The D&D Chronicles: The Adventure Begins
Chapter 24: Fatherly Advice
Brady Oaks Hospital, the Past…
Micky hated waiting.
While he was patient at times, there were other times that he couldn't be fully patient.
And staying outside nearby the delivery room instead of being with his wife while she was giving birth to their first born was one of them.
It happened quite unexpectedly, during what would have been a usual nice afternoon. Johanna was helping out preparing her famous lemon drizzle cake when it happened.
Her water broke, caused her to drop the mixture that was supposed to go in the oven, and cried in pain that the baby was coming earlier than expected.
After cleaning up the mess a bit, got in the car and drove to the hospital, Micky took his wife to prepare her to give birth to their child.
Now there he was, sitting outside not aloud in the delivery room to help Johanna out in her time of need.
'I really should be in there…' he thought to himself, as he took a good look at the doors to the delivery room.
As he waited, he grew worried with every second, he was going to become a father, but what if it dies during childbirth? What if the woman he loved dies during the delivery? What if they both die?
He still sat there, thinking and praying for them to make it through to the end, when he heard someone speak to him.
"Okay if I keep you company for a second?"
Micky turned to his left, and saw a kind, elderly man in a doctor outfit, not a lot of hair, which was blackish grey, with a bushy moustache and a warm smile to match.
"Yeah." Micky sighed, as the doctor sat down right next to him.
The doctor looked to Micky and brought up his hand as he introduced himself, "Dr. Tudyk."
Micky looked to Dr. Tudyk, and then brought out his hand and shook the doctor's, "Micheal Kirby. Friends call me Micky."
After shaking hands, Dr. Tudyk looked to Micky, observed the nervous father-to-be, until he finally spoke.
"I've seen that look before," Dr. Tudyk replied, getting the man's attention, "that is the look of someone who's about to become a father."
Micky just nodded in agreement on that, and before he asked, Tudyk said, "You must know that I've been working at this hospital for almost 5 decades, and I have had the privilege of helping every single parent deliver their children to them."
Micky let out a light chuckle, "Good for you."
"My wife is currently giving birth as we speak," Micky explained, as he pointed to the delivery room door to his right, "Our first child too. Though you already know that."
Tudyk nodded at that, and then looked to Micky as he said, "Yet you wish to be there with her, don't you?"
Micky nodded.
"And you're worried about what the outcome would be too?"
Micky nodded again before replying, "I'm just really scared, you know? I mean, how's our child gonna come out? what 'll happen if it dies? Or Johanna…? Oh god, I hope neither of them don't-"
The doctor's hand on his shoulder stopped him, as he looked to the doctor, who had a solemn smile on his face.
"I understand the feeling…" he said, before asking, "Okay if I... try and say something meaningful?"
Micky nodded.
Dr. Tudyk let out a small sigh as he said, "Yeah. I lost my wife last year." Micky looked at him when he said that, as he then added, "Cancer. That's the reason I still work so much at my age. Just… trying to pass the time."
"We were married 53 years." he lightly chuckled, thinking of all the good that came following his marriage, "Five children, 11 grandkids." his smile then turned south as he sadly admitted, "But we lost our very first child during the delivery."
Micky looked to Dr. Tudyk upon hearing that, a sad look that showed he felt sorry for him as he admitted, "The reason I went into this field, truth be told… ...I have spent five decades delivering babies. More babies than I can count. But there is not a single day that goes by that I don't think of the child I lost. And I'm an old man now."
"I like to think that because of the child that I lost, because of the path that… that he sent me on, that I have saved countless other babies." Dr. Tudyk explained with a misty eyed sad smile as he looked at Micky, "Yeah. I like to think that maybe one day you'll be an old man like me... ...talking a younger man's ear off, explaining to him how you... took the sourest lemon that life has to offer... and turned it into something resembling lemonade."
"If you can do that, then you will still be… taking a baby home from this hospital." Micky slowly nodded in understanding as he heard that, as Dr. Tudyk then said, "Just… maybe not the way you planned."
"I don't know if that was meaningful or senile, but I thought it ought to be said." Dr. Tudyk admitted, as Micky simply nodded in reply, as he understood.
"Mr. Kirby."
Micky then heard a nurse call his name, as he turned and saw her standing by the open door, as she had an emotional smile on her face… and said, "Ready to meet your son?"
Micky couldn't believe what he just heard, he choked a little, his eyes turned misty upon those words.
"Go see your kid, Mr. Kirby." Dr. Tudyk smiled, as he started to get up to head back to work.
"He'd be excited to meet his father." he said to Micky, an emotional smile on his face, as the doctor headed off, "I think maybe they got a good one."
Kirby House, Patrick's Room, Present Day…
"Dear Victoria, you're receiving this letter because I've… most likely been slaughtered by a Dragonborn." Patrick slumped on his desk as he sighed.
After learning that the rematch with Kriv was actually going to be a death battle, Patrick and the others looked scared and worried, because if two go into a death battle… only one will come out…
So now, for once following Kriv's advice (sort of), Patrick was starting work on some letters for his friends and family, in case… well… in case they don't see him again. And it was going to be hard on writing to them, especially to tell them what he wants to say to them, especially for his mum and Victoria, the latter who's letter was currently being worked on.
Patrick crumbled that draft, and laid back in his chair as he tossed it aside, fingers on the bridge of his nose, letting out a sigh of worry, sadness and concern. Deep in his thoughts, Patrick then noticed his green zipped hoodie, that he had just taken off earlier, and then a small thought came into his head, and decided on something that had been in his mind for a long time.
Before taking motive on what he thought, he got out another piece of paper and started another letter. "Victoria, I don't know how to tell you this, but let me try…"
Next day…
"Patrick! Hurry up, are you ready yet?" Johanna called out, as it was nearly time for school.
"Coming," Patrick replied, "just about ready."
Johanna looked back to her daughters, noticing how quiet they were, as they would sometimes tease their brother or support him or their mom during this time, but today felt quite different.
