THE BEST LAID PLANS
EPILOUGE
(NOTE: Suggested
listening music for the Epilogue: primarily "Iris" by the Goo Goo
Dolls from the "City Of Angels" soundtrack. Also, for the "dream
sequence" "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan from the same soundtrack.)
"I can’t do it."
"Someone has to tell
her."
"Who?"
"I-I can’t. I
couldn’t."
"Me neither."
"I think she needs to
hear it from all of us."
"Oh, God, why is this
happening?"
"You know why."
"Doesn’t make it
right. Doesn’t make it fair. All she wanted was to be happy."
"Don’t. Don’t cry. She
needs us now. We gotta be strong for her."
"I know."
A moan from the other side
of the med. lab silenced all of their whispers.
Storm, lying in a medical
bed, raised a hand to her slowly moving head.
"Goddess, my head. .
."
The X-Men cautiously moved
toward her, standing mostly at the foot of the bed, as to not make her feel
closed in.
Hank was at her side as her
eyes blinked open.
"Easy Ororo, no fast
movements."
"Hank? What—what has
happened?" She looked around slowly. "What am I doing here?"
She tried to bring herself
up on her elbow.
"You were knocked
unconscious. You have a slight concussion. Other than that the computer has
detected only minor injuries: a few bumps and bruises. You are going to be fine."
"What—what
happened?" She asked again more quietly. She fell back into the pillow
again and closed her eyes. The X-Men felt they would be spared their difficult
task a little longer because it appeared she had fallen asleep again.
"Rafe. . ." Storm
whispered, her eyes still closed. A moment later, they flickered open.
"Rafe? Where is. . .
What happened? I—I remember a noise – a loud noise. And—and. . . wha- I-I don’t
remember wh-?" She appeared to be extremely confused, trying to sort out
the fragmented memories in her mind.
She took a deep breath and
covered her face with her hands in an attempt to calm herself.
"Rafe. What happened
to Rafe? Where is he?"
". . ."
"Jean?"
". . ."
"Kitty?" Kitty
opened her mouth to speak but no sound came. She closed it as she felt the
tears welling up in her eyes again.
‘Why are they behaving
this way?’ Ororo
looked to her right. "Logan?"
Wolverine slowly stepped
forward. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Darlin’, there was an
explosion inside Rafe’s apartment—Some kind of backdraft effect. It blew
up then blew itself out without damaging the rest of the building. That’s why
you were only knocked down--" He paused.
"Ro. . . Rafe’s dead.
The blast killed him instantly, he didn’t suffer."
Ororo stared at him, her
face blank, revealing nothing. She sat up with assistance from Hank who was on
her left. She let her eyes drift form person to person to person. Then she
focused on no one.
‘Rafe—is—dead.’ She repeated the words in her head
but they make no sense to her. ‘Rafe is not dead. We are getting married. He
cannot be dead if we are getting married.’
She shook her head, trying
to clarify the situation. No one in the room had moved when she looked around
once more. She ran a hand over her face then through her hair.
"Could I—have a few
moments—alone, please?"
"Of course,
Ororo." Hank and the others silently filed out of the room.
Ororo sat perfectly still,
save for using her thumb to turn the diamond engagement ring around her finger.
‘Rafe. . .?’
* * * * *
She stopped speaking. After
spending a day in the infirmary, Ororo retired to her attic apartment. She
would rarely see anyone. However, that did not stop the other X-Men from taking
a peek in on her every now and again, out of concern. Rogue or Warren would
take a look through her skylight then fly off. Jean and Betsy would give
momentary mental glances into the room. Kitty would occasionally phase through
the wall or door, for a look.
Ororo’s behavior on these spy
missions did not serve to ease their worries.
She sat staring at the
floor, or the window, or the wall. On occasion she would tend to her plants or
pick up a book as though nothing were wrong. Her face was a blank slate. She
didn’t cry. She appeared to be frozen. There was no emotion on the outside, and
from the stillness of the sky, no emotion inside either.
