[O Malley]

 OOC: Because I was bored and I miss writing for Misty...here is the next part of her journey

Monday September 7th
Dublin, Ireland
A Surprising Confrontation

The past two months have been anything but easy for three time former SCW Bombshell Champion and retired Bombshell, Misty.  Ever since giving birth to her son, Owen, three months prematurely, she has found herself back and forth to the hospital daily visiting her little warrior, as she calls him.  While his condition has been slowly improving with no major complications, how long he’ll remain in the hospital still remains unknown.  As much as Misty wants her baby boy home with her and sleeping in his crib, she knows she has to be patient and let him grow stronger.

But that all changed just twenty-four hours ago when everything started to overwhelm her.  She was preparing to go to the hospital to have her daily visit with Owen when something snapped in her mind.  She found herself having an anxiety attack as she was looking around the nursery…the nursery that her good friend, Roxi Johnson, had helped her finish just a couple of weeks ago.  

Something wasn’t right, and as hard as she told herself she could get past all of this, she just couldn’t.  She knew where she had to go, and for a few moments, she had tried to talk herself out of it.  In the end, however, she had failed and she was being pulled back there…here…

To Ireland.

After calling her sister, Dixie, and asking her the huge favor of going to the hospital daily while she was gone, she booked herself a seat on the first flight out to Ireland that she could.  It would be several hours before she landed, of course, but that didn’t matter.  All that mattered was getting to Ireland and confronting the man who, up until just two months ago, she thought was dead.  That stubborn pig-headed Irishman, and the father of her son.

O’Malley.

Her plane landed just a short while ago, and while she wanted nothing more than to head over to Mrs. O’Reilly’s Inn, the homely little place she always found her staying while in Ireland, she had something more important to take care of just down the road.  Catching up with Mrs. O’Reilly would wait, because she knew without a doubt that O’Malley would be in Tommy’s Pub.

She’s standing outside the local pub, staring at the front door.  A part of her is terrified to walk inside and see him…speak to him…but she knows she has to do it.  Regardless of any ill fillings towards him right now, the two share a child together and she was going to remind him of that fact.  She takes in a deep breath, dusts herself off and heads towards the front door.  

She can hear loud laughter and yelling inside, which she remembers is quite normal for this place with its usual local patrons like O’Malley.  When she opens the door and steps inside, her eyes immediately fall on the owner and bartender, Tommy, standing behind the bar.  Everything goes eerily quiet for a moment as Tommy stares at her, then glances over to a darkened corner of the pub, but Misty doesn’t look in that direction.  She just walks inside and up to the bar, greeting Tommy.

Misty: Heya, Tommy.  How’s everything going?

Tommy finishes drying a pint glass and smiles awkwardly at Misty.

Tommy: Misty.  There’s a face I wasn’t expecting to see for a while.  How ye doin’ darlin’?

Misty: I think you know why I’m here, Tommy.  Where is he?

Tommy looks past Misty and places the clean pint glass down on the counter.  He doesn’t have to answer, as that familiar voice comes from behind her, sounding equally shocked as Tommy is.

O’Malley: Misty?  W-what’re ye doin’ here, love?

Tommy stays silent for a while as Misty builds up the courage to turn and face O’Malley.  She takes in a deep breath after a few moments and then turns around.  He’s still hidden away in the darkened part of the pub, and all she can tell is that he’s seated in a chair.  She narrows her eyes, thinking he can’t prove himself not a coward by facing her.

Misty: You have a lot of nerve asking me that question, O’Malley.  And why are you hiding back there?  Are you that scared to show me your face you coward?

O’Malley: It’s…complicated, love.  I…I’m not scared to face ye, love.

Misty laughs and folds her arms across her chest.

Misty: No?  Then why don’t you walk over here and prove it to me?  Once again I flew all the way out here to see you, but you can’t even—

Misty’s voice trails off and she goes absolutely speechless as O’Malley comes into view, and it is definitely not what she was expecting.  He didn’t walk towards her.  No, he wheeled himself into the light so she could see exactly why he was hiding over there.  O’Malley is in a wheelchair.

O’Malley: Now ye see why I haven’t been able to fly to Vegas to see ye, or our son, love.

Misty brings her hand up to her head and she just blinks.  She’s in shock as she sinks back on to a bar stool and O’Malley wheels himself closer to her.

Misty: W-why?  Why didn’t you tell me, O’Malley?

He smiles as he stops right in front of her.

O’Malley: How could I?  I wanted to tell ye.  I really did, but if I’m honest, not telling ye gave me more motivation to show up to my therapy appointments.  They don’t think I’ll walk again, but I’m determined to prove them wrong.  I didn’t want ye to see me like this.

Misty: Why?  Do you think that low of me?

O’Malley shakes his head.

O’Malley: Of course not.  But ye already had enough to be worrying about than to worry about me, too.  I didn’t want to stress ye out while ye were pregnant—

Misty: Yeah, and a lot of good that did, right?  When I found out you were still alive it sent me into pre-term labor and I had our son!  It would have been better if you had told me sooner.  Maybe then Owen wouldn’t be in an incubator in the hospital!

O’Malley raises an eyebrow curiously for a moment.

O’Malley: O-Owen?

Misty nods.

Misty: Yes.  Owen Andrew O’Malley.  That’s what I named him.

O’Malley smiles.

O’Malley: Ye picked out a strong name, love.  Ye did good.

Misty: Yeah, with no help at all from you.

Misty then reaches into her jacket pocket, pulling out a picture.  She holds it out to O’Malley.

Misty: Clearly, this isn’t important enough to you as it is to me.  He isn’t important enough to you.

O’Malley reaches for the picture and once he lays eyes on it, he sinks back into the wheelchair a bit and the guilt is written all over his face.  Misty reaches into her pocket and pulls out the Claddagh ring O’Malley had given her on New Year’s.

