Peeps!! This is a very important chapter, so I hope you all enjoy it. I'll get to work on the next one as soon as i can. Oh and a quick note, in the last chapter, i mentioned that Taylor's birthday was coming up but then made the mistake of having Cory say she wouldn't leave Taylor alone on her birthday. It is not actually Taylor's birthday in chapter 11, it's near the beginning of November. Cory comes to visit because she isn't sure she can make it on Taylor's actual b-day. Sorry for any confusion!
As always, read, enjoy, & please review!!
Chapter 12...
Tuesday…
Dawn groaned, the pain in her head getting worse and worse. She'd had a migraine for days and it showed no signs of going away. She looked up at the ceiling, taking deep breaths. The light was bothering her but, of course, she couldn't turn it off. Before Savannah left, she'd strapped her to the headboard again. Every day, Dawn woke up, hoping that this was some horrible dream. There wasn't any way that this crazy person had really held her captive for all this time. This was some horrible nightmare and any minute, she was going to wake up at home and she would come to her senses and call Mark and tell him she loved him. Then, Savannah would come in and reality set in. Savannah wanted her baby, and she was going to keep her there until she gave birth. And then…she couldn't think about what would happen after that. She tensed when she heard the doorknob turn.
"It's just me."
She felt herself relax when she heard his voice. The man she'd come to know as Jim. It was strange to her that she'd developed what could almost be called a bond with this man. He was helping Savannah keep her there but when he told her that he was a hostage too, she believed him. She'd tried to get him to tell her what Savannah held over his head but he wouldn't but somehow she just knew that he wasn't lying to her. It was probably just some form of Stockholm syndrome but having a little contact with someone who didn't want to murder her was one of the only things keeping her sane.
"You don't look too good," he frowned, walking to her with a bottle of water.
"How good would you look if you were in my position?" Dawn glared at him.
"Bad choice of words," he winced. He held up a small cup of vitamins, "You need to take these."
She opened her mouth and he gave her the pills followed by a few sips of water.
"Can you turn the light off?" she asked, squinting against the offensive brightness. "My head is killing me."
He flipped the switch, leaning against the wall beside it, "Baby still kicking like crazy?"
"Not today," she answered. "Cant blame the kid for kicking. We all just wanna get out of here, right?"
She shifted, trying to get comfortable. She hadn't been feeling well so she'd been laying down a lot and her back was killing her from all the pressure. She winced when the leather strap holding her wrist rubbed a sore spot.
"Jim," she looked up at him.
"Yeah?"
"Can you loosen these, please?"
"Dawn you know I can't-"
"Where am I gonna go?" she asked. "I feel like I'm 50 months pregnant, my head is gonna explode and my legs are like jelly. I'm not asking you to free me, just help me get a tiny bit more comfortable."
"Alright," he said, loosening the strap on each wrist.
They both jumped when the front door slammed. Dawn felt the same chill she felt down her spine every time she heard Savannah come back.
"I'll go keep her busy for a while," Jim said. "You get some rest."
Cory walked down the hall, dragging her bags behind her, praying she'd be able to get a long nap in before she had to head to the Pepsi Center. She hadn't slept much the night before. After her meeting of sorts with Dr. Tanner, she went to see her brother EJ, who was overseeing some renovations at the family's estate. He insisted that they go out to eat and catch up and that lasted a few hours. By the time she got back to her hotel, it was after 11 and she was still wide awake. She couldn't find anything to do and somehow came upon the decision to try and write her speech for the memorial. She wrote about two sentences before she burst into tears and spent the rest of the night crying. Then, the sun rose, she showered, got dressed, and paid a quick visit to Taylor before heading to the airport. She looked at the signs on the wall, rounding the corner towards her room. To her surprise, as she approached her door, she found John, poised to knock. She hadn't talked to him at all since the wedding.
"Well hello stranger," she smiled.
He turned, smiling and waving the hand he was about to knock with.
"I thought you were already here," he scratched his head sheepishly.
"I can see that," she smiled. "What are you doing here?"
"I uh..I just wanted to talk to you. See how you're doing," he shrugged. "I heard you had a pretty bad night after the wedding. I was kind of wondering why you didn't call or anything."
John felt like an idiot saying that but it was the truth. It had been bugging him for days. They were close, extremely close, but she'd talked to Hunter about whatever was going on and not him.
"I asked Hunter to get you that night," she said, pulling her room key out of the envelope the hotel gave her. "But then, he never came back and I figured he couldn't find you. I was gonna call but then I sorta passed out."
John barely heard a word she said after 'I asked Hunter to get you'. He ran into Hunter three steps outside her door and he hadn't uttered a word about her wanting to see him, "You asked him to come get me?"
