Summary: Final Part of Undertaker has a new guest in his shop a young woman who had drowned in the lake.
A/N: This is the 5th and final part of this series. I hope you all enjoy it. :). Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
The next morning starts normal, well as normal as their morning can be. For the first time since she first arrived in his shop Undertaker was actively avoiding her. He needed time to work through his feelings but he also needed to find the final missing clues to who she is.
“(Nickname) dear.” he calls out.
“What is with that name?” She asks, walking to the front of the shop to meet him.
“No it’s fine…” She trails off lost in thought. “I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before.”
“I have errands to run today. Will you be fine here on your own?”
“That’s a strange thing for you to ask. You leave me here on my own all the time.”
She was right. After the first few times he never asked he would simply inform her of when he would be going out.
“Is something bothering you?” She asks.
“Of course not. I should be going now.” He says, with a wave as he leaves.
As Undertaker walks through the streets he feels a little ridiculous. She was just a human woman and eventually she will depart from this world of the living and leave him as well.
When Undertaker returns to the shop he can hear the tell tale sign of wood being carved. He has to wait for the contacts he reached out to to return with the information he seeks. He walks quietly to the backroom and sees her completely focused on the piece of wood on the table. He could watch her for ages. He slowly approaches, watching as she holds a chisel in hand hammer in another going along the pre drawn line.
“So beautiful..” he whispers into her ear.
The sudden sound startles her and she jolts knicking the wood in an unexpected place. Furrowing her brow and rubbing her hand over the offending mark.
“Apologies my dear. I did not intend to startle you.”
“It’s okay. I can fix it.”
“How about you take a break from the carving for now and try something new.” He suggests.
“Perhaps you can assist with preparing a guest.”
She gathers the carving tools to put them aside before moving the wooden piece she had working on, propping it up against the wall. Undertakers brings in a large leather case holding the supplies needed for the procedure. He opens the case removing the scalpels, forceps, injector needles, pumps and draining devices, setting them aside on a tray. He then leaves to retrieve their guest. She waits impatiently, happy to finally get the chance to show him what she is capable of. Undertaker wheels in the guest that they will be working on.
“Come along dear, let’s begin.” He gestures for her to join him. She walks to stand next to him.
“No no, you will be performing this time and I will assist you.” he says while grabbing her by the waist and ushering her in front of him. “All of the prep work has been done already, you will be carrying out the embalming process. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Yes!” she exclaimed excitedly.
She reaches to grab a scalpel and forceps.
“You need to explain your process as you work dear.”
“Yes of course. I’m going to begin by making an incision at the carotid artery and jugular vein?” She says hesitantly, nerves getting to her.
“Are you asking or telling dearie?”
“Telling.” She says firmly. She brings the scalpel to the neck of their guest pressing and making the incision. She sets the scalpel aside and reaches for the forceps but the Undertaker has them in his hand.
“I need those.” She says, looking over her shoulder at him.
“Yes of course. Hear you are dearie.” he says, handing them to her letting his hand linger on hers. She inserts the forceps opening the incision. “What do you do now?” Undertaker asks against her ear.
“I raise the artery and vein for better view and attach the arterial tube and lead embalming fluid into the artery.”
He watches closely, not moving away. He can predict her movements and adjust himself only when necessary.
“And now the injection of fluid displaces the blood and the drain tube ejects blood from the vein.”
“Very good. You’ve learned a considerable amount in your time here.”
She turns to face him, a proud smile on her face.
“I truly do enjoy having you here with me.” He says moving a piece of loose hair out of her face.
“I suppose that is a good thing. It would be terrible if you have grown tired of me.”
“I will never tire of you.”
They hold each other's gaze for a moment longer. “I believe that we should get back to our guest and begin with the cavity now.”
She turns her attention back to their guest before reaching for the scalpel again.
“For cavity embalming a horizontal incision needs to be made..” as she begins to press into the flesh. Undertaker presses himself closer to her, taking a hold of her hand that is holding the scalpel.
“You are too high up. This incision needs to lower on the abdomen near the naval.” He says.
Moving her hand along with his own, he shows her where she should begin cutting but even then he doesn’t move away. Keeping his hand placed gently on hers moving along with her own movements. When the incision is complete he takes the scalpel from her, setting it aside.
