That Other Woman
Disclaimers: I don't own 'The Rookies.' If I did, it would be substantially updated.
Summary: Things that we didn't see in S-2 episode 'The Late Mr. Brent.' This story starts after the scene in which Jill talks to Lt. Ryker. Contains spoilers from episode. Rated M for safety. Two-shot. The episode aired in January of '74, so my timeline is following that of the episode.
A/N #1: This was NOT one of my favorite episodes. As me and my friend Sheila put it, it's like a train wreck that you can't stop watching. Mike made so many mistakes in this episode, but Jill made just as many by just standing by, rolling over, and playing dead. Why didn't she fight harder?
A/N #2: Lately I've been writing 'Castle' fanfic, so if my writing seems different, that's why. I have to remind myself that Jill Danko isn't Kate Beckett.
Chapter 1: That Brent Woman
When Jill Danko walked through the front door of the apartment that afternoon, she was emotionally exhausted. When Lt. Ryker had walked into the nurses' lounge earlier that afternoon her heart had almost stopped. He still didn't sometimes understand how his presence could sometimes unnerve her. The lieutenant wasn't one to make social calls.
Instead, he'd started asking her questions. Personal questions. Questions about that woman. Jill hated even thinking her name. Damn Mike! Why did he always have to play the hero? First with her, and now with that woman. Jill found herself wondering if the real attraction was the little boy. That woman had a three-year-old son. Jill's hand traveled down to her abdomen. The pain of the miscarriage was still so raw. For both of them. They both had nightmares about it. Mike never talked about how badly he'd wanted the baby, but she could see it every time they saw a child in the market or when they were out somewhere.
She looked at the clock, sighing when she saw the time. She knew that she needed to get up and start dinner. But as she got up to go to the kitchen, she found herself wondering if Mike would be on time tonight or if he'd go to see her, which had been happening more and more often lately.
Jill wondered if his spending so much time with that woman was her fault. Maybe she didn't do enough in the bedroom. Mike had always told her before that he didn't mind that she didn't perform oral sex on him, but what if he'd been lying all this time? It was like her old aunts had told her so long ago; if men didn't get their needs satisfied by one woman, they'd find another woman. They told her that was why some men paid for it.
She shook her thoughts from her brain before going into the kitchen to start dinner. She was cutting carrots when she heard Mike's key in the front door. "Hi, baby," he walked into the kitchen and kissed her. "How was your day?"
"It was okay. I'm glad to see you home on time," she continued cutting carrots.
Mike sighed as he grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. He knew that Jill was struggling with how she felt about this whole Brent situation. He was, too. He'd been struggling even since the night he'd shot Howard Brent when they were after another man. They still hadn't determined why Brent, a used car salesman, was in that house that night. After being shown mug shots of the other two men who were supposed to be in the house, Pip Brent claimed that she'd never seen either man in her life. She was nothing more than a scared widow left with a three-year-old son. Mike felt sorry for her, but he knew that his true allegiance was to Jill. But, Pip didn't have Jill's perseverance. Jill had been beat down by life, but she'd managed to pull herself up and keep going. Pip, on the other hand, seemed so scared and vulnerable. It broke Mike's heart.
But looking at his wife, his heart broke even more. He knew that she was scared, too. Jill's emotions had always been easy to read and now was no exception. He put his beer down on the counter and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.
"Mike, I just feel like I've been thrown in deep water and the sharks are circling. I know that you love me. But I wonder if this is happening because of me."
"Hey, nothing has happened," he turned her around to face him. "How can you think that my helping someone out is your fault?"
"Mike, at first I understood that you were doing this to help her, but it's been weeks now. Nobody is that helpless!"
"Jill, she'll get her act together soon. I promise."
Jill sighed as she pulled out of Mike's grasp. How could he be so damn obtuse? She'd never met that woman, but she knew what her number was. Her number was about six feet tall, with brown hair, and brilliant blue-green eyes. Her number was wearing a gold wedding band that Jill had placed on his finger. So, she'd be damned if that woman was going to get her mitts on Mike. At least not without one hell of a cat fight. She hadn't gotten into a hair pulling, girl fight since middle school, but Jill was so ready.
Later that night, Mike was lying in bed reading a magazine while Jill was in the shower. He couldn't help thinking about Pip Brent. He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Jill's question. "So, what's she like?" She called out from the bathroom.
"What's who like?" He called back.
"Mrs. Brent. What's the real Mrs. Brent like?"
He sighed. She had been on this tangent all night. It was obvious that she'd been upset, but she refused to talk about what had her so upset. This dance had been going on for more than two weeks now. He didn't understand why Jill was so jealous. It wasn't like he was sleeping with Pip Brent. He'd never do that. However, he knew that he was treading on shaky ground. Pip was getting far too dependent on him. It had gotten to the point where she was calling and having him stop by her little house for the smallest of things now. Calling him over to ask questions that she could easily ask over the phone. He'd tried to explain to her that he had a wife.
He looked up from his magazine when Jill came into the bedroom with her hairbrush in her hand. "I'll just be glad when it's over," she said as he watched her brush her long dark hair.
