~*Part II – Finale*~
– Recap –
"I appreciate you doing this for me," I whispered, looping my arm through my bag that Leila had luckily gotten from the girls along with Brandon's baby bag. I handed her the letter and picked Brandon up into my arms. "Give this to them tomorrow morning when they get here. I should be out of the city by then," I instructed her, pulling out my cell to call someone.
"Take care of yourself. Please call me if you need assistance with anything," Leila told me, grabbing my hand and holding it firmly. I smiled at her before turning and getting into the taxi she had called for me.
"I'll be in touch," I told her, smiling as she shut the door after handing Brandon back to me. The person on the other end picked up and I waved quickly before the cab took off. "Hey, I have a favor to ask you," I spoke into my cell quietly, holding Brandon in my lap tightly.
– Presently –
"Hey do you remember that villa we used every summer?" I asked as the cab made its way down the hill out to the main road. Staring over at Brandon, I played with his tresses and leaned over to place a kiss on the top of his head.
"Of course I remember Sere! We went every summer," answered the voice on the other end of the line, seeming to reminisce all the times they shared together.
"Well, could you by any chance get the keys from your mother for me?" I asked quickly. "I would really appreciate it if you could help me out Mina," I pleaded, hoping she would grasp the urgency of the situation.
"Is everything okay girl?" asked Mina worriedly. I smiled, thanking God for having such loving and concerned friends in my life. If only I didn't keep on abandoning them.
"No Minz, everything is a mess," I answered, finally breaking down into a quite sob. Brandon looked up when he heard my cries, and turned to touch my face as the tears made their way down my face. I smiled and held onto him tightly.
"You don't have to explain if it's too hard on you, I understand," replied Mina, unsure of how to console me. "Did you want me to meet you there?" she asked, trying to change the topic to get rid of the awkward atmosphere that was looming over us.
"Yes, that would be great," I answered tiredly, jotting down the address and handing it to the cab driver before hanging up with Mina.
Mina arrived moments after I had at her mother's summer vacation villa located on the outskirts of town near a mountain resort. I explained the situation and she invited the girls over so they could help us clean out the villa and get me settled in. I was thankful they didn't push the issue and ask any questions because I wasn't ready to go into detail about the entire ordeal.
"Well, we should head back now. Give us a call if you need anything," said Lita, wiping her hands with a towel as she finished setting up the kitchen. Amy had organized the library and brought me a spare laptop for me to use so I could work on my book. Raye and Mina took it upon themselves to take care of my bedroom and wardrobe, seeing as how I had left without any of my own clothes let alone Brandon's wardrobe.
"Thanks girls, I appreciate it," I said in response, taking a look around at my new home for the time being. It was very warm and welcoming, which would help lift my spirits a bit. "I don't know what I'd do with you girls," I added, hugging each one of them tightly.
So the girls left and I tucked Brandon into bed since it had been a long day for the both of us and I was beginning to show signs of fatigue as well. The last thought in my head was how Lena and the girls would react in the morning when they got my letter. I prayed they wouldn't be too upset with me, but it truly was the only option I had left. I didn't want them to feel obligated to protect me from the hardships of life because they deserved so much more than that.
– Next Day –
"You think Sere is ready to come home today?" asked Lillian looking at all the girls hesitantly to see their replies. It had been a long night for the entire group and they were all itching to be with Sera in her greatest time of need.
"I don't think they'd release her so quickly after having a miscarriage so far into her pregnancy," answered Nina contemplatively, thinking that there were probably a number of tests that the hospital needed to run after a situation like this.
"God, I can't imagine how hurt she is right now. I mean, we were all looking forward to the baby," spoke up Stacy, smiling sadly as she thought back to all the shopping they had done to prepare the baby's nursery.
"She was only a week away from finding out the baby's gender," said Lena in a defeated tone. She had stayed up all night crying over her sister's loss. Especially since there was nothing she could have done to prevent it from happening. "I can't believe the baby is gone," she uttered, still not believing the turn of events.
"Yeah I know, it's all surreal," Kaye finally spoke up. Just as the all approached the nurses' station, Leila Jenkins rounded the girls and spotted them. "Hi Dr. Jenkins, we're here to see Sera. Is she feeling better?" she asked quietly.
