A Promise Kept Ch. 04

This is the last and final chapter of this story. I'm sorry for any glitches in my last posting. I don't know whose fault it was that it turned out like it did, but I guess it was still okay...lol

MoogPlayer

~~~~~~

Chapter One

"Michael, honey are you alright?" Kara asked, as we drove back to our house, "I know that it was very hard on you talking about the past."

"I'm okay for now," I told her, "It's just gonna take me a day or two to get my emotional shit back together."

"I'm so sorry that you're hurting, baby," she said, as a lone tear silently made its way down my face, "But I can't begin to tell you how very noble of you it was to talk about the past so that Danny's family can finally have some peace."

"I know it did," I sadly smiled, "And that's the only reason that I did that, too."

"And that's why I love you so much," she softly smiled, "Sir Michael," and then she giggled a little bit, "I really thought that it was cool that you got knighted by the Queen of England. Does your family know about that?"

"No," I quickly replied, "And I don't ever want them to know either."

"And why not, Michael," Kara defensively asked, "Don't you know how proud that would make them; especially your little sister?"

"That's one of the reasons why I don't want them to know," I said, "Please, I'm asking you, as a favor, not to tell them, okay?"

"Okay, baby," she softly replied, taking my hand into hers and interlacing our fingers together, "I'll keep your secret...for now," and then she began to impishly giggle, "Sir Michael..."

~~~~~~

The next day was Sunday, and because I'd promised him that I'd do it when I got the first chance, I took my father fishing. We had to take his truck because it had the trailer hitch on the back, and besides, I wasn't about to pull the boat behind my Corvette.

~~~~~~

Dad had just bought a brand new Ranger© Bass Boat about a month before I got home, and this was the first chance he'd had to try it out. It had everything that comes with a boat of this kind, and I could actually see the "Little Boy with a New Toy" look on Dad's face the moment the boat touched the water.

"Here," he excitedly told me, handing me the truck keys, "You pull the truck and trailer up into the parking lot and lock her up. I'll bring the boat around to the pier. You can get on her then."

"Her?" I teased, "Dad, this is a boat, not a ship."

"Shut up, shit head," he laughed, "Didn't you learn in the Navy not to argue with the Captain of the ship, boy?"

"Jeez," I laughed, using the truck to pull the trailer from the water, and then drove it around to park it, "Gimme a fucking break," and then after locking everything up, I walked over to the Marina to meet Dad at the pier.

~~~~~~

"So, tell me, son," Dad inquired, as we fished, "How are you really doing, son?"

"I'm okay," I lied; "Come on, Dad; why would you ask me something like that?"

"Bullshit," Dad quietly bellowed, so as not to scare the fish, "You think I can't tell that you still think about that shit you went through in the Navy?"

"Look," I said, "I can't even begin to tell you what I went rough, okay? Besides, it's not like you could ever understand anyway."

All of a sudden, I felt the apple that Dad had been eating hit me in the side of the head, and then I saw it fall into the water and bob up and down on the surface of the lake.

"Just who the fuck do you think you're talking to, boy?" Dad quietly seethed, "You forgot that I did two tours over in the Nam; and for a while, I thought I lost my soul in that shitty fucking country."

"You're right, and I'm sorry, Dad," I regretfully replied, "It's just that... here lately, I feel like the walls are closing in on me."

"Yeah," Dad said nonplussed, "And going to talk to the Reed family and disclosing classified information wouldn't have anything to do with how you're feeling, now, would it?"

"How did you know about that?" I angrily asked, "I'm going to have to have a talk with Kara, because I..."

"Kara had nothing to do with it so; don't even go there with me," Dad knowingly interrupted, "Etienne Reed and your mother have known each other for about four years now. They met at one of those gardening conventions in Houston that your mother likes to go to. They got to talking, then one thing led to another, and they ended up talking about their sons, and guess what?"

"Mom found out about Danny," I sullenly replied, looking out on the lake, "Didn't she?"

"Yeah, she did," Dad said, "But until now, she and Etienne never knew that you and Danny even knew each other, much less became the close friends that you did...which, by the way, I'm really sorry for the loss of your friend, son, I really am."

"He wasn't just my friend, Dad," I replied, my eyes beginning to fill with tears, "He was the only brother I'll ever have."

