Second Chance
Disclaimer: Early Edition doesn't belong to me, but I loved the show so much. After it was cancelled I was lucky to find this web site which has kept the show alive in my heart. I always thought that Gary needed some normalcy and happiness in his life. On the show he never really got it. So here is how I pictured it.
The characters of EE belong to Tristar Pictures. The other characters in this story belong to me.) This is my very first full length fan fic. Please email me to let me know how you liked Second Chance.
Gary feels like he has lost out on his only chance at happiness and will be spending the rest of his life with just the paper and the cat. However, the paper has a different idea.
Chapter 1
At 35 years of age, Gary Hobson had been getting his paper, tomorrow's paper, for nearly six years now. As he lay in bed with the sound of the fans buzzing around him, he thought about how much his life had changed in those six years. Yeah he had great friends; great parents who adored him, an okay place to live, and a semi-successful business (thanks to Marissa and her hard work). His mind then wandered to the day his ex-wife, Marcia, had booted him from their home and how devastated he was when she filed for divorce. He survived though. How he thought his life would be so different now a wife, a home, some kids…
"It's 6:30 Chicago…and be prepared because today is going to be a scorcher. We are expecting the thermometer to reach the low nineties"….Gary reached over and turned off the radio.
Meow. Thump.
Clad in his t-shirt and boxers, Gary climbed out of bed and headed for the door to greet a new day as the reluctant hero.
"Come on in cat…hungry?"
Gary reached down and in one hand picked up the paper and in the other cradled the cat. He scanned the front page, walked over and set the cat on the table and grabbed and opened a can of cat food.
"This will have to do for you this morning, if you don't like it go see Marissa."
Gary looked at the paper. Due to the heat it seemed everyone in the city of Chicago was a little bit irritated. God, could it get any hotter he thought to himself as he headed for the shower.
Marissa heard the familiar footsteps of her best friend as he headed down the steps to the bar office. She smiled to herself.
Before he even entered the room Gary heard Marissa's voice.
"Morning Gary…"
"How do you do that?"
"I'm blind not deaf…What's the paper got planned for you today?"
"Well if it weren't for this heat…people are so irritable and with the kids being out of school…it seems all I do all day is chase around kids."
Gary pulled the paper from his back pocket and sat down at the desk. "Let's see, I have to stop a kid on a scooter from getting hit by a car near Lincoln Park; I have two repairmen who are going to get burned when an air-conditioning unit explodes in an apartment building; there is a gang of kids that are going to get into a fight at a swimming pool over a laser pointer and one of them is going to fall and crack his head; and then to finish off my day I have to stop two grown kids from fighting on the EL platform because one is going to get pushed in front of a train."
"Sounds like you have a full day ahead of you.
"Yeah, what else is new. It's been a while since you have been in this early. What are you doing here?"
"Do you have time for a cup of coffee this morning? We really need to go over these distributor invoices and we haven't had a chance to talk."
Gary stood up and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. "What did you want to talk about? Is there something wrong?"
Marissa sighed. "No there is nothing wrong…it's just…well we used to talk every morning…I used to be able to catch up with things that were going on with you, how you were doing, that sort of thing. Since Emmitt and I got married, we haven't really been able to do that."
"What did my mother call you?" Gary rolled his eyes.
"No. I haven't spoken to your mother. It's just the last couple of weeks you have been so quiet. I just thought you might like to talk."
Gary stood up from the desk and started to pace the floor. Marissa knew that something was bothering him and as she opened her mouth to speak, she heard Gary's voice.
"It's just… well I have been thinking a lot lately about my life. How the paper has changed it. Thinking about Marcia and what my life would have been like if I wouldn't have screwed up my marriage." He sighed.
"Gary, you didn't screw up your marriage. You and Marcia just weren't meant to be. You said so yourself, you both wanted different things."
"I know…I just feel like I've had my chance." He stumbled with his words as he sat back down at the desk. "My, my chance at happiness and I blew it. I thought my life would be so different by now…a home, a family. With this paper…Marissa, I can't even tell you the last time I had a date…let alone met someone worth dating. I don't want to grow old with just this paper and that cat."
Marissa reached across the desk and grabbed his hand. "Gary you will find someone to spend your life with. You have to have faith that your soul mate is out there and she is looking for you. Look at Emmitt and me. I knew the minute I met him that he was the one. If it weren't for you and the paper, we probably never would have met." She smiled as she thought back to that day Emmitt followed Gary into McGinty's for his cab fair. "And who knows, when you meet the woman that is going to change your life…maybe you will learn that what you had with Marcia wasn't all it was cracked up to be."
Gary raised his head and sighed. "I don't know, I just don't think this paper wants me to have that kind of life." As Gary finished his sentence the cat leaped onto the paper in front of him. "Meow."
"What? Get off the desk!"
As the cat turned to jump down the paper slid open. Gary looked down and saw an article that wasn't there before.
Marissa got concerned when Gary got so quiet. "Gary, what is it?"
"This wasn't here before." Gary rubbed his forehead.
"What…what wasn't there before." Marissa's concern grew.
"A jogger is going to be attacked in Oz Park." He swallowed hard. "The body of an unknown female was found Thursday in Oz Park. It is believed that the women was attacked and killed early Thursday morning while she was jogging in the north end of the park. The women was stabbed several times and apparently sexually assaulted. A police source has indicated that the perpetrator is possibly the serial rapist that has been plaguing this area of the city for months. This however, would be the first time that the rapist has murdered one of his victims. At the present time, police have no suspects. The identity of the victim is being withheld until notification of family."
"Marissa, how am I supposed to stop this? All this says is the north end of the park. I don't even know what time it's going to happen or what this women looks like?" Gary stood up and started to pace.
"Gary, calm down. I think you should call the police…call Detective Armstrong."
"And tell him what? How am I going to explain that I know about this before it happens?" Gary groaned.
"I think he knows you well enough now that he might just take your word for it."
"Marissa I don't have time, I have to get over to the park." Gary grabbed the paper and headed for the door.
"Gary, be careful." Marissa shouted after him. After she heard the door slam, she picked up the phone and dialed information. "Yes, could I please have the number for the 12th precinct."
Kaitlyn Kelly finished tying her running shoes. She had her shoulder length blond hair pulled back in a pigtail and her Cubs cap on her head. She could hear all of the commotion going on in the kitchen and smiled. Her youngest daughter, Casey, screamed, "I want pizza for breakfast Aunt Megan."
She heard her older daughter, Jessica, say, "You don't eat pizza for breakfast. It's not breakfast food. Besides Mommy already gave us breakfast."
"No she didn't!" Casey screamed. "Mommy!"
Kaitlyn walked into the kitchen. "Casey, you know you can't eat pizza for breakfast. We go through this every morning. What did you think you could pull one over on Aunt Megan? You already had cereal."
"Oh, yeah." Casey smiled.
Kaitlyn turned to her sister, "Meg, can you stay with the girls until Mom gets here. I'm going to take a run?"
"Yeah I can stay with them. Kaitlyn, I think it's too hot out there this morning. It's already 85 degrees." Megan stated.
"I like to run when it's like this. It is only going to get hotter later. Besides, the girls and I are going to the baseball game tonight so I can't do it later." She directed her attention towards her daughters. "Girls be good at the zoo today for Grandma." As Kaitlyn started towards the door she heard her sister say…"How about pancakes, Casey? You like pancakes don't you?" Out the door she headed for Oz Park.