"Oh hello girls, I was just on my way up here to see if you had come in or not yet," explained Leila as she picked up her patient charts from the nurses at the counter. "I actually need to speak with you all privately," she added while flipping through her files briefly.
"What is it? Please tell me everything is okay," asked Lena nervously.
"No she's fine," answered Leila quietly. She tucked her new charts under her older ones and pulled out and envelope from her coat. "Sera asked me to give this to you girls," she said, handing the letter to Lena. "I'm afraid I need to get back to work. Sorry girls," she explained quickly, leaving the girls at the counter. She sighed heavily, knowing that they would all be devastated once they discovered the contents within.
"Wait! What is this?!" called out Kaye frantically, looking back and forth between Lena and Dr. Jenkins. "I don't get it. What's going on?" she asked quietly.
"What are you waiting for? Read the damn thing already!" cried Nina angrily.
"Maybe there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this crap," snapped Stacy.
"Lets take this home so we don't wreak havoc here," replied Lena in a serious tone and she turned and headed towards the entrance. She was already out the doors before any of the girls had realized what she had said.
"Wait for us!" called out Nina as she hurried out the door after Lena. The other girls followed suit and everyone got in their cars and headed back to the penthouse. Once inside, they all settled around the dining table as Lena read the letter out loud. Sure enough, as soon as the reality of the letter hit the girls, they were all in tears.
"I don't get it. Why would she just up and leave all of a sudden?" said Lena in disbelief. "Things were fine. There was never any animosity between us. So what's this nonsense about an obligation?!" she cried incredulously.
"Maybe she's been feeling this way all along, but just never said anything because she knew how much we wanted to be here for her," suggested Kaye quietly.
"So what, now that the baby is gone, she thinks we won't want to be here for her?" bit Nina defensively. "That's bull," she mumbled bitterly.
"Well, think about is from her standpoint. You've been separated from your boyfriends these past 2 months and I'm pretty sure she's overheard all the phone conversations. I mean, hell, Lillian and I have heard plenty," interrupted Stacy, explaining to the girls. Everyone got quiet, as if realization had dawned on them.
"Wow, I never thought about it like that. It must've made her feel so guilty," whispered Kaye, feeling bad for putting Sera through such anguish.
"Yeah, but I'm sure she knew it wasn't intentional," argued Nina, hoping to justify their actions so it wouldn't look as bad. Not that it made any difference now, Sera was gone, and nothing they said or did would change what had happened.
"Is there really no way to find her?" asked Lillian trying to be positive, even though she knew without a doubt, that Sera would not be found if she did not want to be.
"Did you even have to ask? I mean, look what happened with Sera and the other girls before we met her," pointed out Stacy.
"Yeah, but that was because it was just her back then. Imagine how difficult it is now with Brandon too," said Kaye, thinking of a possible slip up Sera might make.
"I doubt it, if I know my sister, I know she'll go out of her way to make things happen," interrupted Lena after setting the letter aside. "We need to let the guys know. They'll want to look for her as well. And I need to have a long discussion with my ignorant brother," she stated flatly, getting up and heading towards her bedroom.
– Sera –
I'll admit I was a little disoriented when I woke up, but that all changed when the shrill of my phone jolted me from my thoughts. Looking over at the clock, I noticed that it was already 8 o'clock in the morning. Grabbing my phone, I tightened my robe around me before reaching over and grabbing my cell off the night stand.
"Hello?" I answered after clearing my throat, but still sounded somewhat groggy.
"Hi, Mrs. Timmons?" greeted a gentleman on the other end.
"Yes, this is she. May I ask who this is?" I replied, curious as to who would call me first thing in the morning. I sat up and put on my slippers before heading over to Brandon's room so I could check on him.
"I apologize for calling so early. I'm Sato Kusanagi from Nippon Jitsugyo Publishing Company, Keiko Asahi's personal assistant," explained the man in a hurried voice.
"It's no problem at all. I should've been up an hour ago," I told him as I peeked into Brandon's room to see if he was up or not. I went downstairs to get started on breakfast for my little man after I saw that he was still sleeping.
"… Mrs. Timmons?" called out Sato, snapping me out of my thoughts as I reached for the handle on the refrigerator.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I didn't catch that. What were you saying again?" I apologized sheepishly. Deciding against starting breakfast, I sat myself down at the island counter to give him my undivided attention.
