[O Malley]

 OOC: So...over the past couple weeks I've gotten extremely bored and missed writing for Misty, so I wrote this.  I'll probably end up continuing it, just because...



Saturday April 4th
Dublin, Ireland

As much as I love Ireland and all the friends I made during my couple trips here late last year, I can honestly say, I didn’t think I would ever come back.  Especially after my relationship with O’Malley went south a little over a month ago.  But it seems fate has brought me back to this wonderful country, and for a reason I never ever expected.  I just hope that once I do what I came here to do, everything in my life will finally work out.

I’ve never been so nervous before, either.  I haven’t spoken to O’Malley in weeks and now I’m showing up in Ireland unannounced.  I had to do it this way, though.  Not only do I have several questions for O’Malley about certain things, but there is also something that I need to tell him.  Something I am not one hundred percent sure how he will react.  

It’s early in the afternoon as I make my way down the stairs leading to the front desk of Mrs. O’Reilly’s little inn.  She’s standing behind the desk, going through some paperwork when she greets me with that friendly smile of hers.  It’s hard not to return that same smile, even if I had been in a bad mood.

Mrs. O’Reilly: Afternoon, deary.  How are ye feeling today?

I smile as I walk up to her, placing my hand on the desk in front of me.

Misty: Still a little jet lagged, but nothing I can’t handle.

Mrs. O’Reilly: I can imagine, love.  I still can’t get over this new look of yers.  Ye really look quite lovely.

I smile again.

Misty: Thank you.  

Mrs. O’Reilly: So…where are ye off to now?  

I take in a deep breath and bite my bottom lip.  I am sure she already has an idea of why I am here, but she’s very respectful of my privacy.

Misty: Well…not that it will come as any surprise to you, but I was hoping to find O’Malley.  Have you seen him lately?

Mrs. O’Reilly frowns and then nods her head slowly.

Mrs. O’Reilly: I see him all the time, deary.  He never leaves Tommy’s pub it seems.  Normally I’d say seeing yer beautiful face might cheer him up, but he’s been in quite the awful mood these days.  If I’m honest, I’d stay clear of him.

There is no doubt in my mind that Mrs. O’Reilly has no idea exactly what happened between O’Malley and I, and I’m also sure that this mood he has been in has everything to do with us.  I take in another deep breath and nod.

Misty: I appreciate the concern, Mrs. O’Reilly, but I think I’ll take my chances.  I’m sure I can handle O’Malley and his foul mood.

Mrs. O’Reilly lets out a chuckle and nods.

Mrs. O’Reilly: If ye think ye can, deary, I won’t try and stop ye.  Besides, I’m sure if he gives ye any problems, Tommy will gladly step in to help ye out.

Now I let out a laugh.

Misty: I’m sure he will.  Thanks again, Mrs. O’Reilly.  I’ll be back in a bit.

I wave and then turn and walk out the front door.  Tommy’s pub is within walking distance; just a few hundred feet down the road.  I gather my thoughts, and my composure and make my way towards the familiar pub where I first met O’Malley less than a year ago.  I see a couple of familiar faces standing just outside smoking cigarettes.  They greet me with friendly smiles before signaling that the man I am looking for is just inside.  I nod appreciatively and step inside, stopping just beyond the front door.

I spot O’Malley sitting at the bar, his back towards me. I fold my arms across my chest with a smirk on my face as I watch O’Malley take a swig of his beer.  Even though Tommy, the owner and bartender, has acknowledged me with a smile and a nod, O’Malley remains completely clueless to my presence.

O’Malley: Oi!  I need a refill Tommy.

Tommy shakes his head, but he says nothing in protest as O’Malley slides his empty pint glass down the bar towards him and he begins filling up another.  I take a few slow steps towards O’Malley, remaining quiet.

Tommy: O’Malley, mate…I know yer one of me best customers, but I think ye’ve had enough this early in the day.  How about ye call it quits after this one, yeah?

