sweetserenity

'Til Death Do Us Part

Brooklyn wasn't around to watch Sam's reaction to all of this.

She had left the moment it was announced that their son was in danger.

The scene at the house was a mess. Autumn was holding back more tears, Rick was attempting to soothe her, Ella lay on the grass, and police officers inside the house were trying to get Harvey to stand down. The cops held up their pistols, aiming towards the man's face to avoid potentially shooting the child. It appeared that Harvey didn't want Louis to get killed, either, despite the threat of claiming his life. The knife was still wielded but no longer held against the baby's neck. Also, he hadn't attempted breaking through a window to make their escape. He desired to exit in a manner that ideally wouldn't injure Louis.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn had no clue what to do. This was a moment where she cursed the fact that she could not reveal herself. If it came down to it, she would sacrifice herself for her son, but it wasn't looking like she would have to do that. She watched the officers as they tried convincing Harvey, "Sir, hand over the child or we will shoot. Do not try anything irrational, or we will shoot. You know what the right thing to do is. Do it."

"Oh, but officers," Harvey cooed, "This is my grandson. I have more right to him than you do."

"No. You are a threat to him."

"So are you, as long as you're pointing those guns towards us."

The officers exchanged glances. They didn't have to utter a word to come to an agreement: they would not back down. Their guns remained in the air.

---

Outside, Ella's eyes finally opened. Her head was throbbing and she had a bruise on her cheek from being kicked to the side, but it could have been much worse. The officer who had tended to her helped her stand up.

"What happened...?" Ella inquired. A hand then shot up to her head, for even speaking caused more pain. But she wanted- no, needed to know. Seeing Autumn looking traumatized and relying on Rick for comfort as a police car was parked on the street made the woman very confused. She could not remember anything that happened after Sam and Chad left.

The police officer spoke, "Sam's father, Harvey Hanson, somehow broke into the house and rendered ya unconscious. He's currently in the house holding Louis hostage. Two officers are trying to get 'em back."

"Only two?!"

---

Harvey's back was to a wall. Cornered. "It's useless trying to escape," one of the officers reasoned, "there's no way out."

"There's always a way out if you try hard enough."

The aging man was causing the officers to lose their patience. They had been taught that killing was always to be used as a last resort... would this qualify? There was still the risk of accidentally shooting Louis. The screeching boy was being held at the bottom of Harvey's ribcage. No matter how many tears he shed, he still seemed to have more. That didn't assist the officers' patience levels at all.

For the next handful of minutes, the three adults remained silent. Harvey had a playful smirk on his face as the officers tried staring him down. The man's smirk was perceived as obnoxious. Finally, one of the officers got fed up. They quickly marched over to Harvey and forcefully ripped the knife from his hand, slicing the older man's hand in the process. He let out a yelp. The other officer rushed to take Louis from him in his time of weakness. "Handcuff him!" They ordered before they got to work on soothing the baby.

Within seconds, they were all walking outside to meet up with the others. Blood seeped from one of Harvey's handcuffed hands as Louis' cries died down.

'Til Death Do Us Part

"My name is Autumn Jones. I can't talk to my husband right now, officer, without entering the scene. I'm so scared. Has anybody left yet? Please tell me they have." As the distressed woman stood on the front lawn, the dispute between Rick and Harvey carried on in the house.

For the sake of his grandson, Rick did not try to advance towards the other man. What he didn't realize was that the other man was also Louis' grandfather- Sam's dad. "Please," Rick begged, "Just hand me the boy. I have my wallet in the car. If money is what you want, I can give you some. No- I'll give you all of it, if that's what it takes."

"Money is worthless," Harvey sneered, "Now get outta here before I kill you."

Rick extended his hands towards the screaming baby. "Louis-"

"I SAID GET OUTTA HERE!"

Startled, Rick jumped back. He nearly tripped over Ella's body as he did so. Harvey turned away with Louis in his arms, so Rick figured it would be safe to carry Ella with him. However, after trying to hoist her up to no avail, he had to settle for dragging her along. "I'm so sorry, Ella," he whispered as the woman's face dragged along the unwashed floor.