"Just before I started throwing up all the booze I drank," she said, looking embarrassed. "And a few times after that."
John felt his shoulders get tense but he tried to ignore it. He would have to confront Hunter later.
"Well," he smiled. "I'm here now...You wanna talk about it?"
She smiled opening the door to her room, "Yeah, I'd like that."
Savannah paced back and forth at the foot of the bed, looking up at the ceiling. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. It was like Dawn was doing this on purpose to punish her. She had to do something. She was so close, all she needed was for Dawn to have the god damn baby. But no. Dawn just couldn't give her the satisfaction. She was just laying there, sleeping like she didn't have a care in the world. Well Savannah wasn't going to let that happen. As she approached the bed, Dawn groaned, moving around in her sleep. As she stretched, her right wrist slipped out of it's strap and Savannah saw red.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Savannah's voice startled Dawn awake.
Dawn blinked against the light, her head still pounding, "What are you talking about?"
"This," Savannah's hand gripped her wrist, yanking her arm upward. Her migraine was making everything so hazy, Dawn hadn't even realized that she was no longer bound.
"Dawn, Dawn, Dawn," Savannah smiled that eerie smile. Dawn was most afraid of her when there was a smile on her face. "How many times do I have to tell you before you get it?"
Savannah walked closer, then leaned against the dresser, "You are not going to get out of here. Especially not while you're still carrying my baby.
Dawn cringed internally, almost more at the thought of Savannah claiming her baby than her own life being threatened.
"I've tried really hard to be nice to you but..." She picked up a knife Jim left on the dresser earlier when he brought her some food. Dawn could feel her breathing quicken.
"I don't know any other way to make sure you never try this again," Savannah moved closer.
"I wasn't-"
"Shut up!" Savannah snapped.
Then, her expression turned thoughtful. "You know, I heard somewhere that the shock of pain can make you go into labor."
She held up Dawn's hand.
"Savannah please," Dawn quivered as her unstable captor dragged the tip of the blade across her palm. "Please don't-"
"Shh," Savannah put a finger over her own lips. "It's too late for that now. You have to learn a lesson."
Dawn opened her mouth to plead again but a scream was all that escaped her as the knife blade dug into her hand.
Glenn paced as the phone rang again. he'd tried to call his wife three times and she wasn't answering the phone. He couldn't take this kind of stress so close to her due date. He hated not being able to stay home with her but she insisted that he keep working since Vince was giving him a pretty good push. She kept telling him how she wanted what was best for him. That selflessness was part of what made him love her so much.
"Hello?" she answered, sounding out of breath.
"Jacinda?" he released the breath he'd been holding. "I've been trying to call you for an hour."
"You have?" she sounded surprised. "The phone didn't ring. You must be in an area with a bad signal."
"Maybe," he said, a little confused. "Are you alright? You sound like you just ran a marathon."
"I'm fine," she said. "I just rushed to get the phone. Carrying all this weight around isn't easy."
"Well it wont be long before all that weight is our brand new baby," he smiled.
"I know," she giggled. "God, I cant wait."
"Neither can I," he said, still amazed at his impending fatherhood.
"Listen, honey, I've gotta go, I have to take a shower before I go to the doctor."
"Does your doctor think your husband is an asshole for never coming to your visits with you?" he asked.
"He did at first but I've assured him that you're the best husband in the world," she answered.
"Good," he laughed. "I love you. I'll see you soon."
"I love you too."
"I cant believe you snuck Taylor out of the hospital," John laughed, shaking his head. He and Cory were laying on her bed and she'd just recounted the last few days with him, starting with Vince's offer at the wedding, Mark telling her about the memorial, and finally, her trip to Detroit.
"I had to," she said enthusiastically, rolling over onto her stomach. "John you should have seen her. She's getting so skinny and she had these dark circles around her eyes like she hasn't slept since she's been there. And when she told me how they were treating her I just...I don't know, I had to do something."
She looked at him with inquisitive blue eyes, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"
John shook his head. He didn't know many people that would do what she did for another person, "I don't think you're an idiot. I think you're a great person. And a very good, sort of crazy, friend."
"Thanks," she laughed, rolling her eyes.
It was nice getting to talk to her again after the confusion he'd felt for days. He still wanted to call Hunter out for what he did but he didn't want to think about it at the moment. He did, however, want to think about how much she wanted him there.
"So..." he looked up at her. "Why exactly did you ask Hunter to come get me after the wedding?"
"Well," she said, looking down at her hands and then over at him, "If I'd told you about all this that night...what would you have said?"
