What if it was Different?

Prologue: Things Are Not What They Appear

From the beginning of this series of unfortunate events, you have been told that nothing is ever as it seems. Those who appear to be friends turn out to be enemies, accidental fires end up being cases of arson and apparent deaths are not completely confirmed. While there are no happy endings to be had in the story of the Baudelaires, things are not what they appear.

What the Baudelaires experienced at the Hotel Denouement was nothing short of disastrous and worthy of inducing tears. People whom they thought they could trust inevitably failed them and the death of another even led to a large case of tragic arson.

While the Baudelaires' tale would unfold as Lemony Snicket researched it, there was another person's story that made the expected outcome quite different.

In the ensuing chaos after the accidental discharge of a harpoon gun led to a certain triplet falling into the pond in front of his family's hotel, the Baudelaires and Count Olaf were hustled inside while a certain taxi driver pulled away from the hotel, feeling great regret that he had not been able to help in any way. It was seen as another failure that filled him with anguish. With all the sadness and regret swirling about, the body that had sunk to the bottom had been forgotten entirely by all except one.

An individual who had watched the unfortunate events surrounding the Baudelaires unfold from some nearby shrubbery had sent out a message for help. This person knew that all was not lost and assumed correctly that their interference would now be overlooked. The person quickly slips from the shadows, removing the jacket and hat of their concierge uniform and pulling their hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of their eyes. Despite not knowing the depth of the reflecting pond which lay in front of the Hotel Denouement, this individual knew they had to risk it in an attempt to save one of their only remaining family members.

To brave the depths of this unknown area to rescue someone takes a lot of courage and a lot of experience in swimming and saving lives, and this person had enough of both. Due to living close to a body of water for most of their life, specifically a fjord close to the Mortmain Mountains, they knew what to do.

Without any further hesitation, the figure dives into the pond to retrieve what has been lost and hopefully save someone.

The water was rather cold, especially for that time of year, but the swimmer had endured much more frigid temperatures, often beginning their aquatic exploits after the spring thaw. They could also hold their breath for an extended period of time and knew how to efficiently reach the bottom of a body of water with little to no time or loss of air. It was incredibly dark beneath the surface, with only a few lights from the hidden library and subbasement below where the body lay.

The rescuer finds whom they are looking for, puts their hands under the victim's arms and then forces both upwards. Knowing that this was going to require a tremendous amount of effort and that time was of the essence, the swimmer focuses solely on reaching the top. Nothing else is important and their concentration likely saved the other's life due to the timely manner in which they acted.

Bubbles followed them upwards as they get closer and closer, the individual using all the power in their legs to kick and all the power in their arms to pull the wounded man.

Then suddenly, a hand breaks the surface and the person can breathe again. Despite the water weighing them down, they remove themselves and their target from the depths of the pond. The liquid spills from their clothes like tiny waterfalls, returning to the pool beneath them.

Once they are on the stone patio of the Hotel Denouement, the person goes to work on saving the man's life.

To their relief, the spear fired from the harpoon gun had landed much lower on the man's body than the Baudelaires and all the other patrons originally assumed. While there was no doubt that organs had been pierced, it was fortunately not the heart and could be treated. However, usually, if an object pierces a body, it is discouraged to remove it, and while the rescuer knew this, in order to allow the victim to breathe, the spear will have to be removed.

With a careful right hand, the person begins to remove the spear, preparing a compress with their left. It was unfortunate that this person was not ambidextrous like the man because it might have gone much faster. The body twitched in pain as the metal projectile was finally removed and thrown to the side.

The person then uses their discarded concierge jacket to hold against the wound. They then begin the difficult action of reviving the man. While this person's father had done this action once before, they knew it could save the man's life. They begin to press on his chest while keeping the jacket in place to prevent further bleeding. After some strong compressions, they lean forward and blow air into the manager's lungs. The process continues back and forth, hoping that help would come soon. The individual also prays that their efforts will not be for naught and this man could be saved.

Finally, after a long few moments and with another strong press, the man coughs and his lungs take in the air once again. The rescuer lets out a sigh of relief as his hazel eyes open after an apparent eternity. They attempt to take in what is happening but when he sees the green eyes staring down at them, which surrounded a face he had only seen in pictures, he manages to smile despite the pain in his torso.

"Just try to stay still," the familiar person whispers. "Help is on the way."

Just as the words leave their mouth, a new taxicab arrives in front of the hotel and a new driver gets out.

"What happened?" the driver asks.

"I will explain everything later. He has to be gotten to the hospital."

The combined efforts of both people allowed them to move one of the managers of the hotel into the back of the cab. The rescuer, while still soaking wet gets in the back as well to keep the jacket against his harpoon wound. The driver then starts up the cab and speeds off towards medical help.

The two passengers in the back cannot stop looking at each other, the rescued man continuing to smile, thankful to be alive and finally meet a member of his family.

Despite their orders to not speak, he does so anyway.

"You must be Holly..." he mutters quietly. "Kit has told me so much about you."

The girl smiles gently while holding her jacket against his wound.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Uncle Dewey."

A/N: Another dream inspired me to write this. So this story will be a mixture of the book and show and will feature my OC of Holly. Please give it a read and let me know what you think. I do not own anything except Holly and the plot, everything else goes to Lemony Snicket.

Disclaimer 1: Any and all characters, locations and situations mentioned in every chapter and the entire story belong to their prospective owners. Any characters that I create are my own.

Disclaimer 2: I do not own A Series of Unfortunate Events book series or television show, or any of the related characters, locations or scenes/situations. The book and television franchise is created by Daniel Handler and owned by HarperCollins Egmont (UK only), Netflix and Sonnenfeld Productions, Inc. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only. I am not making any profit from this story.