Autumn was off the phone by the time Rick came out with Ella. She couldn't help crying with relief when she saw him. "Oh, Rick!" She exclaimed, flinging herself towards him. He comfortingly rubbed her back. "I can't believe Harvey-"

"-Harvey?" Rick intervened.

Cautiously, Autumn pulled back from him. She wiped the tears from her cheeks with her hands as she nodded. "Harvey Hanson."

Rick's face immediately went pale. "No. Could he be...?"

"He is."

"How do you... how do you know him?"

Right then, a police car showed up. Three officers stepped out. One administered to Ella while the other two, wielding their pistols, went into the house. Autumn watched them enter the house before turning back to Rick. "We were acquaintances in university. He was a friend of a friend. Everything was fine, until he got drunk at a party we were both at and... and..." More tears started flooding out of her eyes. "It was so terrible."

"He raped you," Rick spoke breathlessly. His hands then curled into fists. "That BASTARD!"

Autumn nodded. "It took a long time for me to have the strength to tell the university. They kicked him out immediately. He wanted revenge, Rick. I ruined his whole life by getting him kicked out of school. Since I first saw Sam, I knew he was Harvey's boy. But Sam spoke about not really having a father, so I thought Harvey was dead. This is all so terrible and it's all my fault."

Rick brought her in for a hug again, continuing to rub her back in a comforting manner. The officer who had been caring for Ella looked up at Autumn. "That story is pitiful, Ma'am. What's your name again?"

She sniffed. "Autumn Jones."

The officer stood up and scribbled that in his notepad. "If this 'Harvey Hanson' fella wanted revenge on you... do you think he could be the one who killed your daughter?"

At this, Autumn's eyes widened. She hadn't thought of that possibility before. Up until now, she was convinced that Harvey was dead. "I.... I think so."

"Excuse me for a second," the officer spoke, taking out his phone. "I have a call to make."

'Til Death Do Us Part

The house had been fairly quiet since Ella finally got Louis to stop wailing. Even though Chad hadn't contacted her since he and Sam arrived at the police station, she wasn't very worried. She had great trust that things would turn out eventually. Her husband was a great lawyer and he wouldn't let Sam be wrongly convicted of such a terrible crime. The road to the destination may be bumpy but it wouldn't blow their tires.

The blonde woman set Louis down in his crib for a nap. In her ears were some earbuds which blasted one of her favorite songs. Walking to the beat, she strolled over to the fridge to pull out a snack. After her best friend died, it took until recently for her to have any appetite. Chad would have to beg her to eat during those first two weeks. Calmly, she opened the doors to the fridge.

But suddenly,

a metal object

rendered her

unconscious.

Her body collapsed on the floor, leaving the doors of the fridge hanging wide open. The metal object- a baseball bat- was being wielded by a large man with a malicious look in his eyes. Menacingly, he then strutted over to the crib. Elsewhere in this house was a broken window which he had shattered to break in. Since Ella's music had been playing so loudly, she failed to hear it. Things would currently be very different if she had heard it.

Ruthlessly, the man ripped the sleeping child from his crib.

The baby awoke with a scream and a cry.

That was the man's

grandson.

---

Sam's foul language was shocking to Brooklyn. Never before had she seen him cuss so much. It hadn't even started today- ever since her death, he had been seemingly careless about swearing... even around his son. Brooklyn wasn't a prude, per se, when it came to language; but she certainly didn't condemn it around sweet baby Louie. Everywhere Sam and Chad went while in the police station, she followed. Everything was on the line. If she never got her body back and Sam was jailed, Louis could live the first ten or so years of his life without knowing either of his parents. The mere thought of that sent shivers down Brooklyn's spine.

---

Before the house was broken into, Ella texted Brooklyn's parents to inform them of Sam's arrest. They were horrified- because same as everybody else, they knew Sam was innocent. They immediately jumped into the car to drive over to the house. Upon arrival, the plan was that they would tend to Louis as Ella drove to the police station.