Taylor and Hilda were feeling quite a bit down, as they were worried that today could be the last time that they go to school with their brother again if he were to be killed by the claws of Kriv, and were trying to keep their emotions in check.
"Hey, girls," Johanna said, looking concerned, "is something wrong?"
"It's nothing, mum…" Taylor replied, Hilda nodding in agreement.
"It's just that it might be another boring… day?" Hilda started to say, but stopped as she and Taylor looked up to the stairs to see their brother coming down.
Johanna noticed them looking up the stairs, and guessed Patrick had come down, and turned to speak to him.
"Finally, I was wondering if you were ever going to-" Johanna spoke, but stopped as she looked to see her son reaching the bottom of the stairs, and was stunned to see her son.
But what stunned her was what her son was wearing.
Instead of the usual green zipped hoodie that Patrick usually wore, what he now wore was a soft fleece full zip jacket hoodie with featured kangaroo front pouch pockets, with the colour scheme green in supporting the Boston Celtics of the NBA, the Celtics' logo printed on the left chest of the hoodie and the team wordmark printed large across the back.
But what was special was next to the right chest, sewed on was the family name 'Kirby' in golden words.
"Patrick…" Johanna said, as she, along with the girls, were quite surprised to see Patrick in this jacket hoodie, "Is that…?"
"Dad's jacket?" Taylor finished her mum's question, stunned by what Patrick was wearing.
"Heh… yep." Patrick shyly grinned with a small smile, gesturing to himself as he said, "It's a perfect fit."
Johanna and her kids remembered that jacket hoodie well, as, like Taylor said, belonged to Micky.
Before settling in Virginia, Micky's family used to live in Boston, and they were big fans of the Boston Red Sox and Celtics Baseball and Basketball teams respectively.
Micky got his jacket when about Patrick's age, and happily sew his last name on it, Johanna remembered well that he said that one day, he would pass on his jacket to his son, so that when he wears it and looks at the sown name Kirby, it be like a way that he would always be there even when he's not.
Johanna stayed stunned before finally asking, "Patrick… why-?"
"I just thought it would be nice," Patrick said with a small smile, "after all, dad would usually say 'enjoy every day like it's your last', so I thought it would be nice to… maybe… finally wear this."
The girls knew a little bit what Patrick meant, but decided to go ahead
Johanna looked at Patrick, and a small smile came on her face as she placed her hand on his cheek and said, "You look… so much like your father."
"Thanks, mum." Patrick replied, touched by those words, his sisters lightly nodding in agreement with their mum's comment.
Soon, Patrick, Taylor and Hilda started to head off, as they then called out to their mum as they left, "Later, mum!"
Johanna just stood there and watched them leave as she waved goodbye, before letting out a small, sad sigh, then looked at a picture of Micky, who was proudly standing next to the family car, arm resting on the front hood, as he was looking at the camera with a smile.
"Oh, Micky…" Johanna said with a smile, "you'd be so proud of your son right now…"
But her smile soon faded a little, remembering what happened last night, as she placed her hand on the picture, and sadly added, "Though he could really use your help too…"
Later, Brady Oaks High…
Soon, while his sisters and the others were currently doing other stuff around school, Patrick was currently at his locker, sorting things out.
While doing so, he then took out several envelopes, and let out a small sigh.
Each of the envelopes had the name of the different people that Patrick knew and that each of them were going to receive a letter that he wrote last night. Patrick's heart sank a little, knowing that if he truly died at the hands of Kriv, he might never see any of them again.
"Hey, hey! Go Celtics!"
Patrick turned his head, and to his surprise, it was Coach Cruz.
"Oh, er, hi, coach." Patrick greeted.
"That wouldn't happen to be your ol' man Kirby's sweater you're wearing, aint it?" Cruz asked, as he took a good look at the sweater, "Looks good on you."
"Thanks," Patrick replied, "Are… are you a Boston Celtics fan too?"
"Heh, I'm more of a Brooklyn Nets kinda guy," Coach Cruz admitted with a light chuckle, "but I've been supportive to all the other teams you kids supported, and I gave a good amount of respect for your dad's team."
Cruz's smile faded a little, as he looked at Patrick and said, "I'm really sorry about when I heard that he passed away back then."
"It's alright, coach, I appreciate it," Patrick said with a smile, "thanks."
"You know, I remember a bit about your dad, as did everyone else, like Karl and Stan," Cruz explained, remembering Micky, "he was a great guy. So confident at times. When he entered a room, people would notice."
He then chuckled as he whispered a little loudly to Patrick, "You know, the man wore the wackiest pair of socks everyday!"
"Wait, they wouldn't be the green and purple striped ones, would they?" Patrick grinned.
"Exactly!" The coach and Patrick chuckled at that, as the former remembered his mum telling him about his dad's odd socks.
"Why would he do that?" Patrick asked.
"Hey, that's exactly what we asked." Cruz said, before smiling as he happily admitted, "But he was just bold. Kinda like you at times, Patrick."
"Thanks, couch." Patrick said with a smile and a nod.
"Coach! A bit of help, please?" a kid's voice got their attention, "Someone's stuck in a locker!"
"Oy vey, not again…" Cruz sighed a groan, as headed off before saying, "Anyways, keep up the crunch, Kirby."
"Will do, coach," Patrick said, as his smile faded a little as he headed off in the opposite direction, muttering, "will do…"
Later, at rehearsals…
Patrick was standing not far from the main stage, the envelope with the word "Victoria" scribbled on it stuck in Patrick's hand as he stood behind the curtain, as he heard Mrs. Lamb spoke up, "Alright, is our Romeo and Juliet ready for the next scene?"
"Ready!" Victoria said, as she got up onto the stage.
Patrick, meanwhile, looked down at the letter for Victoria, and let out a small sad sigh, before seeing Victoria's belonging next to him, giving him a bit of time to slip the letter in her bag, before walking through the curtains as he mumbled to himself sadly, "Ready as I'll ever be…"
Soon, Patrick and Victoria started work on their lines, until it was nearly the end of rehearsals, as Patrick spoke his lines.
