Parting is such sweet sorrow, Part Four

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

It was time…

 

 

The moment had come…

 

 

Dominic LeCroix, more famously known to the world as the Wildchild, took a deep breath of air into his lungs as he stared at the noose that he held in his hands. Exhaling, his eyes slowly followed the length of the rope towards the ceiling where he had tied it off around a support beam, and then back down at the rope in his hands. The whole setup was rather ill-fashioned, but it was strictly meant to get the job done and to finally bring peace, it didn’t need to be pretty or elaborate…and it certainly wasn’t.

 

‘Finally, all of da LeCroix’s will be together…in harmony,’ he thought morbidly. His eyelids, heavy from days on end of little to no rest, closed as he begun to let a final reflection of his life run through his mind, for the very last time. A reflection that would have been more accurately described as him going over the series of events that would lead to him stumbling upon his family, all void of life, when he finally returned home.

 

 

His mother, Diana, called his cell phone when he was still in the states, worried about her son’s safety, even though there was a hurricane right over her own head. He was nowhere near the storm, and yet her concern didn’t strike him the least bit as odd. Even with his extensive acrobatic training from the circus, she was always so worried about his safety. Despite the fact that he’d performed more death-defying feats as a child, she lived in constant fear of her eldest son having a fatal accident in the ring. Every time he climbed to the top of a ladder or a post, she’d cover her eyes, terrified that her son would land on his neck.

 

“Don’t worry, Mama,” he replied calmly, when she called. “I’m nowhere near dis storm. It’s you guys I’m worried about—Dis’ hurricane is right on top of Andros! Is Lilly safe?”

 

“Marius picked her up yesterday, an’ helped your Poppa board all de windows up, so don’ worry about us. We’ve weathered many storms worse than dis; we’ll be jus’ fine.”

 

“Good,” said Dominic, smiling. “Den neither one of us has to worry about the other, we’ll all be jus’ fine. Jus’ like always.”

 

He opened his eyes, looking towards the heavens as tears rolled down his cheek. ‘Jus’ like always,’ he thought bitterly. ‘How could I have been so naïve?’

 

He awoke the next morning and flipped on the morning news, a routine that had become common practice during his numerous travels of the globe. Horrifyingly enough, the biggest news was that the hurricane had ravaged through the Bahamas the previous night, hitting the island of Andros the hardest. Morgan’s Bluff had been demolished, and the early reports indicated the loss of lives in the hundreds, and climbing as more confirmations came in.

 

For the first few minutes all he could do was stare in utter shock at the television screen. Finally he reached for the phone, fumbling the receiver in his hand as he tried to control his shaky fingers enough to press all the correct numbers…

 

Nothing but a recorded voice on the other end informing him that all lines were busy…

 

His head snapped back down to the ends of the rope in his hands. He couldn’t bear to retrace any more thoughts, and he quickly dragged the noose over his head, tightening it into place.

 

‘I should have been here; I could have saved dem all from dis.’

 

Softly he wept.

 

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight he found waiting for him when he finally returned home to Morgan’s Bluff, particularly when he reached his family’s home. The entire backside of the house had caved in, and when he raced around to the back, he found his sister Lillian’s hand, reaching out from the debris. Hysterically, he waded through the wreckage and grabbed her hand to help pull her out; frantically hoping that she was just injured. But, it was ice cold, confirming his worst fear: His sister was dead, killed in the wake of Hurricane Jeanne…

 

It would take several more days to sift through all the remains of this broken down house, He found the rest of them together, huddled over one another, every last member trying to protect the other, and all of them departed from the world we know. He surmised that Lilly had probably broken away from the rest of them in an attempt to try to salvage her precious orchids.

 

He cried much more openly at that point, as the memories served to do nothing more than further shatter his heart. It’d soon be over. All it would take is one step off this chair, and he’d be able to be with those he loved dearest.

