"Hey, Ben," Ryan greeted as Carlton painfully sat down at the kitchen table. "You feeling alright, today?" Carlton gave him a small nod, but nothing more. Morgan, who was sitting next to Ben asked, "What's wrong, Grandpa?"
Carlton gave her a small smile, then said, "Just feeling a little ill, Dan--erm...I mean..." Ryan looked at him sympathetically and said, "Morgan." Carlton snapped his finger and said, "Right. Morgan."
Ryan set a plate of eggs down in front of him and said, "Eat and take your pills. I can tell these new ones are making you a little better." Carlton ignored him, but took a few bites of his food and swallowed his pills.
"Where's Dani?" He asked. Ryan told him, "Had to be at work early this morning, even though she's due in a few days now. I don't understand how she can do that." Carlton smirked as he told him, "She's her mother."
Ryan couldn't argue with that. "Morgan, go get ready for school," he told his daughter. "Ben, you'll be home alone for a few hours today. You okay with that?" Carlton nodded, but didn't look so good. Ryan looked at him oddly and asked, "You okay, there?"
Carlton just nodded again. "I'm going to go take a nap," he told him. He stood up from the table, but as soon as he did...he fell to the ground. "Ben!" Ryan quickly got down next to him and called an ambulance.
"Ben, Ben...hey, look at me," he said. "Come on, Ben, please!" Carlton's eyes wandered everywhere around the room. When he landed on Ryan, he weakly asked, "Who...who are you?" Ryan calmly said, "It's me, it's Ryan. I'm Dani's husband."
Carlton seemed incredibly confused. "Dani?" He asked. "Who's Dani?" Ryan was sure as hell glad that Dani wasn't here to hear that. "She's your daughter, Ben," he told her. Again, that just seemed to confuse him.
"Daughter? I don't have a daughter. I'm...I'm the Prime Minister, I don't have time for a family. I have to deal with this...this...this woman. American. She's my new...new assistant. Bloody hell, she's a bitch."
Ryan could hear the ambulance coming down the street as he said, "Well, I hate to break it to you, pal, but you marry that bitch." Before Carlton could ask, paramedics were rushing through the door.
They got Carlton on a gurney and rolled him into the ambulance. Ryan, in the meantime, grabbed Morgan and followed the ambulance to the hospital. He called Dani, too, who was already on her way there.
When Ryan got there, he spoke to Doctor Watts, who told him, "He had a heart attack on the way over here. The paramedics were able to sedate him, but we have him in ICU. I'm sorry, but the Alzheimer's...it's gotten him to the point where all we can do is make him comfortable."
About an hour later, Dani was rushing into the hospital and saw Ryan and Morgan in the waiting room. Ryan carefully explained everything he was told by Doctor Watts. Dani had never cried so hard in her life.
As soon as she was able, she went to his room in ICU and sat with him as he slept. She held his hand and cried as she watched him. Her father, the strongest man she has ever know, was now weak and helpless in the hospital. There was nothing more she could do.
After a few hours, he started to wake up. Dani had fallen asleep in her chair with her hand in his. When she felt him squeeze it, she practically jolted awake. "C...Cassie?" He weakly asked. Dani shook her head and said, "No, dad, it's me. It's Dani."
"Dani," he repeated. He barely had his eyes open when as he looked at her. "Dani...my baby girl." She sniffled and let a few tears fall as she told him, "Yeah, it's me. You had a little fall, but it's going to be okay."
Carlton had his eyes a little more open now and was staring at her. "Dan," he said, "you are...you are so beautiful. So much like your mother." She gave him a small smile and he continued, "I miss her. I miss her so much."
He started choking on tears now. "Oh, dad, don't cry," she begged. He let out a shaky breath and said, "But I do. Dani, I need your permission." She shook her head and asked, "Permission for what?" He squeezed her hand, then said, "Permission to be with her again."
She looked almost appalled by his question and said, "No. No, you can't. I need you here, daddy. I need you." She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it. He weakly shook his head and told her, "You don't. I've done the best that I could. I don't want to leave you, but...baby, it hurts so much to be here. I hate not remembering any of you."
Dani was sobbing now, but trying her damn best to contain it. "Dani," he continued, "I need your permission. I've needed it since the day your mother died. It's been thirty-five years since I've been with her. I need her, honey. I need her more than I need my life."
He reached up and wiped her tears away with his thumb. She held his hand against her cheek and squeezed his arm. "What will I tell Morgan?" She asked. "Why can't you stay long enough to meet your grandson?"
Carlton's eyes welled up with tears. "Tell Morgan that I love her. Tell her she's so much like her mummy and grandmother, she'll have no problem getting through life. Please tell Ryan that I am so grateful for him because he makes you so happy. As for my grandson, you tell him I stayed as long as I could and that I am so, so sorry that I couldn't meet him."
