FicWad

It was about 2 a.m. that morning when Donna came walking down the stairs, trying to avoid making noise. She looked up and noticed that the kitchen light was on and caught the stench of stale coffee. She slowly made her way down the rest of the stairs and turned into the kitchen. She leaned up against the doorway, just watching her eldest son in what seemed to be a very interesting battle between sleep and commitment.

‘You can do this,’ Gerard told himself. He had all the bills and expenses and papers lined out before him in a messy array of self-doubt. They seemed to overflow the table, and his heart, filling him with dread. How could he ever pay these off? Brian would surely scream when knew, and be super pissed at him. He knew that he was taking this too far, and he was looking way into this, but he needed to do this. He had to.
“You look a little busy,” Donna said from her silent perch at the doorway.
Gerard jumped at the sound of her voice. “Oh, hey mom,” he greeted her in a sleepy voice.
“Why aren’t you in bed, sweetheart?” she asked, crossing the white linoleum floor, taking a chair next to him at the table.
Even though he was reluctant to leave Avenue’s warm embrace, he did. “I’m figuring stuff mom.”
“Oh?” she asked, scanning over the papers on the table.
“Yeah, for Avenue.”
“That is nice of you sweetie.”
“She’s never had a good Christmas in her life, and I want this one to matter. To mean something, something important.”
“What has happened before?” Donna wanted to know. Avenue was one of the sweetest girls that she had ever laid eyes on, or at least one of the sweetest ones that Gerard ever brought home.
“Her parents died in a car accident on Christmas Eve when she was five. Imagine how she feels. That would really suck. I’m trying to get all this money stuff figured out. I’m planning something pretty special for her this Christmas.”
“Gerard, you are such a good man.” She said, admiring her son. “Tell me, what are you getting her?” His mother asked, with sudden curiosity. It wasn’t often her boys did something romantic.
“Well, mom, if I told you, how could I trust you to keep your mouth shut?” He asked back playfully. He knew his mother would never say anything. She kept secrets like a mouse collected lint. Her lips would be sealed.
“Gerard Arthur Way! How could you even begin to say that? Like that time when you were eight and you accidentally killed Mikey’s pet gerbil while he was staying over at his friend’s house! How vouched for you then? Me! Does he still know? No! How about that time last year when you broke Frankie’s new PSP? Did I tell on you? No! So spill Mr. Way!” She said, raising her voice.
“Well,” he said sighing. “I’m figuring these expenses and my income for another 3 years, so I can buy us a house. I’ve already bought and engagement ring and…” he added, holding up a piece of paper. “This.”
“What is it?” Donna asked, taking the document from his hand. She looked over all the long words and the many zeros that followed after many numbers. “Gerard…” she whispered, amazed. “How did… usually people…”
“I know,” he said, smiling proudly. “She is going to love it!”
“Gerard,” she said, leaning over the table. “An engagement ring? And this?”
“The ring is going to be one of the presents she opens up on Christmas day. And, of course, that.”
“Does she know?”
“Of course not, mom. It’s a surprise. I’m pretty sure you don’t just get people things that will change their lives without doing it in the form of a surprise.”
“Gerard,” she said, a smile forming on her tired face. “This makes me so happy. I cannot even begin to describe it.”
“I told you, mom. This is the most important descion I’ve ever had to make.”