"Well, Keiko asked me to see if I could get a copy of your rough draft so she could look over. Would it be possible for me to meet you somewhere or even stop by and pick it up?" asked Sato after clearing his throat.
"Well... I'm still in the process of getting situated with the move and all, so I won't be able to stop by the office today. But if you want, I will be running errands around town, so we could meet up somewhere," I explained as I headed over to my office. Looking around for the draft, I spotted the yellow manila envelope under a pile of papers.
"That would be great! I can meet you anywhere you want," said Sato eagerly.
"Okay, then I will shoot you an e-mail when I leave to run errands," I told him, tucking the envelope under my arm as I closed the door behind me. "I need to get started on breakfast for me son, so I'll see you later okay?" I added, hanging up after he gave me his contact information so I could reach him later when I went out.
After breakfast was done, I went upstairs and set out an outfit to wear before checking on Brandon once again. Sure enough, he was up and waiting for me. I got ready before setting him in his playpen and heading off to change into my outfit and work on hair and make-up. After I finished, I reheated out breakfast and Brandon played with his food while I checked e-mails.
"Are you ready to go exploring?" I asked, tickling my son as I wiped his hands. He giggled in response and held out his arms for me, eager to go outside and play.
After settling him into his car seat and double checking I had everything, we set out in the hybrid Mina lent me. There was no way I could go back and get my own car, and leasing or even purchasing one would leave a paper trail, so I could not refuse the offer when Mina left the keys in an envelope with a long note attached. After I found my way around town, Brandon and I picked up a few necessities before I shot Sato an e-mail.
"Thanks for meeting up with me. Keiko would've had my head on a silver platter if I didn't get these to her for proofing this week," said Sato appreciatively as he placed the envelope containing my draft into his briefcase. "Were you two grabbing a quick snack?" he asked before accepting the cookie Brandon offered to him excitedly.
"Yes, just took care of some errands," I answered, taking a sip of my coffee. "Will you be heading back to the office after this?" I asked curiously, setting my cup down to wipe the crumbs off Brandon's face.
"I wanted to get this back to Keiko before she leaves for the day," came Sato's reply almost immediately after I had asked him. He smiled sheepishly after realizing how hasty his answer had sounded.
"Don't fret. I was just wondering if you wanted to join us while we explored the rest of the town," I said, laughing as Brandon blew bubbles at me.
"Would you like me to give you a brief tour since you're new to the area?" asked Sato eagerly. "I could just drop off these documents and we could be on our way," he added.
"Are you sure that would be a good idea? I don't want Keiko lecturing you about spending leisure time during work hours," I replied hesitantly.
"It'll be fine. As a client, I should help you out in any way that I can," answered Sato, laughing after I gave him a funny look. "Ok, so maybe not to that extent. But it really would be my pleasure though," he said in a more serious tone.
"Okay, if you insist, then I will obligingly accept your offer," I told him, smiling at the goofy look on his face after he heard my response. Brandon held out his arms for me, so Sato helped me grab my bags while I got Brandon out of the highchair. "So which place would you suggest to get my creative thoughts flowing?" I turned back and asked him jokingly.
"Actually, there is a lovely little spot I discovered a short while ago!" answered Sato from behind me, trying to catch up with us. "It's a quaint little garden hidden within the rose maze nearby," he said, pointing across the street where I noticed a park.
"That sounds lovely. Can we take a peek?" I asked, surprised that such a place would remain hidden from public. We crossed the street and walked around to the back of the rose maze where a small fountain stood in front of bush. I watched as Sato disappeared behind the hedge wall, wondering where the opening was located.
"Back here!" called out Sato, sticking his hand out to wave at me. I slowly slid my way through the path, holding Brandon close to me so he wouldn't get scratched. "Beautiful isn't it?" he asked, spinning around the garden after I came into view.
"Oh…" I whispered in awe, staring at the sight before me. A pond sat beside a willow tree on the right side of the garden with a rope swing tied around an extended branch. On the opposite side of the garden, a bench was situated beside a small flower bed underneath another willow tree. "It's exquisite," I uttered, finally able to speak.
