire is gone now. Only Raven and Chelsea remain. Chelsea invited Raven to the club. What in the world will happen next? You'll find out only if you come back for Chapter 8. But not before you review Chapter 7 that is!