"That you're gonna get through all of it," he said. "And you're tougher than you think. You should do the angle, it's a great opportunity that you've worked your ass of to get, and you're gonna make D proud. And you're gonna get through the memorial too. I'll be right there with you to make sure of that."
She smiled softly at him, "And that's why I asked Hunter to get you. Because I always know that you'll know what to say or do to keep me from breaking down. Or if I do break down, you'll help me get through it."
John smiled, not sure what to say. Sometimes it still shocked him when she said such nice things about him.
"Besides, I like having you around Cena," she nudged him in the side.
"Good," he laughed. "I like being around. I hope I can be for a long time," he said sincerely.
"I know you will," she winked.
"Oh yeah?" he smirked. "And how do you know that?"
"Well..." she sighed. "When I was little and I would complain about how I couldn't stand my mother, my gram would always tell me that you're born into your family so you're pretty much stuck with them, like it or not. But there are certain people that come into your life that you just know are supposed to be there. I would never have believed this when I first met you but now...you're one of those people for me."
She was definitely one of those people for him. He couldn't really imagine not having her around.
A slight blush crept up her cheeks and he could tell that she was feeling a little awkward about what she said. For some reason, at that moment, he wanted to kiss her more than he ever had.
He was trying to decide if he should just do it or respond to what she said first when someone banged on the door.
She laughed a little, sitting up, "Who is it?"
John didn't care who it was. Whoever was at the door deserved a swift kick in the balls.
"It's me Kid," Mark's voice sounded through the door. "Come on, we're supposed to meet Jessie for some food."
Cory looked down at John shrugging, "You wanna go?"
John sighed, looking up at the ceiling, "Sure, why not?"
Carter watched her as she thanked the hostess, sliding into the booth alone. There was still some snow clinging to her dark hair and she pulled something out of her bag, pulling it up into a ponytail.
Jessica Farrell.
Fortunately for her, she didn't look a thing like her mother. Carter never did like Brenda. She always looked like a hooker and smelled like smoke. She would have screwed anything that moved but she always whined to Frank about how much she loved him. She would go back and forth, telling Frank she wanted him to be a father to Jessica and then telling him never to come near her. The bitch was crazy. And then, when she became friends with Adelle, things changed completely. She took Adelle's lead, telling Frank he would never see Jessica again and that he wasn't fit to be a father. It tore Frank up that he couldn't see his children. Those little bitches and their mothers were his downfall. And now Carter would be theirs.
Later that night…
"Cory!"
"What?" Cory was startled by her sister's voice. She was watching John on the monitor, cutting a promo on Paul Wight.
"Did you ask me to come in here so I could watch you ogle John?" Jessica smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I was not ogling him," Cory insisted. "And no, that's not why I needed to talk to you."
"Then what do you need little sister?" Jessica sat beside her.
"Well...I'm gonna do something tonight that I'm quite frankly a little scared to do," Cory said. "And I need a little big sisterly reassurance."
"What are you gonna do?" Jessica asked, though she had a feeling she knew what was coming. If it had to do with Cory and John, Jessica was over the moon.
"Earlier today I kinda sorta told John how I feel," Cory said, wringing her hands.
"What?" Jessica stared. "And you two didn't say anything at the diner.
"Calm down, I said kinda sorta," Cory laughed. "It was sort of a precursor to the big reveal. I mean, Mark got there before either of us could say anything else."
"And tonight you're gonna tell him..." Jessica motioned for her to continue.
"I guess I'm gonna tell him that.." Cory took a deep breath, running her hands through her hair. "I'm gonna tell him that I want us to be more than what we are. I wanna take a shot at the whole relationship thing."
"You're so eloquent for someone with a private school education," Jessica smirked.
"Jessie, I'm nervous," Cory smacked her sister on the leg. "You know how inarticulate I get."
"I know," Jessica laughed, putting her arm around her shoulders. Cory rested her head on her shoulder.
"Cory, you don't have any reason to be nervous," Jessica rested her head atop her sibling's. "John loves you. It's common knowledge. I don't know how he's made it this long without telling you. Trust me, the reaction you get will be better than you could've hoped."
"But before..he said that he wanted us to be friends and he didn't wanna take advantage of me with all the drama going on. What if he still feels that way?" Cory asked.
"Then you just have to convince him that you're ready for this," Jessica said. "I'm sure you can handle it."
Sarah pulled her car into the lot of the Central Regional Laboratory in West Trenton.
She turned off the lights and pulled her purse onto her shoulder. She picked up her cell phone, stopping when she saw the time. 9:15.
"Shit," spat, running a hand through her hair. When she called earlier, she was told Owen left at 9. She knew she should have left earlier. She just didn't expect there to be that much traffic. She got out of the car, closing and locking the door, hoping that he was running late.
"Here goes."
