~#~ (Chapter 26)

John eventually fell quiet but remained in Jeff's arms for a while longer before finally extracting himself and scrubbing at his red-rimmed eyes, muttering 'sorry' over and over again. Jeff put a hand on both his shoulders and gently pressed down until John took the hint and sank back onto the sofa, still muttering apologies as he did so. Jeff sat beside him and captured one of his hands. "John. John listen to me," he gave John's hand a gentle shake to make him focus. "You have nothing to apologise for, do you hear me? Nothing at all. You've always been far too good at bottling your emotions up but in a situation like this, that's just not possible…it's not healthy. If you feel the need to scream, cry or vent then you need to let yourself do those things, no-one will think less of you for it. If you need to run, then do so, just please don't overdo it, the last thing Jacob needs at the moment is for you to land yourself in the hospital."

Jeff knew it was dirty tactics using Jacob's name in such a way but John needed something positive to focus on and Jacob was currently the only good thing to have come out of the whole situation. Jeff knew his words had sunk in when John gasped and sat up. "I…I wouldn't…" he stammered. "How…?"

Jeff shook his head and gave John's hand a squeeze. "You wouldn't run yourself into the ground? No, of course you wouldn't, at least not intentionally. How did I know what you were thinking? Let's just call it a father's intuition and leave it at that. Run, if you wish, just not too far…"

John nodded and pulled his hand from Jeff's. He wiped his eyes with the base of each hand before running his fingers into through his hair, groaning and dropping his head tiredly backwards onto the sofa behind him. He didn't move again until Jeff cleared his throat and addressed him.

"John," he said cautiously. "There's one more thing I have to speak to you about. Something that I thought of this morning and had Spencer investigate for me."

With an obvious effort, John lifted his head from the back of the sofa and looked at Jeff with tired eyes. The breakdown, on top of the wine he'd had earlier, had wiped out the last of his energy and all he felt like doing was falling into bed. "Can't we do the rest tomorrow," he whined pathetically. "I need to sleep."

Jeff reached over and flattened out a tuft of John's hair that was sticking out above his ear. "I know you do," he said sadly. "But it would be much better if we could get this out of the way tonight. I have a feeling tomorrow's going to turn into a day of paperwork and we're both going to need as clear a head as possible. You're not going to be able to concentrate properly if I wait until the morning to tell you this."

A frown formed on John's head. "Whatever is it?" he asked and he reached out to grasp one of Jeff's hands. "Father? Tell me."

Jeff gently explained how he'd realised that nobody had mentioned anything about Rosie having been buried or cremated. He told John about his discussion with Spencer, about how the officer had found out that Rosie's body had been moved to the funeral home and that she had remained there ever since.

John sat motionless on the sofa, looking stunned. Jeff slid closer and wrapped his arms around his son. He gently pulled him down and manoeuvred him until John's head was resting in a comfortable position against his shoulder. He then sat and rubbed John's back, unconsciously rocking him back and forth as he did so.

After sitting like this for a while it became obvious to Jeff that John was fighting to stay awake. He had been emotionally drained before Jeff had dropped the bombshell about Rosie's whereabouts and now it seemed that his body was catching up with his mind. He gave John a gentle shake, "Do you want me to make the arrangements?" John answered with a weak nod and turned his face into Jeff's neck with a sigh. The elder Tracy was unsurprised when, a few seconds later, warm tears began soaking through his shirt. John was too tired to fight any more, too tired even to cry anything other than the silent tears that were pouring out of him.

Jeff remained on the sofa, with John plastered against him, until long after his heartbroken son had fallen asleep. He eventually forced himself to move because he knew he still had calls to make before he could retire for the night. He needed to call Joel to talk him through the situation and he knew that Scott would start to worry if it got much later without him getting in touch.

Jeff cautiously untangled himself from John and lay the sleeping man down on the sofa. He unlaced his son's shoes, slipped them from his feet and then quietly crept through the bathroom to retrieve some bedding. When he returned he covered John with a blanket and was careful not to disturb him as he lifted his head to place a pillow beneath it. Knowing he could do nothing more to ensure John's comfort for the night he slipped back into the other room to make his calls.

~#~

To say that Joel was shocked to hear Jeff's news would have been an understatement. He was dismayed to discover everything that John and Jeff had gone through in the previous few days and as expected, he offered to jump on the next available plane. Jeff recommended that he requisition one of Tracy Industries' private jets along with one of their pilots and Joel agreed. The lawyer promised to call Alex to explain everything before he boarded the jet and told Jeff that he would let him know an estimated arrival time as soon as he knew one. He hinted that he might do a little checking up on Hines & Huberts Solicitors once he was in flight and that he would be in touch with them first thing in the morning so that they would know to expect the Tracys sometime that afternoon.