The funeral was three days
later, and it was the first time Storm left her loft. She wore a black dress,
dark shoes, and the same blank expression.
She didn’t cry at the
service. She sat with an arm around Natsuko as the elder woman sobbed on her
shoulder. Ten-year-old Jack fidgeted, not wanting to believe his beloved uncle
was in that box and would not be coming back. He wanted proof. He wanted to
see. Considering the way Rafe had been killed; the box was
understandably closed.
She didn’t cry at the wake.
Ororo waded through the ocean of condolences, politely nodding, but saying
nothing.
‘Too many people in
here. Too close, too near. I cannot breath.’ It was the only moment Storm’s blank visage showed
any sign of emotion: near panic as she moved through the crowd to the door and
fresh open air.
"Jean. . ."
"I know Scott. I’m
keeping an eye on her."
"Do you know where
she’s going?"
"…She’s heading in the
direction of the cemetery."
"Should we--"
"No. No, I think we
should leave her be."
Ororo was indeed heading
towards the cemetery. When she arrived, all living people were absent. The
gravediggers had worked quickly as there was a fresh pile of dirt over the
gravesite the mourners had left only an hour ago. She stood between this new
grave and the one ten years older, which also bore the name Wallace. Rafe had
been buried next to his father.
Ororo knelt down and placed
both hands in the loose soil and let them stay there a moment.
Suddenly she drew them back
and jumped as though she had been struck. She stumbled back from the graves in
a semi-shock state, took to the air and quickly flew back to the mansion.
She remained sitting in a
chair in her room for the remainder of the day. When the X-Men returned, when
Jean came to check on her, and then Remy, and Kitty, and Peter, then Kurt, she
remained sitting, even more distant than she was before.
Night passed, as did
morning. Her would-be wedding day. It was just pass eleven o’clock when she
looked down and realized she was in the same dress and her hands were still
marred with the grave soil. She dreaded the idea of going outside for a rain
shower. She decided to use the more traditional method.
She stood in the shower,
under water that she knew was much hotter than it should have been. Opening her
eyes she noticed she had not turned on any lights in the washroom and with the
exception of the light which came from the slightly ajar door, she was in
complete darkness.
Ororo closed her eyes again
and lean back against the shower wall. She slid down it and drew her legs up
against herself. She began slowly rocking herself side to side. The feelings
she had had been suppressing now tickled beneath the surface.
‘Rafe. Rafe. Rafe. Rafe.
Rafe—is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . gone. . . . . .’
It was like a pane of glass
shattering.
Ororo grabbed the sides of
her head and released a scream that would have been loud enough to make Banshee
cringe. No one in the house could hear it though. The scream was accompanied by
an explosive display of thunder and lightening which shook the entire mansion,
right down to the sub-terrain science lab where Hank was working. The
lightening traveled to the highest point of earth’s atmosphere, and for several
miles out in diameter from the mansion. People throughout the city covered
their eyes for the brilliance and their ears for the accompanying boom.
And then it was over.
"Hold it dere,
Peder." Remy said grabbing Colossus’ arm. The moment the rumbling had
stopped, the large X-Man had started for the door. "Leave her be, mon ami.
She gotta deal wit dis."
"Gumbo’s right. The
walls are down; she’s feelin’ it now. Storm knows we’re here for her. She’ll
let us know when she needs us."
"And until then?"
"We wait."
* * * * *
"Well?"
"She’s a mess. She
won’t get out of bed. You say more than three words to her and she starts
crying." Kitty flopped down into the couch. She had just brought Ororo her
dinner, which she knew the former goddess would probably not eat. "Well, I
guess it’s better than that catatonic thing she was doing before."
"It’s only been two
weeks."
"I know Jean. It’s
just—I’ve never seen Ororo so. . . vulnerable before. It’s kinda
scary."
"I know. Sometimes, I
think we get so wrapped up in this whole hero thing, that we forget that
underneath it all, we’re only human. And that the truly difficult battles are
with ourselves, our own spirits."
