Chapter 4
Stubborn Tendencies

Bonnie was walking ridiculously fast, practically jogging. She was trying to sort the many documents in her hands while not running into anyone. Finn and Jake were hurrying to follow her, colliding with people a bit more than the distracted princess. She had told them she was ready, that they could go out, that Finn could meet his young father in the…

"Uh, PB... we just passed the infirmary," Finn said, pointing towards the hallway behind them that began to grow more distant. Yet, even with the candy hospital growing farther and farther away, the Princess didn't slow down.

"Yeah, I thought about it. We're not going to the infirmary anymore," she responded, turning abruptly around a corner. The brothers rushed behind her, nearly running into a wall in the process.

Jake looked wide-eyed at the Princess. "Whaaaat?! You mean you're not bringing us to Past Martin?!" he practically shouted. Bonnie shushed him. "You're not bringing us to past Martin?!" he repeated quieter, making his head smaller to accompany his softer volume.

"No, I'm bringing 'Past Martin' to you."

The Princess slid to a stop in front of a pair of large doors, Finn and Jake almost running into her. She nodded to the Banana Guards who were stationed there, and they nodded back, silently opening the doors.

A large, beautimous garden was presented. Wellkept yellow grass surrounded a multitude of candy flowers, and an elegant bench sat in front of a large, trimmed hedge that formed a maze of sorts. Faint voices of those from the nearby Candy Village could be heard, but besides that, the garden was as tranquil as could be.

The bright sun glared down on the three as they stepped outside. "Woof! It's hot as Flame Kingdom out here!" Finn exclaimed, taking off his signature bear hat, which revealed his unkempt blonde hair.

"I didn't want to worry any of the other patients with this, so I decided to have you guys talk out here," the Princess explained. Finn nodded, peering out at the wonderful garden. "I'm going to get Martin. It'll only take a minute. Just wait here!" Just as quickly as she entered, she turned around and went back inside. The garden doors slammed closed behind her.

Bonnie tried her best to recompose herself after rushing back to the infirmary from outside. The cardio she just performed was not the only reason her heart was beating fast. This was really about to happen, wasn't it? Finn would finally get to know more about humans; Martin could rest assured that his son was alive and okay… She took a deep breath, just hoping everything would go as planned.

The pristine floors of the castle hallways were replaced by checkered tiles when Bonnie stepped into the infirmary. The sound of her shoes clicking against the floor caused patients to look up at her. The few candy people greeted her with, "Hello, Princess!" or something of the like. She warmly gave them salutations as she walked up to the bed of the patient she was there to visit: Martin Mertens.

Martin sat upright on his bed, his legs hanging off the side. He had redressed in the same clothes he was in when he was first dragged into the infirmary - a light grey sweatshirt with dark grey jeans, and unfortunately, no shoes. His long hair was now pulled back into a low ponytail, and a few bandages were wrapped around his head. Beside him was Peppermint Butler, who was standing on a stool, holding a stethoscope to the human's heart.

"Hey, Princess!" Martin said upon seeing Bonnie, shooting her a wink and a one handed finger-gun.

"Hello, Martin," Bonnie responded, smiling at the human in front of her. She turned to Peppermint Butler, asking, "How have his vitals been holding up?"

"Both his breathing and pulse have been consistently normal, and he hasn't had a significant rise or drop in body temperature," reported Peppermint Butler, removing the stethoscope from Martin's chest. The peppermint creature climbed off the stool to put the medical equipment in their proper places.

Bonnie nodded. "And his head injuries?" she asked, spinning around so her voice was directed at her butler.

"Improving ever so slightly. His memory hasn't been damaged any further, and he no longer experiences painful migraines, but he seems to have developed difficulty sleeping. He's been up at ludicrous hours in the halls," he answered, his words followed by the equipment cabinet creaking to a close.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "I see," she murmured, briefly glancing over her shoulder at the human. Then, again, she nodded, putting her papers on the nightstand next to Martin's bed. "Thanks, Peps."

"Of course, m'lady."

Bonnie turned to face Martin again, the human awkwardly sitting at the edge of his hospital bed. Did he really try to escape? she thought with disdain. "Up at night in the halls?" she said sternly, crossing her arms and giving the human a pointed look.

Martin put up his hands in defense. "Hey, I get restless when I can't sleep! That's from the concussion! Besides, can you blame me? This castle is beautiful!" he said, gesturing widely.

Bonnie sighed to herself. "Mhm," she hummed, unconvinced. She didn't believe a single world he'd just uttered. She tried her best to brush it off, for Finn, but she was starting to sense irking similarities between Martin and his future counterpart. "Well, you're here now, and I suppose that's all that matters. We have more important matters to discuss. Martin, you said earlier that you thought you drowned before you washed up here, correct?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I think I know why you didn't drown. You see, there were imprints left in your DNA that indicated you came into contact with something otherworldly, and I believe that otherworldly thing is a time portal."

"A… time portal?" Martin repeated with an nearly flat tone. Confusion was also very prominent in his voice. He stared at her with eyebrows raised. "No offense, Princess, but that sounds absolutely nuts."

"You're in a castle that's mostly made of sugar and full of sentient candy people. I'd say a time portal isn't the strangest thing."

"But it's up there!"

Bonnie licked her lips, her patience wearing thin. "I didn't just draw that conclusion out of the blue… I compared your DNA to the DNA of the other human I mentioned earlier, and there was roughly a fifty percent match. That's how much a parent shares with a child." She paused momentarily to wait for his reaction, regaining a small smile.

