Normally, when Henry dies, his first thought is "How am I going to get home, without clothing and without getting caught?" Today, however, his first thought was much different. As he surfaced, gasping for air, his thoughts were on Jo. Her facial expression is seared permanently into his mind. The look of shear terror and heartache as Henry slowly slipped from her grasp. Thankfully, he couldn't see her face as he disappeared. That would be even harder to forget.
The sounds of traffic just above him brought him back to the present. Just a few yards in front of him, tucked neatly between some bushes, were his clothes. He had learned shortly after his last arrest for indecent exposure that keeping clothing near by was a good idea. One too many people had seen him naked, and it was starting to bug him.
Once Henry was fully clothed, he turned his attention to the bridge. He could make his way up and hitch a ride with someone - though most people didn't stop when they saw he was wet. There had been a couple of times when a person was kind enough to drop him off at the antique shop, but he didn't count on that happening today. Instead, he would have to walk a couple blocks to find a payphone. They were becoming few and far between in New York. Most people had cell phones, making the payphone obsolete. Henry considered getting one himself, but couldn't bring himself to do it.
After a few block, Henry found his usual payphone and stuck a quarter in the top. He punched in their number and waited while the phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times.
"C'mon Abe," He mumbled to himself. "Pick up the phone."
Finally, after the fifth ring, Abe's voice appeared on the other end.
"Hello?"
"I'm in my usual spot."
Abraham laughed. "I'll be there in a minute."
The phone clicked once, signaling Abraham had hung up. It would take him around ten minutes to reach Henry (He had timed Abe once). This gave him some time to think. Sitting down on an abandoned front porch step, he placed his head in his hands. It would be difficult for Henry to compile his thoughts as he usually did, what with Jo being scattered throughout his mind.
There were very few people in his life who had discovered his secret; even fewer who were told his secret. Those who were lucky enough to be told usually didn't take it well. Nora's face flashed through his mind; the fear in her eyes when he pulled the blade out, the relief at seeing him being taken away. Despite it happening over 200 years ago, his heart still felt the pain of those moments. What if Jo responded as Nora did? Henry wasn't certain he could take her rejection. It would be in that moment of rejection he would want to die the most.
Abigail's face slowly pushed those thoughts out of his mind. She had taken his secret in such stride, Henry could hardly believe it. Surely, the second he turned his back, she would be gone. The utter absurdity too much for her to handle. But she had stayed, and that caused a whole new set of fears to arrive. Henry would have her only for a moment - 20 years, maybe. Abigail would age beyond what was socially acceptable, and their life together would end.
The sound of a car horn interrupted the walk down memory lane. Henry looked up to see Abe smirking at him inside the car. The smirk slowly faded when he saw the look on his face, however. Rising slowly, he pulled open the passenger's side door and got in. If silence could kill, Henry would be the murderer. Finally, Abe began to fill the silence.
"So, you wanna tell me what happened this time?"
Henry simply looked over at his son, saying nothing.
"Okay," Abe said, giving a nod. "I'll take guess then. You were doing an autopsy and while exploring the victim, you were poisoned."
He gave him a look of disbelief. "Abraham."
"Too dramatic? Alright then; you were hit by a car?"
Again, silence.
The silence only seemed to fuel Abe's fire. He began taking guesses that were both preposterous and absolutely likely. Killed by a fire-breathing dragon. Food poisoning. Abducted by aliens and experimented on. The more he talked, the harder it was for Henry to keep his mouth shut. Normally, he found these guessing games amusing. His son was able to come up with some doozies. But now, as Abraham decided on death by plane crash, he had had enough.
"I was shot."
Abe looked over at him, surprised. "Really? By whom?"
"His name is Michael; he was our killer."
"Ah, I see," He said, pausing a moment, before his eyes widened. "Wait! Did you find Jo?"
Henry looked over at him, with all 236 years worth of pain in his eyes, and nodded. "I died in front of her."
Abraham couldn't believe what his Father just said. Did he just say he died? In front of Jo? He replayed the moment back in his head several times, allowing silence to fall between them again. After thinking about it for a few moment, he knew he heard Henry correctly. Looking over at him, Abe did his best to sound completely unphased.
