Disclaimers: I do not CM or its characters, including Roslyn Jareau, and Elizabeth Prentiss. I do own all OCs, including extended family, doctors, etc.
Spoilers: future chapters of Chronicles. Please be aware this has major spoilers for that story.
Rating: T
Notes: Welcome to the first chapter of Snapshots: Chronicles & Treasures. This is going to be a little sneak-peak into a future chapter of Chronicles, not too far into the future, actually. This takes place in September of 1980, so only about 19 months away from where we are currently (January 1079).
I am sorry for how I start this story, with this particular sneak-peak, as this will be a devastatingly heartbreaking chapter. It features character death. Please read with caution. Btw, Emilia is speaking Italian in this chapter.
*** IMPORTANT *** I HIGHLY advise you to SKIP this if you do not wish to know spoilers for future chapter of The Chronicles of Jennifer Jareau.
Trigger Warning: Severe allergic reaction to a jellyfish sting resulting in the death of a child. I will have it marked.
Monday, September 1st, 1980
Emilia is 10 years old, Jenny is 2 years old
*Gulf Shores, Alabama*
It starts out as a completely, totally, entirely normal day.
"Papí!" 10-year-old Emilia shouts, as she sees her dad, James, come out of their beach condo wearing his swim trunks. "Sembri così sciocco!" You look so silly!
James went with the girliest pair of swim trunks he possible could – well, actually, he modified them…
You see, he found a white pair of swim trunks with orange starfish on them. Now, you toss those into the washing machine, purposely putting in a red towel, red socks, and a red washcloth, and setting it to water that would cause the colors to blend, and you get…
A very bright pink pair of swim trunks with slightly discolored starfish scattered on them.
"Oh, my God! Daddy!"
This is Tristian, now almost 14 years old. He starts giggling and of course, this gets 8-year-old Amaya's attention.
"Papí! Your bathing suit is pink and rainbow!" The little girl shrieks through giggles.
And to make it even better?
He tie-dyed a tank top with pink, purple, yellow, and neon colors. And he is wearing that, as well.
"Oh, Good Lord," James's mom, Anna, says as she shakes her head at her oldest son's antics.
"Wow, man."
This is Michael. He pauses in flipping the burgers on their grill to look at the man who has become like a brother to him over the past two years. "I didn't think you would actually go through with it."
James taps his chest with his left hand, the right hand holding onto a fishing pole.
"Only a manly-man would be able to go through with it."
And with that, he saunters down the steps of their back deck and across the sand to the ocean water, where the kids are spread out, in all of his pink-swim-trunks-and-girly-tie-dye tank top "manly glory".
*Later*
It was a beautiful day.
Sun shining, seagulls flying, waves not too rough.
Looking back on it, the last day was magnificent.
"Daddy! Come on!"
17-year-old Eddie Prentiss, Elizabeth's little brother, calls out to his father, Alden Prentiss, who is now 52 years old.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." The older man steps around seashell piles, sandcastles, holes dug in the sand, sand toys, towels, flipflops, umbrellas, and a gazillion other things, as he makes his way to their boat, which they – he and James's father, Angus – are going to take out on the water.
Several of the kids are coming, so they will take two boats. One will be for fishing; the other for the kids, much older than preteens, who want to go swimming in the deeper waters.
Of course, everyone has life jackets on, regardless of fishing or swimming.
It should have been safe.
It should have been…
Just any other normal, regular Labor Day vacation.
"Okay, is everyone who is fishing ready?!"
Alden shouts it, and several of the kids, and adults, goofily shout let's do it! in response. Angus does the same and the two men split off on their boats.
"Zio Michael!" Emilia comes skipping over. She looks adorable with her hair in two French braids, and a purple one-piece swimsuit, that just so happens to match Jenny's, the toddler who is now 26 months old.
Now that she is 10, Emilia is able to carry Jenny more easily. And that is exactly what she is doing now.
"Well, hello, my Beautiful Girls."
Michael reaches out for his youngest daughter, who is not quiet walking or speaking yet, and who is also holding tightly to her beloved teddy bear. She willingly goes to her daddy.
"Lunch is just about ready. We have some smoothies for you, Peanut. And also some very, yummy hot dogs."
They are vegan hotdogs, of course. Because Jenny is allergic to gelatin, which is in an ingredient found is so many things – food, and nonfood products, alike – she has a vegan diet. And, she is still fed through her feeding tube, or the G-tube, she received at birth, because of her cleft lip, and palate, still being an issue.
