Don't Lie to Me (PG-13)

[francis]

Written for the Champagne Challenge #115: Haunted by the past.
No copyright infringement intended. I don’t own the show and the characters.


xxxxxxxxxxx


Mick St. John didn’t expect anyone on that lazy Saturday afternoon in June. He was surprised when someone rapped on the door to his office, but surprise didn’t even cut it when he saw it was Robert Fordham. It had been almost two years since he had rescued his son from a psychotic killer.

“Mr. Fordham? Come in.” He gestured towards the red couch, but the man chose to sit in one of the armchairs instead.

The sturdy man with the grey peppered hair didn’t look worse than he had when his son was kidnapped, but he didn’t look better either. His face was ashen and he was trembling slightly. Mick wondered what had befallen him again. Some families were just cursed…

Mick took the seat opposite and tried to act calm and professional, giving Robert an opportunity to collect himself. “How is Jacob?”, he asked to get him talking.

“He’s fine. His grades are improving and he got over the trauma with time. He’s still seeing his psychologist though.” The father smiled a little thinking about his boy. Taking a sheet of paper out of his jacket the smile faded. Robert reached over to give it to Mick.

Mick opened the thick paper and had to make a conscious effort to keep his face indifferent. It was a photo of him and Ray, taken just before they set out to save the world back in 1943. They were in uniform, young and proud, hugging each other close. Lilah had taken the photo.

“That must be my grandfather in that picture. Who’s the other one?” He gave the photo back.

“Don’t play dumb, Mick. The other one is my father, Ray Fordham, and this is not your grandfather. It’s you.” Robert leaned heavily on his arms and watched out for Mick’s reaction.

“Robert, you know that’s impossible. Just because my grandfather had the same name…”

“No, no, no. Don’t lie to me, Mick. I know it. When I first recognized you in the photo of Ray’s company I still thought it was like you said. The photo was too grainy to be sure, but then I found this one in my mom’s diary. I laboured over that photo for over a year. I just couldn’t get over the similarity. No-one ever is just a perfect twin of their grandfather, there’s so many other genetics in the mix. And then I heard about vampires.”

Mick sucked in some unneeded air. He stared at the wall and tried to find an appropriate response. He couldn’t live with himself if he had to kill Robert to keep the secret. His jumbled thoughts dissolved into pictures of Lilah, Ray, Jacob and the grown-up Robert. He didn’t know how to react.

Robert continued, telling the story with restrained emotion. “I found the photo and searched in Mom’s diary for a clue, but she only talked about everyday happenings, my first footsteps, Dad’s struggles to learn living with crutches. But once she talked about Ray being suspicious that I wasn’t his son, that she had an affair with Mick. She hinted that Mick took care of her while Ray was in a field hospital in Italy.
It made me so angry to think about that. Here I was, assuming for all of my life that Ray was my dad, but always feeling as if something was missing. For quite some time I felt so inadequate to please my father. He used to find so much fault in everything I did. Maybe it was more than just being a teenager and a headstrong college student, maybe he watched me too closely, suspecting I wasn’t his.
I looked up birth dates, records, photos. Didn’t find any hint that Mick ever came back for a visit. He vanished into thin air after he married in 1952. I found a birth record for another Mick St. John in 1973, but didn’t find anything about the parents. And then my wife told me about vampires.”

Robert looked up. “Julie told me that she was feeding a vampire to get through college. She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but she had asked herself the same questions after she saw the photo. I was so upset and she told me that you could very well be the man who was with my mom.”

Mick slumped down, his face in his hands. Not only had Robert found the truth, his wife had broken the silence clause. Would he have to be the one to call the Cleaner? Or could he save them?

“Robert, you don’t know in what kind of awful situation you’re bringing me here. Don’t you think it would be better for us all if we just forget that you ever came here? Just assume that my grandfather had an affair with your mother, or maybe he just loved her with all his heart but left when Ray came back to what was rightfully his. Forget all about vampires and about me. Please.” Watching Robert for a sign of understanding, Mick looked up, his lashes glistening with unshed tears.