Life doesn't always go according to plan. When they finally arrived, they could sense that something was off before they even entered the house. Rick even insisted on entering the house before his wife. The front door was opened with a spare key that they had previously been given before he stepped in. Autumn followed. Traveling over to the living room, only their footsteps made a sound.

Poor Autumn Jones nearly had a heart attack once she saw the scene.

There was a familiar man from her past quickly exiting the room, wielding Louis in his arms. "Stop!" Rick shouted without hesitation, running after the man. "Autumn, call the police! Call the police right now!"

Autumn did as she was told. Meanwhile, Rick chased the man throughout the house. They were roughly the same age but both had a surprising amount of speed. As they ran, they would jump over or dodge hazardous baby toys which could cause them to fall. "Set my grandson down and get hell out of here!" Rick exclaimed. Eventually, the kidnapper circled around to the kitchen and Ella's unconscious body was harshly kicked to the side. The large man tore open a drawer and whipped out a butcher knife.

No longer running, he turned to face Rick. Rick halted immediately once he saw what the kidnapper was doing.

He was holding the knife against the screaming baby's throat.

"What a shame," the kidnapper purred in an eerily calm voice, "I didn't want it to come to this but... you made me do it. Don't take another step forward, or I'll kill the boy."

'Til Death Do Us Part

No. It wasn't him.

This was the most terrible thing that could ever happen. Watching with wide eyes as steel handcuffs were put around Sam's wrists, Brooklyn began to doubt that anything would ever work in their favor. Louis started to cry in the other room, his wails echoing throughout the whole house. Brooklyn was caught between going to him or staying with Sam. Nobody else seemed to know what to do about it, either- Ella was sobbing as well and Chad was repeatedly opening and closing his hands into fists in frustration. Everybody except the law knew that Sam was innocent.

Eventually, one of the officers snapped, "For Christ's Sake, can somebody please shut him up?" Which caused Ella to give a little shriek and race over to the baby. However, she failed to make him stop crying by the time the officers and Sam left.

Brooklyn decided to go with Sam, at least for the time being. She flew alongside the cop car. This was the first time she had ever used her wings except while practicing. She had to remember everything that Sawyer had taught her as the trip to the station was made. Although it was only five minutes, it felt like it took an eternity.

'Til Death Do Us Part

What a day.

It was the first time Brooklyn saw Ella since her death, aside from the funeral. It was exciting to finally see her again. Unfortunately, it appeared that she was feeling some underlying guilt about the whole situation. The way she held herself, communicated with Sam, and looked around the house screamed guilt. Brooklyn despised the fact that her friend was upset. It wasn't Ella's fault, Sam's fault, or even Brooklyn's own fault- it was the killer's fault. However, at this rate, she doubted they would ever be found.

...But then the police officer said a lead was discovered.

Brooklyn was standing in the office right next to Sam's chair when the news was broken. Her fiancé's reaction shocked her. It was so bluntly morbid... she didn't know what to think. All she knew was that she was grateful when Chad intervened to calm him down. Chad was somebody that Brooklyn never really knew until he started dated Ella, and even then the two of them never went out of their way to chat with one another. That was a shame because he truly was a nice guy. Even now, he stood by his wife's best friend's fiancé to console him. Not many people would do that in this day and age. It would be so much easier to just send a 'sorry for your loss' card.

The meeting went on. As Sam brought up the possibility that it wasn't an accident, a baby from the other side of the door let out a cry. Brooklyn placed a hand on her stomach as she remembered what it was like to have Louis. It was nice to find a distraction during this harrowing conference.

~

They'd always known they wanted to be parents someday.

It was initially brought up fairly early in their official relationship- "Want to have a family someday?" "Yeah." It was always a topic which made them blush, but a very important topic nonetheless. When they moved in together was when it became so much more real. No longer constrained by living separately, they were finally able to take things to the next level. They weren't trying to have a kid at this point. After all, they were still quite young and just finished moving into a new house. It was just something that happened.

