I Wanna Come Home
Chapter 21:
A/N: I'm so glad I started this story up again. I hope you like the direction I am taking it.
A woman with long black hair stepped out of a baby blue Toyota. She lifted a briefcase off of the passenger seat and pulled a loaded revolver out from under the driver seat before walking up the steps of the Connecticut home. She wrapped three times on the door and soon after it opened. She greeted the man by throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately "Jax," she swooned in a lilting Irish accent "I've missed you so much my darling."
He smiled down at her "It's good to see you too my love. Do you have it?"
"Enough to make Zack happy," she smiled, indicating the briefcase "And," she tapped the revolver "Something to make sure my ever so trusting boss can't interfere with our plans," the smile disappeared from her face "But Jax, there's a problem. We'll need to talk."
"Nadine," Jax began "You know I love you."
The smile returned to Nadine's lips "Of course my darling," she laughed "That's not what we need to talk about. The old fool never checked Sarah's will or her life insurance policy. He never thought that she wouldn't trust him with the family money."
Jax heard voices and footsteps. Zack and Bedford were coming up from the basement "We'll talk later," he whispered, pulling her inside "Once we've handled the problem at hand."
Nadine nodded, stroking the revolver. She made sure the silencer was secure. She stayed beyond Jax as he walked into the main room of the house where Bedford stood.
"Was that Nadine?" Bedford questioned.
"No," Jax lied as Nadine cocked the hammer and peered around her boyfriend's shoulder.
"What did you tell them?" Bedford sounded nervous. He thought he was about to be discovered. Little did he know that Jax and Nadine were about to make sure that there was no way that they could be accused of fraud, for his life insurance policy at least.
"I told them what you told me to tell them," Jax said and stepped aside, revealing Nadine, with the revolver at the ready.
"You can burn in hell you bastard," she said angrily, trying to keep tears from her voice as she fired five shots into his body.
Bedford's eyes widened in shock and betrayal for only the briefest of moments before his body fell limp and lifeless on the floor.
Zack stared at his companions fearfully. He raised his hands as he dropped to his knees "Please," he begged "Please, don't…"
Nadine lowered the revolver and handed it to Jax as she stepped forward, holding the briefcase in front of her. She knelt on the floor before Zack as he tears slid down the young man's cheeks "No one's going to hurt you," she smiled as she opened the briefcase "Eighty thousand dollars, enough to pay your debts and give you a fresh start," she closed the case again and handed it to him "Keep in touch."
She stood up and returned to stand beside Jax. Zack smiled at them both as he got off of the floor "Thank you," he said as he swiftly left the house, afraid of what would happen if he stayed much longer."
Jax swept Nadine into a hug "You were magnificent," he told her.
"I know," she smiled and kissed him "So were you."
He set her down "What were you saying about Sarah's will?" he asked as he took her hand and they left the house, walking to her car.
"She had control over most of the family money," Nadine explained, though Jax knew this already "And she left it to her granddaughter."
Jax let out a low whistle "That kid can't even count and already she's a millionaire."
"She's not exactly," Nadine explained "Her legal guardians have control over her money until she's eighteen."
"And who are her legal guardians?" Jax asked with a knowing smile.
"No one yet," Nadine smirked "But it's gonna be us soon enough."
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Elliot smiled at Olivia "She just called you Mama," he observed.
Olivia nodded, using her good hand to wipe away the moisture from her eyes "Yeah," she smiled softly "She did, didn't she?"
Elliot smiled down at Clara "You couldn't have picked a better woman for the job," he told her.
Clara looked up at him and smiled quietly. Her young mind hadn't understood what he had just said but she knew that she liked and trusted him.
Casey returned to the room then, carrying a tray with all of their breakfasts on it. She set the tray on the table and passed the food out to everyone before taking a seat in a nearby chair. She held her coffee in both hands and leaned forward, noticing the beaming expressions on Elliot and Olivia's faces, she smiled as well "What did I miss?" she asked.
"Clara called me Mama," Olivia replied in a whisper.
Casey's smile widened "That's great," she said as she leaned back in her chair and took a sip of the bitter, hospital coffee.
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"You guys are going to spoil her," Olivia laughed as Munch and Fin entered that afternoon with arms laden down with shopping bags.
"I never had kids of my own," Munch said with a hint of regret behind his smile "So can't I at least spoil this little cutie?"