"I know. I'm surprised it's been hidden for so long," said Sato, plopping down onto the bench beside the pond. "So I take it you'll be frequenting this place quite often after this?" he added, chuckling when he knew full well that I most likely would be glued to this spot.
"Without a doubt," I answered, laughing as I knelt down to let Brandon play with some ducks at the edge of the pond. I noticed Sato get up to help me but quickly waved him off. I may be 5 months pregnant, but I can still function enough to handle my own son.
"So would you like to see any other places?" asked Sato, laughing when he saw Brandon chase the ducklings around the pond. He listed dozens of hot spots he thought I would like to hang out at and a few places that Brandon might like to visit. After a few moments of enjoying the garden a bit more, I picked Brandon up and we continued our mini tour of the town.
"Thanks so much for showing me around Sato. I appreciate it," I thanked him as he helped me load my bags into the backseat beside Brandon.
"No problem, it was my pleasure," said Sato, shutting the door and making sure it was secure before he came around and held the door out for me. "I'll let you know what Keiko has to say about the script when I hear from her," he added as I got in and started the car.
"Alright, just e-mail me because I hardly ever have my phone on me at home," I told him, shifting the car into gear and driving off after a quick nod and wave. By the time I had gotten back to the villa, Brandon was sound asleep in his car seat. After laying him down in his play pen, I checked my e-mails before getting started on dinner. I plopped in a CD while I saw down in front of my desk with a glass of tea. As I sat back and enjoyed the soft melody of classical music, I logged into my e-mail and noticed a few unread messages.
--Lena_--Sent 3:15 pm on June 4-- Re: Please call me...
--Nina_--Sent 5:00 pm on June 4-- Re: Where are you?
--Kayla_--Sent 6:45 pm on June 4-- Re: Sera??
--Stacy_--Sent 7:50 pm on June 4-- Re: Come home...
--Leila_--Sent 6:30 am on June 5-- Re: Urgent...
--Nick_--Sent 7:00 am on June 5-- Re: Confused
--Mina_---Sent 8:10 am on June 5th-- Re: Good Morning =)
I cringed when I noticed the time slots of the e-mails. The girls must've been up all night waiting to hear from me. I couldn't bring myself to read any of the e-mails, so I just left them there and opened the one from Nick. Lena had most likely called him and filled the boys in on the news of my disappearance by now. Setting my tea aside, I mentally prepared myself for an angry e-mail. Nick had enough on his plate with Jeff's amnesia case, but I'm sure my departure would drive him overboard.
Nick's E-mail –
Sera,
What's going on over there? Lena called me in tears just now. I'm worried sick because Lena won't tell me anything. All I know is that something bad happened. Will you please give me a call so we can talk about it? I'll be waiting to hear from you. So please, whatever you do, just call me. Love you.
-Nick
'Sorry Nick,' I thought, feeling extremely guilty for adding more stress to the turmoil. "I should tell him what's going on," I said, sighing as I clicked the reply button.
My E-mail –
Nick,
Hey Nick. How have you been? I hope things are progressing well over there with Jeff. Please don't worry about me. I'm okay. I just had to get away from all the commotion. It's been chaotic and I needed some time to collect my thoughts. Can you tell the girls to stop freaking out? They've bombarded my inbox and I can't find it in myself to even open the e-mails, let alone write them back. I feel really bad for leaving them all of a sudden, but it's for the best. Persuade them to stay with you guys for now. Watch over Jeff for me. Brandon and I miss him lots. So much has happened since the accident. Lena will fill you in on all the details. I need to go now. Take care of yourself. Love you.
-Sera
"God forgive me," I whispered, shaking my head sadly before clicking the send button. I felt the baby move in my stomach as a tear slid its way down my cheek. "I hope you can meet them one day baby," I said as I placed a hand over my tummy. Snapping out of my thoughts and I went back to checking the rest of my e-mails. I couldn't help but smile when I saw Mina's heading. 'Thank God for Mina,' I thought, picking up the tea cup as I read the e-mail.
Mina's E-mail –
Serena,
Hey babes! How do you like the new place? I just thought I'd check up on you. I'm sure you've had a chance to reacquaint yourself with the town again. I remember all the spring breaks and summers we've spent hanging out at the beach there. Good old times! Anyways, I've gotten tons of calls from the girls. Figured you didn't want them knowing your whereabouts so I ignored all of them. What should I do when I run into one of them though? Hopefully I won't have to think about that problem. *knocks on wood* But yeah, getting back to the reason why I e-mailed you. The girls thought we should all have dinner at my place and have a heart to heart. Let me know what you think! We can arrange details later. Later babes!