"You did?"
Henry sighed, looking down at his hands in his lap. "I should have listened to Detective Hanson. I should have stayed in the car. I should have waited."
"Dad," Abraham said, gently. "Tell me everything."
And tell him everything he did. The car ride back to the antique shop only took fifteen minutes, but their conversation lasted well over an hour. Henry gave his son every detail of what had occurred. Discovering Jo in the closet, full of fear. The killer holding the gun at her head. The rush toward him, and those three gunshots. By the time he got to the last few moments of his life, Abe could hear the pull in his Father's voice. He was doing all he could to hold back the emotion, but he couldn't keep it bottled inside. Tears started to trickle down his face.
"Remember Mom, Henry," He said, after a few moments of allowing his Dad to cry. "She supported you through it all. I bet Jo is going to do the exact same thing."
He looked up at Abe and smiled. "I appreciate your attempt to make me feel better, but I highly doubt a man could be that lucky twice in his life."
"You've had a long life, so it's bound to happen," Abe said, smirking at his own joke.
Thankfully, that joke lightened the mood enough for them to take the conversation into the house. Rain started to fall as Abraham slammed the door, locking the car. He took a quick peek at Henry, who was staring into the antique shop window. Though his reflection was barely visible, he could still see tears in his Dad's eyes. Suddenly, everything started falling into place.
Henry had spent the majority of his life trying to hide his secret. He remained distant with everyone, because if he got too close then the secret could come spilling out. It would come like a wave, crashing over the lives of those around him and destroying everything. But Henry's decision to hide was fueled mainly by fear of the unknown. The fear Abe saw in his Father's eyes now was not fear of the unknown; it was fear of rejection. He was afraid Jo would see him alive again, and want nothing to do with his 236 year old life.
And Henry Morgan's heart couldn't take being rejected by the woman who held his heart.
The sounds of footsteps and soft voices woke Jo from her slumber. The bed beneath her felt like a rock, and she shifted to find a more comfortable position. Unfortunately, this caused a sharp pain to pierce her side. She hissed out a profanity. This was going to be a long day.
A nurse walked into the hospital room and smiled at her. "Good morning, Detective."
Jo tried to smile politely, but the pain in her side bit back at her. "Morning."
"You slept for quite some time," She said, checking her monitor and adjusting the IV.
"How long?"
"Two days."
Jo's eyes widened. "Two days?!"
The nurse laughed softly, placing a hand on her arm. "Detective, relax. The sleep was good for you; speeds up the healing process."
Jo listened as the nurse explained her injuries to her, and the great likelihood of a full recovery. The words 'bruising', 'dehydration' and 'ribs' all tickled at her ears, but she heard little of the nurses words. Two days had gone by. Two long days that could have been spent searching for Henry. Instead, she was stuck in this hospital bed, waiting for her body to catch up with her mind. Just as she was about to politely tell the nurse to get lost, her words caught her attention.
"What did you just say?" Jo asked, turning to look at her.
"I said, 'You've had a few visitors while you were sleeping,'" The nurse said, smiling. "You have some people in your life that truly care about you."
"Who were they?" Her words felt far too rushed.
The nurse laughed softly, before pausing a moment. "There was a man and a woman - I assume husband and wife." Detective Hanson and his wife. "Also, a well dressed woman, and another young man."
"Did you catch their names?" She asked, trying to not sound so eager.
She nodded. "I believe the woman was your boss, and the young man...oh, what did he say his name was?" She paused a moment before recognition flashed through her eyes. "Lucas. That was what he told me."
Jo's heart fell. Though she knew the improbability of it, her heart hoped Henry would have found a way to come and see her. Even if it was just to say goodbye.
Author's Note:
Hello lovelies! I am so sorry for how long it took me to post this new chapter. I took a long break from writing, and didn't warn you guys. But! I'm back and ready to continue this story. (Oh, do I have some ideas of where to take this!). Anyway, hope you like this chapter. I apologize for any typos, but I wanted to get this up ASAP.