Smackdown…
"This is really getting ridiculous," Victoria said in a clip from Raw on Monday. She was standing in the middle of the ring after beating Christy Hemme in a quick match. "There is no woman in this business that can beat me. I mean really, Trish Stratus, Jazz, Molly Holly, Jackie, Gail Kim..the list goes on and on. I have beaten every one of them. Beaten is an understatement really, I have torn them all apart. I don't have any competition here. I'm getting bored. Hell, somebody go get Dawn Marie and I'll beat her too."
The crowd booed and a few fans even threw things into the ring while Victoria just shrugged.
"I need some competition," Victoria insisted.
After that, an independent wrestler from the area came out and was completely squashed by the women's champion.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to WWE Smackdown," Michael Cole said enthusiastically as the show came back after the recap of Victoria's antics from Raw. "Vince McMahon announced earlier today that Victoria would be fined for the comments she made regarding Dawn Marie on Raw."
"Good," Taz said. "You know, I like Victoria and all but..she went too far. Way too far."
"I agree Taz," Michael said as Torrie Wilson made her way to the ring.
Then, Victoria's music began and the crowd heckled her viciously as the Women's Champion made her way to the ring.
Victoria reveled in the crowd reaction as she climbed into the ring and handed her belt over to the referee.
10 Minutes Later…
Victoria hit another Widows Peak before standing up and laughing at an unconscious Torrie Wilson. The match was already over but she'd continued to beat the other diva after the bell rang.
"This is just wrong," Taz shook his head.
"What is wrong with her?" Michael asked as Victoria nudged Torrie out of the ring with her foot before snatching a microphone from the ring announcer.
"Do you people see what I mean?" Victoria asked. "All I'm asking for is somebody worth my time. I'm getting sick of these inferior women night after night. This is just too easy."
The crowd suddenly went nuts as someone came over the security barricade.
"Oh my God!" Taz exclaimed as the camera panned out to reveal the person standing behind Victoria. Cory Flair stood behind her, arms crossed, glaring a hole through the champion.
"What is Cory doing here?" Michael asked.
"I think we're about to get our answer Cole," Taz said as Cory picked up the chair the referee had taken away from Victoria earlier. Victoria continued her promo, "I'll take on one of you people if you think you can take it."
Cory made her presence known, tapping Victoria on the shoulder. The champion turned around and Cory reared back with the chair, cracking it hard over her head as the crowd roared in approval. Cory dropped the chair, kneeling beside Victoria and picking up the mic. She grabbed the other woman's hair and pulled her face up, "You wanted competition bitch? You got it."
"So then he grabs you, you slap him, he turns around and i give him the Unprettier," Jason explained. He and Lianna were discussing the plans for the Smackdown taping. He was set to have a confrontation with JBL and, as she had been for months, Lianna would be at his side. In just a few months, Lianna had become pretty popular with the fans. She started out as personal assistant to Eric Bischoff but after a few skits involving Lianna, Jason, and Eric, Vince liked their chemistry so much that he started an angle that culminated in Lianna becoming Christian's girlfriend and quitting her job with Bischoff. At first, Jason wasn't terribly fond of the idea but after hanging out with Lianna a few times, he didn't mind so much. One of his biggest fears was that Christian fans wouldn't like her and would, in turn, start to dislike him but he soon found that Lianna was incredibly funny. They came up with a lot of good stuff together and the fans seemed to love it.
"Sounds good to me," Lianna smiled. "Any day that I get to slap John is a happy day."
"Don't mind him," Jason laughed. "I think he's mean to you because he's got a little crush on you."
"That doesn't make me want to slap him any less," Lianna frowned. "Now I just wanna slap you."
"You're such a violent little person," Jason laughed, patting the top of her head.
"Oh yeah, calling me a little person is gonna bring the level of hostility down," she smirked.
"So listen...I went out for drinks with your brother last night," Jason changed the subject. "And he said you told him he has no chance with Jessica. A little harsh, don't you think?"
"I know, I know, I feel bad about it," she sighed, shaking her head. "But Jay, come on, you see how Jessica is with Hunter, everybody does. I just think William's gonna get hurt if he keeps trying."
"Probably but if he cant see it, then maybe he needs to get hurt a little," Jason shrugged.
"Maybe," Lianna shrugged. "I can't spend too much more time worrying about my siblings' love lives. I have one of my own to worry about."
"Oh yeah?" Jason smirked. "Anything I should know?"
"Just that I have a date tomorrow night," Lianna smiled.
"With who?" Jason asked.
"None of your business."
Sarah walked into the building and saw a very pretty, older African American woman standing behind a desk.
"Excuse me," she said softly, walking up to the desk. "Would it be possible for me to see Owen Wagner?"
