Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

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Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by MickLifeCrisis »

*Bumping for Memorial Day 2022*

Disclaimer: I do not own Moonlight or any of its characters.
Characters: Mick and Beth
Rating: G
A/N: This is modeled after the Memorial Day ceremonies in my small town.
Many thanks to my terrific beta, PNWgal.


Mick’s Memorial Day


“Mick, want to have an evening picnic on the beach tomorrow, for the holiday? You can sit by a campfire, can’t you?”

“Sure I can. That would be fun. But first, will you go with me some place in the morning? I’ll pick you up at 8:30.” He silenced her inevitable questions with a kiss, then pulled back and smiled. “No questions. I’ll get freezer time later, and yes, jeans are okay.”

As they headed out of town the following morning, they talked about nothing in particular. Beth noticed however, that the longer they drove, the quieter Mick became.

“Hey, is anything wrong?”

Hearing the concern in her voice, Mick smiled and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “No, I’m fine. I just haven’t done this in a very long time, is all.”

“Done what?”

Mick smiled again, but didn’t answer. After they had been driving almost an hour and a half, Mick exited off the highway and headed into a small town. He pulled the car into the local cemetery where the Memorial Day ceremony was already underway. Mick helped Beth out of the car, and skirting the crowd, they wandered off among the gravestones. The local veterans’ group had stuck small flags in the ground at the grave of each veteran, many of which also had floral arrangements or wreaths as well. There was no wind; all the flags were still.

The sound of jets made them both pause and look up. “Watch, Beth. It’s the missing man formation.” Four military jets in the shape of a V were flying low over the cemetery, when suddenly one of them pulled up and away, while the remaining ones continued straight and level till they were all out of sight.

“What happened to that one plane? Why did it fly away like that?”

“It’s to honor the memory of a fallen soldier. That jet represents the missing man.”

They continued walking. Beth followed Mick wordlessly, wondering who he was looking for. Was his family buried here? Finally Mick stopped in front of a group of several stones. Beth came up behind him and noticed the names. They all said “Fordham” on them. Mick was standing in front of the most recent stone: Ray and Lilah’s. There was a beautiful arrangement of carnations, with red, white and blue ribbons, as well as the small American flag that marked the resting place of a veteran.

“We grew up in LA, but Ray’s family was from this town. His parents, grandparents and great-grandparents are all buried here, too.” He looked at the flower arrangement as he explained. “Looks like Robert has already been here.” Beth thought Mick might want some privacy, and started to back away quietly. Mick grabbed her hand. “Don’t leave, please. I want you here with me, if that’s okay.”

“Of course, Mick, if that’s what you want.” She gave him a warm smile, noticing the sadness in his eyes.

Mick squatted down. “Hey, Buddy,” he said softly, straightening a few flowers that didn’t need straightening. “I’m sorry I haven’t come before. I…I didn’t know what to say. I’ve always assumed that once we cross over to the other side, there are no more secrets. So you know what I am, and how I got this way, and also…” Mick’s voice cracked a little. “And also what I did. You have to know, we didn’t plan it. It just happened. I was helping her around the house, taking care of her like you asked me to. We both missed you so much. It…it made us feel connected to you, in a way.”

Mick stood up, and continued addressing the headstone. “When we heard you were alive, Lilah was overjoyed. I felt I had betrayed your trust, and so I made myself scarce. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t think I could bear to be around the both of you, knowing what I had done. I was falling in love with her, and I felt guilty about it. I believed it was Lilah’s place to decide if and when to tell you anything. I figured if you wanted to talk to me, you would find me.”

Mick glanced around the cemetery for a minute, composing himself. He could hear the speeches still going on over at the ceremony. “Since I never heard from you, I decided Lilah must have told you what happened, and you wanted nothing to do with me. I’m sorry for hurting you. You were my best friend. You saved my life more than once. We could have both used a friend during those years we first got back. And I blew it. And then, well, after Coraline, I lost all my friends. But you know that, too.”

Beth stood by Mick’s side, tears slipping down her cheeks. Mick grabbed her hand, and held it tight. “Anyway, I know it’s decades too late, but I wanted to apologize, and ask your forgiveness.” They both silently stared at the stone, and suddenly, the little flag fluttered. Beth hadn’t felt a breeze, though. She glanced at the flag on Ray’s father’s grave. It was perfectly still. She looked back at Ray’s. It fluttered again.

Mick heaved a sigh of relief. Beth could tell he felt a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Ray had forgiven him.

Mick smiled now, and continued talking to Ray with a lighter voice. “Hey, I met Robert. I didn’t even know you had a son, or a grandson! Jacob is a fine boy. You and Lilah should be very proud of them. Oh, and this is Beth. She is the love of my life.” He smiled at Beth, and she blushed. Mick turned back to Ray. “Thank you, Ray. Give my best to Lilah. You both will always be special to me.”

They walked away, hand in hand, till they came upon the ceremony. They stood under a tree on the outskirts. Mick gave a nod to a man in his 40’s also under the tree. They recognized each other as kindred souls, and the man nodded back. They turned their attention to the ceremony.

“And now,” the mayor announced, “our top male student will recite In Flanders Field, followed by the response We Shall Keep the Faith from our top female student.” A nervous young high school senior stepped to the podium:

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.


The crowd was completely silent. Beth had noticed out of the corner of her eye Mick silently mouthing the words to the poem. A young woman then moved to the podium and began to speak:

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.