"Yummy!" Jenny signs, just like Emilia has taught her.
The kids who are still on the beach gather around for salad, hamburgers, hotdogs, fruit smoothies, chips, and iced tea. There are even several who has decided to "go" vegan, in support of Jennifer having that type of diet.
"Mamí, look at me!"
Jacob, who is now 12 years old, puts a vegan hotdog over his top lip, trying to make it a mustache.
It makes the other kids giggle, as they try to imitate the younger boy.
*On the boats*
While this is going on, on-shore, over on the boats, the kids are also having a fun time.
There was not supposed to be any jellyfish out today. The flag color indicates that ocean wildlife was not a danger.
"Come on, Bubba! Do a cannonball!"
This comes from Eddie's little brother, 13-year-old Elliot.
Eddie stands at the edge of the boat, looking into the water, thinking.
Then, he nods.
"Alright, I'll do it."
He "secretly" looks behind him, where his dad, Alden, is preoccupied with showing 19-year-old Eric something. Eddie notices he is not looking in their direction and turns his attention back to Elliot.
"Leo," He uses Elliot's nickname. "if I do this, you have to promise, you will not say a word. Got it?"
And before Elliot can ask, Eddie is unzipping his lifejacket.
"Dude, no!" The teen's eyes grow wide. "Mom and Daddy will kill you if they find out you went in the water without that!" He whisper-shouts it, trying to wrestle his big brother back into the literal life-saving device.
But that is the thing…
Eddie is older, and bigger, and stronger, and he slightly pushes Elliot backwards, before taking the leap off the edge of the boat.
One time – that is all it was supposed to be. Just… one time.
In and out…
… simple.
Eddie disappeared under the blue-green clear water. He stays under for several moments, and Elliot begins to worry.
It starts with a tingling sensation in his neck, traveling up his spine.
Elliot looks in the water, waiting for his big brother to resurface.
Seconds tick by, Elliot is starting to feel dread pool in his belly.
Just as he is about to shout for his dad, the water breaks roughly. Eddie pops up but he looks distraught, scared…
Terrified.
"Jellyfish!"
The salty seawater gets in his mouth as he shouts it, desperately trying to keep his head above water.
The word takes a full five seconds to register with Elliot's brain.
Then…
He really does yell for his dad.
"Daddy!"
Looking back on this, Alden will only remember bits and pieces of the next three hours.
You see, Eddie is allergic to jellyfish stings.
Which is why they were watching the flag colors. Why they asked the Lifeguards. Why they checked and rechecked, and asked, and made sure, and…
It was supposed to be safe.
"Daddy!"
Elliot cannot remember, in his entire 13 years, feeling this kind of unadulterated dread and terror.
Alden comes running at the first scream. He is so incredibly pissed off that his child took off the damned lifejacket, but at the same time…
He has no time for that.
Alden jumps into the water. His heart is trying to tattoo itself into his ribcage as he ducks under, grabbing his little boy.
It was supposed to be safe.
They resurface, and…
"Dad!"
19-year-old Eric leans down, he pulls his partial conscious little brother up onto the boat.
"Eddie, don't you dare close your fucking eyes!" Alden collapse next to him. By now, Angus is over in the other boat, shouting, asking why the hell is going on. The kids are freaked out, they are being pulled out of the water, and demanding to know what happened, some are crying, some are panicking.
"Come on, Eddie!" Elliot pleads. "Keep your eyes open, Bubba."
The next 10 minutes are a complete whirlwind.
They arrive back on the beach. Eddie is in and out of consciousness, an ambulance has been called, the kids on the beach are gathered up, the Lifeguards meet the boats at the water's edge.
Alden stumbled off the boat with his barely-alive baby boy. He trips up and one of the Lifeguards, Allen, catches Eddie before he hits the sand.
"Get me a backboard, now!" He screams to his partner. Then he turns to the boy he has watched grow up over the years, when the Prentiss Family would vacation in the U.S.
Nearly every second of First Aid training slips his mind at the sight of Eddie, pale, breathing shallow.
"Eddie, don't do this, man, come on, keep your eyes open, ok? You gotta fight, Bub, you hear? You fight!"
The ambulance arrives, Alden climbs in the back, and Penelope rushes inside to change and then stumbles out to the car.
The others watch as, siren wailing, the ambulance carries Eddie away to the hospital.
"Grandpa?" Elliot chokes out, turning to Archie Benson, his grandfather.
It snaps the rest out of their daze, their confusion, their…
"Let's go! Come on!"