"Do you want to talk about what's on your mind?" He sat up.
"No. I'll just be glad when she's settled. When do you think she'll be settled?"
"I don't know. I guess she'll be settled when she's settled."
"You just don't tell me very much about her. Is she pretty?" She continued brushing her hair.
"Yeah, she's very pretty," he admitted without a second thought.
The brush froze in Jill's hands. Was he fucking kidding? "Oh," she finally said.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, just 'oh.' You know? Oh," she went back into the bathroom.
"You're not jealous, are you?" He called out to her.
"No, I'm not jealous! I'll let you know if I'm jealous." She stood in front of the bathroom mirror for another two minutes, silently fuming. She couldn't believe that Mike had actually admitted that that woman was pretty. "Mike?"
"What?" She could hear the irritation in his voice. He hadn't even seen irritated yet.
She came to the bathroom doorway and stood there looking at him, her arms crossed over her chest. "I'm jealous," she admitted in a small voice.
He pulled the blankets back so that she could get in bed. When she got in, he pulled the blankets over her and moved closer to her. "You've got no reason to be," he told her in a quiet voice.
"I can give you a couple," she looked up at him. "She's young and vulnerable. She has a three-year-old son. She's pretty."
"I just feel like I owe her something because if it wasn't for me, she wouldn't be in this position."
"Okay, I can accept that. I can," she looked at him. "But, I need to know a couple of things. A, does she know that you're a happily married man, and B, are you a happily married man?"
"I'm a happily married man," he whispered as he stroked her hair back from her face. "I just can't comprehend a world without you in it. I hope that qualifies as an answer."
"Just don't take too long to repay this debt that you think you owe her," she warned him.
"I hear you," he kissed her, pulling her toward him as she quickly forgot everything else.
***MJMJMJ***
Jill had gone to the market the next morning when the guys showed up. "Jill was driving me crazy last night," Mike complained as he poured another cup of coffee. "She decided that she wanted to play '20 Questions' at 11 o'clock last night."
"What was she asking you?" Willie asked, although he strongly suspected.
"Questions about Pip Brent. I keep telling her that nothing's going on! Why doesn't she believe me?"
"Maybe it's because you've been spending more time with Pip Brent than you've been spending at home," Terry suggested as Willie nodded in agreement.
"I've been helping her get on her feet," Mike argued back.
"Mike, there are agencies for that. All you had to do was give her a few phone numbers and go on your merry way. It's not like you don't know this. It's not like you haven't done it before. Jill almost died three months ago. She lost a baby that the two of you wanted very badly. I'm sure that she's feeling a little insecure right now."
"Terry, she doesn't have a reason to feel insecure," Mike looked at his friends as if they'd just grown a second head.
"So, what was she asking you?" Willie asked.
"All kinds of stuff. She asked me if Pip was pretty."
"What did you tell her?" Terry looked at Willie, who gave him the same expression. The one that said they hoped Mike had told his wife that Pip Brent was a dog.
"I told her that Pip was pretty."
"Oh man, you didn't," Terry closed his eyes and shook his head. The guy had worked in a missile silo and flown more than 200 missions in a helicopter over Southeast Asia. How could he be so stupid when it came to women?
"Mike, that's one of those questions that you never answer honestly!" Willie told him. "It's like when your girl asks you if a pair of pants makes her look fat. You always lie."
"Man, you must be planning on never having sex again," Terry continued shaking his head.
"You guys are as bad as she is! Why would I lie about the girl being pretty? I'm not fucking her!"
"At least not right now," Terry looked at him pointedly.
"Whose side are you on, anyway?"
"Honestly?" Willie asked as Mike nodded. "Right now, Jill's. Because you're thinking with the wrong body part."
"I think you guys need to leave," he walked over and opened the door to them.
"I have one word for you, Michael," Terry said as he and Willie walked to the door. "Chocolate. Lots of it."
"I haven't done anything wrong," he said through clenched teeth, closing the door behind his friends.
He walked over and sat on the sofa, burying his head in his hands. Guilt had always been his biggest problem lately. He'd find himself waking up beside Jill in the middle of the night or early in the morning, thanking God that he still had her, but at the same time regretting the choices he'd made that October night. Now, because of shots that he'd fired into a darkened room, a man was dead. A man who by all intents and purposes had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Much like he and Jill that night.
He'd killed a man, leaving a 25-year-old woman a widow. A widow with a three-year-old son. A boy that would never know his father. When he looked at Pip, she reminded him so much of Jill. The Jill that he'd first met in that bar over five years before. But he had to tell himself that Pip wasn't Jill. And right now, he also knew that his friends were right. He was on duty that evening. He knew that he had to pay one final visit to the widow Brent and tell her that he couldn't help her any longer. It was time for her to start making her own way. He knew that she could do it. He just had to get through to her that she was much tougher than she realized.
***MJMJMJ***
Working in the ER, Jill was on her break that evening when her friend Jackie Greenfield came into the lounge. Jackie made herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table with her friend, who she couldn't help but notice seemed to be down in the dumps for the last several days. "I can't help noticing that you've seemed a little off your game for a while. Do you want to talk about it?" Jackie asked, stirring her coffee.
