They Both Die At The End- SOAP AND GHOST EDITION

PART FIVE- FAMILY

NAME: JOHN PRICE
CODENAME: PRICE
AGE: 42
BRANCH: SAS
RANK: CAPTAIN

TIME: 04:23 AM

He wakes up, his head on his arms as they rest on his desk. An empty bottle of scotch next to him with another bottle half empty. He looks up to see Kyle resting his head on the other side of his desk. He chuckles softly, pinching the bridge of his nose as the hangover of a lifetime hits him like a tonne of bricks. He wobbles to his feet and grabs his blanket. He throws it over Kyle's shoulders, helping to keep him warm as he sat uncomfortably. He's about to start on a new set of paperwork until it dawns on him... It's been twenty-four hours.
"Simon..". He breathes out. He rushes out of his office and races to the lift. He quickly presses the button multiple times, knowing it won't make the lift go quicker. He waits until the lift pings as he reaches Simon's floor. He rushes over to his room, trying the door only to find out it's locked. He barges into it once. Nothing. He takes three steps back and charges into the door, snapping the lock mechanism and making his way in. He turns to Simon's bed to see him wearing his mask, a bullet hole clean through the side of his head as he laid half on the bed, his arms sprawled out with the gun still in his hand. He races over to his corpse. He sees a note folded up in Ghost's other hand. He takes it gently, opening it up. There was just two simple words, I'M SORRY. He sits next to Ghost, a small sigh leaving his lips. "God, Ghost. The fuck am I gonna do?". He says quietly, almost numbly. Tears couldn't come to his eyes. He was both physically and mentally exhausted. He radios down to the med team in the building. "Med-bay, this is Captain John Price. We have a casualty in room four-hundred-and-one. A self-inflicted bullet wound to the head.". He sighs softly.
"Captain Price, this is Med-bay. Who's the patient?". He sits in silence for a few seconds before responding.
"Ghost.".

ONE WEEK LATER

"Two funerals in one day..". Kyle says as he buttons up his shirt.
"Yeah... How are you holding up?". Price turns his attention to Kyle as he ties his tie.
"Getting by, Captain. How about you?". He asks, lifting his collar.
"Getting there, Kyle". He sighs, watching as Kyle attempts to tie his tie. He chuckles softly before walking over to the Sergeant. He grabs his shoulder and spins him around so he's facing John. He ties his tie for him.
"Thank you, Sir". He smiles softly. John places a hand on Kyle's upper arm.
"No worries. We all have to look out for each other.".

They reach the cathedral where Johnny's funeral is being held.
"You must be Captain Price and Sergeant Garrick?". A middle-aged woman with a thick, Scottish accent walks over to the pair.
"Please, call me John". He hugs her softly. She pulls away and looks at Kyle.
"Call me Kyle". He smiles slightly, hugging her softly.
"You must be John's sister, right?". Price says with a smile.
"Oh god no! I'm his mother!".
"Really? You don't look a day over twenty!". Kyle chimes in.
"Aw. I can see why Johnny was so close to you two!". She smiles sadly. A young woman walks over. "This is Johnny's sister, Laura". She introduces her.
"It's lovely to meet you both". Kyle says with a smile.
"OH! You're toothbrush boy?". Laura smiles widely.
"What did Johnny do with my toothbrush?!". Kyle exclaims, turning to John who only chuckles.
"He swore us to secrecy. He's literally took it to his grave". Laura giggles.
"Sorry, John, could I speak to you?". Johnny's Mum asks John.
"Of course, Ms MacTavish". He nods, walking with her.
"Please, call me Sarah". She insists. "I just wanted to thank you.. For stepping in as a father figure for Johnny. His dad was a waste of space and he really struggled growing up... His cousin taught him pretty much everything he knew. It meant a lot to Johnny, it means a lot to us as well". She says as she wells up, dabbing her eyes with tissues.
"I'm glad I had the honour to be so close to an amazing soldier". He smiles sadly. They both hug, tears being spilt between them.