Though as he spoke, he looked at Victoria, his eyes filled with love for her, while filled with mixed emotions that he might never see her again, and that this could be his final rehearsal with her.
"What lady is that which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight? She doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel."
As she listened, Victoria looked at Patrick, a smile on her face as was lightened up by his words, loving his performance so well. She would very well much want to perform with him over Biff any day.
As he continued, Patrick couldn't help but approach Victoria, and in an instant, brought his hands into her's, lifting them up to her heart, "Beauty too rich for use. For earth, too dear, so shows a snowy dove trooping with crows. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight. For I never saw true beauty till this night."
Victoria blushed a little until her lines were up next, "My bounty is as boundless as the sea. My love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite."
Victoria and Patrick's faces were inches from each other, entranced by their warm smiles, until Miss Lamb broke their trance as she clapped.
"Bravo!" she cried, "Beautiful! Fine acting you two!"
Patrick and Victoria blushed a little upon this, as their drama teacher then said, "Alright, that's enough for today. And remember, practice, practice, practice!"
"That was… something." Patrick said, with a small smile.
Vicky giggled lightly as she nodded, "It… sure was."
Victoria then looked at Patrick, though while he had a small smile on his face, she was starting to sense there was something up.
"Is… there something wrong?" she asked, a little concerned.
Patrick rubbed the back of his neck as he opened his mouth to speak.
Just then, before he could, Victoria's friends came up to her to congratulate her, giving her a group hug as they did.
"Vicky, my gal! You were awesome!" Annie smiled.
"Thanks, but it was nothing…" Victoria replied.
"Are you kidding? That was your best performance yet!" Nancy stated, as Samamtha nodded slowly in agreement.
Patrick smiled as Victoria was given a good amount of praise, as Jim walked by to join in as he looked at Patrick and said, "She's good, isn't she?"
"Yeah…" Patrick nodded sadly, keeping up the smile, "She sure is…"
He then turned to leave, and as he was about to disappear behind the curtain, he looked back to Victoria, and sadly whispered, "Goodbye, Victoria…"
Victoria, meanwhile, turned to look at Patrick, only to notice that Patrick was no longer there, as she saw him disappear within the curtains.
"Patrick?" she said, as she walked over to the curtains as quickly as she could, but was too late, as she pulled the curtain and saw that he was no longer there.
Her face changed from a smile to a face of concern, not noticing the letter in her bag…
Myers House, after school…
While on the way back from School, Patrick wished to go solo for the moment to Harry's house, even when the others were unsure and curious to why, but allowed him to anyway.
The Myers home was a two-story building that was painted blue and with a dark burgundy roof. When approaching the house, the garage door is seen open, yet the entrance is covered with a dark pink tarp.
As Patrick approached the house, he swore that he could hear arguing coming from inside.
Taking a peek through the window, he saw Amy, Harry's mum, having a bit of rowl with a man who was inside.
The man was likely about 38 or 40 years old, a blackish-grey buzzcut, blue eyes and beard stubs on the top of his lip, no doubt he was close to growing a moustache. He had on a Blue Seinfeld shirt, baggy brown trousers and grey boots.
Patrick recognized that man, Monty Myers, Harry's dad, who unfortunately, had a divorce with Amy a few years back.
He remembered that when Harry was 6, Monty left without a word, which hurt the brothers and Amy badly. It hurt them more that it turned out that, the last time Patrick and his friends heard, Monty left his family because he was having an affair with another woman and became a ski-bum in Vermont.
Now there he was, no doubt having heard of Harry's disappearance, and seemed to be arguing with Amy, no doubt family issues.
"I can't believe you actually want Sydney to come stay with you!" Patrick heard Amy yell, "He's all I have left!"
"Amy, it's been several weeks, and we've both been told that there hasn't been any signs of Harry for a while." Monty said, trying to explain.
"Best not going in there." a new voice got Patrick's attention, and turned to see Sydney leaning on the house wall, nodding his head to his left as a gesture to come into the garage.
Patrick got the message and followed him inside.
Stepping into the garage, it had been converted into a makeshift studio for Sydney's music equipment. It had shelves of various types of music, from old records to CDs, a sink, and a turquoise curtain in the corner. The garage was filled with Audio surround sound speakers and even equipment for Sydney's DJ work, and even had a cooler which contained various fizzy drinks, from Pepsi to 7-Up to Dr. Pepper (Sydney's favourite).
"You… doing okay, Syd?" Patrick asked.
"Fine…" Sydney replied, as he got out a can of Pepsi and handed it to Patrick, while opening up a can of Dr. Pepper for himself, "Things have been getting more and more rough lately."
"How so?" Patrick asked.
"My dad had got word about what happened to Harry, and while he admits that Harry isn't with him," Sydney explained, "the Sheriff is having second guesses, and that dad wants me to live with him, though mum wants nothing to do with it after he walked out on her."
"Yeah, sorry about that." Patrick responded, sipping his Pepsi and then took a deep breath and asked, "Any… word of Harry?"
"Still nothing, buddy," Sydney replied, "though I hear that a new rookie in the police has been assigned to find him, and that's a bit of a good sign."
"Let's hope she finds him…" Patrick said, looking down a little, while Sydney nodded on that.
Patrick then looked up and asked, "Would it be alright to hear what you've got going?"
"Really?" Sydney asked, quite surprised, as Patrick nodded with a small smile, "I'd love that!"
Sydney headed to his DJ set, as he said, "I've been working on this new jam before… you know, the recent events, and I've been meaning to show this to one of you guys for a demonstration."
As he continued setting things up, Patrick secretly placed a letter he wrote to Sydney in his collection of music, before looking back to Sydney, who asked, "You ready to be blown away?"
"Give me your best tunes, Syd." Patrick smiled, while sadly thinking how he might never see Harry again if he was ever found.
Kirby House, later on…
The smell of cooking caught Johanna's attention as she entered the kitchen.
There was Patrick, a small smile on his face, as he was currently doing some cooking, with a little bit of help from her daughters, though Hilda helped while Taylor watched over Kira. From the way it looked, it almost seemed like a gourmet dinner, with most of the family's favourite meals, some already cooked and some about to be.
