Haunted (A Rhett and Link fanfiction)

Chapter Fifteen

The phone call soon ended and Link left his room, seeing each of his children made a huge smile spread across his face. "Lily! Lincoln! Lando!" He ran over to them, first to his daughter, wrapping his arms around her small frame and lifting her in the air. He squeezed his eyes shut and kissed her forehead. As thin as Lily was, she was also tall, so he had to set her down. "Dad! You're back! Where were you?" Link smiled broadly at his daughter. "I am back, and Lils, truthfully, I don't really know where I was. But, I am back, and so is Rhett." Link then hugged Lincoln and Lando. "My boys! Y'all have no idea how much I've missed you! For a little while there, I was scared I'd never see you guys again, and that was awful." Link took a deep breath, pulling all of his family into his arms. "I thought I'd never be able to hold my family in my arms, to tell them I love them. That was the hardest part, the forced separation from you guys. From the people I love most.

"Having Rhett there helped, he may have even saved my life. Probably did. I have to thank him. Oh hey, speaking of Rhett, he can't find his family. Do you any of you know where they are?" Christy got a confused expression and pulled out of the hug to get Link's attention. "Sweetheart, I was just there, they are there. She hasn't left the house for a while. None of them have. I can call her now and let you talk to her. Hold on." Christy reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone. She called Jessie's number and handed the phone to Link as it rang. "Hey Christy, how are you holding up? Have you heard from Link again?"

"Jess, it's me, Link. I'm back, where are you?"

"Link? Link! You're back! Is Rhett back? Is he with you?"

"Jess, just wait a sec, please? Where are you? Are you at home right now?"

"Yes, of course I am. Why?"

"Because Rhett is at home and he said you guys aren't there. I don't think he actually made it back. Oh no." Link sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Alright, don't panic, I think I can contact him. I'll get him back to you, Jess. Just hold on a little longer, you can do this." Jessie swallowed and closed her eyes. "Alright, Link, I trust you. I'm so glad you're home and safe. C-could you come here, because I just walked into my bedroom, and I see a shadow. I think it belongs to Rhett, but he's not here." Jessie's voice filled with fear and Link immediately replyed, "Yeah, stay calm. I think... I think Rhett is partly there. Like, when we left, I'm certain we were somehow taken to another demension, and then we found a portal back. I think, he's in between the two demensions. Stay calm, Jess. I'll be there soon."

"Thanks, Link." She hung up after that and stared at the black shadow at her feet. She looked where the feet touched the ground. "Rhett? Rhett are you here, honey? Rhett?" The shadow seemed to move and she stepped back in fear as it approached her. "Jessie?" The voice was clearly Rhett's, but it was a distant echo of his voice. It was him. Link was right. "Jessie, I can't see you. The house is dark and empty, but, there are shadows. Is Barbara by you, because it looks like you and Barbara? Jessie, I'm going to come home. I'll be there soon, I promise."

Jessie closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay, Rhett, I believe you. And yeah, Barbara is here. It's so good to hear your voice again. I love you, sweetheart, stay safe. Link came up with a theory about what happened. He's gonna come help you."

"What did he say?"

"He said you two were in another demension from our own, and that maybe you're trapped between the two demensions or something like that."

"Hmm, I guess that would make the most sense. Baby, I promise I'll be back soon. I know this is hard for you, but I will be back. I won't let anything stop me from getting back to you and the boys. My life is with you, and I treasure every moment of it. You captured my heart many years ago, Jess, and you will never lose it. I love you so very much, and I miss you something awful. I'm almost back, I can feel it. I'm coming home to you, sweetheart. Just be patient for me. We can get through this together."

Jessie smiled for the first time since Rhett had disappeared. "Oh Rhett, thank you, hon. I love you too. And you know I miss you. You're right, we can get through this together. You're almost home. You're almost back to us. I can make it. You're basically back already. Thank you, that meant a lot to me. You captured my heart too, and you'll never lose mine either. I promise you that. Link is going to bring you home. I don't know how, but he said he would. And I trust him."