Tommy hands the fresh pint to him and O’Malley just chuckles.  He takes a quick gulp and shakes his head.

O’Malley: How about ye leave that decision to me, Tommy?  I know me limitations and I’m just fine, thank ye.

Tommy: Whatever ye say, mate, but I think someone else might agree with me on this one.

Though I can’t see for myself, I’m fairly sure O’Malley is glaring at Tommy as he sets the pint down on the bar in front of him.  Tommy looks in my direction, but O’Malley refuses to turn around to see who he is referring to.

O’Malley: I don’t give a shite who agrees with ye, Tommy.  

Aaaand that is my cue to step in.

Misty: Oh, I think you might.

O’Malley suddenly sits up straight on his barstool.  He doesn’t immediately turn around, and only when Tommy walks away to do a bit of cleaning does he finally spin around to face me.  I smile at the apparent shock on his face, but the longer he stays quiet, the more disappointed I get.

Misty: Gee, it’s great to see you, too, O’Malley.

He blinks a few times, still slightly speechless.

O’Malley: Wh-what are ye doing here?

I close the distance between us and walk up to him, taking a seat directly next to him.

Misty: I thought a conversation between the two of us was long overdue, so I decided to surprise you.  

O’Malley: Ye couldn’t pick up the phone and call?  Ye had to fly all the way across the world to have a conversation?

I nod, waiting to reveal the real reason why I decided on a face to face conversation rather than a phone conversation.

Misty: I felt it would be easier this way.  I know the last time we saw each other, let alone spoke to one another, there was a lot of tension.

The look on O’Malley’s face turns sadder and he turns away from me.  He takes his pint of beer and takes another gulp, going completely silent.

Misty: So that’s it then?  You’ve got nothing to say?

O’Malley: What do ye want me to say, love?  There is no sense in rehashing old wounds.  Wounds that I caused.  

Misty: Yeah and I never got an explanation.  

O’Malley shakes his head but still refuses to look at me.

O’Malley: Why does it matter?  Ye can’t remember—

Misty: O’Malley, I got my memory back over a month ago.  

Just like when I surprised him by showing up, O’Malley sits up straight.  He turns and looks at me, genuinely surprised.

O’Malley: What?  How?  When?

I manage to crack a smile and laugh a little at his quick questioning.

Misty: It was actually after the last time we spoke.  I tried to catch you before you left, but I couldn’t.  And as for how?  Well…

I stop speaking for a moment as I turn and reach into the let pocket of my jeans, pulling out the Claddagh ring O’Malley had given me.  I hold it up and his eyes immediately fall on it.

Misty: I didn’t think something so small could cause my memory to come rushing back like it did, but as soon as I saw this ring it all came back to me.  

O’Malley: It…it shouldn’t have.  I made ye a promise when I gave ye that ring and I broke it.  I hurt ye when I lied to ye and I can never take that back.  Yer better off without me, love.

I take in a deep breath as he turns back to his beer, just staring down into the half empty glass now.  I can’t waste any more time in breaking my news to him.

Misty: O’Malley, I’m pregnant.

He falls silent yet again, and I try to get a good look at the look on his face.  He’s too busy chugging down the rest of his beer for me to see his reaction, and when he finally lowers his glass and speaks, his response is not what I was expecting.

O’Malley: Looks like ye figured that out for yerself then.  Congratulations, love.  Whose the lucky fella?  Drake Green?

I let out a loud laugh and shake my head.

Misty: You’re joking right?  O’Malley, you idiot…YOU are the father.  

O’Malley turns to me, wide-eyed and now genuinely surprised.

O’Malley: I’m sorry, what?  How is that even possible?

Misty: Please tell me someone explained to you how babies are created, O’Malley…

I grin and let out a laugh and he shakes his head.

O’Malley: That…that’s not what I meant, love.  We haven’t been together in—

Misty: In about twelve weeks…

O’Malley takes in a deep breath and I can tell he is still in a bit of shock over the news.  He turns away from me, trying to process the news in his mind.

