North (A Robert Downey Jr Fanfic)

"A Case of You"

Unclaimed deceased in Los Angeles county Tyler Thomas...

The light from her laptop and quiet tapping on the keyboard was enough to wake him. The sky outside was just beginning to light up with morning sun but only just barely. She was sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed, sipping a cup of coffee. He crawled towards her and kissed her temple, reading aloud the header on the webpage.
"At L.A. County Cemetery, Unclaimed Dead Await A Final Resting Place. What's this about?"
"I couldn't get back to sleep. Sorry I woke you. I have to find out what happened to him. He didn't have any family...just like me...LA County Cemetery," she tapped the screen,"I'll bet he's there. I hope he is anyway."
"He probably is. We can go there if you like, or I can have a driver take you there."
"I'd like that a lot. Thank you," she craned her neck to kiss him.
"Of course. You've gotta have your closure, babe. I have a meeting downtown tomorrow. You can come with."

Piece by piece, her closure was coming. She could feel it. Robert crawled out of bed and went to the kitchen, helping himself to cup of coffee as well. He was trying to be as quiet as possible so he wouldn't wake Penny. Something about having them there just felt right, like home, even if it wasn't his house per se. He could envision them all together in a house of their own and he hoped her visit to California was enough to convince her of the same thing.

His son and daughter had taken to Penny so quickly he knew they were in his life for a reason. It was as if Penny was destined to be a big sister and his son saw her as that straight away. The ease that they all fell into was undeniable. Hell, even auntie G was smitten with them. Robert had seen them in the garden together and the easy, relaxed connection of the two of them was plain to see. He'd heard Vanessa's musical laugh echoing from the kitchen the day before and he knew the two of them would be fast friends. Vanessa was meant to be part of his life, he knew it.

***

"I won't be in my meeting long, he'll take you to the cemetery and then come back to pick me up," Robert said, nodding to the driver as he was stepping onto the sidewalk in front of his publicist's office, downtown LA.
"Wait--" Vanessa called out. He spun around on his heels and returned to the vehicle.
"Kiss me."
He climbed back in, shut the door and pressed his lips to hers, caressing her cheek as he did. After a moment, he broke away and got out of the car again.
"I'll see you in a little bit. You look beautiful today, by the way."
"So do you. Those are my favorite glasses of yours."
He adjusted the heavy black frame of his glasses, shut the door and turned to go into the building.

"Where to, miss?"
"Boyle Heights. LA county cemetery, please."
He drove her away from the downtown area and into Boyle Heights where the Pine Hill cemetery and crematory was located. The location was an easy thirty square blocks, huge by Vanessa's standards. She wondered how she'd even begin to locate Tyler's final resting place. There was a locked gate, so the driver buzzed to be let in.
"Maybe I'll just start at the office over there," Vanessa said, pointing to a brick structure on the corner of the property.
"Sure thing, miss."

"I'll be right back. Can you just wait here?" Vanessa asked through the passenger window of the SUV. The driver nodded and put the vehicle in park as she went into the building.

There was an older, spectacled man behind the desk in a bare-bones basic reception room. There was dingy and cracked granite making up almost every surface in the room, except for the yellowed tiled floor and laminate front desk. A musty smell hung heavy in the air. Crematorium equals dingy and musty. Figures, she thought.

"Can I help you miss?" the man looked up and removed his glasses, blinked numerous times to focus on her face.
"I'm looking for an unclaimed deceased person. Hoping he's here."
"Name?"
"Mine?"
"No. The deceased," he said flatly.
"First name Tyler, last name Thomas."

He put his glasses back on and started tapping away on the keyboard in front of him. She glanced around the room, looked out the windows and wondered why she'd waited so long to come back. Los Angeles wasn't so scary. While she stood there, she pulled out her phone to text June.

Hope you and Henry are doing ok. Did you head back to Minneapolis yet?

Yep. Home now. How are you doing Nessie?

Fine, I guess. I'm in California with-- the man spoke, cutting off Vanessa's message.

"There he is! Found ya, Tyler," the man said. Vanessa's stomach flipped.
"He's here? You found him?"
"He's here alright. I need some identification from you. Who are you to mister Thomas?"
"He was my husband. Here--" she fished around in her purse and provided him with her old passport.
He typed the information in the computer, stood up and disappeared into the door next to the front desk.

Tyler. I'm here. I'm here for you.
She sent her thoughts out into the air, hoping that maybe he'd get them if his spirit was lurking around waiting for closure like her. The door opened and the man came through it, holding a small black box with a small silver plate on it. Immediately her eyes welled up with tears.

"Here he is. Thank you for coming to claim him."
"Thank you. Oh my god thank you," she whispered, taking the box from his hands. She inspected the plate on the front, it read:

Thomas, Tyler: 1980-2009

"That's him."
"Have a good day, miss."
"Thank you so much, sir," she bowed her head slightly and turned to leave.

She stepped out into the late morning sun, warm on her face and the tears started falling. She sunk to the ground, clutching the box to her chest, sobbing.
"Tyler. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry it took me so long. I'm here, Daisy is here...we might even stay for good. I miss you every day," she whispered, her tears speckling the top of the metal box.

"You ok ma'am?" a man said, standing over her. She stood up and wiped the tears from her face.
"Yeah. I'm fine, thanks," she stepped back onto the footpath towards the waiting car and the man went on to enter the building. Her driver opened the door for her and got her settled inside.
"Who was that?" he asked.
Vanessa shrugged and the driver put the car in drive and they headed back downtown.

The man outside of the office watched the black SUV pull away and off of the property. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.
"Yep. It's her," the man said into the phone.
"Are you sure?"
"Saw her face to face. It's Annie alright, from the picture. She's the one you're lookin' for."