It is the fastest the entirety of them have ever gotten dressed, though it consists of only throwing random shirts and shorts on over their swimsuits.
The loading up in the cars is another ordeal completely. It is decided, in the end, that Archie, his wife Blanche, and just a few of the Benson children, – Eddie's siblings – will go to the hospital.
Because it might be ok.
He might be ok.
"I wanna go, too!" Emilia sobs as she pulls on her great-grandfather's arms, trying to prevent him from leaving, and it breaks his heart, even more so when he hears Jennifer in the background, sobbing along with her best friend.
"Sweetheart," He bends down beside her. He opens his mouth to try and convince her to stay, but…
"Okay. Alright, let's go. Get your sandals, here they are, hurry, now."
Emilia slips them on, but she hesitates, looking at Jenny, who is struggling in Michael's arms, reaching out for her best friend.
"Nonno," She whispers, and he knows. God, how he wishes he didn't.
It is not going to be ok.
Emilia understands that.
He also knows how much Eddie absolutely, positively, adores Jennifer.
And if she can't say goodbye? Even at 2 years old?
If her last memories of Eddie are him being taken away in a scary, noisy car, and she never gets to really find out, truthfully, what happened to him, if she was not there for him, in his last few moments?
"Okay. Get her." Archie opens the door and waits for Emilia to scramble over to Michael, and take Jennifer in her arms. He ushers them both out of the condo and into the car, and they race off to the hospital.
*25 minutes later*
It is the longest fucking 25 minute drive of either Archie or Blanche's lives.
It is a miracle they are not pulled over, since they were driving over the speed limit, and especially considering that Emilia is still in a booster seat, Jennifer is definitely in a carseat, and neither of them rode in one to the hospital.
The kids, ranging from Jennifer, at 2, to Eric, at 19, all pile out of the vehicle as soon as it is in its place in the parking lot. The scene they find inside is one of utter heartbreak. The Hospital doctors and nurses know them; they have been vacationing here for years.
Doctor Adams takes the group up to the ICU of the Pediatrics Floor. He lays it out, tells them how it is, as they approach the room. Alden and Penelope are already inside. The room is darkened, and Eddie is already in the bed, with a Nurse is tending to his wounds.
Basically, Doctor Adams tells them… They are making Eddie as comfortable as possible. His body is failing him already; he coded on the way here, and, though the Paramedics were able to get his heart restarted, his brain was without oxygen for too long.
There is no fix for this.
Eddie is severely allergic to jellyfish stings, plain and simple. That is why the color of the flag at the beach was so important. It was why the two Lifeguards for their area – Allen and Steve – were so diligent in listening to reports of ocean wildlife, which kinds were out, where they were spotted, and so on.
Eddie was stung twice. Once is enough for very bad things to happen, but twice is, well, it is a 100x worse. On the way here, in the ambulance, Eddie lost consciousness. He then coded, was worked on, and now he has a tube breathing for him. He is sleeping somewhat peacefully but honestly, it won't be long now.
Blanche loses it. Screaming and cussing at the doctor.
How did this day take a turn so quickly.
Archie tries to comfort her, but what can he say? What can he say to make the pain of knowing they are going to lose one of their great-grandchildren, better?
Emilia looks at him. She may be ten years old now, but in her mind, inside her body, she is just a young, innocent little girl. She hears the words "it won't be long now. Gather up all family you can, because this is goodbye." But she does just understand.
How did this day go from sunshine, playful, happy, good, to… saying goodbye to one of her favorite uncles?
Archie calls the rest of them. And the doctors, nurses, and staff members watch as nearly 50 family members file into Eddie Benson's room.
They gather around him, hold his hand, talk to him, talk to the kids about what is happening. Claire and Grace, also 2 years old, as well as Juliet, Lucas, and Jennifer are told that, soon, Eddie will be with the angels.
"Unle!" 2-year-old Claire points to Eddie. "Unle, boo-boo?" She asks, looking up at Elizabeth.
"Yeah, baby," The woman smiles sadly, knowing that, most likely, Claire is not going to remember this in a month or two. "Unle Edd has some boo-boos."
Emilia, Maya, Kai, Jake… their cousins, their aunts and uncles, kids young and old, everyone takes turns speaking to Eddie. They tell stories, they say how much they love him, and that it is ok to go now.
They kiss his forehead…
"I kiss!"
This is Grace. She wriggles out of Tristan's arms, onto the bed, and crawls up to her uncle.
"I kiss…" The toddler demonstrates by kissing his arm, his hand, and his neck, since she cannot crawl up to reach his face. "I kiss boo-boos… All bet'er!"