Initially, Brooklyn was extremely frightened. She knew what was likely going on when she missed a period and started feeling nauseous in the mornings. Despite how much she knew Sam loved her, she was still nervous to tell him. There was always the possibility that he wouldn't be ready to be a father and he would make her abort the child or put it up for adoption. Not to mention that childbirth was extremely painful- that also made her worry. Every day Brooklyn would act like everything was fine while mentally freaking out. She was happy to possibly be a mother, she really was, but she was also scared. Sometimes she would cry about it while in the shower. Sam would knock on the door to see why she had been in there for so long.

She never told him the truth. Every answer to his questioning would be a lie until she finally realized she couldn't hide it from him anymore. Because of this, she decided to find out once and for all if she really was pregnant. If so, she would tell him right away. She didn't want to be dishonest with him anymore. One morning she snuck a pregnancy test into the bathroom with her. The five minutes of waiting for it's response were dreadful although she already had a strong guess on what the result would be. Sam was in the other room, presumably unaware of what was going on.

When the results came, the stick was washed off. It showed positive. Brooklyn's hands were trembling- she would finally be a mother and it would be with the love of her life! But at the same time... were they ready? How would Sam react? There was only one way to find out. Teary-eyed, she stepped out with the test in her hand. No words needed to be spoken for him to know what the result was. There was a long silence until she finally whispered, "We're going to have a baby." That triggered the rejoicing. All of Brooklyn's worries went down the drain as Sam assured her of how thrilled he was to be a dad.

~

Now, 16 months later, the baby was there but the mother was gone.

'Til Death Do Us Part

Brooklyn now felt like she was intruding on their father and son time, so she respectively walked away. She went into her son's room rather than her own room, for a change. It was cluttered with baby toys, although not as terribly as it could be. Sam was doing a good job of keeping the whole house relatively clean despite how often he was prone to depressed episodes. He was a natural caregiver. Always giving, no matter the circumstances. It was something his fiancée adored about him. Even when they were young, she would notice as he would be the first one scoot over (typically closer to Brooklyn) to make room for someone who was approaching. Other times he would immediately be willing to lend a pencil to someone or show a new student the way to their classroom if they were lost.

Sometimes, he could give so much that he would forget to take care of himself.

Brooklyn touched one of the drawings on Louis' wall. The elephant portrayed in it was the same one from a successful children's book she had gotten the honor of illustrating. It was about a young elephant who got separated from their herd. While trying to find their family, they get help from a variety of other creatures along the way. Brooklyn couldn't help but feel like that resembled her current situation. She got separated from her family when she died and was now trying to reunite with them. Along the way thus far, she had gotten help from two 'creatures', Dog and Sawyer.

She slowly strolled over to another drawing. Unlike the previous drawing, there wasn't a story behind it. It was simply that she had been running out of ideas and 'Giraffes' had been Sam's answer when she asked him about it. At the time, she regretted not reserving space for two parent giraffes. There was only one, and it was unclear if that was the mommy or the daddy. Things were different now. It could be presumed that it was now the daddy since there was no longer a mommy to compete for it. Brooklyn looked at the drawing for a moment longer before deciding to walk out and check on her family again.

'Til Death Do Us Part

Brooklyn had to look away to keep herself from telling him It's me, I'm here. Revealing herself would be a terrible mistake. She had to reassure herself that Sam would be alright without knowing she was around. He was strong and capable. But right now, as she looked at him, he seemed petrified. "It'll be alright," she spoke aloud, reaching over to cup his cheek. "Two more months, my love. Then we will reunite.... hopefully."

Brooklyn still wasn't positive about what would happen now that her body was gone. Her hand solemnly lowered and she stepped out to check on her son. There he was- sitting on his play mat like he normally was. He looked cheerful with his rosy cheeks and little grin lighting up his whole face. "Your dad is doing great," she told him, "he's trying his best to be strong for you. For you, Louie. You helped save him. Keep being a source of sunshine for him, alright? Help him continue to see the light through all this darkness."

