Chapter 29

Frank was correct, the day sucked badly. But then again Vee was correct as well; it didn't suck as much as it could have because in many ways Vee was never far away from Frank and that bled off the emotions that wanted to swamp him … the breakfast sandwich she had fixed him made the ridiculous Miami rush hour traffic more bearable, the travel mug of coffee that came with it that was way better than the turpentine he normally drank at the precinct, the comfort food lunch that filled the corners both physically and emotionally, and the occasional daydream of long legs in a French maid costume.

But the day did absolutely suck, there was no hiding from that fact. IAB making the rounds and generally getting under foot and making people nervous. A new prosecutor that was way too timid that cost not one but three arrests. Two cases that blew up when important witnesses refused to testify. An accident in the lab that destroyed a piece of key evidence … not the day crew's fault thank god. A subpoena that wasn't granted in time. The list went on and on. And then there was everyone's personal shit that seemed to bleed over everything.

As soon as he walked in he got attitude from Boa Vista. Her snarky comment alluding to Vee's age made him want to call her a bitch. It also made him wonder if she needed to get laid. It was the only explanation he could come up with for being so damn interested in his own love life. Love. Where the hell did that come from? That thought had him walking away while she'd still been in the middle of talking to him.

Frank had vaguely heard Ryan snap that if he didn't have a problem with his cousin spending time with Frank then no one else needed to get involved. Nat then made the mistake of saying something to the effect that Ryan didn't have the greatest track record … with women or otherwise … so maybe he just wasn't seeing the problem. Ryan then said he'd certainly made a mistake with her. Frank was actually impressed that Ryan was standing up for himself with a woman. Maybe that mess with Samantha Owens had actually done something for him after all.

While Frank was eating his lunch he'd spotted Ryan and Walter with their heads together. From their body language alone it looked like they were commiserating with each other and if he had to guess it was going to be about women. Walter had bonded with Jesse Cardoza when he'd first come on day shift, after his death he seemed to drift a bit but hopefully if he and Ryan could team up both men would benefit.

Speaking of teaming up, Frank was just about sick of the are-they-or-aren't-they thing that was going on between Eric and Calleigh. He knew office politics made any relationship between them challenging at best but damn they needed to move it along a little faster and stop giving the gossips reason to yack and IAB to get pissy. He hoped to hell he had more sense than to leave his emotions on his face the way Eric did every time he looked at Calleigh. All he needed was for someone to start making comments like he looked like he'd been hit in the face with a dead fish.

And talking about someone that needed to get laid. Not for the sexual release but for some human contact. Frank knew he needed to find some time to figure out what was going on with Horatio. The man needed to talk … and talk to someone that would listen and understand without condemning him for not being able to move on. Hell, Horatio had given him that during and after his divorce with Melissa. Vee called that stuff reciprocity. Well Horatio needed some reciprocity with no strings attached.

But the worst of the day was the medical confirmation that Melissa … damn. Just damn, damn, damn damn. Why wouldn't the woman just listen to him? Holy hell, why couldn't she see what she was doing to others and herself? Now look at this mess.

The diagnosis of Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome was confirmed. They'd put Melissa on high dose shots of Thiamine hydrochloride for three to five days depending on if there was any improvement. But that was the thing, there was no guarantee of improvement. She'd gone beyond something that fancy doc at called the encephalopathy of the Wernicke symptoms to the cognitive deficits of Korsakoff part of the syndrome. There was also no guarantee that symptoms could be reversed at all. At best, they hoped to mitigate some of the symptoms but she was never going to be completely free of what she'd done to herself.

Long term prognosis wasn't good. The doctors had already told Dan and Melissa's father that they should probably start setting up a conservatorship for her. She wasn't going to be able to live on her own because she refused to abstain from Alcohol and her diet would need to be constantly monitored to make sure she was getting the nutrition she needed. Coral had volunteered to take care of her sister but the doctors had all nixed that idea immediately putting Coral's nose more than a little out of joint … and frankly shocking her that they didn't believe she was capable of being as objective as was needed. Frank was staying out of it as far as they would allow him to. They kept asking for his input and he was damned if he did and then damned if he didn't … refusing to say anything made him look like he didn't care; putting his two cents in pulled him too far in and he felt like he was being strangled.

Coral wanted the kids to come see Melissa thinking it would do her some good and help her focus. The social worker had said that was actually the opposite of what Melissa … and the kids … needed. Thank god he didn't have to be the one to say it. When the doctors said that Melissa would only remain in the hospital to get her physically stable and that she was going to be moved to a residential ward at a mental health facility Coral really came uncorked … at least until Dan and Melissa's criminal attorney told her that if she couldn't contribute constructively that perhaps she should leave the meeting.

Then Coral had turned on Frank but the criminal attorney shut that down fast by saying that Coral couldn't have it both ways; that Melissa was either in control of her actions or she couldn't control herself, that she couldn't pick and choose which one it was dependent on what best suited Coral's argument. They also needed to deal with where Melissa's alcoholism had brought her today. The lawyer had managed a temporary arrangement with the prosecutor but it all depended on Melissa's diagnosis and personal commitment to treatment.

