To Help a Raging Voyager Spirit

Chapter 11: Forgiven

Ireland, January 11th, 1885

Síofra rested her head forlornly in her arms and draped herself over the barn post. Her uncle had told her to come inside three times, but she refused, and he let her alone. He knew she was hurting. Síofra realized it was a mistake to tell Phineas the truth. He and his family would've just stayed the night and been on their way. She'd blindly given up her heart to him on the roadside. He was extraordinarily handsome, and she'd assumed of noble character. It was just that easy. She couldn't understand how he could disappear without a word. He wasn't cowardly, nor insensitive.

The snow fell heavy tonight, and everyone made preparations for a blizzard. Síofra pulled her coat tighter, but she didn't mind the cold, it kept her alert.

"Why should I mind? Very soon, I'll be forever cold." She grieved. "Phineas, I hope wherever you go, you'll do well. I don't blame you for leaving, what good would I be to you? What good to anyone?" She wailed.

A low crunching of snow quieted her cries. The hotel was dark; most of the guests had retired for the evening. She clutched the wooden beams tight. Just as she turned, a man grabbed her close, and she yelped. He put a finger to her lips. It was Phineas Bogg.

"Síofra, I'm sorry for leaving you like that! We had something pressing and I…oh, please forgive me!" Phineas' heart broke at the sight of her tears, knowing they were for him. He hugged her, but she pulled away.

"How could you just take off so quickly, not even a goodbye? Do ya know how that made me feel?" She struck his chest. "I poured my heart out to you! I practically gave all but my body to you yesterday, and this is how I'm repaid? I know it doesn't matter, I'll be in the dirt soon enough, I just didn't think that you would have pushed me down that much faster, not you!"

Síofra felt horrible for her display of temper, but she had to get her feelings out. Phineas hung his head miserably; she had every right to be angry with him. When he finally glanced up, she glared at him, waiting for an explanation. However, affection was still evident in her eyes. He softly played with her red curls as he spoke.

"Síofra, when I left you, I was confused. I didn't know what to say, but it drove me to distraction that I'd been so cruel. Please, tell me you forgive me, and I'll leave you at peace."

Síofra's angry gaze softened, and she moved closer. She removed her gloves, and tenderly stroked his face and hair. She raised herself to meet his face and gently kissed him. The pain in her heart subsided.

"I forgive you, Phineas Bogg. I know you're honest. Thank you for returning to apologize. Whatever little time we had was truly wonderful. Ya better go and join your family now, wherever they are. Tell David and Jeffrey I will miss them, they were kind to me."

Síofra turned to leave, and Phineas pulled her arm to stop. He dropped on one knee and put his cheek on her hand.

"Don't leave me, I mean…wait, I…" Phineas used every last ounce of courage he had to say the next few words.

"I love you. I have nothing to offer you, but my heart and body and I want to, no matter what happens, no matter when it happens. Please, Síofra, marry me."

He looked up at her with desperation in his large eyes, his mouth and jaw quivered with anticipation for her response. Síofra was taken aback and sank to the snowy ground, clutching him tightly.

"Phineas, ya couldn't possibly love me fully…but I don't feel as though it's all pity. We've only been acquainted for two days, but however long I live, I want to spend it loving you! Phineas, yes! Yes! I will marry you!"

Phineas' hearty shout of triumph and laughter rang out across the field, and he swooped her in his arms, kissing her long and deep.

"Good! We'll get married tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow? Why not tonight? A minister is staying in room Three B." She winked with a coy smile.

Phineas' eyes widened mischievously. "That's perfect! Let's go!"

Without putting her down, he raced into the hotel, and they laughed like children as they endeavored to wake him.

~Oo~

Voyager Headquarters

"Síofra died in her sleep. They say that's the best way to go, that it's peaceful, but who really knows?"

The disheveled and bearded form of Phineas Bogg stood in the doorway of the viewing room, casting a larger than life shadow on the blank screen against the wall. He anxiously twisted a tiny gold band on his left hand. Jeffrey and David turned to him, the smiles vanished from their faces, and the mood sobered.

"I knew it was coming, she'd been sick most of the day. I feared to sleep, so I stayed awake and just held her until it happened in the early morning. She tried to hide her pain." Phineas touched his heart. "I could only caress her heart…I buried her on a small hillside not far from the hotel. There wasn't time for a formal funeral, but the staff attended. They were beside themselves. They all loved her. Her uncle was inconsolable. I left Sean and the Kelly family a letter, making sure they knew how much I loved Síofra and enjoyed the hospitality and time spent with her. Those were actually her last words before she'd fallen asleep.

"Phineas, I love you, thank you for the time you've given me."

He closed his eyes and gripped at them with his fingers. "After I…I buried her, I just came right here." He continued, choked up.

He walked in closer, and his gaze landed on the projector."I'm sorry to barge in like this and spoil your fun." He sighed.

"No, it's okay, Bogg. Go on, talk if you wanna." Jeffrey said, and wiped the tears off his cheeks.

