Making My Way Back to You

~JaYNiQuE

Ch 7

Memorial

"Janet…what are you doing here?" Jack asked her. "I don't know Jack. I thought I would support my husband during this hard time. I thought as your wife I have every right to be here for you and my step-son." Janet said. "I'm glad I showed up when I did. I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd showed up a little later." She continued. "I can't believe you would use your son's accident to get Jack back. Don't you have any shame Carly?" Janet accused. "Jack…" Carly warned looking at him and then at her son. "Let's take this outside. This isn't the place for this discussion. Looking at Carly, "I'll be right back, okay." He said kissing her on the cheek. Placing his hand on the small of Janet's back, Jack led her out of the room.

"What's going on Jack? What did I walk in on?" Jack sighed. He rubbed his hand over his chin, scratching his head, he responded "I can't deal with this right now Janet. My main concern is being there for my son."

"Oh, so that's why you were kissing Carly?"

"You don't know what you are talking about."

"Then explain me then Jack, how you could be kissing your ex-wife not even an hour after we got married?" Janet demanded. "I don't have time for this." Jack said turning his back on her. "I deserve answers. I am your wife Jack! Or do you not know what that means?" Jack turned around and faced her. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"How about you be honest with me. Do you regret marrying me?" She asked him, trying to hide the obvious hurt in her voice.

"I care about you….." he told her. "I really do, but"

"But not the way you love Carly."

"No, I'm sorry. I really am. I never meant for all this to happen. I'm not saying I want an annulment, or anything. I just…let me concentrate on Parker getting better and then we'll sit down and talk."

"I don't want to lose you…" she whimpered. "I thought I'd finally found the one. I was so happy, but it seems since we've gotten engaged it's been one thing after the other. I should have taken the hint after Sage and Parker pulled that stunt at Halloween, but I didn't because I love you so much. I thought that we had something special and that no matter what happened we would work on things together. I thought we would be one big happy family."

"Janet……" Opening his arms Jack said, "Come here." Janet fell into his arms with ease. "I'm sorry." He said silently in her hair. "I'm not saying I'm leaving you. So stop talking let that." He paused. "Look at me." Jack and Janet locked eyes. "I do love you."

"I know" Janet whispered. "But I'm not going to come between you and your family. If you want to be with Carly, I'll step aside. Unlike her, I love you enough to let you go."

"Are you questioning the depth of Carly's love for me?" he asked.

"Not at all. I just said she has never let you go." Janet replied.

"Carly hasn't let me go because I haven't let her. Because I never let her go."

"Of course you're defending her. Whatever Jack." Janet said walking away. Jack grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you're going? I'm not done talking to you. You have it all wrong Janet. Just because Carly and I still hold onto each other doesn't mean we want to be together."

"You were just kissing her." She retorted.

"It's not the first time I've kissed her." Jack countered.
"Is that right?"

"I don't want to fight with you."

"Then don't. Let me be with you."

"I don't think…I…I just think Carly and I should handle this together." He told her.

"Jack---How's Parker doing?" Katie asked as she, Brad, and Liberty walked up to them.

"He's stable. Carly is in with him right now."

"Can I go see him?" Liberty asked.

"One at a time though." Jack said taking his focus off Janet and onto Liberty. "Tell Carly I said its okay for you to visit." He continued. After Liberty left, Jack explained Parker's condition to Brad and Katie. "Right now they are just waiting for the swelling to go down. His brain injury is their main concern."

"Poor Parker." Katie replied. "We called Margo; she should be here any minute. Dallas went over to Lily's house to check out the scene. We also called Kim. She said we can do a segment on what happened to Parker. Maybe if we get the word out we can find out who did this." Brad stated.

"With all the chaos, I didn't even think to call the station. I just have been so concerned about Parker." Jack confessed.

"Well, that's why you have us. Don't worry about all that. I'll handle this myself." Margo said walking up to them. Hugging Jack she asked, "How are you holding up?"

"As good as can be expected. I'm more worried about Carly than anything. She refuses to leave his side. First Hal died and Rosanna's coma, then Gwen leaving. She can't lose Parker too."

