Post by rlyzitzmollz on Apr 7, 2009 20:57:54 GMT -5
Matt and Matt. The only father/son act that can read your mind while washing your dishes for you. Hiro and Ando had introduced Matt to Matt Jr. only two weeks before, and already he was as attached as if he had known him since birth. The little chubby baby looked up at him with his blue eyes wide, wondering what was happening.
Matt Parkman was crying. Little Matt didn't want his daddy to be sad. He tried to cheer him up by turning Blues Clues on TV, but Big Matt put the idea in his head that he didn't want to help his daddy. So Little Matt sat on the counter, looked up at his crying father, and simply wondered what was happening.
Ando and Hiro sat on the couch in the living room of the suite. "It's almost time, Matta Parkman," Hiro said in his thick Japanese accent.
"You might want to get ready," Ando said. Matt nodded and stood up. He went to his room to get his suit on. When he returned, he found Ando making his funniest face and Matt Jr. and Matt Jr. giggling. Hiro walked over to Matt.
"I don't want Matt to have to go to a funeral at this age," Matt (Sr.) told Hiro. "I mean, who knows where his real mother is, she could be dead right now, and dragging him to Daphne's funeral, and him seeing me like this..."
"Matta Parkman," Hiro said. "He is only a baby. He may not even register it. And if he does, Ando will make 'The Face.'" Matt smiled. "We should go," Hiro continued.
"Yes," Ando said, picking up Baby Matt and carrying him to Adult Matt. "Here you go." He placed the kid in Matt's arms and the four of them stepped outside of their hotel room and walked down the hall. They piled into the elevator and were soon in their Cube, on their way to Daphne's funeral.
Matt and Matt sat in the back, while Hiro drove and Ando rode shotgun. Big Matt tried to convince Little Matt that everything was fine, but Little Matt wasn't buying it. They rode in silence.
Arriving at the church about an hour later, they piled out of the car. Matt looked around at all the guests. They had all known Daphne at some time in their lives. She was special to every single one of them. Knowing that he had one thing in common with all these people should have made him feel a little better. But somehow, it only made him feel worse.
They sat down in a pew and waited for the service to begin. First, Daphne's father spoke. He talked about Daphne's physical disability, and how proud of her he was when she overcame it. (He did not, of course, mention how she overcame it, for if he did, Danko's people would be all over him in seconds. The eclipse that gave Daphne and so many others their powers was never to be mentioned in public.) He talked about her mother, and how he was glad they could be together now. He talked about what a wonderful person Daphne was, and how much he would miss her. Then some of her friends and more family spoke, saying basically the same things. Finally, it was Matt's turn. He handed Little Matt to Ando, who handed him to Hiro. He made his way to the podium as quickly as he could.
"Hi. I'm, uh, Matt Parkman. Daphne was my girlfriend, for a little while...um, I'm really gonna miss her, too, like everyone else already said...she was a really great person. I think everyone who met her liked her. But you all know that, or you wouldn't be here. She was very determined. She once told me she would never slow down long enough for anyone to catch her. And she wouldn't let the people chasing her slow her down. She only wanted to help people and better herself. When she was doing something she didn't like, she would change it. But I think everyone liked her how she was. I loved her how she was. I wish she was still here. She died in an attempt to save other people. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I think we can all agree she didn't deserve what she got. So, um, Daphne? If you're out there, if you can hear me, I miss you already, and I love you." Matt walked back to his seat and Hiro handed his son to him.
After the priest laid his blessing upon Daphne's dead body, people were allowed to line up and say their goodbyes. After that there would be an hour long reception before she was buried. Matt couldn't understand how anyone could possibly eat at a time like this. He stood at the end of the line with Matt Jr. so he could have the most time with her. Most people's goodbyes were brief. Ando and Hiro were in front of Matt.
"I will miss you, Nemesis," Ando said, using the nickname he and Hiro made up. It was because she used to be on the other side. She used to work for Pinehearst. He now used the name affectionately.
"You were the toughest Nemesis I could have had," Hiro said, smiling and pumping his fist. "Rock on!" Then he and Ando left the two Matts to have their moment. Matt set Matt Jr. down next to the open casket and got down on his knees. He stared at Daphne's gray face. Some people looked peaceful when they were dead. She looked like she was in pain. He looked inside her head. He had never tried his power on a dead person before.
Everything was dark. It was like he was in a realm of nothingness, except instead of being white like the usual endless abyss, it was all black. He had no idea what he was standing on, but his feet were rooted in place. He looked around. Though there was nothing there, it seemed to have an air of...death. He tried to lighten the mood by adding some color, but to no avail.
"Daphne?" Matt called. "I don't know if I'll see you in here, I'm guessing I won't. But I figured that the place you would be most likely to hear me is in your mind, or maybe your soul, but I can't get in there, so here I am. I just wanted to say I miss you...I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm sorry I compared you to Janice. They wouldn't let me in if I wasn't your husband, probably. I'm gonna stop trying to make excuses. I'm sorry. That's it. I'm happy I got to know you. I really do love you. I swear. It started with the spirit walk, and I wasn't just trying to fulfill it, well, I was, but I wasn't trying, it was just happening. If that makes sense. Anyway, I love you. I wish I could just stay here with you forever. I'll visit you. I will...and I'll talk to you and hope you can hear me. I..." Matt trailed off. He began to cry again. Sitting down on the invisible floor, he sobbed into his arms. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"What, no Paris? No moon? I mean, you can do better than this, Hawaii, at least!" Matt craned his neck and saw--DAPHNE???. He was able to move his feet again, and he scrambled to them and turned to face her.
