Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Chapter 38
The loud moaning coming from down the hall jerked Tyler out of her peaceful sleep. What the hell was that? She pulled on her shirt and shorts and raced down the hall to see Chloe thrashing wildly, calling out Jack's name, begging him not to hurt her. These nightmares just never end, do they? Why can't they leave her alone? She reached over to wake Chloe up, but was smashed in the face by Chloe's wildly swinging arm. Ignoring her now throbbing nose, Tyler quickly shook Chloe awake. "Come on, sis, wake up."
Chloe bolted upright, looking around, breathing rapidly, sheer terror on her face. The lingering emotion of the nightmare took over and she began to cry softly, letting it out. Tyler pulled her sister into an embrace, comforting her. She might be physically healed, but mentally... she's still a wreck, no matter what she says. "It's all right, Chloe. Just let it go. I'm here now."
Chloe soon pulled away and lay back down, wiping away her tears. "Thanks, Tyler." She looked at the time. "Did I wake you up? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"Don't worry about it, Chloe. I'm a big girl. I can handle missing a few hours of sleep. Your well-being is more important to me." She sat down next to Chloe's bed. "Do you want to.. talk about it?"
Chloe shook her head. "Not really."
She's doing it again. Shutting me out, when she should be reaching out to me. "Chloe, please don't shut me out. Look, I know we're still trying to figure out our relationship. 20 years apart isn't a good thing. But you should know that you can tell me anything, and I won't say a word. Not to Jack, or Chase, or anyone. No matter what's happened to us in the past, you're still my sister, and I really do care about you."
"You didn't seem to care very much when you hit me, when you treated me like I was a kid" Chloe replied, regretting her words almost instantly as she saw the hurt and regret on Tyler's face. "I'm sorry, Tyler. I didn't mean that."
She still hates me for hitting her. But I don't blame her. "It's all right, Chloe. I don't blame you for a minute for being mad at me for that. What I did to you was incredibly stupid, and I'll never forgive myself for it."
"That's not how I feel, Tyler. I tried to do something stupid, and I deserved that punishment." Chloe stopped. "Look, this is getting us nowhere. So let's just agree to forgive each other and move on, all right?"
"All right." Tyler sighed. "But I still want you to talk about what just happened, Chloe. I might not be a psychiatrist, or anything like that, but I won't charge you to talk to me. And I think you need to talk about it, or those nightmares will never go away."
"How do you know?"
"Because the same thing happened to me when I came back from Turkey. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about what happened to me. It was painful enough to have gone through such a horrific experience, and I was not in the frame of mind to relive it. So I started having nightmares. I thought they would just go away after a while, but they didn't. They only got worse. I was considering getting some help, when you got kidnapped. I put my problems on hold to find you, and it seemed to help, at least for a while. I stopped having nightmares. I thought they were gone for good."
"Once we found you, however, they came back, worse than ever. I couldn't sleep at all. I finally told Chase about what was happening to me, and he told me to get help. I was tired of living in fear, so I did. And it was the best thing I'd ever done for myself. I still have nightmares, but they rarely come now. I'm not saying you have to, but if you want to get past this, it might be a good idea. And don't worry, I'll pay for it. But for now, please. Tell me what you were dreaming about."
Tyler's right. I do need to talk about it. "Fine." She closed her eyes. "I was reliving all the bad things that had ever happened to me. Not just in that prison, but my whole life. I saw Jason dying, my kidnapping, the torture I suffered, all of it. But... Jack was the one doing it to me. He killed Jason, he kidnapped me. He was the one torturing me, telling me how pathetic I was. I know it's not real, but... it sure felt that way."
"Look, Chloe, I don't have any right to tell you how to live your life, but, are you and Jack having problems?" Tyler asked hesitantly.
"No, of course not" Chloe said quickly. "I love him more than I ever have, and I know he feels the same way about me. We're going to be married tomorrow. He's a good man, and he has never once raised a hand to me. We even make it a point to give each other some time to ourselves, to keep our relationship healthy. If there was a problem, he would tell me about it, right?"
"Right. I'm just a little concerned as to why you would picture Jack doing those things."
Chloe looked down. "I miss him, Tyler. I hate that he's not here right now. I want to just say screw tradition, and have him come back here."
"I understand. I felt the same way when Chase and I had to spend the night separated." Tyler patted Chloe on the shoulder. "You should try to get some sleep. I'm not Jack, but I'll sit with you until you fall asleep."
"Thanks, Tyler." Chloe smiled and quickly fell asleep. Tyler sat watching her for a while, and soon fell asleep herself.
2424242424
"Aunt Chloe!" Chloe looked up to see Chase's daughter Angela running towards her, giving her a big hug.
"Angela. Wow, you've really grown. The last time I saw you, you were a lot smaller. How's my niece doing?"
"I'm okay. Dad said I could come to your wedding if I was good."
Chloe smiled. "Well, I guess you've been a good girl, then."
"Yeah. Dad said I've been very good. I just wish he could spend more time with me. I miss having him around all the time. But Mama Tyler's been so nice to me. I like her. I'm glad that she's around."
"Good. Your mama Tyler loves you, too."
