Hero--A Loving Tribute to the Memory of Drake Hogestyn

Chapter One

In this story, John Black has decided to retire and spend the rest of his life enjoying time with his family, but his grandson is attacked, so John decides to go on one last mission to bring down the assailants. What unfolds depicts the author's idea of what could have been the last storyline for our beloved hero, had he been able to have one. It portrays the final days of John's life, as well as his death, and should be read with that in mind. It also continues the timeline of two previous stories, Whispers in the Dark and Just a Matter of Time and follows what the characters were doing after those stories ended, not the current storyline. Finally, this story was written with love and respect to the memory of Drake Hogestyn, who was an amazingly talented actor and, by all accounts, a wonderful human being. It is my hope that this story honors him and his legacy to Days of Our Lives. Please read it with discretion, and only as you are comfortable doing so.

Chapter One

Marlena awoke one lazy Sunday morning wrapped in John's arms. That in itself was not unusual, and she relished the fact that she was lucky to be able to awaken every day that way. On this morning however, as she stretched against him and wrapped her leg over his, she opened her eyes to see that he was already awake, staring intently at the ceiling. When he felt her body move against him, he smiled instantly and turned his gaze towards her as a soft smile spread across his face. "Good morning, my love," he said gently as he placed a tender kiss on her forehead, and his arms enveloped her tightly.

She responded in kind, pressing herself against him. "Mmmm.....good morning my darling. Did you sleep alright?"

"Like a baby," he said.

"That's good," she replied, raising herself onto his chest a bit so she could look into his eyes. "What were you thinking about just now?"

"Oh, nothing really." John wasn't sure yet about his idea, or how she would take it, and hoped she might just let it go for now until he'd figured out how to talk to her about it. "Just how we don't have to be anywhere for a few hours...." He reached around her and pulled her all the way onto him, kissing her deeply.

She met his kiss with the same passion but could tell he was trying to divert her attention, which of course made her more curious. "Tell me," she said as she nibbled on his ear.

"Tell you what? Oh, do you want me to make up a story?" He grinned at the thought of playing games with her in bed. It was one of his favorite pastimes.

She knew he was teasing her, but also that he was trying to put her off. She began to tickle him as she said, "Tell me what you were thinking about when I woke up!"

He tried to get away, but he was pinned underneath her and couldn't get to her hands. She knew the only places he was ticklish, and that being tickled was one of his only weaknesses. "Ok! Ok! I give! You win!" he answered breathlessly.

She stopped and slid off his chest to lie on her side facing him, propping her head with her bent arm and looking at him expectantly. "Well?" she said, when he was not forthcoming.

He didn't want to tell her what he was thinking in case it ended up not happening. She had been not-so-secretly hoping for this for a while, and he had gone back on his word about it in the past, so he wanted to be sure before bringing it up and possibly disappointing her again.

Finally, he took a deep breath, turned onto his side towards her, and said, "I think I might be ready to hand off Black Patch to Steve completely."

She looked at him for a moment, knowing he had talked about retirement before, and knowing how unsuccessful he had been at it. She knew he was never the type of person to sit at home and watch baseball games forever, and she didn't want to be married to someone like that anyway. But there was no denying that they were getting older now, and the escapades they'd been on had been more than sufficient to provide all the excitement in their life that they would ever need or want. She worried, however, that he would not be happy just living a "normal" life, a "boring" life, or one without intrigue or adventure. Finally, she said, "But you've tried that before, John. What makes now any different?"

He shrugged a bit and shook his head slowly, saying, "I don't know, Doc. I mean, the firm is doing well. Steve and I are having a good time together. It's still interesting for the most part."

"And those are reasons you want to retire?" she asked with a quizzical look.

He chuckled a bit and said, "No, of course not. But we've done so much in our lives, and had so much done to us, it just seems like maybe it's time we focused on us and our family. You've reduced your caseload a lot, so, why shouldn't I?"

"Yes, but John, I have a good reason for reducing my caseload." Marlena had worked hard on her own mental health after suffering from PTSD earlier in the year, and lowering her workload had helped tremendously.

"And after what I went through after that, it only makes sense that I should consider doing the same thing." John's health scare had put things a bit more into perspective for him as well.

Marlena really wanted to believe him, and she had to admit that she had been thinking some of the same things occasionally as well. But she didn't want him to stop being who he was, and she certainly didn't want him to stop just because of her. She knew her needs would factor into things, because she was his wife and he valued her feelings, but ultimately, he had to make this decision for himself. "Well, take some time with it and be sure before you go Crossing the Rubicon."

John smiled at her, loving her even more because of her unfailing support of him. He knew she wanted to spend more time with him and their family. And truth be told, he wanted more time with her. He'd been the hero many times over in his life and was glad he'd been able to help those he loved. He was also proud of the life and family they'd built together. He realized finally that he was now content just to be her husband and hold her hand for the remainder of their days.

"Hmmmm....Crossing the Rubicon, eh? That sounds like a good start to a story."