"And how do we train
for that, oh wise one?"
"Live."
* * * * *
"Arashi."
"…"
"Arashi."
"Rafe?"
"Hi, hon."
"I-I thought. . .
they told me you were – dead."
"I am."
"But how. .
.?"
"You’re dreaming. I
figured this was the best way for me to talk to you. I wanted to tell you that
I’m sorry to be causing you this pain, but it will get easier with time."
"This is not
real."
"Whatever you
believe is real."
"I want to believe
you are alive."
"Then I am."
"No—you are
not."
"I am. . . just not
in the way you expected."
"I want you with
me."
"I am always with
you."
"You said you would
never leave me."
"And I never
will."
"But--"
"I live on in you,
Arashi."
"Rafe. . ."
"I love you. . .
always."
"Rafe!"
Ororo bolted upright in
bed.
It was three a.m.
She hugged herself and
closed her eyes. She inhaled and for a moment picked up Rafe’s scent in the
room. Then it was gone.
"I love you too."
She whispered.
* * * * *
"Hank, have you ever
actually been full?"
"I have been full
of Bobby’s jokes. I have been full of information. It has been said by
certain unruly individuals that I am full of animated hydrogen, oxygen
and nitrogen . . ."
"Hank. . ."
"Hot air. To
which type of full are you referring Dr. Reyes?"
"Food! I’m
talkin’ food, man! You eat more than everyone sitting here put together!"
"Well, I don’t know.
Should I endeavor to find out?" He asked reaching for another stack
of pancakes.
"No!!!"
Twelve people shouted at once.
"Mien Gott! Where does
he put--" Kurt stopped short and stared.
The others present around
the table followed his gaze to the kitchen door, where Ororo was silently
standing.
"Have a seat,
Chere." Gambit said pulling out a chair when no one else said anything.
Ororo took the seat which
was, as usual for her was at the edge of the table. Jean gave her a plate of
food, which she slowly began eating. Morning conversation picked back up again.
"I--" Storm said
after a few moments. She was looking down at her plate, and then glanced up
towards the patio doors, not facing anyone. She had their immediate attention.
They waited for her to continue.
"I--" She tried
again, her voice was unsteady.
"You what Sugah?"
Rogue asked to be helpful.
She paused and took a
breath.
"I am. . . going to
have a baby. I am pregnant. I confirmed it with the med lab computer this
morning."
The refrigerator was the
only thing that made a sound. Mouths opened to respond, but could find no
words.
No one was certain of the
correct way to react, so Wolverine, as usual, said what he truly felt.
"Can’t think of a
better mom."
Everyone else clamored in
agreement, but tears started to flow from Ororo’s eyes.
"I cannot be a mother!
Not now. Not without Rafe. Not alone. . ."
"Wait, wait, wait
waitaminute! Since when are you alone? You’ve got one massive family, who’ll always
be here for ya when you need it. That kid’s a lot of love waiting for it. At
worst it’ll be suffering from too much attention."
"Stop calling the baby
it."
"We don’t know the sex
yet."
"Still, it’s not just
some object."
"You just said it."
"Oh, Bobby, for the
love of. . ."
"Give the kid a
nickname for now."
"Spud!"
"Spud?"
"Yeah, as in baked
or baking potato."
"I believe you’re
thinking of bun."
"You guys are
impossible!"
"You got a better
idea?"
"Um, people. . ."
Kitty was motioning towards Ororo. Storm was covering her face with her hand,
her elbow resting on the table.
"Oh, Ororo, we’re sorry--"
The apologies were cut
short when they heard a sound that had not been in that house for too long of a
time.
Storm’s laughter.
The End
Rafe fans,
puuullleeaasse don’t hate me! I liked him too. But he was never intended to be
around for long. Yes Rafe is gone for good. This is not one of those revolving
door type of things. He will however be appearing in some future stories that
take place within that two year gap I left between stories three and four. But
Rain Whispers will move forward and continue. It ain’t over by a long shot!