Dani nodded as her eyes were closed and cheeks were running in a river of tears. "You, my girl," he said, "I have never been so proud. I never thought I could raise you on my own, I thought I would mess up. I know I did at some points, but you turned out to be exactly like the most amazing woman I have ever met. I must have done something right."
"You did everything right," she assured. "You were the best dad a girl could ever ask for and I am so, so grateful for you. I love you so much, daddy." Carlton smiled as he told her, "I love you more than you could ever know, Pumpkin."
Painfully, she pressed the call button for the nurse, who came over in just a few minutes. Dani spoke with her alone for a few minutes and explained the situation. "Are you sure this is what you want, Mr. Carlton?" The nurse asked.
He nodded and said, "Yes. Please, do it before I forget who my daughter is again. I want to go remembering who she is." Dani took his hand and sat on the bed. The nurse grabbed Doctor Watts and a few other nurses to make sure everything went right.
"Alright, Mr. Carlton," Doctor Watts glumly said, "it'll just feel like you're falling asleep." Carlton looked into Dani's eyes as he said, "Okay. I'm ready." Doctor Watts injected something into Carlton's I.V. bag.
Dani watched as his eyes started to slowly droop. "Daddy," she cried. Carlton gave her hand one last squeeze...before it fell limp. "Dad. Daddy, please wake up." She shook Carlton's hand, but nothing. That was it.
He was gone.
She spent several more minutes holding him and crying. The nurses eventually had to make her leave so they could take him out of the room. She walked in a daze back out into the waiting room, where Morgan was sleeping peacefully on Ryan.
When Ryan saw Dani, he carefully set Morgan down, then stood up. "Well?" He eagerly asked. Dani's answer was shaking her head and starting to cry again. "Oh my God," he breathed out. "No."
He hugged her tight against him as he kept muttering, "No, no, no, no, no." Dani cried relentlessly into his shirt and held on to him for dear life.
Benedict Carlton was gone.
**
"Benedict Carlton, the Prime Minister of England from 2010 to 2013, passed away in Washington, D.C. early yesterday at the age of sixty-three. The cause of death is believed to have been affiliated with Alzheimer's, which led him to have a heart attack just six months after being diagnosed. There is no word of when the funeral will be, but the people of London are mourning, as are the loved ones of Cassandra Hansen, his wife. The Obama's sent out a statement saying how deeply saddened they were of the loss and they will be attending the funeral. Benedict Carlton is survived by his daughter Dani, her husband Ryan and their two children, Morgan Caverly and Benedict Carlton Caverly."
Dani let out a deep breath and turned off the radio. Ryan took her hand in his and held it as they drove down the road of the cemetery. When it stopped in front of where Carlton was to be buried, she almost lost it.
"It's alright," Ryan comforted. "We'll go when you're ready." She grabbed a few tissues from her purse and dabbed her eyes. "I'm ready," she told him. They both got out of the car and slowly walked up to the crowd of people surrounding a casket.
Dani looked at the casket, then looked to her mother's tombstone next to it. The flowers that were there were old and completely dead, but she felt an overwhelming amount of sadness wash over her. Those are the flowers Carlton had put there not a week ago.
When the funeral started, the priest gave his introduction, but made it short at Dani's request. When it came to other people's turn to talk, she was up first. She had everything prepared and written down, but it suddenly didn't seem like enough.
"Benedict Carlton," she started. "You all knew him as the Prime Minister of England or the New York Times's number one Best Seller. To me...he was just dad. He was such an amazing dad, I don't think anyone could ask for better. He never failed to my needs in front of his own and I remember every single thing he would do to ensure that. He was a single parent, who grieved the loss of my mother for thirty-five years. He never re-married, never had another girlfriend because he just loved her so much. Most parents like that would have a certain impact that might lead into some...not very good things."
"My dad impacted me in a way that I want to be exactly like him. I wanted to love someone the way he loved my mother. I wanted to be as smart and successful as him. If I can be half the parent he was, then I'll know I'm doing right by my kids. He asked me for permission to see my mother again and at first I didn't want to let him...but who am I to rob him of more time away from her? He was hurting for thirty-five years. To know that he is finally back with her and not in anymore pain, makes everything seem pretty okay. So...daddy...I love you so much. You did everything right when raising me and I hope I can continue to make you and mommy proud."
She kissed her hand, then shakily put it on the casket. When she sat back down, other people went up to speak. Johnny was a mess when reading his eulogy. Morgan, who had gotten a ride from Johnny and his family, went up and said a few words that didn't leave a dry eye in the house.
Once everything was over, Dani stayed back for a moment. "I'll come visit you everyday, dad," she promised. "Just like you and I would visit mom everyday, Morgan and I will do the same. I love you, daddy. Goodbye."
She waved to both headstones as she walked towards the car, then felt the wind suddenly blow into her hair. She stopped for a moment and smiled, then continued to make her way to her family.