Martin's face grew blank, many diverging emotions travelling through him at once. Bonnie's face faltered as silence between the two grew. Eventually, Bonnie noticed Martin's hands slowly forming into fists. "He went off in a completely different..." he eventually started, trailing off. Looking up at Bonnie, Martin gave a conflicted stare that was hard to read. "You sure you don't have faulty data or something?"

Sensing the growing tension, Bonnie quickly interjected, "I'm sure! Please believe me when I say I've double and triple checked this. Here!" She quickly rummaged through her papers, shoving a picture in his direction, a picture of Finn. Martin hesitantly took it. His face almost immediately softened as he stared at the picture.

"See? Martin, Finn is here, but Finn is also sixteen years old. That's why I believe you came here through a time portal. You travelled about fifteen years into the future," Bonnie explained, plopping down next to Martin on the hospital bed.

Martin continued to silently stare at the picture. It was a picture of a teenage human boy and a probably-mutated dog that was likely taken recently, if he had to guess. Both of them were smiling big, goofy grins outside a pretty impressive treehouse. Martin couldn't help but draw connections between the teenage boy and his lovely, lost wife. He could see little parts of her in his appearance. They shared similar facial structure, eye color, skin pigment… He could tell in a heartbeat that this boy and the little baby he clutched so tightly on that raft were one in the same.

It felt so unreal. He really did travel through time, but that didn't matter to him at the moment. There was really only one thought that he kept repeating in his mind. Finn's alive. Thank God, he survived… and he looks so much like Minnie…

After a moment, Martin noticed that Finn appeared to be missing a few teeth and had a some scars on his face. He ran his thumb across the face of the human boy. "What's happened to him?" he quietly asked aloud, more to himself than anyone else.

However, Bonnie answered anyways, "To say 'a lot' would be an understatement. But I guess that's for him to explain." Without another word, she stood up from the bed and started to gather her papers.

It took a minute for Martin to fully comprehend what the princess had said, but when he did, he grew livid. He stood up from the bed a little too fast, practically shouting, "Wait, he's here?!" The other patients turned their heads towards the human admittee.

Bonnie quickly gestured for the other patients to not worry, causing them to return to their own devices. The princess herself turned back to Martin. "I invited him here specifically for you two to talk. Trust me, there's a lot to talk about," she answered. "If you're ready, he's in the garden now."

Martin couldn't believe his ears. He looked down at the picture that he still held in his hands. He almost didn't want to learn what Finn had to suffer through without his parents. Hub Island might've been a bit boring, but at least he would've been safe, and he would have all of his teeth as a teenager. But at the same time, he wanted to meet this boy who survived. He wanted - no, needed to meet his son, regardless of age or circumstance. This might be his only chance.

With that in mind, Martin pocketed the picture and looked over at the Princess. "Ready when you are," he said, and they exited the infirmary.

As they walked through the halls, Martin started to psych himself up for this life-changing conversation. He would get to know more about his son! He would get to know about the adventures Finn went on and how he dealt with this strange, mutated world. He would get to know-

…He would get to know how Finn felt about him. Finn would get to know more about him, and how he couldn't come back.

Martin immediately started to psych himself out, his heart beating faster as the double doors to the garden drew ever so closer. "Hey, Princess, maybe this isn't such a good idea after all!" he said nervously, stepping in front of Bonnie so she couldn't open the garden doors.

"Why not?" Bonnie asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, I was just thinking about… about… about how tired I am! This concussion's really been messin' up my sleep schedule, and, well… I'm just not in the state to be havin' such an important conversation. You understand, don't you, Princess?" Martin explained in vain, trying to droop his eyelids so his words appeared to be true.

Even still, the princess didn't seem convinced. "You seem pretty alert right now," Bonnie noted flatly. Martin darted his eyes, trying to figure out a clever retort that would lead him back to the infirmary. However, Bonnie gave a frustrated sigh, catching Martin's attention. "Finn hardly knows anything about his family, or humans, for that matter. He's been the only actual human in Ooo for a while, and he's all messed up about it, so the least you could do is stop trying to run away and actually talk to him!" she said, her voice getting louder as she continued to speak.

Sensing the princess's strong feelings, Martin considered this for a moment. He took a deep breath, glancing at the doors behind him. "He's not gonna like what he hears," he said as a last resort.

"You won't know unless you actually talk to him," Bonnie quickly responded. Before Martin could even begin to open his mouth, she continued to spout out sharp words. "Do you have any idea what he's been through? How much your actions have affected him?"

Bonnie started to pace back and forth as she rambled. "Do you know how important it is that Finn hears that he wasn't left? From you? He's expecting you right now, and if you don't show up, it's going to psychologically tear him apart!" She stopped pacing and turned to face Martin, her fierce stare piercing right through Martin's soul. "Do you even care about your son?!"

"Of course I do," Martin said quickly, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Then stop being the coward he knows you as, man up, and go talk to him!"

Martin took in a sharp breath, looking down at the floor. The scars on Finn's face in the photograph popped into his mind. He mentally groaned, guilt weighing heavy on his conscience. What was it about this woman that made him so easily persuaded? "Well, I guess we're going outside, then," was his gruff response. He put his hands in his pockets as Bonnie regained her composure and opened the doors, walking right past the confused Banana Guards.

The garden was breathtaking, and while Martin would love to distract himself with its beauty, his eyes were immediately drawn to a lovely bench that sat two people: a probably-mutated dog and a teenage human boy, the same dog and teenage boy from the picture.

Finn…