Misty: Now do you see why I came all the way to Ireland to speak to you?  I know neither of us expected this, but I think I’ve learned to expect the unexpected.  Regardless of everything that has happened, I’m not going to shut you out of this baby’s life if you really want to be a part of it…

O’Malley: Of course I want to be a part of it, love.  I can’t tell ye enough how sorry I—

I hold up a hand, silencing him right away.

Misty: Look...Now that you know that I’m pregnant, the first thing we need to do is have a serious talk.  A long talk.  O’Malley, you know everything about me, but you’ve kept absolutely everything about you practically hidden.  I feel like I don’t even know you sometimes.

He lowers his head, almost ashamed, and when he looks back up to me, the look in his eyes is a different look than I’ve ever seen.  I know he has something to tell me, but I don’t know when he’ll let it all out.  I am about to get my answer, however, as he takes my hand in his and stands up.

O’Malley: Yer right, love.  Absolutely right and I think now is as good a time as ever to tell ye everything.

I try to respond but he shakes his head and I let my words trail off.

O’Malley: Not here, love.  I’ll tell ye anything ye want to know, but I need to show ye something first.  If I’m gonna be any kind of father to that baby, I can’t let there be any more secrets.

I’m left completely speechless at this point, and I don’t protest as he leads me away from the bar and out of the pub.  I have no idea where we are going, but for the first time since I met O’Malley, I am about to get a real sense of just who this Irishman is.  And I don’t even have a bad feeling about it.

********************

“When I retired from wrestling and went back home to Las Vegas for good, I was expecting that to be the biggest change in my life at the moment.  I never expected that just a couple weeks after retiring that I would find out that I’m pregnant, but I have to say that it happened at the perfect time.  I never imagined having another baby, but then again, a lot of things that have happened in my life are things I never imagined.”

“This baby is a blessing. It truly is.  Yes, I was angry with O’Malley and for a while, I was dead set on never seeing him ever again.  After finding out he had information on who attacked us and Melody back at Inception, I was angry.  Very angry, and I felt betrayed by yet someone else I thought I could trust.  O’Malley had no intention of telling me the truth, and I knew it.  So, I made no contact with him what-so-ever.”

“And then I found out I was pregnant, and I knew the baby was O’Malley’s.”

“After we left Tommy’s pub the day I told O’Malley the news, he took me to the place where my questions would be answered.  What I found out explained so much, and it completely changed my view on him.  He’d gone from this dark, mysterious and for some unknown reason sexy man to a loving, humble and even more attractive guy.  I never thought I’d find out what I did about O’Malley, but I’m really glad I did.”

“Unfortunately, I was only in Ireland for a short time.  I would have stayed longer if I could, but I had to get back to my life in Las Vegas.  Life with my daughter.  As much as I love Ireland, O’Malley understood that I couldn’t just pack up and move across the world and be so far away from my daughter.  He said he would work it all out.  He said he would figure out a way for us to raise this baby together, and I believed him.  I really did.”

“Until I received a phone call two weeks later.  Just twenty-four hours before my birthday.”

********************

Saturday April 18th

I had only been back home in Las Vegas for two weeks, but here I was, once again back in Ireland, but there was nothing happy about this latest trip.  I had thought O’Malley was just ignoring my calls…that he had changed his mind about raising this baby with me.  That was a scenario I might have been able to accept, but this…I had no idea what I was walking into.

Mrs. O’Reilly had told me what hospital O’Malley was at.  I needed more information to go on, but she apparently didn’t have anything useful.  All she told me was to get to Ireland as soon as I could because O’Malley needed me.  

I found my way into the hospital, giving the receptionist O’Malley’s name.  When she finds his room information, she looks up at me.

Receptionist: Are ye immediately family, miss?  Only immediate family are allowed in intensive care.