"Mr. Wagner," the woman raised an eyebrow. She smiled, "Well it's about time."
"I'm sorry?" Sarah stared at her, confused.
"Forgive me dear, it's just a relief to me to finally see a pretty girl coming in to see Owen," the woman smirked. "My name's Yvonne."
"I'm Sarah," Sarah shook her hand. "Sarah Chadwick."
"Well Sarah, Mr. Wagner is talking to a few detectives right now and technically, you shouldn't be here at this time of night," Yvonne informed her.
Sarah started wringing her hands.
"But you're more than welcome to wait," Yvonne smiled. "Have a seat."
"Thank you so much," Sarah smiled, walking over to the chairs in the front of the lab near the windows. She stopped, turning back, "Umm…Yvonne?"
"Yes?" Yvonne looked up from what she was doing.
"Could you…could you tell me about Mr. Wagner?"
"Depends," Yvonne said, standing up and walking over to her. "What do you want to know?"
"Anything you're willing to tell me," Sarah smiled.
"Alright then," Yvonne sat in one of the chairs, gesturing for Sarah to do the same. "Owen's worked here for about…Oh I'd say seven years now," Yvonne said. "We have 5 sections here. Drugs, Toxicology, General Chem, Biology, and DNA. Owen started off as a DNA tech when he was in school. Then once he finished school he worked here as one of our DNA Scientists. He was working under Dr. Grier. About 4 months ago, Dr. Grier got promoted to the Biology Manager so basically he oversees everything with Bio and DNA and Owen got bumped up to Section Leader DNA, which really pissed off some fellow scientists but that's another story…anyway, then three months ago, our Bio section manager up and died on us and since then Owen's been not only the DNA Section manager but he's also the acting Bio Section Manager."
"Wow," Sarah nodded.
Yvonne smiled, "Oh and he's 28, tall, handsome and very single."
Dawn tried to keep her breathing steady. The pain was blinding. She could feel blood running over her hand and down her arm. She felt like she was going insane. She was hot and sweaty and every second it seemed harder to breathe. She wasn't sure what was happening, if she was having a panic attack or what. Then, she felt a pain in her stomach like she'd never felt before.
"No," she whispered. "No, no, no, no, not now."
Chris walked into women's locker room, tapping his knuckle on the wall to get Cory's attention. She was the only one in the room, brushing through her hair. He'd been looking for her after getting a call from Jonah, explaining her visit to Taylor and her decision to take over Taylor's hospital bills. It was amazing to him that she was doing all this, without having any knowledge that the person she was helping was, in fact, her sister. He felt guilty for keeping the information from them but he just wasn't sure how to go about telling the people involved. Not yet. He did have to thank his friend though. Someone had to.
"Hey," she smiled, walking up and giving him a hug. "What's up?"
"I just talked to Jonah," he explained. "He told me about you getting Dr. Tanner on Taylor's case and footing all the bills. I just..I wanna thank you."
"Don't," she smiled. "I'm not doing it for thanks. I just want Taylor to have the best treatment possible so she can get better and then you two can be all in love and get married and all that."
"Ha ha," he rolled his eyes. "Really Cory, it's just nice to know that someone else cares as much as I do."
"Well I do," she smiled. "Now tell me, how've you been? We work together and I feel like I haven't talked to you in years."
Chris gave her an apologetic smile. He knew a lot of his friends felt the same way. He really didn't have much time to spend with them because almost all of his off days were spent going to Detroit to take care of Taylor.
"How've you been?" Cory asked.
"Stressed," Chris admitted. "Very stressed."
"Well, friend," she took his hands. "I think it might help if somebody tells you that you cant take the whole world on your shoulders. I cant imagine the toll all of this with Taylor is taking on you but you need to keep in mind that you have friends who love you and if you need anything, we're all here for you."
Chris thought about how Dawn and Viveca helped him get Taylor a job, and how Cory and John flew to Chicago with him to search for Taylor when she left. There were countless other times that his friends had been there for him and maybe it was time that he told someone what was going on. He just wasn't sure who.
"I appreciate that," he squeezed her hands. "Now how have you been? Congratulations on the bad ass comeback by the way."
"Liked that did you?" she smiled. "Thank you. And aside from the man trouble and the death threats, I've been fine."
"Death threats?" Chris stared.
"I've gotten a couple creepy gifts," she shrugged. "Defaced pictures and Barbie dolls, shit like that. It's probably just some freak that thinks this is funny. It doesn't happen too often so I try to just let it go. Believe me, the man trouble is much more taxing."
"Hey Cory, Viveca's looking for you," John leaned into the room. He smiled, "What's up Chris?"
