Logan and Kendall walked, in silence, down the hospital halllway to waiting room, for a cup of coffee. Kendall knew that whatever Logan wanted to talk to him about wouldn't be good. Logan's icy tone in Francie's hospital room alerted Kendall to that.
The quiet was killing Kendall. They finally reached the coffee counter, Logan selected his K-cup and began brewing his coffee before speaking a word.
"Look, Kendall, this is really uncomfortable for me to say, so I'm...I'm just going to say it, okay?"
Oh, boy! Kendall wanted to turn and run away but he knew he couldn't escape. Whatever was on Logan's mind, Kendall would have to listen to and deal with.
Trying to appear unshaken, Kendall chose his K-cup and waited for his turn on the single serve coffee maker. "Sure, what is it?"
Kendall met Logan's gaze. Logan's dark eyes bore into his soul searching for the truth.
"You're lying to me."
"What?"
"You heard me. You're lying to me, to all of us, and I know it."
"I swear, Logan, I was just helping Francie wash her hair. The nurse asked if I could help...she had an emergency. What was I -"
"So, you're saying that you didn't want to be in the bathroom helping Francie?"
"No...yes...oh, Logan I -"
"And what about the night of the ice storm? You're hiding something about that, too."
Kendall was at a loss for words. Of course he knew he wasn't being completely truthful, but how did Logan know?
God, am I that transparent?!
"I told you what happened the other night. James told Francie to have me come over, we had that phone call with Amber, Francie took off."
Logan had played out that night in his head, a lot, and one thing still bothered him. He glared at Kendall, determined to get his answer, he demanded to know the truth.
"There were hours between Amber's call and Francie's accident...what happened in that time, Kendall? Tell me that!"
Amber sat on the couch in James' trailer, she looked at a number of framed pictures, arranged neatly on a shelf. One had Francie smiling radiantly at the camera as she tucked a ribbon of wavy, dark hair behind her ear, just below a beautiful red flower.
The second one was of Francie and James, obviously taken the same day because the same flower was in her hair.
Judging from the angle, James must have taken that picture himself with his phone. He looks so happy...so does Francie. A jealous fire, fueled by heartbreak, sparked within Amber.
The third one was a picture of James with Marley on his lap, both propping up their birthday cakes for the camera.
Marley is as special to Jamie as Francie is. He really loves that little girl.
The last one showed Marley sitting on Francie's lap, who was sitting on James' lap. His arms were wrapped around both girls and Marley's little arms were wound around the necks of both adults, squishing all three smiling faces together.
They look like a happy little family.
"Amber?" Amber was so into the pictures that she didn't hear James speaking to her.
"Amber," James raised his voice a little to get her attention.
Amber's gaze was torn from the pictures to James. "Yeah?"
"Would you like a bottle of water?"
"Yes, please."
He handed her the bottle. Amber's eyes traveled back to the photos.
"Those are great pictures."
James followed her stare to the photos and he smiled. "Yeah, they are."
"You took the one of Francie, didn't you?" She studied James as he studied the photo of Francie.
James nodded, still gazing at the photo with a loving and affectionate gleam in his eyes. "I did."
"I can tell by the way she's smiling at the camera, it's obvious that she's smiling at the man she loves." Amber looked down at the bottle in her hands, the hurt tearing at her heart.
An awkward silence hung in the air between them until Amber spoke again. "So, I gather, from the finality of your earlier statement, that you proposed to Francie while you were back in Kansas."
James looked away from the photo and shook his head, "No...but I'm going to." He looked uncomfortable as he ran his hand through his hair. "Wasn't the right time with the miscarriage and everything. There's so much she has to deal with right now."
Amber studied James' troubled face as she took a sip of her water.
James rubbed his tattoo, hidden under his shirt sleeve. "Besides, a hospital isn't a very romantic place to propose. I promised her, the next time I proposed to her, I'd do it right."
Amber nearly spit out the water in her mouth. Somehow she managed to contain it and only choked a little.
"You okay?" James pat her gently on the back.
"Yeah," Amber managed between coughs. When she cleared her airway, she turned shocked eyes to James. "Next time? What do you mean next time? You proposed already?"
"Yeah."
"And she said no?!" Amber's incredulously tone was misinterpreted by James.
"She didn't give me an answer, she didn't think I meant it," James defended Francie love and feelings for him.
Amber's eyes widened. "Didn't think you meant it?!"
"She thought I was trying to prove a point." James' anger rose along with his voice. "She loves me Amber!"
Realizing that James misunderstood her reaction, Amber quickly explained. "I know she does, Jamie, who wouldn't? I'm not doubting her love, I'm just surprised you proposed so soon. Frankly, I'm shocked she didn't jump all over it and say yes, considering how she feels about you."
James calmed himself and tried to explain. "It wasn't soon for me." James knew he was about to hurt Amber's feeling and bruise her ego, too, but he wanted to be honest with her, extend the courtesy that Amber hadn't always extended to him.
"Amber, I've loved Francie for years."
Confusion veiled Amber's perfect features. "I'm not following you. You just met her a few months ago. How's that even possible?"