"Really?" Angela asked.
"Yep. She told me herself."
"Angela." Chloe looked up to see Chase coming their way, followed by Tyler. "Let's go sit down, sweetheart. You can see your Aunt Chloe later."
"Okay. Bye, Aunt Chloe." Angela walked off with her father, Tyler talking to her quietly. She soon grinned as she saw Jack heading her way. "Hi, Jack. I missed you."
"I missed you, too, Chloe. I always do." Jack saw the preacher heading their way. "You ready?"
"Yes. Let's do this, Jack." She looked at the small gathering, seeing all their friends. Bill and Karen had flown in from Vermont, sitting next to Tyler and Chase. Tom was standing a short distance away, keeping an eye on the ceremony, and Lou was walking the grounds. Both of them had agreed to run security for the wedding, insisting they would do it for nothing. Morris was sitting behind Bill, looking solemn, and Jack gasped as he saw Kim a short distance away. Chloe grabbed his hand reassuringly, and he smiled briefly.
"Let's begin" the preacher said solemnly, getting their attention, and the ceremony began. "We are here today to witness this union of souls. Jack, Chloe, this contract you are about to enter into is not to be done so lightly. By the vows you take, you pledge a lifetime to each other. If any of you object to this union, speak now, or forever hold your peace." Silence fell among the watchers, as none objected. "Very well." He turned to Chloe. "Do you, Chloe, take this man, Jack, to honor and to love, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in good times and in bad, until death do you part?"
"Yes. I do" Chloe said firmly.
"And do you, Jack, take this woman, Chloe, to honor and to love, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in good times and in bad, until death do you part?"
"I do" Jack said quietly, not taking his eyes off the woman he loved. The rings were quickly exchanged, and after a few more words, the preacher pronounced them husband and wife. Chloe quickly kissed Jack, surprising the crowd. She pulled back. "That was only the beginning."
"I know." He thanked the preacher for his time, then led Chloe into the crowd to mingle with their friends. Bill came up, a smile on his face. "Congratulations, you two."
"Thanks, Bill" Jack replied, then he saw his daughter walking towards him slowly. "Would you excuse me for a minute?"
"Sure, Jack. Go see your daughter" Chloe told him. He needs some time with her. Better let him do it alone.
Jack hesitantly stepped out of the crowd towards his daughter. "Kim."
"Hi, dad."
"You- you came. How did you know?"
"I ran into Chase the other day. He told me about this." Kim looked down. "I almost didn't come. But... I'm glad I did."
"I'm glad you came, sweetheart" Jack told her.
Kim nodded. "Look, dad. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Sorry for pushing you away, for being so awful to you all these years. I said so many horrible things to you."
"You don't need to apologize to me for any of that, Kim. No matter what's happened in the past, you're still my daughter. I love you. You remember what I told you that day I thought I was going to die?"
"Yeah, I do. How could I forget?"
"That hasn't changed" Jack said. "No matter what you decide to do with your life, I'll back you up." He looked around.
"If you're looking for Barry, he's not here. I broke up with him years ago. I realized that all he was doing was turning me against you, telling me how everything that's happened to me was your fault. Dad... I was at rock bottom when I met him. I had just broken up with Chase, and I was still not over your death. Then he came along. He helped me. Once I was back to normal, I thought it was time to move on. But he convinced me to stay. He made me feel like everything was okay."
"But things change. That day I saw you, I was so angry that you had lied to me, that you couldn't trust me. But when Chloe told me you had been kidnapped, because of me, I stopped being mad at you. I began to regret all the things that I had done to you. I opened my eyes and saw what Barry was doing to me. I tried to break it off with him, and he became abusive, putting me down, accusing me of believing your lies. He showed who he really was, dad. It took me months to get away from him, but I finally did, after he hit me one night."
Jack merely looked down. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."
"I'm not. I'm free to live my life on my terms. And... I want you in my life. I still love you, dad." Kim embraced her father tentatively. The two of them stood hugging, until Kim pulled back. "Look, this is your wedding. Go on. We have plenty of time to talk later."
"Thanks, Kim." He smiled, then turned to join his friends, stopping to thank each of them for coming. Morris pulled him aside as he and Chloe were leaving. "Jack. Listen. I know you're a good man, but... don't you dare hurt her, you hear me? Or I will hurt you."
"I won't, Morris. I promise." He turned to Chloe. "Let's go, Chloe."
2424242424
"Are you sure?" Chloe spoke into the phone.
"Yes, Ms. O'Brian, I am. There's no mistake." Chloe heard the rustling of papers. "I'm going to set up an appointment for you next week. Will Thursday at 1 PM be okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine. Thank you, doctor." Chloe hung up the phone and looked down, her mind no longer on her programming. Jack is going to freak. I guess now's a good time as any to tell him. She wheeled herself into the living room, where Jack was waiting for her. "Chloe, are you all right?"
"I guess. Look, there's something I have to tell you. You might want to sit down."
Jack sat down. "What did the doctor say? Is everything all right?"
Chloe took a deep breath. "Everything's fine."
"Thank god."
"You're going to be a father again. I'm pregnant, Jack."