Chapter 3:
Welcome To Palm Beach
The phone was ringing on Chris' desk. Chris was supposed to do paper work while Rita was working undercover for vice. Placing the file aside, Chris reached for the receiver.
"Yeah, Sgt. Lorenzo." he answered the phone.
"I have an urgent call for Sgt. Lance." the operator said.
"She's not in the office at the moment. I'll take the call."
There was a cracking noise in the line before a voice could be heard.
"Sgt. Lance?" the frantic voice asked breathlessly.
"No, this is Sgt. Chris Lorenzo, I am her partner. Sgt. Lance is not in the office at the moment." he replied.
"Can you please tell me where I can reach her? This is really important."
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you, but you can leave her a message."
"Okay, okay. This is Cedar's Medical Center, Fort Lauderdale."
"Fort Lauderdale?" Chris exclaimed. "Wait, wait, tell me, did something happen to Cara?"
"I am sorry, I can't tell you, Sgt."
"Please, is Cara all right? I only need to know if she's all right, please!" he pleaded.
"Yes, she is. Sgt., I really can't tell you what happened. Would you leave Sgt. Lance a message to get here as soon as possible to get her daughter?"
"She can't... I will come get Cara. Is that okay?"
"I don't know."
"I will be there as soon as I can."
Chris smashed the receiver down and grabbed his jacket from his chair as Lt. Hudson was walking up to his desk.
"Lorenzo, why in such a hurry?" he asked.
"I have some private things to take care off."
"Hot date? Blond? Red? Brunette?" he grinned. "During working hours?"
"Brunette, Lieutenant. And yes, during working hours. I don't have time to explain right now."
"Lorenzo!" Lt. Hudson yelled as he saw the palm tree doors getting closed behind Chris.
'Damn, what is wrong now?' he wondered while he went back to his office.
About an hour later Chris parked his car in front of Cedar's Medical Center. It didn't take him long to learn what had happened earlier that day. Megan had had a heart attack. Cara had found her after the neighbour had dropped her after school. The little girl was in a shock. A nurse showed Chris the way to the waiting room where Cara was sitting in a chair starring at a wall.
"Hey Cara." Chris smiled as he approached her. He knelt down in front of the chair. "How are you doing?"
Cara didn't answer, but hugged him close. Then she began to cry.
"Shhh, honey, everything's going to be all right." he appeased her, stroking her hair gently.
"Mommy!" Cara sobbed into his chest.
"She's working, sweetie." This was hard for Chris to say. He knew Cara needed her mom right now. "Cara, listen to me. You think you can stay here for a couple of minutes while I check on Megan?"
"No, no, don't leave me, no, no!" Cara cried, clinging to Chris.
"Only for 5 minutes, okay? See, you sit here and you won't even notice I am gone."
Chris kissed Cara on her forehead and smiled at her. He wiped the tears out of her eyes.
"I'll be right back, sweetheart."
Chris left the waiting room and walked over to the counter. A nurse looked up at him.
"Yes, how may I help you?"
"Megan Lance, I want to visit her." Chris said.
"Are you family?"
Chris shook his head.
"I am sorry, only family. She's in a very critical condition."
"Listen, nurse..." Chris peered at the nurse's sign, "Nurse Lower, I know I am not family, but I am a very good friend. The only family she has is her niece. She can't be here at the moment, so please, can I check on Mrs. Lance?"
"I can't make any exceptions."
"Ple..." Chris was cut off by someone tugging at his leg. He turned and found Cara standing next to him.
"I wanna go to mommy." she whispered. "Please?"
Chris knelt down, "Sweetheart, first I have to see how Megan is doing before we can go see your mommy."
Water welled in Cara's eyes, so Chris lifted her on her arm. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Nurse Lower, please, I need to know Mrs. Lance is doing. I know I am not family, but..." Suddenly something shot right into Chris' mind. "See, I may not be family right now, but I am the father of her niece's daughter. So can I please go and see her now?"
Nurse Lower stared at him, "Okay, but only 5 minutes. And the girl needs to stay outside."
"Thank you very much."
When Chris was lead into the room, he found Megan lying in the bed, hooked up to several different machines and IVs. She slid a chair next to the bed and sat down.
"Megan, it's Chris." he whispered.
Megan slowly turned her head and barely opened her eyes.
"Cara.... Cara..." she repeated over and over.
"She's okay, she's waiting outside. I didn't have time to tell Rita what happened, she doesn't know."
Megan tried to say something, but Chris gently placed his finger on her mouth to stop her.
"Don#t you worry about anything right now. I am going to take care of Cara until Rita knows what happened. She'll be in good hands. You concentrate on getting better now. I'll let you get some sleep. I think you could need some. I promise I'll bring Rita tomorrow morning. Don't worry."
Megan reached for Chris hand when he got up.