"I don't even know where to start," Jill sighed as she closed her eyes.
"Well, the beginning is always a good place," Jackie smiled at her.
Jill spilled her guts about Mike and the whole Pip Brent thing. After she finished, she looked at her friend as Jill fought not to cry. "I just feel like this woman is taking advantage of Mike and he's not seeing it. I keep thinking that maybe it's my fault."
"How can it be your fault? You haven't done anything to push Mike in her direction. And, Lt. Ryker's right. I think he'll work it out. I've seen him around you, Jill. That man is completely over-the-top crazy about you."
"I don't know. I just want her to disappear."
"GSW coming in," one of the other nurses popped her head into the room.
"Back to work," both women got up and went back to the floor.
The gurney carrying a young woman came in moments later, but Jill was shocked when she saw Mike coming in behind the gurney carrying a small boy in his arms. His eyes met Jill's. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who the woman on the gurney was. The question was how had she gotten shot and how was Mike involved?
"You were with her?" Jill asked him.
"Yeah, but I can explain—"
"Save it!" She turned and went into the trauma room, leaving Mike alone with Jackie.
"It's not what it looks like," he said in a small voice.
"It never is, Mike," Jackie said before turning and following Jill.
"Well buddy, it looks like I'm in the doghouse," Mike looked at the small boy in his arms.
After about an hour, Jill came out of the trauma room. "She got hit in the shoulder. It went straight through, but they're going to take her to surgery to clean the wound and stitch it up. She's going to be okay. She was lucky. Where were you when it happened?" She asked as Mike followed her down the hallway, still with little Howie in his arms. "I see that you're attached to her kid."
"Jill—"
"Mike, Jill, why don't I take this young man and see if I can find him something to eat," Jackie volunteered as Mike handed Howie over to her. "Whatever you have to say about his m-o-m-m-y you don't need to be saying in front of him," she looked pointedly at Mike.
"Why were you over there, Mike? You were supposed to be working."
"She called the precinct and left a message asking to see me—"
"Let's go over here," she said as she led him into the lounge. "The last time I checked, I was the one that you were married to! I'm the one that you're supposed to drop everything for when I call! She got shot, Michael! Where in the hell were you when it happened?"
"Standing right next to her," he admitted sheepishly.
"It could've been you! That bullet could've gone into you instead of her! I could be getting a visit from Lt. Ryker right about now! What does she do that I don't do? What is the fucking attraction, Mike? Tell me and I'll do whatever it is!"
"It's not like that, Jill."
"Then tell me what it is then. Is it the kid? When the time is right, I'd love to get pregnant again. I thought that you were okay with that."
"Baby, no."
"I can't even look at you right now," she turned and stormed from the room.
He knew that she was scared, but again, nothing had happened. Well, not exactly nothing. He had kissed her. He'd kissed her right before Pete Martin opened fire on them, on both of them. Jill was going to flip when she learned that little tidbit. He looked toward the door when Ryker, Willie and Terry walked in. "We need your statement," Ryker glared at him.
"You're digging yourself a deep hole, man," Terry told him.
"Go to hell, Webster," Mike said as he brushed past them and left with Ryker.
"I say we go and find Jill," Willie looked at his partner, who nodded in agreement.
They found her at the nurses' station, rearranging charts that clearly didn't need to be rearranged. "Do you want to talk about it?" Terry asked her.
"Why? You're men. You're just going to take his side."
"Not this time," Terry told her. "Come on, let's get some coffee."
The three of them went to the cafeteria where Jill spilled out her fears and frustrations about everything that had been going on. "This guy isn't the first man he's killed. He's not the first man that has left a wife and children behind. I don't see what's so special about her."
"I don't know. She got under his skin somehow," Willie said.
"The thing is, Mike's bullet might not be the one that killed him. The other bullet belonged to Martin. It could've just as easily been his," Terry added.
"I keep thinking that maybe it's me," she sighed. "Maybe he's really angry about me losing the baby."
"No," Terry was quick to assure her. "That's not even a possibility. I think that Pip—"
"Please don't say her name."
"Okay," Terry smiled. "I think she also saw something in Mike. She saw that part of him that drew you to him and she's latched onto it. I think she's taking advantage of how guilty he feels and she's using it. Jill, you have to fight back."
"Terry's right. If you roll over and play dead, she's going to win. She's the enemy, Jill."
"But, it's like she's an invisible enemy. I took care of her in the ER earlier, but I've never spoken to her. She doesn't even know what I look like."
"Maybe it's time that you changed that. Maybe she should meet you," Terry looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Thanks, guys," she smiled as they each took a hand and squeezed.
"He'll come to his senses, Jill. If not, I'll take a baseball bat to his hard head," Terry offered as Jill laughed.
As she left her two friends, Jill took a deep breath and steeled herself to face the enemy. She'd be damned if this woman was going to get Mike.
A/N #3: In the next chapter, Jill faces Pip Brent and tries to put things back together.
I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.