"I fell in love with this perfect, fantasy girl that Kendall talked about. I knew that's what I wanted. I've been looking for a woman just like her, all this time." James shrugged his shoulders, "Now I've actually found her."
"Wait, you're telling me you fell in love with a story?" Amber's expression was clearly skeptical.
"No, I fell in love with Francie. She's every bit as perfect in real life as she was in Kendall's memories, and in my fantasies."
Amber's face morphed from disbelief to pain, at the realization that James' heart never belonged to her. "So...we...you...you never loved me?"
Amber wasn't James' most favorite person in the world, but he didn't enjoy the fact that this conversation, his honest feelings, were hurtful to her.
James spoke softly, trying to be gentle. "I thought I did, for awhile, at least."
"So, I've been fighting a losing battle since we started dating?" A tear slid down Amber's cheek.
"I'm sorry, Amber." I truly am...
"But you proposed to me. We were engaged."
"I know, at the time, I though it was right. I didn't mean to hurt you."
Amber nodded her head slowly, "You know, I think I always knew there was competition for you love, that's why I pursued you so hard from the beginning."
James fought the urge to hug her. He didn't want to send Amber the wrong message. James hated seeing anyone get their feelings hurt, especially when he was the one causing the pain.
Amber turned to look at James. "Are you happy with Francie, Jamie? Are you in love with her?"
James met Amber's blue eyes. "I am, Amber. I love Francie, with all of my heart. She's my everything."
Amber smiled at James and raised her hand to his stubbly cheek. She hesitated before touching him, her eyes reading James' reaction. He didn't recoil in disgust like he had done numerous times before, so Amber continued to move her hand closer to his face until contact was made. She ran her thumb over James' five o'clock shadow, feeling the rough texture on his soft cheek.
"Then you better propose to that lady. This time, do it right, make her say yes."
James was stunned by the words that escaped Amber's lips. The same woman who didn't want to let him go, who tried, every chance she got, to kill his relationship with Francie, just encouraged him to claim the woman he loved.
James placed his hand over Amber's, on his cheek. He smiled, "Don't worry, I will."
"I don't think you'll have to work too hard at it. She loves you. She'd have to if she put up with all of the shit I pulled."
James chuckled, "That's true."
Amber's hand slipped off James' cheek. She sipped her water and James' eyes traveled to the photos, once again. He loved the picture of the three of them, hugging tightly. His mind traveled to the baby he and Francie lost. His face clouded with sadness, and Amber read it, perfectly.
"Thinking about the baby?" Amber asked, softly.
"Yeah. I was going to be dad." Tears welled up in his hazel eyes. Amber's, too.
"You will be a great dad to Marley and, one day, to your own children." Amber took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, Jamie. I never meant -"
"I know. To be fair, the doctor wasn't sure that the accident caused the miscarriage. I was so angry with you, I guess I wanted to hurt you. I'm sorry."
"I can understand that. I haven't exactly been supportive of your new relationship."
"No, you haven't. But don't blame yourself for the baby. You can blame yourself for all the other shit, though." James wasn't going to let Amber completely off the hook.
"I do. Believe me, I do." Amber's conscience was heavy with guilt. "I'm going to do better. I promise. I miss you in my life, Jamie. I'd like to have you in it as my love, and my lover," Amber grinned at James, "but I'll take you as my friend if that's all I get."
"That is all you get, Amber." James' eyes conveyed the seriousness of his words.
Amber nodded acceptance, "Then I'll take it."
"James? They're ready for you on set," the production assistant called after knocking on the trailer door.
"I'm on my way," James replied as he stood. Amber followed suit.
"Well," Amber handed her water bottle to James, "thanks for the water...and the talk."
"You're welcome. Thank you."
Amber walked to the door and reached for the doorknob. She turned and faced James who was behind her. "Take care of Francie, be happy. If you need to talk, about anything, just know I'm here for you."
James smiled, "Thank you."
They exited the trailer and Amber headed towards the parking lot.
Walking to the set, James hoped that Amber realized that he was meant to be with Francie, and that Amber would quit causing trouble. Unfortunately, a little voice inside him was still suspicious of his ex-fiancée.
"I remembered something, Nik!" Excitement coursed through Francie's body. This was what she's been waiting for.
Overjoyed, Nikki grabbed her little sister in a bear hug. She stepped back, holding Francie at arm's length, and smiled at her hopeful face. "What? How much?"
"Part of the FaceTime call with Amber."
Nikki wrinkled her nose. "Ewww."
"Yeah, I know," Francie shrugged, "but, still, I remembered! Maybe the rest will come back, too."
"Tell me what you remember, maybe it'll help to talk about it."
Francie recalled the vivid memory. "She said that James was in the shower and she was helping him out and answered his phone. She called me Kansas, and told me not to look so surprised. She said 'You didn't, really, think that he would come back to LA and not see me, did you?'. She had a smug, cold smile on her face. I remember!"
"Anything else?"
Francie closed her eyes trying to pull more from her brain. Sad eyes opened at Nikki, and she knew that Francie couldn't recall anything else.
"Hey, it's okay, Fay. Give it time. Someone else may say or do something that will make more pieces fall into place." Nikki smiled at her sister.
"You're right," Francie returned Nikki's smile. "At least, it's a start."