Lost
Chapter Three
Matt came in with the wind blowing and the snow chasing him. He slammed the door shut hard and Jess looked up from her work.
"You could have left some of the snow out there."
"Gee I would have never thought of that. Call everyone in. It looks like its going to be a long night of pulling cars off the mountain."
"You got it…oh." Jess breath sucked in.
"Everything okay?" Jess smiled and rubbed her stomach.
"Every time she here's her father's, uncle's or grandfather's voice she perks up." Matt smiled.
"Really?" Jess nodded.
"She does summersaults for Derek and kicks hard for the rest of you." She looked at her brother. "She's going to have all of you wrapped around her little finger."
"Like you didn't." Jess looked down at her belly.
"I guess you forget some of the really good things when you get older." Matt nodded. He had never forgotten the little girl who smiled though all she had gone though.
"Cutler back yet?"
"No, he should be back soon."
"I need him and Cody when he gets back."
"Yes sir." She smiled and picked up the phone calling in the Rangers.
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"Are you sure you don't want to stop for lunch?" Cutler opened the door and took Randa's bags.
"The weather looks kind of bad. Maybe we should head back."
"I can drive in anything but if you'd rather go back I understand."
"I'm a little tired."
"I'm sure Derek has lunch ready." Cutler got into the truck. "Did you find everything?" She smiled.
"Yeah. Tell Jess I'll pay her back as soon as I figure out…well you know."
"I'm sure that's the last thing she's thinking about right now." He pulled onto the street and headed to the road that headed back to the station. "How's the memory thing going?"
"Still nothing other then the name, but that's a start isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's a start." He pulled onto the winding road that headed up to the station. "Cody said we're supposed to get at least a foot."
"Wow, that's amazing."
"That's nothing." He smiled. "You should see the winter weather. This here is a spring storm." Randa smiled.
"It's beautiful if not tiresome."
"It's great till you have to shovel it."
"Have you always lived in the mountains?"
"No, I grew up in the south. I never saw snow until I was sixteen and ended up in Colorado for basic training."
"Little young to join the military?"
"Let's just say it was better then the alternative." Cutler parked his truck in the lot next to Matt's. "Looks like the boss man called in the whole lot." Randa saw the vehicles lined up. "Cody's never wrong about a storm. He said this one was going to hit hard and fast. Matt won't want to take any chances."
"The thought of a foot of snow falling in a few hours seems unbelievable."
"Wait long enough we can get up to six feet in twenty four hours." Randa shook her head and they got out of Cutler went around and helped her with her bags.
"I'm good thanks."
"Sorry my mother and Jess taught me no matter how strong the woman, they all like a door opened once in awhile." He smiled. "Don't let me look bad." She smiled.
"Okay." They walked to the back door of the station. Matt and Hart were serving lunch.
"Just in time." Matt grabbed a couple more plates. "How was your shopping trip?"
"Good." Randa let Cutler take her coat and hung both on the hook along with her bag. "I remembered why Miranda wasn't sounding right to me." Matt smiled.
"That's a start. What did you like to be called?"
"Randa. I just remember my mother's voice and the way she called me in from outside." Jess looked at the older woman. She was glad something had come to Randa. Maybe the rest of her life would fall into place. The conversation seemed to drift onto the weather and Cody confirmed the storm was going to hit hard. After lunch they all went there separate ways. Jess stayed to clean up the kitchen. Robin offered to help.
"Thanks." Jess rinsed and Robin put them in the dish washer.
"How have you been feeling?"
"Good. I hope the worst is over."
"I know Matt told you about our fight." Jess looked at her friend.
"Not really, just that he might need his room aired out." Jess smiled. "My big brother doesn't like to talk out of school, you know that."
"But if he needed to talk you would be the one he went to."
"Maybe me, Cody, or Cutler." She handed Robin another dish. "Is there something that needs a mediator?"
"I guess I just need him to realize he needs to contribute to planning this wedding. He won't even pin down a date." Jess stopped the water and turned to Robin.
"If you told him to have Cutler marry you in the lobby in five minutes he wouldn't think twice. He is so in love with you Robin. No man wants to make the big date. They're afraid it will be too soon or too late. Give him three dates to choose from and make sure you like all of them."
"I don't want anything big. I mean yours was perfect. Just our friends and family. I want to do it soon. I mean why wait." Jess smiled.
"Exactly."
"You know I never did ask if you'd be my matron of honor." Jess smiled.
"Oh Robin." She hugged her friend. "If you wait any longer I'm going to be as big as a house."
"That settles it then. We need to set a date." She grabbed the calendar from the bulletin board. "How about the 28th?"
"It's your wedding Robin." Robin looked at Jess.
"The 28th it is." Robin smiled. "Should I tell Matt?" Jess laughed.
"That might help."
"Will that be okay? Finding what happened with Randa is our first priority."
"We can help Randa and plan a wedding Robin. There's lots of woman around who will help out and mom is a wiz at weddings. And you know what Sarah can do with a dress." Robin smiled.
"Okay, I'll go tell Matt." Jess grabbed her phone out of her pocket and quickly text Matt 'Smile, say great and be happy'. Hopefully he got that before Robin got to him or they might not be much of a wedding to plan.
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Jess sat in Matt's living room. Snuggled in one of her grandmother's old afghans, she read. Derek had gone on an accident call with Cody and Cutler. She knew she should of stayed at work but she couldn't sit behind that desk another minute. The front door opened and Matt came in bringing snow with him.
