CH 1: Bending the Rules

"I want to go see him."

"Maggie, no -- the doctor thinks it's best if you put your past behind you, so--"

"To hell with the doctor's orders! Willie's our friend, Jeff, and I can't just stand here while he's wasting away in some hospital!" Placing a hand over her eyes, Maggie wearily sustained, "I'm so sorry, darling, but I'm still having a whole lot of trouble grasping our current situation. I know it's not your fault, but perhaps if you hadn't shot that cross bow..."

"Maggie, Willie was protecting Barnabas! It's his own damn fault that he got in the way!"

The young governess glared up into Jeff's eyes defiantly. "I don't believe that for a second -- Willie was the one trying to warn me the entire time that I was in danger! You shot him for no good reason, Jeff, and now he could die!"

Jeff ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair in what appeared to be frustration, his brows drawing inward as he stubbornly shook his head. "Maggie, you know it was an accident -- I already feel so damn guilty for having killed so many of our friends, so please...not another word."

"Just five minutes" she pleaded. "Just five minutes is all I need -- that's the very least I could do for him since he tried to save both our lives." Upon this declaration, Maggie placed a hand on her boyfriend's arm before giving him a beseeching look with her haunting amber eyes.

Grunting, Jeff moved away from her before begrudgingly nodding his head. "Alright, alright" he agreed, "but you'd better stay true to your five minutes bargain -- the sooner we get out of Collinsport, the better."

Maggie nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, darling, I haven't forgotten..."

'Not by a long shot.'

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The moment Willie Loomis opened his eyes, he thought he'd died and gone straight to Hell. An indescribable ache was consuming him, starting from his middle and extending all the way to his fingers and toes.

Releasing a pained moan, Willie cast his bleary gaze over toward the wooden door to his left, all the while pleading that someone -- anyone -- would come in and relieve him of his distress.

'They shoulda just let me die' he thought, bitterly shaking his head. 'Who woulda cared enough ta put me in here, anyway?'

"Mr. Loomis?"

He immediately looked up. "Yeah? You my nurse, or somethin'?"

"You have a visitor, sir" the woman persisted, purposely ignoring his question. "A Miss M--"

"Maggie" Willie finished, gazing upon the young beauty in absolute disbelief. "W-w-whatcha doin' here, uh? You should be in bed restin' or somethin'."

Maggie smiled. "Willie, you've been out for nearly an entire week -- I'm all better now...really, I am." Making sure that the nurse had properly shut the door, the governess then strode across the bleak little room and had a seat at his side. Taking his hand in hers, Maggie carefully avoided the IV in his wrist as she gently ran her fingers across his knuckles. "I promised Jeff that I'd hurry, but I just had to see you, Willie -- I never got to properly thank you for what you did for me" she softly admitted.

Willie modestly shrugged his shoulders. "Aw, that don't matter ta me, Maggie... I know you woulda done stuff for me, so I was just bein' a good friend, that's all." As an afterthought, he added, "Why the rush, anyway? Since when did that Jeff start actin' like your keeper?"

"Since I agreed to marry him... We're leaving Collinsport tonight."

The color drained from Willie's cheeks. "Tonight? Aw, but Maggie, that means I'll never get ta see ya, again -- n-now I know that we ain't been the greatest a' friends or nothin', but other than you, I ain't got nobody here ta care for me. I-I mean...well...I just ain't got no friends, ok, Maggie? I don't wanna die here alone..."

Now it was Maggie's turn to blanch, her hand grasping Willie's tightly in her own as she argued, "No, that's not going to happen, Willie, it's not! The doctors all seem to be very optimistic about your full recovery -- you're very lucky that the arrow didn't pierce your heart!" Giving him a pained look, she added, "Jeff won't like us postponing our stay any more than we already have... Not even for you, our unsung hero. Please understand that I'd like to stay here with you, but I can't."

Willie's chapped lips curled upward into a considerably forced smile. "Aw, hey, don't you worry 'bout me, Maggie -- I can take care a' myself, an' I know you got places ta be, so please...don't let me keep ya."

"Oh, but --"

"Miss Evans?"

Maggie looked up toward the door, only to find the nurse that had escorted her earlier standing there before them. "Yes?"

"Mr. Clark insists that you two must be going, now" she revealed, the tired lines on her face creasing as she spoke. "I'll leave you two alone to say your goodbyes."

Maggie snorted at this news, yet she obeyed Jeff's request and rose from her seat. Gazing down upon Willie with sorrowful eyes, she apologized, "I'm sorry, Willie, but I have to go now... I promise that no matter where life takes me, I'll never forget you or your kindness. Ever."

Bending over at the waist, Maggie placed a chaste kiss against the servant's forehead before rising with tears in her eyes. "Goodbye..."

Willie looked up at her in astonishment, clearly surprised by the true magnitude of Maggie's appreciation. Now more than ever he longed to take her in his arms and never let her go, but he settled on giving her a weak wave as his final farewell, instead. The tearful look that Maggie gave him made his heart clench, but he wasn't about to believe that she might actually care about him -- nobody cared about him...

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"What do you mean, you're not going?"

Maggie sighed. "Look, I'm very sorry, sweetheart, but after visiting with Willie, I've realized that he's far worse off than we originally thought. I can't just leave him when he acted so upset over our leaving -- I'd be a terrible friend if I went with you to Boston before he fully recovered."

Jeff gave her a warning look. "Maggie, I don't know what Willie said to make you feel this way, but you shouldn't listen to him -- he doesn't need us."

"How can you say that? Do you honestly mean to tell me that you'd abandon a friend of yours if he was ill?" Maggie demanded, her arms folding stubbornly across her chest.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Maggie, if we stay, you may end up in the hospital again, and I'm not about to let that happen!"

"But Barnabas is dead, Jeff! We're safe again!" Maggie insisted. "Just stop giving me a hard time and let me make my own decisions!"

Jeff gave her a long, cold stare. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean, Maggie? I'm just trying to watch out for you!"

"I know, I just... Sorry." Bowing her head, the governess wearily sighed before sustaining, "I know that deep-down you're right about all this, Jeff, but I'm scared for Willie. Can't you understand my unease over leaving him behind?"

Jeff nodded and pulled Maggie into his arms. "Yes, yes, of course I can, sweetheart -- if this is what you really want, then I suppose I can postpone our leaving for another two weeks."

"Oh, Jeff...you really mean it?" Maggie breathed, her eyes now alight with gratitude. When he nodded, she threw her arms about his neck and thanked him profusely.

Jeff didn't know why, but somehow his fiancé's blatant concern for Barnabas Collins' former servant irked him tremendously...

A/N: Hey, guys! After finally getting to watch HODS for the first time, I was very dissatisfied with the ending, thus why I decided to do a re-write. :) Barnabas may or may not reappear…I'm not tellin'. ;0P