Subj: A Dark Shadows It's a Wonderful Life conclusion
Date: 1/18/00 12:23:16 PM Central Standard Time
From: Melissa

A Dark Shadows It's a Wonderful Life

Chapter Four (conclusion)

David drove for awhile, not sure where he was going to go. All that he did know that he had to get away from his problem, his family, everything. He drove past The Blue Whale a couple times before he decided to stop.

“Hi David,” Maggie said brightly from a table with her husband, Joe.

“Hi,” he said sliding onto a stool.

“What can I get you,” Karl asked him. He ordered his usual, but doubled it, when he finished it didn’t have the effect he would have liked it too. So David ordered another, then another, Maggie and Joe looked at one another, David was the one Collins who rarely drank a lot.

“Hey David, maybe you better go home, Rachel will be worried about you,” Maggie said standing next to David before Karl poured David another drink.

David mumbled something that was unintelligible and pushed his glass forward. Karl looked at Maggie, she sighed then nodded, but she said it would be his last here tonight. When David left The Blue Whale, he couldn’t find the car key on his key chain, he gave up after awhile, then staggered off. He wondered aimlessly unaware of where he was until he found
himself looking down Widow’s Hill at the waves crashing on the rocks. Standing there David felt very small. Devlin would be able to take control of all the Collins businesses, just like he had always wanted. David was left feeling as if he had let everyone down. He looked up at the sky as if an answer, might be coming, but the sky was empty the stars seemed to be hiding.

“Maybe it would have been better for everyone if I’d never been born,” David said.

Clarence looked at Angelique, she had changed into an appropriate outfit, along with a fur coat. Thomas thought that was a little much, but she had insisted, “It’s up to you now,” Clarence told her. After she left Clarence nodded at Thomas, who left and went to another room.

He opened the door and said, “She just left.” Josette looked at Barnabas, he took her hand in his.

Back on earth David was ready to jump, when a voice behind him said, “Are you sure you want to do that?”

David turned around and saw a beautiful blonde woman. “This is none of your business,” David said.

“I know that David, but if you jump, then I’m going to have to save you, and that would mean I would have to ruin this great coat.”

When he heard her say his name he looked up at her, “How did you know my name?”

“I know everything about you, David.”

“Who are you,” David asked.

“I’m your guardian angel,” the woman said simply.

“Seriously, who are you.”

“My name’s Angelique, and I am your guardian angel.”

“What are you doing here?”

“You got your wish David, you were never born.” David looked like she had lost her mind. “I’m serious, I’m going to give you a chance to see what the world would be like if you had never been born.”

“I think I need another drink,” David said, “Come on,” he said to Angelique.

The made there way to The Blue Whale. David was sober now, and when they got into the parking lot, he saw that his car was no longer there.

“Where’s my car?”

“You don’t have one remember, you were never born.”

“Joe probably moved it to the house,” Angelique was going to tell him again, that he had no car or house for that matter, but she knew he’d realize it soon enough.

David looked up at the sign, and though it read The Blue Whale, there was something different about it. They walked inside, and were met with a cloud of cigarette smoke, there were people crowded around the pool tables, and at the bar. The place was filthy.

“There must have been some party after I left,” David commented. They made their way through people, to the bar. When they found a place to sit at the bar, the man behind the counter came over to them.

“What can I get you?”

“What would you like?”

“A brandy, please.”

“Two brandies. Where’s Maggie?”

“There’s no Maggie here.”

“She owns this place, with her husband Joe Haskell.”

The room went quiet, the bartender turned around with the empty glasses in his hands, “Maggie Evans killed herself and killed to other people.”

David couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Angelique had a strange look on her face, it was a mixture of concern and elation.

“No, she didn’t. She owns this place, and is one of the most respected people in this town. She’s never killed anyone.”

“Get out. I don’t need your kind in my place.” The man motioned to two big guys and they came over and took David and Angelique by the arms and lead them out of the bar.

“Do you mind, I don’t want my dress to wrinkle,” Angelique was saying.

David was lost to what was happening. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“I told you David, YOU WERE NEVER BORN!” Angelique stressed. “You got your wish David, you weren’t born to prevent Maggie from putting the poison on the pie, and you didn’t save Carolyn.”

“Yes I did, Carolyn’s a famous fashion designer. She’s coming home tonight with her family.”

“No David you weren’t there to save her.”

“Your wrong,” David said and ran off.

Angelique sighed, she wasn’t about to run after him, “Where is he going?” She paused as if she heard a reply, then she said, “Okay, there’s no need for that,” then she disappeared.

David was at his families mausoleum, he stood in front of it. Angelique came from behind him, he turned when her felt her hand on his shoulder, “I saved her,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry David,” she said. She followed David into the mausoleum, he stopped short when he saw the grave of Carolyn
Stoddard it said, 1951-1971. “This can’t be true,” he said. After a few moments of the silence David asked, “What about Rachel?”

