Author: Ally
E-mail: Leechick@abstractedone.com
Rating: PG
Category: Believers (SJR), Angst, Drama
Feedback: Yep! Please send it to me!
Notes: I wrote this earlier after watching "Second Best." You'll get the reference.
Monday, April 13, 2006
Chloe Waters walked into the house, followed by a petite red head.
"Chlo, I think your phone is ringing," Lola Fredericks said. She was a friend of Chloe's, and was helping Chloe out with the newest English assignment.
"Thanks, Lo. You want anything from the kitchen?" Chloe asked as she walked into the kitchen to grab the ringing phone. The 16 year-old checked the Caller ID and happily answered it. "Uncle Bailey!" She greeted him, setting her backpack and purse on the kitchen table.
"Chloe, it's great to hear from you again. How are you?" Bailey asked, standing at a payphone.
"I'm great! I made the honor roll at school, and in a month or so, Mom and I are going to go to New York. I'm doing a photo shoot for a catalog!" Chloe said.
"That's wonderful, Chlo. Is Sam home?"
"No, she went over to Angel's earlier this afternoon. Something about a birthday gift for Grace. I'm not quite sure when she'll be back... Why?" Chloe asked, hoisting herself onto the blue marble island in the kitchen.
"Chloe..." Bailey said, sighing.
"Uncle Bailey, what's wrong? It's a VCTF member, isn't it?" Chloe asked, nodding for Lola to go ahead and get whatever she wanted from the kitchen.
"John was shot, Chloe. He's at Memorial right now, in surgery," Bailey said quietly.
"John? I'll get Mom, and we'll be over as soon as possible," Chloe said. "He's going to be okay, right?"
"I don't know, I really don't know," Bailey said.
"I'm going to Angel's right now." Chloe hung up and said "Lola, I've got to go. I'll call about the English later, okay?" Lola nodded, and walked back into the living room. Chloe grabbed her purse and her keys and flew out the door.
Angel's Studio
"Remember the spring dance our senior year?" Angel asked. The friends had been sitting there for awhile, just talking about old memories.
"I remember my dress pretty well. It was hideous!" Sam said, laughing. "It was green, and kind of short, and very new age-ish." There was a knock on the door, and Angel stood up to answer it.
"Chloe? I didn't know you were coming over," Angel said.
"Hey sweetie. I thought that you and Lola were going to go over the English assignment you got yesterday," Sam said. Chloe grabbed Sam's hand and pulled her off the couch. "Chloe, what's wrong?"
"We need to meet Bailey at Memorial. John was shot. Bailey didn't say anything else, either.." Chloe said, racing out of the studio.
"Go, Sam. Tell me how he is, okay?" Angel said. Sam nodded, and grabbed her purse and followed Chloe out to the car.
Memorial Hospital
Bailey sat in the hard plastic chair, replaying the scene over and over. "If only I had been behind him."
"You could've been shot, too," Grace said, coming up behind him with George. "Here, you look like you need it." She handed him a cup of coffee, and sat down in a nearby chair.
"Any news?" Bailey asked, sipping at the hot liquid.
"The bullet is lodged in his lung," Grace said. "I know from experience that it's not good."
"I called Nathan. He said he's going to try to come out as soon as possible. Michelle will probably come, too," George reported, leaning against the wall.
"Good. John will be glad to see them again," Bailey said. The trio lapsed back into silence until Sam and Chloe came running up. Bailey stood up and wrapped his arms around Sam.
"How is he?" Sam whispered. Bailey closed his eyes and sighed. "Bailey, how is he?"
"It doesn't look good, Sam."
"What happened?" Chloe asked, sitting next to Grace in a chair.
"He got shot, and the bullet lodged in his lung. He probably has a collapsed lung, among other things," Grace said.
"Is he going to die?" asked Chloe, looking at Sam, and then back to Grace. There hadn't been any members of her "family" that had died within the past few years, and Chloe didn't want to see it happen now.
Grace put an arm around Chloe's shoulders and said "I don't know, honey, but it doesn't look good."
Bailey led Sam to a chair and said "I'm going to get you a cup of coffee. Chloe, you want anything?" Chloe shook her head, and Bailey turned his attention back to Sam. "We'll talk in a minute, okay?"
"Okay," Sam said, nodding her hand. "Thanks, Bail." When Bailey got back, Sam sat with the coffee in her hands. "I'm... I'm not ready to do this again. I don't want to see another person I love die, Bailey."
"He'll be okay, Sam. He's been shot before."
"Not like this."
"I promise he'll be okay." The group sat in silence for about thirty minutes until a doctor came out of the ER doors.
"I'm looking for Bailey Malone," said the doctor, an attractive brunette.
"I'm Agent Malone," Bailey said, standing up.
"I'm Dr. Christine Sanders. I performed the operation on John Grant."
"How is he?" Sam asked, not moving from her position in the chair.
"I'm sorry but.. He went into shock, his heart stopped and we... We lost him. I'm terribly sorry for your loss," said Dr. Sanders. She turned and went back into the ER, leaving the grief stricken group behind.
Sam stood up to walk outside, and started sobbing. Chloe got up and pulled her mother into an embrace. He watched as Grace and George slowly joined the Waters, and then felt himself being drawn into the hug.
Friday, April 17, 2006
Chloe smoothed the front of her dress and went downstairs. When she reached the living room, she called "Mom?"
"I'm in the kitchen, Chlo," Sam said. Chloe walked back into the kitchen, her shoes clicking against the hardwood floor. She saw Sam sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in her hands and still dressed in her pajamas.
"Mom, you better get ready. The funeral starts in an hour," Chloe said. "You are going, right?"
"I'm going to stay home, Chloe. I'm not up to..." Sam let her sentence trail off. Chloe sat down across from Sam, and thought for a second.
"Mom, remember when Coop died? You told me funerals were a good way to say goodbye to someone you loved, So why aren't you going?" Chloe asked.
"Sweetie, I... I was in love with John, and I realized it too late," Sam whispered, staring out the window at the pouring rain.
"Oh..." Chloe said. She stood up and gave Sam a kiss on the cheek before picking up her keys and pulled on her coat. "I'll see you when I get home, Mom."
"Bye, Chlo... And I will say goodbye to him," Sam said.
A Few Days Later
Sam stood at the end of the path, a red rose in her hand. "I... I was in love with you, John. I still am. And it hurts to be saying goodbye before I even got to tell you what I felt. I just wish I could've seen you, could've talked to you... I wish for a lot of things, but I wish I could've spent just a few days with you, living happily ever after. I know Tom probably wanted me to move on, and I did. Now I'm going to try to move on again. Goodbye, John," Sam said, placing the rose at the foot of the grave.