"So, so honor his scarfice by moving forward in your life," Dad quietly replied, "I know that that's what I would want you to do if I were him."

"Thank you, Dad," I told him, after realizing that, as always, he was right, "I know that you're right...I'll try."

"Come on, Mikey," he said, "You and I both know that there is no such thing as "trying" when you're dealing with something like this, there's only "doing", okay?"

"Yes, sir," I replied, "You're right."

"You're damn right I am," he grinned, "Come on now, let's fish."

We ended up catching four nice sized large mouth bass that day, enough to for a nice fish fry, which we invited Ken and Sara Matlock to.

~~~~~~

"Damn, Nathan," Ken grinned, as we ate, "This is some tasty Bass, where did you guys say that you caught these?"

"We didn't," Dad grinned, winking at me, "And I want to keep it that way so I can go back and catch the rest of the fish's family..."

~~~~~~

That evening after we finished eating, Mom reminded me that my sister Brittany, was going in for her final surgery the next morning, and that she'd told Mom that she wanted to see me before they put her under.

"Tell Britt not to worry, Mom," I replied, as Kara and I got into my car to go back home, "I promise that I'll be there no matter what."

~~~~~~

"I think Brittany will be in better spirits when she sees you tomorrow," Kara smiled, "She loves you so much."

"I know," I warmly smiled, as I remembered some of the stunts my little sister pulled when we were young, "I love her, too."

"Uh, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings," Kara told me, "But what're you going to do about work tomorrow?"

"That's simple," I grinned, "I'll have to cancel class for the day."

"Okay," she uncomfortable replied, "But the Board of Regents don't really like for teachers to cancel their classes."

"This is my immediate family, Kara honey," I pointed replied, "And if the Board doesn't like me canceling my classes because one of them is having surgery; then they can all kiss my ass. There's time for that later."

"I'm behind you a hundred percent, honey; you know that," she sweetly smiled, holding hand to her lips and kissing it, "I'm just looking out for you, baby."

"I know, and I love you for it," I softly replied, "I really do."

~~~~~~

TEXAS WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
HOUSTON, TEXAS
THE NEXT MORNING
6:45 AM

"Hi, Mikey," Brittany drowsily said, gently holding my hand, as she waited in her room for the orderlies to come and get her, "I'm glad to see you...Hi Kara, thank you for coming too."

"Hi, pretty girl," Kara tenderly replied, "I wasn't gonna miss this for anything, Britt, but I have to get back to campus soon. Michael's going to be here all dat with you, baby girl."

"Good," she wearily rolled her eyes, "I don't know, but that pill the Doctor gave me earlier is getting me fucked up," she began to childishly giggle, "Ooops, is Mom here?"...giggle..."I know she hates when I say fuck...giggle giggle...but you ought to hear her and Dad going at it, and they've been doin it a lot lately...giggle, giggle, giggle...talk about a nasty mouth, Mom says stuff like..."

"That's enough, Brittany," I interrupted her; trying to keep from smiling while Kara quietly snickered over in the far corner of the room, "I think that you're enjoying the medication a little too much."

I still thank God to this day that the orderlies came when they did, putting a stop to my sister's naughtiness, brought about by the medication the Dr. had given her.

~~~~~~

"I love you, Brittany," I told her as they rolled her out the door, "I'll see you in a little while."

"Bye, Mikey," she smiled, in a childlike innocence because of the drug, "I love you, too," and then she smiled once more only this time she slowly closed her eyes and went to sleep...

~~~~~~

EIGHT HOURS LATER

Brittany had been out of surgery for almost three hours by this time. The Surgeon totally assured us that, because Brittany was still young enough, everything went well, and most important of all, my sister would recover perfectly, looking as though nothing had ever touched her to begin with.

I only hoped that was true, because God himself knew, that if whoever hurt my sister, or whoever I love for that matter, went free on a technicality, then I would most assuredly kill them, and I wouldn't even break a sweat, nor would my pulse rise up above 72 beats per minute, while I was doing it...that much was certain.

However, while I know what I just finished saying might sound monstrous to some; I'm no different from any other man when it comes to protecting, and keeping safe that which he holds most dear in his life.