Angelique looked at him, “I can’t tell you David.”

David grabbed Angelique’s shoulders, and began to shake her, “WHERE’S MY WIFE,” he shouted.

“She’s not your wife David,” she said shaking.

“Tell me where she is.”

“If I do you can never go back,” Angelique said.

“I don’t care all I want is my wife and my kids.”

“You don’t have. . . She’s at Collinwood.”

David ran out of the mausoleum, and ran up to Collinwood. He pounded on the doors.

The door opened, and a woman’s face looked out. “Yes?”

“Rachel?”

The woman looked at him half afraid, “How do you know my name?”

“What are you doing here? Are the kids here?”

“I don’t know what your talking about.”

“Where are the kids?”

“Please, I think you’d better go,” she said with fear in her voice.

“Rachel, it’s me David. I’m sorry about how I’ve been lately. You don’t know what I’ve been thro. . . ”

“Please go!”

“Rachel?”

“What’s going on here,” a man’s voice said from behind the door. The door opened all the way revealing Roger Collins. “Who are you,” he asked.

“It’s me Dad.”

“What kind of joke are you playing here? Rachel go call Sheriff Patterson.”

David ran, what was going on, why didn’t his father recognize him. He got to the end of the driveway and saw Angelique waiting for him. “You really did this?”

“Yes, David. Now you have to live with it this way, forever.”

David said nothing, he walked off, and saw things that he missed the first time, Collinsport was no longer Collinsport, Burke was in control. And it was all his fault. He wandered around in the shadows, until he came back to Widow’s Hill, back to the spot where he lost his life. If he had the chance he’d want to go back. He had changed his mind, he wanted to live, he wanted to be David Collins.

“Please God, I want to live again, I want to live.”

Snow began to fall lightly on the ground once again, then David thought he could smell Jasmine, he turned around and saw another woman, just as beautiful as Angelique had been.

“David, you can go back, I’m sorry what Angelique said, she just can’t change, go home David, Rachel’s waiting for you.”

David ran home, the house was lit up, but when he walked inside it was empty, he ran through the house looking in room after room, but no one was there.

As he walked down the stairs he saw Burke Devlin waiting at the by the fireplace. “Hello Devlin,” David said.

“David. It looks like I’m going to be owning this town.”

“I don’t care. You haven’t won. You lost Vicki that’s why you hate us so much. You just hate it that she chose my Dad over you.”

Burke couldn’t say a word. The door opened and Roger, Vicki, his Aunt Elizabeth, and his children came in carrying presents. Quentin came in behind them carrying a large wicker basket. “David I’m sorry I gambled the money away. I’m going to quit, but I’ll need your help,” he said, and took out some money and threw it into the basket.

“David,” Elizabeth said, “I am so proud of you, you took over the family business, when you had dreams of your own, and you did a wonderful job,” she also dropped some money into the basket. The front door opened and the people of Collinsport came in one by one, some staying others leaving as they came, all putting money into the basket, saying things to David. Then there was a shout from the back of the room, and a hand waved. The crowd parted and Rachel ran into David’s arms.

“Isn’t it wonderful? Quentin came over after you left and he told me what happened. We went around and got all your friends to help.”

“I love you Rachel,” David said kissing her.

“David,” a familiar voice said from the front door, everyone moved and Carolyn and her family came through the crowd. “Rachel called me and I stopped by Amy’s play before we left. She gave me this letter to read. David, Thank you so much for all your support. It’s my first opening night on Broadway. I wish I could be there, I was going to send tickets to
you and your family, but when I heard about Mr. Devlin. I thought this would be better. Love, Amy

“Thank you all. I’m so glad that I can count you all as friends,” he turned to Burke, “I’m sorry, but it looks like the Collins family is going to stay. If you don’t like it maybe you should just leave.”

Burke didn’t say anything, he just walked away.

“Merry Christmas everyone,” David said. Maggie poured drinks for everyone, David’s eyes moved around the room at all his friends and family, then his eyes caught a portrait hanging above the fireplace, he wondered how he missed it. It was the woman who told him to go back home.

“Honey, where did that come from?”

“Your aunt found it in the attic, she thought it would look nice over the fireplace.”

“Who is it?”

“Josette duPrés Collins, she’s one of your ancestor.”

“Merry Christmas Rachel.”

“Merry Christmas David.”

Epilogue

“Angelique, you’ve proven yourself unworthy once again,” Clarence said. “Josette, thank you for helping David go back. Barnabas is waiting, I suppose.”

“Yes, Merry Christmas Clarence.” Josette left, but before she left the room she turned around and looked back at Angelique, and said, “Merry Christmas.”

Once she was gone Clarence turned to Angelique, “If you hadn’t told him that you might have had a chance with Barnabas.”

Angelique began to cry, Clarence left her alone, she would learn, and perhaps she’d change next time.”

The End

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.