"Besides you and the kids she really doesn't have any family in town." Katie said.

"Except…" Jack paused. "Can ya'll stay here with Carly for awhile. There is someone I need to call."

"You're calling Gwen?" Margo asked.

"No, no. But I am calling someone I know Carly will be happy to see." Jack said taking out his phone and walking off.

"Did any of you see what happened?" Margo questioned Brad, Katie, and Janet.

"No, we were all in the house. After Jack and Parker's fight, Emma took him outside to cool off." Janet replied.

"Where is Emma now? At the farm?" Margo wondered.

"Last we heard she was still at Lily's with Holden."

"I'm going to head over there right now. Will ya'll be okay?" Margo asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to go in and talk to Carly…see how she's doing." Brad told her. "And what about you Katie? What are you going to do?" Margo directed at her. "I was thinking Janet and I will go to Al's pick up food for everyone. I'm sure Jack and Carly are famished. I know I am." She replied. "Brad you hungry?" Katie asked looking at him. "Yeah, I'm starved."

"Well, call me if you need anything." Margo said before leaving. "Janet you coming or staying?" Katie asked her. Sighing, Janet replied, "Yeah, there is no use for me here. I might as well go with you." Katie reached in and kissed Brad soundly on the mouth, "We'll be back later okay."

"Drive carefully. We don't need another accident." Brad said as he walked off towards Parkers room.

***

Inside Parker's hospital room Brad saw Carly and Liberty chatting silently to themselves.

"Hey ladies."

Carly looked up and weakly smiled at him. "The doctor said that if we talk to Parker, he can hear us. So I have been telling him that if he doesn't make I won't see him as a tough guy anymore." Nodding, Brad turned his attention to Carly. "How's the patient doing?"

"The nurse just came in to check him. He's stable for now. All we have to do is just wait for him to wake up. They don't expect him to wake up until the swelling of his brain goes down. Even then we still don't know the extent of the damage." Carly said as she traced her fingers along Parker's arm.

"What about you? How you doing?" Brad asked her. "I just---I can't believe my baby is here. I know I need to be strong for his sake, but I just----I don't know what I'll do if I lose him." Tears stinging her eyes she continued. "I feel so hopeless just sitting here waiting. I need to be doing something. He shouldn't have been here in the first place."

"I know you're not blaming yourself for this?" Brad asked her incredulously. "Cause if you are you might as well get that thought out of your head right now. This is not your fault. The bastard that put him here is to blame."

"I'm his MOTHER! I'm supposed to protect him. It's my job to keep him safe and I wasn't there. I wasn't there when he needed me!" She snapped.

"I'm sorry Carly. I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I know you are only trying to help." She said apologetically.

Silence overtook the room. Their eyes were transfixed on Parker, watching the rise and fall of his chest.

"Brad can you stay here awhile, I want to call and check on JJ and Sage?" She asked him breaking the silence. "Yeah sure, no problem." He replied. Taking her phone off the stand, Carly exited Parker's room.

Outside Parker's room Carly dialed her home number with Lily answering on the first ring. "Carly?" She asked. "Yeah, it's me. How are JJ and Sage?"

"Both worried about Parker. How is he?" Lily asked.

"Right now he's stable, but when they first brought him in…..they lost him twice. He has cracked ribs, a broken arm…he started hemorrhaging. That's what they're mainly concerned about. There is so much swelling on his brain, the doctors don't know how long he'll stay in this coma."

"Oh my God. How are you? Do you want me to bring the kids out there? I'm sure they would love to see with their own two eyes that he's okay."

"Can you keep them a little while longer? I want to see what Jack thinks."

"Sure no problem…..wait here's Sage. She wants to talk to you." Carly heard noises, and then Sage's voice full of concern. "Mommy?" Sage said. "Hey sweetie... Are you being good for Lily?"

"Yeah Mommy. How's Parker? Is he okay?"

"Parker is going to be fine sweetie..."

"When can we see him?"