 

“Dominic,” a familiar voice called out just as the lights in the room suddenly flickered on. “No…”

 

Startled by the light and the sudden noise, Dominic turned around to face the source of the offending sound. As his tear-stained face landed upon his erstwhile tag team partner, the look of utter astonishment overtook him.

 

“Johnny?” Dominic said, turning his body around to face his friend. “What are you doing…”

 

SNAP!

 

… When suddenly, the worn out old chair, a chair that Dominic had selected specifically for this reason, collapses beneath him, leaving Dominic with nowhere to support his weight, as gravity demands that he relinquish his position in the middle of the air. And so he begins to fall…

 

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

“NOOOO!” Johnny shouted, unable to move his body. It was almost as if time had completely stopped for him while speeding up for his dear friend. Finally he had to force his limbs to work for him once more, less he watch Dominic die in his very presence, and he simply could not live with that.

 

Johnny quickly reached into his coat pocket, reaching for his silver nine millimeter, but it was at that point that a loud creaking sound from above drew his attention towards the ceiling, just before the support beam the ends of the rope were tied around gave way. In the wake of the hurricane that ravaged the land and this house, those support beams didn’t need much to bring them down…

 

 

CRACK!

 

… And down they came…

 

 

THUMP!

 

 

 

CRASH!

 

Dominic crashed, face-first into the wooden floor, only seconds before all sorts of various rubbish piled on top, covering him completely. Johnny moved in swiftly, quickly uncovering his partner from the wreckage. He took a quick survey of Dominic, who was unconscious, deciding that he hadn’t broken his neck or anything major, and then swept him over his shoulders and carried him out of the room.

 

The front portion of the house appeared to be structurally sound enough, and Johnny found a bed in one of the front rooms to lay his partner down upon.

 

“He should be safe here,” Johnny said, breathing a sigh of relief. He didn’t know if he would find Dominic alive here, and the fact that he had was like lifting a mountain of uneasiness from his back. If he were a second later in his arrival, or spent any more time relishing the memories of things in this house it might have been a different story. For now, however, he knew he had at least saved Dominic’s life, in the morning he’d have to see if he could keep it going.

 

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

“Nic?”

 

Dominic LeCroix returned to consciousness slowly, a familiar voice coaxing him out of his slumber.

 

“Dominic,” It called again, much firmer the second time. His eyes flickered open as he quickly bolted upright in his bed, startled by the suddenness. The source of the voice, Johnny Dangerous, stood at the doorway to the bedroom. His sorrow momentarily overwhelmed by his disorientation, Dominic looked at his tag team partner in bewilderment.

 

“W-where am I?” he finally asked as one arm instinctively moved to block the sunlight from his eyes, and he moved to the edge of the bed. “How long have I been out?”

 

“We’re at your home in Morgan’s Bluff still,” informed Johnny, “and you’ve been asleep for over fifteen hours now.”

 

He then turned and headed back down the hallway. Dominic watched as Johnny turned the corner before he slid out of bed and shuffled towards the doorway himself. He rubbed his neck gingerly, unclear as to why it was bothering him so much, until he came to a stop as he passed in front of a full-sized wall mirror. The rope that he had tied around his neck the previous night had left a dark burn mark, and suddenly the memory of everything leading up to the previous evening flooded back into his consciousness, overtaking him in a wave of grief and nausea. Dominic fell to his knees sobbing silently, whimpering to no one in particular:

 

‘I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…’

 

 

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

TWEEEEET!

 

Johnny Dangerous removed the tea kettle from the stove, and walked over to the cupboard to root around for some cups. ‘Good thing that Lilly showed me where everything was the last time I was here,’ he thought absentmindedly, as he retrieved a pair of china mugs and two saucers. As he began to pour the tea, Johnny began to wonder what had happened to Dominic, and it was just at that moment that Dominic chose to enter the kitchen, still rubbing his neck.

 

“You make tea?” asked Dominic, sitting down at one of the chairs by the table.