-Minz
I couldn't help but smile after reading Mina's e-mail. She always seemed to know how to cheer me up without even trying. Dinner with the girls sounded good right about now. I looked down at the time and noticed it was nearing the evening already. Brandon would probably be up soon and expecting something yummy to eat. I called up the girls and they all agreed to come over to my place so I could cook for them.
"Hey Serena, did you ever find out what the baby is going to be?" asked Amy curiously as she prepped a light salad. Mina and Raye were out in the living room playing with Brandon while Amy and Lita helped me finish cooking.
"Oh yeah, you're 5 months along now!" said Lita, turning to look at my already protruding belly. I laughed at her sudden realization and wiped my hands on a towel.
"I had an appointment with Leila today and got the results," I told them, stopping to keep them in suspense for a little while.
"And?!" asked Mina from the entrance of the kitchen with Raye behind her holding Brandon, both staring at me in anticipation.
"How did you two overhear our conversation?" asked Amy, a little surprised.
"Please, Raye has ears of a hawk," retorted Mina, waving her hand at Amy as if it were no big deal. We all burst out laughing as Raye whacked Mina. "Ouch!" she cried, rubbing her head before sitting down at the kitchen counter.
"So what did Dr. Jenkins say?" asked Raye, taking a seat at the dining table with placing Brandon seated on her lap.
"What do you girls think of the names Kaylee and Hayden?" I asked, resisting the urge to laugh while I waited for the info to sink in.
"Wait, why did you pick two different names?" asked Mina, still confused.
"That's because she's having twins Mina!" cried Amy excitedly as she raced over and hugged me. It finally clicked in Lita's head too as she joined us in a group hug.
"Awww, you're going to have a little baby brother and sister now Brandon!" cooed Raye, playing with Brandon as he laughed in response.
"OMG!!" shouted Mina, earning a laugh from all of us. "It's going to be so fun with two babies around!" she added excitedly.
After our tiny moment of joy, we all got back to finishing dinner and sat around to enjoy our meal while we talked. The girls suggested over a dozen other names and talked about buying things to get ready for the twins. I was so busy today that it hadn't really sunk in until now. And even though I should be happy, a part of me was still saddened by it.
"Sere?" called out Mina, waving a hand in front of me.
"Sorry Mina. What were you saying?" I apologized, turning to look at her.
"You look distracted. What's up?" asked Raye quietly.
"I'll put Brandon to bed," offered Amy, taking Brandon out of his high chair and heading upstairs to the nursery. As the girls cleaned up, I grabbed some dessert and drinks for us while we waited for Amy to get back.
"So what's the deal?" asked Mina, breaking the awkward silence after Amy returned.
"Idiot," retorted Raye, rolling her eyes at Mina's tactfulness. "What she meant to say was, "What's the real reason behind all this?" she reiterated.
"I had to let them go. Just because I'm pregnant and my husband doesn't have a clue as to who I am, it doesn't mean the girls are obligated to stay by my side," I stated, trying to keep my composure together.
"It's understandable Serena. But don't stress, you need to think about the babies," Amy pointed out, before leaning over to rub my back soothingly.
"But are you sure the girls didn't want to stay with you? I mean, they were just as devoted to you as they were to Selenity in the past," interrupted Lita, making a good point in the girls' defense.
"Yeah, they were just like you girls. Only they were assigned to Selenity instead," I answered automatically, not really paying attention to the conversation. "With the situation going on between Jeff and me, I decided it would just be best if the girls returned to the states and stayed with the guys for now," I added, sighing as I thought about Jeff.
"Sere, I don't mean to pry. But does anybody know about the twins?" asked Amy in a soft voice, trying not to upset me any further.
"No. The girls did, but I asked Leila to tell them that I miscarried a few days ago when I fainted," I answered in a dry tone, fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill. "It's just better if nobody is involved. I don't want it to make things worse," I added quietly.
"But Serena, Jeff deserves to know about his children," whispered Mina, placing a hand on mine and squeezing it gently in reassurance.