"Soon sweetie...let me talk to JJ."

"But Mommy…"

"Let me talk to your brother Sage."

"Oh alright…JJ Mommy wants you." Sage screamed over the phone. Seconds later JJ got on the phone. "Mom? How's Parker?"

"He's fine sweetie. Parker will be just fine. But I need you to look after Sage for me. Can you do that? Make sure she isn't worrying too much."

"Okay Mom. When can we see him?" JJ questioned.

"I'm waiting on your Dad to get back and then we'll see okay. Meanwhile I want you to be good for Lily and watch after your sister like I told you."

"Okay Mom."

"Love you sweetie. Now put Lily back on."

"Love you too Mom…hold on…" Carly heard rustling in the background. "Hey...Carly you there?"

"Yeah, listen I'm going to find Jack and I'll call you back. Can you stay with the kids a little while longer? If not I can call Mrs. Thompson to look after them? I know you must be anxious to get back to Holden." Carly said.

"No, I'm fine. I just spoke to Holden. He assured me everything is okay. As a matter of fact, Margo and Dallas are both over there now."

"I didn't know that. Did they find anything?" Carly questioned.

"Not yet, but Margo says she's going to do everything she can to find out who did this."

Carly noticed Jack walking towards her. "Hey Lily, there's Jack...let me call you back."

"Okay, just keep me posted."

"Sure thing. And thanks again Lily. I really appreciate all you're doing." Carly said before hanging up the phone.

"Jack where were you?"

"What's the matter? Did something happen to Parker while I was gone?" He asked worriedly.

"No, no Jack. There haven't been any changes. I was just checking on the kids." Carly paused. "Where were you?" she inquired. Taking Carly in his arms. "I have a surprise for you." Stepping back, Carly looked in his eyes. "What kind of surprise? Does it involve my son waking up? Because if not I don't want any surprises. All I want is my son to be okay."

"And I don't? Carly----there isn't much we can do right now. All we can do is wait. I know how scared you are and I know you blame yourself, but none of this is your fault. It's mine. I know how hard losing Hal, Gwen, and Rosanna has been on you and I know how much you miss your sisters so I thought I do something special so you wouldn't feel so alone…especially now." Jack said sincerely.

"You called Gwen? Is she coming?" Carly probed.

"No, but I did call someone I know you will be happy to see. You just have to wait a few hours for them to get here."

"Who Jack? You know I don't like surprises. Just tell me?"

"Not yet."

"Jack…." She paused. Knowing she wasn't going to get any answers out of him, she changed the subject. "What happened with Janet?" she asked. Jack's expression changed. Loosening himself from Carly's gripe he looked at his feet. "Jack?" she questioned… "Did you tell her?"

"Carly we shouldn't be discussing this right now."

"Why not Jack? You just said there is nothing we can do for Parker today. So answer the question. Or have you changed your mind about us…again..?" She angrily stated.

"Of course not…I meant what I said Carly. I love you!" Stopping, he took her hands in his. "Don't ever doubt my love for you again. What happened with Parker just goes to show how short life really is. I don't want to waste anymore time fighting with you and I damn sure don't want to waste time denying what we both know is true."

"So you told her? You told Janet----"

"Told me what?" Janet asked. Carly and Jack turned to face Katie and Janet who were carrying several bags of food.

"Nothing….it's not important" Jack replied. Shaking her head Carly started to walk off. Jack grabbed her arm. "We're not finished with this Carly."

"Yes we are. You just told Janet it wasn't important. I'm going sit by my son's side. I can't deal with you right now Jack. Parker comes first."

"I'm sure you are probably starved right now Carly. Henry and Vienna sent over a ton of food." Katie said reaching Carly a to-go box. "I'm not very hungry right now Katie, but thank you."

"Carly you have to eat something." Jack said to her.

"I said I'm not hungry Jack...Maybe later."

"No, now Carly...Don't fight with me on this. I can be just as stubborn as you." Realizing she was fighting a winless battle, Carly took the food from Katie hand and sat in an empty chair in the waiting room.