Then came the financial issues of the situation. Treatment was not going to be cheap. Since Melissa wasn't a first-time offender she didn't qualify for any of the state-funded programs. By rights she should have already been remanded to state custody, hell she hadn't even been arraigned yet. But the medical and mental aspects of the case made that impossible. The hospital was trying to arrange a place for Melissa at the South Florida Evaluation and Treatment Center. While there the Prosecutor had told Melissa's defense attorney that he would arrange with a judge for that to be part of her incarceration. Coral tried to tune up again and ask who thought her sister needed to be incarcerated and Melissa's criminal attorney said that unless she wanted her sister to be remanded to state custody for the duration until she was fit to stand trial that he suggested she not make a fuss and mess up the plea agreement he was trying to build.

Back and forth it went until Melissa's father was the one that told Coral to leave the room, that she wasn't helping and was actually hurting Melissa's chances. Coral got bent out of shape and said if she couldn't stay then Frank really had no right to stay either. There was going to be a row then Frank stood up and said, "Coral's right. You don't need me to be here and don't need me to sign off on any decisions you make for Melissa. Dan has Melissa's power of attorney. When it comes to the kids, yeah, I will be participating, but Melissa decided a long time ago while she was still in her right mind that she was done with me."

The men seemed to understand and Frank tried to leave without a bunch of noise but Coral followed him down the hall snarling and snapping at him. Finally he'd had enough.

"Dammit Coral, if you think this is what I ever wanted for Melissa and the kids you are as out of your mind as your sister."

"How dare you …"

"I'm daring because I'm not being left any choice. Melissa hasn't left me any choice. Hell, she hasn't left any of us any choice. No one forced Melissa to drink. And she knew right from wrong so you can't use that excuse either. She could stop drinking … hell, she did it multiple times. But she would always choose to start right back up. She knew the possibilities. She knew what could happen. She made the choice to drink anyway. And now … aw damn …"

Frank still wasn't one hundred percent recovered and he was starting to get shaky. He wound up being forced to sit down even if it made him look weak.

"Coral, whether you want to hear it or admit it … Melissa did this to herself and now she's doing this to us. I'm mostly pissed about what she's done and is doing to the kids but if you think seeing her like this is easy for me I can assure you it isn't. But I can't undo what Melissa chose to do."

"You're taking the kids away from her."

Frank sighed. "I'm doing what my moral and legal duty is. I'm their father, it is my responsibility. I thought leaving them with Melissa was the right thing to do. I was wrong, and damn that hurts to understand how wrong that was. The girls could be dead Coral … dead at their mother's hands. That still scares my spit completely dry. And I've learned a few things. Lucky for the kids your parents stepped in a lot more than I was aware of it happening. Your dad admitted yesterday that they were keeping stuff from me, afraid that I'd … I'd take the kids away from Melissa which meant taking them away from your parents."

"You would have," she accused.

"You don't know that. Hell, I don't know that. I was never given the chance. Just like Melissa continues to insist that I was unfaithful to her you keep insisting that I would have taken the kids. I'll be honest and say that maybe that would have been what happened in the end but I would never stop your parents from being in the kids' lives. I still don't want that to happen. The kids need the stability that your parents can offer. Right now I just can't provide them with both financial security and with all the time they need. Since the law says that I am the financial provider I'm hoping your parents remain able to provide them with the other."

Coral complained, "But not if Melissa is in their home."

"Not only no but hell no. Your parents can't take care of the kids and Melissa at the same time."

"You're making them choose. Their daughter or their grandchildren. Do you know how unfair that is?!"

"Of course I know it is unfair woman. Just as unfair as the choice that Melissa has forced on the rest of us. But that's the way it is. Melissa set this situation up, not me, not you, not your parents, not the kids … but we are all going to have to make those unfair decisions. I have to make them for the kids' sakes."

"But …"

"Coral, three years."

"What?"

"Three years. Your parents only have three years left with the kids before they are off to college and their adult lives. It may take that long for Melissa to be physically and mentally strong enough to move home with your parents. You've heard the doctors same as the rest of us have … it is going to take her a year at a minimum to recover just from the physical aspects of the accident. Her foot and ankle were completely shattered. In her leg, the tibia was broken in two places and the fibular in four. Her knee is all crapped out and it's possible that by the time she relearns to walk unaided she may need hip surgery … and that's assuming that she can walk unaided. Then there is the brain bruise … that may have lasting effects, they can't tell yet. And that's all before the physical effects of the Wet Brain diagnosis. She has ataxia, she stumbles, she's having trouble communicating, cognitively … aw hell, you've heard it, you don't need me to repeat it. It's ripping the hell out of all of us to see how bad off she is and how long …"

Coral finally stopped focusing on her own pain long enough to see and realize that Frank really was devastated by what had happened.

He continued, "Melissa will never be capable of living on her own. Do you understand what that means Coral? Do you? Even if she could go home with your parents today, your parents aren't spring chickens. They're in their sixties. The stress of this situation is already aging them. You can't ask them to take on Melissa and her needs on top of … not even instead of … the kids. And no, you can't take on either one either. You've got your own kids that need you. Hank is in middle school and Julie will be a senior next year same as Frankie. Dan's life is at least as challenging. We can't give Melissa what she needs … she's made it impossible for us to give her what she needs."

That's when Coral finally broke down. Frank felt awkward as hell but he let his ex-sister in law cry on his shoulder and even called her boyfriend to tell him that he was needed. An hour later Frank was finally able to leave, relieved to be away, but he'd also come to the conclusion he had some soul-searching of his own to do.