Robert reached over, putting a steadying hand on Mick’s knee. It was a gesture not unlike the way Ray would touch Mick to alert him to something he wanted to show him. “I can’t, Mick. Not without knowing. Are you my dad? Are you?”

Mick shook his head. “No. I’m pretty sure, because I got your DNA tested. Sorry for not telling you, but you understand that I couldn’t.”

“So I’m Ray’s. Thank you.” Robert leaned back and watched the ceiling, getting a far-away look. A few silent minutes went by.

Mick broke the silence. “She was beautiful. Ray and I both fell for her. Ray won her over, he was such a sunshine, such a steady presence, the man you could build a life with. I hadn’t found my purpose in life, was moody and brooding, then again drowning in fits of passion and opposition against our elders. But when Ray – I thought he died. I tried to keep him alive but he died, and I woke up in hospital. They told me that everyone except me was dead.”
His voice broke. “I came home, and Lilah was alone. I was alone. We took comfort in each other, and then it was more. I still loved her, and she learned to love me. I was calmer then, trying to do right, trying to be like Ray for her. It made me a better person.”

He stood up and paced the room. Robert followed his every move. “When the letter came that Ray was alive and on his way, I was crushed. I had wished him to have a good life with her, hell, I was ready to give up everything for him to have that when he lay there, wounded and frightened. But now I had what was his, and I had no right. I had been happy, but I had no right. So I left. I never even said good-bye. I didn’t know how.”

“I moved away. Later I read in the newspaper that they had a little son. That was the last I heard about them. It pained me too much to keep record.”

Robert nodded. “Were you a vampire then?”

Mick fell into his swivel chair. “No. That was later.”

He braced himself inwardly for what he knew he had to do. “I understand that you had to ask. But you need to understand that by our law I would be forced to kill you and your wife for breaking her vow of silence. When a fre… when someone fed a vampire they are sworn to secrecy. If you talk to anyone about this, you’re dead, and your wife is, too. Not even at home. Not when anyone could overhear. Do you understand?”

Robert blanched. “Oh. Of course! I wouldn’t…”

He stood up quickly, turning towards the door, as if he suddenly felt afraid. The handle already in his hands, he looked back. “You know, I have brought a gun with silver bullets. I did some research. I thought I could hate you for betraying my father. But somehow, I can’t. Not anymore. You were best friends, and I doubt you could have hurt him voluntarily.”

“I never wanted to hurt either of them. Don’t ever doubt that. And I never want to hurt you.” Mick stated, his voice soft.

“I know. Good night.” Robert left, his eyes dark with emotion.

“Good night, Robert.”

When the door closed and the elevator pinged, Mick ran into his living room and up the stairs to get a box out of his storage room. Taking out a photo exactly like the one Robert had shown him, only here it was Ray and Lilah, he spent the rest of the night gazing lovingly at the two people who had made him the human he once was. Tonight, he was able to stand it.

Tonight, he had been given closure and redemption.

[jen]

Oh, Francis! That was just lovely. How I wish Robert Fortham and his family could have become 'friends of the family', so to speak.

In a way, they have been a part of Mick's extended family thru Ray and Lilah. In this wonderful story, Mick got a chance to reunite with a family he was close to/ As Beth said in What Lies Behind, 'family isn't only about DNA'

Thank you!

Jenna

[cassysj]

I really liked this story. Closure for Mick and Robert. Robert is fortunate that Mick is Mick and he's not taking up residence in the La Brea Tar Pits. Although I think his wife would potentially be in more trouble, she knew what she was saying Robert just received the info.

I'm glad Robert got his answers.

[NocturneInCMoll]

Wow, that was quite the twist with Julia as a former freshie!