"Sloppy Joe's? Mash with peas? Steamed broccoli?" Johanna looked as she saw Patrick bring a baking tray into the oven, and upon seeing the cake pan which had what looked like cookie dough inside, seeing and recognized what was about to be baked, she looked surprised as she added, "Oreo and Nutella Cookie Pie?!"
She then chuckled, "What is this, a last meal?"
Patrick nervously chuckled, as did his sisters, as he replied, "Well, to be honest, I wanted to bake cookies, then I decided to make your favourite, and then, heh, I started doing all our favourites."
"And, I thought we could enjoy a film while we enjoy dinner, so I set up Robin Hood for us to watch." Patrick added.
"Robin Hood?" Johanna said in surprise, "That was one of my fav films, as it was yours, to watch with you guys as a family!"
"Especially after watching it the last 117 times." Taylor smirked, earning a giggle from Hilda and Kira.
"Hey, this is a family get together, so let's be nice, okay?" Patrick said in a kind, yet sternly, way.
Johanna eyed Patrick as she said, "If you think all of this is going to get you out of apologising to Ms. Hanami-"
"Hey, mum, can't we just have this?" Hilda cut her off, a kind smile on her face.
"She's right," Taylor nodded, "We've all been so busy. When's the last time we've really sat down, talked and enjoyed ourselves?"
Johanna looked at her children, as her son, a kind-warm smile on his face, looked up to her, "Please, mum?"
Seeing this, as well as the pretty cleverly cute begging looks on Hilda and Kira, put a smile on Johanna's face, as she let out a sigh, "I'll help serve. I insist."
Dinner was quite a success.
The Kirby family had a wonderful time, enjoying the meal that was served, while they sat down and watched Disney's Robin Hood.
It was one of their favourite films to watch as a family, as it was also one of Patrick's favourite films when growing up.
Alongside watching the film, they also chatted about everyday life, and even having a laugh from one of their favourite pop cultures.
They were currently talking about one of their fav moments from Cheers as they were tidying up following dinner and the movie.
"You remember what happened next didn't you, Patrick?" Taylor asked her brother, between her giggles.
"Sure do," he said, before acting out a scene from one of the Cheers episodes, "So, Norm then enters the bar, the usual 'Afternoon everybody.', and then, at that moment, little Frederick said…"
He then pointed to Kira, who then cried out, "NORM!"
The family chuckled with laughter at that, as Taylor said, "His first words, too!"
Johanna chuckled at that, before saying 'thank you' to Patrick as he collected her plate, then sighed, "Wow, that was delicious. I don't know what I'd do without you all."
"Well… you deserved it…" Patrick mumbled aloud, before quietly adding, "You all do…"
"I'd be ten pounds lighter," Johanna said with a smile, "but Cookie pie?"
"Gosh," she lightly chuckled, "I haven't had these for a long while since…" as she spoke, her smile slowly started to fade, as her kids noticed, as their faces soon showed signs of small bits of sadness, "Since…"
Johanna went silent as she sadly sighed, until she heard her son finish her sentence, "Since Dad made them for us?"
Both mother and her daughters fell silent with Patrick upon the latter saying that, as they all remembered very well about Micky making those Oreo and Nutella Cookie Pies.
It was a special sweet recipe and a bit of a baking hack that Micky shared with others who made and baked the same crazy types of treats and meals.
"Dad always had a great knack on making them so good…" Hilda said, looking down a little.
"I didn't think you were old enough to remember." Johanna said with a light chuckle.
"I remember enough." Hilda replied.
"We all do." Patrick added, "Like, I remember how his beard would tickle our faces when he hugged one of us. How he always found a way to make you laugh, mum."
"I sure do." Johanna nodded with a sad smile, remembering how he always made her laugh whenever she was down.
"Dad had a pretty goofy laugh too." Taylor said, letting out a small, little giggle.
"It was also always nice for all of us to be with your father whenever we did family baking time." Johanna said, remembering all the baking they did, "From chocolate chip cookies, to shortbread, and even those tasty brookios as well. One bottom layer of cookie dough…"
"One top layer of brownie mix…" Taylor added.
"Oreos in the middle…" Patrick joined in.
"And in each layer together," Hilda then joined also, as the four of them said together, "a good lotta' love."
Hilda looked down a little and then said, "I very much miss the times we went to the cabin with him. Enjoying the forest walks, as well as making s'mores at night." she then lightly smirked as she looked up to Johanna, and added, "And no offence, mum, but dad was also quite a great storyteller."
Johanna scoffed humorously with a grin, "Excuse me, but I did a pretty good fair share of telling my kids stories too, thank you!"
"Yeah, we know and we respect that." Patrick said, "But dad had a very good imagination as you did."
Taylor nodded, "Whenever we finished stories of Winnie the Pooh, Thomas the Tank Engine or even other types of fairy tales, dad always found a way to create new ones."
"My favourite was the one where it rained gumballs at a mediaeval chariot race!" Hilda smiled.
The others chuckled at that, as did Johanna as she then said, "Alright, I'll give your father credit on that one."
She looked down and sighed as she then said, "One of the things I remember of your father was when we were about your age, Patrick, your father and I went on our first date. We originally planned on heading to the cinema for the movies, but it was closed for repairs, and eating out was out of the question as most of the restaurants were fully booked and it was raining, so no go on a nice evening walk."
"So, the two of us went back home, with popcorn, cookie dough ice cream and hot cocoa, rented a movie and we both watched your dad's favourite film, The Dark Crystal." Johanna smiled, slightly shaking her head, "Of course, I was quite scared of that film, especially with the Skeksis, but your father told me to stay brave, no matter what."
"And that's what you did," Patrick said, getting his mum's attention, "and you enjoyed the film, too."
"We sure did." Johanna nodded, "Micky and I enjoyed watching the film as many times as we liked ever since."
"Dad always had a way of making us smile," Patrick said, "finding a way to make us laugh, and even helped us out when we're down, like telling us that, whenever life got us down in anyway, there is no lemon so sour that you can't make something resembling lemonade."