"You really have to find a new entrance Matt." He looked at her.
"Hey blame your weatherman brother, not me." Sitting on the bench by the door he undid his boots. "Thanks for the heads up this afternoon. I might have just stood quietly and nodded if I didn't know what she was rambling on about."
"It was import to her you were excited." The baby was kicking her hard. Jess put her hand on her stomach. "Great you woke her up and now she thinks she needs to play." Matt smiled.
"Sorry. I just came by to some files I left here the other night when we had dinner."
"They're on the counter in the kitchen. I got a call from the builders this morning. They're going to start on my house the first week in April if the weather cooperates. If you and Robin want to move in here after the wedding me and Derek can find something in town for six months or so till its done. Or move into Robins." Matt looked at his sister.
"Jess this is your home till yours is built." Matt sat down on the chair across from her. "It's funny how you think about things sometimes." He looked down at his boots. "I felt guilty about a lot of things lately. But seeing you with Derek and how happy him and this baby have made you Jess I don't feel guilty about not trying harder to accept you and Cutler." Jess smiled.
"Up until the last couple of months we were together I always felt I was with him just to piss you off. Then it hit me that you don't spend ten years with some one just to make a point. I love that man with all my heart. I was only in love with him with half of it." Putting her hand on her belly she looked at her brother. "Don't ever feel guilty about what happened between me and Cutler. Or anything that happened before or after my time in DC Matt for that matter. I was a bitter, cold hearted bitch back then and it had nothing to do with you."
"I wish you would have told us about Lee and Hale"
"Let it go Matt. I have. They mean nothing to me anymore. They can't hurt me now." She reached over and took his hand. "This family is all that matters anymore." Matt looked at his sister. He knew she was right. Too many years had been wasted with things they couldn't control.
"I better get home before Robin thinks I got cold feet again." He stood. "I can call her if you want me to stick around till Derek gets home."
"You go ahead. I'm going to bed anyway." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
"See you in the morning."
"Yeah." Jess watched Matt leave and wondered if he would ever truly stop feeling guilty for their past.
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"Damn its cold." Derek slid into the driver's seat of the hummer and turned up the heat. Cutler got in the passenger side and took off his gloves.
"Spring is just around the corner my friend." Derek shook his head.
"Why do people insist on driving in this crap?"
"They all have some where they got to be." Cutler pulled out a clip board from between the seats and started on the paper work.
"I can do that when we get back."
"No. When you get back you my friend are going home to your wife." Derek looked at the older man.
"You don't have to do that Cutler."
"Do what?"
"Do my work for me. Jess knows what the job entitles." Cutler looked up at Derek.
"I know. I also know I have nothing to go home to and if given the choice to spend the next six hours curled up to a warm body or paper work and restocking the SUV, I'd pick the first one."
"I'm just saying that working late comes with the territory."
"And I'm saying I'm pulling rank and sending you home." Cutler smiled. "Really Derek, if it was anyone with someone to go home to I would let them. Someone has to stay with Randa anyway." Derek smiled and nodded.
"What?"
"I knew you wouldn't just volunteer for paper work." Derek put the Hummer into drive and headed down the icy road home.
"Your reading more into that then there is."
"So, you like her. What harm is there in that?"
"Oh I don't know. The fact that our government listed her as dead could have some kind of effect on any relationship I may or may not have with anyone."
"Sooner or later that will work it's self out."
"They she'll go back to Idaho and her life." Derek pulled up to the station.
"Then give her a reason to stay." Putting the car into park he looked at his friend. "Give her good memories of her time here and who knows what might happen." He got out of the truck. "You get the paper work. I'll restock." Cutler looked at his ex girlfriend's new husband and wondered how the hell things got so comfortable with him.
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Cody slammed the file cabinet for the seventh time is as many minutes. His famous temper was rearing its head again and Matt didn't like it. They were all a little tense that JT hadn't answered any of their calls but he knew it was more then that bothering his little brother.
"I don't see new office furniture in next years budget so can you go a little easy on the cabinets." Cody looked up from his papers.
"Another foot is on its way. I'm so sick of digging people out of ditches and plowing this crap." Snow was one of Cody's and Jess's favorite things in the world. They lived for the first snow and pushed the season till the last patch melted.
"Maybe you should take your wife and your skis and take a little break." Cody looked up.
"You volunteering to baby sit?"
"Maybe. I think between me and little sister we can handle three kids." Cody sat back in his chair.
"Maybe you and Robin should take them and get some practice in before it's your turn." Matt shook his head.
"We'll see about that."
"And we'll see about the skiing." Cody looked at his brother. "I'm worried about JT."
"Jess has called everyone she could think of. Maybe he's gone underground. I know taking down Kitrick took a lot out of him."
"When should we start to panic?" Jess came into the office ant threw down a file.
"Now would be a good time." Cody and Matt looked at their sister. "His boss just filed a missing person's report on him."
"That can't be good."
"No. Del Grotto wouldn't send up a flair like that if he wasn't worried."
"Did you talk to him?"
"He said that the last time he heard from JT was three weeks ago."
"Right after bringing Kitrick to Colorado." Cody looked at his sister. Things were getting weird around here and he didn't like it. Dead soldiers turning up alive and friends disappearing. He didn't like it one bit.