"I do too, he will get me home. Just stay strong for me, honey, that's all I ask. You can do this, I'm right here to help you through it all. Just wait a little longer."

"I will Rhett. Thank you."

Rhett looked at her shadow on the floor and bent over. He touched the side of her face, well, the shadow. He closed his eyes as his heart ached. Link made it home, why hadn't he? What happened? He just wanted to be home, and he was trying to be strong for Link and his family, but it got so hard sometimes and he just wanted a moment where he could be weak and let his true emotions show. But that wasn't Rhett's personality. No, he had to make sure those around him felt safe and protected. And so Rhett hid his emotions. He hid his fear and anxiety.

But as always, when emotions are repressed, they build up, and then come crashing out, even worse than they would have been before. He dreaded that moment, he dreaded letting someone see him so vulnerable, but Jessie could see every move he made, and he had a feeling that Link would soon see him and then he really couldn't let the emotions come spilling out. A distant knocking and barking filled the silence of the empty room. He heard his son's voice, filled with surprise and excitement. Locke just saw Link, which must have filled him with the hope that his own father was back. This, again, broke his heart. Oh how terriby he wanted to be back, but he wasn't. He was trapped in between demensions. How was he supposed to get out? Could Link even get to him anyway? And if he did, would Link end up trapped too? These thoughts scared Rhett, the anxiety must have been getting to him. He didn't even notice the new shadow in the room. It was taller, the figure's body was shaped differently than Jessie's. Much differently, it was Link's shadow. Link was here.

"Rhett? Rhett can you hear me, brother?"  Link's voice was laced with concern and slight fear. Rhett stood up to his great stature and looked at Link'a shadow.

"I hear you, Link."

"Are you alright?" Rhett shrugged.

"Yeah, just wanna be home. Hey, could you hug my family for me?" A small smile appeared on Link's face and he nodded.

"I will, unless I can get you outta there and you can do it yourself. I'm gonna try the mirror, tell me if anything happens." Link walked over to the mirror and extended his arm. He closed his eyes and moved it toward the mirror. An icy cold tingling sensation started creeping up his arm. Rhett watched as the hand started coming from the mirror in his version of the house. He walked over and grabbed Link's hand, causing the younger man to jump a little.

"I take it you see me, huh?"

"Yeah, hang on, I'll pull you through." Rhett held Link's arm and then the other that popped out through the portal disguised as a mirror. He began gently pulled and soon his head popped in, followed by Link's neck, torso and legs. Link was in, and fell on top of Rhett. Rhett laughed, his feelings of anxiety and fear temporarily washed away. He pushed Link off himself. "Get off, you jerk."

"Excuse me, McLaughlin, but I came in here to get you back home, now shut that furry mouth of yours or I'm leavin' ya here."

"Like you could run the channels without me." Rhett snickered and Link stood up, brushing off his clothes.

"Course, I could! I don't need your help. I'm a fully-capable grown man."

"Says the man that scared himself by holding up a sheet and convinced himself it was a ghost while his wife slept in the bed right next to him."

"Yeah, well at least I'm not a giant who's scared of heights! And it looked like a ghost, plus, I was tired and my mind was exhausted." Rhett was the first to break, his laugh came out, loud and happy. He closed his eyes, putting his hand over his stomach and leaning back as he laughed, something he had done on camera and in real life many times. His laugh, ever contagious, made Link start laughing too. Eventually, the laughter shared between the two ended and both smiled at each other.

"I missed you, Linkster."

"I missed you too, Rhett." Link smiled a closed mouth smile at Rhett, who returned it immediately. "Now, let's get you outta here and get you home. Jessie has been dying to see you."

"And I've been dying to see her too. I'm ready to go back home. Jess, I'm coming back to you, baby."