"Good boy... best for... my Rita." she whispered weakly.
Chris smiled.
Chris pulled up in front of Palm Beach Headquarters. He was looking for Rita, in hopes she was back from her undercover work, but she wasn't. He left her a note in the middle of her desk, where she couldn't miss it. Rita found the note about 2 hours later when she came back to her desk. As the note was lying right in the middle of her desk, she couldn't miss it. She immediately recognized Chris' handwriting. The note read...
Trouble in Lauderdale. Meet me at my place as soon as you can. Important! Chris
Meanwhile Chris was at his place with Cara. He wouldn't know what to do with her. She didn't talk to him. She just stared at the blank tv screen.
"Okay, you're not thirsty, you're not hungry and you don't wanna watch tv. So what do you think about going to bed? I mean it's only 8 pm, but..."
Cara turned her head and nodded. Chris sighed. He lifted Cara from the couch, bringing her to his bedroom. He gave her one of his t-shirts to dress as she couldn't wear her clothes in bed. Cara climbed into the bed. Chris covered her with the sheets.
"I will be in the living room, Cara. If you need something, you just need to give me a yell, okay? And now, sleep well, sweetheart."
Chris kissed her tenderly on her forehead. Then he went back to the living room. A few minutes after he'd turned on the tv, Rita knocked at the door. Chris let her in.
"Hey Chris, what's so important?" she asked right away, noticing that something was bothering Chris.
"You better sit down first." he suggested as he gently pushed her down to sit on the couch. "You got a call from Cedar's Medical Center in Lauderdale this afternoon..."
"What? Did something happen to Cara? Is she hurt? Chris, tell me!" Rita yelled.
"No, she's all right, but something happened to Megan."
"What?"
"She had a heart attack. Her condition is still very critical."
"That can't be!"
"Sam, I was in Lauderdale. It's true. I was with her in the I.C.U. Cara found her when she got home from school."
"Cara, where is she? Where's my little girl, Chris, where is she?"
"She's here, in the bedroom."
Rita jumped up from the couch, rushing to Chris'bedroom. She found her daughter lying in Chris' bed, wearing a t-shirt that was way too big for her.
"Mommy!" Cara cried when she saw her mother.
Rita sat down on the bed next to her daughter, pulling her into a big hug. Cara sobbed into Rita's chest.
"I am so sorry I wasn't there for you, Cara. I am so sorry. I am here now and everything will be all right."
"Mommy, Megan is really sick." Cara sobbed, brushing tears out of her face.
"I know, sweetheart, I know."
Chris was standing aside, watching Rita and Cara. Mother and daughter looked so much alike. Seeing Rita rocking her daughter gently in her arms, stirred something inside of him. This was a side of Rita he hadn't seen before, a side of her he never knew existed.
He cleared his throat, "Uhm, Sam, if you want you can spend the night here. I don't think it's such a good idea for you and Cara to be alone now."
Rita nodded, "Thanks, Chris."
"I will go sleep on the couch. So if you need something, need to talk, I'll be there for you."
"I know."
Chris nodded, heading out of the room. About an hour later, Rita joined him in the living room.
"Cara finally fell asleep a few minutes ago." she said and sat down next to him.
"How's she doing?"
"Not very good. She cried a lot. I think it was too much for her to handle, finding Megan like that."
"And how are you doing?"
Rita didn't reply, but twisted the friendship ring she wore. This was very hard for her too, but she couldn't let Chris know. What would she do now with Cara? She was sure that Megan wouldn't be able to take care of Cara anymore.
"What are you going to do?" Chris asked.
"I don't know." Rita responded. "I really don't know. This is going to change my whole life - and Cara's as well."
"You know I will help you, Sam. You're my best friend."
"I can't ask for your help."
"You don't have to. I am offering my help. Look, Sam, I know this will be a hard time for you and Cara. You have to take care of her alone now that Megan can't care for her any longer. You need all the help you can get."
"Sam, I'm afraid she won't like the way I live. It's completely different from her life in Lauderdale."
"She loves you, Rita. Sooner or later she will get used to living here with you."
"Chris, I appreciate everything you do for me and Cara. It means a lot to me. You know, you're the only one here in Palm Beach who knows about her."
"I won't tell anyone, I promised you."
Rita took a deep breath, "So, what to do now? I always feared the day I had to take Cara to live with me without being ready for that. I'm glad she already got attached to you, my friend. You know you're going to have to help me out with baby sitting now and then?"
She grinned mischieviously, though she didn't feel like that at the moment, but she had to tease Chris now.
Chris smiled and nodded, "Go and get some sleep, sunshine. You need it."
The next morning Rita was woken up by Chris standing next to the bed holding a cup of coffee right under her nose.
"Sammy, time to wake up."
"Hi." Rita said with a sleepy touch in her voice.
