Finding Our Family

Can't Live Until We Die A Little

Emma's POV:

Wade and I are sitting at the bar in Sister Margaret's. Weasel insists that I only drink water or club soda. While I'm thankful for his consideration of my pregnancy, water doesn't wash away all the pain and sorrow I've been feeling. Wade and I are grateful for each other, but sometimes we need a little outside help.

Wade: "Is it just me, or does 'Do You Wanna Build A Snowman' from 'Frozen sound suspiciously like 'Papa, Can You Hear Me'' from 'Yentl'? And nobody fucking realizes it."

We also have a deal between us. We stop cursing when we get over the grief, or I hit the five-month marker in my pregnancy, whichever comes first.

Weasel: "Go home, guys. You've been here for 3 days, ok? Aside from Emma, you smell like someone shit in a Civil War wound after it had become gangrenous. They should've just amputated it. Why shit in it? Doesn't make any sense."

Dopinder passes by us from behind with a mop.

Dopinder: "I love 'Frozen'."

Me: "She was a hell of a woman. How you picked me over her I never understood."

Wade: "Because you're you, and you'd roast me alive if I shot you down. And she wouldn't have liked me very much after that, either."

He gently kisses my forehead.

Weasel: "I'm sorry. Shot after shot, as sweet as this is, it's not gonna change the fact that I think you're-Are you pissing right now?"

I look down to confirm Weasel's suspicions.

Me: "Oh, honey."

Wade: "I love you."

I chuckle as Dopinder mops it up. I tip him a $5 for his troubles, but he waves it off with a kind smile.

Weasel: "There you go, Dopinder. If you wanna be a contract killer, you gotta handle a mop before you handle a gun."

Dopinder: "Although, I don't quite understand how they are at all similar."

Weasel: "Well, they both have handles. Now leave me. Go home, guys."

Wade gets up to stand but stumbles a little, so Buck catches him.

Wade: "Ok, I'm fine. I'm fine."

Buck: "You know what 'FINE' stands for, Wade? Fucked up, insecure, needy, and emotional. According to the-"

Me: "Kubler Ross."

Buck: "According to the Kubler Ross model, denial is just one of the five stages of grief."

Wade: "Jesus Christ, Buck! No more speaking lines for you."

Me: "Ok, come on."

Wade: "Where?"

Me: "You need to take the edge off. If drinks won't do it, drugs will. Let's go visit Al. Just do me a favor, get high enough for the both of us."

Wade: "Best. Wife. Ever."

{Time skip}

We quietly walk into Al's apartment to find her laughing at something on her TV. I grab the cocaine for Wade from underneath her floorboards while Wade sneaks up on her.

TV: "Look, pal, I said your money or your life."

TV & Wade: "I'm thinking it over."

Al pulls out a gun in surprise.

Al: "Motherfuck! Fuck! God, the hell you doing here? Don't you know how to knock?"

Wade: "I thought you saw us, with your ears."

Al: "Us?"

Me: "Hi, Al."

Al: "Emma, congrats on the kid. Your husband's lucky I didn't shoot him in the-"

Wade: "The wall? The refrigerator? I'm in so much pain."

Wade falls backward onto the ground while I sit next to Al on the couch as she takes my hand in hers.

Al: "I heard the other news, sweeties. I'm very sorry. I am."

Wade: "What are we gonna do, Al?"

Al: "Probably something terrible, knowing you."

Wade: "It was my fault. I fucking did this."

Me: "Babe, that bullet was coming toward me. She'd still be here if I'd used my powers instead of standing there. And all I wanna do is grab her and tell her I'm sorry, but I can't."

Al: "Sweethearts, can you speak up? It's a little hard to hear you with those pity dicks in your mouths. Now look, sugars, you need to just keep living."

Wade: "Thank you, Matthew McConaughey, you're words are a treasure."

Al: "Listen to the pain. It's both history teacher, and fortune teller. Pain teaches us who we are. Sometimes, it's so bad, we feel like we're dying. And we can't really live until we die a little, can we? Wade? Emma?"

Wade pulls his mask over his face with the bag of cocaine under his mouth.

Wade: "I'm right here, Althea. And that is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. And you're absolutely right."

Wade hits the bag of cocaine as it releases its contents.

Wade: "I'm about to do something terrible."

Suddenly, my phone starts to ring.

Me: "Go for Phoenix.-*pauses*-Alright, on my way.-*hangs up*-Sorry, Handsome. Much as I'd love to see what 'terrible' plan you've got in that twisted mind of yours, I gotta take care of a client. You gonna be ok while I'm gone?"

Wade seems to pause for a second before nodding.

Wade: "Yeah. Go fuck up some bad guys. Just be careful, ok?"

Me: "I will."

I kiss his masked cheek as I walk by. Whatever his plan is, Wade probably won't do anything too awful.

{Time skip}

Fuck a Duck! I walk up to the exterior of my and Wade's apartment building to see our sector explode. I suck in a deep breath and call in some backup.

Me: "Colossus, it's Emma Wilson.-*pauses*-Yeah, Phoenix. Listen, what I need from you is a favor. What I don't need from you is a lecture. Deal?-*pauses*-Good. Wade blew himself up in our apartment.-*pauses*-See you in five."

TO BE CONTINUED