"Daphne!!!" he cried, throwing his arms around her waist. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
"But seriously, what's with the whole, goth, endless eternity thing? Don't you want to like, cheer me up? Make me feel like, maybe being dead's not so bad?"
"I swear, it was like this when I got here. I guess this is just how it looks when you're dead. We're gonna hafta figure out the rules. I mean, I tried to change it, but it didn't work. I figured you wouldn't even be here, you know, being non-existent and all, but here you are. I guess it's complicated," Matt told her.
"Oh," Daphne said. "That's depressing." She tilted her head back to look at him. "So, how long have you been in here?"
"A while..." Matt said. "How long have you been here? I was talking for a while, did you hear it?"
"Nope."
"Damn, this whole afterlife thing is confusing."
"Yup," Daphne said, popping the"p". "I'm really gonna miss you..." she said, trailing off and looking deep into Matt's eyes. He looked back, and soon they were kissing, more than they ever had before. They were even more in their own little world than they had been before (being inside Daphne's brain). After several minutes, when they finally pulled apart, they noticed something was different.
Matt looked over Daphne's head and saw organ pipes. And angels. Behind Matt, Daphne saw rows and rows of benches. Pews. In a church. For a minute, Matt thought maybe one of those angels had come and touched Daphne. Maybe a miracle had just occurred. For a minute, Daphne thought Matt had finally succeeded in changing the setting, though he had picked an odd place.
"This is...random. Now that you can do it, can you get us somewhere else?" Then she noticed that she was sitting. In a casket. "Cuz making out in a casket isn't exactly 'romantic,' nor is it cheering me up."
"I swear, I'm not doing anything," Matt said. They let go of each other as Matt turned to Matt Jr. Daphne followed his gaze.
"Who's the kid?"
"My son with Janice," Matt said absentmindedly. "I just found out about him," he added quickly, catching the gleam in her eye. Daphne smiled, then frowned.
"What do you mean, 'not doing anything'?"
Matt continued to stare at his son.
"Helloooo? Matt? Anyone home?"
"I mean, we're not in your head anymore..." Matt said, not looking away from Matt Jr.
"So what, I'm just magically alive now?" Daphne demanded.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Matt muttered.
"...Care to explain?"
"Matt turns things on and off...like a touch-and-go. When he's happy, he turns things on. When he's sad, he turns things off. But now that I think about it...maybe he's learning to control it. Earlier, I was crying, and he turned Blues Clues on, trying to cheer me up. Maybe he was trying to...I'll check." Matt got into the infants head with ease. "He saw that I was sad all day..." Matt said, barely deciphering his son's jumbled thoughts. Baby language was not his specialty, but Matt Jr. was learning to speak. "...And so he was trying to fix the problem."
"So you think he...started me heart again?" she asked, at the same time as Matt said "Started your heart again, yeah."
"Oh."
Matt lifted Little Matt off his feet and swung him around happily. "I love you, kid!!! Thank you!!" He kissed is forehead and set him back down. Seeing that his work here was done, Matt Jr. went to play in the pews. Matt went back to Daphne and helped her out of her casket. She was still digesting the information, but as it sunk in, a huge smile grew across her face. Soon, tears were welling up in her eyes, and Matt's, too. They kissed again then, more passionately now that it was for real. After a few minutes, they sat down in front of the casket, holding hands.
Matt told Daphne about everything that had happened since she died, and more about Matt Jr. and how he didn't know where Janice was or if she was even alive. Daphne promised she would help him with Matt Jr., but besides that, she didn't have much to tell him, so she just played with his fingers and listened.
As the hour came to a close, people started filing in from the reception area to begin the precession. The first person to come in was a middle aged woman Matt had never met before. Daphne pointed her out as Shelley Wheeler, who bought corn weekly from her farm. Shelley saw Matt and Daphne sitting in front of the casket. After a moment of realization, she let out a blood-curdling scream. More people rushed in at the sound and a few others screamed as well. Most people just stood there with their mouths dangling open. Then Daphne's father came in.
He stared for a moment, then rushed up to the platform. "D-Daphne?" he stuttered. "Is that...how is this possible???" he asked, incredulous. Daphne let go of Matt's hand and stood up.
Into her father's ear, she whispered, "You know how I can run? And Matt here is a telepath? Well, you see that baby running around?" Her father was about to turn around when Daphne placed her hand on his cheek to stop him. "No, don't look. He stops and starts things. And, well, my heart was stopped, and he...started it."
Her father's jaw dropped and his face turned pale. After a few minutes of careful thought, he turned around and addressed the crowd. "False alarm," he said, the calm in his voice clearly fake, as it was shaking. "I guess, um, everyone can just...go home." Then he turned back around and hugged Daphne. He began crying, and Daphne started again, too. Matt smiled as his son came running up to him. He picked him up as he stood. Hiro and Ando were beaming at the happy scene. The guests were confused. They had seen her cold, dead body, they had said their goodbyes. And yet, here she was, hugging her father and crying warm tears. They would give her time with her father and welcome her back another time. Slowly, they began to leave.
Her father released her and wiped his tears. Hiro and Ando walked up to their friends. Daphne hugged them each. "It's good to have you back, Nemesis," Ando said, smiling. Daphne laughed. Then she turned to Matt. She kissed him gently. Then, he handed Matt Jr. to her. Daphne's whole face lit up as she spoke in a baby voice to him and he giggled. She bounced him up and down and kissed his forehead. Matt knew that she would make a great mother, and even if Janice returned and wanted Matt Jr. back, she would make a great mother to the kids he had seen them having together in four years. He had thought that the spirit walk had been wrong, but now he saw hope for their future together.
But I was glad that it had a happy ending for her and Matt. 