"Come on, Grace-bug." Jake takes his baby sister. "Let's sit down, okay?"
And they keep their hands busy by straightening the blankets. They brush the sand from his face.
His mom and dad, Elizabeth's parents, Alden and Penelope, kiss their baby boy on the forehead. They tell him we love you so much, sweetheart. And they assure him he will never been forgotten.
"We love you, baby. We love you so much. It was an honor to be your parents. You made us proud every single day, and we are going to miss that gorgeous smile of yours, and your bigger-than-life personality."
Soon, though… soon the breathing tube is removed.
Nurse Lily looks sadly to Alden and Penelope.
"Are you ready, Mr. and Mrs. Benson?"
Penelope ignores her, presses her lips to Eddie's forehead, and silently praying, willing whoever is in charge "up there" to please, please give them a second chance.
"Yes." Alden's voice breaks but he nods firmly, swallowing around the lump in his throat. "Yes, go ahead."
Nurse Lily nods.
"Okay. I am going to remove the tube. You are welcome to stay in here. I will turn the monitors off, close the blinds, and shut the door, if you shall want the privacy. Please feel free to stay as long as you need…"
She pauses in the doorway. She knows she shouldn't say it, knows it is not a good thing to let it be personal, but…
"I am so, so sorry, Mr. Benson."
Only immediate family members are in his room. Emilia refuses to leave and because of that, so does Jennifer.
"I don't want to go home, Mamí!" She shouts, though her voice cracks halfway through. "I don't wanna go home!"
Elizabeth nods, looking to James, then Michael, who offers to stay in the waiting area with them, along with 9-year-old Ezra Benson, Alden and Penelope's youngest child, and 13-year-old Elliot.
Eric, who is 19, stays in the room with his parents, his siblings, 21-year-old Eloise, and 23 year old Ezekiel, and Elizabeth, and James.
It takes 4 hours, 23 minutes, and 16 seconds before the heart monitor signals a flat line, having been silenced when the breathing tube was first taken out of Eddie's throat.
Jennifer is sound asleep. Elliot and Caleb are wound up in the chairs, also asleep…
"No!"
Penelope's voice slices through Elizabeth. James grasps her hand, trying to give his wife the comfort she will probably not fully take in for a very, very long time.
"No! Eddie! No…"
The yelling gets the doctor's attention. He comes in, checks Eddie's heart with his stethoscope.
And Emilia breaks down in Michael's arms when she notices her grandparents suddenly much, much more distraught than just a second ago.
"I am so, so sorry, sweetheart," Michael whispers to the devastated little girl in his arms. "I'm so sorry…"
Through the open door of Eddie's room, Michael hears, "Time of death… 5:56 p.m." As he watches the doctor turn off the silent heart monitor.
It starts out as a completely, totally, entirely normal day.
It was a beautiful day, though. Sun shining, seagulls flying, waves not too rough, laughter, smiles, happiness…
Looking back on it, his last day was magnificent.
Eddie Alexander Benson
January 6th, 1963–September 1st, 1980
Son, Brother, Friend – You touched all of our hearts
Rest in Peace, Our Space Man
And there it is. Just to clear up any confusion – Eddie is Elizabeth's little brother, which makes him Emilia's uncle. The 'E' names are his siblings – Elliot, Ezekiel, Eric, and Ezra. Alden and Penelope are his parents. Sandy was not mentioned for a reason, and JJ still has her cleft lip, and is on a vegan diet. This will all be explained soon.
I tried to make this short because the actual chapter for Chronicles is going to be much longer, so I did not want to give too many details here.
Once again, this is going to be a story of missing scenes, extended scenes, and, as shown here, "sneak-peeks" for future chapters. It will feature both The Chronicles of Jennifer Jareau, and the sequel, The Treasures of My Heart. I will be doing missing scenes from the months of July to December of 1978.
This will include Emilia being told the good news of Jennifer getting better, and Juliet and Luke's first night home. There will also be more scenes for Christmas, when Jen came home, among several other important moments.
Anyway, if you are confused or just have some questions, please leave them in a review or send me a PM. If you have a certain chapter and/or scene/moment you'd like to see extended, let me know.
I am unsure just how often I will update this, however, as I am dealing with exhaustion and more frequent headaches. If you have read my Glee story you already know this; if not – I am trying some new medicine that is supposed to help with getting control of my headaches/exhaustion levels. Because of that, I will also be off my laptop more.
Please review and let me know what you thought! :)