"Alright," Olivia conceded "Just make sure that you leave some of the spoiling for us to do when we get out of here."
Fin set one of the bags down and pulled out a small blanket. He shook it out, revealing the many Disney characters that pranced across it "From what you said," he began "I don't think they ever gave her a baby blanket or anything like that," he draped the blanket around Clara's shoulders "There you go kiddo."
"Thank you," Clara said quietly.
Munch pulled a doll out of another bag "This was a real find," he told everyone.
"You should have seen him," Fin chuckled "He was so particular about it."
The doll had a pale complexion and long black hair. Munch held the doll out to Clara and she shrank away from it at first, pulling the blanket all the way over her head. After a little while she peeked out, realizing the doll was only a doll. She reached out and took it, carefully. She held it at arms length.
"That's a pretty doll," Olivia remarked "What are you gonna name her?"
Clara shook her head and looked away from the doll. Finally, she whispered "Nadine."
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"We'll be rich my love," Nadine smiled at Jax. They had stopped at a quaint café in Rhode Island for a bite to eat. They both sat on the same side of one booth.
"Yeah," Jax said, leaning down to kiss her "But what will we do about the kid? I'm not the fatherly type you know."
"Don't worry," Nadine smiled softly, pressing yet another kiss to her lover's lips "You don't have to be. Once we're named her legal guardians, the money is ours. There isn't much reason to keep her around is there?" she chuckled softly.
Jax nodded though he felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He pushed his food away from him "You want to kill a kid?" he asked in a shocked whisper.
"Darling," Nadine smiled gently, running her hands through his hair as she brought her lips within millimeters of his "If you can't do what needs to be done for us to be happy then tell me now."
Jax looked into her eyes "I would do anything for you," he said quietly "But… I could learn to be the fatherly type, I really could."
"Oh, my love," Nadine kissed him, running her tongue along his teeth before pulling away "One day, we will have our own children. We don't need the bastard granddaughter of that fool," she turned her head "Well, we'll only need her for a little while. We're going to be rich," she told him "We, are going, to be, happy. And no one will be able to take that away from us."
Jax took her hand in his where it rested on his lap "I'm with you."
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"Bed time," Casey grinned as she walked into the room and smiled at the slowly forming little family in front of her.
Clara slid off the bed where she had been sitting, playing patty cake with Elliot while Olivia, who could only use one hand properly, watched. "Casey!" the little girl squealed happily as she ran into Casey's arms.
"Hey there," Casey grinned "You having fun?"
Clara nodded "Daddy teach me," she said, clapping her hands and doing her best to remember all the words.
Casey set Clara down and looked over at her friends "Daddy?" she asked with an ever widening smile on her face.
Elliot and Olivia shared a look that could only be explained as pure joy "Yeah," Elliot replied "She just sort of started calling me that."
Casey picked Clara up again "We'll be right back," she said as she carried the little girl into the bathroom. They emerged minutes later with Clara dressed in a pair of light blue pajamas with the little mermaid on the front.
Casey set Clara down on the bed with Elliot again "I told her that we'd have to watch the movie sometime," Casey said, patting the little girl on the head.
"We can all watch it as soon as Elliot gets out of the hospital," Olivia smiled at Clara.
Clara bounced up and down on the bed happily.
"I'll be back in the morning," Casey said as she turned to leave.
"Wait Casey," Olivia stood up and grabbed her crutches "Can we talk?"
"Sure," Casey said and the two women walked out into the hallway.
Olivia leaned against the wall "You don't need to come back tomorrow," she said kindly.
"I know," Casey smiled "But I want to. That is, unless you're sick of me," she laughed lightly.
"Of course not," Olivia assured her "But why are you helping us so much."
"That's what friends do Liv," Casey said, a little confused. "Everyone's been coming by to help out."
"But not like you," Olivia stated "You do things for us that the nurses would be happy to do. Why?"
"Because," Casey said simply, turning away "If it wasn't for me…"
"If it wasn't for you," Olivia stepped forward shakily, putting her good arm around her friend's shoulders "Clara probably would have died in that warehouse fire. If Matheson hadn't taken me there, I would have never known about her."
Casey turned and enveloped her in a hug as she started to cry "I still feel guilty," she whispered.
"You don't have to," Olivia whispered back.