“A what?” Frank asked. His jaw was practically on the floor. He and Gerard were seated in the Way family living room. Avenue and Donna were out doing something else, shopping, they said.
“So she can walk down the isle, of course,” Gerard remarked.
“Does this cost a lot of money?”
“Anything with the word ‘animatronics’ in it usually isn’t cheap.”
“Have you gone over this budget with Brian?”
“Hell no! Why would I do that?”
“Because it is, well, I don’t know, let’s say, important!”
“What’s important?” Mikey asked, entering the living room, a fresh cup of coffee in his hands.
“Gerard is getting Avenue an anamatoronic leg for Christmas… Try saying that 10 times fast… wicked hard.”
“Really? Gerard, that’s amazing! I mean, so she will be able to walk again?” Mikey was excited now, or maybe I was just from the caffeine. He wasn’t sure.
“Yup. This is going to be awesome! Imagine, as she walks down the isle! With me! I’ve never seen her walk! Imagine all the things we could do then! Maybe I will take up jogging. She runs a lot you know. Then she can continue to stay in college! And maybe we can get a dog, and walk him. Live not too far from a park, so we can go for walks around it, hand-in-hand, stand eye-to-eye…”
“Gee, if you hadn’t noticed, the girl is like 6 feet tall, so I assume the whole eye-to-eye thing is a little out of the picture,” Frankie teased.
“I’d be closer than you ever will!” Gee teased back.
Before Frank got to carried away, Mikey jumped in. “That’s awesome Gerard. So where is she getting this done at? Not back in Kansas, I hope. That place fucked her up bad.”
“I got her into the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. That place is like the shit of all medical facilities.”
“I bet it costs one hell of a lot of money,” Mikey remarked, sipping his coffee.
“Yeah, about a million dollars just to have the operation done. And like another million just for the leg. But, it’s worth it. I don’t have a lot to pay for that hospital in Kansas, just like some of the medicine and her room. I didn’t have to pay for the second operation and they didn’t get to put the titanium piece in. So, it’s basically the same thing. They are going to leave the rod in her, because it is working more effectively then they had previously thought.”
“You’ve got this all planned, don’t ya Gee?” Mikey asked, smiling at his older brother. He always had the answer, the solution, even growing up, and if he didn’t, he would bust his ass to find out. He was so smart, so thoughtful. And Mikey loved the hell out of him.
“I don’t want her to suffer anymore. I can see it in her eyes, when she talks about running, whenever she thinks about her life before she saved me. Sometimes, I think she regrets jumping in front of that bullet. I…”
“Gee, no, she doesn’t think…” Frankie began before Gerard cut him off.
“No, I think she does. That’s why I have to do this, guys. She can let it go and be free of her pain. So she can live again. Like you said, guys, if someone told you that you couldn’t play guitar anymore you would be pissed, that’s exactly how she feels about walking. That’s why I have to do this.”
They both nodded their heads. They would stand behind Gerard through it all, anything. He was so important in their lives.
“Okay, Gerard,” Frank said. “We both understand,” nodding his head toward Mikey. “This is something you are passionate about, so we will let it be.”
“Thanks you two. You guys are my saviors,” he stood up and gave them both a hug. “Now, I have to go call the clinic to get an exact date. Wish me luck!”
“Luck!” the two said in unison, watching the eldest band member exit the room with a look of pure happiness on his face.
“Say a prayer for him,” Mikey said to Frank.
“What? Why?”
“I’m afraid he might get his heart broke,” Mikey said truthfully. “As much as I don’t want to see it happen, I think it is going to. Avenue is a fragile girl.”
“She’s in a fragile state! How the hell is she supposed to feel when you have not only your life ripped from you, but your spine and your scholarship? Of course she is going to be fucking fragile!” Frankie stood up and looked down at his friend with disgust.
“Frankie, don’t hate me, just try to understand. I’m pretty good at reading people, and I just think…”
“You don’t think, Mikey. Gerard is about to make a girl happy, and he should. She deserves it.”
Mikey gave up. “You’re right, Frankie. You are absolutely right.”
“Good, now let’s go get some food at McDonald’s. It’s almost noon and I haven’t eaten all day.”
Even though Mikey was trying to listen to his friend, he couldn’t hold back this sense of dread he had rising in the back of his throat, like when you try to dry swallow a large pill. Something just didn’t feel right. He shook it off. ‘Forget it,’ he told himself as he put on his jacket and stepped onto the porch. There was a gray overcast and the snow was falling lightly. ‘Forget it,’ he thought once more, entering the passenger side of the door. ‘Forget it,’ and forget it he did.