Phineas rubbed his hair and removed his dark blue suit jacket. His collar was undone, and his trousers were dusty. Black dirt was still ingrained in his fingernails.

"We married the same night I arrived. It was a total whirlwind, and then we had a beautiful…umm…well, I spent nearly every waking and sleeping moment with her. We still did the chores, we traveled the countryside once the snow subsided and it was as if she wasn't sick at all. It was just as you said about Caroline, David, we had no illusions. We both knew it was coming. I guess you're never really prepared, but in a way, we were. Her final days were full of as much joy and happiness as I could give her, and that was what she gave me even if we quarreled a bit here and there. Marriage is an eye-opener, but it's a real joy nonetheless if you make it so."

Phineas lowered himself to the couch and sat completely still. His eyes watered with tears, but he couldn't let them fall. Not yet, he wasn't ready.

David broke the silence. It was not his intention to be callous, but he knew Phineas would need personal time to mourn, just as he did on many occasions.

"Phineas, You're just in time to watch one of the classics of cinema, right, Jeff?"

Jeffrey looked at David oddly and then caught his empathetic glance.

"Oh, yeah, I think you'd really like it, Bogg."

David revealed to Jeffrey what he'd seen in Siofra's records that Phineas hadn't. There'd been a blip on the screen, and Phineas' name popped up underneath as her husband. Along with that change came the amendment in her date of death. Síofra survived five months longer than initially recorded. Although it was that long on Earth, Phineas' return to Headquarters was a mere two weeks. David had no doubt the change came because of Phineas' split decision in the Archives. Their long conversation about his brief but loving experiences with Caroline had also made the difference.

David flicked on the projector, and lively film music started; Phineas stared blankly and stroked his beard until a particular name appeared. He sat upright in surprise.

"Gene Kelly? Who's that?"

Jeffrey smiled at him. "David and I found out that Gene Kelly is Síofra's younger cousin. I knew her uncle Sean looked like someone familiar under all that hair!"

Phineas sat back with a subdued grin. "I think I remember hearing about him now. He was an actor…a dancer…Síofra loved dancing, she was excellent at it, taught me a bunch of steps."

"Yeah, Bogg. Gene Kelly was one of the greatest hoofers of the twentieth century. He had a unique street-smart style all his own. He didn't like to be confined to the traditional forms of dance. Something about his personality reminds me of you, it must be his get-go spirit."

David sat down alongside him and passed Jeffrey a bowl of popcorn. "I was just going to say that. What do you say, Phineas? We can stop the projector and wait until you get cleaned up. I think Síofra would've been thrilled to know her cousin made it to the top like this. She died years before he was born, though. This is his best film, in my opinion, of course. You'll really enjoy it."

Phineas gazed at the screen and smiled earnestly.

"Okay! You're right! By the way, David, what happened with the cure?"

David gave him a lopsided smile. "You may have been gone for five months, but it's only been two weeks. I'm still in Immunization treatments. It will come, slowly but surely. I really trust the Headquarters. They even monitor my sleep patterns because I was prone to have Hulk outs during nightmares. So far, everything is okay."

"That's great. It will happen, with your genius and the equipment, it won't fail."

As Phineas approached the doorway, he turned to them with relief. "Thanks, you guys, for just being there and being my dear friends."

~Oo~

Chicago, 1983

Journalist Jack McGee walked out of his "Daily Register" office to get some fresh air. He needed it after having the second shock of his life. The first was seeing the Hulk at the Culver Lab. One of his contacts from the Smithsonian Archives Institute mailed him a package of images. They were copies of photographs taken in New York and dated July 13th, 1863, the day the horrible Civil War Riots began. His contact left him a note, "Either I'm seeing crazy things, or this is your green friend, perhaps he's immortal? Give me a call."

Even without the magnifying glass, Jack knew he was looking at The Hulk. His Hulk. In the unbelievable image, the creature was crying and held a small black girl in his arms. He noted sadly that she was dead.

Despite McGee's hunt to bring the creature in for the murders of Doctor David Banner and Elaina Marks, there was always a little voice inside his head. The voice told him that in the five years he'd spent relentlessly tracking the beast down – the Hulk was not a killer. Jack had even been rescued by his alter-ego, whom he called a 'John Doe.' The Hulk was a hero.

McGee would finally have something to write about after a year-long hiatus of The Hulk column. There was no trace of either the creature or the man who transformed into him. McGee felt it in his gut; he wasn't dead, the man had nine lives. He was too smart and determined to survive. McGee let out a breath of cold air and pulled his flask. This was one of those times he needed a sharp drink. He looked at the black clouds. They were heavy with water, and a few drops sprinkled on him.

"Wherever you are, John Doe…"

The rain poured down, but he made no move to go inside. It felt good, almost symbolic. He was washing away the useless years of intense pursuit of the man who'd done no wrong and saved his life many lives. He had a strange feeling that somehow, John would forgive him.

"Wherever you are, I hope they're taking care of you. You deserve it."

McGee drank his whiskey and splashed the newly formed puddles as he hummed Singing in the rain.

The End.