 

“In my many travels of the world,” replied Johnny, “whether it be in Asia or England, it always seems like hot tea is a healing agent. They can’t all be wrong now, can they?”

 

“I thought tea in England was just a meal in their day,” said Dominic.

 

“Hell if I know,” Johnny shrugged, scooting a cup of tea towards Dominic. “You know, you’re lucky you didn’t break your neck there.”

 

“Maybe I should have,” replied Dominic, staring down at his steaming cup and seemingly shrugging off the notion that he should be grateful to be alive. It certainly wasn’t the kind of response the Barracuda had hoped for and he sighed in response, but as he looked back up at Dominic, with a single tear rolling down his cheek, he was at war with himself whether to press the issue any further or not. It certainly needed to be addressed. After all, what kind of friend would he be if we were unwilling to share the pain with his friend?

 

“I can’t help but to think that there was something I could have done to prevent all of this,” Nic finally said, looking up from his cup. “I should have been here instead of gallivanting around plotting my vengeance; I could have stopped all of dis from happening!”

 

“There’s no way you could have stopped that Hurricane, Nic,” replied Johnny, trying to sound as assuring as possible. “What happened here was a terrible tragedy. Nobody knew how hard it was going to hit; hell, nobody even thought it was going to get this far south. And nobody, not even the great Wildchild could have stopped this. You can’t beat yourself up, Nic, it wasn’t your fault!”

 

Dominic nodded his head in response, and there was a long silence that followed; Johnny sat helplessly, torn between his sense that he should try to say something to comfort his friend, and his sense that he needed to let him take however much time he needed to be able to talk about his pain…

 

“I was meant to go with dem.”

 

Johnny’s mind had once again drifted to the last time he’d been in this house, when Dominic finally chose to break his silence. “Huh?”

 

“I shouldn’t be da lone survivor of da LeCroix clan… I can’t be… I-I-I jus’ can’t!” He buried his head into his hands, overcome with emotion.

 

Johnny rose from his seat and wrapped an arm around Dominic, trying to do whatever he could to help ease the pain, to comfort his friend in his greatest time of need. “It’s going to be alright,” Johnny softly said as his eyes begun to water, “I’ll miss them too.”

 

Johnny himself had been welcomed into the family home with open arms several times before, even when Dominic’s arms hadn’t been among them: When Dominic still wasn’t speaking to Johnny after Genesis, Lillian took it upon herself to invite the Secret Agent to Morgan’s Bluff for Christmas. And while reluctant at first, he finally agreed. Her eagerness to have Johnny over naturally cast a reasonable suspicion as to what the Barracuda had in mind with her, or what she had in mind with him, especially knowing the intimate details of his skirt-chasing in times past. The simple thought alone was enough to make the Barracuda feel unwelcome but, in the end, it was his sister’s persistence that the two of them get back together, and mend the fences that got everything back on track. Johnny was always welcome in the LeCroix home after that, and they were almost like a second family.

 

“Lillian, Marius… your Mom and Dad, do you really think they’d want you to give up on life, Nic?” Johnny said. “They may no longer be here, but they sure didn’t just give up on themselves, they fought until the bitter end, didn’t they?”

 

Dominic knew he was right. He remembered the way he’d found his family all huddled together in the rubble, all of them fighting to protect each other from the house falling down on top of them. They were all willing to sacrifice themselves so the rest could go on.

 

“They sacrificed themselves for you, Nic, don’t let their sacrifice be in vain.”

 

Johnny’s words rang of the truth, and Dominic knew it. Why did he always have to be right , he thought. Nonetheless, it didn’t help the pain he felt over losing them, and he shook his head fiercely in denial. “I can’t handle dis, Johnny,” he wept, slumping out of his chair to the floor. Johnny helped ease him down to a kneeling position. “Dis pain is too much! I can’t make it without dem!”