The funeral ran smoothly. Bagpipes were involved, causing an eye roll from Kyle and an elbow in the side from John. The funerals were one after the other, so John and Kyle remained in the cathedral after Johnny's family had left. They watched Ghost's coffin be carried through and placed down. The service was quick and simple. Ghost didn't want much and John accepted his wishes.

FIVE YEARS LATER

NAME: JOHN PRICE
AGE: 47
STATUS: RETIRED

TIME: 04:30 PM, 6TH DECEMBER, 2028

"Look who it is". He smirks as Kyle walks over to him. "Captain Garrick". He hugs him tightly.
"That's Sergeant to you, Sir". He grins. John pats his back a few times before they pull away. "The MacTavish's not here yet?". He asks, looking around.
"Not yet. They'll be here soon". He nods, sniffling slightly from the cold weather. It was snowing heavily and no matter how much winter gear he wore, he was still cold. A family RV pulls up and Sarah steps out first, a small smile on her lips.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen!". She grins as he walks over to them both.
"Afternoon!". John says as he hugs her tightly. Two young kids come running out of the RV.
"Uncle Kyle!". They both yell as they run over to Kyle, hugging him tightly. He groans as he gets tackled to the ground by the two young kids.
"Oh!". He chuckles. "Hey kiddos!". He smiles as he bearhugs them both. Laura steps out of the car with her husband, Andrew. Johnny's cousin, David was also with the group.
"Why don't they greet me like that?". David speaks up with a joking sourness in his voice.
"Because you stink". Laura snaps back playfully. David sticks out his tongue and Laura copies the childish action.

After Johnny's funeral, the MacTavish's welcomed John and Kyle into their family, treating them as their own. It became ritual for the newly formed family to all meet up every year at four thirty on the sixth of December and visit Johnny's and Simon's graves. They all walk deeper into the graveyard, walking over to the couple's graves.
"So this was Uncle Johnny's boyfriend?". Laura's little girl, Charlotte, asks.
"Yeah". Laura replies with a small smile.
"What was he like?". Jack, Charlotte's twin, asks.
"He was... Well, Simon was Simon. He was smart... With Johnny.. He was completely different. They were perfect for each other.". Suddenly, Charlotte playfully gags, causing John and Kyle to chuckle.
"Oh really?". Kyle says with a smile, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder softly. She squeals playfully, punching his back.
"Put. Me. Down!". She orders. Kyle does as she says, saluting her as she stood.
"Yes, Ma'am!". Charlotte giggles along with Jack. Suddenly, a snowball hits the back of Kyle's head, causing snow to fall down his coat. He gasps as the cold snow hits his skin. He quickly turns around to lock eyes with John who is currently smirking. His smirk soon vanished when a snowball hits him in the side of his head. The snowball coming from Laura. Suddenly, it becomes a free for all. Everyone throwing snow at everyone. Kyle teams up with the twins though, just to give them a helping hand.

Suddenly, all snowballs stop being thrown as everyone looks over at Kyle. "What..?". He asks nervously. At once, everyone starts to pelt snowballs at him, causing him to fall to the floor, curling himself up. A few minutes later, the surprise attack ends and John walks over to him, holding his hand out.
"Up ya get, Sergeant". He grins as Kyle does. He pulls him up to his feet. They all end up sitting around and sharing stories, something else that had become a ritual. Kyle leaned up against John, shivering from the previous snowball attack. John smiles softly before removing his coat and wrapping it around Kyle.
"Thank you". Kyle's teeth chatter as he speaks. John wraps an arm around Kyle's shoulder.
"No problem, son". He rubs his arm, a small attempt to warm him up quicker.
"Oh, yeah. Johnny left a letter.. Before he died. He said after five years of his death, we could tell Kyle what he did to his toothbrush...". Laura starts talking.
"..Go on...?". Kyle sits forward, paying close attention.
"Nah. It's more fun this way". Laura grins, causing John to smile widely. Kyle falls back to John's side, a heavy sigh leaving his lips.

"I'm never gonna find out, am I?". He asks.
"Nope". Laura and John say in sync.