"I remember how much he was there for us everyday…" Patrick's small smile soon faded, as he looked down and said, "but most of all, how much it hurt us when he died."
"I know…" Johanna sadly frowned, as did her daughters, as she looked to Kira, tidying her up from the mess after eating her dessert, "it makes it more so as he never stayed long to see Kira…"
She then looked at Patrick with a bit of concern and asked, "Forgive me asking, Patrick, but… where is this coming from?"
Patrick took a deep breath, and looked at his mum and replied, "No matter what happens to me, mum, I would never leave you like that. At least, well… not by choice." he lightly chuckled, "You're an amazing person, and I just want you to know I'll always love you."
"We all do." Taylor added, with small smiles on her and Hilda's faces.
Johanna eyed her kids sternly, but kept the smile on her face, "Don't you start that talk with me. Besides, you've all got a long way to go until some of you get an education, and I'm still hoping you'll end up somewhere like at a close in-state college."
"We'll… see about that, mum." Taylor spoke for Patrick, "Let's just focus on clearing the dishes."
"Alright," Johanna said, as she got up to help, putting away any leftovers in the fridge, "We are going to wrap these up for tomorrow."
"Maybe we could have chocolate chip waffles and ice cream for tomorrow night's dinner," Johanna suggested, "You have to give me that waffle recipe. If there's anything I could eat forever, it would probably be waffles."
"Yeah… sure, mum…" Patrick replied, as while she wasn't looking, on one of the counters was an envelope addressed to her, containing a letter for Patrick's mum to know everything that's happened, upon hearing Johanna's suggestion, he secretly placed the envelope between the pages of the cookbook, remembering which pages contained the recipe for waffles, and slipped the letter in the book, "It's here when you need it."
As they tidied up, Patrick looked back to Kira, as his mum and sisters took turns to look after her while clearing up dinner, a small sad smile on his face, he then looked at some of the pictures of his dad, happily with his mum, and each of them featuring himself and his sisters (with the exception of Kira), all at different ages.
On the pictures were the family taking part in various activities, from family picnics and outings to hanging out with friends and spending time at the cabin (a small unnoticeable giggle muttered from Patrick, as on one family picture showed the kids striking a fun pose, while their mum eyed with a small smirk, as their dad was to occupied admiring a taxidermy of a jackalope).
He then thought of something, and noticed two of the several video tapes, and even a recording camera, and that was when Patrick got an idea.
Patrick smiled at this as he walked over to the women who were part of his family life, and said, "Hey, you know what?" he asked, getting the girls' attention, "How about it's time we introduced Kira to dad?"
The Basement, a little later…
The sofa and the TV were all set, as mother and her children were sitting down, comfortably wrapped in blankets, ready to enjoy some home movies, starting with some of Micky and Johanna's younger days.
Setting up the VHS player, Patrick brought down the camera recorder and some of its tapes for later, while bringing up a box of some VHS's.
The label on it said 'Micky and Johanna's Life'
These VHS tapes contained all of the kids' parents' life, recorded on old recording cameras before the kids were born, and changed to newer recording cameras.
The Kirby family had a knack of watching these different types of videos that they recorded over the years, remembering the good times that they had, especially with Micky… Good times that were sometimes emotionally hard to bring back.
The first one Patrick placed in the player was the one that he saved from getting eaten by AAARRRGGHH! when he and his friends first met him and the other mythical friends they made, the label on the tape titled 'M + J Vol. 1'.
Sitting down with his family, Patrick pressed play, and the whole family watched as the first tape started playing, showing Johanna with Mikey, at least almost Taylor's age, at one of their school get-together events, as Mikey, with some of his school buddies, were trying to recruit new members to their own D&D club, each of them wearing hand-me-down outfits, with their dad dressed up like a wizard.
It was then that he noticed Johanna, sketch book in her hand, with pencils and pens, who realised that he spotted her looking at him.
The kids watched the video as they heard their father ask, "What'cha drawing?"
"Oh nothing much…" young Johanna replied, as she showed Micky the picture of him and his friends, though seemingly in epic looking versions of the hand-me-down costumes, which Micky and some of his friends appreciated.
"That's some artwork." Micky complimented, "It's just as equal to mine."
"Oh, stop…" Johanna lightly blushed.
"No, really, I mean it!" Micky added, as Johanna looked a little pleased on this, as Micky looked back at the picture.
"Why am I summoning green fireballs?" Micky asked, pointing to the fireballs that his drawing counterpart was attacking enemies with, but in a different colour.
"Oh… I kinda started to run out of red, so, I thought, maybe using green instead." Johanna admitted, before sighing, "Worried it be like your shooting cabages…"
"No, no! That's brilliant!" Micky complimented, earning a smile from Johanna. "I could use an art partner to help with what we do." He added, as the rest of Micky's friends agreed on Johanna's artwork.
"I'm Micky. Micky Kirby." he introduced himself, bringing out his hand, as Johanna smiled and shook it.
"Johanna Pearson." Johanna greeted.
Johanna and the kids smiled, as they continued their little home movie binge, as they continued through some of the childhood memories of their parents.
One VHS tape showed Micky and Johanna at a comic book store with their friends, though it seemed that Micky had his whole face covered by the comic he was reading. Johanna tapped his shoulder to get his attention, resulting in Micky lowering the comic… and revealing two mikados in his mouth, looking like a walrus, taking Johanna by surprise, who snorted a small giggle at the unexpected trick.
"Oh, dad… really?" Taylor lightly groaned with a smile as she and the others watched their father playfully act like a walrus in front of their mum.
The next shot showed the couple at one of the lookout point cliffs around town, sitting on top of one of their friends' cars, enjoying the summer sunset, Patrick and his sisters giggled that while their dad tried to get a little close, their parents' friends ruined the moment a little with a water gun fight.
On one VHS tape, the setting was seemed to be set inside what appeared to be a house, as Patrick and his sisters notice while their dad was currently in his casual clothes, their mum and some of their friends were all dressed up, the boys in fine tuxedos and the girls in lovely dresses.