Chris nodded at his friend but he was distracted, thinking about the gifts Cory was getting. He couldn't help but wonder if that had anything to do with what was happening to Taylor.
"I'll tell you all about that stuff later," Cory said. "Let's go to breakfast tomorrow. I'll get a group together."
"Okay," Chris nodded absently before she left the room. Chris walked quickly back to the men's locker room and pulled out his cell phone. He needed to work harder to figure out what was happening with Taylor before she, or anyone else they knew, got hurt. And he had an idea where to start.
He dialed Paula's number and waited.
"Hey Chris, what's up?" she answered.
"Do you think you can arrange a meeting for me with your father?"
"My dad?" Paula sounded confused. "Why?"
"Because I need to hear what he knows firsthand."
Smackdown…
Jessica Dudley slapped the ring apron as Batista gave Ric Flair a spine buster.
"Do you think Jessica's set a record yet for how many different men she's been with in the WWE?" Michael Cole asked. She and Batista had turned on Ric Flair two weeks earlier, the night that she was set to marry the Nature Boy on Raw.
"I'm not sure it's a record," Taz laughed. "But I know it's a lot."
The crowd jeered as Batista maintained the upper hand and Jessica beamed from the floor. Then, the crowd's reaction began to change. They started cheering loudly.
"What now?" Michael asked.
The camera cut to the ramp and a flash of red hair coming toward the ring.
"It's Lita!" Michael Cole yelled as Lita grabbed Jessica's hair from behind, causing Jessica to cry out in pain. Lita slammed Jessica's face onto the ring apron before yanking her backward, causing her to hit the back of her head on the floor.
"We haven't seen Lita in over a year," Michael said.
"We haven't seen Lita since Jessica Dudley took her out of action," elaborated as the returning diva jumped on top of a still reeling Jessica and started pummeling her with rights and left. The referee was distracted by the brawling women, giving Ric Flair the opportunity to hit Batista with a thumb to the eye, a low blow, and a chop block. Then, he locked in the figure four. The referee looked back just in time to see Batista tap. As the timekeeper rang the bell, referees and security raced to the ring to separate Lita and Jessica who had their hands firmly tangled in each other's hair.
"Well this has certainly been a night of surprises."
"I am so glad you're finally here!" Cory exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Amy. After having neck surgery, Amy had been out of action and off the road for 15 months.
"I know," Amy laughed, hugging her friend back. She and Cory worked together in ECW for a short time and remained good friends. They didn't get too many chances to talk but they met up whenever they could.
"You look fantastic," Cory stepped back.
"Time off will do that to you," Amy smiled. "God it is so good to be back here."
"Good to have you back," Jessica walked up, hugging the redhead. "We all need to go out tonight. After you beat me up, I could use a drink."
"That would be awesome," Amy laughed. "Now before we start boozing, there's someone that I really need to see."
"Who's that?" Cory asked.
Amy looked around, scanning the familiar faces, production workers, camera crew, a few security guards, some wrestlers. Then, she saw who she was looking for, blue and black hair and all.
"Him."
"I am a lucky man," Jeff smiled as his wife walked toward him in a very short red and white dress and heels.
"Damn right you are," she smiled standing on her toes to give him a kiss. "Have you seen Adam? We're up in 10 minutes."
"Yeah, he was doing his hair last time I saw him," Jeff shrugged. "He might be a while."
Viveca laughed, shaking her head, "Sounds like Adam."
"Listen, I was thinking-"
"Jeff!"
Jeff stopped when he heard the voice.
He turned around and before he knew it, Amy's arms were wrapped around him.
"Hey Amy," he said uncomfortably, patting her on the back.
"God I missed you so much."
Viveca cleared her throat and Amy squeezed him tightly again before pulling away, her hands still on his arms. She cast a quick glance in Viveca's direction, "Oh hey V..I didn't see you there."
Owen walked into the reception area to tell Yvonne to go home. As the front desk manager, she was free to go at 6 but she always stayed as late as he did and she had a family to go home to. He stopped when he saw Yvonne sitting in the waiting area. He'd never seen the woman with her before. She was pretty with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her warm, brown eyes were focused as she listened to Yvonne talk.
He walked over to them, "Ladies."
Sarah looked up at Owen and momentarily forgot how to speak. Yvonne had been right on the money when she'd described him as tall and handsome. He looked to be a little over 6 foot with piercing gray eyes and brown hair that fell into his eyes a little. His chiseled face had a little stubble and he smelled good even from a few feet away. He was wearing a light blue, button down shirt and black pants under a white lab coat.
"Owen," Yvonne stood up. "This is Sarah Chadwick.
