Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
Ted received a phone call from Erin at the hospital to meet her in the front. She gave him no hints or clues about the outcome of her laser procedure. He stood outside the grounds while patients in white clothing passed him by. His eyes cringed from the afternoon light “Hi stranger.” Erin’s voice greeted him.
He smiled as he turned to see her face, but slowly it disappeared when he saw her holding a cane while a nurse escorted her out “Erin.” He said it almost sadly as he approached her and took over for the nurse.
“The doctor said I could go now.” She advised him.
Ted raised a hand to her eyes as he waved it in front of her, she made no reaction “You’re eyes.” He paused her.
She angled her head up to him “It didn’t work.” She sighed “Are you disappointed?”
He shook his head “Of course not. Whatever the outcome, I would always be by your side.”
“You won’t have anymore freedom. I’m going to be fully dependent on you. You’ll have to cook and clean for me. You’ll be my walking cane.” Erin reminded him.
Ted smiled “I don’t mind. I made a promise to Brad, I’m not about to break it.”
“What if Brad didn’t ask you to take care of me?” Erin held her breath for the answer she was waiting to hear.
“But he already asked me. We can’t change the past.” Ted replied.
She let out a sigh “What IF he didn’t?” she tried again.
“A promise is not something I break.” He said solemnly.
Erin rolled her eyes as she pushed him roughly on the chest “Stupid!” she shook her head at him. Ted furrowed his brows as he looked at her clearly. Her eyes were moving, he waved a hand in front of her eyes and she quickly whacked it away “Stop that. It makes me dizzy.”
His face beamed as he shook his head “Oh my God…it’s a miracle.” He laughed while picking her up in his arms and spinning her in circles until she laughed deliriously. When he finally placed her on land, his hands grazed her face “You can see…”
Erin was grinning ear to ear, “I was just testing you.”
“I would go through 10 more tests if it means the same outcome.” He laughed.
She shivered from the sweetness of the words “Do I have to listen to this for the rest of my life?”
He tilted his head as he took her hands and placed them over his back while his arms rested around her shoulder and neck “Hmm…let me think. Yes!” he answered quickly.
Erin shook her head with a smile “Silly boy.”
He laughed as he dropped one arm and began walking her away towards the car “I’ll be your silly boy any day.” Her arms tightened around his waist and her head rested easily on his chest “I want to take you somewhere.” He said while opening the car door for her.
“Where?” she was curious to know.
“It’s a surprise.” He smiled as he got into the car “Close your eyes.”
“Ted, I’ve been blind for months, I don’t think I want to see darkness again so soon.” She joked. He laughed but she quickly obliged “Where are you taking me?”
“You’ll see…and I mean that literally now.” He was in high spirits as he drove out to the Memorial for fallen soldiers and policemen. Ted covered Erin’s eyes as he pulled her out of the car and up the steps “Careful.” He warned. They walked across the lawns, careful not to walk over anyone’s graves. Ted led her over to Brad’s grave as he let go of his hand “Okay. Open them.”
Erin dropped her mouth in awe, she gasped and her hands automatically covered her mouth “Oh my God…it’s beautiful, Ted.” She was faced with beautiful white flowers draped around Brad’s headstone. White rose petals were thrown around the grave and white candles sat on the headstone.
He was grinning “I know it’s a little girly and Brad would probably kick my ass for this, but I wanted to do something with it before I took you here.”
Erin was in shock as her head shook back and forth “I think it’s wonderful.” She turned to Ted “Thank you.”
Ted turned to Brad’s grave as he gave him three respectable bows “Hi Brad. I brought Erin back…she can see now!” he smiled “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my word. She won’t ever be out of my sight…and you’ll never see a sad tear from her again. But happy tears? I can’t control those.” He joked.
“I still miss you.” Erin smiled at his picture “I will always. But you don’t need to worry about me now. I have Ted, he’ll take good care of me. Where ever you are, I hope you are at peace.” She closed her eyes and bowed three times, when she opened her eyes she was faced with his silhouette standing behind the gravestone. Erin’s head whipped over to Ted, who smiled at her. She knew he could not see Brad’s figure.
Brad’s smile appeared as he put a finger to his lips “It’s our little secret.” Erin nodded slightly “Be happy Erin. I’ll always love you.”
“Me too.” She whispered. Her eyes saddened when his figure disappeared through a gust of wind.
Ted turned to her strangely “You too?”
Erin shook her head with a smile “Nothing. Come on.” She reached for his hand “Let’s go have dinner.” He laughed while they skipped hand in hand like children.
**************
Joe rented out a banquet room at one of the top restaurants in the city. The team as well as their affiliates were invited to the dinner. He raised a wine filled glass “To the P.R.A.”
“To the P.R.A.!!” the group followed as they clinked glasses and sipped the wine.
“Now, let’s dig in!!” Jenna announced.
Chuck stood up suddenly as he rose a hand “Wait! I have an announcement.” Everyone dropped their chopsticks as he got their full attention “I want to thank the team for giving me such a memorable 6 months. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have found my two nieces, Erin and Shelly.” His eyes grazed their smiles as the sisters turned to each other “Thank you to Joe for giving me such a great opportunity. If I were ten years younger, I would gladly join the team.” He laughed and everyone shook their heads “But unfortunately, I’m not that young anymore.”
“I’ll drink to that!” Becca cried out making a few people laugh.
Chuck cleared his throat at her “As I was saying…I want to hand over the lieutenant position back to Matt.” He pointed the glass at Matt who was on his left.
Erin and Mia exchanged glances “Why? You’re doing so good?” Mia pointed out, she turned quickly to Matt “No offense.”
“None taken.” Matt nodded.