"I'm going to bring the rest of this stuff to Brad and Liberty." Katie said. "Are they still in with Parker?" she asked Carly. "Yeah, they are." Taking the bags from Janet's hand Katie entered Parker's room.

"You want to tell me what I walked in on?" Janet questioned Jack.

"Janet I thought we agreed we wouldn't discuss this right now?"

"Obviously you and Carly were discussing it." She rebutted. "Why don't you tell me Carly? Since Jack here can't seem to give me a straight answer."

"Not my battle sorry." Carly responded as she picked away at the cold food Katie had given her.

"Janet if you're so bent on having this conversation, let's do it away from this hospital…" Looking at Carly, he continued. "I'll be back in a while. If anything changes, call me okay Carly."

"Of course…"

Several minutes after Jack and Janet left, Carly realized that she wasn't going to eat any of the tasteless food that Henry and Vienna sent. Tossing it in the nearest trashcan, Carly re-entered her son's room.

"Where's Jack?" Brad asked.

"He and Janet had some things to discuss….Why don't ya'll head on home. I have things under control here. I'll be fine. If anything changes I'll call." Carly said to them.

"Are you sure Carly? We don't mind staying a little longer." Katie said sympathetically.

"No, no I'm fine thank you."

"If you need anything, you call us okay." Brad said hugging her. "You hang in there tough guy." Liberty said kissing him softly on his forehead. Once she was alone again, Carly looked at her sleeping son.

"Hey, Parker…" she paused. "I know you can hear me. I want you to come back to me okay…Don't push it. You're just as stubborn as me, I want you to come back to me whenever you're ready……I know I haven't been the best Mom and I know I haven't made the best example for you, JJ, and Sage, but I promise you I'll do better." Carly paused, moving the stubborn stain of hair that fell just below his right eye. "Leaving with Simon is something I'll regret for the rest of my life. I know you think I left because I chose him over you, but that isn't true. I left because I had to. Jack thought it would be better for you, your sister and brother if you didn't see me in jail. Now I know that I should have stayed. I lost so much time watching you grow. My precious baby boy. Whenever you're ready to come back to me, to your father, JJ and Sage, we'll all here waiting. We love you so much. To think you and JJ couldn't stand each other and now look at you... You two are inseparable. Sage needs you around to beat up all her future boyfriends. JJ, he looks up to you. I know he'll never admit it but he does. And who will keep me on my toes on? Without you there. You know me so well Parker. And Jack…. Oh Parker, I know you are angry at Jack right now. I know you're mad because you think he hurt me and that's true. He did hurt me, but your father loves you Parker. He was there when you were born. I remember that night. I was stuck at the house with Dr. Dixon, Jack and…..Julia…Dr. Dixon…he was…He was goading me, but Jack, he was there for me every step of the way. My nerves were so bad that night, but your father kept me calm. I was so scared. So afraid I would lose you the way I lost Nora… Nora, my sweet baby girl. She would be your big sister. I nearly lost it when I lost her. Then I had you. Came into the world kicking and screaming. Jack held my hand through every contraction. Helping me through it. I don't think I would have managed it without him being there. And ever since you've been born you and Jack has always had a special connection. Like when everyone thought he had died, but not you. You wouldn't give up. You gave me faith Parker. You gave me the strength to believe that Jack was alive and you were right. You helped me fight to do everything in my power to find him. Now I need you to fight for me. I need you to fight for me Parker. I love you." Kissing his cheek, Carly laid her head on the edge of his bed.

Hours later, a familiar voice woke her from her slumber. "Looks like you need some company." Looking up, a shocked expression etched on her face. "This is a day to remember. Carly Tenney speechless."

"Oh my God Molly" Carly said running into her Cuz's arms. "How did you…when did you…oh my God...?" Carly stammered.

"Jack called me. Said you needed me so I was on the first flight out here." Molly responded.

"Jack called you…Oh Molly…everything is so messed up." Carly cried into her arms.

"Well, I'm here now Cuz. Everything will be okay…"

To Be continued…………