The way things stood at the moment meant that Tommy Powers had an ass whipping of epic proportion coming to him, and I was the going to be the one who was going to deliver that particular item to him. The only thing about it was that he wasn't going to be able to see it coming, as his attention was going to be elsewhere when the time came to take the little sonofabitch down...and if I could help it, it was going to be me that he saw, and would beg for mercy, that much was certain.

~~~~~~

I was reading the newspaper and sitting in a chair next to my little sister's hospital; bed when I heard her croak, "Mikey, where are you?"

"I'm right here, baby girl," I told her, leaping to my feet and coming to her side, "What can I get you, sweetie?"

"Water," she quietly whispered, "Thirsty..."

The nurse told me that she would be thirsty when she finally woke, and therefore placed a pitcher and a cup on her utility table by her bed. So, as quickly as possible, and being careful not to spill it, I poured Brittany a cup of water placing a straw in it, and ten held it to her lips so that she could drink.

"Thank you," she hoarsely told me, "My head feel kinda light," and then she began to smile.

"Thank you, God," I quietly smiled, looking to the heavens, "I owe you big time for this one, Lord."

~~~~~~

TEN DAYS LATER

"Okay, now," the surgeon told Brittany before he began removing the bandages, "You're still a little bruised so; don't be upset when you see the dark skin. However, your surgery went spectacularly perfect and when the bruises go away, you'll be able to see what I'm talking about, okay sweetie."

"Okay, Doctor," Brittany nervously replied, "Go ahead and take the bandages off..."

~~~~~~

"Look at that beautiful face," I told Brittany, as she happily cried while looking at herself in the mirror, "My beautiful sister is back with a vengeance."

"But look at the bruises," she sniffled, "I won't be able to show this face anywhere."

"Those bruises will go away, baby," Mom smiled, tears in her eyes, "The main thing is that you're alright now."

"I'm okay, Mom," Brittany impishly smiled, "My pussy is going to be out of commission for a while so; you and Dad can rest easy on that subject," which elicited a snicker from not only Kara and me, but Dad also gave a loud chuckled.

Needless to say, Mom gave him a stern glare, then she looked at Britt smiling and told her, "I can tell that you're alright, young lady...you still have that filthy mouth of your," and by this time we were all laughing.

"Ya'll stop laughing her, dammit," Mom told us, "You know it only makes her that much worse," which was pointless by this time, because we were all too far gone to care by then...

~~~~~~

By the time evening rolled around, Brittany seemed to have a clearer head, and not under any medication that would make her blatantly speak what was on her mind, like she wasn't bad enough about that already. Still though, she was out of danger, and once her facial wounds were healed well enough, we were going to send her to a specialist who dealt strictly with the female of the species. Jeez, it sounds like we're dealing with aliens, or something, huh?

~~~~~~

THAT NIGHT

When Kara and I got home, we were tickled to see that Jayne was there, apparently having dealt with whatever demons she'd been dealing with, and as tickled to see us as we were her.

"Hi, sweetheart," Kara smiled, tightly hugging her, "Welcome home."

"Home," she softly replied, "I love the way that sounds...don't ya'll?"

"I sure do," I warmly smiled, "I love it."

"I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, Michael," Jayne smiled, tears in her eyes as she went from Kara's arms to mine in order to tightly hug me, "I slept all night last night for the first time since Danny died."

"Aw, my precious, precious girl," I told her, my eyes now filling with tears as my heart was literally breaking for her, "I never knew it was that bad for you, Jayne honey, why didn't you ever tell me or Kara?"

"Because," she openly cried, "I didn't want to burden either one of you with my problems."

"Because of my relationship with Danny," I told her, "You're my responsibility now, and I swear by all that's holy, I won't ever let anything happen to you, ever again. Do you understand me, sweetheart?"

"You really are a noble man, Michael," Kara smiled, happy tears raining done her beautiful face, "No wonder the Queen of England knighted you..."

~~~~~~

The next morning it was business as usual; I went to teach my classes and Kara went off to teach hers, kissing me until I saw her later in the day. It was good to get back to work, and the moment I went in to teach my first class that next morning, I felt like things were beginning to turn back to normal, with the exception of dealing with not only the Powers family, but also Bob Dresden. If you remember right, that son of a bitch tried to have me killed.

Detective Gavin Phelps had personally assured me that he wasn't going to be able to make bail because of the severity of the charges against him. Besides that; the District Attorney's Office had assured me that it would be an open and shut case.