“I was just a fill in.” Chuck reminded them “Matt sure showed us he still has the skills when he and Erin teamed up to get TK. I am not anything compared. Anyways, I want to fulfill my sister’s dream for me.”
“And what’s that?” Shelly asked curious to know.
“Get married, have a family and buy a house.” He smiled around the group.
Becca almost choked on her water “Talk about impossible.” She snickered “Too bad Erin can’t get the money until she’s 35, then she can probably buy you a wife, kids and home.”
Doug laughed as he pictured it in his head “That’s so true!”
Chuck frowned at Becca “Smartass…as a matter of fact, Erin can get the inheritance right now as we speak.” Everyone turned to him for an explanation “In small printing at the bottom of the signature form, it says ‘If Tay Keung passes away before Erin turns 35, she is able to get the full amount anytime she deems.’ So my little niece is actually as rich as Darren.” Chuck finished with a tongue pointed to Becca.
He took a seat while Erin turned to him “Is that true Uncle Chuck?” she asked.
He nodded “Of course, I wouldn’t lie to you.”
Shelly suddenly burst into giggles “I can get my dream wedding!!” she laughed while turning to Ryan “Did I say that too loud?” she whispered.
He patted her on the head “Just a little.” He replied with a wink.
Jenna raised her hand and Doug quickly acknowledged her “Yes, you there in the back.” He pointed to her.
“Can we eat now?” she asked tiredly.
Everyone laughed as they prepared to pick up their chopsticks when suddenly Becca stood up “Wait!! I have an announcement.” They threw down their utensils and groaned “What? It’s okay when Chucky stops everyone?” she asked with sarcasm “I just want to say how happy I am for joining this team. Each and every one of you has taught me a valuable lesson. It is my pleasure and honor to grow old with you guys. You are my best friends and the people I care about the most. You’re family.” She smiled, her hand grazed Doug’s shoulder “I’m most grateful for Doug…You turned me into who I am today.” she sat down and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek.
Most of them were shocked by her touching speech. Chuck turned to Doug as he picked up a knife “So it’s you I have to kill!” the room quickly exploded with laughter
Becca pouted, “Why do you always ruin my special moment?” she asked Chuck.
“Because you make me want to hurl.” Chuck replied simply.
Mia shook her head “Damn!” the group turned to her “Why can’t they just get along?”
“Maybe we should lock them in a room together.” Joe suggested.
Becca and Chuck widened their eyes fearfully “That’s disturbing.”
“Yeah.” Becca agreed.
“Well, that’s a start.” Darren pointed out “They’re agreeing with each other.”
Jenna suddenly slammed the table with her fist “I don’t care about etiquette or politeness, I’m EATING!!” she picked up her fork like a child and prepared to dig into the noodles.
“Jen!” Joe scolded.
Chuck waved his hand at Joe “It’s okay. Just let her eat. Afterall, she did save us all from blowing up. Who knew your daughter could disable a bomb fuse. Not to mention pick a lock like Brad use to.” He chuckled to himself but quickly noticed when the room grew dead silent.
Jenna had the food filled fork at the tip of her open mouth when she sighed and dropped it onto her plate with a clank. She moved her seat back as everyone watched her drag her feet over to Joe. She pinched her ears with her fingers and knelt down “I didn’t know we were living in the 70’s.” Becca muttered sarcastically.
Joe continued to look straight while Jenna whimpered, “I’m sorry Daddy…”
He turned to her with a stern expression “Stand up.” He ordered. She did as he told and his lips slowly curled into a smile “You’re forgiven if you agree to train to be an agent.”
Gasps escaped throughout the room while Jenna looked stunned “What?”
“I want you to train with Doug in martial arts and with Ted in gun shooting. Erin with scheming, Mia with sky diving, Darren with lock picking and Becca…well…I’ve got to think about that one.” Joe scratched his temple.
Jenna slowly smiled as he began laughing and then threw her head back with a wicked laugh. Joe’s face frowned as he looked at his daughter strangely. Jenna suddenly stopped her laughter and hugged her father “Thank you!!” she pulled away “I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Chuck told me about it a while back.” Joe nodded to his friend “I wasn’t too happy but he talked me into it.”
She bounced her way over to Chuck as she hugged him around his neck from the seat “Thank you!”
“Glad I could help.” He smiled as the girl happily skipped over to her seat, finally having a chance to eat her food.
Darren turned to the group “Our wedding is still on. One month to be exact.” He felt good news should be shared.
Mia grinned, “I’m going to be Mrs. Filthy Rich.” The group laughed, “Well, next to Erin that is. We should do the wedding together!!” she suggested excitedly.
Erin and Ted exchanged smiles “No. One at a time.” Ted nodded “Look at Chuck’s pale face.” He nodded as everyone turned to the now ex-lieutenant, his hands were shaky as he prepared to get some food “We know its serious when he can’t eat.” Ted added making everyone laugh.
*************
Darren and Mia’s wedding was extravagantly beautiful with lavender roses as the theme and white daisies filled the church pews. The scent of the sweet roses dominated the aisles. The purple petals were thrown on the white carpeting. Mia was walked down the aisle by her father. Everyone stood as they watched the blushing bride in her amazing white dress. Erin received a wink from her friend when Mia approached her pew. She turned to Ted, who was already looking at her “Isn’t she beautiful?”
“You’re more beautiful.” He whispered with a dimpled grin.
She lowered her head slightly “Isn’t the bride the most beautiful?”
“Not in my world.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they turned to the front where the priest began the ceremony. Instead of rice or confetti, daisy petals and rose petals were giving to the audience as they threw them up while Mia and Darren ran through the colorful rain hand in hand.