 

“You’re not alone man,” Johnny replied soothingly. “You’ve got friends… you’ve got me… You don’t have to deal with this by yourself.”

 

Still overcome by grief, Dominic sat on the floor crying for hours.

 

 

Johnny Dangerous never left his side.

 

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

Johnny helped Dominic host a tasteful memorial service for the fallen LeCroix family, attended by Mister Jo-Jo’s family, and a few other friends of the LeCroix who had survived the hurricane. The final farewells were long, but meaningful, and they left behind only the physical remains. A few days later, Johnny was helping him repair part of the house, when he caught Dominic staring at an old family portrait, sadness in his eyes.

“I think you should come back to the states with me, Nic,” Johnny said, walking over to him. “I can’t leave you here by yourself; I’d worry about you. And you’ve got to start living again.”

 

“Go back an’ do what,” challenged Dominic. “Dere’s nothing left for me dere.”

 

Johnny shrugged. “Well, what’s left for you here?” Dominic glared at him in response. “You know what I mean…”

 

Dominic looked as if he wanted to say something to Johnny, but simply lowered his head. “I dunno, Johnny…”

 

“Look,” replied the Barracuda. “Just come on the road with me. I’m still on leave from the SWF; we can take a road trip, or something. Anything to get your mind off of this!” Johnny looked imploringly at Dominic, but his voice sounded almost as if it was more of an order than a request.

 

Dominic raised his head, staring into his friend’s eyes for what seemed like hours without blinking. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed loudly. “Alright,” He was reluctant to leave, but he knew Johnny would either take him with him or stay here. He might as well get away from here for a while. “I’ll get some things together.”

 

As Dominic left the kitchen, Johnny leaned against the wall, and released a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “Thank God,” he muttered to himself.

 

 

****

 

Johnny and Dominic stood outside the LeCroix family home, waiting for Mister Jo-Jo to come by and take them down to the docks.

 

“Try to be positive, ‘Nic,” Johnny said brightly. “Today is October 29, 2004, and as cliché as it may sound, today is the first day of the rest of your life. I’ll be here to help you, I’ll you need to do is tell me what you need.”

 

“Alright,” replied Dominic, shaking his head as Mister Jo-Jo’s taxi pulled up. “I suppose t’ings could be worse.”

 

“Sure they could,” Johnny said with a wink as they got into the cab. “Your last name could be Fasaki…”

 

Dominic smiled weakly at his friend’s corny joke, but he felt more positive about his future than he had in weeks. The LeCroix was a proud family, he told himself, and he was honor-bound to push forward, to move on. He couldn’t let them down; he couldn’t let them die in vain.

 

He had to get back on that tightrope…

 

 

END PART FOUR

[Toxxic 0]

NEXT: THE ADVENTURES OF WILD & DANGEROUS IN MONGOLIA.

 

Or sommat.

 

I tell you, you two had better bloody well come back after all this, sunshine.

[Sly 0]

These are quite bi-curious adventures.

[Angel_Grace_Blue 0]

When comes the make out scene?

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

[Toxxic 0]

Foolish Dub-Cee. As a military man you should know that one man cannot comfort a close friend who has gone through excessive trauma, including at least one of them shedding tears, without the pair enjoying copious amounts of gratuitous BUTT-sex. 'Twould not be right otherwise.

[Secret Agent 0]

So much for my attempt to be "dramatic" or anything.

 

*Takes his ball and goes home*

[King Cucaracha 0]

Well, I think anyone who's ever visited an American cinema knows what a ROAD TRIP! means.

 

I concur with Toxxic. If this doesn't lead to a W&D return then I'll be mucho disappointed...o. Besides, with promos like this, you pretty much have to come back because they have been very good. Hell, I've been drawn in.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

Well, now that everyone's had a good laugh at me and Johnny's expense, could I trouble any of you to offer some non-assholish feedback?

[Sly 0]

No, you can't.

 

Laff.