“Lastly, I will insert the trocar into the cavity to puncture the organs and fill them with embalming fluid.”
“That would be correct dear.”
Undertaker watches as she completes the procedure. It takes a bit of time for the bodily fluid to drain while the embalming fluid replaces it so it is a good time for them to take a break.
“Alright dearie. Let's have some tea. We can come back to this later.”
After their tea break (C/N) went back to the guest, she removed all of the tools and equipment, setting them to the side for cleaning and sanitizing before starting sutures. She focuses diligently sewing in perfectly precise rows of sutures.
“Breathtaking…” Undertaker whispers to himself observing her work.”
“Your work is exceptional.”
“Thank you sir . High compliments coming from you.”
A few days pass before Undertaker hears from his contact. They bring him some paperwork about who exactly she was before and perhaps he can finally piece together what happened. The page reads (F/N, L/N) Born xx-xx-1817 Death xx-xx-1838. There was family information, not too much and not that he cared. Her only other living relative is the woman who would have been her younger sister that he met at the funeral recently. Really the only reason he was able to gather this information. The most important information he found was her supposed death date. It was a date that meant a great deal to him as well. It was the date he freed himself from the shackles of being a grim reaper. He remembers that day vividly. He fought hard to escape and laid waste in the aftermath of the havoc. He had been planning his departure for quite some time and on that day he had no intention of being stopped. But in the end although his skin left marred with scars he was free. Aside from the scars and his death scythe the Undertaker had in his possession one last memento from his time as a grim reaper. He doesn’t know why he kept it; he hadn't even taken it with him intentionally. Rushes up to his bedroom and rummages through a trunk until he finds it. Sitting on the ground next to the open trunk, ledger in hand, it is his old soul retrieval list.
That day, he had no intention of retrieving any souls and most of the pages had been lost in the scuffle. But when he opened it just one page remained. Although wearing with time it was still legible. A photo showing her beautiful smile, followed by name, DOB, expected date of death and lastly remarks on her expected death. The expected date of death and cause of death in the remarks both have a strike through them with no additional information. And there was never any updated death information.
Undertaker was left in disbelief that he was actually the cause of her state. “I can’t believe she was actually right.” He laughs to himself, thinking of when she said that perhaps the reason she was still amongst the living was because her soul had just never been retireved.
“Who was right?” He hears her ask, coming over to see what he was doing.
“Sit with me, won’t you dearie.” He pats the floor next to him.
She comes to sit beside him. And he brings a hand up to cup her face, gently rubbing his thumb over her cheek.”
“I have something of great importance to share with you.”
Although unable to see his face in its entirety she has learned over time how to read even the slightest changes in his expression.
“There is something bothering you.” She says matter of factly.”
He takes a moment and leans forward to capture her lips. He pulls back to see her completely flustered face and can’t help but break out in a fit of laughter.
“Oh you’re terrible.” She says, swatting at him before moving to leave.
He reaches out to keep her from leaving. “My apologies. But your reaction was just too hilarious to not laugh.”
He tilts his head back pushing the hair from his face. She was in awe seeing his entire face for the first time. Getting closer she runs her fingers along the scar covering his face and is even more surprised when he opens his eyes to look down at her. She is left mesmerized, not breaking eye contact.
“If I asked you, would you stay here with me?”
With a large smile and no hesitation, “Of course I will.”
“You asked no questions, You shouldn’t agree so precariously just for my sake.”
“Are you blind? After all this time… really… have you not noticed.” She says with a huff, sitting back to look at him. “Is it not obvious?”
“No, it is not obvious. Please inform me of what I am missing” He says feigning ignorance.
“I am here with you because this is where I want to be.”
“Even if you could find the truth.”
“Are you not the one who said it was for the best that I stay here? That a ‘dead’ person walking about would not be well received. What good would finding out the truth do? Where really could I go?.”
“So if I told you that I found out who you really are, you wouldn’t want to know.”
“I know who I am, the past holds nothing of importance to me now. You are stuck with me.”
Undertaker sits up to bring himself closer to her. “ So you would choose to spend your life in a place like this?”
“So long as you are here with me.”
Undertaker grabs her to bring her closer to him and presses his lips to hers once again. When she wraps her arms around his shoulders he is quick to deepen the kiss, embracing her firmly holding her to him.
