Work Text:
A movie to remember
by Ceindreadh
Ducky was well aware of the attention he was attracting as he stood with his mother in the queue for tickets. But he was well used to it. His mother had always tended to attract attention, no matter where she went. Sadly though it was frequently attention of the "Who the devil let that crazy woman in here" type. In her earlier years however, it had been a different matter, at least judging by the family photograph albums. She had been a striking woman in her youth, and while age might have tempered her beauty somewhat, it had done little to dull her restless spirit.
Some of Ducky's fondest memories of his childhood had been of going to the movies with her, seeing her chat with the cigarette girls and flirt with the ushers. It had been their special treat, a matinee movie, followed by an ice cream tea.
As he'd grown up, live action thrillers had replaced Disney animations. Musicals had given way to Science Fiction. Whatever was playing at their local movie theatre, they would watch, with varying levels of satisfaction, but always enjoying the time spent together.
When Ducky went off to study medicine, of necessity their excursions were curtailed. But every time he came home for a weekend, he made a point of taking his mother to whatever show was on, as often as he could afford it on a medical student's stipend.
As the years went past however, their trips to the cinema became few and far between. Much as Ducky loved his mother, bringing her to the movie theatre had become something of an ordeal. It wasn't her just ever-increasing senility that was the problem. Even before her mental deterioration, she had developed a habit of talking just that bit too loudly when puzzled by something on the screen. Perhaps it was the fault of these modern movies, that couldn't rely on a simple story, but had to have more twists and turns than a corkscrew.
Her habit of providing a running commentary on the action or lack thereof also proved most distracting to the other moviegoers. And as for her reaction to 'The Full Monty', well, that was something Ducky had wished he could wipe from his memory. There were some things that no man should have to hear his mother comment on, no matter what the context. To add to the embarrassment, Ducky and his mother had been politely but firmly banned from that particular theatre.
The manager had been most understanding of Mrs. Mallard's condition, but he had had a duty to his other patrons.
So Ducky had resorted to patronage of his local video and later DVD rental establishments, frequently watching the movie on his own first, so that he would be able to answer his mother's questions as required.
When a new multiplex had opened, he'd even risked taking her there on a few occasions, picking early morning screenings, or features nearing the end of their run, where audiences were likely to be a minimum. He would carefully choose seats as far away as possible from the rest of the audience, so that any outbursts would be less likely to disrupt or offend.
While his mother certainly seemed to enjoy herself, Ducky had found that the strain of wondering whether they'd make it to the end of the film without being removed frequently left him unable to share her enjoyment. As a result, he tried to limit their outings to those movies with special effects, which were best viewed on the big screen. Science Fiction movies, with expensive special effects were frequently worth the risk, in part because they so often featured ear-splitting soundtracks which were very useful in drowning out Mrs. Mallard created sound effects.
But every now and then, during her ever-decreasing periods of lucidity, his mother would fixate on a specific movie and insist upon seeing it. She had happened upon an article about the new Star Trek movie and had extracted a promise from him that they would see it together as soon as it opened. Of course the next day she had looked at him in puzzlement when he had mentioned Mr. Spock in conversation, but Ducky always kept his promises to his mother, even when she couldn't remember them, and this was going to be no exception. Any embarrassment generated by the outing would be worth it if it made her happy, and he could only hope and pray that the movie would run through one of her 'better' days.
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By the end of the movie, Ducky was still sitting in the movie theatre. The light from the screen as the U.S.S. Enterprise flew into the distance reflected on the tears in Ducky's eyes as he spoke to his mother for the first time. He bent his head to the funeral urn, which he had been holding throughout. "You certainly lived long and prospered Mother. I...I just wish you could have lived for just a little longer."
The End
A/N: David McCallum was in 'A night to remember', Nina Foch was in 'A song to remember'. For once the title picked itself!