"No, he doesn't, not after leaving his family the way he did," I snapped angrily. I knew I shouldn't blame him for having amnesia, but I had a right to be upset. Even if he forgot our life together now, we still had a life together in the past and could have worked things out. So why did he choose to abandon his family?
"Serena, you know he wasn't in the right state of mind when he left. I'm sure he'll come around eventually," Lita pointed out, leaning across the table to grab my free hand.
"It's been 2 months since he's left. When exactly is he supposed to come around and realize he left his family and a huge burden on my heart? I can't sit around and hope that he'll remember us after the twins are born. It's just too much for me to handle right now," I cried, frustrated that the tears I had tried so hard to hold back, were streaming down my face.
"It'll be okay Sere. We're here for you," whispered Raye, pulling me into her arms and holding me tightly as I sobbed quietly.
– John Hopkins –
Just as Solaris was scrolling through his phone book in search of Serenity's phone number, his phone started vibrating before a minor shrill could be heard throughout the office.
"Hello?" answered Sol in an uncertain tone, sending an apologetic glance at Mikal an apologetic glance.
"Sorry to interrupt your session, but it's important," replied Nick urgently at the other end of the line. As soon as Solaris heard those words, thoughts of Serenity and their son Brandon immediately flashed through his mind.
"What's wrong?" asked Solaris as his heart began beating rapidly.
"There was an incident last night. Serenity seems to have disappeared with Brandon in the midst of all the chaos," Nick answered, the edginess apparent in his tone.
"No…" Solaris uttered before the phone slipped from his hand and landed on the carpeted flooring with a small clink.
"Mr. Timmons!" called out Mikal, lunging forward to catch Solaris as he fell to his knees in shock. His vision blurred as hundreds of images came flooding through his head, some of memories, and some of terrifying possibilities.
"Solaris…" Mikal heard the voice on the cell phone yell repeatedly as he retrieved it from the floor. "Answer me Solaris!" Nick called out again worriedly.
"Sera…" Sol whispered just as he lost all consciousness.
"This is Dr. Mikal Jones speaking. I'm Jeffrey's psychiatrist," Mikal informed the caller quickly as he tried to steady Jeff in his arms. "Whatever it is you said it seems to have triggered an onslaught of thoughts. He's fainted," he added, slowly edging Jeff back into the seat.
"We'll be right there," replied Nick briskly before hanging up abruptly.
"Okay…" said Mikal as he stared at the phone, not sure what to make of the entire situation. He turned to glance at Jeff once more before paging his assistant for help. His staff arrived shortly afterwards and they moved Jeff to a room so they could monitor him.
– The Guys –
"Justin!" Nick hollered, rushing through the house looking for the guys.
"Where's the fire dude?" answered Justin, rounding the corner and almost smacking into him as they met in the hallway.
"Solaris fainted after I told him about Serenity. We need to get up to the hospital before he starts mumbling nonsense that might leave us in a bind," said Nick hurriedly. "Do you know where Drew is?" he asked, shutting the door to Drew's bedroom.
"Right behind you, what's up?" asked Drew, confused as to why they were congregating in the hallway. "Does anybody want to tell me why we're standing in the hallway like junior high school kids?" he added curiously.
"No time, let's go," replied Nick, heading down the hallway towards the garage entrance. He hopped into the driver side and turned on the engine before throwing a 'come on' look at the guys, who obligingly got in quickly.
Arriving at the hospital, they rushed to Dr. Jones' office to see where Solaris had been moved to. The nurses at the counter got them caught up to par with everything that had taken place just as they arrived outside his room.
"Please try not to upset him when he wakes up. We're trying to record his readings to see if there might be a break through on his recovery," stated the nurse as ushered them into the room before any bystanders realized who they were and caused a riot. "Please page a nurse when you are ready to leave and we will get you out of here discreetly," she added, turning and hurrying back to her station.
"So what happened to cause all this?" asked Justin in a hushed tone, pointing to the monitor that was hooked up to Jeff and printing out some weird squiggly line.
"It's so they can pinpoint any abnormalities in his brain waves," answered Drew, shaking his head at Justin's gesture.
"Oh," responded Justin feeling kind of stupid now.
"Sera!" cried Solaris as he bolted up and startled the guys.