"She's here to see you. She seems very smart and she's adorable, don't mess it up," Yvonne whispered in Owen's ear before waving at Sarah and going back to her desk.
"I'll try not to," Owen smiled. He gestured for Ms. Chadwick to follow him.
"I called yesterday but you were busy," she said as they entered the lab.
"I'm sorry," he said, turning on the light. "What can I do for you?"
"Well," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm not gonna beat around the bush. I need your help."
"My help?" he repeated, putting some samples in one of the room's 10 refrigerators.
"Yes," she said, following him. "It's about Michael Farisse."
Owen stopped when he heard the name. He hadn't heard it in a while. He turned to look at her, "What about him?"
"It's my understanding that you and Dr. Stephen Grier handled all the forensics from his case," she said.
"We did," he nodded, going back to what he was doing.
"It's also my understanding that Michael's case is still unsolved," she said.
"It is," Owen nodded, his back to her as he searched for a file.
"And I learned from a very reliable source that you didn't want the case to be dropped," Sarah said. "You were looking into it on your own."
Owen rolled his eyes. He wasn't in the mood for reporters. In his line of work, he saw quite a few of them and he'd never been particularly fond of any of them.
"I dropped it after a few weeks," Owen shrugged. "The police ruled it a suicide. It was overturned but they stopped looking into it. They're still convinced he killed himself."
"But.." she gestured for him to continue.
"I didn't say 'but'," he shrugged.
"I sensed it," she shrugged, smiling.
She was cocky. Strike two.
"But," he sighed. "I'm not quite sure if they were right….why are you asking about the Farisse case?"
"Because I don't think they were right either," Sarah said. "And you may be the only person who agrees with me."
She was right, Owen had never believed that the Farisse case was a suicide but Grier, and eventually the police, had ordered him to let it go.
"Ms. Chadwick," he turned to her. "The Farisse case is closed."
"But if you know something, if you had some sort of lead, why not go with it? That seems..irresponsible."
Owen frowned, "Why should I help some reporter who, I'm assuming, is just using this case as a stepping stone to get her career off the ground?"
He could see her grow tense as she crossed her arms over her chest, "I don't know. Why would you wanna help a reporter who's best friend was killed and no one seems to know why?"
"I'm sorry," Owen said, feeling like an ass.
"Didn't assume I knew Michael?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"No," he shook his head. "I didn't."
"Well I did," she said. "And I want to know why he was killed."
"If he was killed, what makes you think I can help?" he asked, taking off his lab coat.
"I told you," she said. "I know you were looking into the case on your own. I don't believe you would've done that if you didn't have anything to go on…And ordinarily, forensics guys don't take that much interest in a case unless they feel very strongly about it."
Owen rolled up his sleeves, turning away, unable to think of anything to say to her. He felt strongly about the case when it happened. He still did. He'd felt the same way about the Dawn Marie case. But he couldn't go against his orders, he could lose his job.
"I guess I just figured that if I came to you I was coming to someone who cared about finding who killed Michael," Sarah said. "I didn't wanna go to the police because they don't think of Michael as a person. They think of him as a case. A statistic. I didn't think you would….Silly me."
Her voice cracked with her last words and Owen could hear her walk out of the lab.
He raked his hands through his hair, "God damn it."
He ran out of the lab and to Yvonne's desk, before he said anything, she pointed out the door and he went outside.
He looked out into the parking lot. She couldn't have left that fast.
"Mr. Wagner."
He turned to see her leaning against the wall, a satisfied smirk on her face.
She was good. She had known what she said would get to him.
"So you'll help me?" she smiled eagerly.
"Yes," he nodded, not believing what he was saying. "I'll help you."
"So I'll see you guys tonight, right?" Jessica asked as she walked out to her rental with John, Cory, and Amy.
"I don't remember being invited to the party?" John smirked, his arm around Cory's shoulders.
"You weren't," Amy laughed. "No boys allowed."
"Sorry John, it's not that we don't all adore you," Jessica smirked. She winked at Cory, "Some more than others."
"Oh stop Jessie," Cory made a face at her sister as John opened the trunk of his rental, dropping their bags inside..
"I'll see you later J," John smiled before getting into the car.
"The bar on the corner by the hotel at 9 Jess," Amy pointed before getting into the back seat of John's car.
"Why isn't she riding with me?" Jessica laughed.
"Because God doesn't want me and John to have a minute alone tonight," Cory smirked.
"You sure you wanna go out?" Jessica asked, dropping her gym bag in her own trunk. "I mean, I know this is kind of a big day and all."
"It's Amy's first night back and she really wants to go out like old times," Cory said quietly. "We'll have a couple drinks, do a round in Dawn's honor and then I can come back and John and I can talk."