Her accent is much thicker than O’Malley’s, but thanks to spending plenty of time around Mrs. O’Reilly, I have no trouble understanding her.

Misty: Not exactly.  I’m his…girlfriend.  And I’m pregnant with his child.  Please…You have to let me see him.

Receptionist: I’m sorry, miss, but I can’t let ye see him.  Immediate family—

Misty: Look, is there someone you can call who will allow me to see him?  His doctor or something?  He’s the father of my child for Christ’s sake!  I need to see him!

I am in no mood to mess around with this young woman, and the look on her face says she understands completely.  As I raise my voice at her, she jumps back in her chair and immediately reaches for the phone.  She presses a few numbers and a few seconds later, she is speaking to someone who I hope can help me.  She glances to me a couple times as she speaks to the person on the other end and when she hands up the phone, she grabs a pen and writes down a room number on a visitor’s badge.

Receptionist: The doctor gave permission for ye to go see him.  I’m very sorry, miss.  Intensive care is on the second floor.  Ye’ll need to sign in at the nurse’s desk once ye get there.

I take the visitor’s badge and nod at her with a polite smile.

Misty: Thank you so much.  And I’m sorry for shouting.  I’m just very worried.

I walk away from the receptionist’s desk and search around until I find the elevators.  I wait for the door to open and hit the button that will take me to the second floor, and I can’t stop playing over in my head what I might find when I see O’Malley.  I pray he’ll be awake.  Then again, he’s on the Intensive Care floor so I’m not holding much hope for that scenario.

Once I sign in at the nurse’s desk, they point me in the direction of O’Malley’s room.  I don’t have far to go, but I take my time because I’m honestly terrified.  And for good reason apparently as once I make it to O’Malley’s room and glance inside the large glass window, I’m immediately brought to tears.  Everything is telling me not to go into the room, but once I see O’Malley laying motionless in that bed I need to be by him.

Misty: Oh my God, O’Malley…

I bring my hand to my mouth as I stare at him.  A breathing tube is placed down his throat, helping him breath.  The heart monitor is beeping slowly and quietly, and a bandage is wrapped around his head.  His eyes are closed and I shake my head as I stand right next to the bed, reaching down to grab his hand.  My own hand is shaking uncontrollably and I feel I might just collapse right here.

Misty: I…I didn’t want to believe it when Mrs. O’Reilly called me.

I don’t know if he can hear me, but I hope he can.  I’m about to speak again when a nurse walks in to the room to check on him.  I look at her, tears still streaming down my face.

Misty: What…happened to him?  

Nurse: From what I was told he was going to cross the street when a car was speeding down the street and hit him.  The driver sped off, but the damage had already been done.

My mouth falls open as she tells me the details of O’Malley’s accident.  I checks the various bags of fluid hanging from the IV pole.

Misty: When is he going to wake up?

The nurse suddenly stops what she is doing and looks at me.  She frowns and I shake my head, almost sensing what she is about to say.

Nurse: I’m so sorry, miss.  The doctor doesn’t think he’ll wake up.  His brain activity is severely diminished.

My jaw drops and the tears continue rolling down my face as I feel myself stepping away from the bed.  I feel my way towards a chair and have to sit down as my knees start shaking.  As I collapse into the chair, I bury my face in my hands and start weeping now completely lost and unsure of what to do.

The Next Day…

After hearing O’Malley’s prognosis from the nurse, I couldn’t get myself to leave the hospital.  I wanted to.  I wanted to run out of there and scream and cry, but of course there was something stopping me…at least for a little while.  

His child.  The baby that I am carrying.

Something that the nurse had said to me didn’t make sense.  She had said that the doctor doesn’t think O’Malley will wake up because his brain activity is severely diminished.  But those words meant that there was something there.  That there was hope…even just a little bit.

So I stayed by his side, watching him.

Misty: Come on, O’Malley.  Open your eyes.