The baby cooed, and to Brooklyn's surprise, he said, "Mama."

"That's right," Brooklyn spoke, "Mama's here. Mommy loves you very much, Louie."

The baby didn't say anything. Instead, he picked up his purple rattle and shook it. A smile graced Brooklyn's lips as she watched her son play with his toys. He truly appeared gleeful. As long as he was happy, Brooklyn was happy. Even if the three months ended and she was unable to return to earth, she would likely be able to check on him to see what he was up to. Dog didn't seem like someone who would prevent her from doing that. She hoped Louis would be a kind man, similar to his father. Someone who was mindful of others, loyal, and was musically talented.

'Til Death Do Us Part

The message was adorable. It made Brooklyn, who had been strolling alongside Sam as he pushed the stroller, smile. "I love you two so much," she spoke, looking between her lover and her son. They were her greatest blessings. When they arrived back home, Sam even took out his guitar to sing. That surprised Brooklyn. It felt like it had been forever since Sam last played. The chords were incredibly lovely. She watched Sam with adoration in her eyes, the same way she did when they were still children falling in love.

But then a minor chord was played, and suddenly Brooklyn's mind went back to that one fateful night.

~

The headlights hadn't caused any alarm at first. Brooklyn happily drove along, excited to spend some time with her beloved friend. Her heart was still beating and her cheeks were rosy with color. It wasn't until the headlights grew closer when she started panicking.

But she was struck before she could defend herself.

Those last few moments were now in vivid slow motion after previously being vague. As the headlights approached, they suddenly swerved to hit Brooklyn's car. There was a silhouette of a man in that other vehicle. Whoever he was, he intended to hit the young woman's car. He was the one to blame for her death.

~

The angel's jaw had dropped and her eyes went wide as if she had seen a ghost. Who hit her, and why? Closing her mouth, she looked at Sam. He needed to know. "It wasn't an accident," she told him through their mental link.

The Hunt For Roleplay Partners Begins... [CLOSED]

Bump.

'Til Death Do Us Part

Life goes on.

No matter how much one person may want to rewind it or halt it, it always goes on.

Sometimes it speeds by like a jet plane.

Sometimes it crawls by like a tortoise.

The weeks after the funeral were definitely the latter. Brooklyn was constantly anxious, wondering what would happen once the three months end. One was already over. Would she be rebirthed as an entirely new person? Would she be stuck as a talking urn? Would she go to heaven? The answer was unclear. More than ever, she wished she had some way to contact Dog. Surely he would know the answer?

The meetings with Sawyer stopped. Brooklyn lost the will to expand her flying powers to the maximum. Being an angel was fun and games at first, but now it was plain depressing. She lost her body, and along with that, her will to carry on. The only reasons she stayed were to know what her family was up to and to avoid going to hell.

She was glad Sam hadn't given her trouble with that yet. He was being a great person despite these difficult times. Perhaps that would be different if he knew that his fiancée had failed her one mission: to rescue her body. Right now, her corpse was nothing but a pile of ashes. Brooklyn's hopes and dreams for the future had been severely compromised, and Sam was clueless.

Louis started talking more and more, although it came out in babbles. 'Mama' was a common one due to Sam's ritual of showing him pictures of her, 'Dada' appeared occasionally, and at some point he said something that sounded either like light or sight. There were nights when Brooklyn considered revealing herself to her son before remembering that that would still result in hell.

One day, Brooklyn realized that perhaps she didn't need to make herself visible to comfort her family. As long as everything she did was subtle, she doubted it would result in hell. And if it did... well, it would be worth it. She found Sam in the bathroom. It appeared that he had stuck her shampoo in a bag but stopped due to a breakdown. "Oh Sam," she murmured aloud. Suddenly, that gave her an idea for her first subtle act: sending those words to his mind. If she remembered correctly, the contract stated she was able to send brief thoughts or ideas into creature's minds. This would be her first time trying that out. Looking at him lovingly, she gently placed her hand on his head and willed herself to send her previous words into his mind: "Oh Sam." He would hear it in her voice.