"Jesus Christ!" yelled Justin, jumping backwards.
"Stop!" said Nick firmly as he grabbed Solaris before he could pull any of the wires attached to him off. Drew ran to the other side and tried to grab hold of his arm to help Nick calm him down before things got out of hand.
"What the hell is going on?!" yelled Jeff, still trying to sort out his thoughts.
"You're at the hospital Sol, you fainted," explained Nick calmly.
"Why the hell do you keep calling me Sol, and what reason would I need to be at a hospital?" asked Jeff incredulously.
"Uh, Sol, did you bump your head again dude?" asked Justin, looking at him weirdly, not sure if it was even safe to step within close proximity of the guy.
"My name is Jeff you half wit," snapped Jeff, glaring at Justin as if he lost a screw.
"Jeff?" called out Drew hesitantly.
"Yes, what other name do I go by now? People are going to think we're nuts if we start addressing each other by our former names from a previous life you idiots!" said Jeff, yanking his arms free of their hold on him and shaking his head.
"Jeff, what was your last coherent thought?" asked Nick cautiously. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he didn't want to make things worse by giving away more information than necessary before he was certain of Jeff's stability.
"I'm not really sure," answered Jeff, grabbing his head as it began to throb. "One moment I'm heading to pick up Brandon's birthday cake, and then total darkness," he added.
"Whoa, are you saying you don't remember anything after that man?" asked Justin.
"Remember what?" asked Jeff, turning to look at Justin. "Would you guys tell me what the crap is going on before I go crazy and lose my mind?!" he yelled, beginning to get annoyed with the entire situation.
"Calm down Jeff. We're trying to process the information ourselves too," answered Nick, interrupting him before a fight broke out. "There was an accident Jeff," he started to explain.
"Was anyone hurt?" Jeff asked, worry present in his face.
"Uh, yeah man. You were pretty torn up," retorted Justin, looking at Jeff as if he had grown another head or something.
"That's right… My car skidded out of control," whispered Jeff quietly as all the images came rushing back. He cringed, recalling the impact his car made with the telephone pole.
"Yeah, you were in a coma for some time because of the accident. The doctors were worried you might not pull through," stated Drew, not wanting to recall the look of anguish on Sera's face that horrible day.
"But luckily for us, you snapped out of it 2 months later and woke up miraculously," interrupted Justin after noticing the look of guilt plastered on Jeff's face.
"Only problem though, was that you had amnesia from the cranial damage," explained Nick, taking a seat beside Jeff's bed and looking at him sternly. "You forgot all memories of this lifetime and reverted back to previous self," he added grimly.
"Yeah dude, it was so creepy," said Justin. "You were so freaking mean to Sera, asking her whose child Brandon was and arguing with her about not being married," he added, shaking his head as he recalled the devastating blows she had experienced back then.
"Oh good God," stuttered Jeff in disbelief. 'What have I done?' he thought, inwardly beating himself up for the disaster he has caused. "So where are my family?" he asked, finally snapping out of his reverie.
"We don't know where Sera and Brandon are actually," Drew spoke up, wishing he weren't the bearer of bad news.
"What do you mean? They should be at our house!" Jeff stated, the tone in his voice changing from disbelief to anger quickly.
"I'd hate to break it to you bro, but we're not even in Japan anymore," replied Nick, placing a hand on Jeff's shoulder to try and calm him down a bit. "You decided you couldn't handle the stress and wanted to get away from it all," he added in a more quiet tone, trying not to sound as if he blamed Jeff for leaving his family behind.
"And you just let me?!" asked Jeff incredulously. 'What in God's name is going on here?!' he thought, more angry with himself than anybody at the moment. He couldn't believe all of the chaos that was going on and to make matters worse, he tore everyone apart.
"Well, Dr. Bowen thought that this center would help you recover your memories. So the guys and I all agreed to take you since we had no other option," answered Drew.
"Can someone explain how my wife and child missing has anything to do with my amnesia and us leaving?" asked Jeff, tired of all the turmoil that was going on.
"I don't even know myself actually. Let me call Lena and have her explain it to us all. I tried contacting Sera, but she wouldn't say anything about it," Nick said as he dialed Lena's number on his cell phone and waited to place her on speaker for everyone to hear.
"Hello?" answered Lena, her voice hoarse from apparently crying.