They'd been keeping James Kindler and Howard Nash in a safe house somewhere out of state. And in case you don't remember them, they were the two redneck assholes that tried to bomb the house that Kara and I were living in with us in it. The D.A. had already cut a deal with them, and would be placing them and their families into the witness protection program once they'd testified to being paid by Robert Dresden to kill us.

I only hoped that the jerk-offs in the Powers family weren't powerful enough to be able to find them. If that were the case, then not only would I kill them one by one, but I would also do it by hand, and watch, as the life slowly drained from their eyes. I know that it may sound evil to some, but I think I've already mentioned being no different that anyone else who's loved ones were in danger.

~~~~~~

I could tell that talking about Danny and everything this last weekend with the Reed family had brought some old demons I once thought I'd dealt with back to life. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that that was why I found myself feeling the way I had after talking about that old stuff.

"That "stuff" as you call it, is NOT that old," the voice in my head told me, "And you can kid yourself all that you want to, but you STILL haven't dealt with any of it..."

~~~~~~

That evening after Karate practice was over, and we were both home, Kara could tell that I had something on my mind, and in doing so, asked, "Baby, are you alright? You seem a little preoccupied this evening."

"It's nothing really," I told her, "I guess I'm still kind of emotional after this past weekend."

"I can see why you would be, sweetheart," Kara compassionately replied, "I don't want to cause you any more emotional distress, baby so; can I ask something of you?"

"Let me guess," I smiled, gently, but playfully slapping Kara on her butt, "You want me to tell you more about what happened to me and Rita Tate, don't you?"

"Dammit, Michael," Kara smiled, "You know me entirely too well, baby."

"Okay, I will after we eat dinner," I told her, "Okay?"

"Can I sit in and listen, too," Jayne knowingly grinned as she entered the room, apparently having heard, "You're gonna finish talking about you and that Rita lady, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," I laughed, "And yes, you can sit in and listen."

"Alright then, what do you guys feel like having for dinner?" Jayne passively grinned, "I'm doing the cooking tonight..."

~~~~~~

Winter was coming upon us as it was late October at the time, and because the girls complained that they were getting cold, I lit a fire in the fireplace to take the chill off the inside of the house that had begun to set in.

"Where do you want me to start?" I asked, "I just don't want to talk about this stuff anymore after this, okay?"

"That's fine, baby," Kara tenderly replied, "I know that talking about this stuff hurts you."

"I don't know," Jayne said, "I've heard that it's good to talk about your problems to people that you trust."

"She's right, baby," Kara told me, "And you know that neither one of us would ever do anything to hurt you, don't you, Michael?"

"Hey, Michael," Jayne smiled, "Will you finished telling your story...well, up until you got home, please?"

"Alright, then," I began, "When I got back home..."

~~~~~~

Chapter Two

Sleep evaded me the first night back after losing Danny, and I felt like my whole world had been torn completely apart. So; as opposed to tossing and turning all night, I called Rita around 11:00 pm.

"Hullo," she sleepily said, as she answered her phone.

"Hi, sweetie, it's me," I said, "I'm back."

"Hi, baby," she softly smiled, "I was just dreaming about you."

"I'm glad," I told her, "Can I come see you?"

"You'd better," she sweetly replied, "I'll be waiting for you, sweetie..."

~~~~~~

"Hello, handsome," She grinned when she first saw me, and then she frowned when she could tell that something was wrong, "Michael, honey what's wrong...you look like you just lost your best friend."

"I did," I sniffled, and then I fell into her arms in tears, "Danny is dead."

"Oh, my God, Michael," she suddenly said tightening her arms around me, "I'm so sorry, baby. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No, not really," I sniffled, tears raining down my face, "I'm just glad that you're here for me, that's all."

"Of course, I am," Rita sweetly told me, "I'm really sorry for your loss, Michael..."

~~~~~~

I ended up falling asleep in Rita's arms that night, as she held me all night long until I eventually cried myself to sleep. I never realized how therapeutic it was just to simply let your emotions release themselves from time to time.

Rita never once said anything out of the way to me about it. I could tell that she understood, and it was nice not to have to talk about it for a change while I was with her.
However, littler did I realize that soon enough, the difference in mine and Rita's opinion about the kind of work I did for the Navy would be what tore us apart, but for the time being, the waters were clam and I was licking my wounds.