Johanna remembered that night as she watched, as it was the prom, and while she and Micky had so many close moments, she was asked by someone else to join her to the prom, as Micky wasn't quite in the mood, but was happy to see them off, so they were at Micky's parents' home, Johanna and the others were all dressed and ready for the time of their lives.
It was then, as the camera continued to several hours later, as Micky and Johanna's friends were starting to leave, one of Johanna's girl buddies saw Johanna crying.
"What's wrong, Jo?" she asked, giving Johanna the nickname of 'Jo'.
"It's Earl," Johanna replied, trying terribly to hold in the tears, "I just got told that he decided to ditch me and went for Vanessa! Said that she has more than I ever will."
Johanna watched her past self cry, as she remembered that unfortunate time, as Earl cheated on her, after he was so kind to her in the past, her kids felt sorry for her and were always furious about Earl, and were glad that their dad wasn't him.
The family watched as Johanna's friends gave her comfort and their apologies for what had happened, before leaving for the prom, which Johanna understood as she was now no longer in the mood. Unaware of her and her friends, Micky overheard everything, and disappeared from the scene.
It later cut to Johanna, still feeling upset, until she noticed the camera filming her, and was about to tell Micky's parents (who were filming everything) to turn off the camera, Micky then came in, wearing a lovely tux, much to Johanna's surprise.
"Would you come with me, Miss Pearson?" he asked politely, holding out his hand.
Johanna, still stunned, nodded in reply, and took his hand with her own, as Micky lead her to the back garden. Upon entering, it was revealed to have been made into a beautiful outdoor dance floor, with lanterns hung and lit up around.
Johanna was speechless for this, and as she looked to Micky, he smiled as he asked, "May I have this dance?"
Johanna, misty eyed, nodded and replied, "Yes, you may."
And at that, the two of them waltz like Beauty and the Beast, as they danced around the beautiful lit night.
Halfway through their dance, the two of them smiled as they looked each other in the eyes, gave a passionate kiss on the lips.
The next several videos showed the two spending the rest of their lives together, from going on several dates (including their first one that the family talked about earlier) to several more, from the actual cinema, to the shops and even outside the outskirts of town.
It then led to Micky proposing to Johanna, who happily accepted the marriage, and then the two of them got married.
The kids loved seeing this part, as the vows their dad did were basically full of pop culture references, from Star Wars to cartoons and various others, which cringed their mum, but in a humorous, friendly way, as she shook her head with a smile.
Johanna smiled as she rewatched the wonderful moments with her husband with her children, watching them dance during the reception, heading off on their honeymoon, all of this and more leading up to later on, when Micky and Johanna learned they were going to be parents.
The family then reached the part as Johanna went through her pregnancy, seeing Micky record every moment of their pregnant mother, from cooking to washing up, even to sorting out the bed for the child as well.
Soon, the last video ended with Micky and Johanna, following Patrick's birth, as they prepare to leave the hospital, as Micky introduces the camera to Patrick, who was sleeping quietly in Johanna's arms, the mother exhausted from giving birth.
This was also the last time their parents used the VHS recording camera, as over the next few years, they would continue filming the family life on the digital recording cameras.
Patrick, knowing what to do next, took out the VHS as it finished, and plugged in and set up the digital Sony camera to the TV, before sitting back down with the rest of the family, changing the channel system the camera was connected to.
The screen soon showed the family footage of first Patrick, then Taylor, and then Hilda when they were very young, with his mum and dad, which they all took part in various family activities.
Ones that the kids remembered as they watched, included the nature walks that their parents would take them, as Micky would carry any of the kids on his shoulders when they were very young.
There was a moment where the whole family was sitting by a small campfire by the cabin they went to, roasting marshmallows and enjoying s'mores under the night sky, while their fingers would get sticky from the gooey marshmallows.
They watched as on the TV, a young Taylor watched from the window, standing on a chair as she saw their dad parking the family car after coming back somewhere, before the toddler excitedly jumped off the chair, rushed through the door and went up to her dad, who picked her up and made adorable munching sounds on her neck and face, as his beard tickled her face like how Patrick described it.
The next moment they watched, was the kids getting their height checks from the door frame that led into the kitchen with their parents, the kids making sure to double check that neither of them were cheating by standing on their tippy toes.
The family watched as the next memory playing was during one of Hilda's birthdays during one of her young ages, their dad was filming the party.
"Patrick, Taylor, say 'Happy Birthday' to Hilda." Johanna said to the kids, who were having cake and ice cream.
Young Patrick and Taylor looked at the camera and smiled, "Happy Birthday!" their mouths full of cake.
The present kids chuckled at this, while Johanna rolled her eyes with a smile, as their mum on tape sighed, "Huh… charming…"
The moment that played next left the family laughing a little, as they watched as Johanna happily announced, "And now, the Kirby Family Talent Show!"
Upon the announcement, a young Patrick and his dad began happily singing their favourite song, 'Mr. Blue Sky' by ELO, as Patrick remembered the lyrics well by heart with his dad, as did the girls as they then joined in the fun.
Patrick watched as the next moment showed his younger self, backpack on his back, as he looked down with a sad look on his face standing outside the car, while his mum, recording in the car, said, "Bye, Patrick, are you excited for camp?"
Patrick looked at the camera, then sadly looked away, Micky, seeing something was up, decided to get out and see what was the problem.
"Hey, don't be so glum," he said to him, as young Patrick looked up to him, "we'll be back before you know it."
Patrick then went straight to his dad and wrapped around his legs, as he sadly said, "Don't wanna go."
Micky looked a little unsure on what to do at first, but then looked back at the car and had an idea, as he let Patrick go off his legs and went back to the car, and picked up a figure of a creature, which looked like a rabbit with deer antlers.
This was known as the jackalope, and it was one of Micky's favourite mythical animals, and he made it while growing up.
"Here, take this." he said, as he offered the jackalope figure to Patrick.
"But this is, like, your favourite thing." Patrick sniffed.