Misty: Does he mean anything to you, O’Malley?  Does this mean anything to you anymore?  I understand you’re in a God damn wheelchair, but we could have dealt with it.  If you had just told me.

O’Malley stares at the picture of their two month old son, running his finger across it, before he looks up at Misty and the Claddagh ring she holds in her hand.

O’Malley: Ye still have that?

Misty: Of course I do.  Why wouldn’t I?

O’Malley: Because it didn’t mean the same to ye as it did to me. Ye didn’t feel the same towards me.

Misty looks confused for a moment, as the conversation takes a sudden turn away from their son.

O’Malley: We’ll always be connected, love, and it’s because of Owen.  I wouldn’t take any of that back at all, but ye can’t sit here and lie to me and tell me that ye ever saw us with a future together.

Misty: O’Malley, that’s not—

O’Malley holds his hand up, silencing her.

O’Malley: It’s ok, love.  Really, it is.  I just wish ye’d stop lying to yerself.  Why did you fly all the way out here?

Misty takes in a deep breath and wipes away a tear from her eye.

Misty: Why do you think?  I came here for Owen…for me.  For us.

O’Malley: I told ye when I called ye a few weeks back that I would be out there as soon as I could.  Granted, I didn’t tell ye why, but I was tellin’ the truth.  But ye didn’t come out here for Owen, love.

Misty looks away from O’Malley as another tear rolls down her cheek.

O’Malley: Yer afraid to be alone, love.  And even though ye’ve been pissed off at me since ye found out I was alive, ye were ready to take me back because yer afraid to be alone.

Misty shakes her head, trying to deny it.

Misty: That..that’s not true.  I’ve been alone for the past six months at least.  I’ve been visiting Owen at the hospital every day for the last two months.  By myself.

O’Malley: Yeah and it finally caught up with ye, didn’t it?  When I first met ye last year, I was so caught up in chasing after ye, I didn’t realize what ye really needed.

Misty: And what was that?

O’Malley: Time.  Time to be by yerself.  Time to heal.

Misty lets out a bit of a laugh, trying to play it off.

Misty: Heal?  Heal from what?

O’Malley: Ye know what I’m talkin’ about, love.

Misty shakes her head again, trying to deny it.

O’Malley: Look, clearly ye developed some sort of feelings for me, otherwise we wouldn’t share a son together, but come on, love…Quit lyin’ to me.  Quit lyin’ to yerself.  I’d give anything if it meant that we had a future together with our son and that we could be a family.

Misty: We can, O’Malley.  That’s why I flew all the way out—

O’Malley: It’s not what ye really want, love.  I promise ye that I’ll do everything that I can to be there for Owen and be a father to him as much as I can, but you and I?  We’re better off as friends, love.  As much as it pains me to say that, it’s true.

More tears well up in Misty’s eyes as she stares at O’Malley, and she suddenly felt horrible for flying all the way out here.  Nothing went the way she had thought it would.  Though she wasn’t completely sure anymore how she thought it would go.

Misty: I…I can’t do this alone, O’Malley.  Owen is still in the hospital, yeah, but when he comes home?  This isn’t where I envisioned where I would be at this stage in my life…being a single mother.

O’Malley: Ye won’t be alone, love.  Not completely.  Ye just need to focus on our son and raising him right, because I know ye can do it.  And I promise ye that I won’t be in this wheelchair for the rest of me life.  I’ll do what I can for Owen and I’ll be there for him, but ye need to take some time with him by yerself.  Ye don’t need help, love.

Misty wipes away the tears from her eyes, but more tears form.

Misty: I…I’ll move here, O’Malley.  I will.  As soon as Owen is out of the hospital, I’ll bring him—

O’Malley shakes his head and holds his hand up again, silencing her.

O’Malley: Ye’ll do no such thing, love.  Yer whole family is in the states, including yer daughter, and I want Owen to know them.  Ye might love Ireland, but I know if ye were to up and move out here, ye’d regret it eventually.  Yer not moving out here, love.

Misty: So what do I have to do?  What am I supposed to do to prove to you that this is what I want?

O’Malley smiles and shakes his head.

O’Malley: Nothing, love.  There is nothing ye can do or say, because it would all be a lie and that’s not what I want anymore.  Go home, Misty.  Go back to our son, because he needs ye right now.

Misty stares at O’Malley for a while, trying to find the words to say to him.

Misty: O’Malley, I…

O’Malley: Go, Misty…Please.

He holds the picture of Owen out to Misty, but she shakes her head.

Misty: No.  You keep it.  I have plenty more at home and on my phone.

She stands up from the bar stool and takes the few steps towards O’Malley and places her hand on his cheek.

Misty: I’m sorry, O’Malley.  For everything.  I really am.

O’Malley: Don’t be.  Ye gave me a beautiful son and I couldn’t ask for a better mother for him.  Just…be happy, love.  If not for yerself…for Owen.

Misty finally smiles and wipes away the last remnants of tears in her eyes.  She runs her hand through O’Malley’s hair.

Misty: You do what you need to do to walk again, okay?  Owen is fighting like hell to get stronger to come home, and you fight just as hard to walk again.

O’Malley takes Misty’s hand and kisses it before looking up into her eyes one last time before she leaves.

O’Malley: Ye know I will.  Now go on before I change me mind.

Misty closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath as she walks past O’Malley and towards the door.  She stops for a brief moment, appearing as though she’s going to turn around, but she doesn’t.  She just walks out of the pub, and out of O’Malley’s life, without another word.  And for the first time in her life, Misty was actually content with not knowing what would happen next in her life.  Her only focus now, was what O’Malley had told her to do.

To go back to their son and spend time with him.

Alone.