"Good morning, Sammy. It's time to get up."
Rita turned and looked at her daughter, still sleeping next to her.
"Let her sleep, Sam. Breakfast is waiting for you."
Rita nodded, "Give me a second. I will be right there."
Chris went to the kitchen. Rita joined him some a few minutes later. Chris was talking to Lt. Hudson on the phone.
"Yeah, Lt., I have this cold..." Chris coughed. "I think 2 days..." Chris coughed again. "Okay. See ya, Lt.."
Chris hung up. He turned, seeing Rita grinning at him.
"So, you have a cold?" she smirked.
"Come on, Sam, I thought it over last night. Hudson won't give you any free days now you're doing undercover work. I figured you needed someone for Cara."
"That's nice, Chris, but..."
"Uh, uh, no buts, Sam."
"There are some things I have to take care of in Lauderdale. I wanna go visit Megan as soon as possible. And I need to bring most of Cara's stuff up here."
"I can do the part with Cara's stuff."
"No, I have to do that myself." Rita objected, taking a cup of coffee from the counter.
"Okay, then we'll meet you there later when you come to visit Megan. Look, Sam, I know it's not easy. Please, let me help. I wanna see you two smile again."
Rita began to smile as she saw her daughter approaching them.
"Mommy, can we go home?" Cara asked, rubbing her eyes.
Rita lifted her on her arm and sat her down on the counter.
"Look, Cara, I have to go to work now." she began.
"And me?"
"You will stay with Chris. He will take you back to Lauderdale..."
"NO!" Cara screamed. "I don't wanna go back to Lauderdale. I wanna stay here with you, mommy. Please!"
"Let me finish, sweetie. Chris will take you to back to Lauderdale to get your stuff and bring it back here. I will come to Lauderdale this afternoon after work to visit Megan."
"Mommy, please don't go. Don't leave me alone!" Cara pleaded, throwing her arms around Rita's neck to keep her from leaving.
"Sweetie, I have to go."
"What if something bad happens to you?"
"Don't think about that, okay? I can look after myself pretty well. You'll never be alone, I promise you that." Rita kissed her daughter on her forehead. "Be nice to Chris, okay? Don't drive him nuts."
"Okay. I love you, mommy."
"And I love you, Cara."
After Rita had left, Chris sat Cara down on a chair in the kitchenette. She was starring at him for a while while he was sipping his coffee.
"Chris..." she began.
"What, sweetheart, what is it?"
"Do you love my mommy?"
"Uhm..." Chris was startled by this question. He rubbed his temple, "Yeah, yeah I love her."
"Are you going to marry her?" Cara asked further.
Chris spit the coffee out.
"If I am going to marry your mom? No! I mean... look, Cara, there are two different kinds of love. You can love someone like a brother or a sister, the way you love your mom. Or you can be IN love with someone, which means you spend lots of time together, you kiss each other, you know, all the stuff married couples do. I love your mom like a sister, like a very good friend. You understand?"
Cara tilted her head to the side, starring at Chris, "Don't you share much time together and kiss each other? Mommy just kissed you on the cheek before she left."
"Indeed we do, but... why? Do you think I should marry your mom or what?"
Cara climbed down from the chair and sat down on Chris' lap. She looked up at him, "My mommy never told me about my daddy. You aren't my daddy, are you?"
"What gives you an idea like that?"
"You told the nurse yesterday."
Chris shook his head, gently stroking Cara's hair, "I am sorry, Cara, I am not your daddy. I just said that because there wasn't any other way to see Megan."
"Do you know my daddy?"
This was getting a little awkward for Chris. Why was she asking him all those questions and not Rita?
"Uhh, why do you ask me all those questions and not your mom, Cara?"
"You're mommy's best friend, Chris. And... every time I ask her about my daddy she won't answer me. So, you know my daddy?"
"No, I am sorry."
Chris didn't feel right lying to Cara, but he knew that was something Rita had to tell her daughter and not he.
"Okay, I think we need to go now. We're going to grab something for breakfast on our way to Lauderdale. You go and get dressed."
He stood Cara on the ground and got up, taking his cup to the sink. When he turned he saw that Cara was gone, but some strange noises emanated from the bedroom.
"Cara, sweetie, you need some help?" he shouted.
"Nooooo! I am a big girl already!"
End Of Chapter 3
Standard Disclaimer: The characters of Chris Lorenzo, Rita Lee Lance and Lt. Hudson belong to Stephen J. Cannell and USA Network. However, the characters of Cara Sue Lance and Megan Lance belong to me.
Thanks to Karen and Klancy (yeah, I didn't forget the 'm' thing!) for editing. Chapter 4, A Soul Kiss With Problems, is already in production right now. If you have to say anything about Chapter 3 or have a good idea for another new chapter, let me know.