Micky kept the comforting smile on his face as he nodded lightly and then said, "Well it's yours now." Micky wrapped the jackalope in Patrick's hand as he added, "You see, this little guy is scared to be alone so you're going to have to cheer him up for me, okay?"
Young Patrick nodded his head a little, a small smile appearing as he did.
Micky smiled, before asking, "You know how to say 'I love you' in wolf language?"
Young Patrick looked a little baffled by this as his father then said, "Hang on…" straightening his throat, looking proudly before saying, "I love y-AWOOOO!"
Young Patrick instantly started to giggle, as his dad began acting like a howling wolf.
Micky then began tickling and teasing Patrick as he grinned, "Don't you laugh! Come on, now, you're supposed to be sad!"
The family watched the sweet moment play out, until Kira let out a small yawn, meaning that it was time for bed.
Johanna (who picked up the slowly sleepy Kira) and the girls got up and started to get ready for bed, before looking back to Patrick, who was still on the sofa, watching the family home movies, as the former asked, "You coming up, Patrick?"
"In a moment, mum…" Patrick replied, as he looked to his mum, and then back to the TV that was still playing a few family moments, "I… just want a minute and watch a few more of these…"
"Alright," Johanna said, as she and the girls headed up, adding, "just remember that it's a school night, don't be up late."
"I know…" Patrick nodded, as the girls all went up to bed.
Patrick went back to watching several family footage, and smiled as he watched one memory of him playing of the D&D campaigns with his friends and his dad, the latter being the Dungeon Master.
He remembered that the D&D adventure they were playing was one of Micky's favourites, the Tomb of Horrors, which was one of the most challenging adventures that D&D players ever played.
Patrick and his friends were facing against the adventure's antagonist, Acererak, most of the team were down, leaving Patrick to make the winning blow.
Young Patrick threw the D20 onto the table, his friends looking nervous, until, as the dice stopped, Patrick cheered, "Crit Hit!"
Patrick and his friends cheered, while Micky playfully cried in agony, as a way of showing Acererak being defeated, before Patrick went over and hugged his dad.
Patrick smiled as he remembered that day, his dad being so proud of him.
Soon he saw footage of when the family went on a holiday to England, and spent a week in Cornwall, in Trevose.
He watched as his father was in possession of the camera, recording the family spending time at the Trevose Head.
As he watched his young self and his two sisters spending time with their mum, sitting on a bench, enjoying the view of the ocean from the Head.
Patrick knew that this was one of the last bits of footage that was recorded of the Kirby family all together, on August 17th, which was two days before they left for home… two days before it was announced that his dad caught a bad sickness.
After that final shot, the screen went blank, showing the family films were, Patrick let out a small, sad sigh, as he prepared to get ready to put the camera stuff away and head for bed.
Suddenly, just as Patrick was about to get up and help switch off the camera, the screen changed, showing what looked like a room, but with a desk lamp on, and revealed Micky, just started recording upon adjusting the camera, looking straight at the camera, as he let out a small sigh… and spoke, "Hey, Patrick."
Patrick paused, a little stunned by this, and continued watching curiously as he father spoke.
"I hope that if you've reached the point of this little video… then I'm probably gone."
'Gone?' Patrick thought, a little baffled.
"You may have probably known by now that we're back home, that I've just came down with a terrible illness," Micky said, "and that in sometime soon, I won't be here long enough to help you, your sisters and your mum through whatever may come your way."
Patrick looked a little surprised by this, as he then looked at the date on the screen: 17th of August.
The same date as the last family footage that he remembered, when in Cornwall.
Why was his dad recording this?
And did he say back home? As in back in Brady Oaks? Patrick was baffled by this bit of info, as something else questioned in his mind…
Did he just lie about getting results upon returning home and got them in back in England?
Those questions were put aside, as Micky let out a small, sad chuckle, while keeping a small smile on his face, "It's weird, isn't it, the way we think about our lives?" He said, "What's next? What happens next? Always moving forward."
"Sometimes, I wonder if things would make more sense if you looked at everything in reverse." Micky said with another light chuckle, "Like, if you started at the end, and moved backwards and tried to figure out how you got there."
Patrick looked to his father on the screen, as he finished chuckling, wiping a small tear from his eye with his finger, then sighed, before looking back to the camera.
"Patrick, as you know that you're going to get another sibling, be it a boy or another girl," Micky chuckled under his breath, "I hope it's gonna be a boy this time…"
Patrick sadly chuckled at that, as he said with a sad smile, "Spoiler alert, dad, it's a girl…"
"But either way, I want you to know that I've seen you grow into a bright young lad, like your own man here." Micky said with a smirk, which earned a chuckle both from father and son, "I've enjoyed so much of my time having you with your mother, helping you, teaching you and even guiding you, as I've also seen you guide your sisters when they came into our lives."
"From when you all took your first steps, to the amazing birthdays you had and will have to come, the good times, and the bad, and everything in between." Micky listing down every bit of their lives with a smile.
"Now, I want to make sure that you take care of them for me, your sisters, your mum, and that future bundle of joy that I hope will get the chance to see." Micky smiled, which earned a small tear on Patrick's face, as he knew very well of the outcome.
"Though there's going to be a lot of challenges for you, kid," Micky said, "being honest here, trying to be the man of the house for your family will be difficult, helping your siblings and your mum with everything. It'll be very hard."
Micky then smiled as he added, "But I have faith that you'll do it. That's a Kirby thing for ya, we Kirby's always find a solution and an answer to any problem thrown at us."
Patrick looked to his father on the screen, his face slowly forming a smile, as his dad continued.
"I know that you're going to do great things. From the second you were born I believed that, and I know that you will." Micky smiled.
"You're gonna find your balance, Patrick. And then you're gonna lose it, and then you're gonna find it again. That's the ride." Micky explained, as he said with a warm smile, "And you're gonna make a lot of choices, and I'm probably not gonna be around for all of them. The choices you make are gonna be spectacular, because you are spectacular, son."
Patrick's smile grew, his heart filled with sadness, happiness and love for his dad, as a small tear trickled down his right cheek.
Micky looked back to the camera, a smile on his face, then winked before saying, "Take care, kiddo."