"Babe?" whispered Nick worriedly after he heard her voice.
"Have you heard anything from Sera yet hunnie?" Lena asked, sounding desperately hopefully. "Please tell me she responded to your e-mail," she pleaded with him.
"I did get a response, but she didn't tell me much. She asked me to tell you girls to stop freaking out and blowing up her inbox. Would you please tell us what's going on so we can have an idea babe?" replied Nick, pulling his phone away and switching it over to speaker.
"I don't know why she left Nick. I'm worried sick about her. She just disappeared when we came back to the hospital to check on her," explained Lena as her voice trembled.
"Hospital?" asked Jeff, panic beginning to arise in his tone.
"Yeah... We weren't supposed to tell anybody because Sera wanted to figure out how to go about things first," Lena replied, sounding more saddened now. "It's not exactly something I want to be telling you about now," she added quietly.
"Just tell me what happened already!" Jeff demanded furiously, tired of hearing all her babble. "I just want to know if my wife and son are okay," he added desperately.
"Brandon is fine," Lena began, "but I don't know about Sera though," she finished. "I never got a chance to see her afterward, things just happened so quickly," she began retelling the events slowly. "The girls and I were so distraught over it, so I can only imagine what is running through Sera's mind now," she added, more to herself than the guys.
"After what?! I need you to quit talking about it like I already know. What happened to Sera?!" yelled Jeff angrily, earning a startled gasp from Lena.
"Sera was already pregnant when you had your accident," replied Lena nervously. "I went with her to see Leila and she told us Sera was about 8 weeks along after you and the guys went to Baltimore," she explained, her voice sounding even more quiet now than before.
"Pregnant?" Jeff mumbled, still shocked at what he had just heard. Here he feared the worse, like his wife and child may be hurt, but he was not expecting anything like this.
"Wait babe, did you say WAS?" asked Nick, still not getting what was going on. This earned a quick turn of head from Jeff as his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.
"No," said Jeff, falling back into the pillows. "This has got to be some sort of sick joke," he grumbled, not wanting to believe what Lena had just said.
"Things were going great up until the accident happened," Lena responded, "She was 19 weeks along when we got the news of the band breaking up. I guess all the stress over things had finally taken its toll on her," she told him. "Sera fainted when she saw Nick's e-mail," she started telling them about the accident.
"That explains the hospital I guess," replied Nick quietly, interrupting Lena so she could take a break and collect her thoughts before continuing.
"Yeah, well it gets worse. Sera hit her head on the kitchen counter when she fainted, so they took her to the hospital to get examined. That's where Leila noticed that the stress level was putting a strain on the baby," continued Lena, recalling Leila's exact words.
"I don't understand why you're speaking in past tense Lena. Did something happen to the baby?" asked Jeff, praying to God that he had misheard what she said just now.
"Jeff, she was hyperventilating badly when she was in the emergency room," explained Lena solemnly. "Leila said that she started to cramp because of that and it was too straining on her body," she tried to repeat as much of what Leila had told her the best she could.
"So, she had a miscarriage?" Justin finally spoke up after all this time. He was listening to intensely that he had started to zone out. Jeff and Nick both looked at him shocked that he had spoken the unwanted words.
"I'm afraid so," answered Lena in a whisper. "Then she was gone," she added, still not believing that this ordeal was reality.
"What do you mean gone? She can't just up and leave a hospital without anyone knowing!" Jeff stated, finally snapping out of the daze he was in.
"I'm not sure what all took place when we left the hospital that night," Lena snapped back, "but she was already gone by the time we got back the next morning. There was even a letter that she had left us."
"That explains what Sera meant in the e-mail," said Nick, thinking back to what she had written him about everything. 'But why would she want the girls to come here?' he wondered, not understanding what Sera was trying to do by pushing everyone away in her time of need. It didn't seem like something she would do.
"Leila…" Jeff stated after a short a while. The guys both turned and looked at him lost, even Lena voiced her confusion with a 'huh?' as well. "She knows," he said, everything finally coming together. 'It all makes sense now,' he thought, taking his phone out of Nick's hand. "I'll call you back later," he told her before hanging up and dialing another number.
~*A.N.*~
That's it for this part of the finale, look forward to the last and final part. R & R please!