I squeeze his hand, letting him know that I am still here.  I keep my eyes locked on him, hoping for some kind of movement…some kind of sign that he’ll wake up from this.

Misty: You can’t do this to me you stubborn Irishman.  Do you hear me?  You have to wake up.  You need to be here for this baby, O’Malley.

Still nothing.  Just the steady rise and fall of his chest, assisted by the breathing machine, and the beeping of the heart monitor.  His eyes don’t move.  He doesn’t squeeze my hand.  Nothing.

Misty: What am I supposed to do, O’Malley?  How can I leave you like this when you never once gave up on me when I lost my memory?  

I don’t know if he can hear me, but a small part of me believes that he can.  I’ve heard stories about coma patients being able to hear their loved ones speaking to them, but I’ve never met anyone who could actually prove those theories.  

I go quiet for a while, still holding O’Malley’s hand as I stare at him.  Eventually O’Malley’s doctor walks into the room, his attention focused solely on me.  I never once let go of O’Malley’s hand.

Misty: I was just…talking to him.  Hoping somehow he’ll hear me and open his eyes.  

I look back to O’Malley.  His condition still unchanged.  The doctor walks over to the other side of the bed, glancing at all the monitors and the numbers that I have no idea what they mean.

Doctor: I’m so sorry for what yer going through, miss.  Things like this are never easy, but I’m afraid I’m about to make things even worse.

I look up at him with a very confused look on my face.

Misty: What are you talking about?

Doctor: He’s not getting any better, love.  His condition is slowly deteriorating, and as the nurse told ye yesterday, his brain activity is severely diminished.

Misty: Diminished, but not completely gone.  He…he could still wake up!

The doctor lowers his head and slowly shakes it.

Doctor: At this point, we don’t see that happening and I’m sorry to tell ye this, but the decision has been made to remove him from the life support later this afternoon.

I shake my head and push my chair away from the bed to stand up.  I gently place O’Malley’s hand down and glare at the doctor, furious.

Misty: W-what?  You can’t be serious?  W-who made that decision?  

Doctor: We spoke with a family member on the phone just a short while ago.  They gave consent.

Misty: What family member?  He has no family alive!

Doctor: I’m afraid I can’t release that information, love, but apparently he does have living family.  I’m sorry, love.  I really am, but ye need to say yer goodbyes because he’s not going to wake up.

I had managed to keep myself from crying since speaking with the nurse yesterday, but after hearing this I can’t hold back my tears.  I collapse back into the chair, taking O’Malley’s hand in mine again and just stare at his face again.  How could this be happening?  Why?  After I found out I was pregnant and then told O’Malley, I had felt that everything was going to work out as it should.  For the first time in a long time, I thought I was finally going to get my happy ending, all be it not the happy ending I originally expected.

Doctor: I’ll leave ye be now.  Again, I’m so sorry.

He turns and walks out of the room, closing the door behind him and I lower my head.  I start sobbing again, almost unable to catch my breath.  I feel the beginnings of a panic attack until a slight fluttering in my belly catches my attention.  It’s too soon to feel the baby kicking, but I know this was the sign that I needed.  

I lift my head back up and take in a few deep breaths as I stare at O’Malley.  I stand up from the chair and shake my head as the last of my tears roll down my face.  I wipe them away before I lean down to O’Malley’s ear.

Misty: Don’t worry, O’Malley.  I’ll make sure this baby knows who you were.  I’ll raise this child right and I’ll be strong for the both of us.  We’ll be just fine.

I want to start crying again, but I remain as strong as I can as I turn my face and kiss his cheek.

Misty: Goodbye, O’Malley.  I’m sorry I couldn’t save you like you saved me.

I squeeze his hand one last time before I turn and walk out of his room, knowing this will be the last memory I have of O’Malley in my mind.  I’m so caught up in my grief as I rush away from his room that I don’t hear the heart monitor increasing with the beat of O’Malley’s heart, and the doctor and nurses rushing into the room to check on him.

TBC…maybe