And from there, Micky reached for the camera and switched it off, officially ending the film, leaving Patrick with a blank screen, showing his reflection, before wiping another tear from his eye, tidying everything up and headed for bed.
He looked back to the TV, and smiled as he whispered aloud, "Thanks, dad." then headed back upstairs.
A little later… 1:17AM
Patrick couldn't sleep.
He was gazing up to the ceiling of his bedroom, his mind wondering about what would happen at the battle, his father's words of wisdom and most of all, worry about not seeing everyone he knew and loved again if he perished.
Patrick looked to the floor of his bedroom, seeing Hilda sleeping next to his bed, Twig snuggling next to her.
Earlier, after he got in, Hilda and Twig came in and asked to sleep with him tonight, which he happily accepted her request.
Though seeing one of his sisters here made him crack a small smile, it wasn't enough to make him feel all better.
Just then, a beep of the walkie-talkie pulled Patrick from his thoughts, eyeing the communication device as Luz's voice came through.
"Hey, Patrick. You up?" Luz echoed.
As Patrick picked up the walkie-talkie, he could see Luz from his bedroom window, as Luz at her window, walkie-talkie in hand, as Patrick responded, "Yeah. How can I sleep?"
"What'cha doing?" Luz asked.
"Eh, nothing much… I suppose…" Patrick replied.
"Pretty big day is coming up." Luz reminded him, "You ready?"
Patrick had a small thought, then replied, "Mmmm… nope."
"Yeah, me neither." Luz replied back, before chirped a try-and-stay-positive sign off, "Night, Patrick!"
Patrick let out a small light chuckle, as he saw that Luz was leaving her window to head to bed, as he replied, "Good pep talk, Luz."
Patrick returned back to bed, laying down on the bed, still unable to sleep.
He picked up the glowing amulet and gazed into its glow for the moment, before shining it onto some of his posters.
And that's when it happened.
As he shone the bright light of the amulet onto the poster of the first Gremlins movie, the words that had been written on it suddenly turned to Draconic Writing.
"What the-?" Patrick quietly gasped, as he looked back at the amulet, and to the poster, shining it again to reveal the original words now changed into Elvish Writing, surprising Patrick further.
He brought the amulet back to him and looked at it with thought, could the amulet be able to change the english languages he knows into that of Draconic, Elven and even Dwarfish? Perhaps even other languages that he never knew of!
He then bent over his bed, finding one of the books that Blinky gave him, most mainly the Brief Recapitulation of Xadador Lore that he had been nagged by the six-eyed troll to read, before pulling it out and flicking on his small torch. He flipped the pages, finding a page with the Ragnarok Bridge sketched on it, information surrounding it in the language he couldn't understand. He pulled out his amulet, aiming the light at the page, as the text changed into English, making the book easier to read.
"Wow…" Patrick quietly whispered, amazed by this, took one glance at his amulet, he smiled and aimed it back at the pages which suddenly turned without his command.
He then found the pages about combat, and that's where he spotted the words one may need for facing opponents: "Weak points. Rule three: Kick him in the Gronk-nuks. Identifying your opponent's weakness."
Patrick had deep thought when looking at this, and then thought of what his father said on the tape, that every Kirby always found the answer and solution to every problem, and then grabbed some of the other books, most of them written either Draconic, Elven, Dwarfish and any other ancient and/or other worldly text, and upon shining the amulet of some pages, they translated to English, much to his amazement.
"Thanks for the advice, dad…" Patrick whispered to himself, before beginning to do some late-night research from this new discovery, to see what he can find, and then got another idea, as he then brought out his D&D books, including the Player's Handbook and Monster Manual, and began to cross reference them through each of the pages.
He got to learn from the fight coming up, one that will determine his fate…
Brady Oaks Hospital, the Past…
Micky smiled as he saw his wife, exhausted, holding their first born child in her arms, who was calmly asleep.
Upon entering the delivery room, Micky was amazed to see his son before his very own eyes, upon afterwards, they sorted out the name, Patrick, to be given to him as well.
"He's amazing, isn't he?" Johanna asked.
"He sure is, Johanna." Micky smiled back, as they both looked at their son.
"Welcome to the world, Patrick Lee Kirby," Micky smiled, as he looked to his wife then back to his son, "I promise you this, Jo, our son is gonna do great things. Just you wait."
He then stroked Patrick with his finger as smiled with a tear in his eye, "Just you wait…"
Author's Notes:
And I'm back!
Sorry about keeping you waiting and I hope that you've enjoyed this sweet chapter with the father of the Kirby family.
First off, when working on Micky Kirby, I was inspired by well known fictional fathers, mainly Jack Pearson from This is Us and Bandit Heeler from Bluey (two shows that I've been enjoying), being a fun-loving father who's also caring, wise and sees the greatness in his family. So you'll probably expect some more flashback scenes of Micky Kirby in future.
Also, Johanna's last name being Pearson is an Easter Egg reference to Luke Pearson, the creator of Hilda.
Secondly, from last year, I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons myself, happily learning the ropes of playing the game, as well as learning as much D&D lore of various characters, races, creatures, items, deities and worlds of the D&D multiverse!
Also, upon learning the knowledge of D&D and staying (loosely) true to it's game lore, there may come a few changes in the previous chapters of this story (such as adding more details on the different types of magic, D&D references to everyday life by Patrick and his friends, and changing characters like Kriv to a Metalic Golden Dragonborn who he and his father worship Bahamut, as I've learned about the three different types of Dragons/Dragonborns, being Chromatic, Metallic and Gem)
There will be a few changes with some of the characters and chapters too, as I said before, like having Lee being Patrick's middle name (I've got a few ideas for a middle name for Hilda and maybe Taylor too).
I also have a few idea changes for the antagonists as well, thanks again to learning about the D&D lore, which you'll see soon enough.
In other news, I've watched and enjoyed the Finale of TOH, and am excited for the next chapter of Dragon Prince!
Next time, Patrick vs. Kriv, the Ultimate Rematch!
Until next time, True Believers!
Excelsior!