"Talk?" Jessica smirked. "Mmhmm."
"Bye Jess," Cory rolled her eyes before getting into the car.
As they drove away, Jessica reached up to close her trunk, then remembered the perfume bottle in her bag. The last time she left a perfume bottle in the trunk her clothes got soaked.
She unzipped the bag pulling out the perfume, then slammed the trunk and quickly got into the car. It looked like it might rain and she wanted to get back to the hotel before it started.
Dawn's hair was soaked with sweat, her throat raw from screaming. Every muscle in her body ached and she was tingling all over.
She'd given birth.
After feeling the pain, she'd called for Jim and Savannah. Jim, who she found out that night had some sort of career in medicine, told her that she was going into labor. After hours of contractions and pushing, screaming, and pain, she finally gave birth to she and Mark's child. A baby girl. And she'd barely gotten the chance to look at her. Savannah held the baby, with her back to Dawn as Jim cut the umbilical cord and they cleaned her up. Dawn could hear her crying and she desperately begged Savannah but she just walked out of the room with her baby in her arms. Jim had cleaned Dawn up, got her comfortable, and then stitched the wounds in her hand. Now she was alone, laying in bed, tears streaming down her face as she prayed that somehow, she would be able to look at her baby girl again. Savannah had asked her once what she wanted to name her child. Dawn didn't have to think about it. She and Mark used to say that if they ever had a boy they would name him Mark and if they had a girl, they would name her Shelby. She couldn't remember which one of them suggested the name but they both loved it.
Shelby Corinne.
"She's beautiful."
Dawn tensed when she heard the door open. Normally knowing it was him and not Savannah would ease her mind a little but this time it didn't. After all those hours of labor, he helped Savannah take her baby away from her.
"I wanna see her," Dawn insisted.
"You know I cant do that," he shook his head.
"Yes you can," Dawn sat up as much as she could. She wanted to pick something up and throw it at him but she was too weak and her newly stitched hand was too tender. "Go get my daughter."
"Dawn if I could I would but there's no way she's letting that baby out of her sight," he sighed.
"That baby is mine!" Dawn screamed. "She's my baby!"
"I know that," he said, sitting in the chair beside the bed. "And I am so, so sorry Dawn but-"
"Get out," Dawn said, tears filling her eyes. He wasn't going to help her, he was too afraid of Savannah.
"But-"
"Get out of here," she cried. "That crazy bitch is gonna kill me soon and I don't want any of my last moments to be with you."
"Many times I've tried to tell you
many times I've cried alone.
Always I'm surprised how well you cut my feelings to the bone.
Don't wanna leave you really
I've invested too much time.
To give you up that easy
To the doubts that complicate your mind.
We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder.
We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under.
Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better
Weeeeee belong, we belong, we belong together."
Jessica belted along with Pat Benatar as she drove back to the hotel.
She was about to start singing along to the second verse when she heard a strange sound in the backseat. She turned the radio down to see if she would hear it again. Then, before she could turn around to check the backseat she felt something tight around her neck.
Carter tried to tune out her annoying screeching as he pulled the cloth around her neck.
"Shut up!" he yelled, pulling the scarf tighter. She scratched at his hands letting go of the wheel. He looked into the rearview mirror and her blue eyes locked with his. Her face was turning red. When the car started to veer into the next lane, she gripped the wheel, trying to straighten the car. She used one arm to steer and she tried to slap at him with the other.
"Stop it!" he yelled. "Stop!"
Jessica struggled for air as she felt her throat being crushed by the cloth. She was beginning to lose consciousness, black splotches clouding her vision. Scratching at him seemed to have no effect and she looked around, trying to find some way out of this. Then, she remembered the perfume in the passenger seat. Blindly, she grabbed the bottle as she tried to steer the car toward the shoulder. She sprayed the perfume behind her, knowing she'd gotten him in the eyes when he yelled out in pain and let go of the cloth around her neck. She gasped, grabbing at the door handle until she got the door open and rolled out onto the gravel. Pain shot through her as rocks and gravel scraped her skin. When she stopped rolling, she looked up, still gasping for air as she watched the car crash into a telephone pole. She struggled to stand, her lungs feeling like they were on fire and her neck rubbed raw.
She stumbled back toward the street, "Help! Help me!"
Hunter was driving back to the hotel from the arena when he heard the screaming.
"Help me!" He saw a young woman with dark hair stumbling on the side of the road, waving her arms. He pulled over and as he got closer to her he realized who it was. He pushed his door open and rushed toward her, almost tripping on the loose gravel.
"Jessica!" he yelled.
"Hunter!" she cried, running to him. She fell into his arms, crying hysterically. "He tried to kill me."