[crazy fluffy]

That was wonderful francis !
Robert searching for answers and finding them with a little help from his wife and the diary of his mother. To make his wife a former freshie was very clever!
Thank you

[darkstarrising]

This is lovely, francis

Based on what we were shown, I believe Robert would have eventually put the pieces together, but having Julie as a former freshie is a clever twist. Robert wanted and needed answers, but he doesn't realize the danger he's placed his own family in. Now, he does.

But this

Taking out a photo exactly like the one Robert had shown him, only here it was Ray and Lilah, he spent the rest of the night gazing lovingly at the two people who had made him the human he once was.

speaks volumes about the man Mick was, and always will be.

[wpgrace]

I too believe that Robert would not have voluntarily exited Mick's life... he had questions at the end of that ep, and eventually he was gonna show up looking for answers.

Nice job, honey. I love Mick/Robert stories.

[francis]

Oh, Francis! That was just lovely. How I wish Robert Fortham and his family could have become 'friends of the family', so to speak.

In a way, they have been a part of Mick's extended family thru Ray and Lilah. In this wonderful story, Mick got a chance to reunite with a family he was close to/ As Beth said in What Lies Behind, 'family isn't only about DNA'

Thank you!

Jenna

Thank you, jen! You are right, they already are part of his family. I so wished for them to be able to keep contact. Now that the cat is out of the bag, maybe Mick can keep them in his life. At least until Jacob sees too much...

[francis]

I really liked this story. Closure for Mick and Robert. Robert is fortunate that Mick is Mick and he's not taking up residence in the La Brea Tar Pits. Although I think his wife would potentially be in more trouble, she knew what she was saying Robert just received the info.

I'm glad Robert got his answers.

Thank you, Carol. Josef would have done this totally different, I'm sure. But Mick is willing to give them a chance.

[francis]

Wow, that was quite the twist with Julia as a former freshie!

Yeah, and she has your name! She took an awful risk, but seeing her husband in such distress must have worn her out.

[francis]

That was wonderful francis !
Robert searching for answers and finding them with a little help from his wife and the diary of his mother. To make his wife a former freshie was very clever!
Thank you

I'm sure he would have figured it out anyway, just without any explanation of how Mick could be immortal. But Julie helped him a lot.

[francis]

This is lovely, francis

Based on what we were shown, I believe Robert would have eventually put the pieces together, but having Julie as a former freshie is a clever twist. Robert wanted and needed answers, but he doesn't realize the danger he's placed his own family in. Now, he does.

But this

Taking out a photo exactly like the one Robert had shown him, only here it was Ray and Lilah, he spent the rest of the night gazing lovingly at the two people who had made him the human he once was.

speaks volumes about the man Mick was, and always will be.

Thank you, dsr. Yes, Mick is someone who is capable of meditating his emotions to the max. He will sit there and brood over the photo, only no longer with despair and guilt, but with a lighter heart. And that's because Robert was so courageous.

[francis]

I too believe that Robert would not have voluntarily exited Mick's life... he had questions at the end of that ep, and eventually he was gonna show up looking for answers.

Nice job, honey. I love Mick/Robert stories.

Thank you, wpgrace. Yes, Robert had a lot of questions, especially since Mick just left his life without explanation, and never admitted that his family was that close to Robert's.

[Shadow]

Oh francis, thank you for doing this - I can never get enough of stories about the Fordhams! Robert would just have to have come back to ask Mick those questions; nothing was resolved for him at the end of WLB. I love the twist of his wife being a freshie - why shouldn't she be? There have got to be a lot of former freshies out there, really! And I like that you put in that darker side of vampire law, and had Mick actually think about the unthinkable here - with the contrasting darkness that Robert brought a gun with silver bullets as well. It was great that Mick was finally able to tell Robert the truth about everything that happened. That had to mean so much to him.

[francis]

Thank you, Shadow. I'm so glad it made sense. It was a dangerous situation for both of them.