Beth slipped her arm through Mick’s as they watched the laying of the wreaths, one for each of the wars. They noticed the man beside them under the tree suddenly stand a little straighter when the wreath for World War I was laid. Mick himself stood a little taller when they laid the one for World War II.

After the last wreath had been presented and laid, a trumpet player from the high school band stepped forward and began to play Taps. The notes were clean and crisp and hung in the air, a final testament to the men who’d given their lives for their country. As the final note faded away, Beth made to leave. Mick held her back, and whispered, “Wait. There’s the echo.” And suddenly Taps was heard again, from off in the distance, the trumpet player out of sight.

Mick and the other vampire under the tree nodded at each other, and they each walked their separate ways. Beth still had her arm in Mick’s. “That was a very moving ceremony, Mick. Thank you for bringing me.” She squeezed his arm. “And I think Ray was glad you came, too.” Mick untangled his arm from Beth’s and wrapped it around her shoulders instead, pulling her in tight to him. He kissed the top of her head.

“Yes, I think he was.”



The End



In Flanders Field, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD, Canadian Army, May 1915
We Shall Keep the Faith, by Moina Michael, November 1918
Last edited by MickLifeCrisis on Fri May 27, 2022 6:44 pm, edited 10 times in total.
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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by lorig »

I liked it so much I am commenting twice!! Well done my friend. :hankie: <------I had to borrow his tissue. So beautiful. :hug:
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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by NocturneInCMoll »

That was lovely, MickLife. :clapping:
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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by MickLifeCrisis »

Thank you, NocturneInCMoll! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :hug:

Lorig, aren't you a sweetie to comment on both boards! Good thing the little smilie guy had some extra tissues for you. :hug:
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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by helloeeze »

Bittersweet story. Time for reflection with our favorite vampire. There is so much loss but the vampires go on. I'm glad Mick has someone to nod to and someone to put his arm around.
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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by mitzie »

Very moving and beautiful!!!! :hankie: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :thumbs: :groupwave: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :thud: :thud: :notworthy: :heart:


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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by francis »

Lovely and moving, MLC. I love the poem In Flanders Fields. My granduncle died there. The battle of the bulge was not 100 km away from here.
In a way the memorial was for Mick also, he's a veteran too, and lost so much in war, most of all he lost a friend, under circumstances that must have hurt even more than if Ray had died.
I especially love that he wants Beth to be with him, that he doesn't feel the need to hide his past from her.
Thank you. :heart:
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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by redwinter101 »

This is so lovely, MLC - poignant, touching, heartfelt.

*sniffle*

I always felt that losing Ray was a terrible wrench for Mick - and one of the things that propelled him on the path to Coraline - and I love you for giving him a reconciliation with his oldest friend.

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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by coco »

Oh MLC :hankie:
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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by MickLifeCrisis »

Thank you, helloeeze. "So much loss but the vampires go on." How true. :Mickangel:

Mitzie and Coco, glad you enjoyed it. At least Coco, I think you enjoyed it. (MLC passes out tissues.) :comfort:

Francis, I'm glad this had a personal ring for you. I agree losing Ray's friendship in the way he did was surely harder on Mick than if Ray had died in the war.

Thanks, Red! The whole Jacob kidnapping brought the suppressed memories of Ray and Lilah to the forefront for Mick, and he knew he needed to face them and ask forgiveness. (And *I* made you cry? I'm touched. And maybe just a teeny bit gleeful. Payback, my friend! :rose: )

Thank you all for reading and commenting! :hug:
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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by coco »

MickLifeCrisis wrote:
Mitzie and Coco, glad you enjoyed it. At least Coco, I think you enjoyed it. (MLC passes out tissues.) :comfort:
MLC I absolutely adored it. :hug:
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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by PNWgal »

MLC, I was reaching for a tissue before I got through "Hey Buddy..." when I did a read-through of it the first time. This is just so beautifully heart-tugging. What a burden for Mick to carry all these years and what a relief for him to finally ask Ray's forgiveness - and to receive it.
Beth slipped her arm through Mick’s as they watched the laying of the wreaths, one for each of the wars. They noticed the man beside them under the tree suddenly stand a little straighter when the wreath for World War I was laid. Mick himself stood a little taller when they laid the one for World War II.
I just really loved this, MLC. Both had good reason to be proud of their service to their country.

Thank you for sharing this - it was just so lovely... :hug:
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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

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MickLifeCrisis wrote:(And *I* made you cry? I'm touched. And maybe just a teeny bit gleeful. Payback, my friend! :rose: )
Yeah, yeah, I guess I deserved that...

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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

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redwinter101 wrote:
MickLifeCrisis wrote:(And *I* made you cry? I'm touched. And maybe just a teeny bit gleeful. Payback, my friend! :rose: )
Yeah, yeah, I guess I deserved that...

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Re: Mick's Memorial Day (One-shot, Rated G)

Post by MickLifeCrisis »

PNWgal wrote:MLC, I was reaching for a tissue before I got through "Hey Buddy..." when I did a read-through of it the first time. This is just so beautifully heart-tugging. What a burden for Mick to carry all these years and what a relief for him to finally ask Ray's forgiveness - and to receive it.
Beth slipped her arm through Mick’s as they watched the laying of the wreaths, one for each of the wars. They noticed the man beside them under the tree suddenly stand a little straighter when the wreath for World War I was laid. Mick himself stood a little taller when they laid the one for World War II.
I just really loved this, MLC. Both had good reason to be proud of their service to their country.

Thank you for sharing this - it was just so lovely... :hug:
I couldn't have done it without you! :rose: :hug:
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